Page 74 of Pretty ’n Peak

“Like Jamie,” he confirmed.

“Yep, though I think he’s a bit more fluid beyond that.”

“How do people know?”

“I’m sure it depends on the person. Some know when they’re very young and don’t deviate from it. For others, it’s probably a bit of self-exploration and a bit of experimentation. Want to go see if Jamie or Sebastian are around?”

He found that he really did. “Can we?”

Austin chuckled and added a little speed to his step. “Of course.”

By the time they got back, the dining room was bustling. There was only one breakfast time for the smaller crowd, and Austin poked his head into the kitchen before leading Mateo to one of the wide tables.

Just as their food came out, Jamie plopped down in front of them.

Mateo had kind of expected this conversation to be in private, but Jamie just launched in with his bubbly enthusiasm. It was a mix of make-up and shopping tips, cute and cringy anecdotes, and gender 101.

It was so much information that it left his head spinning, but he lapped it up like water in a desert.

Jamie roped in a few others at the next table—a burly Daddy who gave everyone a little peek of the black lacy panties he wore under his jeans, and a blond sub with a boy-next-door look who claimed to love wearing stockings because he liked how they felt on his shaved legs.

Jamie off-handedly mentioned Royal, the elegant sub who’d worn the sequined dress the first night, but apparently she, or he depending upon the day, had already gone home.

It was like everyone was wearing satin and lace. And they didn’t even think it was a big deal.

People were still lingering over their meals when Sebastian and Ty came out of the kitchen and joined them.

Ty talked about his transition—knowing that he’d been born in a female-assigned body that didn’t feel right and working so hard to be seen as male that he’d gone to the extremes at first, rejecting everything even remotely girly. Then, he flashed his two gold earrings, one in each ear, and talked about how now that he was consistently read as male, he could play with the gender construct a little bit.

Jamie flounced over to Sebastian’s lap, interjecting charming comments while Sebastian talked about feeling like he’d never connected with any form of masculinity, especially the Mexican ideal of machismo, and didn’t want to express it himself. At the same time, he didn’t feel any draw toward femininity beyond admiring it in Jamie.

Neil, who’d mostly been listening quietly, spoke with reverence about how honored he was to witness Jamie’s beauty, and how important it was for him to distinguish Sebastian’s Daddiness from any expectations of masculinity.

And somehow that was what had another drop of moisture leaking from Mateo’s eye, though he wiped it away quickly.

It wasn’t just that all of these people could play with gender and pretty clothing. It was that there were people who loved them for it.

He’d somehow imagined all of this as… deviant. Secretive. Maybe even disgusting. Something to be hidden and only taken out as a dirty kink.

But these were just regular people.

A chime sounded from somewhere in the lobby, and Sebastian, Jamie, and Ty craned their necks as one to see who’d opened the door.

“Mail’s here!” Jamie called out, then bounced out of his chair, only delayed a moment as he found his balance with his prosthetic. “Could be somebody’s special day!” he teased.

It was only when Austin leaned in toward his neck and whispered, “Is that OK?” that he realized the somebody was probably him.

He hadn’t actually thought through where this lingerie was coming from or when it would arrive.

It hadn’t even seemed real.

He hadn’t envisioned the… physicality of it. That he’d actually be holding it in his hands.

It was just the idea of it being allowed, even encouraged, that had cracked him open before.

But he still nodded, his face on fire.

By the confused looks around the table, no one else knew what was going on. Except maybe Neil, who gave him an encouraging smile and a little nod.