Later, at the Thomaston guest house...

"What a day," Gio breathed as he and Alyssa sat down on the sofa. It had been indeed a long day for both of them- encountering Mariah and her female family members, moving into the cottage-styled guesthouse that was a stone's throw away from the main Thomaston home, and their parents letting the Purdue family in on the secret. And after spending the rest of the afternoon unpacking and settling in, both he and Alyssa were finally getting used to the idea of their new lives. "I thought that it would never end."

"Me neither," Alyssa agreed, lazily shaking her head as her ponytail wagged. "And I'm actually surprised that Montez didn't go off on us or began asking a million questions. This is new to him, and he's known to ramble and unleash his inner reporter."

"He's still loyal at the end of the day, even when it comes down to something that's not going to be taken lightly."

"True."

There was a brief pause. Then, "Alyssa, do you think that you would've made it if you refused?"

Alyssa turned to Gio, a confused look in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Gio sighed heavily. "I know that Mariah's the possessive type of woman who doesn't take 'no' for an answer," he began. "And her family, especially her mother and sisters, are known to be vindictive in more ways than one. If you can turn back the clock and opted to stay with Mariah, would you have made it with her and took a chance at being disowned?"

Alyssa thought for a moment. "Not really," she admitted. "Even when I was Andrew, I knew that I'd be tired of being bullied to stay with someone who can be too much for any man. I mean, she's someone who demands all the guys her undivided attention and thinks that any woman could be her competition. Even when I was with my female cousins or nieces, Alyssa thought that they were too close for me and demanded that I spend time with her and her family.

"And as for me sticking it out and being ousted from the family if I stayed with her? I might've contemplated suicide before the year was up. I'd be working for a family firm owned by a man who never approved of me and be dealing with a monster-in-law of a woman who's likely twice as worse as her daughters," Alyssa went on. "I could give Mariah all that I have and so much more, but it'd never be enough for her. But what about you and Tyler, Gio? Would you have gone through with your relationship with him if you refused?"

"I don't know," Gio admitted. "We would've lasted for a month or two before he'd eventually leave me for someone else, but who can really say? Tyler knew that my parents never liked him and he wasn't seen as a proper guy for me even when I was a female. In a way, I'm kind of glad that we ended things before we took the next step."

"Wait, you guys never got intimate with each other?" Alyssa asked.

Gio shook his head. "We never had sex at all. I mean, I offered him to blow him at one point, but he said that he wanted our first time to be special. To be honest, I kind of thought he was either crazy or too old-fashioned, even for a fitness model and instructor of his caliber. All the same, he was a gentleman to me and treated me proper."

Alyssa hummed. "So what about you and me? Now that we've not only swapped genders for our late relatives and are soon to marry by next year, we need to establish something more concrete."

"Well, we known each other for most of our lives and our friends knew that we've been friends for the longest," Gio stated, pausing to put on some jazz music on the stereo. "And you know that our families all but hinted that we'd make the perfect couple. But we do need to start things slow, maybe go on group dates with our friends and parents. Maybe solo dates at some time. Not to mention start being part of therapy sessions and all. More importantly, we need to be the perfect couple when the engagement party that our parents are throwing arrives."

Alyssa nodded. "I can get with that," she said. "How can we start?"

Gio inhaled deeply. "I guess we can start...with our first kiss." With that, he lowered his mouth and gave her a soft and gentle kiss on the lips, slow and hesitant that soon became more sensual. Alyssa returned the kiss, her tongue dancing with his as their essences blended in perfect harmonic wonder. All too soon, however, it was over and both of them backed away from each other with winsome smiles.

"Wow," Alyssa breathed. "T-that was...um, amazing, Gio."

Gio grinned widely. "It was, wasn't it?"

"You're not planning to take advantage of me, are you? I mean, I still have the...well, male genitalia and-"

"Alyssa, I intend to be as much of a gentleman to you as long as possible. I give you my word. But at some point, our parents will expect us to have sex, even with our impending surgeries."

Alyssa frowned. "Oh, yeah," she said. "I'm going to have to say goodbye to the small stubs that remind me that I'm still partly male. I'm still a bit upset that you're now fully endowed with your manhood."

"Wouldn't bet on that since I kind of have my female reproductive parts," Gio admitted.

"Damn. Well, at least we can say that we can practice celibacy for a good while. But aren't you nervous? Everything is changing for you and I in so many ways, all to inherit what Evangeline and Theodore left for us. We also have Mariah to deal with as well as our parents. And I'm still certain that said parents are only in this for the money. I'm freaking out, Gio. Aren't you scared?

Gio inhaled sharply. "More than you know, Aly. More than you know. But we can't turn back the tide. We promised each other and our families that we'd be in this for the long haul. And our friends, the Purdues, our bosses, and even Tyler are now involved.  It's either all-in or not at all."

He pulled in his fiancee for a big hug. "We can get through this together, Alyssa. By hook or by crook, we will weather this storm."

"Let's hope so, Giovanni. Let's hope so. I'm so scared right now."

"Me, too. Me too."

And the two of them sat in the living room, taking in the sounds of jazz music as they embraced each other.

Well, folks, Gio and Alyssa finally established their first kiss as an engaged couple, but they're scared of what's to come. And unfortunately, they'll have to endure not only their transformative journey but also deal with the Stelley women, craziness, and even mental toughness. All I can say is that they have a long way to go before the wedding and honeymoon!

Anyway, the next chapter features an ominous feeling as someone's watching our transgender couple. And from there, we go through time skips and get ready for a lot of drama! Don't miss it!

Media "Right Here (Departed)" by Brandy.

Vote.
Comment.
Share.
Follow.
Add.
FAN!