Sam had been walking about town aimlessly. He had just had a massive argument with family about his ‘life choices’, which had ended up with him storming out as usual. He was really glad he didn’t have to live with them anymore…

He started looking over some of the items outside a charity shop, just for something to do.

“Looking for anything in particular, love?”, a voice asked.

A gorgeous, tall brunette was eyeing him up, smoking a cigarette. What the hell…

Sam, feeling cheeky, said, “I can only see one thing here I really want, and that’s you…!”

There was an awkward silence. Then, to his absolute amazement, the brunette walked over and wrapped her arm around his waist.

“That’s the nicest offer I’ve had for ages”, she said. “Open and honest. Plain straightforward lust. I can cope with that…!”

“Only thing I’m going to have to do first is cure you of that disgusting habit”, said Sam, taking the cigarette from the woman’s hand.

“I can give them up anytime”, the woman said. “If I’ve got a reason. My name’s Stephanie, by the way.”

“Sam”, said Sam. The two then circled each other, inspecting.

“Can I buy you a coffee?”, Sam asked.

“Yeah, I could murder one”, was the reply. “I’m almost asleep on my feet, here. It’s so quiet. Tell you what, give me a hand getting this stuff in, I’ll close a little early and we can go somewhere.”

Sam and Stephanie spent the next few minutes packing up the shop. Nobody else walked in so, a few minutes later, Stephanie locked up, and the pair walked down the road to the café. As they walked in, Stephanie’s stomach rumbled.

“Sounds like you want more than just coffee”, Sam said. “Go on. Order anything. I don’t mind.”

Stephanie couldn’t believe how Sam was treating her. People just weren’t like that to her. A single tear rolled down her cheek…

Sam was instantly there, holding her. The floodgates just opened…

Sam steered her to a table, mouthing ‘coffee’ to the woman behind the counter.

Meg knew that Sam only drank tea, as he was a regular, so she knew the coffee was for Stephanie. She quickly came over with the drinks, and Sam pushed the coffee gently into Stephanie’s shaking hands.

“Why are you being so kind to me…?”, Stephanie asked, her voice quivering.

“Isn’t anyone allowed to care about you?”, Sam asked.

“I’ve been so afraid”, she said, “ever since… I transitioned. I was always the lanky kid at school, the one that got the micky taken out of him. Then I realised it was because I was the wrong sex…”

Stephanie swallowed some coffee, then continued.

“I started pinching some of mum’s medication. She was a bit sickly, after giving birth to my sister, and was on some ‘female boosting’ medication to help her. I just took a small amount every now and again; she never ran out, just refilled her prescription early sometimes. I then did some research on the internet and found some breast enhancing cream as well as a good depilatory. Mum didn’t notice, at least not to start with…”

She stopped, shaking. Sam just reached over and held her hand. Stephanie just quivered, a little, then seemed to draw strength from Sam and continued.

“It all came to a head, however, when my breasts couldn’t be covered up anymore. I’d also let my hair grow somewhat. Problem was, I looked more like a woman than she did…”

Tears filled her eyes again.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to”, I said. “We can just be friends, out for a drink.”

“Don’t you dare friendzone me before we’ve even got to know each other!”, she said, sternly but playfully.

“Anyway, she pulled me over and ripped my shirt open. She looked at my breasts. She then gave me a choice; fix ‘this’ or get out. I got out. I stayed at a women’s hostel; even though they knew what I was, they welcomed me with open arms and gave me a room of my own.”

“I already had a job; they didn’t care if I was Stephen or Stephanie, I did a good job for them, and they weren’t about to lose me. They were also very aware that my changes were giving me a rough ride, as the hormones really started to hit, so they put me on sick leave. And here we are. I’m only working in the charity shop to help me meet people, and I’ve certainly done that…!”

Before either of them knew what was happening, Sam leaned over and kissed Stephanie. Surprised but delighted, she returned it.

“You know all that about me, and you still fancy me?”, she said.

“You’re just a beautiful person”, said Sam.

Stephanie started crying again but, this time, the tears were joyful.

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me!”, she said.

From then on, Stephanie and Sam were an item.

He dropped in on her at the shop every time she was there, bringing her chocolates, flowers, all sorts. The other volunteers started taking the mick out of her, but in a good-natured way, ribbing her.

She wondered what they would all think if they knew she and Sam were now living together at his flat. In a way, she didn’t care anymore. God, that was a wonderful feeling! Being able to be what she wanted to be, without having to tiptoe around others! As Sam had said, she was a ‘beautiful person’…!