Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2015 06:51:46 +0000
From: Nikkie Silk <nikkie.silk@outlook.com>
Subject: Cockatoo Part 2 TG

Cockatoo

I live for feedback nikkie.silk@outlook.com

Part 2

     Everyone had said that Alex was good looking back at Uni and many of
the girls had even said he looked quite pretty. As she held her hair back I
could see that it was Alex's face looking back at me.

`Oh my God,' I couldn't think of anything more original to say, `It is
you.'She smiled and stood up, took my hand and pulled me to my feet.

`Come on James, give me a hug.'

    She pulled me into a hug and instinctively I hugged her back. She was
about my height but I think she was wearing heels as I remembered Alex
being shorter than me.

`That's better,' she released the hug but held onto my arms as she stood
back and looked me up and down. 'Damn, it's good to see you, James. You're
looking really well. I have a million questions to ask you. Come on let's
have a drink and you can tell me what you've been up to.'


`You've got questions? Don't you think I've got few?' I was beginning to
get my senses back now.

`Oh, Ok, but first of all let me introduce you to Areeya, she's my business
partner and soul mate.  I turned round and the Thai girl who had brought me
through from the bar was still standing there.

`Areeya, meet James, James, meet Areeya.' Alex's eyes sparkled as she made
the introductions.

Areeya made a wai to me and remembering my Thai manners I did so in return.

`It's delightful to meet you, James. Any friend of Alex is very welcome
here.' she spoke softly and with a very good English accent.

`I'm really pleased to meet you too, Areeya.' I replied. Her hair was swept
back in Thai fashion and this emphasised the beauty of her face. She really
was stunningly pretty

`Alex, if you don't mind I have a few things to attend to before we get
busy tonight, so can I leave you and James to catch up and I'll join you
later if I may?'

`Of course, Areeya. Let me know if there's anything you need me to do.' She
turned and walked out the door.

Alex saw me looking,' Yep. She's gorgeous isn't she?  Went to the American
University in Bangkok graduated with an MBA. She's bright as well as
beautiful. But let me tell you all over dinner. I promise I will answer
your questions but what brings you to Samui? How long have you been over
here? This was the Alex I remembered, a million questions a minute.Alex led
me through a second door into a small room beautifully decorated in Thai
style.

`You like Thai food?' she asked.

I nodded, `I love it since I've been here'

I could smell the unmistakeable aroma of Thai cooking. `That smells good' I
said. The aroma of garlic, onion, fish sauce and lemon grass is a wonder to
behold.

`We have a restaurant at the back facing the sea and the kitchen is just
out the side here. This is our private lounge. Let's get you a drink.

Alex must have signalled somehow because the door opened and a small pretty
Thai girl entered and Alex asked me what I wanted.

`I think I need a stiff Scotch.' Alex laughed.

`Is Laphraoig OK? I assume you didn't mean Thai whisky.'

`Manee, that will be a large Laphraoig for our guest and a fruit juice for
me please.'

     I tried not to stare but I couldn't drag my eyes from Alex. Her blonde
hair hung down onto and over her shoulders and framed her face
beautifully. Her skin was flawless, slightly tanned and her eyes just shone
in the shaded light in the room. Her long nails were painted a shade of
pink to match her lipstick. She was wearing a beautiful red print silk
dress with a vee neck plunging almost to her navel. I still could not fully
believe it; the woman in front of me was gorgeous. As I studied her I could
begin to see little bits of the old Alex showing through, like the way she
held her head slightly to one side and looked sideways at you.

She smiled and asked, `Well, what do you think?'

`Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare.'

`Hey, don't worry; I would too in your place. But, honestly, how do I
look?'

I took a second and said, `Well, firstly, I am still in complete shock but
would you be upset if I said you look beautiful?'

She giggled, `James, no, I never mind anyone telling me that, even if they
are in shock.'

Why didn't you tell me, Alex? On the phone? You gave me the shock of my
life.'

 She smiled, `Honestly, I'm sorry for the surprise but look, would you have
ever come if I had told you that your old Uni mate was now living as a
woman?'

`No, I guess not, to be honest. I still can't quite believe it. What
happened? I knew you came to Thailand on a gap year but then you dropped
out of sight.'

The drinks arrived and we paused while they were served. There were two
couches in the room and a low table. Alex invited me to sit down on one and
she sat on the other crossing her legs and giving me a lovely glimpse of
thigh.

`Kap kun ka, Manee, Thank you,' Alex said to the girl.

`Ok, James, I'll tell you my tale quickly, and then I'll answer your
questions. Is that OK?'

I nodded. She sipped her juice and went on, `It's pretty simple, really. I
had always wanted to explore Thailand and I did the whole place,
backpacking all the way. Thailand is really several different countries
rolled into one. The North is very different from the South and Bangkok, is
well, Bangkok. I loved it all and soon I could speak enough Thai to get
by.'

She paused and took a sip of her juice.

`After about six months I pitched up in Bangkok and did the usual tourist
red light stuff. Frankly, it was pretty awful until one night in Nana Plaza
I dropped into one of the bars there and met some of the kathoeys
there. You know what I mean, kathoey?'

`Yes, I know what you mean.'

`Well, to cut a long story short, whatever it was I became attracted to
them.' She paused and frowned slightly, `Not in the usual way but I became
fascinated by the transformation they underwent and how they managed to
change from boys to girls, or something in between. I got to know a few of
them and as I didn't want them for sex and once they realised I wasn't a
threat, they tolerated me as a hanger on, I guess. Anyway, one night a
couple of the girls, sensing something in me that I probably didn't realise
myself, said that I could be really pretty if I wanted to be. Looking back
I may have been a bit high that night. She paused and asked `Are you sure,
you want the full story?'

I nodded; I was now hooked into this unfolding story. I wanted to hear this
right through to the end.

`Ok, here's where it gets a bit freaky.' Alex took a sip of the juice and
ploughed on, `As I said, I may have been high that night and I said yes. I
guess the girls that night were bored or maybe they were just keen to tease
a farang. Anyway, they stripped me, bathed and shaved me. My hair was
pretty long by this time so they sat me down, styled my hair and made my
face up. They wouldn't let me see what they were doing so I just had to sit
there while they did it. The girls at Uni sometimes called me a pretty boy
if you remember.'

`I remember,' I said softly.

We paused as Manee returned to the room with fresh drinks.

Alex at this point seemed to be off in a different world and her eyes
looked to be focused on something far, far away.

`After they had finished playing with me as their little doll, they made me
put on a bra and knickers, she snorted, `made me?' No I think I was pretty
willing at this point. I was always pretty slight in build but six or so
months back packing my weight had dropped even further. They found a dress
that seemed to fit me and I put that on too. They were giggling like crazy
all this time, but when they had finished I saw their faces change. They
seemed to be surprised at what they saw. They became very excited and were
high fiving each other and talking in Thai far too fast for me to
follow. At this point one of them uncovered a full length mirror they had
in the room and finally let me see. I fully expected to see a guy in drag
looking back at me. To tell you the truth I didn't recognise myself in the
mirror at all. No. I didn't look like a model but I didn't look rubbish. I
looked just like an averagely pretty girl. The girls were so happy and
excited. They dragged in the other bar girls to see and they were all
giggling and laughing but not at me in a bad way. They were really
surprised and pleased with what they had done. Well, that night was the
first night I spent with the kathoeys and I got introduced to a whole new
way of life.'

She took another sip and did that sideways look that Alex always had. `Is
this too much for you?'

`No' no, it's fine, don't stop.' Truth be told, I was desperate to hear the
rest of the story.

`That night was an epiphany for me; I'd had gay experiences over the years,
at school and Uni so I wasn't totally naive about giving and taking a cock'

I was surprised about the gay thing as he had always had girls hanging
around but looking back maybe he had gone both ways. The bluntness shocked
me but I would be damned if I wanted her to stop telling her story.

`This was different, though, wearing the girls' clothes and getting fucked
by the kathoeys and fucking and sucking them back was so liberating. I felt
that somehow I had found myself at long last.'

Right now I was in thrall to Alex's story.  In fact, I had to move a little
in the chair as my trousers started to feel tight. Alex seemed not to
notice and kept going almost as if I wasn't there. I got the feeling this
story was now aimed as much at her as it was at me.

`I began to spend more and more time with the girls and they basically
taught me how to be a kathoey. They coached me in how to walk and move and
behave as they did. The sex was awesome; I couldn't get enough of
it. Giving and taking to be honest.

The Mamasan at the bar was not so happy at all this and was getting very
uptight about the amount of time the girls spent with me. I was also
running short of money at this time, but I was now hooked into the life. I
don't think I could have given it up at that time even if I had wanted to.
I had gotten myself clean of other drugs but this was now my drug, I just
couldn't leave it alone.  Then one night the girls said to me that they ask
the Mamasan if I could work in the bar with them. She thought it was crazy
because all the farangs wanted Thai girls.  Anyway the girls persisted and
eventually, the Mamasan agreed to give it a go.'  Another round of drinks
arrived and some snacks also appeared.

`The first night I was scared rigid, but the girls were very supportive and
although the westerners didn't seem to be interested in the blonde kathoey,
a party of Japanese men came in and possibly because of the blonde hair one
of them took me for a short time. The bar had rooms at the back where after
the customer had paid a bar fine for the girl we could conduct our
business. I didn't speak any Japanese and he didn't speak English but it's
incredible what you can do with sign language. I think I did alright that
first time because he gave me a pretty good tip and he came back again the
next night. It was pretty easy really; most of the clients wanted me to
suck them off which usually didn't take long or to fuck me which did take a
bit more getting used to. Some wanted me to fuck them and I even had few
couples which was my favourite; I like giving and receiving.'

She smiled wickedly at this and my trousers needed adjustment again.

`I found that not only the Japanese but Thai men also wanted to come in to
see the blonde kathoey. It got a bit dodgy once or twice but the bar sorted
out most of the bad customers and once all the bar girls chased a guy out
into the street who tried to get too rough with me.'  I really felt Alex
was now in a world of her own. I wondered if she had ever told this story
to anyone else before. I dare not interrupt but another adjustment of my
trousers became necessary.

`This went on for about six months and I was now living full time as a
kathoey. I had left my old life way behind. I had burned all my old clothes
and deliberately dropped out and was now fully committed to the life I had
chosen. I had developed a real reputation as the blonde farang kathoey and
life seemed OK. Then, one day the Mamasan said a farang lawyer had come
looking for me.  How this guy tracked me down I don't know because I
thought I had dropped well below the radar.  But find me he did. I thought
it was something about overstaying my visa. It, however, turned out that an
Auntie of mine had died and as her sole heir I had inherited a fairly large
estate. It wasn't millions but pretty substantial. I took the chance to
leave the bar life behind and set myself up as an escort instead. Same
fucking and sucking but better pay and conditions. I could afford to get
out completely, but I just loved what I was doing, is that a bad thing?'

She paused and seemed to notice me for the first time in a long while.
`Not boring you am I?' she said quite coyly.

`No. No, it's interesting,' I could have kicked myself; interesting? What
idiot says that? An English idiot, that's who. It certainly wasn't boring
that's for sure.

She smiled at something to herself and went on,' by this time I was living
full time as a woman and passable. I had always been quite small and
slight, and had begun to take hormones so my voice and body hair growth was
not a problem. In Bangkok it's easy to get a boob job and they are also
very good at cosmetic surgery to get rid of certain male characteristics. I
could afford the best so I had my boobs done, my Adam's apple scraped and
few other bits and pieces done to enhance my natural charms. I didn't go
the whole hog though, and held onto my cock. I am very fond of that.'

Strangely I was very pleased to hear that. Another adjustment of the
trousers was needed.

`After about another six months I was now happily living full time as a
woman and getting good money from my escort work. I decided to have a break
and rented a villa here on Samui for three months. I have to admit I was
drawn to have a look at the local bar scene here, from a professional point
of view, of course. It was pretty bad, just the usual dive bars you would
find anywhere. I had an idea, why not set something up a lot classier than
what was already here? The idea for Koh Samui Blue was born. I started to
look around and got in touch with Real Estate agents to see what was on
offer.'

Another round of drinks arrived and I was beginning to feel a bit light
headed.

Alex was still talking, `That's when I met Areeya. She was working in her
father's Real Estate agency and we hit it off straightaway. I don't know
why but we just enjoyed each other's company. It went from a purely
business relationship to a personal one very quickly. She knew what I was;
it's hardest to fool other women. Men don't know what to look for and
generally they only look at tits and arses anyway. Present company
excepted, of course.'

I blushed because she had caught me looking straight at her breasts at that
moment.

`She knew what I was and it didn't matter. I was so nervous at first but
she is such a lovely girl that she made things so easy. She is incredibly
clever, funny and dynamite in bed. Between the two of us we have everything
that we need to keep us happy together in bed.'

Another trouser adjustment was necessary. This time Alex noticed and said,
`James, you OK?'

I nodded, `No it's OK, please go on,' and I swear she smirked and sat up
straighter in her chair, giving me another good view of her breasts. She
did that thing women do by running their fingers through their hair. It
gets me every time.

She went on. `We talked about my idea and we quickly came up with a
business plan for the bar and restaurant. In Thailand, non foreigners are
not allowed to buy land on their own so the obvious thing was for us to go
into partnership. It's easy as long as you trust each other and have a good
lawyer. That's assuming there is such a thing as a good lawyer. Anyway, I
had the seed money, together with a bank loan that Areeya's business plan
allowed us to get. We paid off everyone who we needed to, and that's a lot
over here.'

She narrowed her eyes as she said this remembering some bad times, I think.

`So we built the bar first, and quickly expanded to build the restaurant to
go with it. We wanted to keep the bar and restaurant pretty classy which we
have but we did add another bar down the street which is more, shall we
say, in the style of my old career. We can go have a look in there later if
you would like.'

As she said this she looked straight at me over the top of the glass as if
she were daring me.

`Oh, yes, that would be nice, if it's not too much trouble.' Nice? Nice? I
screamed at myself inside my head. Who says `nice' about visiting a ladyboy
bar? She must think I'm a bloody fool.

`That's you up to date with me, James. What about you?  Which twist of fate
brought you here?'

Alex relaxed back into her chair waiting for me to begin.

At this moment Areeya reappeared apologised for interrupting and whispered
something to Alex.

`James, I'm sorry but there's a little issue I need to attend to. I promise
I won't be more than a few minutes.'

 As she stood, I pushed back my chair to stand too.

`Oh, James, that's so very sweet of you. That's what I always remember
about you, you were a perfect gentleman. I'll let you and Areeya get to
know each other'

With that, she leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. I blushed scarlet
and sat down again.

`James, how long will you be staying on Samui?' Areeya's English was almost
perfect, just a hint of an accent making it sound so sexy.

`Only a few days I'm afraid, Areeya, I have to be back in Bangkok by the
end of the week.'

`That's a pity, James, but Bangkok is so close by plane these days. You
could easily fly back anytime.  Alex was so happy to learn you were coming
here. She would love to see you again.'

Wow, I thought, that was unexpected. They must have talked about me
yesterday or today. I never dreamt that old or new Alex would be so happy
to see me.

`Areeya, I must say that it was to shock for me to see Alex as she is
now. She is very different to how I knew her before.'

t was strange how quickly I had slipped into calling Alex she and
her. Maybe not so surprising, given that she looked so damned gorgeous.

`James, yes, I could see that when you walked in, but you did deal with it
very well.'

How so, Areeya?' Given my performance back than I was surprised to hear it.

`Well you could have got angry and been very unpleasant about
everything. Instead you were calm and listened to what Alex had to say.'

I thought `Keep Calm and Carry On' was almost a mantra for me to be honest.

`I was more worried than Alex, James. I thought she should find some way to
prepare you but she said that she always knew that you were a kind and
generous soul as well as a gentleman and would behave like one. I'm so glad
she was right.' Areeya gave my arm a little squeeze to reinforce what she
had said.

Wow and wow again, I thought. Alex thought I was a gentleman.  Who knew? I
thought he had me pegged as an upright square. Maybe they are the same
thing really.

`Areeya, it's an incredible story. What strength of character Alex must
have to have done what she has and to end up so balanced and adjusted. I
admire her for that. She chose to go down a hard road but she seems to have
come through to a really good place. I think she is lucky to have found
you, Areeya, you two seem very happy together. I am so glad for Alex and
for you too.'

`Thank you, James, Alex would be very glad to hear you say that. She is
very fond of the memories she has of you, she hasn't stopped talking about
you since she learnt you were coming to see us.'  Wow and wow and wow
again. Fond memories? Mind you, it did make me sound a bit like an old
family pet.

Areeya continued in a serious tone, `James, Alex means so much to me and
all I ever want is for her to be happy. I think you can help her in ways
that you might not realise. I think you have a great opportunity to help
Alex and I hope you act wisely, James,'

I was puzzled by Areeya's last comment, but I replied, 'Areeya, I promise
you I will do anything to help her that I can.'

At that moment Alex walked back into the room, beaming all over her
face. She came and stood behind me, with her hands resting on my shoulders
and to Areeya she said `All fine Areeya, all fine.' and to me, `A nice new
business venture we are starting here. Looks like we have the go ahead.'

She kept her hands on my shoulders and gave them a little squeeze before
letting go.

From Areeya, `Alex, that's very good news. Shall we celebrate?'

`Good idea, Areeya, can you ask Manee to bring through some proper
Champagne and three glasses for us please.'

Areeya rose gracefully from the couch and went to tell Manee. She was back
in an instant.

Alex came and sat next to me on the couch. I could smell her perfume and
felt her leg briefly touch mine. She lightly brushed my arm and said,
`James, you were going to tell us about yourself and how you came to be
here in Samui.'

`Not that much to tell, Alex. After we lost touch, I graduated, and got a
job with a computer Software Company in Cambridge, I got married and life
kind of stalled after that.'

     I told them about walking in on my wife and her girlfriend and they
both laughed. For the first time since it had happened I saw that it was
kind of funny after all. They commiserated about the divorce but were
impressed I think by my decision to change my life by going to Bangkok.
The champagne had arrived by this time and we toasted the success of my new
start and their new business venture.

They asked me what I thought of Bangkok and had I done any sightseeing.

`Yes, I've done all the tourist stuff. It's a beautiful city; I have really
enjoyed my time there.'

Alex grinned and asked. `How about the night life, James? Have you taken
any of that in?'

I believe I blushed a little and said, `Well, yes, it's a kind of rite of
passage isn't it for newcomers to Bangkok.'

`Did you enjoy it?'

`I definitely blushed this time, `Erm, yes, well, some of it, I mean...'

`And did you go to the bars in Nana Plaza?' She bloody winked as she said
it. She was enjoying this, teasing me.

Areeya laughed and came to my rescue, `Alex, I think you are embarrassing
our guest. You should let him off the hook, is that what you say?'

Thanks Areeya, I thought.

Alex laughed too. `Yes, yes, you're right Areeya; I remember James always
did blush very prettily.  By the way, James, how did you know to find me
here?'

I told her that I had got the email address from an old mutual friend who
had discovered that I was going to Samui for a holiday.

`That was a stroke of luck, then. Only a few people know I'm out here.'

`First of all, Alex, can I ask you a question?' there was something I
wanted to know.

`Sure, James, fire away.'

`Why did you agree to meet me? I mean you could easily have just said you
were too busy to see me. Unless you just wanted to see me get the shock of
my life.'

 `Yes, apologies again for the shock, I'm not sure there was anything I
could have done to mitigate the effect though. It's a fair question. Why,
indeed did I agree to meet?' she paused, thinking about her answer. `When I
came out to Thailand I never intended to stay, always planned to go back
and do something in the UK. But when my life over here changed, I dropped
below the radar and fully intended to disappear for good. However, as time
went on I felt more and more that I was missing some parts of my old
life. I eventually gave my email address to a couple of people and told
them to use it discretely. They don't know about me, by the way, they just
know Alex is here in Samui. That's how you got the address. I guess he felt
you fell under the term discrete. When you made contact I had to think hard
about whether I wanted to actually meet someone from the past. You can
imagine that it was a difficult decision to make and one I wouldn't do for
anyone. As it was you I decided to make the step and reconnect with someone
I knew I could trust. So, I took my courage in both hands and said
yes. Does that help?'

`Sort of,' I replied but what do you mean `as it was me'?'

 She came close and put a finger to my lips to silence me, `No more
questions for a bit, James, are you hungry?

     I realised I was absolutely starving. I hadn't eaten since breakfast
and lunch had been a couple of beers and some nuts. It was now 11pm and I
realised we had been talking for four hours already. I had had four or five
large scotches and now the champagne on an empty stomach and I was getting
pretty light headed.

Alex clapped her hands together excitedly, `James, I have an idea. Areeya
and I have to visit our bar down the street. It's not far.'

`And you want me to stay here, until you come back?'

She lightly punched my arm, `No, don't be bloody silly, we want you to come
with us. We'll have a few drinks and then come back for some food. The
kitchen will still be open. There'll be fewer people around so we can be
more comfortable. Please say yes, please say yes.'

How could anyone refuse such an invitation? I said yes and she squealed
with joy, grabbing my arm and pulling me out the door.

     As we reached the main bar, Areeya caught us up and put her arm
through mine on the other side; I walked the entire length of the bar with
a drop dead gorgeous woman on either arm. The envious glares I got from the
bar customers were a wonder to behold. For the first time in my life I felt
ten feet tall.

We walked down the strip in Lamai for a few hundred yards until we came to
the bar, unbelievably it was called Cockatoo 2.

`Where did you get the name from?' I asked Areeya.

`Oh, it's because our sister bar in Bangkok is called Cockatoo. We thought
it was quite funny. Do you know it in Bangkok?' I swear she was reading my
mind.

`No, no, is that in Nana Plaza? Do you own that one too?'

She looked a bit oddly at me. `No, it's just an arrangement we have with
them. We try to share overheads and things.' A little warning bell went off
somewhere in the back of my mind.  Alex was bouncing up and down with
excitement.

`Come on you two, stop dragging your heels, let's get in,' she was bubbling
over with energy. She grabbed both of us and almost dragged us into the
bar.

     It was a fairly typical Thai bar; open to the front, a bar along one
side, TVs all over the place and three pool tables towards the back. Music
blared out from the sound system, which for a Thai bar appeared to be good
quality. It was getting pretty busy now with two of the pool tables in use
and mostly guys and a few couples drinking at the bar or the tables. There
were a few of the usual bar games of Connect 4 going on. Connect 4 is
essentially a child's game but is used in Thai bars as an icebreaker game
or to bet on, normally for drinks. If you think you can beat a Thai bar
girl at the game, think again. If it was an Olympic sport, Thai bar girls
would win every medal.  There was even a cockatoo in a cage in the corner
of the bar. I felt sorry for the bird in the middle of all this noise and
light but he didn't seem to mind too much.

     Areeya stopped to talk to the Mamasan, presumably to check on
business. Alex was busy talking to a couple of the girls and they didn't
seem to regard her as a boss figure. Maybe because she could speak Thai
fluently and had been one of them, they seemed to be on good terms. I was
handed a beer by one of the girls and she pointed to Alex and said, `On
house, Miss Alex.' Ok, good start.  It seemed to be a fairly typical crowd;
mostly groups of young tourists, a few dissolute looking ex pats nursing a
cold beer and looking typically grumpy together with one or two couples
along for the Thai bar experience. The bar girls were a mixed bunch, mostly
kathoeys but with some genuine girls. I guessed there would be a few short
time rooms out the back. The girls didn't look too busy and Areeya shooed a
few of the prettier ones out front to drum up business.

Alex came bouncing across to me, grabbed my arm and asked, `Do you play
pool?'

 `I'm alright, I think, I've played a bit,' I hoped modesty was the right
approach.

I secretly fancied myself a bit as a player, having conveniently forgotten
getting my arse handed to me by the bar girl in Bangkok last time. I hoped
Alex wouldn't be as good as her.

She dragged me over to the unused table. She grabbed a couple of cues and
racked the balls in a suspiciously professional manner.

`You break first,' she said, handing me a cue. I rolled the cue on the
table and it seemed unusually straight for a bar cue. I took a swig from
the beer bottle and settled down to break.  Of course, Alex had to make it
difficult by standing in my eye line and pulling faces. I managed to stop
laughing long enough to make a good break and fluked a colour in the
pocket. I managed to knock in another colour and then had trouble deciding
what shot to play next. Areeya came over and gave me some advice on which
ball to go for. Alex was shouting at me to get on with it and to Areeya to
stop helping me as that was cheating. In spite of this I managed to pull
off a third colour with a blinder of a shot. Encouraged by this, and the
desire to show off to Alex I over reached myself on the next one, clipped
the lip of the pocket and the ball just hung there.

     Alex reacted with glee and started to chalk her cue. Now, my Dad
always told me that a bad player chalks their cue after a shot and a good
one before he plays a shot. Well I could see I was in trouble with Alex
pretty much from the start. It was clear from the way she handled the cue
that she was good. She dropped the first ball with panache and then managed
to put away the next 4 with embarrassing ease.  Mind you it was nice to
watch as she had to hitch up her skirt to play the shots and it showed off
what a lovely figure she had as the material stretched tight across her
bum. I got a chance when she missed the sixth but I flunked out my shot and
she hit great shots to pot her next two balls. That just left the 8 ball
and she just stroked that in like a professional.  It seems you can take
the girl out of the bar but you can't take the bar out of the girl.

I just stood and clapped. She curtseyed and said, `Thank you kind sir.'

     She wanted another game but she was way out of my league and I didn't
fancy another humiliation right now. I saw Areeya pick up the cue and she
and Alex had a cracking game. Areeya was good but Alex was that bit
better. They played three quick games with Areeya taking one and Alex the
other two. My consolation was to sit and drink beer and watch my two new
friends as they bent over the table to take shots. I was enjoying that
sight immensely whilst pretending not to look.

It was just at the end of the third game that I felt someone's hands over
my eyes and from behind I heard a voice say, `James, James, it me, Pao,'

Hell, it couldn't be, could it? Pao from the Bangkok Cockatoo?

     I pulled the hands away and the first thing I saw was Alex, leaning
over the table frozen in mid shot with her mouth open in surprise. Pao was
oblivious to this and before I could stop her she had scooted round and
jumped onto my lap with her arms around my neck.

`James, you come see Pao in Samui.'

I could see Alex over Pao's shoulder as she walked around the table to
where I was with Pao sitting happily on my lap.

`Er, James,' Alex was still looking startled, `is there anything you want
to tell us?' She stopped in front of Pao and me, holding the cue as if she
wanted to break it over someone's head. She just wasn't sure which one of
us to hit.

     Pao suddenly noticed that there was something wrong and she turned
around, saw Alex and immediately jumped off my lap. Alex said something
fast in Thai, Pao bowed her head and said something back equally as
fast. Alex motioned with her head for Pao to move away and she began to
back away. Areeya grabbed her before she could disappear completely.

`Well, James, it's very interesting that you and Pao know each other so
well, there must be some simple explanation, surely?' There was the trace
of a grin playing about her lips now.  I was rooted to the spot. Words
began to jangle around in my head and I just managed to say some of them.

`Er, well, Alex, you see, it's not like, I mean, it was all Robbie's fault,
I mean not his fault really, I was just trying to...' I realised I was
babbling so thought the best thing to do at this time was just to shut up.

`James, first of all, calm down and then who the hell is Robbie?' she stood
there cradling the pool cue, legs slightly apart so the silk dress
stretched tight across her body, the bar lights highlighting her golden
hair and her head tilted to one side with a questioning look on her
face. Quite bizarrely in the circumstances, it flashed into my mind that
she looked so damn sexy.

I took a deep breath and took a swig from the beer, Areeya had brought Pao
back and they stood to one side of Alex as she looked down at me.

`You see, it was like this. I met Pao in the Cockatoo in Bangkok one
night. Robbie's a friend of mine from home wanted to see some Ladyboys and
we ended up in the Cockatoo. I met her in the bar and we had a drink and
she was friendly and then I went home, all very above board, so to speak, I
didn't think she would remember me...' I tailed off, hoping I had made
sense.

`James, how friendly, exactly?' Alex fired off a question to Pao who nodded
her head and replied.

`Well nothing happened really, you know what's like in one of those clubs,
it was harmless, honestly...' Even I knew that sounded pathetic.

`Oh, yes James, I do know what it's like in those clubs, remember?' Alex
was grinning broadly now, enjoying my discomfort. Areeya was trying to
conceal her laughter and failing badly. Pao was still looking from me to
Alex and Areeya trying to decide if she was in trouble, and if so, why.

`Look it wasn't Pao's fault, she was very sweet and nice and I didn't know
she would be here.'

Alex said something to Areeya who let go of Pao.

`We share staff with Bangkok sometimes when we need to,' Areeya said, now
openly smiling widely.

`James, Pao confirms your story, that there were two of you, and you were a
gentleman, she says.  Your friend was the one who stayed behind after you
left. He seems to have enjoyed himself a lot.'

I took another swig of beer and tried to look innocent.