Rivals
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Samuel Dunleavy and Nicholas Gubbins were friends and rivals. They had been since they were small boys. I had been a long time.

The truth is that it was this rivalry that had made them successful. What they lacked in basic intelligence they made up for with tenacity, and that was driven by they desire to outdo one another.

They had both had moderate success through the education system and early employment, but as soon as they could they both set about building their own businesses to mark their success. Mercifully they did not choose businesses in the same area, as there would undoubtedly have been under-cutting that might have destroyed them both. No, instead Sam obtained distributorship of a cell phone brand and Nic set up roasting his own coffee beans. Both businesses were successful as each of them never tired of telling the other.

In love too, they competed. Both set their sights on the best looking girl at school. Sam won the hand of Holly Manderley and Nic married Suzy Burns. Each maintained that he had scored the best looking and most dutiful wife. But who can decide such a thing? Call that a tie.

It was outside of work that they wives despaired of the constant contests in sport or fitness targets, or the gross spending to show off to the other the best of this, or the best of that. Worse for both these women was that the rivalry meant less time with their husbands, and less money in the bank to spend on them, or their happiness.

One day, when the four of them were together, the opportunity arose for a contest in which the ladies might also participate, which was largely based at home, and need not have been too expensive.

What happened was that during a regular Sunday barbeque, somehow the subject of Caitlyn Jenner came up. Nic remarked that after years as a man it would be very difficult to pass as a woman, implying that Caitlyn was failing.

“I think it would be easy,” Sam shot back. “It is a question of commitment. I wonder if she is fully committed or still has an attachment to her male past.”

Suzy shocked Holly by prodding him: “I don’t think you could do it. I think that with my help, Nic could definitely pass.”

“Whoa there, Suze,” whispered Holly. “What are you doing? You know how these boys are.”

“Did you hear them talking about Italian cars,” whispered Suzy in reply. “That could bankrupt both of our households. And we can put an end to this golf thing that sees them out of the house every daylight hour to get the best handicap. They would be competing in something which keeps them at home, and which we have some say in.”

It was, of course, opportunistic, but clever. They both looked over at the men who just shrugged. It was hardly disapproval.

“You would make on seriously ugly chick,” said Sam to his friend.

“Ugly is not the point,” said Nic. “We are talking passing as a woman. I could do better than Caitlyn Jenner. That’s the point.”

“Well neither of you are as tall as her,” said Holly. “That’s a start.”

“It would be a long term deal,” said Sam.

Nic responded: “Well, we are both self-employed. We have loving and supportive wives. No kids. Friends who know that we take a challenge seriously. I’m up for it if you are?”

“So how will it end?” asked Holly.

“Give it a year,” Nic proposed. “If neither of us pass in a year, it’s over.”

Sam stood up and put his hand on his hip in a poor mimicry of a drag queen pose. “Get ready to lose!” he squeaked in a falsetto.

It struck Suzy that neither of them had a chance. But it could be very funny watching them try.

***

“You can’t just shave your face,” said Suzy. “We need some serious hair removal and skin conditioning there.”

Nic looked again in the mirror. He had shaved off every hair on his body, from nose to toe, and he had applied the skin creams that she had directed.

She continued: “I think we can extend to a face peel that will destroy hair follicles and allow for a new layer of virgin skin. It will be drastic. You will look like a burn victim for a few weeks, but if you are going to turn up at the roastery in a dress next month, turning up looking like the mummy next week will be only a small shock.”

“I am starting to wonder what is absolutely necessary,” said Nic.

“Anytime you want to say enough of this crap, I am all for that,” said Suzy. “But if you want to do this right, then you have to put in the work. Isn’t that what you do?”

“Sure,” said Nic. “I’ll quit when Sam does. So tell me what else we need to do after I go in for this face peeling thing.”

“Well, we need to do your hair. Thankfully both you and Sam have no baldness to worry about. Until it grows there is enough to get extensions. I think that would be better than a wig. That is such a giveaway. Good skin and good hair are the things to work on. Even if you are not wearing any make up at all, good skin and good hair will mark you as a woman. And we need to work on your voice, and your movement.”

“Like how to walk in heels?”

“Like how to walk,” she responded. “You won’t be walking in heels if it brings attention to your height. And you need to understand that a woman uses her arms and her hands differently. You need to realise that this cannot be an act that you can switch on and switch off. If you want to do this right you need to be a woman from the skin up, 24 hours, 7 days. You wear lingerie, you sleep in a nightie, you must pee sitting down. You live it.”

“Honey, this is important to me. So I love you for backing me up. We are going to win this.”

***

“I don’t think that I could do that,” said Sam, looking at the bandages on Nic’s face. “I am counting on estrogen to feminize my skin.”

You are going on hormones?” quizzed Nic.

“Two weeks now,” said Sam. “Holly is not happy. It has already knocked our sex life over. But I have to say having a limp dick certainly makes tucking it much easier. No embarrassing or painful hard-ons to contend with.”

“How did you get them? The hormones?”

“I’ll introduce you to my endocrinologist,” said Sam. “He specialises in helping transgenders. You just have to follow the script and he will give you the prescription. I can tell you what to say. ‘I feel trapped in a man’s body’; ‘I’ve felt this way all my life’; ’When I was eight I went to sleep wishing I could wake up a girl.’ He is really nice. You can compare yourself against some of his patients too. We are in the early stages but doing well, I think.”

“I still haven’t worn a dress yet,” said Nic. “After the bandages come off I am going to have my hair done, but I still need to do some weeks of skin conditioning before I can wear makeup like you.”

“I’m just experimenting,” said Sam. He had on a very feminine sundress, but it still looked decidedly unnatural. “I haven’t worn a dress outside yet.” He paused, then asked: “So you are not wearing a wig? You are going to use your own hair?”

“Suzy says it’s essential,” said Nic. “Good hair and good skin.”

“So are we going to that hairdresser that both our wives use?” asked Sam. He felt that just maybe, Nic had a head start on him, and there was catching up to be done.

***

Sam put the office phone down with a huge smile on his face. “He said ‘thank you for your help Miss’. That’s what he said.” Her practised high register still ringing musically.

“Well congratulations Miss Samantha,” said Kathy, his sales assistant, reflecting back the obvious joy and satisfaction.

“You can finish up now if you like,” said Sam. “It’s a bit slow today. Go on. Head home.”

Kathy was pleased to have the half hour off, but even more pleased that her boss seemed to have been mellowed out by his apparent change of life. Only a month ago she would have rated him the worst person that she ever worked for. Now “she” was the best.

As she packed up her bag she looked over to see the new lady boss primping herself in one of the display windows. Sam’s dark hair was now coloured chocolate brown and was worn up today, in a careful but relaxed style. Her face was made up with restraint and her dress was modern and business-like. To Kathy’s surprise she really did make a very attractive woman, and now she sounded like one too.

She was also a little surprise that all of the staff had been so accepting of what had happened. No explanation had been provided. One day a month or so ago, he (or she) just turned up in a dress. She made no announcement. She just got on with things the way she always did.

There were regular customers who did not even notice. The only people that Sam needed to talk to were the suppliers. All that Kathy knew was that they had been told something that must have satisfied them. She thought: ‘This is the new world that we live in. Tolerant of transgendered people.’ Now that she knew her boss a little better, and knew him to be a better person, she was proud that Sam had come out and was expressing her true gender. She felt she needed to say something:

“I’m off now Sammy,” she said. “But before I go I would just like to say, that I think you are the bravest human being I know and I am so proud of you. I think you make a beautiful woman and I am sure that you will be happy.”

“Well thank you, Sweetie,” said Sam. And after Kathy walked out the door Sam felt so happy she burst into tears.

***

“Is it true?” asked Suzy. “Is Sam going in for breast implants?”

“It is true,” said Holly. “And you know that means that Nic will want a pair too?”

“This is getting way out of hand.” Suzy dropped down onto the chair beside her. “What are we going to do?”

“I have had enough of this,” said Holly. “We have always laughed about this stuff before but this time they have gone too far. I am telling Sam that if he goes through with this, I am through with him.”

***

“You can talk to the boss,” said Jose. “That’s her over there. Nicky.”

Douglas walked across the floor. The air was heavy with the sweet smell of freshly roasted coffee.

His first glimpse was the mass of blonde held up with a lime green polka dotted bandana. The dungarees were another shade of green. And as he drew nearer she turned to face her. The third shade of green was her eyes. Big and wide. Quite the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. She was wearing no makeup, except perhaps for a little mascara on what appeared to be naturally long eyelashes. He hardly noticed the rather masculine jaw.

“Can I help you with something?” Her voice was husky but entirely right. He could not help but notice that she appeared to be wearing nothing under the dungarees. Clearly visible were two fabulously round breasts, apparently unsupported and projecting invitingly. His penis stirred. What man’s wouldn’t?

“Are you the proprietor?” he asked, scarcely believing that he would have the luck to engage with this girl further.

“Yes,” she said. Her smile seemed to him to brighten the room. “Nicola Gubbins. Call me Nicky.” Her handshake was firm but relaxed. He could tell that she worked hard, but enjoyed regular manicures. She added: “Please excuse my appearance”. She pushed away a stray curl. He was further excited by that.

“My name is Ed Vargas,” he said. “I own Chingo Coffee. I love your beans. I was wondering if you might consider selling your business?”

“A girl should consider any proposition,” she said playfully, her head tilted to one side. “Before turning it down flat.” She was smiling at him. He wondered if his growing erection was visible. Surely it had to be. His pants could split at any moment.

“Perhaps I could take you to dinner?” he said. “Tonight if you are free?”

***

They took their drinks over to a both where they could talk with privacy. They both had glasses pf chardonnay. It was not something they even knew existed last year, but now it was their drink of choice, although Nicky might favour Pinot Grigio a little more.

“You will never guess want happened to me yesterday,” said Nic excitedly.

“Go on then,” said Sam. “And after that I have some news for you.”

“Well, Edward Vargas of Chingo Coffee offered to buy my business! And if I sell, he will hire me to head his quality control section!”

“So what are you going to do?” asked Sam. “Do you want to sell? Do you want to work for him?

“That’s not the best of it,” said Nic. “I swear he had a hard one for me all night. Even before. I saw it at the roastery. I tell you, I am turning this guy on.”

Sam sipped the wine (he had not drunk beer for months), then said: “Well if you are telling me this to show me that you have won this game, I’m sorry to tell you that I have been propositioned too. Not my business – just me. This morning the manager from the Bank next to my store propositioned me!”

“A bank manager? Small potatoes girlfriend. Chingo Coffee is huge. The biggest independent in the state. This guy Ed is rich. But you know, the best thing about yesterday was feeling the power of womanhood. I tell you, this guy is mine. It’s exhilarating. I love it.”

Sam pulled out a compact and checked her face in it. She did look really good tonight. There was a satisfied snap as she closed it.

***

Sam and Nic were lying in beds alongside one another. They both looked tired and dishevelled. They looked up when Holly and Suzy entered the room.

“I am not sure why you are in bed like this,” said Holly. “I hope that this is all over now and you boys can come home.”

“It is all over,” croaked Nic. “We can come home. But we are not boys anymore.”

“You must be joking,” said Suzy. “If it is a joke, it’s a bad one. You told me you would never go through with it. You said it was just a game of chicken. How could you let this happen?” She was in tears.

“Sam, tell me this isn’t true,” screamed Holly.

“I didn’t mean it to happen,” wept Sam. “Neither of us meant it to happen. We just pushed it a little too far. I’m sorry, Honey.”

“Sorry,” she shrieked. “It’s irreversible you idiot. They will have cut off your dick and balls!”

“You were supposed to pass as a woman, not become one,” said Suzy to her Nic.

“We just got caught up in it,” said Nic. “After the hormones and the breast implants our doctor started talking to us both about the next step. We just kept saying yes. We never thought it would get this far. Did we buddy?”

“I thought you were going to pull out,” said Sam. “The next thing I knew the general anaesthetic was taking effect. Even then I thought … I don’t know what I thought.”

“It’s the hormones,” complained Nic. “We haven’t been thinking straight for months.”

“We, Holly and I, we live with those hormones every day,” said Suzy. “And they don’t make us stupid.”

“That is the last straw,” said Holly. “Even if you were still a man, I couldn’t stay with you. You are too crazy. Both of you. We can’t have children. We will never be a family. It’s over between us.”

The wives held one another as they cried. Nic looked at Sam.

“Buddy,” he said. “I don’t know about you, but my groin hurts like hell.”

***

When Sam and Nic got out of hospital they moved into Sam’s house. They had arranged for their wives to stay at Nic’s house while things were sorted out.

They had met with the surgeon soon after the operations to discuss reversal, but had been advised to delay decisions until after a recovery period. They had been surprised to learn that immediate regret was not uncommon in SRS patients. They were still being treated as genuine transwomen. It would be too hard to advance any other explanation for their predicament.

But after the pain had gone away, and the plumbing was working, the urgency seemed to be reduced. And then there was the inevitable contest as to who could insert the biggest dilator first.

Sam’s house had two bedrooms but a single bathroom, and within a few weeks Nic and Sam found themselves in it together, Nic sitting down to pee and Sam getting out of the shower.

“You know Nicky,” said Sam. “I’ve always liked a woman’s body better than a man’s”. He was naked in front of the mirror, turning to admire his trim but pronounced bottom and running his hands under his fulsome breasts. “I like the way this little muff fits so snuggly in my panties, and my tits fill the cups of my bra.”

“You look good, Girl,” said Nic. “But I look better.”

“Fuck you bitch,” laughed Sam. “And on that subject, would you like me to dilate you after your shower?”

“Only if I can dilate you back,” Nic said coyly. They laughed. They would do it soon. It was no longer a chore – it was a pleasure. They had both simultaneously achieved their target and had fully functioning vaginas.

“Can you put some curlers in my hair while it’s still wet?” asked Sam. “I have a meeting with Pat (the bank manager) today and I want to look good. He flirts with me like crazy. And I like it. He is sure to buy me lunch.”

“Now you look after your brand new virginity,” Nic teased. “While I wait for Mr Right.”

“Seriously though, Nic,” said Sam, as he got the curlers ready. “I would be keen to run this unit at least once before we hand it back. If you know what I mean.”

“That sounds like a challenge,” said Nic, wiping himself with toilet paper as he had been taught. “Now sit down while I have a go with those curlers.”

***

“I was first,” Sam insisted. “He took me straight back to his apartment after dinner and we tore each other’s clothes off. Honestly he was inside me humping away before 11:00 pm.”

“Well I wasn’t looking at the time. We were far too caught up in things to think about anything but one another. Maybe 11:00 or may be later. If neither of us can confirm, then it may be a draw.”

“Damn you,” smiled Sam. And then after a pause he asked: “So how was it, for you.”

“Omigod,” said Nic. “I thought you would never ask. It was fantastic. I never thought it would be as good as that. Just lie back while he does all the work. Then waves of orgasm. Then the hot semen inside me. Wow.”

“You can do some work if you like” said Sam. “I was working on closing on him. I can’t believe that I have such feeling and control down there. Honestly, I can squeeze him. I can watch him go wild. It was the best sex I have ever had.”

“Why would we go back?” asked Nic. “The reversal they are offering will not allow us to have proper sex anyway. We have burnt that bridge. And I am not sure that I want to go back anyway. Not after last night.

“Me neither,” agreed Sam.

After a pause Nic said: “So we had better tell the girls.”

“I guess so,” said Sam. He raised his hand and they slapped a high five.

***

Before they got up from the table they compared left hands.

“I think I have outdone you here,” said Nic, admiring the sparkle of both engagement rings.

“You know old friend,” said Sam wistfully. “For once I think I am going to concede that. Edward is the richest of the two, granted, and he is handsome an athletic. My Pat is just a regular guy I guess, but he loves me silly.”

“My Ed loves me too,” said Nic. “So, I’ll take the win.”

As their future husbands returned to them having squared the dinner bill, Sam saw the love in her man’s eyes. She suddenly realized , perhaps for the first time in both their lives, and in all the rivalries that she had enjoyed with Sam over the years, that concession can sometimes feel like victory.

The End

© Maryanne Peters 2018