K & L: Girl Trouble (TG)

[TheoW]

A TG story involving my favorite recurring characters (see below for their subsection). Let's check in to see what Karen, Lisa and Bob are up to these days, and why Bob is having Girl Trouble.

Author’s notes: As with most of my stories, this is intended for mature readers. There’s sex, and no one under 18 should be reading it (we all know that no one under the age of 18 has any interest or appreciation for sexual matters). That begs the question of whether anyone over 18 should be reading it either, but I can’t warn everyone off, or else I did all this typing for nothing.

A problematic story in many ways. Although the basic idea and plot were some of the first ideas I had for the characters, it took forever to finally grind it out. There may be continuity problems since I literally wrote this in 5-15 minute bursts over the last few weeks, and the “universe” the characters lived in evolved from the original.

The characters might also be a problem. People familiar with them from the several shrinking and age regression stories in which they’ve been featured may not want to read anything with a TG theme. Conversely, anyone tuning in for a TG story is likely to get fed up with the unusual setup and amount of unnecessary cluttering of the story with character indulgences (as always, I like my own characters and dialogue too much) and setup material for the wider story universe in which they live, not to mention cameo bits of shrinking and regression.

But having said all that, it was still a story I wanted to do. I hope someone else may enjoy it as well.

To set the stage with some music, I initially considered Shania Twain and the aptly titled “Man, I Feel Like A Woman,” but a fun song by the group Garbage called “Androgyny” seems a more appropriate soundtrack here. I’ll excerpt a few of the lyrics along the way to set off parts.

And if anyone would like to comment, or has suggestions for further adventures, let me know at Nomdreserv@aol.com

Girl Trouble

By Nomdreserv

Bob Rhodes all but bounded in the door, glad at last to symbolically leave work behind and start their vacation. The fact that they were preparing to leave for a Florida beach resort added to the sense of a real break. And after their last adventures with uncontrolled shrinking and yet another demon, they could use one.

This would be their first extended trip together since Lisa had come to live with them, and there was a slight undercurrent of nervousness along with the anticipation. But it was minimal. Lisa seemed happier than either of them had ever seen since she’d moved in, and they’d settled into a routine. The initial awkwardness that always came with integrating a new live-in partner (sexual or otherwise) had been surprisingly easy. Karen and Lisa had always had a special relationship from the time they’d met in college, and Bob actually felt privileged to share it with them, just as Lisa was so clearly grateful to now be accepted into their marriage. Indeed, it was sometimes difficult to remember that he was only officially married to one of them.

Of course, the fact that the two women shared such a close relationship also had its irritating side. It wasn’t only that they were naturally aligned about “female” issues in which he was clueless, but the more important distinction of their shared tutelage in magic. Although Lisa’s powers had been dampened from a previous accident, and showed only fitful signs of returning, Karen apparently was a natural adept. And since Lisa still had years of training to impart, they frequently ended up pairing off for practice or study. That sometimes made him feel like the forgotten boyfriend at college finals time, with the former roommates easily falling back into old, familiar and exclusionary habits. And despite their occasional attempts to include him, the only times he’d tried to sit in, he’d felt even more lost. Luckily, they seemed to realize this, and tended to make things up to him in more personal ways afterwards – alone and together. And that’s when the overwhelming advantage of living with two women was driven home.

At the moment, however, he figured they were definitely in roommate mode. He entered the kitchen to find Karen and Lisa giggling together, while Lisa held up a very skimpy string bikini. They startled in guilty surprise as he walked in and dropped the suit, trying to hide it.

“All right!” he called out enthusiastically, his eyes following the suit back into its bag and happily imagining both of them in the extremely revealing swimwear. “Which of you is going to wear that?”

Karen and Lisa exchanged looks, and suddenly burst out laughing again.

“We haven’t decided,” Karen explained, with a twinkle in her eye, bringing the skimpy suit back out and holding it up. It looked like a few tiny scraps of fabric connected with dental floss. “Do you really like it? You don’t think it’s too revealing?”

“Uh...umm…ah,” Bob replied, all but drooling with obvious enthusiasm when Karen held the top up against her chest. It looked like it would barely cover her sizable breasts, and Bob had a sudden qualm about letting her wear it. After all, skimpy, sexy and even shocking swimwear is always to be encouraged – unless it’s being worn by a wife, sister or daughter. But the imagined sight of Karen’s voluptuous body all but bursting out of the tiny swimsuit shifted his decision making southward. “A woman’s swimsuit can’t be too revealing,” he announced decisively.

Yet another exchange of looks. “A good thing to know,” Lisa nodded. Then she got up to hand Bob a drink. “I hope you’re not planning on checking out all the other women on the beach to make sure?”

“I would never do that,” Bob lied, accepting the drink gratefully.

A sip revealed a mix of fruit juices and alcohol, and maybe something else a bit sharp. Obviously a beachy sort of drink in anticipation of their resort trip. It was even decorated with a tiny paper umbrella. It was nice of Lisa to have it all made up for him, though it seemed to be different from whatever they were having. He finished it off while they discussed the final plans for their beach trip. After dinner and preliminary packing, they all happily climbed into bed, the two women taking up their preferred snuggling positions on either side of him. Not too surprisingly, since both women had worn sheer, satin tops and panties that usually signaled an interest, Bob almost immediately felt a hand begin to move along his thigh questingly. This time it was Lisa who initiated the encounter, but her hand was almost immediately joined by Karen’s along his chest.

Bob sighed as two pairs of hands went to work. Life was good.

He tried to shift into a better position to reciprocate their attention, but they both pushed him back, for some reason wanting to take extra time and effort in exploring his body, almost as though trying to memorize it. Lisa ran her hands along his thighs, teasing his thick leg hair, and then finally bringing her hand to his already hard cock. She freed it from his shorts, and ran her fingers along its length happily, though Bob felt a momentary sense of disquiet since her hand seemed somehow a little larger than normal as it encompassed the throbbing shaft. She also tickled his scrotum, which for some reason had pulled tight up against his pelvis. He soon forgot these qualms in the delight of sensation when she took him into her mouth.

Karen, meanwhile, seemed to be concentrating on his chest more than usual, especially his nipples. He couldn’t complain, since they seemed to be unusually sensitive and responsive to her attention, becoming much stiffer than normal. She was actually able to pull them a little way into her mouth when she sucked on them, the way he did to hers.

Lisa continued to give attention to his lower body, tickling his scrotum and sensitive underside. She seemed unusually excited by what she saw and felt, and had also started to rub herself in her excitement, finally stripping his briefs entirely to get a better look. Satisfied, she turned around and climbed on top of him, slowly lowering her soaked and ready sex onto his shaft, facing away to allow his scrotum to help stimulate her clit in one of her favorite positions.

“Mmm,” she sighed as she felt his cock penetrate her. “Still a pretty good size.”

“What?” Bob asked, a bit puzzled by the remark.

“Um, I said such a good size,” Lisa replied hastily, squeezing his penis with her slick cunt as though to emphasize the words. The effect was sufficiently pleasurable that they both forgot her words.

Karen now climbed on top of Bob’s chest, presenting her own wet cleft for his attention. While Bob licked and tongued happily at the musky shrine of her sex, using his fingers to stroke her magnificently rounded ass, Karen sighed happily, then leaned forward and ran her hands along Lisa’s back, completing the triangle. Lisa leaned back into the embrace, and Karen reached around to massage her breasts, providing everyone with extra stimulation.

“Oh…oh…OHHH God, YES!” Lisa moaned as she came for the first time, squeezing Bob’s cock desperately. She moved spasmodically for a minute around Bob’s still rock-hard shaft, enjoying the echoes it sent through her pelvis. Bob found he could last indefinitely with the women on top, so they usually satisfied themselves that way first.

As Lisa finally recovered sufficiently, she gasped, “Switch.”

They did just that, with Karen taking her position riding Bob’s cock. Lisa, not quite ready for more direct stimulation yet, slipped to the side of the bed, where she now started duplicating Karen’s actions by playing with Bob’s nipples. To his own surprise, they were still erect, almost swollen, and gave distinct pulses of pleasure when Lisa began tonguing them.

Karen was riding him almost frantically, as though she was racing a deadline. She also seemed just a bit frustrated, and Bob noticed she felt different – almost like her pussy was bigger. He didn’t quite hit the roof the way he normally did. Karen noticed too, and after grinding her hips in increasing desperation, finally spoke in frustration.

“Shrink me,” she panted. “Come on, I want it to feel huge. One last time.”

Bob was at a loss, especially from the odd last comment, but luckily Lisa was right on top of things. She reached over to the bedside table where they kept their “toys” (when you had access to magic, the variety and possibility for sex toys became almost unimaginable) and grabbed one of their first and still-favorites: a size-changing medallion. She held it out and visualized her friend getting smaller. Karen made a gasp as she felt the tingle and slowly began losing her size. Both she and Bob were gratified when they felt her vagina begin to contract, almost immediately restoring that feeling of full penetration that had been missing. The weight of Karen’s rocking, humping body lessened noticeably, and her feet slowly dragged across the sheet.

Lisa paused to watch Karen slowly shrink, never failing to take delight in their exchanges of size. She moved to kiss and fondle her now petite friend, delighting in the feel of her lips moving lower as they held the kiss, and the heft of her large breasts slowly become less in her hands, as though her massage itself was shrinking them.

Karen was under 5 feet tall when the feeling of Bob’s now oversized cock began to have its full effect. She began to thrash on his shaft, feeling it stretch and push her in such wonderfully familiar ways, soft yet hard in the way only a velvet-skinned full erection could be.

Bob was struggling with some unusual sensations himself. The sex was still wonderful of course, but somehow felt different. He felt Karen’s vagina begin to contract in its signal for her imminent climax, and congratulated himself yet again for being able to maintain his erection so easily. Though this time it had been easy. It was odd: as fantastic as her tight sheath felt around him, he seemed to want some other sensation this time. It wasn’t for lack of pleasure from her riding - despite his worry about somehow being smaller, his cock felt as hard and sensitive as ever. And usually, his entire sexual self was concentrated right there, but today, he felt a vague dissatisfaction. But for what? One possible answer came a moment later, when Lisa unexpectedly returned to sucking his nipples. They felt even harder this time, and she actually pulled part of one breast into her mouth and swirled her tongue around the nipple in a way that completely surprised him. He was even more surprised at his body’s reaction – the feeling was almost too intense. The pain/pleasure shot through his nipple and into his chest, and then, inexplicably, ran like a hot wire to his pelvis, straight into his cock. His scrotum shrank even tighter, and his penis swelled an extra inch as his own orgasm abruptly and unexpectedly overwhelmed him.

He came in a gusher, longer and harder than usual, much to Karen’s squirming delight. It almost seemed as though his balls were determined to drain every last bit of sperm from his body. The combination of his climax and accompanying penis swelling also made him stretch Karen’s cunt out even more, to that indescribably wonderful point women love so much - more than enough but not too much. She screamed in her own orgasm, freezing in a quivering arch to feel every inch of his surging, oversized cock, before finally collapsing in a satisfied heap, reluctantly letting the slowly shrinking shaft slip from her body. The two women slipped to positions flanking him and snuggled in close. Bob felt an unusual post-orgasmic exhaustion that almost immediately started him towards sleep, not even noticing how rapidly and thoroughly his cock seemed to be shrinking.

“I’m gonna miss that,” Karen said dreamily.

“What?” Bob asked, semi-consciously.

“Nothing,” Karen added hastily. She kissed him. “You’ll need some sleep. Goodnight.”

Bob drifted off quickly, his body apparently agreeing with her. His last conscious thought was how weird his nipples felt as both women continued to stroke and tickle them as though completely fascinated.

The next morning came all too soon. Bob groaned as he stumbled out of bed, still feeling tired. His body also felt strange – off center or somehow shifted. Karen and Lisa snuggled together sleepily, giving him first crack at the shower. He admired their nude forms, noticing that Lisa had never restored Karen to full size, leaving her looking almost child-like nestled against Lisa’s body. This was only because of her small size, however, since a look at her proportionally large breasts and hips actually gave Karen a more womanly figure than her friend.

The sense of strangeness followed him to the bathroom, his legs and hips feeling weird. He almost felt like his legs had been forced apart, giving him a more rolling gait. He rubbed his ass, and was struck at how disturbingly soft and full it seemed. Wonderful. And just in time to be shown off in swimwear. He cursed himself for falling behind on his exercises, especially before a beach trip – he’d have to really watch out for his calories on this trip.

Even the familiar morning bathroom ritual seemed off somehow. He went to urinate and actually fumbled for his penis which seemed almost lost in the nest of his pubic hair. It was also unusually small and soft, disturbing in itself, but also unusual in that he was almost always at least semi-hard when he woke up in the morning. He decided their late-night session must have drained him more than usual (which wasn’t far from the truth). He nearly missed the toilet, too, with the urine sort of dribbling backwards along the shaft instead of shooting forward, and he wet his hand in the process. It was almost like it hadn’t reached the end of his cock before coming out. Cursing silently, but putting it down to sleepy disorientation and sexual residue, he sat down to finish urinating, but even then managed to spray his lower pelvis a little in the act. How the heck could he miss this way? It wasn’t like there were any other holes for it to come out.

Stepping straight into the shower in disgust, he cleaned off, spending extra time washing his pubic area. Oddly, though the slippery lather and his hands felt wonderful against his cock, it didn’t respond as quickly as normal. Also, his scrotum still clung tightly against his pelvis, almost as though the balls were being pulled inside. Normally, this only happened in extreme cold, but the warm shower water only seemed to loosen it slightly. Even then, it just sort of puffed up on either side rather than relaxing back into its normal position. The rest of his body seemed pretty much normal – until he got to his chest. He felt an immediate twinge as he ran his hands across his front, noticing that his nipples were still unusually sensitive as he soaped his chest, instantly stiffening under his fingers. He also noticed some chest swelling that made them stand out even more, and assumed another side effect from their lovemaking last night. Karen and Lisa had simply been playing with them too much. They were even tender to pressure when he tried to compress them. Wincing, he didn’t notice that the sensations of his hands on his chest had finally caused his cock to jump to life, and it was lucky that he didn’t, for he would have been shocked at how much smaller it looked erect. Perhaps luckily for that reason, it subsided again before he finished his shower.

As he toweled off, he checked his chest more carefully. No question, there was a definite puffiness beneath his nipples which was very sensitive and tender. The nipples themselves looked swollen, and he assumed they were inflamed or irritated. All the attention the women had lavished on them last night appeared to have some undesirable repercussions, he decided, again wincing when he tried to flatten them back to normal. Worse, his chest hair seemed much thinner than usual, making them stand out even more prominently.

That made him pause. After all, you didn’t live with a couple of witches without taking such signs very seriously. Unfortunately, based on their previous experiences with age-changing magic, Bob thought he knew exactly what was happening. Sure enough, a careful examination showed telltale changes. His face was smooth, despite not shaving. In fact, it was smoother than it would have been normally even after shaving, with no hint of a beard or mustache. His nose was smaller, and his chin and cheeks looked a little different, more delicate. His whole body looked slimmer, especially his upper body, and there was a marked decrease in the extent of body hair. In fact, his chest was about the only significant place he still looked obviously furry. His lower legs and arms showed only thin, light hairs, making them look much thinner, and the hair on his thighs seemed sparse. Even the patch of hair above his still disturbingly small cock seemed neater and less extensive.

He shook his head in disgust. Of all the times to be playing regression games. Did they really want him to be a teenager for this trip? Were they planning to do the same? Visions of them all building sand castles as preteens filled his mind. He had been hoping for more adult entertainment this trip.

With this prejudice and certainty, he didn’t notice the other changes. For example, how much longer his hair seemed in the back, reaching halfway to his shoulders, or how much smaller his Adam’s apple was. And though his slimmer arms and smaller upper body could certainly be seen on an adolescent boy, the decidedly wider hips looked totally out of place. This particular change also affected the way he walked, though he didn’t notice that either, and it was fortunate he couldn’t see the reflection in the mirror as he turned and stepped away, or he would have truly shocked at the way his rounder ass swayed now with his steps.

He brushed his hair, noticing idly that he’d need a trim while they were gone, then looked up to see Karen and Lisa, dressed again in their nightwear, watching him in the doorway. They were staring in a very odd way, almost appraisingly, but obviously eager and excited. He assumed they were wondering if he’d noticed the changes.

“At least you saved me shaving,” he told them without any appreciation. They looked quite worried at being found out, until he continued. “Do we really have to play age games already?” he added, especially when he saw that they were still their normal ages. It always unsettled him when he was the only one who got younger. To make it worse, his voice actually cracked in mid sentence, and seemed determined to settle in the higher range.

The two women giggled and exchanged whispers while continuing to ogle him. Finally, Lisa stepped forward.

“My fault,” she announced. “I just couldn’t resist. But I promise, you’ll be your normal age at the hotel.”

“I don’t see the point then,” Bob grumbled, as he walked out to get dressed. He paused as he passed them. He hadn’t thought he’d lost enough age to have affected his height, but Lisa seemed slightly taller than normal. However, she moved away too quickly for him to confirm it, and Karen was still under 5 feet tall from their shrinking spell last night, so she was impossible to use as a comparison. As he left them behind, Karen finally seemed to realize her size predicament as well.

“Would you mind changing me back?” she asked. “Unless you want me falling out of my clothes all day.” She had put her satin top back on, but it hung like a sail, leaving one shoulder and most of her breasts bare. She was holding her panties up with one hand.

Actually, it wasn’t a bad image – she made a very voluptuous and sexy pixie at this size - but he kept that thought to himself. “It would serve you right,” he answered, as he pulled on a pair of loose, baggy briefs. At least the waist was loose. They actually seemed a bit tight around behind, sitting oddly on his body. Nonetheless, he found the magic talisman discarded on the table and heard Karen sigh in relief as she went back to normal height.

At least for a few seconds. Lisa had followed him out and now stepped over, taking the medallion from him, and a second later, Karen was dwindling again, her satin top falling right around her shrinking body and leaving her standing naked except for gigantic, loose panties that she held up desperately with both hands. Lisa didn’t stop until the dwindling figure was less than waist high.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” Karen demanded, her voice high and thin.

“Not exactly big, but you’ll see soon enough,” Lisa replied cryptically. She reached into the drawer of the table and retrieved another “toy” which she kept hidden behind her back. With that she came back, pushed Karen into the bathroom, and closed the door, smiling knowingly at Bob. A few seconds later, he heard Karen’s reduced soprano.

“Hey, what are you … you can’t be serious … it’s so, so … oh my God!” The words trailed off into inarticulate moans, and Bob, deliberately trying not to listen in, busied himself with getting dressed and packed, just a little miffed at the delay (and being left out). There were decided upsides to Lisa’s considerable sex drive, and he could hardly complain after considerable, wonderful personal experience of it, but today they needed to keep to their schedule. The flight was not going to wait because Lisa wanted sex. (Though it would have certainly made an interesting announcement over the plane intercom: “Excuse the delay, ladies and gentlemen. One of our passengers needs to get off one more time before we leave.”) Bob again felt a qualm of the uneven sexual dynamic in their group. Women could be so exasperating about being ready on time.

Unfortunately, his mood didn’t improve with getting dressed, and he wished Lisa hadn’t taken the medallion with her. His own size still seemed off, and he could have used its distaff power to make himself bigger. The rest of his clothes weren’t much better than his underwear. His shirt fit a little loosely overall, but the fabric still rubbed against his inflamed, swollen nipples, making them continue to stand out, even through the cloth. His pants were a couple of inches too long, yet seemed snug as he pulled them past his hips, making him wonder if Lisa’s age-changing spell had gone wrong somehow, leaving his body mismatched. He was too busy gathering suitcases, however, to spend a lot of time on the question. Karen and Lisa had finished packing theirs last night, but he’d left his to this morning. He was ready by the time the bathroom door opened, and the two women, still disheveled but clean after their showers, and with Karen finally back to normal size, looked out to see how he was doing.

“Yow!” he called as he attempted to lift Karen and Lisa’s large suitcases. “How much stuff did you put in here?”

“We had to pack extra clothes,” Karen called. “For, um, you know. Emergencies.”

“Women,” he grumbled good-naturedly. “You know you’re not going to use half the things in here.” He finally managed to budge the suitcases, though he had to take them one at a time.

“You never know,” Lisa cautioned, peering out the bathroom door with a twinkle in her eye. He thought he saw a spell case in her hand. Were they finally planning on matching him in age?

“Look at my bag,” he insisted proudly. “Everything I need in one carry-on. Two pairs of pants and shorts, four shirts, toothbrush, shaving stuff and underwear.”

“And you probably won’t use half of your stuff either,” Lisa added mysteriously before disappearing again. There were more giggles within.

Bob sighed. It was sometimes awkward being outnumbered and the lone man in the group.

And he had no idea how awkward that was about to become.

Bob felt unusually tired after they boarded their plane. Wrangling the suitcases had been very difficult, and he’d actually been relieved when a skycap offered to assist him. The woman checking them in at the terminal had looked at him almost suspiciously.

“You know,” she said reprovingly. “You shouldn’t lie about your height on your driver’s license. It is supposed to confirm your ID.”

Bob had been indignant. “What are you talking about? I didn’t lie about anything there.”

She had clucked her tongue. “Says here you’re six foot one.”

“Yes?” Bob had asked in exasperation.

She just smirked. “I’m five nine.”

Bob realized he was looking her evenly in the eye. He immediately assumed it was a side effect of the regression magic they’d been using. Lisa must have made him too young and affected his height. “Look, you’ve got heels,” he pointed out. “And maybe I exaggerated. Can we get on with this?”

She relented, though she’d also looked at his photo rather suspiciously. For some reason, he’d evidently decided to pluck his eyebrows and let his hair grow out since the license picture. It really didn’t suit him, making him look quite effeminate. And especially for someone with his size, build and mid-range voice, she was surprised he wasn’t worried about being mistaken for a woman.

Bob had heaved the carry-on bags into the overheads only with considerable difficulty, then gratefully sank into his seat. He started to ask about their plans upon arrival, only to hear his voice crack up another octave and resist his best efforts to return it to normal. His throat felt different somehow.

“I though you said I’d be normal age?” he asked in irritation. He pointed at the way his pants pooled over his shoes, and shrugged in his oversized shirt. “At this rate you’ll be carrying me off in a baby seat.”

“I promise, you’ll be your normal age by the time we’re there,” Lisa assured him, again eying him carefully. “It’s just the spell running its course. Don’t worry. You look fine, and it will be over soon. Just relax and get some rest on the flight.”

Bob tried to smooth his shirt front into a more familiar pattern, disturbed and embarrassed at the way - and more particularly where - it lay, only to gasp as his hands rubbed across his still sensitive nipples. If anything, the swelling from this morning only seemed to be worse. They weren’t painful, but the sensation was still unsettling, both in its intensity and site of origin. Their was also a strange answering echo again at his groin that surprised him. He half expected to feel himself get hard, but instead only felt a sort of flush or warmth in his groin. Just as well. It was hard enough trying to get comfortable: his bottom felt strange in the seat, and he kept shifting. It was like the seat was too narrow. The attendant came over to check on him.

“Can I get you anything, sirrrr-um…missss…um, ma’…err…s…” She paused and blushed. “Can I get you something?”

“No thanks,” Bob answered, inwardly groaning at the higher range his voice had settled comfortably into. People probably couldn’t even tell if he was an adult anymore, explaining the attendant’s confusion. He resolved to talk as little as possible until he was back to normal, and glared reproachfully at Karen and Lisa before resolvedly closed his eyes.

When it seemed he was really asleep, Karen leaned over to Lisa.

“Wow, it works fast. He looked almost normal this morning, and already…” She waved her hand at Bob.

“Yup,” Lisa agreed. “Sapphire does good work.”

“He has to realize what’s happening. I mean look at those.” She nodded at the now unmistakable swellings beneath Bob’s shirt, pushing it out in a most unfamiliar way.

“Not yet,” Lisa decided, eying the nascent breasts almost jealously. It would certainly be an ironic twist to have the man in her life sport bigger boobs than her own. She sometimes wished personal gain and vanity spells didn’t carry the price they did. “Don’t forget, we asked for a low-level accommodation spell to help mask them. He may not realize exactly what’s happened until…” She looked at the way his pants fit and grinned. “Well, at least until he visits the bathroom next. I think any guy would notice if that’s missing.”

A shared giggle.

“Speaking of which,” Lisa continued. “Have you noticed anything?”

Karen shifted a little in her seat as well.

“Yeah, I think I do. I’m afraid to look, but there’s…something there. God, Lisa, it feels so weird.” A wide-eyed look. “Whoa, especially now that I’m thinking about it. It’s almost like it’s getting bigger.” She shifted again, trying to accommodate an entirely foreign pressure. She wished she hadn’t worn such tight pants. “Geez, this is totally strange.”

Lisa smiled. “Get used to it, at least for the next few days.” Then she frowned. “I haven’t felt any changes. I hope I didn’t get a dud.”

“Maybe it just takes longer.”

“Maybe. I hope it’s not a misfire. Or something even worse because we were fooling around with the medallion last night. If the magics start interacting, things could get really weird.”

Karen smiled. “As if they weren’t already.”

They both laughed, then looked up as the attendant arrived.

“We have muffins and Danish,” she announced. “Coffee?”

Karen happily accepted anything offered (including the portions for the sleeping Bob), but Lisa declined everything except some milk. She made a face.

“What’s wrong?” Karen asked in concern.

“Nothing,” Lisa replied unconvincingly, hoping this wasn’t a side effect of a misfired spell. “My stomach’s been sort of unsettled the last few days anyway, and this ride is making me a little airsick. Aw, Jesus.” She closed her eyes as a wave of nausea threatened to overcome her, and half rose from her seat before it quieted. “There, that’s better. I just hope we don’t have any turbulence.”

A sentiment to which Karen readily agreed. But, of course, if there weren’t some bumps and loops ahead, we wouldn’t have a story.

Boys in the girls’ room

Girls in the men’s room

You free your mind in your androgyny - “Androgyny” by Garbage

Bob woke up just about the time they landed. He stretched his arms, not noticing how thin and smooth they looked in his baggy shirt sleeves.

“Gosh, did I sleep the whole way?” he asked, unconsciously shaking and smoothing the long hair over his neck. He didn’t even notice his higher voice this time.

To anyone else, it was a woman dressed in man’s clothes who stood up and stretched in the aisle. The pants were too big, except where they clung to his full, wide hips and ass, and his shirt was at least three sizes too large. Luckily for Bob, his oversized shirt still partially disguised the swellings beneath, at least from his perspective, especially since he was preoccupied with wrestling their carry-ons out of the overhead bin. And wrestling was the right word. He pulled one to the edge the way he always did, tipped it out, then let out a surprised cry as the bag’s weight promptly pulled his arm down. He barely managed to catch it using both hands before it crashed to the floor.

“Whoa!” he gasped, struggling to lift it even two-handed. “I didn’t remember this being so heavy.” He looked at the other bags uncertainly. Usually, he carried at least two or three for them.

“You’re just tired,” Lisa explained, lifting the next largest bag down. It must have been a light one, Bob thought jealously, since she didn’t have to work too hard to carry it. But then again, Lisa was pretty strong – for a woman, of course. Fortunately, Karen grabbed her own bag as well, and still managed their purses. Bob certainly didn’t want to be seen carrying one of those!

They walked happily out into the warm, humid, tropical breezes that rushed to replace the stale airplane air. The female flight attendant gave Bob a perfunctory farewell, but one of the male crew looked at him in an odd way that made him uncomfortable. Unconsciously, he dropped his eyes and blushed a little.

He didn’t have much leisure to think about it, since he really struggled with his bag as they walked through the concourse, and he was sorry that he’d ever boasted of its lightness to Karen and Lisa before they’d left. For the first time ever, he understood why so many people had those bags with wheels, but he’d always scorned them as unnecessary. Until now. His shoulder had started to ache, and he paused, sweating, as they passed a restroom.

“Maybe I should make a pit stop,” he explained, actually just looking to rest. “We may have a long ride to the hotel.”

“No!” Lisa said, looking panicked. She and Karen exchanged nervous glances when he seemed puzzled by their reaction.

“Um, yeah, we need to get there right away,” Karen said, then looked inspired. She dropped her voice confidentially. “Lisa has female problems.”

“Oh,” Bob said, eager to cut her off and hear no more. He knew Lisa had been worried about her cycle recently, but had deliberately avoided hearing any details. “Right.” He hoisted his bag noisily and walked faster, his determined efforts also keeping him from noticing that he was now the same height as his companions. His oversized shoes slapped a little as he hurried.

The shuttle bus was luckily right there as they arrived outside. The driver touched his cap.

“Where are you ladies going?” he asked.

Bob was miffed at being ignored, and was also worried there might be the slightest hint of unprofessional interest in his manner towards Karen and Lisa. He therefore hurried to answer for them.

“We’re all together,” he said, as though to nip any speculation that way in the bud. “And we’re going to The Beach Club.”

“Very good.” The man didn’t seem at all put out by Bob being the one to answer. He gave them all smiles and loaded their bags.

The seats seemed a little narrow, but at least they were well padded, Bob thought to himself as the van pulled away. He felt like he was riding a little higher than usual in his.

At the hotel, Karen and Lisa went to register, leaving Bob to tip the van driver and collect their bags. He waved off the initial offer for help from the doorman, since he was used to handling the bags himself. He also had a bit of time getting his wallet free to pay the driver, since his hand missed his pocket when he reached for it. That was very strange – it was as though they were stretched out sideways or something. The wallet itself seemed too tight in the pocket, and Bob resolved to find something looser to wear as soon as possible, while reinforcing his decision to watch calories. Shorts would be perfect, since these pants were still dragging the ground as well.

That made him remember Lisa’s promise, and he checked himself discreetly. His heart sank. His arms remained nearly devoid of hair and were boyishly thin, and his clothes were still obviously oversized. Her promise of restoring him to his normal age had clearly not come off. Muttering, he began trying to cope with the suitcases.

If the carry-on bags had been a chore, the full size cases proved almost impossible. Bob couldn’t understand what was wrong. Even as a teenager, he hadn’t been this weak. He was used to carrying large bags in each hand, with smaller bags slung over his shoulders, but was struggling today with even one of their oversized cases. It didn’t help that his clothes were so uncomfortable, apparently disarrayed during the flight. His pants felt tight around his hips, and the cuffs were dragging over his shoes. Obviously, they must have slipped too low, but for some reason, they were hard to tug back. His shirt felt weird too, and was certainly hanging in an unflattering way (for a man), though it at least served to help hide how thin his upper arms had become. The material seemed really rough against his nipples, which were rubbing against it a lot more than usual, as though his chest kept shaking. It was a very odd feeling – almost … heavy. He brushed the long hair from his eyes, feeling it tickling his lower neck as well. He hoped the hotel had a barber on premises.

A young man who worked the inside desk took pity on his struggles, and walked up confidently.

“Carry your bags, ma’am?” he asked.

Bob looked up indignantly – and really looked up. The guy was much taller than he’d seemed when compared to the people around him, and had at least 4 inches on him. He looked to be about college age, was handsome, and was smiling in a friendly manner. Bob looked at him angrily, assuming the question had been meant as a sarcastic insult for the way he was struggling with the bags, but the bellhop seemed completely open and friendly, and apparently had somehow actually mistaken him for a woman. It had to be his damn hair. First thing he’d do after settling in was get a haircut.

“Um, thanks,” Bob finally admitted, too embarrassed to make a scene about the mistaken address. “Women always seem to pack too much,” he added, looking to make light of his struggles and give the kid a chance to correct his mistake.

“I’m sure you’ll use everything,” the teen replied reassuringly, as though used to people’s embarrassment. To Bob’s chagrin, he easily lifted the largest case and moved it to his cart.

Not to be outdone, Bob reached down and strained with the next one, pulling with both hands. The effort and position left him doubled over, and his sport shirt hanging open with the collar gaping, for several seconds. With a grunt, he hoisted the case and straightened up.

Just in time to find the kid still staring where his chest had been, a strange smile barely disguised on his face.

Bob felt a strange chill. He recognized that smile. It was the look men got when they were on the receiving end of an unexpected peek, and the resulting flood of uniquely male hormones (which microscopically can be seen actually high-fiving each other) briefly shut down their higher thought processes.

It was not a look men were used to receiving (much to their regret), women either being less susceptible or better at covering their reactions. Bob immediately assumed the teen must be gay (not that there’s anything wrong with that), and felt a mix of anger and surprise at being ogled so openly. The bellhop caught him staring back indignantly and just winked, moving to move the rest of the bags onto the cart.

“Dressed for the heat, I see,” he smirked.

Bob whirled angrily away and adjusted his shirt which had become even more disarrayed from his exertion. He pulled it tight and tugged the V-neck back into position. It settled easily into the groove between his breasts.

His … breasts.

He froze, feeling an awful, inescapable certainty move through him. He looked down again at the way his shirt outlined the very real, very recognizable swellings on his chest. They were pert and round, and increasingly obvious as the oversized shirt began to stick to the layer of sweat he’d built up from the tropical air and bag handling. He surreptitiously reached up to feel one, almost jumping as his fingers came into contact with the soft, sensitive mound, and even more as his nipple stiffened up beneath his touch.

“Oh, shit!” he said in disbelief, hardly breathing otherwise. His hand came up to squeeze the other one, making him look for all the world to be feeling himself up. “No, no, no!” he said, as though the words could make the changes go away.

His breasts settled back with small jiggles as he released them. He reached down to touch his backside, feeling an awful sinking sensation as his hands seem to discover an unending expanse of soft flesh. He almost reached for his crotch, but stopped for fear of what he would – or more accurately – wouldn’t find.

The teen had finished loading the bags onto the cart, leering occasionally as the woman seemed to grope herself suggestively. He was hoping this lewd show meant she was as wild as her bra-less, open shirt had suggested, and he now waited eagerly for their room assignment. He nodded towards Karen and Lisa still signing in at the counter.

“You ladies here for a meeting, or just vacation?” he asked, making conversation.

“Vacation,” Bob finally answered, only now noticing again how much his voice had changed, and trying to force it down to his normal range. It only made him sound like a woman speaking huskily. And sexily.

The teen noticed and thought more than ever that she might be trying to come on to him. He smiled knowingly, looking openly at the way her stiff nipples had begun to show through her shirt as the sweat cooled.

“Hey, I know all the best clubs around here, and some buddies and me are going out tonight. If you and your friends are interested…”

“NO!” Bob answered desperately, his eyes widening in panic. He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to hide what lay there. Although he probably had only B-cups at best, they felt like a couple of melons jiggling beneath his shirt in his now frantic state of mind. His voice squeaked as he tried to feign calm. “I mean, um, we haven’t really decided what we’re doing yet. Probably just relax by the beach for a couple of days.”

“I notice you don’t like tan-lines,” the boy smirked again. “I can let you know where the topless beaches are if you want. In fact.” An open leer. “I’d be happy to take you there myself.”

Bob was feeling completely helpless and embarrassed in his shock, but luckily was rescued by his companions, who finally returned with their registration materials and key. Karen was walking a little strangely, mincing her steps as though uncomfortable or unsure about something. She was holding the registration materials determinedly in front of her waist.

“Making friends?” Lisa asked innocently, as she noticed the way Bob stood, flustered and red-faced with the smirking teen, his crossed arms making it obvious he’d finally figured out what was going on beneath.

Her arrival allowed him to refocus, and change his agitation for anger. He glared.

“Can we go to our room?” he asked icily.

“You know, your hubby wouldn’t be too happy about you flirting as soon as you’re out the door,” Lisa teased him, smiling at the college kid herself. “Even if he is totally cute.”

If it was possible, Bob turned even redder, while the kid beamed.

“I was just telling … um, what is your name?” the bellhop asked Bob.

“Bob,” he replied sullenly.

When the attendant looked surprised, Lisa quickly added. “Bob … bie. Bobbie likes to keep the names short and the nights long.” She added the last in a provocative, husky tone that made Bob cringe.

“Awesome!” the kid agreed, giving Bob an even more lustful stare. “Anyway, me and my buddies are barhopping tonight. And we know these totally cool clubs, if you girls are interested.”

Karen finally took pity on Bob, even taking his arm protectively.

“That’s very nice … Steven,” she read his name off his tag. “But we’re women, not girls, and married ones at that. Thank you anyway.”

He shrugged, clearly not a stranger to rejection. “A lot of gir .. women who come here – they’re looking to really relax for a few days, if you know what I mean.” He looked at Karen’s large breasts hopefully as well, wishing she favored the braless-style and open collars Bobbie showed off in. “Look, I get off work at four. Just check in before then, and I promise you a good time.”

“We’ll certainly consider it,” Lisa agreed, finally relenting as well. “But for now, we’d like to relax a bit.”

He checked their room number and happily wheeled the cart off, though not before signaling a coworker with an enthusiastic thumbs-up sign and a nod at his guests.

And as they all left the lobby, an attractive woman who had been sitting in the lobby waiting area stood up, and walked over towards the check-in desk. She pushed past a man to speak with the clerk who had just checked them in, idly fingering a medallion around her neck. The man started to say something angrily, then froze. A confused and frightened look came across his face, and a second later, he raced towards the restrooms. The woman then unconcernedly turned her attention back to the clerk. A minute later, following a very unprofessional breach of confidence, she nodded and walked away.

After reaching the room and unloading, Steven touched Bob’s arm confidentially.

“Now then, anything you need. ANYTHING,” he repeated suggestively. “You just let me know. Hopefully I’ll see you ladies tonight.”

Another leer, and Bob was ready to pop him one, woman or man. Instead, Lisa interrupted, still unable to resist teasing him.

“Can you take care of the tip, Bobbie? And I mean with money.”

Bob was smoldering, and the kid laughing/leering as he handed him some cash. As soon as he could slam the door shut, he whirled.

“All right. What the hell is going on?” he demanded. He looked at Lisa, since Karen had already disappeared into the bathroom.

“He was cute, wasn’t he?” Lisa asked. “They’re so enthusiastic at that age.”

“Lisa!”

“OK, OK. You noticed, huh?”

He angrily whipped his shirt up, revealing two full, bouncing breasts. “How was I not supposed to notice these?” he asked sarcastically.

Lisa saw that his upper body hair had completely disappeared, leaving him looking completely female from the waist up. She also felt a slight pang at how big Bob was getting. She was clearly the least endowed of the trio, and when one of them was actually a man, that stung more. She also noticed how the cool air made his nipples perk up.

“Awww, how cute!” she said enthusiastically. “Karen! Come on out. You have to see these.”

The bathroom door opened. Apparently Karen was also having some kind of “female” problems, since she was still adjusting something beneath her stylishly loose skirt. For some reason, she’d also felt the need to immediately change out of her travel clothes, and the discarded pants were still on the floor. She looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of Bob’s new chest. No more than a glimpse, however, since Bob immediately pulled the shirt back down, somehow even more embarrassed to be displaying his breasts in front of his wife.

“He’s gonna be at least a ‘C-cup’,” Lisa said thoughtfully.

“I thought so,” Karen nodded. “His sister’s pretty big. Good thing we brought a few extra sizes.” She turned towards him with obvious curiosity. “Can we see the rest?” she asked, glancing at the parts of his body still clothed.

He blushed again, and his hands moved to cover his chest and crotch, even through his oversized clothes. “No!” he blustered He suddenly started patting himself in desperation when he found a disturbing flatness at his groin.

“Oh come on,” Lisa urged, giggling. “It’s not anything we haven’t seen before.”

“Not on me,” he answered. He was still feeling himself through his clothes, and the blood had drained from his face. “Jesus! It’s gone!”

“No it isn’t,” Lisa laughed. “It’s just … smaller. And a little higher. Here, let me show you…”

She had started towards him, and Bob backed away in a panic.

“No way!” he insisted, sounding shrill. He stopped, briefly surprised by his own high-pitched voice, then shifted tactics and tried to look intimidating. “Look, change me back. Now.”

“Why?”

“Why?” he sputtered. “Look at me!” He waved at his almost completely feminine features and body.

“I am,” Lisa sighed. “God, you’re beautiful.”

This response, frankly, surprised him. He turned to look in the room’s mirror.

It was a very disoriented looking woman who looked back at him. For a second, he was even more surprised when he didn’t recognize his face. Somehow, he’d expected his normal face atop a female body, but instead it was obviously a woman’s face that stared back. He really was rather pretty, though that was the least of his concerns at the moment.

He could still see himself in the reflection, but with differences – the nose much smaller, his lips much fuller, and the cheekbones more prominent while his chin was thinner and more delicate. His eyebrows were much thinner, and his lashes longer, making his eyes also look different, though their color was identical. Of course, his hair was noticeably longer, and had somehow selectively grown into a simple, low-maintenance, shoulder-length cut. He didn’t look like himself exactly, and even less like his sister, but the family resemblance was certainly there.

Of course, below the now slender neck, he wouldn’t have recognized himself at all. Breasts. It was just too weird to accept, but an unconscious touch again confirmed their size and sensitivity. His hips were wide, and together with his rounder, more padded behind, were all that kept his oversized pants in place. He got another shock when he kicked his oversized shoes off. Not the smaller, almost dainty feet lost in his floppy socks – he’d already expected that now - but the fact that he was now noticeably shorter than Lisa! He sat down on the bed. Karen came over to put her arm around him.

“Are you all right, Bob?”

Bob was staring at his fingernails, which had also grown out noticeably, but which thankfully bore no trace of polish. Apparently, Lisa’s spell only transformed the underlying person and not their “acquired” ornamentation.

“Why?” he asked.

Karen looked a bit uncomfortable and looked to Lisa, who shrugged.

[TheoW]

“Why not?” was their response.

“Why not?” he exploded. “I don’t want to be a woman!”

“And why is that?” Karen asked the question coolly, but there was an underlying edge that made him take caution.

“Because I’m a man,” he responded, the logic seeming insurmountable.

“Not any more,” Lisa shrugged. That was the sort of closed-mind thinking that you had to discard when you made a career out of magic.

“But … but …” he stammered. If rather compelling arguments such as those were going to be shrugged off, his case would prove more difficult to make.

“Oh come on,” Karen cajoled him, hugging him close and secretly thrilling to feel his new breasts beneath her arms. “It’ll be fun.”

She loved Bob more than she could say, and that included his maleness. But variety was addictive, and the magical sort of possibilities that had opened to them since Lisa had come into their lives made it even more compelling. And she had settled into using and enjoying magic much more easily than Bob, perhaps partly because she’d been discovered to have considerable untapped talent, whereas Bob was a rarity with essentially none. Since both she and Lisa were bisexual (something Karen had only recently rediscovered, or at least admitted to herself, when their adventures had started), her fascination with a transgender spell was inevitable.

“Yeah,” Lisa agreed, moving in to sit on the other side. She also unexpectedly reached over to kiss him, and it was a kiss that spoke volumes: part plea, part reassurance, and part pure enjoyment (she’d been lusting after his newly full lips since they’d arrived). Always the more aggressive partner, she reached up to run her fingers through his longer, fuller hair and tickled his earlobe.

“Please?” Karen added, watching Bob’s cheeks color as Lisa’s kiss took effect. “We couldn’t resist, and thought it’d be cool to have a girls only vacation for a change. Besides, haven’t you ever been the least curious?”

Lisa broke her kiss, leaving them both flushed, breathless and a little heated up. She gave him a crooked smile and her crystal-green eyes sparkled before she leaned in to whisper in his ear, “We’ll make it worth your while.”

Bob at this point noticed several things. First, he was becoming as aroused as ever by Lisa’s attention – whatever her spell had done physically, his mental and emotional patterns seemed unchanged. Second, her kiss felt different. Better. And her stroking of his hair and ear had been far more … arousing. It was like his nerves were rewired slightly, and he had new erogenous zones. Or maybe it was just because everything seemed so different. Lisa being slightly taller – and stronger. He could feel the difference when she pressed up against him.

In any case, his response was to feel both flushed and excited. His nipples had hardened again, and Karen made a giggle as she reached over to lightly touch one. He gasped – they were even more sensitive when someone else touched them. Now Karen started to kiss him, still fondling his breasts, while Lisa began stroking his lower body through his clothes. It all felt wonderful, and different. He started to lose himself in the sensations, feeling a very odd warmth moving through his lower body, and then he froze.

“Geez!” he gasped. “Did I just pee myself?” He noticed an undeniable wetness that had suddenly become obvious and shifted uncomfortably while eyeing Lisa suspiciously. (After all, her previous spells had been known to reduce him to diapers.) He looked at his pants in surprise, not understanding why he could feel so wet and not have anything show through.

Karen and Lisa exchanged looks and chuckled.

“Um, probably not. At least I hope not,” Lisa explained. “I think it just means we had the effect we wanted. Remember, for a woman, it feels different.

Bob paled a little, imagining what was happening – what he looked like down there. He struggled to stand up, putting an end to their clearly amorous support.

“Look I’m … I’m not ready yet,” he said truthfully, though the particular and infamous phrasing made the two women smile. “Give me a chance to think about this.” He froze for a second as he thought of something, then looked at them with clear alarm. “You CAN change me back, right? I mean, if or when I want?”

Lisa, looking disappointed, nodded, then got a mischievous glint in her eye. “Though it’s really better to let the spell run its course before reversing it. There might be … leftover effects otherwise.”

“Oh wonderful,” Bob groaned, his new voice by this time sounding every bit as feminine as theirs. The physical transformation was complete.

Karen meanwhile, looked a little uncomfortable herself and shifted her seat again, then seemed to be smoothing her skirt. Lisa looked at where her hands were resting and suddenly grinned broadly. They exchanged looks again, but Karen just shook her head, whether for Lisa to keep quiet or to tell her something was unclear. Lisa looked at her eagerly, then at Bob.

“Um, yeah. Taking some time is a good idea. Why don’t you take a shower before we head out? You might find you need to freshen up a little now. It’ll also give you a chance to get used to the changes. Karen and I need to … um, talk about something.”

“Fine,” Bob grumbled, actually curious enough about his new body that he welcomed a few minutes alone.

“I saw some bubble bath on the counter if you want it,” Lisa continued teasingly.

Bob ignored her, taking care to slam the bathroom door to indicate his indignation.

Once inside, he took deep breath to calm himself, and prepare for what lay ahead. He looked at the nervous woman reflected in the mirror, then snorted, almost laughing out loud. After all he’d been through, this should be easy. At least he was normal age and size this time. Well, normal size for a woman. It was disconcerting to find most men and even a lot of women taller than he was, and he was still feeling the tingle of excitement at finding Lisa taller and stronger.

A complete inspection was in order first. He started by pulling off his shirt. After all, he’d already seen his new attributes there – in fact, he couldn’t look down without seeing them. THAT was going to take some getting used to. He took another breath, then whipped the shirt over his head, watching his new breasts bounce free and naked. It was a very, very strange thing for a man to see. It was also very hypnotic, not the least that they were his. He jumped up and down a little just to watch them bounce.

Wow.

They were oval, almost a teardrop shape now, rather than round, as they had grown into mature form. They looked huge, though objectively he recognized that they were smaller than Karen’s. (Strangely enough, he felt a small flicker of pride to be larger than Lisa – guys just can’t get over their fixation with size.) He moved a bit to view them from different angles, watching them jiggle slightly with every movement. The nipples perked up in the cool air, and he reached up to touch them, drawing in another breath sharply. That felt great. How did women get anything done when they could spend all day feeling themselves up?

The thought gave him pause. He was still aroused to be playing with breasts – even his own – and still thought with obvious lust about Karen and Lisa’s naked forms. Apparently, though female in body, his libido remained as male as ever. Or did that just mean he was a lesbian? He shook his head. Life with witches became very confusing.

He went back to examining his body, reluctantly moving on from his breasts. All of his rather thick chest and abdominal hair was gone, leaving his skin smooth and bare. His belly looked softer and rounder, sticking out just a little. That might be where …

The thought stunned him. How complete was this transformation? To at least partially answer the question, he finally undid his pants and pulled them down. This left him clad in his rather tight boxer-briefs, which really looked rather sexy on his female body, outlining his wide hips and curved thighs in skin-tight fabric. His lower legs seemed much smaller to him – though that might have been their rather shocking lack of hair (again, to the male perspective). They were very smooth, with full curves to his calves and thighs that showed at least a little of his once considerable muscle tone. At least they looked like he still exercised. Again, on someone else – a woman - they would have looked pretty sexy, he decided.

Finally, it was time to lose the briefs. He needed another bracing breath before doing that, then yanked them down. By looking down, all he could see was a neat, little furry triangle, with no hint of the appendage to which men are inordinately attached. Other than that, he couldn’t see anything. How did women look at themselves down there? He started contorting, then finally turned around to look in the mirror while bending over, unconsciously simulating the unnatural pose of a model in a cheap skin magazine (not that the author has any experience with such things).

He gasped. Yup, there it was. A fleshy cleft, pink and slightly swollen. And still wet. Even now, he could smell the musk of his own arousal from their earlier make-out session and felt acutely embarrassed. Had Karen and Lisa been able to smell him? How did women keep people from noticing that? Bob was used to the male pattern of continual, spontaneous arousal during a day, not to mention near constant sexual fantasizing. (Any woman reading this should be aware that the male mind is only actually responsive and capable of “normal” interactions approximately 10% of the time – the rest is devoted to sexual fantasies, the more outrageous the better. That man speaking to you may seem to be engaged in casual and polite conversation, but most of his mental energy is devoted to imagining you naked and engaged in lesbian sex with that attractive receptionist with the big breasts.)

Unable to resist, he reached out to touch his new sex. He expected to feel the sort of intense pleasure he associated with his cock when he stroked his labia, but was disappointed. It was nice, no doubt of that. Just not “Wow” nice. A little more like the sensitive skin of his scrotum than the nirvana point of his penis. Nonetheless, it was still nice, at least as long as he kept the motions slow and gentle, and he continued masturbating questioningly, slowly getting over his queasiness and becoming more enthusiastic. He moved a finger up and down, enjoying the feeling, and was amazed at the way his body quickly began to respond again, his new lips swelling a little and quickly becoming more slippery as his juices began to flow. A very odd feeling. It was like sweating in an entirely new place, except that the sweat was thicker and more slippery.

His fingers moved faster, and inadvertently brushed up against the small, stiffening nubbin at the top of the cleft. Bob let out a small yell despite himself. Wow. There it was. He touched it again. His clit was incredibly sensitive, and he brought his fingers back up to rub it hard, assuming it could stand the same pressure and roughness his cock could,

It couldn’t, and the resulting flash of pain/pleasure almost dropped him. OK, he had learned that women liked it a little more gentle and slow. Now, he knew why. Ow. It took a minute before the waves of sensation had passed sufficiently for him to try again.

He began touching himself a little more carefully and skillfully. This was actually pretty cool. Karen had been right. Everyone was at least a little curious about what is was like for the other half. Maybe living it for a while wasn’t a bad thing after all.

He suddenly became acutely aware that he was standing in the bathroom, his pants and underwear at his ankles, masturbating. What if Karen and Lisa were listening? Not only would it be embarrassing, but he didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of realizing he was enjoying their surprise. He listened carefully, but heard only some muffled sounds - a moan? – that sounded unconcerned enough. Having no intention of stopping now (if he stopped now, would he consider himself a tease?), he instead turned on the shower to cover his activity. In fact, he kicked off his clothes and stepped inside, deciding to lie down in the tub.

This proved a remarkably fortuitous choice. Not only did it make masturbation much easier, but the spray of the shower happened to hit close to his pelvis. It took only a few seconds before he’d adjusted the direction of the spray and switched to the proper setting (so THAT was why shower massagers were so popular!) Sure enough, the drumming water splashing erratically near his engorged sex provided a nice counterpoint to his own actions.

It was time for another test. He tried slipping a finger inside himself. It passed easily given his arousal. Whoa! That felt weird. Very, very weird. First, you just weren’t supposed to have holes down there (not if you were a man), but second, and even more amazing, he could actually FEEL it inside him. This was something totally foreign to his male perception. Bob had experienced enough physical exams (and some more adventurous sex on Lisa’s part) to know that even rectal penetration didn’t feel like this. It was different from a touch sensation elsewhere. Not very sensitive to point discrimination – he knew his finger was there, but didn’t have the ability to localize the point as he could on his skin – but more responsive to pressure. He moved the finger around, encountering a little resistance to deep penetration that made him wince, and used his other hand to more gently caress his clit again.

Oh yeah! This was the stuff! He settled into masturbation in earnest, his hands supplemented by the pulsing spray of the shower. One hand caressing his labia, with occasional, very gentle sweeps across his stiff clit, and his other hand providing pressure on the inside. Soon, he began bucking his hips slightly, reveling in the overwhelming and completely new sensations, his fingers moving faster and faster until they blurred into a crescendo that left him squirming and crying out in his first ever female orgasm. He screamed…

And hit his head on the tub. Ow again. Though even that pain barely registered as his body shook. The climax was different – less focused and more whole body – than his male orgasms, but no less intense. He lay spent for a few seconds, the water pelting him refreshingly, then smiled. One advantage of being female – he knew he could go again right away. He reached down to start rubbing himself again.

And stopped, convulsing briefly from another burst of overwhelming sensation. He was too sensitive. It was like an overload when he tried rubbing his clit - again crossing that threshold from pleasure into pain. He knew Karen or Lisa sometimes needed a break, but had frankly assumed that they were holding back. You mean he couldn’t have continuous, unbroken orgasms as a woman? Masturbate until his arms fell off? What a gyp!

However, after about a minute, with the water splashing against his sensitive skin and keeping him highly aroused, tentative reexamination revealed that his new body had finally recovered and reset. He lifted his pelvis to direct the spray directly against his sex, while rubbing his breasts this time. His nipples were also very sensitive, but the slippery feel of his hands across them was still intensely erotic rather than painful. He briefly considered what a picture he made – his legs spread and pelvis raised into the shower massage, his hands kneading his breasts, like something out of a bad porno film – and was again glad Karen and Lisa couldn’t see him. And despite this self-consciousness, he started masturbating enthusiastically once more.

And while they couldn’t see him, they could hear him. As his moans rose into a scream the third time, Lisa looked up from between Karen’s legs. They exchanged knowing smiles before Lisa went back to work enthusiastically, making Karen match him moan for moan.

It was probably close to an hour from when he’d gone in that Bob finally, sheepishly emerged from the bathroom. He found Karen and Lisa reading. They greeted him with smiles, laughing at his pathetically cute attempt to hide his body in a poorly wrapped towel. (Bob, only recently female, hadn’t yet managed women’s unique ability to wrap simple bath towels into fully secure garments, proof against even hurricane forces.)

“Have fun?” Karen asked with an obvious implication.

Bob blushed. “What do you mean?” he asked with feigned ignorance.

“Come on,” Lisa interposed. “New body. New senses. Who wouldn’t want to run it through its paces?” Here she exchanged a mysterious look with Karen, who also blushed, before returning to Bob. “Pretty nice, huh?”

“Um, well…”

“Admit it – you turned yourself on.”

He seized the point to change the conversation.

“Hey, yeah, about that. I'm still … well …” His towel slipped, revealing one of his breasts. Seeing it not only still gave him a feeling of surprise, but some excitement. He pointed to it accusingly. “Yeah, like that. I’m still thinking like a man. I keep wanting to look at these.” He briefly flashed them before covering up again with embarrassment.

“Of course, silly,” Lisa laughed.

“We didn’t want to change YOU,” Karen explained. “Just your body.”

“But … but … I mean, I look …” He trailed off, reluctant to finish saying he had done a pretty thorough examination that seemed to confirm that he was fully female. “Don’t I have girl hormones or whatever now?”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Girl hormones.” She repeated his phrase with a vague note of distaste. “Hard to argue with hard-core science like that.” She sighed. “Rumors and stories to the contrary, hormones do not determine your sexual orientation. As a matter of fact, yes, you do have female body chemistry right now. You are, in fact, swimming in ‘girl hormones’ as you say. Your body is 100 percent female, and for that matter, if we didn’t have safeties built into the spell, you could even get pregnant.”

Bob gasped and looked quite ill. He sat down with his legs spread, inadvertently flashing them another way. Lisa smirked. They’d have to teach him a little more modesty and how to cross his legs with his new body.

“But you can’t. Not unless you remove the safeties, which we obviously wouldn’t do.”

Bob was relieved, though he added with a snort. “It’s not like I'm ever going to have sex with a man anyway.”

Lisa hesitated. “Um, yeah. Well, you wouldn’t have to worry anyway. Not for a month.”

“A month! How long do you …”

She waved his objection aside. “You’ll be back to normal before then anyway.” A giggle. “At least assuming you want to. It sounded like you were pretty into yourself there, so to speak.”

Bob turned quite red, but Karen now picked up the explanation.

“The spell is supposed to change your body as though you’d been born female. It also makes a few obvious cosmetic changes like making your hair more gender appropriate. Plus, we figured you’d want to skip shaving your legs or armpits.”

Bob instinctively looked under his arms. With all the other changes, he hadn’t even noticed how smooth he was there now.

“You actually shave under there?” he asked in disbelief.

Karen and Lisa exchanged looks. “Guys really are pretty clueless, aren’t they?” Lisa asked jokingly.

“We can assume he hasn’t been to many French beaches anyway,” Karen agreed. “Maybe we should have left him natural. It might have been educational.”

Lisa shook her head. “Nah. I like him better this way.” She leered in a friendly fashion.

“It would have been fun watching him shave.”

“I know how to shave,” Bob pointed out indignantly.

“Your legs?” Lisa asked innocently.

Bob looked down. His legs were very smooth indeed, and therefore looked more naked than he could ever remember. He hadn’t considered that they wouldn’t be that bare naturally. He questioningly touched his face with his hand. Also incredibly smooth. At least he wouldn’t have to shave every morning.

“OK,” he said slowly. “So my body is female, but …”

“Everything else – memories, mind - stays the same,” Karen finished.

“We didn’t want you leaving us to run off with a cute lifeguard,” Lisa teased. “And I'm sure the guys are going to be very interested. Especially with that figure.”

Bob grimaced. His towel wasn’t doing a lot to hide anything, and Lisa was clearly enjoying the show on several levels. He also felt acutely naked facing them in his new body and finally decided to look for his clothes. He leaned over to open his suitcase.

“What a great ass!” Lisa called, adding an appreciative whistle to spice her comment.

Bob straightened up as though shot, turning quite red. “That’s it!” he snapped.

“Oh come on. Lisa, leave him alone.” Karen interposed, afraid Lisa had ruined whatever progress they’d made, then turned to him. “You’re not mad, are you?” she asked plaintively. “Lisa just wants to tease you. I really think we could have a lot of fun with this. And it’s a great chance to experience life another way.”

Bob hesitated, looking from one to the other. Maybe the situation was a little teasable.

“Please?” they chorused.

The conclusion was foregone.

They decided to grab lunch before hitting the beach. Bob spent the next few minutes looking through his suitcase for usable clothes, while Karen and Lisa enthusiastically hovered around him offering advice.

“No, no,” Karen said firmly. “Your shirts are too big. You’ll look silly in them, and those open collars you like will let everyone look down your front. Here, take some of mine.”

Bob held one up. It looked ridiculously small, but he tried it on anyway.

“It’s too tight,” he complained, turning with a frown. It did cling tightly to his body, emphasizing his new curves, and also barely reached his waist. He pointed at his breasts, sharply defined and therefore looking larger than ever, the nipples outlined under the fabric. “Especially with these.”

“Yeah, how awful,” Lisa agreed sarcastically, crossing her arms over her own quite small breasts, which barely pushed her shirt out at all.

“Bob,” Karen reassured him soothingly. “You have to remember, with women’s clothes, that’s often the idea. It won’t look so obvious when you put on a bra.”

His eyes widened in horror. “I'm not wearing a bra!” he insisted.

“Why not?” Karen asked, genuinely puzzled.

Bob hesitated. He clearly had the reason for wearing one now, but his male self still rebelled at the prospect. He set his mouth stubbornly. “Because.”

The women laughed.

“Let him, Karen,” Lisa suggested. “I bet after a couple of hours bouncing, he’ll see things differently.”

“Bob, think about this,” Karen reasoned. “You’re feeling self conscious anyway. Which would you notice more, a woman wearing a normal shirt with a bra underneath, or a woman without a bra, whose breasts are bouncing, and whose nipples are sticking out?” Here she tweaked one of Bob’s gently.

“And, more importantly, which would you stare at with your tongue hanging out?” Lisa added shrewdly. “Oh, and by the way, I have to try this.” She came up behind him, nuzzled his ear, and reached around his body to squeeze both his breasts. Hard.

“Hey! OWWW!” Bob complained, slapping at her hand and turning angrily. “That hurts.”

Lisa just smiled. She nodded towards Karen. “We know.”

“Oh.” Bob suddenly recognized one of his own habits in her action.

“And you can see what we mean,” Lisa continued, now looking right at his chest.

Bob looked down and found that despite the roughness of her massage, both nipples had perked up yet again, showing prominently through the tight shirt front. Strangely enough, his instinctive reaction as a man was to want to grab them himself. They were irresistible magnets to both eyes and hands.

“OK, give me the bra,” he sighed, admitting defeat and pulling the shirt back off. He couldn’t get used to the way his breasts jiggled with every upper body movement, and actually hoped the bra might prove less distracting by restraining them.

“We packed several sizes, since we weren’t sure what you’d look like,” Karen told him. She rummaged through her case, and pulled out a light blue one. “Here, try this. Let me help you…”

“I can do it,” Bob insisted, deciding to show his adaptability. He hesitated a second. OK, this couldn’t be too hard. It was pretty obvious where they went. He gingerly brought it over his breasts, where it lay limply. Right. The clasp. He reached behind his back, and the bra promptly fell to the floor. “OK, I get it,” he lied. He arched his back backwards, so that the cups sort of lay across his chest, then started groping behind his back.

“There are straps for your arms,” Lisa suggested, barely able to keep from laughing.

“Of course,” Bob said, feeling stupid. That was how you kept it on while you fastened it. These were a lot easier to UN-fasten, something he had a lot more experience with. He pulled it off, then stared at it stupidly. These straps were like strings. Why didn’t these things have sleeves to make it easier? At last, he slipped it back on with the straps over the shoulders. Yet again, he started flailing his hands behind his back to fasten it.

“Karen,” Lisa whined. “I want to eat some time this afternoon.”

“All right,” Karen agreed with a smile. “Look, dear, you do it like this.”

She showed him how to hook the bra in front, then turn it around already fastened to slip it on. Bob’s eyes widened.

“Why the hell would you do it like that?” he demanded. “Who designed these things?”

“A man,” Lisa answered dryly. “I told you we should have gotten him all front closers,” she added to Karen.

“He’s doing fine,” Karen said proudly, commenting more about Bob’s usual resilience at his transformations than at his dexterity with lingerie. “Here are some panties, dear.”

“Forget it,” Bob said. “We’re not that different there.” He pulled out another pair of his boxer-briefs and pulled them on, marveling at how tight they were to get by his wide hips.

“I guess those are OK,” Karen agreed. “But these would probably fit better.” She held up a skimpy pair of thin, satin panties which made Bob flinch. She shrugged and dropped them. “Now then, what skirt should we choose?”

“Ooh, the denim, the denim,” Lisa said enthusiastically, clapping her hands. She jumped over to help look for it, exchanging pleasant, burbling comments about how good he’d look in it with Karen.

“You don’t think the khaki would work better?”

“With those legs?”

“Still, maybe something less daring. How about this red one?”

“Not with his eyes.”

They sounded very much like two girls playing at dress-up and dolls. As Lisa lifted a denim mini-skirt triumphantly, Bob cleared his throat.

“Um, it really doesn’t matter,” he announced. “I’m not wearing a skirt either.”

Lisa looked at him wryly. “You’ll look pretty odd wearing just your underwear.”

“Ha, ha,” he shot back. “I'm just going to wear my pants. I can roll up the cuffs.”

“Oh come on!” Lisa cried in disappointment. “You’ll look great in this skirt.”

“It doesn’t matter. Pants,” he replied.

“In this heat?” Karen pointed out, remembering the temperature and humidity.

Bob was pulling his pants back on, looking uncertainly at the extra inches that flopped over his feet. They were big enough, since he was smaller as a woman, but were much too long and fit poorly overall. And they would be hot.

“Shorts then,” Bob yielded grudgingly. He pulled out his favorites. They were also not a great fit, but were workable. The biggest problems were his new pelvic proportions. His pants and shorts were really tight around his hips, but loose at his waist, which not only made them uncomfortable, but restricted his walking. Nonetheless, he wanted to salvage what he could of his normal clothes. Besides, the overlarge shorts came past his knees, and he was determined to show as little skin as possible.

“The skirt would look better,” Lisa teased.

The only thing worse than her teasing was that, looking in the mirror, he realized she was right. He ignored her anyway.

Shoes were also a problem. Needless to say, his own were too big. He would be stumbling all day in them, and looked ridiculous. He grudgingly accepted some of Karen’s sneakers, ignoring Lisa’s attempts to get him into a “darling” pair of strappy sandals. Dressed at last, he turned to leave.

“Um, aren’t you forgetting something?” Karen asked.

Bob mentally checked, wondering what article of female dress he’d forgotten. “I don’t think so.”

“Your hair.”

“What about it?” Bob had run his fingers through it after his shower the way he usually did.

“It’s much longer now,” Karen explained. “And there’s more of it. It looks like you’ve got some natural wave to it, too. That means you’ll need to style… er, brush and dry it to keep it neat, or it’ll be all over the place.”

“And don’t forget your makeup,” Lisa added mirthfully.

Perhaps it was the threat of makeup (which he refused with a glare), but Bob at least let Karen help him brush his hair so it wouldn’t tangle or frizz.

“Do you always have to do this?” he asked incredulously.

“And you wonder why we take longer to get ready,” Karen chided.

“I’d just cut it off,” Bob protested.

“Fine,” Lisa agreed. “As long as you don’t mind drawing extra attention and comments. Or would you not stare at a woman in a buzz cut?”

He fell silent again, increasingly dismayed at the customs and restraints that bound women, and submitted to their attention. Eventually, they made it down to the resort restaurant. Bob felt as though every pair of eyes in the place must be turned on him, but naturally, their group drew no special attention whatever. Just three women (one clearly lacking fashion sense) settling in to lunch. Nothing remarkable.

Except to one attractive young woman, sitting alone and sipping coffee, who seemed to watch their every move with unusual interest. She had chosen a seat that let her watch the paths to the beach, and had a laptop and several folders set in front of her, but didn’t seem to be doing any real work. Casual observers would have remarked on her lustrous blond hair, impeccable makeup, stylish clothes and expensive dark glasses. More knowledgeable ones would have locked in on the strange jewelry, including a carved ring with a gem that seemed to glow in the sunlight that came through the window, and a medallion with odd inscriptions around the side.

Yes. Yet another medallion.

After a few minutes, a waitress came to take their order.

“I’ll have the half-pound cheeseburger, with fries, and a beer. What do you have on tap?” Bob asked.

The server, whose eyes had widened in surprise, responded by rote. Bob nodded.

“The Dortmunder. A pint,” he clarified after hearing the selection, then turned to Karen and Lisa. “You want any appetizers?”

The server laughed. “Good Lord, where do you put that?” she asked. “I would LOVE to have a metabolism like yours, honey.”

Karen ordered a more modest lunch, but Lisa begged off anything but a salad. This was unusual for her, but she explained that she thought the flight had left her stomach still unsettled. They talked happily while waiting to eat, and Bob actually seemed to relax a little as nothing unusual happened. Well, almost nothing.

“Um, Bob,” Karen cautioned.

“What?” he asked.

“Would you please stop doing that?”

He looked down where her laughing eyes had settled, and suddenly realized he had been almost continuously rubbing and scratching his breasts. He blushed and firmly settled his hands on the table.

“It feels funny,” he explained. The bra, while no doubt efficient and modest, just felt strange against his skin, and the tight strap was uncomfortable, the constriction a constant reminder of its presence.

“You’ll get used to it,” Karen assured him.

“In a couple of years,” Lisa added jokingly.

Bob didn’t laugh.

He also couldn’t finish his meal. The hamburger and fries were great, but less than halfway through, he started to feel full. The beer also seemed bigger than usual. He pushed the plate away with a groan.

“Guess I wasn’t as hungry as I thought.”

“Yes you were,” Lisa said. “You just don’t have the capacity you did. You’re smaller, remember? So’s your stomach. Or it is unless you try to stuff a few more meals like that down. You probably just ate your full daily calorie allowance in that meal.”

His eyes widened. “No way!”

“Welcome to our world,” Lisa smiled.

Bob could almost feel his thighs expanding beneath him. For this and other reasons, they skipped dessert to get ready for the beach. As they left, Lisa pointed out the resort’s bar had a special happy hour that night. It looked like a good deal, and they discussed going on the way back to their room.

And following them outside the restaurant was the attractive young woman who had watched them so intently. She saw them examine the bar advertisement, then continued to watch until they’d disappeared onto the elevator. She smiled, but no one who saw it would have felt comforted by the expression as she returned to her table.

Upstairs, Bob was about to have another new experience. The beer had done exactly what beer usually did, and he was all but hopping from foot to foot as they opened their room door. The pressure had built very quickly and reached what seemed a critical stage a lot faster.

“Let me guess,” he said sarcastically as Karen and Lisa laughed at his discomfort. “Smaller bladder too?”

“Not necessarily,” Lisa replied, matching his footwork and unable to resist playfully blocking his increasingly desperate attempt to get into the bathroom. “But looking at your little dance here, I’d say yes.”

“I’m waiting for the upside here,” he announced haughtily as he finally pushed past here, immediately slamming the door closed.

“You’ll just have to wait until tonight,” Lisa replied suggestively through the door.

Inside, Bob had automatically unzipped his shorts and started to reach inside, still hopping in his distraction. It wasn’t until he fumbled against the smooth, empty surface of his briefs that he realized his mistake.

“Another bonus,” he grumbled, tugging his shorts and briefs down together.

Unfortunately, his wider hips and choice of men’s shorts made this more difficult than he expected, and together with the distended state of his bladder and his body’s automatic reaction at being so close to release, he briefly lost control, cursing as he felt a spurt of warm urine soak his clothes. Barely able to control it even after this overflow, he wrenched his wet underwear down and waddled in a completely undignified manner to sit down, finally and gratefully releasing his bladder in a flood.

It was a strange feeling. Much less sense of where the urine stream was (men are used to being able to track the course right along their shaft) and of course, no control of where it went (a far cry from being able to spell your name in the snow). It gushed out, wetting his lower body in spray and dribbles, and together with the now cooling, wet shorts around his ankles, gave him a new appreciation that penises had inherent advantages beyond the carnal. (Making him one of the few men to actually suffer penis envy.) In fact, given how wet he ended up, he couldn’t help wondering if he was doing something wrong here too, but he wasn’t about to ask for pointers on this. With some distaste, he grabbed a few squares of toilet paper to clean himself up.

He walked back out, naked from the waist down, wet clothes in hand, and a look of mild, angry disgust. Karen looked up and assumed he was just getting ready for the beach (she had already removed her own shirt and shoes), then saw the wet stain.

“Oh, honey,” she said sympathetically.

Lisa looked over and correctly inferred what had happened. “Sorry,” she admitted. “Probably should have warned you. We have a little less control that way than you’re used to.”

“Thanks,” he shot back. “Just one surprise after another.” He dropped his shorts into a plastic hotel laundry bag.

“It happens to all of us once or twice,” Karen said soothingly. “You just need a little time to get used to your body’s new feelings. Come on, let’s enjoy that beautiful beach out there.”

Speaking of surprises, Bob froze after leaning down to his suitcase. He held up his swimming trunks.

“I don’t think these are going to work,” he announced rhetorically. “Not unless this beach is more tolerant than it looks.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Lisa suggested.

Karen just gave her a look then turned back to Bob.

“Of course not. That’s why we packed you an extra suit.” She held up the string bikini they had showed Bob last night.

His eyes widened in horror. “No way,” he finally managed.

“Why not?” Lisa demanded.

“It’s a bikini!” he shot back angrily.

“And you claimed he wouldn’t know women’s fashions,” Lisa joked to Karen.

“You like bikinis,” Karen observed coolly, holding up the tiny strips of bright cloth. “You point them out all the time on the beach.” This last was delivered with a pointed edge that suggested he should be careful.

“Um, well, yes,” Bob admitted uncomfortably. They both knew he appreciated what the bikinis didn’t cover rather than the suit styles themselves. “But this is different.”

“You wanted us to wear bikinis,” Lisa put in, holding her own suit up - a considerably less daring style (if such a claim can be made for any bikini) Bob couldn’t help noticing with envy.

“Um…” Bob was running out of ideas. Both women now faced him with arms crossed over their chests, waiting for his response.

“Yes?” they asked in chorus, a clear challenge in their voices.

“Thanks,” he said meekly, holding his hand out to take the suit from Karen.

The two women exchanged what seemed to be looks of triumph. Lisa casually slipped a camera out of her beach-bag.

Bob looked at the distressingly tiny, seemingly flimsy bits of cloth and spandex. The top looked even smaller than his new bra, and the bottom seemed no more than two small triangles of material connected by a string. Of course, they had to be a bright color to draw extra attention, as if his body spilling out on all sides wasn’t arresting enough.

Karen walked past him and locked herself into the bathroom to change. Bob, out of habit, changed outside. He pulled off his top, briefly breathing more freely as he released his bra. He could see marks on his breasts and chest from the bra straps and cups. Only an hour, and it was already a relief to take it off. How did women live in them all day?

Now naked, he started by stepping into the bikini bottom. Almost predictably, he pulled it up backwards, and mumbled in frustration as he tried to make it fit. There were almost no distinguishing marks for orientation (unlike the fly in a man’s suit), and it wasn’t until he found the tiny tag that he realized his mistake. He almost left it backwards anyway. The wider suit bottom at least covered his front adequately, but he changed his mind when, based on the breeze he felt on his nearly bare bottom, he realized the suit was acting more like a thong behind. He had just started to pull it back down when he noticed the atypical silence at his predicament from Lisa. He turned.

And found her smiling happily, video camera held in front of her.

“Lisa!” he shrieked. (He would later wince every time he heard how high and shrill his panicked voice was on the tape.) He spun around both ways, looking for cover, and went to pull the suit back up but tripped, inadvertently stepping out of one leg and leaving it useless. He spun to hide his naked bush, then recognized that he was mooning her and spun back with his hands strategically placed, only belatedly realizing he was dramatically bobbling his naked breasts in his agitation. He tried to palm his breasts, realized that his fingers barely covered the important bits, then finally crossed his arms in indignation. A second later, he had to drop one hand as he again realized he was naked below. Women just had too many parts to keep covered.

“Turn that off!” he demanded, contorting his body as though experimenting with a new type of yoga.

Whether Lisa on her own would have or not remains uncertain, however, Karen’s voice called scoldingly through the bathroom door.

“Lisa!”

“Aww!” Lisa complained, reluctantly setting the camera down.

Bob, flushed scarlet in embarrassment, looked at her victoriously, then uncovered again. He bent over, presenting a beautiful full moon shot to the camera before suddenly straightening up again, his hands over his behind. He whirled around.

“It is off, right?” he asked. Lisa had put the camera down, but it was still pointing his way.

Lisa smiled sheepishly at being caught. “It is now,” she admitted, touching a button, then beginning to pull off her own clothes. “You have to admit, it was pretty funny.”

Bob turned away with a noncommittal “hmphh.” He was therefore very surprised when a moment later, a pair of arms encircled his body. He felt warm breath at his ear.

“And very hot,” Lisa continued in a whisper.

Her hands moved across his naked body, then turned him around. He came about to find that she was also nude, but before he could do anything else, she had kissed him, her lips moving longingly and sensuously over his own. She pressed their bodies together, and Bob marveled at the feel of her breasts pushing against his – both soft and yielding, producing delightful sensations from the gentle compression to match the wonderful soft pressure against his nipples.

Lisa’s hands moved independently – one to stroke his hair and keep him close for the kiss, and the other moving across his bare back towards the cleft of his buttocks. The latter tingle became almost overwhelming. So many sensations, and so many new erogenous zones. Bob began caressing Lisa’s body in return, concentrating on her behind with one hand and using the other to caress her small breasts. Needless to say, it was a little disconcerting to find his own much larger ones in the way, but that didn’t stop him from drawing an appreciative sigh when she broke their kiss. He felt the strange warmth move into his pelvis again, like blushing, but deeper. And wetter. He could sense Lisa’s own arousal as his hands moved across her pelvis.

Which is how Karen found them as she opened the door. She had expected tension and disgruntlement based on the verbal exchange minutes before, and gaped in surprise at the naked women, pressed and entwined together, both flushed and breathing rapidly. Bob looked up guiltily at being caught so aroused in his new body, and stepped back, his nipples very stiff and very prominent, the areolas surrounding them puffed up in excitement. He covered them in embarrassment.

“Hi,” he squeaked.

Karen smiled at his chagrin, but then feigned irritation.

“Hey, how about waiting for me?” she asked jokingly. “And after I just finished getting dressed.” As if to emphasize the point, she reached down to carefully adjust the skirt cover-up she wore on top of her suit. She looked a little uncomfortable.

“Sorry,” Lisa smirked, going back to putting on her own suit. “He was just soooo cute.”

She put her own bikini top on and stopped in surprise. It seemed a little tighter than usual. She checked her profile in the mirror. Was she really a bit bigger? She was still small, but she thought there might be a little more there than usual. She remembered the magic that she had assumed had misfired. Maybe this was what the spell was doing, whether as an unsuspected reaction to her physiology or because of the other magic they had used. It might be emphasizing her feminine characteristics instead of …well, instead of following Karen’s transformation. On a more mundane explanation, her breasts also seemed just a bit tender, and she worried she was about to finally start her delayed period after all. Neither prospect seemed attractive, but she put the worry aside. There wasn’t a lot she could do about either at this point. She finished dressing, and casually slipped a few tampons into her bag.

Bob had finally managed to don his own bikini with Karen’s help and was looking at himself in the mirror. His breasts looked huge in the tiny top (he really was a little big for the style) and seemed to spill out on all sides at once, and he could see the lines of his hips plainly around the thin strings that joined the bikini bottom. It barely covered the top of his thatch, didn’t quite reach across either side, providing tantalizing glimpses of the crease between pelvis and thigh, and left about half his bottom exposed unless he was careful.

On another woman, he would have loved it, and that made his predicament that much more ironic. He tugged and pulled the material back and forth in a vain attempt to cover more skin. He felt almost completely naked – no, more than naked somehow – in the alien bindings of the bikini. It seemed to him that the tiny triangles only served to draw attention to his breasts and bottom.

Exactly as they were designed to do.

There was something else, a strange sensation or worry he’d never had before. The V-shape of the bikini and almost nonexistent sides really seemed to emphasize his curves, and he stared in amazement at just how prominent his hips looked. He turned around, examining his reflection critically and from multiple angles over the shoulder, then turned in concern to Lisa and Karen.

“Does this make my butt look big?” he asked apprehensively.

Karen and Lisa exchanged one look, then fell on the bed laughing.

No sweeter a taste that you could find Than fruit hanging ripe upon the vine - “Androgyny” by Garbage

They eventually recovered, though not before many, many comments and jokes, especially when Bob tried to get his breasts to ride a little higher and safer within the bikini, and instead receiving a quick lesson in gravity as they immediately dropped back, dragging the bikini top back down and exposing a little more. To mollify him a little, they gave him a cover-up half robe to provide a little more modesty, at least for his upper body. Even so, as they walked together down to the beach, Bob felt completely exposed and conspicuous, not the least since he couldn’t walk without seeming to roll his hips, making his half-naked ass cheeks dance saucily. He hadn’t realized just how much women rotated when they walked – their legs came in at an entirely different angle. The gait was accentuated by his bikini and sandals, and then magnified even more by the way his feet sank into the soft sand of the beach, and he could swear his hips must be rolling 90 degrees with each step. It was ridiculous! (Of course, he’d been known to stare rapturously at the hypnotic see-saw pattern that a bikini bottom made when it was someone else’s hips doing the rocking, but this was entirely different.) But if he tried careful and self-conscious steps, it turned into a mincing gait that made him feel even more self-conscious. Making things worse, he had to reach behind and pull on the bikini every few steps to stretch it back across his bottom, since it kept creeping happily towards the cleft between his cheeks, as though determined to change into a thong.

He looked around nervously, feeling incredibly conspicuous. Not only did the bikini cover less than he was used to, some of the parts it were covering were completely foreign to him, somehow accentuating the feeling of exposure and inadequacy. It was as though every pair of eyes on the beach would be checking out his breasts and his pelvis, even though intellectually he knew there wasn’t anything to distinguish him from the other women now. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. His was one of the more daring suits in sight, he noted with disgruntlement. Even the other bikinis weren’t as revealing. And Karen had allowed herself a sort of cover-up skirt that hid her lower body quite nicely. He looked at it jealously while pulling his own, inadequate wrap closer, and he was grateful when they finally reached some open chairs.

“Thank God,” he sighed, sinking into a chair. The beach bag had even started to feel heavy towards the end. How weak was he in this body? He unconsciously flexed his arm to check his tone and raise a biceps bulge. To his dismay, it barely rounded at all, remaining firm but smooth. He had the arms of a girl.

As to why this should have surprised him under the circumstances, we hesitate to guess, but he was annoyed nonetheless.

“I would NOT look like this if I were a girl,” he announced in disgust.

“What’s the matter?” Karen asked, peering over her dark glasses.

“Look at this!” he said angrily, adopting a double-biceps pose.

“Um, OK,” Karen said uncertainly.

“Very impressive,” Lisa giggled.

Bob glared at her. “Exactly. I would not look like this. I’d be a lot stronger. I’d be working out all the time.”

“Like you do now?” Karen asked ironically. Bob was only intermittently faithful about his exercising.

“Yeah…well, no,” he admitted. “I’d REALLY do it if I were like this. I'm so weak.”

“Like a girl?” Lisa asked, a cautionary note creeping into her tone.

Bob hesitated. When you lived with witches, you learned to be very careful about assumptions or blanket comments. Visions of being surrounded by amazons as Lisa cast a spell to make women all around him super-strong came to mind.

Not that it was an entirely unpleasant thought.

“You know what I mean,” he said. “Those suitcases were so heavy, it was ridiculous. Even this stupid bag and these chairs feel heavy.”

“You’re probably about half as strong as you used to be,” Lisa decided. “Maybe less. You’re pretty strong normally, but a lot of that is just size and general build, not conditioning. You’re bigger than average for a guy, but no more than average size as a woman. That’s a big part of the change. Plus, women don’t usually have as much proportional upper body strength.”

“You’re stronger than I am,” Bob said unhappily, as though it was unfair somehow.

“Yeah.” She smiled at him predatorily. “Isn’t that cool?” She licked her lips, as though anticipating something.

“Lisa works out a lot more regularly,” Karen pointed out.

“Yeah? Well, I would have too, if I had known,” he grumbled.

“Really?” Lisa asked. “Maybe, but you don’t know that. It might not be important to you. It’s guys who obsess about muscle after all. This is supposed to be your body as though you had been born female. Maybe if you had, you wouldn’t have as much interest in athletics or strength. Just think, Karen, no watching sports on TV.”

“That would be a change,” Karen laughed.

“No way,” Bob insisted. He decided if he spent any time in this form, he would begin weight-training workouts immediately to build upper body strength and prove her wrong.

“You never know,” Lisa insisted teasingly. “Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if we catch you watching Lifetime instead of ESPN. Remember, as you yourself pointed out, your body is full of girl hormones.”

Bob was feeling irritated enough that he answered without thinking.

[TheoW]

“Does this mean I’ll also want to shop for clothes, gush about feelings, get all moody and weepy?” he asked sarcastically. “Not to mention getting very strange once a month?”

Karen and Lisa exchanged looks, then turned on him in unison. He found very cold pairs of green and blue eyes examining him over their respective glasses.

“I think he gets the full treatment,” Karen said.

“Oh yeah,” Lisa agreed. “He’s goin’ down.”

“What are you talking about?” Bob demanded.

“We weren’t sure whether to change you back before or after,” Lisa answered.

“Before or after what?” Bob asked suspiciously. “Before we go back? It’s pretty obvious I’ll need to be back to normal before work.”

“Um, no. Something else,” Karen put in. She put on an obviously forced cheeriness. “Let’s just say you’re going to enjoy this the whole vacation now.”

Bob argued and grumbled to no avail, and finally resigned himself. His mood didn’t improve, however, when he noticed that several unattached males had chosen chairs or set up towels nearby. He pulled his cover-up more tightly around him, dismayed at the fact that legs were completely bare and exposed. Karen looked up from her book.

“Don’t forget your sunscreen,” she warned.

“I'm fine,” he lied.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said in exasperation. “Here, let me …”

“No,” Lisa interrupted, grabbing a bottle, her beautiful green eyes glinting mischievously. “Let me.”

“I can do it,” Bob insisted, worried about her smile.

“Not like me,” she replied. “Now, lie down on your towel, or I’ll evaporate your clothes.”

“You can’t do that,” Bob said suspiciously. A pause. He drew the cover-up very close. “Can you?”

Lisa waved her hand impressively. “Higetdus figetdus, bikini bare. I banish your clothes down to the …”

“OK, OK!” Bob said anxiously, throwing off his wrap and dropping prone onto the towel. He felt virtually naked already, spell or no spell.

Karen casually turned a page.

“Lisa, that was absolute drivel,” she announced, barely able to suppress a giggle.

“I know,” Lisa smiled back. “But you never know. It might have done something.”

Bob started to rise up in protest, but before he knew it, Lisa had leapt onto his legs, pinning him down.

“Oh relax,” she said, squirting some coconut-scented oil onto her hand. “You’ll like it.”

He seemed ready to argue the point, especially feeling as exposed as he now was, but the sentiment vanished as Lisa began rubbing his back and shoulders with lotion. It did feel very nice, especially when she alternated light strokes with deeper massaging as she spread the lotion around. It seemed very slippery – more suited for massage therapy than the sport sunblock he was used to, but felt so nice he didn’t complain. She continued the massage long after she had covered his upper body and arms, working his muscles sensuously.

“Mmm,” he admitted. He smiled, closed his eyes and turned his head, content to let Lisa do whatever she wanted.

Or so he thought. He didn’t mind when her strokes moved down his side and closer and closer to the sides of his half-exposed breasts, but he did cry out a complaint as he felt her unsnap his bikini top. He very nearly made the mistake of pushing himself upright, which would have nicely flashed his tits to everyone, and only at the last second dropped back flat with his arms blocking his chest.

“Lisa!”

“Relax,” she said again. “Just trying to be thorough.” She rubbed the spot where his strap had covered his back with lotion. “Besides, you might not want tan lines back here.”

“Hmmph,” he said noncommittally, trying to make sure he was covered. His eyes wandered around them. Almost every man was staring, though some tried to hide it better than others.

Only Lisa’s expert massage finally let him relax again. It DID feel very nice when she had his whole back to work with. And her occasional touches along his breasts only emphasized how much more sensitive and erogenous they were now. He sighed in pleasure as she massaged the mounds gently from the side, glad she had exposed them. It was all he could do to keep from turning over so she could turn her attention to his stiffening nipples that pressed into the sand through the towel. He was afraid there would be two telltale pencil eraser-sized holes in the sand when he got up.

Now her hands started to move even lower, swooping dangerously close to the waist of his suit. Just as he worried that he was about to be exposed again, she switched positions, and began to cover his legs, rubbing liberal amounts of lotion all along them. Her strokes near his feet were gentle – almost tickles – while his calves and thighs were again treated to a combination of light, teasing touch and deeper massage.

This time, the pleasure was almost hypnotic, and Bob didn’t care when she moved back to his ass. She began letting her fingers drift along his thighs, then quickly underneath the suit, gradually exposing more and more of his behind to her touch. She gently rubbed and stroked it, until Bob felt the disconcerting return of a definite wetness somewhere else. He finally became flustered enough to warn her.

“Um, Lisa, that feels wonderful, but …”

He felt her body press against his. She lay on top of him, pressing her breasts against his naked back and tickling the side of his face with her hair as she leaned to touch her lips to his ear. She whispered, the warm breath as sensuous as her touch.

“Want me to stop?”

“Um, no,” he admitted, feeling her hands moving to graze his naked breasts. One moved beneath him, tweaking an erect nipple. He jerked spasmodically at the intense sensation. He felt as though a dam had suddenly burst within his sex, and warmth and wetness flooded him. One of Lisa’s hands began to grope beneath his suit, and he squirmed wantonly.

“Get a room, you two,” Karen joked, but in fact, she looked almost as flushed as Bob. She was actually becoming noticeably aroused herself, with her nipples showing through her suit top. She crossed and uncrossed her legs, as though she couldn’t get comfortable, and for some reason, had placed a towel across her lap.

Lisa leaned closer and licked Bob’s ear, making him moan, then spoke again.

“I think the guy to your right is about to cum,” she whispered.

Bob froze, the turned his head back and forth to the sides. All the men around them were openly staring now, and several had obvious erections tenting their suits. Sure enough, a young man their right had started trying to surreptitiously touch himself beneath a towel and bring himself off. Bob blushed a deep red that overwhelmed his sex flush.

“Lisa!” he hissed, trying unsuccessfully to throw her off, then grabbing a towel to cover himself as his bikini top slipped down. His bare breasts briefly wobbled into view before he could drop again, determined to prevent even more exposure. He had provided quite enough of a show already, thank you. His struggles were at first in vain, since he still had trouble gauging his reduced strength and because of Lisa’s position on top of him, but he finally managed to spill a laughing Lisa to the side. This resulted in one last flashing of his naked breasts to the beach before he could react and pull the towel up securely around his chest. “LISA!” he repeated accusingly.

Too late, at least the one guy with the towel made a strange face and stiffened slightly as Bob’s breasts appeared in all their glory, leaving no doubt as to his satisfaction with the entire episode, and two others actually applauded. Bob was angrily trying to reattach his bikini top under the towel, while Lisa suddenly looked in surprise at the lotion in her hand.

“Oh, gosh, this isn’t sunscreen. It’s just scented oil,” she exclaimed. “I wonder how that got into my bag? We’ll just have to do it again.”

“We will not!” Bob insisted, though he found his skin – and other areas – were actually aching in their desire for just that.

Karen came to his rescue again, demurely fastening his bikini back on, then starting to apply the real sunscreen, though having a third woman become involved only seemed to spur on a few of the audience to more open leering. Bob felt a strange sense of power mixing with his embarrassment. He knew how erotic and powerful an effect women could have on men from being a long-time and happy observer, but now he was on the other side. Guys could get aroused just by looking at him. They were actively checking him out, some openly staring – fantasizing probably – and most at least semi-actively lusting, just from seeing him. This was a very disconcerting feeling, at least if you were actually a man, and used to being the lust-er, and not the lust-ee. Actually baring his body was enough to seriously distract, if not actually obsess, them – even paralyzing higher thought processes, as he knew all too well from experience. That was pretty strong stuff.

Of course, there was a downside as well, as he was about to find out. Karen was finishing up his sunblock when a trio of young, 20-somethings dressed in baggy, sagging swim gear walked up. One of them wore regular shorts which had slipped intentionally down enough to half expose his underwear, a look Bob found ridiculous under the best of circumstances and nearly offensive now. The guys leered and smiled at the group, posing and flexing slightly, as though unconsciously or uncontrollably (One can only imagine their intense inner struggle: “Muscles…too strong….too big….must flex.”)

“Hiya,” they nodded. “You can stop crying now,” the tallest, a guy with rather long, unkempt blonde hair, announced.

“Crying?” Karen asked, looking at them coolly and with some puzzlement. “We weren’t crying.”

“Sure you were,” he replied. “You beautiful ladies were just crying out for some male companionship. And here we are.”

One of the other guys, who sported a faddish soul-patch beard, found Bob’s gaze and winked obviously. His eyes traveled immediately down to Bob’s half-exposed breasts, and the cleavage enhanced by his small, tight top, then fixed there. Bob crossed his arms uncomfortably. He hoped he was never this obvious when he checked a woman’s assets.

“Oh, please,” Lisa groaned. “If you’d had any chance at all – which you didn’t,” she hastened to add. “You would have blown it with a line like that.”

“Hey, baby,” the blond replied, smiling confidently and unperturbed. “It’s the only thing about us you won’t like. I’m Chad. This is Remo.” He nodded at the guy still staring openly at Bob’s chest. “And Brooker. And you are?” he asked invitingly.

“Unavailable,” Lisa shot back, opening a book.

“Come on, gorgeous,” he persisted . “How we gonna get to know each other like this?”

Remo added slyly, “Yeah, doesn’t hurt to be friendly. How about you?” he asked Bob. “What are your names? I'm sure they’re as beautiful as you are.”

Bob desperately wished he could find his cover-up without being too obvious. The blatant ogling made him extremely uncomfortable. Karen intervened.

“In case you boys hadn’t noticed,” she said acidly, holding out her ring hand. “We’re married. All of us.”

Lisa jerked slightly and brightened noticeably at being included. She looked lovingly at her own ring – a spell-warding ring that Gregor had given them after their recent adventures, and which they all wore for protection, but to her something more – and all but glowed.

The guys just laughed and moved in closer. Bob stood out of habit to counter the threat, and suddenly discovered just how much shorter he was when he was still only chin-level to them. Even the shortest of the three loomed over him by at least 6 inches!

“Ooh, feisty,” Remo laughed, moving to reaffirm his implied choice of Bob.

“Hey, baby. We saw you guys walk down here. And you don’t have no chairs for husbands,” Chad sneered, ignoring the objection. “Besides, that’s cool. We don’t mind. Let’s just all relax and get to know each other.”

Remo had moved in closer yet to the still standing Bob and leered at him openly. Then, to Bob’s shock, he actually surreptitiously patted his behind, squeezing Bob’s ass a little in the process. Bob pulled away angrily, lashing out automatically, only to find that Remo deflected the blow without even trying.

That changed the atmosphere electrically. Lisa had started to climb to her feet immediately to intervene, but before Bob or even Lisa could react further, Lisa felt a tingle in the air, and looked in surprise at Karen. As an adept, she could sense the flow of some magic, especially the raw or unfocused energy of a neophyte. She noticed her friend’s increasingly angry expression, then turned back to the guys. She thought she could already see some differences. Remo’s soul patch was down to a wispy memory.

“You boys better take the hint,” she informed them casually, settling back onto the towel. “You don’t want to make my friend here angry.”

The guys laughed. They moved in uncomfortably close to all three of them, in what seemed an increasingly obvious and threatening manner, Chad standing directly in front of Lisa, his crotch thrust towards her face.

“What she gonna do?” he demanded. “She gonna go all she-hulk on us?” They laughed.

Lisa saw the changes accelerating in their faces and just smiled.

“Boys, boys, boys…” she shook her head sadly.

“And why you keep callin’ us boys?” he continued. “Lady, I am more man than you…”

He cut off at the last part, as his voice unexpectedly broke at least an octave higher with the last word. They exchanged glances. Something was wrong, but they couldn’t quite place it. The soul patch on the one guy had faded to a few scraggles of limp hair, and the others hadn’t noticed yet that their own faces showed no hint of the unshaven chins or day-old facial hair they had worn so proudly minutes before. The hair on top of their heads became a little fuller and lighter, their noses and jaws smaller, giving their faces a decidedly youthful appearance. Their upper bodies slimmed, especially their shoulders, chests and upper arms. The hair on their chests and legs was receding rapidly. They were getting shorter too, but since they were all losing height together, the change wasn’t as noticeable.

Until Lisa stood up.

Suddenly, Chad realized she was much taller than he had guessed, and he found himself staring at her eye-to-eye. Well, almost. For some reason, she seemed to gain another inch even as he watched, and he was suddenly looking up into her face. He squirmed and swallowed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable as his confidence evaporated. He felt shy and awkward. She seemed so much bigger – and older.

“This is why,” Lisa informed him, reaching down and pulling on his now ridiculously oversized and baggy shorts, already hanging well past his knees.

They immediately fell without resistance, and Chad gasped as the cold air met his privates. He looked down and reached to cover himself, and received an even greater shock. His cock looked incredibly small – no more than a few inches – and was completely bare, with almost no hint of his once thick pubic hair. His scrotum was also half-size or less, and had pulled up tight against his body, giving him the appearance of... Well, a boy.

His friends stared in shock as well, then felt their own exceedingly baggy shorts beginning to slip. In desperation, they grabbed them to preserve their modesty, though a glance through the widening gap of the sagging waistbands confirmed their own reduction. None of them looked older than 10.

Chad had flushed scarlet in embarrassment, and yanked his shorts back up, though they would no longer stay in place without his hands to support them. In a high, boyish voice, he let out a yell and ran away, his eyes stinging with unexpected and uncontrollable tears over his embarrassment. It was only a moment before his friends followed in disarray, all three preadolescent boys waddling while holding their clothes on, their ballooning shorts dragging almost to their ankles. There were fragments of exclamations, indicating their confusion and complete bafflement over what had happened, though Lisa was sure she heard one of them complaining about the “mean ladies.”

“Karen!” Lisa said admiringly. “You’re getting good!”

Although Karen was still a neophyte to magic, she was known to have considerable untapped power. And thanks to an earlier, well-chronicled accident with a medallion, she had obtained the innate ability to change people’s ages, either at will or subconsciously. The power had manifested before under stress, but this was the first time Lisa had seen her exert such direct control.

“Thanks,” Karen blushed as she felt the rush of anger and resulting power dissipate. “I probably shouldn’t have done that though, should I?” She looked around the beach nervously to see how much attention they’d attracted.

Bob was also feeling worried, but except for a few laughs at their ridiculously baggy suits, the boys seemed to be ignored. He was also deeply impressed – and a bit worried – at Karen’s new display of power.

“Serves them right,” Lisa said emphatically. “We could have handled them as is.” She had actually been looking forward to trying some of the training she’d received from Kei, the CSA’s best hand-to-hand fighter. “But that was very satisfying. Plus, they won’t be hitting on anyone else for a while.” A pause. “Um, assuming you set a return spell?” she continued apprehensively.

Karen smiled. “You’ve taught me better than that,” she assured her. “They should start changing back immediately. But I bet they’ll leave us alone the rest of the trip.”

Bob was still worried. “But won’t they … I mean … if they tell … won’t people wonder what happened?”

Lisa shrugged. “You’d be amazed what people will do to avoid admitting magic. They’ll rationalize just about anything. Remember how you guys refused to admit it the first time you were shrinking? Besides,” she smiled at the remembered image of Chad’s face as he saw his regressed body, “it’s not something they’ll want to show around. Come on.” She stood up and threw her glasses down. “Let’s take a swim.”

Karen begged off. “I’m comfortable right here.” She paused, then added knowingly to Lisa, “And I don’t want to get my suit wet. Are you sure you should?”

She looked at Lisa curiously, her eyes lingering at Lisa’s pelvis, then back as though asking an unspoken question. Lisa herself looked a little frustrated, shook her head as though to reassure Karen, then turned to Bob.

“Come on,” she repeated. “Wouldn’t it be great to cool off in that water?”

The ocean waves were indeed enticing, large enough for people to ride them a short way, and Bob ordinarily loved to swim or float in the surf, but he was still hesitant due to feeling so conspicuous. On the other hand, the idea of cooling off seemed particularly attractive since he still felt extremely warm – and wet – from Lisa’s massage. He stood up apprehensively, reluctantly dropping his towel and cover-up.

“Race you!” Lisa announced, already starting off, then adding over her shoulder, “Or are you going to claim you can’t run like that either?”

Unable to resist the challenge, Bob started after her. He could indeed run, but almost immediately found the experience different in several ways. First, of course, was the altered gait from his wider hips, making his legs rotate more to compensate. More distracting was the bounce in his breasts. Like the amplified vibrations that can bring down a bridge under a marching army, he found that just a few strides seemed to have set a reverberation that made his boobs bounce wildly, as though determined to escape the spandex confines of his bikini top. Finally, he could also feel the bikini bottom contract around his bottom, sucked into the crack by his strides and allowing an unconscionable amount of each cheek to appear.

But he was gaining on Lisa. Indeed, she almost seemed to be slowing to entice him to greater effort when she looked back to see if he was following (or perhaps she was just mesmerized by the sight of his wildly jiggling breasts – it’s been known to happen in men). In either case, he was sure he could beat her into the water now, and took some comfort in at least a minor victory. Feeling like he was bouncing and bobbling uncontrollably at both his top and bottom, he took two more giant strides and launched himself head first into an oncoming wave.

He shot under the gloriously cool and refreshing water, feeling the surf churn the sand and water around him, making it difficult to sort individual sensations. He had to shrug at a binding sensation on his shoulders, but it released as he pulled his arms back to his body. His skin tingled wildly, but he simply enjoyed the feeling for several seconds as he passed into deeper water, then shot to the surface with a twist to face back onto the beach. He popped above the next wave, his longer hair cascading water across his face and back, to find Lisa watching him in amusement.

“Ha!” he called. “Beat you!”

Lisa just smiled. Several people were turning or standing to look at him. He heard one man whistle.

And finally looked down to find his bikini top flipped down snugly across his stomach.

For a second, he stood frozen, elements of shock and continued disbelief at seeing his new body still hindering his reactions. There were his breasts, hanging proudly in the open, glistening with rivulets of water running along their curves. In someone else, it would have seemed quite erotic.

But, of course, not to him now. He dropped a second later to chin level beneath the obscuring water, grabbing frantically at the errant strip of brightly-colored cloth. It seemed much happier below his breasts, and the straps had pulled down over his shoulders, further hindering his recovery. He’d only just managed to get it back on properly when Lisa waded up laughing.

“These things are ridiculous!” he said angrily, making sure he was decent before standing this time.

“You noticed?” she smirked. “I think it’s VERY pretty on you, but they’re not exactly designed for hard use, are they?” She splashed him playfully.

“Oh geez,” he complained, feeling another slip. Now he had to readjust the bottom, which dragged a little lower with each wave. “Why would anyone wear one?’

“Why for show, of course,” Lisa replied simply. “Females display, after all, just like guys. Only we emphasize different parts.” She moved to grab him, and added in a seductive tone. “And it works.”

Bob splashed her in turn, indicating his mood, but she ignored him, moving in to grab him around the waist. They struggled briefly, Bob dismayed over how much smaller and weaker he was, and then to his own amazement, Lisa actually lifted him off the sand. She was using the water buoyancy to help, of course, but still, he was shocked when she literally lifted him into her arms. He stared at her in surprise, and at the obvious pleasure in her eyes as she took control.

And then at her mischievous grin a second later as she dropped him back into the water.

He submerged and reappeared spluttering. Lisa had already waded off laughing. He struck out after her, determined to avenge himself. He had dunked Karen any number of times when they played in the water, and she’d managed to get him back occasionally, but he’d never had quite that experience of helplessness when someone else did it to him. Still, he’d never backed off from a water war yet, and wasn’t going to start. He actually forgot about his bruised feelings in his determination to avenge himself.

Eventually, after much additional splashing, tactical maneuvering that would have put the Sixth Fleet to shame, several mouthfuls of water, and one last, devastatingly successful counter-sinking on Bob’s part, they both just relaxed and rode the waves.

Bob floated in the water, watching how it made his breasts, slightly buoyant, bob up and down. It was a pleasant sight even on his own frame, and very conducive to speculation.

“You’re sure those guys will be OK?” he asked casually.

“Sure,” Lisa nodded. “Karen’s getting more control all the time, and the magic’s temporary. The medallion that imprinted her had safeties built in too. Besides, a little white magic never hurt anyone.”

“White magic?” He hadn’t remembered her using that term.

She frowned, thinking. “Not the best term, but it’s an old one. There’s really no difference. Except if you’re talking chaotic magic. Otherwise, it’s all the same. Most people would say that magic used to harm is dark, and magic used for defense or knowledge is light.” A pause as a large wave pushed them. “But what if you use magic to obtain knowledge to kill someone, or you harm someone in defense? You really can’t tell one kind from another, at least the stuff we use. It all comes down to intent.” She smiled. “Years ago, they used to try to classify what spells were dark magic – huge, Byzantine lists and rules. They even had a ‘defense against the dark arts’ required class. But then they realized,” she shifted into a sing-song voice that indicated a quote, “it’s the mage that matters.”

“Chaotic magic?” Bob pursued. “I remember everyone talking about that with the regression virus. It’s permanent, right?”

She hesitated, considering her answer. “It’s sort of hard to explain. There’s illusion stuff of course, but that doesn’t count. With real magic, you use force of mind and will to alter reality. Sometimes you do it yourself – that’s casting a spell.” A grin as she rubbed his behind teasingly, then helped him readjust his suit. A couple of waves had moved his bikini bottom enough to expose his crack. “Sometimes we use potions or medallions that have the magic in them already. But all magic can be permanent. For example, you could stay a woman forever if you wanted.” At his look of panic, she hurried to add. “But you won’t. We can change you back in a couple of days. Sooner if we don’t worry about mixing magic. Most magic can be reversed, one way or another. And that’s sort of the definition of white magic - you can always safely return the subject to normal. But chaotic…” Another pause. “Think of it this way. Imagine that reality is a tapestry. White magic changes things by tugging on threads to rearrange it a little, but the threads will go back into place. Dark magic pulls the threads without regard to the picture, or damage to the threads themselves. But as long as they’re not too badly stretched or broken, someone else can put them back.”

“And chaotic?” he asked, anticipating her.

“Just cuts the threads,” she said grimly. “You might be able to repair the damage, even make the picture look right again, but the threads are never the same.”

They floated in silence for several seconds. Bob’s breasts suddenly seemed very big to him again as they bobbed in the water.

“But this isn’t chaotic magic, right?” he asked weakly.

“Oh no,” Lisa said, sporting a reassuring smile. “That’s demon stuff. We’re not even allowed to use chaotic magic. Only the lightest magic for our guy.” She leaned over to kiss him, and this time he relaxed and enjoyed it as much as she did. It started as a comfort, but she held it, obviously beginning to feel something more. His skin seemed to tingle again, and he felt a returning warmth below, inflamed all the more as she swung to embrace him. He could feel her breasts pushing against his, and enjoyed the strange sensation.

They were both breathless when she finally broke it. They looked at each other wordlessly.

“Maybe we should go back in,” Bob finally suggested.

“Um, yeah. Good idea,” Lisa agreed.

The kiss had drawn a few looks of disapproval and outrage, and some eyes still held onto them icily (mostly female) or longingly (mostly male) as they walked back onto the beach. Karen seemed glad to have them back, and they found she’d gotten drinks while they were gone. Bob and Lisa sipped theirs gratefully.

“Miss anything?” she asked innocently (she had seen the kiss).

“Not really,” Lisa answered, shaking and toweling her hair. “Bob flashed the beach.”

“Bob!” Karen gasped in mock horror.

He blushed again. “It’s this stupid bikini,” he said. “Why can’t I have a suit like yours?” he demanded, eyeing Karen’s with its matching, demure skirt.

“’A woman’s suit can’t be too revealing’,” Karen reminded him, then turned to Lisa. “Now where have I heard that?”

“All right , all right,” he grumbled. “I think you’ve made your point.”

“No. You did,” Lisa laughed, pointing out the way his nipples stood erect and obvious from the cold water.

As Bob pulled a towel up for cover, they seemed to finally take pity on him.

“We MIGHT be able to find a one-piece for you tomorrow, right, Lisa?”

Lisa looked disappointed. “Aww. Do we have to?”

“Maybe YOU should try the string bikini,” Karen suggested.

“Are you kidding?” Lisa sniffed. “At least I have SOME modesty.”

At this point, Lisa discovered that new body or no, Bob could still snap a towel with the best of them. A second later, and they were engaged in a giggling, whip-cracking towel war that only ended when Lisa dropped hers in a laughing surrender.

Bob, pleased to be victorious in something, found his skin was tingling again. His nipples seemed to be even more erect that before, and based on the sudden flush of warmth he felt in his pelvis, he knew it wasn’t from cold water this time. He felt the warmth turn to wetness as he eyed Lisa’s trim body, and Karen’s smooth legs in their beachwear. He was eternally grateful for that unusual societal dictum (not to say mass delusion) that allowed women to show up virtually naked on a crowded beach, when the same dress elsewhere would make them run screaming from a room.

Of course, subconsciously, he knew he was exposing exactly the same sort of body himself now, and more skin than either of them, but it didn’t alter his arousal at all. Lisa’s long legs looked great in her rather modest bikini, and he could swear her breasts looked bigger. He wondered if she might have finally given in to temptation despite the proscriptions against vanity magic. Karen’s large breasts also seemed to strain her suit top, and even with her cover-up, her shapely, solid thighs were exposed. Lisa was sipping her drink again, and noticed the intensity of his gaze.

“Something wrong?” she asked innocently.

Bob remembered the musk that had accompanied his earlier arousal, and hoped it wouldn’t give him away now. At least his suit was already wet.

“Nothing,” he muttered.

“Want another rubdown?”

His heart jumped at the prospect of Lisa massaging him again, even (or perhaps especially) without his bikini top. However, before he could answer, Karen interrupted.

“Um, Lisa. I tried a little of your rubbing oil myself while you were swimming.” She looked at Lisa meaningfully.

“Oh?” Lisa answered blankly. Then her eyes widened. “Ohhhh.”

“Exactly. Where did you get it?”

“I’m not sure. Just picked it somewhere.” She pretended to be casual. Much too casual.

“Ahem.”

“All right, all right. It’s from the store.”

“I thought so,” Karen said huffily. The implication was Lisa’s store, of course, a small shop licensed by the Institute for real magic (even sorcerers and witches need to shop somewhere). Naturally, this included a sideline of potions or artifacts guaranteed to affect the libido, one of the most popular of all magics.

“How did you…?” Lisa started, then paused, her eyes showing understanding. “Does that mean?” she continued with a dawning, mischievous smile, not finishing the question, but instead lifting Karen’s skirt-wrap as though to look beneath.

Karen slapped her hand away. “Yes!”

“What’s going on?” Bob asked.

“Lisa’s been playing with aphrodisiacs again,” Karen explained. A glare. “As if she needed them.”

“I wasn’t sure how he’d react,” Lisa said defensively. “I thought he might need some encouragement.” A beaming smile. “I was wrong, I guess.”

Bob blushed, but also managed indignation. “So THAT’S why I’ve been feeling so…” He paused, unwilling to admit his arousal.

“Yes,” Karen nodded. She looked sternly at Lisa. “And what do you intend to do about it?”

Lisa’s answer was straightforward, two words and vulgar. Although it might have seemed rude on the surface, and was certainly far from apologetic, it seemed to satisfy them nonetheless.

Apparently, it also required an immediate relocation, for mere seconds later, they were gathering their things and heading back up to their room. Bob again felt the unusual sway to his hips in his walk, but this time, the feeling was exaggerated by the wetness between his legs. It was a very odd feeling, accentuated by the friction of walking, and it somehow made him sure he was broadcasting his arousal, either by scent or his gait which was very embarrassing (yet somehow, he normally never worried about the actually more obvious male indication of arousal in public). Despite this, and not caring if anyone noticed or guessed, he only walked faster, pretty much leading the charge back to the room.

Boys in the parlor

They’re getting harder - “Androgyny” by Garbage

Once inside, Karen excused herself to use the bathroom. Bob started struggling to reach the bikini clasp behind his back.

“Let me,” Lisa said breathily, reaching to undo the top. Her hands never left him, however, as it snapped open, instead moving around his back to gently touch his breasts as they were uncovered. He didn’t fight her this time, enjoying her light touch and the increased sensitivity of his now bountiful breasts, and moaned at the electric jolt of pleasure as her fingers found his stiff nipples. Lisa gently turned him around, and they kissed as her hands continued to roam across his now naked upper body. His arousal was building out of control.

And then suddenly, there was an strange cry from the bathroom, half amused, half perplexed. The door opened a crack, and Karen peeked out, only her upper body exposed, naked except for a towel she’d hastily wrapped around herself.

“Lisa!” she hissed. “You HAVE to see this!”

Lisa looked up, flushed from her own reaction to her activity with Bob. “Ummm…”

“Lisa, really,” Karen insisted. “This is unbelievable. It is SO weird.”

Karen’s obvious enthusiasm and eagerness were hard to deny. Lisa reluctantly broke her embrace.

“Be right back,” she promised, then winked. “With reinforcements.”

Bob was a little frustrated, not only at being left alone after a promising start, but at the obvious mystery that didn’t include him. Yet. He actually started to look for clothes to get dressed “to teach them a lesson,” but the tingling and wetness he felt between his legs made that seem impractical, not to say undesirable. He was actually embarrassed to remove his suit bottom, for fear of making it obvious just how aroused he’d become.

As he sat on the bed, he heard muffled voices from the bathroom, then giggles, then a tentative, intermittent, high-pitched splashing, followed by even louder laughing. He could just catch some fragments of voices not quite guarded enough.

“Do it again.”

“I’m trying. It’s hard when it’s hard.”

A giggle followed by a pause, and then outright guffaws.

“You missed! Jesus! Look out!”

“Hey, you try aiming this thing.”

“Karen! Don’t you dare point that at … EEEEKKK!”

There was the sound of slipping feet, and confused, riotous laughter. Suddenly the door flew open, and a wild-eyed Lisa all but fell onto the floor. Still laughing uproariously, she showed several wet streaks, as though they had been having a water fight, and was dabbing herself with a towel. Only after she hurled it back into the bathroom at Karen, did she suddenly realize Bob was watching. She tried desperately to control herself, and smooth her hair.

“Um, Karen will be out in a minute,” she offered lamely as she walked over to Bob.

“Is everything OK?” he asked coolly.

“OK? Oh, sure, everything’s fine,” Lisa insisted, before breaking up into laughter again. “Karen’s, um, fine.”

“Hmmph.”

She caught his tone.

“Awww, is somebody feeling left out?” she teased. “Now that you’re just one of the girls, that doesn’t seem fair.”

Bob harrumphed again, and tried to cross his arms importantly. Unfortunately, he’d neglected to account for his new upper body’s shape, and found himself rearranging them a couple of times to avoid crushing his breasts.

“Awww,” Lisa repeated, still teasing mercilessly. “And are somebody’s big, heavy boobs getting in the way? Here, let me kiss them and make it better.” She made exaggerated kissing noises.

Bob, still a little put out, tried to cover up again, but Lisa intercepted his hands playfully. He was again struck at how much stronger she seemed, and struggled unsuccessfully to free himself, his breasts, still glistening with the fine sheen of sweat from the heat of the beach, heaving fetchingly.

“I know how it is with you women,” Lisa said. “You say no when you mean yes.”

Bob was struggling more fiercely now, but still couldn’t free himself. Strangely enough, he found the wrestling on weaker terms rather exciting.

“No,” he corrected, before looking confused. “I mean, yes. I mean…”

“Ha!” Lisa laughed triumphantly, suddenly sending him backwards onto the bed. The movement made him throw his arms back in surprise, and she was instantly able to pin them above his head. “I have you know, me beauty” she announced in a mock sinister voice, straddling his body with her own.

Bob was amazed. She really had overpowered him, and now had him completely helpless. And Lisa was a woman, albeit a rather athletic one. No wonder women worried about men’s intentions.

Though under these circumstances, the helplessness was actually quite exciting. Bob’s struggles became decidedly less pronounced and more for show than in real hope of throwing her off.

“Let’s see, where was I?” Lisa asked rhetorically. “Oh, yes. I think we were…”

She suddenly lowered her head and caught him in a passionate kiss again, smothering his lips without ever releasing his pinned hands. Bob’s complicity became obvious anyway when he responded enthusiastically, and they were both a bit breathless before she broke it off.

“And then, I think, I was going to do this,” she said thoughtfully, leaning back down to kiss his neck, and then moving down to his shoulders, enjoying how smooth his skin was now. Bob moaned and thrust his chest out, still thrilling at her complete control.

“Oh, NOW you’re interested again?” she asked in a laugh. “Well then…” She dropped her head and moved lower, kissing along the slope of his breasts before finally pausing to teasingly flick her tongue across his hard nipples. His moans rose in pitch, and each nipple swelled even larger. He couldn’t believe how sensitive they were, the sensations heightened by being so strange and new. When Lisa closed her mouth around his breast and gently sucked the nipple inside to swirl it with her tongue, he almost lost it. He barely recognized that the high-pitched, feminine squeaks of delight filling the room were his own.

Another laugh from across the room made them both look up. Karen, for some reason still wearing the skirt cover up from the beach, was watching them. She feigned shock.

“Bob! Lisa!” she exclaimed. “I never thought I’d walk in and find you BOTH with another woman.”

“Don’t just stand there,” Lisa said indignantly, nodding towards Bob’s other bare breast, whose nipple stood forlornly erect hoping to draw attention. “Now there’s something for each of us to suck on at the same time.”

Karen wasted no further time, and joined them on the king-sized bed, settling in on Bob’s side and beginning to tongue the other nipple. Bob was now overwhelmed with the new sensation in stereo. He felt a hand slide down his stomach and creep beneath his swimsuit. A moment later and he was gasping again.

“Oh my God!” he jumped on the bed.

“Found the sweet spot,” Lisa announced.

“Let’s see,” Karen demanded.

Acting in unison, they yanked his suit bottom down, then off. Bob, feeling acutely exposed in more than the physical sense, felt the rush of cool air against his hot sex – the combination of being so wet and warm made the room air almost exciting in itself as it wafted between his legs. He also felt acute embarrassment at having his new parts on display so wantonly, but at the same time, felt almost desperate to have them touched, especially after Lisa’s digital demonstration from a few moments before. Lisa took advantage of the break to pull off her own suit, confident that Bob had lost all desire to escape or resist (as would we all). He felt his old thrill of desire at the sight of her bare breasts, even though he knew that he now had much larger ones himself. He could swear again that hers were a little larger though, and the stiff nipples and wrinkled areolas surrounding them seemed darker than usual. Lisa sighed happily as he reached over to massage them.

Almost instinctively, they moved into a familiar arrangement, though with a new twist. Lisa moved up to kneel over him, straddling his face and giving his tongue free access to her soaking cleft, even as he continued the breast stroking. Karen, meanwhile, gently pushed his still reluctant knees apart, crawling up to bury her own face between his legs.

He gasped as she made her first, tentative dabs at his new sex. The skin there was remarkably sensitive, though not to the same extent as his cock had been. It was more like the extremely pleasant sensitivity of his scrotum – very nice, but not enough to bring him off.

Until her tongue grazed his very small, very stiff clit. He all but jumped, and pushed harder against Lisa reflexively as the focused sensation ripped through him. It seemed even more sensitive than when he’d played with himself earlier, no doubt as most sensations are magnified when under another’s control. It was almost too much to handle in direct contact – like the very tip of his cock. Yet, at the same time, as soon as her tongue had left, he wanted it back. He moved his hips and moaned.

Karen smiled, knowing exactly what he wanted, but determined to bring him off slowly. She moved back down his body, to revel in how smooth his legs were, tracing lines along his curved calves and silky thighs, so very different from the thick tangle of hair she usually found there. And, of course, at the top, a sopping, swollen pink cleft that he no longer seemed at all shy about showing off. She slowly returned her attention to it, using a finger this time to gently slide along the labial folds before unexpectedly inserting it inside.

Or at least Bob hadn’t expected it. His eyes went wide at the feeling of penetration again, still not used to feeling something move INSIDE him. It was much more exciting to have Karen probing him than his own finger. The lack of control and feeling of - well, invasion – made the sensations much stronger, and he began to moan as she applied pressure to just the right places.

Karen smiled wickedly. She had him right where she wanted him. When he began to buck up and down on her finger, she abruptly leaned down and his ran her tongue around his clit, before gently sucking it inside her mouth, swirling her tongue with a little in and out pressure to amplify the sensations.

Bob actually lifted his head off the bed, his eyes wide and disbelieving. He squeaked something, then fell back. His eyes closed and his whole body tensed. The explosion of pleasure from Karen’s hand and mouth suddenly dove deep inside him, then roared back out and all through his body. His toes curled, his hands clenched, and his whole body began to spasm as it wracked in orgasm. His mouth opened again, a moan slowly rising in pitch to a scream of delight as he thrashed beneath her merciless tongue.

The sight of Karen bringing Bob off was too much for Lisa as well. She began moving up and down desperately as his tongue somehow managed to still find her swollen clit, and then just rubbed her aching pussy across his face as she lost control, arching her back and screaming in a climax to match his. They both fell to the mattress in exhaustion, twitching spasmodically. Karen slowly moved up between them, finally reaching a point where she could kiss them in turn before snuggling in close.

Bob seemed barely able to catch his breath.

“Wow,” was all he finally managed.

“I take it you finally found something you like about being a woman?” Karen asked teasingly.

“I…I…wow,” Bob repeated.

Karen laughed, but Lisa propped herself up, obviously intrigued.

“So?” she asked. “How does it compare? Better? Worse? Longer? Shorter?”

Bob tried to refocus his thoughts. “I, uh, well … different,” he faltered. “It’s, like, well, it’s not focused as much. Guys feel it exactly there. It’s incredibly intense, but you know exactly where you feel it and what feels good. But this…this was like it was all over. I could feel it inside first, then it was everywhere.

Karen and Lisa’s eyes twinkled.

“Mmm?” Karen asked. “You mean like this?” She leaned down and unexpectedly sucked one of Bob’s still hard nipples into her mouth.

To Bob, it was like an instant replay. This time, the explosion of pleasure started in his breast, but immediately raced deep inside, reawakening the only slowly subsiding reverberations in his pelvis. He moaned and wriggled as another orgasm washed over him.

“Or this?” Lisa asked, moving down to find the other nipple.

“No! Stop!” Bob demanded as another jolt shot through him. The sensation was too much – his nipples were oversensitive now, and he felt he needed time to recover. He tried to cover up.

“Aww,” she pouted. “You never want to stop playing with ours after we come.” She began to wrestle his hands away.

“No, stop!” Bob repeated, bursting into laughter as she moved to tickle him more than arouse him this time. His smooth, sensitive chest was much more ticklish now, and he rolled helplessly in her grasp. “Stop!” he wailed, sounding remarkably cute and girlish in his plea. “Wait!’ he gasped as Lisa finally relented just a bit. He panted, trying to catch his breath. “What about Karen?” he asked. “Doesn’t she get a turn?”

This seemed to trigger another unspoken exchange between the women. Lisa nodded.

“I think she does,” she agreed. “Karen? Are you ‘up’ to it?”

Karen glowered as though Lisa was ruining a surprise, but Bob simply drew her closer. He happily nuzzled her large, soft breasts and sent his hands on a long-practiced path up her thighs. As he softly sucked her nipples into maximum stiffness, his fingers tickled the smooth skin, stroking higher and higher, listening to her sigh as his hands moved towards the expected warm, wet spot between. He felt the familiar warmth, the broad expanse of her womanly pelvis.

And then, he felt something he shouldn’t have. His eyes doubled in size, her stiff nipple popping out of his open mouth, and his hands froze. Slowly, he reached his fingers out again.

An jumped up on the bed. He stared at Karen in disbelief.

“Surprise?” she asked hopefully, looking decidedly worried.

He stared at where her thighs disappeared beneath the skirt she was still wearing. Slowly, she pulled the material up, revealing her pale, blue suit bottom – stretched, distorted and barely able to contain the long, hard shape within. Even as he watched, it twitched slightly to confirm that it was real.

Karen had a cock.

And not just any cock, but a big one. Though admittedly, he might be misjudging the size by the poor way the woman’s suit held it – it was almost too big to be contained by the overstretched fabric. Now that he looked, he could see that it wasn’t – there was a bulge lower down too, and a few curls of hair around the overflow of the fleshy sac which had pushed out the sides of the over-stretched bikini bottom.

“You…you…” he stuttered, looking at her, then to Lisa in shock.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Lisa asked, moving to break the awkwardness and reassure Karen at the same time. She moved a hand to replace Bob’s, caressing the hard shaft through Karen’s suit. As if on cue to the extra stimulation, the top popped above the rim of her suit, and pointed lewdly straight at Bob.

“It will be a relief to get these off at least,” Karen admitted, glad to get things out into the open, so to speak. She wriggled her panties down, revealing a huge (to Bob’s eye, admittedly unused to viewing aroused cocks from this perspective) hard penis and a heavy ball sac that immediately dropped, obviously fully loaded. Karen sighed as the cool air and Lisa’s hand made her cock twitch. “You know, this is pretty nice too,” she said consideringly. “But it’s very awkward to walk around with.”

Bob was still staring. He looked again back and forth between them. “You…she…” he again mumbled in confusion.

“It only seemed fair,” Lisa explained. “I mean, why should you be the only one to get to try things from the other side?” She looked very disappointed. “I just wish I knew why it didn’t work for me.”

Bob’s eyes opened wider if that was possible. “You too?” he simply gasped. He looked with obvious trepidation at Lisa’s crotch, half expecting to see her clit expand before his eyes.

“Supposed to,” Lisa pouted. “The spell must have fizzled. Or maybe affected me differently.” She unconsciously touched her bigger, but slightly sore breasts. Then she grinned at Bob. “We were going to take turns fucking you silly.”

Bob pulled back as though protectively, unconsciously bringing his thighs together. Karen’s cock seemed to jerk slightly in anticipation. Then, he looked puzzled as his eyes fell upon her still large and obviously female breasts (larger than his, he thought with an unexpected, subconscious twinge).

“Then why isn’t she…?” he nodded at her otherwise decidedly feminine body.

“I didn’t want to be a man, silly,” Karen laughed. She hefted her breasts happily. “I like these. I just wanted to see what it as like for you when we have sex.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t have minded going all the way,” Lisa admitted, still clearly disappointed now that she got to see Karen’s cock in all its glory again. She couldn’t help imagining fucking Bob for real instead of with her hand.

“Is it…?” Bob asked, looking with some trepidation at Karen’s new equipment.

“Fully functional?” Lisa guessed correctly. “Yup.” A large grin. “We found that out already, right Karen?”

Karen blushed. “It’s not my fault,” she blurted. “I couldn’t control it when you … well, never mind.” She blushed more deeply, then tried to change the subject. “These are so weird. They can go up anytime, even when you’re not trying. Geez, I can’t tell you how embarrassing it was at the beach, especially when you two were going at it. I think I even wet myself a little, and all I did was touch it a little.”

[TheoW]

Bob guessed that Karen was describing her first experience with pre-cum.

“And why don’t guys wear tighter underwear?” Karen demanded. “Don’t you swing when you walk?” She looked at Lisa, then rocked a little on the bed to show how much it moved. “Talk about weird. Guys should wear little cock bras or something.”

Lisa burst out laughing. “Maybe we can open a store,” she agreed. She reached out to touch Karen’s new sex again. “Wow, you’re even harder than before. Has it gone down at all?”

“Not since I tried your lotion,” Karen said indignantly. “And it was almost impossible to pee this way.” Another blush. “Though it’s really cool to do it standing up.”

Lisa giggled. “Yeah, if you could have hit the toilet.”

“I could have if you hadn’t been trying to steer for me. You always want to drive,” she accused her huffily before joining in laughter at the memory. She turned to Bob. “Have you ever had another guy try to aim you when you were peeing”

Thankfully, Bob was able to answer quite truthfully in the negative.

“You didn’t mind when I held it before,” Lisa pointed out, then winked saucily at Bob. “She got me wet then too.”

“I didn’t know I was coming,” Karen pretended.

“Yeah, that’s what Billy Mitchell claimed in high school too. Anyway, you look plenty ready to go again now, I’d say. Care to take her for a test drive, Bob?”

He actually scooted back a couple of inches on the bed. “What?” he asked in confusion.

“Come on, you’ve got to admit you’re built for it now.”

“I’m not gay!” Bob insisted.

“I didn’t say you were. And I'm not suggesting you go out and find some guy to knock you up, either. This is Karen, remember?”

He paused, realizing she was right, and looked again with shame at Karen’s worried face. It WAS Karen. The same woman he’d loved like no other (well, until Lisa worked her magic, literally). And the same woman he’d experimented with unashamedly in sex (the only rules so far: no animals. And with Lisa around, you never knew how long that one would last). This wasn’t really any different from playing with their other toys.

And really, how many men got the opportunity to have their wives pop their cherries?

To Karen’s immense relief, Bob smiled, obviously relaxed, and came back to snuggle close on the bed. He leaned in, kissed her deeply, and to her surprise, reached down to fondle her new cock. She moaned involuntarily, breaking the kiss and giving him the opportunity to lean back. He smiled more wryly, and lifted his hands to briefly squeeze his breasts together in a parody of a stripper’s moves.

“At least things can’t get any weirder than this,” he joked.

Lisa made a disapproving noise. “Bob, you really should know better than that.”

They all froze briefly, as though waiting for the new transformation or twist. When nothing happened, Bob raised an eyebrow triumphantly.

“See. Even fate admits it can’t get any weirder. Now then,” he shook out his long hair, “if you don’t mind, I’d like to get to work sucking my wife’s cock.”

“Oh, Bob,” Karen protested. “You don’t have to do …. Ohhhhh myyyyy.”

Her protestation had evaporated almost as soon as he’d pulled her shaft into his mouth. Karen almost came immediately, both from the overwhelmingly good sensation, and, frankly, watching her feminized husband going down on her new equipment. The pleasure was almost indescribable – the sensitivity of her clit magnified, but somehow also tolerable. Maybe because the pleasure was spread over a larger area – her cock looked absolutely huge to her, though of course much of that was in obvious contrast to not normally having one at all (In fact, however, Lisa had made sure Karen’s spell would hang her at least reasonably well, and she now sported a thick 8 inches that would have done most guys proud.) Whatever the reason, she didn’t feel the overload or near-pain that came from too much attention to her clit – quite the contrary. Her entire being became focused on the waves of pleasure coming from Bob’s tongue and mouth, and she was totally centered and enslaved to her cock. No wonder guys loved blow jobs! She’d be willing to PAY for this! (And suddenly the somewhat baffling mystery of prostitution became clear to her.)

Bob, meanwhile, was doing his best to remind himself that this was Karen he was sucking on. Even so, it was hard to get past the fact that his mouth was filled - and he meant really filled. How big was Karen anyway? - with a hard cock. Well, hard wasn’t the right word. It was very stiff in the shaft of course, but the velvety texture and springiness of the tip surprised him. It was sort of fun to feel that under his tongue, and to suck on. The old description for “al dente” pasta came to mind: firm, but yielding too the bite. (And it was very lucky that Karen couldn’t hear the word “bite” under these circumstances.) The smooth, spongy tip also made it much easier to push in and out (almost like it was designed to do just that – go figure).

There was a slightly musky, salty taste, though nothing like what he was used to when bringing Karen off orally. It wasn’t bad, as long as he could keep the image of what he was doing out of his mind. And Karen loved it! Her obvious happiness and pleasure would have been enough to overcome any residual reluctance. She was writhing and moaning ecstatically, transported by his ministrations.

Lisa couldn’t contain her own excitement and moved up to pleasure them both. She deftly inserted a finger into Bob’s still dripping sex, and reached around him to tickle Karen’s balls, making them both moan. Unfortunately, the added stimulation to Karen’s already hypersensitive new equipment caused her to stiffen. Her legs began to twitch, and she threw her arms out.

Bob felt the cock inside his mouth twitch as well. A second later, he felt it swell up, the tip seeming to expand like a mushroom after a rainstorm. A new saltiness filled his mouth, along with a trickle of fluid. He knew all too well what was happening, and his eyes went wide. He tried to pull back.

But it was too late. All he managed was enough distance to get his first facial, and even then, part of the first spurt shot straight into his mouth. As Karen’s body shook, her hard cock, still in Bob’s hand, fired spurt after spurt of hot, sticky cum, catching him on the cheek (and almost in the eye), lips, and even ending up in his hair. Karen reveled in the sensation again. Male orgasms were very interesting. Once you reached that brink, you didn’t have to do anything – indeed, couldn’t do much of anything – it just went off and pulsed again and again by itself. The feeling of erupting – actually shooting her seed with ejaculation – was indescribable. And each spurt gave her another orgasmic echo that made her cry out happily in staccato moans.

“Oooh. You got him good,” Lisa said.

Karen opened her eyes to find Bob wiping his face somewhat reproachfully, actually dripping in goopy, white liquid.

“Oh, honey. I'm sorry,” she proclaimed, though the way her cock twitched at the sight, sending out yet another rivulet of cum made her seem anything but.

“It’s OK,” Bob insisted. And the amazing thing is, it was. He was covered in cum. So what? It was Karen’s after all, and he’d been covered in her secretions many, many times in the past. Things always got messy during sex, but if the sex was good, you didn’t care.

And he had to admit, as Lisa pushed him down and started sucking on his nipples yet again, the sex was great. He readied himself for another oral orgasm as his reward.

But the women had something else in mind. Lisa moved over to the side, and Bob felt Karen’s weight between his legs. A moment later, he lifted his head in surprise and alarm. He felt … something … pushing up against his sex.

“You wouldn’t,” he gasped. The pressure was building; something smooth and hot sliding along his swollen labia.

“She would,” Lisa answered for her. Secretly, she wished she were taking Bob’s virginity, but watching was almost as much fun.

“Please?” Karen asked, looking very strange: predatory – almost desperate. Clearly, her female brain had been as easily overridden as any man’s by her new equipment. Karen wanted it, and now. The foreplay was over. She started to lie on top of him, slowly guiding herself in.

“But you just came!” Bob objected. “You won’t be .…. HARD!! Omigod!”

Despite her climax, Karen found that her cock had never really softened, a combination of her own excessive arousal at the situation and Lisa’s aphrodisiac. Indeed, all it did was heighten her desire. She felt confusing waves of new desires and sensations that all culminated in one thought: she wanted to fuck her husband.

Bob meanwhile, while trying to come to grips with the unexpected situation, had just found out that there was a great deal of difference between fingers – even expertly applied – and a large, hard cock. It felt huge! Yet even as the stretching sensation overwhelmed him, he felt no desire to push it back out. Indeed, he wanted more. His eyes met Karen’s – both somewhat tentative, both a little uncertain, both a little frightened – and then nodded. He spread his legs, literally and figuratively.

There was a moment of unexpected pain. He yelped and jumped as Karen’s cock seemed to catch on something inside him. She looked worried and started to pull back, but the wonderful sensation of friction and pressure that came with her sliding cock was all he needed to stop her. He reached out to encircle her back with his arms.

“Come on,” he whispered.

Karen, after making certain that he meant it, leaned her weight back down and pushed inside again. They both moaned at the sensations. For Karen, it was like a soft, velvet glove encircling her cock, managing to touch it all along its surface at once. The pleasure was magnified every time she pushed in and out. For Bob, the feeling of being penetrated was completely alien, but that only made it more exciting. He could feel the cock moving in and out, and it was intensely pleasurable, though the feeling was general – he could feel it all through his pelvic area, and you couldn’t actually pinpoint the position like you could something on your hand. It also filled him in a way that he had literally never known. The combination of pressure with the sliding sensation was incredible. It grew even better the farther she pushed in. No wonder Karen and Lisa loved to shrink during sex.

Best of all was when Karen established maximum penetration and began moving in and out. Now the feelings of deep penetration, pressure and motion was joined by irregular sliding against his clit. This was overwhelming. It was greatest when she pushed in farther, and he found himself unconsciously meeting her pelvic thrusts with his own to maximize the penetration and pressure. He succeeded almost too well – she began to bump against the roof of his vagina, which was still extremely tight (he was a virgin after all), and he felt a slight edge of pain.

Not that it slowed them down. Karen was pumping in and out frantically now, driving herself to another climax. Bob was screaming and thrashing beneath her, his hair flopping across his sweat-soaked face, waving his fists and bucking his hips to bring her farther in and increase the pressure on his clit. Suddenly, both sets of eyes went wide. Bob felt Karen’s cock swell up yet again, this time deep inside him, setting off yet another wave of pleasure. They both began yelling and gasping.

“YES! I’m com….YES! YES! Oh God! Inside … OHHHHH!”

Bob inadvertently scratched Karen’s back as he writhed in orgasm (so that’s why he had longer nails), and Karen, pumping automatically, almost felt like she was turning inside out as she gushed another huge load inside him. She collapsed on top of him.

They lay like that for minutes, first gasping, then sighing in contentment, with an occasional giggle of pleasure and slight embarrassment thrown in. Karen’s cock finally softened a little, and Bob felt another mini-orgasm as it slid slowly down, then popped out. How many was that for him today? 5? 6? Being a woman definitely had its upsides.

However, he very quickly discovered another unsuspected difference for his new sex. A few minutes after Karen slipped out, his eyes opened wide in surprise. He reached under his suddenly damp bottom.

“Hey, I'm WET!” he complained, feeling the soaked sheet beneath him.

“I’ll say,” Karen agreed, pretending not to understand.

“No. Look,” he complained, bringing a shiny hand up from what seemed to be a huge puddle beneath him. He abruptly became aware of the fact that he was freely oozing various sticky liquids from his sex.

“That’s nice,” Karen mumbled, suddenly feeling very sleepy (it was amazing how quickly she could adapt to male behavior is sex). She actually started to roll over and close her eyes.

“But, I'm all wet, and the sheet’s wet, and …” Bob was complaining, blissfully unaware of the post-sex curse of “the wet spot.” He suddenly froze, holding up a wet finger tinged with bright red. “Ack! And I’m bleeding! What the hell …?”

His tirade might have continued, except that they heard a laugh a few feet away. He suddenly remembered that Lisa hadn’t joined in despite her obvious initial enthusiasm. He looked up to find her smiling, with the camera trained right at them.

“That red, Bob, is how the term losing your cherry came about,” Lisa chuckled. “And I must say, you did it quite enthusiastically.”

Bob howled in outrage to find them being taped yet again (And would almost die from embarrassment on the replay, when he saw himself moaning and writhing wantonly, culminating in a wild, high-pitched screaming when he came. When exactly had he become a spirited refugee from a porn film?), and even Karen opened an accusing eye.

“Lisa!” she said in her usual reproachful tone. And then, something unexpected happen. Seeing Lisa’s laughing face and beautiful, sparkling green eyes, reinforcing what and why Karen loved her so much, and then noticing her toned, naked body: especially her pert breasts and strong legs, Karen felt a reawakening pressure down below. Her voice lowered and became husky. “Oh, Lisa….”

“What?” Lisa asked innocently. And then she saw it. Her eyes looked in disbelief as Karen stared to grow again. It looked even bigger than it had moments ago with Bob. Could Karen be gaining size with every climax?

“Look, I think we need to talk about this,” Lisa protested, her confidence suddenly evaporating.

“Oh, we’ll talk,” Karen assured her.

Bob was looking at Lisa and her wide eyes with malicious delight. “Karen can be very persuasive,” he pointed out.

She was. And Lisa was persuaded. Twice.

And this time, Bob got to use the camera.

Get on board and have some fun Take what you need to turn you on - “Androgyny”

It was evening before they felt the need to stir. During the discussion about what to do for dinner, Lisa insisted she wanted to go to the happy hour downstairs.

“But that would mean getting dressed up,” Karen complained, sounding lazy. She was still in sexual heaven, remembering the feeling of plunging her cock in and out of Lisa while their breasts rubbed together that last time. Although Lisa’s aphrodisiac had eventually worn off, Karen’s excitement hadn’t.

“Exactly,” Lisa agreed, eyes lighting again mischievously. She rummaged through the suitcases, finally holding up the denim miniskirt.

“No,” Bob said firmly.

“Please?” she begged. An idea and crafty look. “I might find that reversal spell a little sooner.”

“No.”

She turned to Karen in frustration. “Come on, help me. He is gonna look so great in this!”

Karen looked at Bob with an all too familiar expression…

And thus it was that a short time later, Bob found himself looking unhappily in the mirror at what seemed to be a vast expanse of very bare leg beneath a very short skirt.

“This is ridiculous!” he complained, trying some experimental steps. “You can barely walk in this thing.” It was true that his gait was restricted, and that his strides made the skirt ride up a little too high, but what bothered him even more was the way his bare thighs rubbed together underneath it. To someone used only to pants and shorts, it made him feel like he was naked.

“Well you can’t walk like that,” Karen pointed out. She and Lisa had also changed into skirts to make him feel better. Luckily, her loose one also served to cover the otherwise suspicious bulge down below. “Take smaller steps. You’re still trying to walk like a linebacker.”

It was true. Despite his wider hips and smaller body, Bob still tried to take big strides with his shoulders squared, his arms slightly flexed in a ready position. It made for a very strange combination with his much smaller size and very female shape.

“High heels would take care of that,” Lisa pointed out.

“You hate high heels!” Bob shot back.

“And now you can find out why,” Lisa agreed unperturbed, holding out a pair. “You’ll be so busy trying to balance in them, that you’ll barely be able to walk at all. But then, easy walking is not what they’re designed for.”

“Really, Lisa,” Karen intervened. But Bob’s victorious look at Lisa when he assumed she had vetoed the plan for him was brief when Karen continued. “We’ll save the heels for dinner tomorrow. I saw a pair of stilettos in a shop downstairs that would be absolutely …” She paused at seeing Bob’s expression. “Well, we’ll talk about that later. However, honey, you can’t really wear sneakers to the club, especially in a skirt. Here.”

She held out the sandals he’d rejected earlier. No doubt looking more acceptable in contrast to the heels, he accepted them grudgingly.

“And you’ll have to wear panties.”

“What? Now look….”

“Your boxer briefs keep showing when you walk. It looks very weird.”

“Sort of sexy,” Lisa suggested.

That was enough. Bob pulled them off and finally accepted his first pair of women’s panties: modest, blue cotton.

“Now, about your hair,” Karen continued.

“Not again,” he groaned. “We already brushed it, remember?”

“That was hours ago,” Karen smiled. “And, um, well … we need to take care of something else.”

“What?” Bob asked, genuinely puzzled. He was used to brushing his hair once or twice a day and then forgetting it.

Lisa was laughing again.

“Remember that scene in What About Mary?”

Bob looked in the mirror again, this time actually looking at his hair which he had ignored out of habit. Sure enough, a hank was sticking almost straight out to the side, obviously fixed by a very stiff if unconventional gel.

And this time, Bob didn’t complain when Karen went to style it.

They made it downstairs at last. The club room looked promising indeed. Good music, lighting, a room full of attractive people having a good time, and a delicious looking buffet table. Ignoring Lisa’s pleas to dance, and her insistence that women dancing together was completely normal (and almost a necessity since men tended to avoid it), Bob led the way to a table. He again experienced the disorientation of being so much smaller. Most of the men loomed over him, and even some of the women, making it much harder –even intimidating - to navigate the room. He felt small yet still somehow very conspicuous making his way through the crowds.

As if confirming his fears, he found men checking him out as he walked by. He knew it was reflex, but he still became uncomfortable with the attention, especially with the direction. Over and over, as a guy realized a new woman was coming into range, his head would turn, if only for a second. The gaze usually dropped immediately to Bob’s exposed legs, and then crawled up to the swell of his shirt where they lingered. Most turned away again quickly (which was unexpectedly disappointing), and not even half of the others made actual eye contact, as though they couldn’t quite get their eyes to move farther north. A few finally managed introductory smiles, but even their gazes tended to drop back down. Did they have to be so obvious? And rude. Bob felt as though he needed an extra pair of eyes there instead of nipples if he wanted to maintain eye contact.

And this was despite wearing a modest sport top that provided significant coverage. It was tight enough to show how big he was, but closed enough that only a small amount of cleavage was visible at the very top. As if by radar, that was where the eyes settled nonetheless, drawn unerringly even after they found refuge at their table. Even the waiter who came for their drink order kept his eyes flicking down intermittently towards Bob’s chest while talking to him. Bob tried to pull the shirt closed entirely as he ordered a double scotch.

“Easy, honey,” Karen warned as the waiter left. “Remember …”

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s different in this body,” Bob finished. “Tell me about it.” He pointed at his breasts. “I feel like I’m wearing the sports’ page as a shirt. Even I want to look to see if I’m missing something.” He held his shirt out, pretending to examine it, then let it drop in disgust. “Listen, if you want me to sit around serving yet more male fantasies, I need a drink. And it’s not like I have to drive anywhere, so .... Oh shit!”

Bob had noticed the first group of unattached men moving in on them to test the waters, but this time, even Lisa took pity on him and intercepted them most effectively. They couldn’t quite hear what she said, but their faces went from predatory, to angry, to a bit frightened, and they retreated as a group. While she was dispatching them, Bob noticed several more men, especially any at nearby tables, staring obviously and appreciatively towards him. There were a few women doing so too, but with decidedly hostile gazes. A couple of the men exchanged a comment, looked back at him, and started laughing.

“All done,” Lisa announced, returning. “Oh, by the way, Bob. Close your legs.”

Bob and Karen looked down to find that he had crossed his legs the way a man usually did, ankle resting on knee, and wide apart. The result in his short skirt was that he had completely exposed his crotch to every onlooker in half the room.

Bob was suddenly very glad for his panties.

He all but inhaled the first drink when it arrived, still used to drinking with his normal capacity and somewhat spurred on by the discomfort of the situation. After the second drink, and fortified with a plate of wings and some dim sung, he was half ready to join Lisa on the dance floor. By the third, he was a little unsteady in his movements and becoming decidedly talkative. His mood was also much lighter. An unbiased (but male) observer would have said he was chatting and giggling like a girl.

“So,” he demanded. “What do women talk about when they’re partying together?”

“Men,” Lisa answered. “Occasionally absent women.”

“Not sports?” Bob asked hopefully. He had fantasized that perhaps women secretly loved watching football or baseball and simply wanted to preserve the mystery.

“Not the kind you mean.”

“Hmmph. What can you possibly find to talk about guys?” he asked innocently.

Karen and Lisa all but broke up.

“You’d be surprised,” Karen laughed.

“Don’t guys talk about women,” Lisa demanded.

“Sure.”

“And it’s just about how intelligent, funny or charming they are, right?”

“Umm…”

“Well, same goes for us. Though I’ll admit, we spend a lot of time talking about how strange men are – no offense.”

Bob squared his feminine shoulders stoically and inadvertently thrust his breasts out. “None taken.”

“But also about which ones are cutest. So we’re just as guilty that way. Not that Karen and I would ever talk about things like that any more. Right, Karen?”

Karen had a deer-in-the-headlights look. “Um, right.”

“For example,” Lisa nodded at a guy in khakis and sport shirt, both nicely fitted and new. He was tall, toned, tanned and extremely good-looking. “I’d do him.”

Bob looked unimpressed and vaguely appalled. “Ugh.”

“No? How about you, Karen?”

Karen looked to follow their gaze. Her eyes widened a fraction, and then she quickly looked at Bob to make sure she hadn’t given anything away. “Um….no, certainly not. You know I wouldn’t even be interested, Leese.” She quickly took a drink to steady her voice.

“Oh, not for real,” Lisa explained patiently. And she meant it. She had never been so happy or felt quite so stable since they’d opened their relationship to her, and she would have done nothing to risk it. (Author’s note: Threesomes have a theoretical advantage geometrically. It is a fact that three points define a plane, and therefore a tripod is inherently the most stable of supports. But try telling that to my wife.) “Just for pretend,” Lisa continued. “Come on, it’s fun.”

“OK,” Bob announced determinedly, and eager to get a little back for the comments about the other man. He nodded towards a stacked blond with toned legs that seemed to go on forever, a surfeit of carefully tousled hair, a short skirt and a shirt that had apparently shrunk in the wash. “I’d do her.”

“Ooh, me too,” Lisa admitted.

“Excuse me,” Karen put in frostily. “But I think we’re supposed to be at least pretending that we’re all women here.”

“I am a woman,” Lisa pointed out. “And she’s a babe.”

Lisa was very open about her bisexuality, but Karen still felt that her own same-sex tendencies were limited to Lisa only. (Which begged an explanation for why her skirt began to lift with the outline of a bulge as she observed the centerfold-quality woman, but we’ll let that go. Suffice it to say that anyone who had looked at the way her skirt was lying across her lap just then would have been very puzzled.)

“Yes, well, nonetheless,” Karen argued. “We’re supposed to be giving Bob the full female experience here. Which GUY would you pick, honey?”

“A guy?” Bob asked in disgust. A fourth drink arrived just in time to fortify him. He continued to imbibe with the gusto of his formerly male constitution.

“Come on,” Karen coaxed. “Just for fun, like Lisa said.”

Bob looked decidedly uncertain, but let his gaze swing around the room anyway, sipping the drink. Most of the men passed like ciphers – he simply didn’t have the inclination to notice them. But then, he noticed a man sitting alone, serenely and confidently surveying the room. He wore expensive clothes – perhaps a little more formal than the situation called for, but exquisitely neat and perfectly fitting, so that they gave him a look of utter class and refinement. He was tall, broad-shouldered and strikingly handsome, with thick, dark hair, and laughing, alert eyes that somehow projected an aura both intelligent and roguish. Several women orbited, gazing at him rapturously, with hungry, happy gleams in their eyes, but none so far had been cleared for landing. Bob nodded his head.

“OK. I’d do him.”

Karen and Lisa followed his gaze. After their wantonly open mouths and widened eyes betrayed their initial reaction, they came back to normal and burst out giggling.

“Well, DUH!”

“OK, that’s a gimme.”

“Yeah. You’d probably do him even if you were a guy.”

“As if you could anyway,” Lisa continued. “Come on, pick somebody realistic.”

Bob set his drink down carelessly, spilling a little and swayed a bit haughtily. “What do you mean?” he demanded.

“It’s easy to say you’d do Brad Pitt or whoever when you know you can’t. You have to pretend this is somebody you could get if you wanted to.”

“Are you saying I couldn’t get this guy?” he continued, obviously affronted.

“Well, come on,” Lisa laughed. “I mean, you’re pretty, and you have a decent body …”

“Damn straight,” Bob interjected proudly.

“But this guy is out of your league. Just look at the competition.” She nodded at the supermodel-class flotilla that hovered around him jealously.

“I’ll have you know that I could get any guy in this place,” he insisted drunkenly, his voice rising defiantly.

Several heads turned, and both Karen and Lisa looked uneasy.

“Of course you could, honey,” Karen soothed him. “Any man you wanted.”

“Damn straight,” Bob repeated, subsiding a little and finishing his drink.

“Except him,” Lisa couldn’t resist adding.

“That does it,” Bob announced loudly, getting to his feet with some difficulty. It was indeed fortunate that he hadn’t worn the heels, since it was a foregone conclusion that he would have ended up flat on the floor in them. “I am going to go right over there and show you just what a real man…um, woman…um, whatever can do.”

He tossed his hair provocatively, wet his lips and smoothed his shirt to emphasize his breasts better. Ignoring Karen’s imploring look, he whirled a full 360 degrees, overbalanced and almost fell when he found himself facing them again, then finally turned and started to walk somewhat unsteadily towards the happily oblivious target. Karen immediately rose to stop him, but Lisa put a hand on her arm to restrain her, eager to see exactly how far it would progress.

Bob had managed to walk a full 6 steps away, swinging his hips in a way that would have appalled him a mere hour earlier, before he froze, slowly turned and then walked more slowly and demurely back. His expression hadn’t changed a whit, except for a twitch at his mouth. He looked at them accusingly.

“And now, since I am obviously drunk out of my mind, I'm going to bed before I can make an even bigger mislalc….miscalcal….before I get into trouble,” he announced imperiously. “Goodnight.”

He bowed, almost fell again, and then stalked away with as much dignity as his bright red face and wobbly gait would allow.

Karen started to rise again, this time without Lisa’s interference, to see Bob back to the room. But before she could act, they were both startled to find the very object of Bob’s erstwhile desire standing next to them.

“Excuse me,” he began, his voice smooth and accented with an Oxford English accent. “You’re Lisa Notokrisse, aren’t you?”

Lisa was obviously surprised and a little embarrassed given their previous appraising and objectifying discussion.

“Yes.”

“Do excuse the interruption. I’ve seen you at Rick’s with some acquaintances.” The way he said it left no doubt that he referred to the well-frequented nightclub at the Institute, the most important magical organization in the country. “My name is Darcy. I’m in the CSA. I’ve seen you with Kei. And Yuri.” The way he added Yuri’s name made Lisa notice it. And gave her a completely unexpected twinge of jealousy.

“N…nice to meet you,” she stuttered. When he looked questioningly at Karen, Lisa continued. “Oh, this is my friend Karen Rhodes.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms Rhodes. Might I join you a few minutes?” When they nodded, he sat down. “Sorry to disturb your evening,” he continued. “But may I ask how you traveled here?” He watched them both, as though waiting for hesitancy or any covering looks.

“We took a plane, of course,” Lisa answered, controlling her reaction to what seemed a silly question. The CSA were the security force of the Institute, and there was undoubtedly a reason for the question. “Why?”

He lowered his voice.

“Fact is, I was hoping you might be able to help me. I hadn’t expected to run into an adept while I was here, and you may have noticed things I haven’t. We – my partner, Brandon, is working the downtown district tonight – were called in to investigate several recent … incidents.”

“Incidents,” Lisa repeated. “That’s suitably vague.”

“Sorry. Force of habit. I know you have clearance for these matters. But…” He glanced at Karen.

“Gregor Zauberersohn trusts Karen enough to have put a node in her home,” Lisa noted.

“Good enough,” he nodded. “We’ve had some unpleasant public behavior reported in the area: people exposing themselves, or making love in public places, usually with some nasty sexual perversion thrown in; a vacationing CEO reduced to infantilism; mothers and daughters who apparently become each other; that sort of thing. Malicious.” He made an expression of supreme distaste. “Even our best mages have had trouble putting things right.”

“That’s awful,” Lisa agreed. “A renegade?” A pause. “Or a demon?” she asked suddenly sounding apprehensive. “That sounds like their type of fun.”

“Exactly. Very astute,” he nodded. “We actually thought we might have found the rogues Yuri and Kei were after, but it doesn’t fit. There are chaotic traces, but the magic seems human in origin. Possibly a demon artifact in the wrong hands.”

“Oh wonderful.”

“We haven’t been able to trace the magic yet, but this resort has been at the center of the activity. In fact, that was why I asked about your travel. I had actually hoped you might have used teleportation to arrive. We found an illegal node set here. Someone has been popping in and out, so we’re either dealing with a very high level sorcerer or someone with access to CSA-level equipment, and neither is a pleasant prospect in a renegade mage.”

Karen had gone pale again. “The things have centered around here?” She looked around. “Where’s Bob? Did you see him leave?” She started to get up again.

“Our hus …friend,” Lisa clarified. “He … she got a little drunk and went back to the room.”

“I shouldn’t worry,” he smiled reassurance. “The incidents have been sporadic. And it’s not like our renegade had singled your group out as targets or anything.”

Flashback a few minutes: Bob has stumbled out of the lounge and paused to catch his breath, delighting in the wash of cooler air in the almost deserted lower entryway. He was drunk, but still sober enough to know that he was drunk, and at least he’d caught himself before giving a complete stranger – a male stranger at that - the chance to “make him a woman” in the figurative sense.

He started determinedly down the hall and towards the elevator. As he passed the stairs leading up to the lobby, a beautiful young woman descending them smiled at him. He looked up, smiled back in casual greeting, then saw her stumble. She let out a small scream and almost literally fell into his arms.

He had reacted automatically in trying to catch her, reaching out with his arms and confident in his strength, and had again been betrayed by his smaller, weaker body, barely staying upright himself as she slammed into him. They spun around, and she grabbed his hand as though to steady herself.

“Oh, thank you!” she gushed. “I can’t believe what a klutz I am. I guess I should look where I'm going.”

“No problem,” he acknowledged, trying to straighten himself and disentangle. He was very aware of her legs in stockings against his bare ones.

“I’m Kim,” she continued.

“Bo … Bo… Bobbie,” he finally stuttered.

Kim seemed to be holding herself awfully close, not just as a stranger but as another woman. Her position also provided a vantage right down her silk blouse, and he found himself glancing automatically at her proffered cleavage, even as he kicked himself mentally for doing just what all the men inside had just done to him. But if she noticed, she didn’t seem at all offended. Indeed, she squeezed his hand again, this time more deliberately. He felt a ring on her finger click against his own.

“Dorozg bhulgoth,” she said, as casually as though finishing the introduction.

He looked at her blankly, then felt a strange sense of peace descend upon him. He smiled at her happily and docilely, convinced that Kim was the most wonderful person he’d ever met and content to wait until she took the lead.

And she did just that.

“Would you mind walking with me back to my room?” she asked sweetly. “It’s so dangerous for us girls to be out alone, don’t you think?”

Bob had no idea.

I'll free your mind I'll free your mind I'll free your mind I'll free your – “Androgyny” by Garbage

Bob walked along happily, not worrying about what Karen and Lisa might think to find him missing from their room or more particularly about his going off with a stunningly attractive woman to her room. Nothing mattered except being with Kim. His new companion was obviously the most wonderful, the most important and excellent of people, and he felt nothing except a complete trust and desire to please her. He followed her obediently to her door, watched her open it, and still did nothing except to smile at her, awaiting her pleasure. She studied his expression with obvious satisfaction, her eyes dancing, and again reached to hold his hand. She used her other hand to touch the medallion around her neck.

“Now then, would you mind taking that ring off?”

Bob knew that the ring she meant was a defensive ward, and Gregor had warned him never to remove it unless sure of his surroundings, yet somehow, the sense of peace and his desire to make this woman happy now led him to slip the ring off with only a moment’s hesitation. She immediately snatched it away.

“That’s a relief,” she said pleasantly. “I wasn’t sure how long this override spell could have worked. Come in, close the door, and have a seat on the bed. Don’t get up until I tell you.”

Bob obeyed without another thought. Inside, a small part of him was screaming warnings and demanding immediate flight, especially when she’d mentioned a spell, but it seemed lost against the seemingly drugged part of his mind. She came to stand over him.

“Bob, Bob, Bob,” she shook her head. “Look at what they’ve done to you. Literally emasculated. And to think, I had originally planned to seduce you.”

Some of the suppressed fear made it back into the conscious part of his mind. Even so, the clarion alarm that should have sounded at someone using his real name produced only a whimper, and he struggled vainly against the mental cobwebs that had been hung so thickly. He looked again at the woman. She was quite beautiful, easily model-quality, and striking enough that he would have expected to remember her. However, looking more closely at her face now, he was struck not by its flawless lines, but how hard and cold her eyes were.

“Excuse me? Do I know you?” he finally asked, briefly breaking some of the webs that bound him.

She saw him studying her eyes and chuckled. “Don’t recognize me? I should be insulted. But it’s not entirely your fault. I had to learn some masking spells since our last meeting. Thanks to you and Karen, that is. Here, let me make it easier for you.”

She leaned her face down, and drew her hands across it, making a passing motion in front of her eyes. When her hands came away, he was staring into a truly remarkable pair of eyes – multicolored and almost shifting in hue when you looked. Kaleidoscope eyes. His heart jumped.

“Kelly!” he whispered.

“You do remember!” she crowed. “Splendid. That will make this much more satisfying.” She saw him struggling to stand and laughed. “Don’t bother. Once you lost your warding spell, my mind control is pretty much absolute. Don’t believe me? Hmm, now what could I do to convince you? Tell you what, why don’t you kiss and lick my feet while I'm thinking?”

Bob looked angrily defiant for a split second, then faltered. It wasn’t just the persistent desire to please Kelly and maintain that incredible aura of tranquility he’d felt ever since she’d murmured those strange words that made him reconsider. It just made perfect sense to kiss her feet. Why it hadn’t occurred to him before eluded him, but it was obvious now. Even though it might give her an unreasonable expectation that her command had worked, he slid off the bed, dropped to his knees, and placed his lips against her shoes, gently kissing and licking the exposed parts of her feet.

She was laughing again. It really irked him that she thought she had made him do it, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to stop kissing her feet yet.

“That’s enough,” she said at last, satisfied at watching his little bottom wiggle while he worked. “By the way, you can address me as mistress now.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Bob said simply, leaning back on his legs. Nothing odd about that. A perfectly reasonable form of address to be used for his mistress.

“Now then, we need to talk a little, and you can only answer truthfully to my questions. Understand? Of course you do. I need to find out a lot, but let’s start with the basics. Do you, Karen or Lisa have any other defensive spells with you? Is there anyone besides them here with you that knows you, or is there anyone else here with magic?”

She grilled him at some length for about 15 minutes regarding their abilities and activities, including everything he knew about Gregor, Yuri and Kei, finally ending again with his current trip. She seemed both disappointed and amused when he described how they had changed him.

“Well, not exactly what I had planned,” she informed him. “But I think I can improvise.” A cruel smile. “Especially since you seem so happy as a woman. Let’s see if I can improve on what they’ve already done.” She touched her medallion, as though changing something in the magic. “Tell me, Bob. How long have you wanted to be a woman?”

He frowned, his head buzzing. I… didn’t want…”

“Bob, Bob,” she chided, interrupting him. “I didn’t ask you if you wanted to be a woman, I asked how long you’d wanted to be one. Limit your answer to that, please.”

“I…I don’t know,” he faltered.

“Hmm. We can take care of that. By the way, your name is short for Roberta, isn’t it?”

It was now.

“You must hate the way Bob sounds – it’s so masculine. Don’t you hate it, Bob?”

“Bobbie,” he corrected automatically.

She nodded as though pleased. “Bobbie it is.” She patted his bare knee in a familiar fashion. “What do you say we have some fun, Bobbie?”

When everything is going wrong And you can't see the point of going on – “Androgyny”

Karen and Lisa were frantic. They had returned from the club to find their room empty, and no sign that Bob had even made his way back. With no concrete cause for alarm or case to bring to the authorities, all they could do was scour the resort themselves looking for him. Lisa had even found Darcy again and asked him to look out for him. Now, sitting in the room as the clock flashed the minutes past 2 AM, they waited, hoping for a phone call or the sound of the card in the door, desperately trying to reassure each other. and miserably failing.

Karen set the phone down after confirming there was still no news from the resort security.

“We could try the police again,” Lisa suggested.

Karen grimaced. “They blew us off completely before. Thought it was funny. I guess they get a lot of calls about people partying too hard while they’re here.”

They sat in silence several minutes.

“I'm calling Gregor,” Lisa announced, reaching for the phone.

“What can he do?” Karen asked hopefully.

“I'm not sure. He might be able to cast a powerful enough scry spell, even that far away to find him.”

“Really?”

“No,” Lisa admitted, setting the phone back down. “Probably not. He’d have to be here, and he’d need something of Bob’s to focus with. Damn!”

“Could you do it?” Karen asked alertly.

Lisa shook her head. “Too advanced for me. You need to be able to sense threads over a huge distance, and it’s incredibly complicated. Plus, I'm still not sure how much magic I've got back.”

She distractedly waved her hand, and there was a brief flash of flame around her fingers that lit her face (creating fire was the most basic of conjuring spells), but it almost immediately extinguished.

“Please?” Karen asked. “You could try. And I’ll help any way I can.”

“I…I don’t know the spell,” Lisa started to object, but one look at Karen’s desperate face counted more than any arguments. “OK, I’ll try. Maybe I can at least open some kind of link so we’ll know he’s all right.” She brightened at a thought. “Gregor can try to talk me through something.” Secretly, she hoped contacting her mentor would bring more directly physical help rather than instructions.

Karen immediately went to Bob’s case to grab some of his things for a focus while Lisa picked up the phone. She wished she had enough magic to at least open a communication channel and avoid the delay or chance of missing him, but knew that even the most advanced sorcerers still used the telephone when convenient. Magic was wonderful and almost limitless in theory, but there were still things technology did just as well.

Before she could place the call, however, Karen stood up with a start, her eyes wide. Then Lisa heard the sound of the lock.

“Bob!” Karen all but screamed in relief as the door opened.

Lisa slammed the phone down carelessly and jumped up too, all but crying to see Bob standing in the doorway looking a little surprised and embarrassed at their reaction. The next instant, he was all but bowled over as both women flew into his arms.

“Bob, what happened?” Karen demanded between tears and sobs of relief. “We were so worried.”

“God! I am so going to learn that scry spell so this never happens again,” Lisa announced rhetorically, fighting her own tears. She paused as she smelled something strange. Like most women, her sense of smell was stronger and operated at a deeper level than most men’s. It was attuned to smell as memory and reinforcement. And that’s why she knew something was wrong before anything else had registered consciously.

Bob was wearing perfume.

She slowly released him and stepped back. She saw Karen still sobbing and clinging to him tightly. He was smiling self-consciously and returning the hug, but there was something odd about the way he held her – not the passionate embrace of a man reunited with his wife, but the friendly, slightly reserved hug of an embarrassed friend.

“Bob?” Lisa asked again.

Karen caught the note of worry in her friend’s voice. She pulled back, wiping away the tears and looked at him more carefully.

“Sorry, girls,” Bob giggled awkwardly. “I just lost track of time completely. We had such a good time.”

He had disengaged from Karen’s embrace and now walked past her. He set down a bag he’d been carrying and now began sorting through the clothes still in his and their bags.

“We?” Lisa demanded, feeling a physical chill.

“Oops,” Bob giggled. “I wasn’t supposed to mention her.”

If the vacuous sound of his giggle hadn’t caused her enough concern, Karen suddenly noticed the glint of light as he turned his head.

“Bob!” she gasped. “You got your ears pierced!”

“Oh, yeah,” he admitted sheepishly, drawing his hair back to reveal the new gold studs. They were about as large and showy as you could manage in a new piercing. “You like them? They wouldn’t let me wear anything bigger until they healed better.”

Karen and Lisa were speechless, though Karen tried to sputter a response. “But…but…”

He bit his lip at her obviously unhappy reaction.

“I think they look cute,” he said defensively.

Karen was still sputtering. “But… but …your ears … they’re …”

“You wanted me to try things as a woman, and now that I am, you’re freaking out,” he complained accusingly. “Why shouldn’t I have the full experience, huh? YOU have pierced ears.”

“But…” She looked at Lisa helplessly. Her reflexive argument that he was a man and not a woman seemed too obviously an echo of his own complaints earlier. “Those will stay with you after you change back,” she finally pointed out.

“Who said anything about changing back? I thought I got to enjoy this for a while?” He held up a pair of his men’s khakis and dropped them in disgust. “I cannot believe the stupid clothes I brought. Can I borrow some more of your stuff for a couple of days until I can go to a real store?”

More helpless looks back and forth. They both had a sinking feeling that something had gone horribly wrong in the spell. Either that, or he was much, much drunker than he seemed.

Bob pulled off his shirt, without any of the self-consciousness he’s showed earlier. He held up a very sheer, silk blouse from his bag. “You think this will look good? I want to make sure I turn a few heads tonight.”

Karen was staring in horror at the matching gold ring that was now revealed. She pointed at his bare stomach.

“You got your navel pierced?!” she all but screamed.

“Oh, chill out,” Bob sniffed, disgusted by her near-hysterical reaction. “Like, if you’re gonna be criticizing me for everything, I’m not even gonna tell you stuff. Jeez, you’re not my mother you know.”

Lisa had fixed on his previous statement instead of the surprises discovered from his body. “Tonight?” she gasped. “Where are you going?” A pause, and an even more frantic, insistent, “And where have you been?”

“Oh, everywhere and nowhere,” he answered airily. He turned on a light and faced a mirror, holding his new top up critically. Lisa’s blood went cold again.

“Bob,” she said quietly. “That’s not the bra you were wearing.”

He looked down, surprised, then laughed. “Oh, that old thing? Duh. I got rid of it first thing. Doesn’t this one make my boobs look much bigger?”

He modeled it for them, and to be purely objective, they would have had to admit that it did. It was clearly designed to lift them into cleavage, and also looked slightly padded, making him look at least a full cup size larger. It was sure to draw even more attention to his chest. But, just as they tried to recover from seeing him happily jiggling his enhanced breasts, yet more surprises in what was turning into an endless series of shocks became obvious in the light.

“Bob,” Karen started, again gasping.

He frowned. “Bobbie,” he told her. “I really like the sound of that better. Bob is so butch.”

She was looking wild-eyed. “You’re wearing lipstick!” she finished. Indeed he was, not to mention foundation, blush and eyeliner. She didn’t even mention the fact that she’d just noticed that his hair had been highlighted and professionally styled. Or the fact that she could now see glittery nail polish on his fingers. It was all becoming unreal. She half thought she must have fallen asleep inadvertently and was now suffering through the requisite nightmare.

He air-kissed very red, defined lips at her. “Passion Fire,” he informed her. “It is such a totally hot color. And it’s like a stain or something - you only need to apply once every few days. Is that cool or what?” He started primping critically in the mirror, checking his makeup which had been applied expertly but just a little too liberally. He brushed at his cheek. “I look so totally great this way. I can’t believe you guys let me go out like that earlier. I must have looked like such a geek. Thank God you at least got me that totally hot bikini so I wasn’t completely invisible to the guys.”

Lisa had gone to look through his bag. In addition to a pile of cosmetics and some new underwear, she found an even shorter skirt than the one he was wearing, made even more provocative by a slit to the waist. It had a cheap look, like he’d bought it at one of the trashier lingerie stores. There were a pair of glittering heels and patterned hose, which she now held up wordlessly. It almost looked like someone had been picking up the school supplies for Prostitution 101. Karen’s eyes all but bugged out.

“Thanks, girlfriend,” Bob made another air kiss to Lisa as he grabbed the proffered items. “So, like sorry to make you worry and everything, but we did come here to party, didn’t we?” He unconcernedly shimmied out of his old skirt and shoes, and started to get dressed in his new fashions. “I’d ask you to join me, but this party is pretty exclusive. It’s in the penthouse suite, and I don’t even know how Kim got us an invite – she can be, like, so persuasive. And I saw some of the guys who were gonna be there! Wow. I have just got to look my hottest! Just wish me luck, OK?”

“You’re going without us?” Karen asked in disbelief.

Bob sighed and sat on the bed to open his pantyhose. Neither of them noticed the way he automatically crossed his legs low, ankle over ankle, to keep them together.

“Look, I had hoped we could put this speech off for a while, but maybe now is better. I realized it after leaving you tonight. I … I like this.” He paused, though it was difficult to determine if it was due to choosing his words or confusion. “I never realized it until you changed me. I want to be a girl. I must have always wanted it. I just never let myself dream it before since it was impossible. Thank you.”

[TheoW]

For several seconds, there were only horrified, frozen gasps in response.

“But you were so …. I mean, you kept asking us to change you back,” Karen finally managed.

“I know. Isn’t that like totally hilarious?” Bob asked. “What a silly girl I am.” There was something about the way he said the last that suggested it wasn’t the first time he’d said it tonight.

“Bob,” Lisa started, speaking carefully but insistently.

“Bobbie,” he corrected, his voice giving it a girlish inflection that left no room for misinterpretation regarding gender. “By the way, Lisa, that skirt and top you’re wearing? They are like totally wrong for you. And with your body, you definitely need to dress to impress, if you catch my meaning.”

“Thanks,” she replied icily, feeling more and more certain of her suspicion. “Bobbie, when exactly did you realize you wanted to be a woman?”

Bob’s eyes fluttered, but if she’d hoped to catch him or trigger a conflict, she lost the gamble. He paused a moment.

“It was when Karen fucked me,” he announced as though recalling a rehearsed answer. “God what a feeling! It was like I’d finally found myself. I liked it, and I need to feel it again.” There was something robotic in his response, and if that hadn’t been bad enough, his final statement made it even more chilling. “I really like to fuck, you know. I want to get fucked a lot.”

Again, the sing-song nature of his answer would have flagged it, even if the strange wording hadn’t. He had pulled on the hosiery, and Lisa’s eyes had widened at how easily he’d done so. Only now did she notice the way he was walking and carrying his body, stopping to look briefly in the mirror and flipping his hair to distribute it more naturally, and it was confirmed a moment later when he slipped on the shamelessly revealing skirt and high heels and walked back across the room without any trace of self-consciousness.

Lisa stood cautiously and came over to put a hand on his shoulder. Karen simply stared, horrified and lost.

“Bobbie, who were you with tonight?” Lisa asked.

He frowned, obviously conflicted.

“K…K…Kim. Kimberly,” he finally answered. “I met her after leaving the bar, when I …I began to realize what was happening…what I felt. She helped me sort through it.”

“I’ll bet she did,” Lisa said acidly. “Tell me about her.”

Bob actually seemed to spasm, and struggled to move his mouth. “I … I …”

Lisa recognized the symptoms and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. “Never mind. She told you not to talk to us about her, didn’t she?”

Bob nodded gratefully, his eyes wet.

“Can you tell us where you went?” Lisa prodded.

“Lots of places. She knew all kinds of great stores and people and places to go. She … she helped me,” he finished, again seeming to slip into rote. “She told me how to do things – had me watch other women. It was amazing how quickly I seemed to pick things up.”

“I’ll bet,” Lisa said dryly. “I'm surprised she let you get away.”

“I wasn’t supposed to come back here,” he added confidentially, still struggling. “But I had to … to … say goodbye.”

There was something of Bob’s old voice in that sentence that gave Lisa hope. Karen, however, only heard the words.

“Goodbye?” she wailed, her own tears flowing again, still too overwhelmed to say anything more. She looked back and forth frantically, imploring Lisa to explain things to her. The nightmare she’d thought over had only changed into another, maybe even a worse one. Obviously, something in the spell had gone very, very wrong. What had they done?

Lisa, however, was much closer to the truth, perhaps because of her own familiarity with the arts. She continued to touch Bob supportively.

“You don’t want to go out again, do you?” she suggested. “You want to stay here with us. We love you, Bob.”

He was crying now too. “And I love you,” he finally sobbed. “But I have to … I need to …”

“You have to have sex,” Lisa finished, guessing. “You have to have as much sex as you can, with as many people as possible. And you can’t bear to let us see you like that.”

Bob closed his eyes and nodded, the tears flowing freely. At least as a woman, he was allowed to cry without shame. Karen, meanwhile, looked at Lisa openmouthed. How had she known?

“Bob, we don’t care,” Lisa told him gently. “We love you anyway. And we can have as much sex as you need or want. Bob, listen carefully: you are not a slut.”

The word seemed to make him shiver as though struck. Unfortunately, it also seemed to hit some reserve control. He opened his eyes and looked at her pleadingly. Another struggle, and then, horribly, she could almost see the light dimming in his eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was unreservedly feminine and flighty.

“Oh, Lisa. Thank you. You guys have been so good to me. And what we had before…it was good too.” He looked a little embarrassed as he looked at them both, especially when he glanced towards Karen’s crotch. “But I just don’t feel that way anymore.”

“Bob?” Karen’s voice was soft and anguished.

“I mean, we can still be friends and everything, right?” he offered lamely. “But the other stuff, well….” Again, there was a shift, as though memorized arguments were being replayed. “See, I'm not gay, right? Right. And I'm a woman now, right? So, I can’t …” He stopped, clearly struggling again. He looked at them almost painfully, then seemed to decide something. “I just need something else now. I … I …need a man. A real man.” He actually lifted Lisa’s hand off, and started to finish dressing airily, as though some weight had been lifted.

“Bob.”

“Bobbie,” he corrected chirpily.

She grimaced. “Bobbie, you are under a spell. Someone – this Kim most likely, is controlling you.”

A musical laugh. “Oh, Lisa! How silly!”

“Yes,” Lisa said grimly. “I’m a silly girl.”

He twitched at the echoed words as though pulled by an invisible string.

“Look, we can talk some more tomorrow, maybe,” he said, trying to recover. “I … I need to go now.”

“No!” Karen called, moving to block the door. “Lisa! We can’t let him go.”

Lisa was in total agreement, and had reached to take his arm again, obviously tense and seemingly ready to wrestle him to the ground if necessary. She suddenly changed direction and grabbed Bob’s hand, holding it up urgently.

“Bobbie, your ring is gone,” she said accusingly. “You know you’re not supposed to remove your protection spell.”

Karen assumed Lisa meant his warding ring, and actually felt hopeful. That would confirm that he had become susceptible to the sort of magic that Gregor’s defenses were supposed to protect them from. To her disappointment, she saw it was still there.

It was his wedding band that was missing. A symbolic wound, but just one more dagger prick amongst the pain.

Bob assumed she’d meant the same thing. He pointed to his ring of protection proudly.

“No it’s not, Lisa. See? It’s still here.”

But Lisa was unfazed. “I meant your wedding ring,” she said quietly. “You couldn’t have taken it off without removing your protection ring too.”

Bob looked confused again. “She said … she wanted …”

“Never mind,” Lisa soothed once more, but Karen caught another edge to her voice that gave her hope. “Bobbie, I need to check something. Would you take that ring off once more?”

He looked suspicious, almost as though warned against just that. “Why?”

“It may not be working right. If it is, that would prove I'm wrong about any new spells on you, and we’ll know everything is OK and let you leave.”

“What?” Karen gasped.

Lisa ignored her, looking straight into Bob’s eyes.

“Please, Bob. For me?”

Her sparkling, clear green eyes had already worked a magic more basic than any spell. Bob smiled trustingly and tugged the ring off. Although his oversized, man’s wedding band had slipped off easily from his smaller, feminine finger earlier in the night, this ring had been designed to magically adjust to his size and still fit snugly. He held it out to Lisa.

“Thank you,” she said. While pretending to study the ring, she took a deep breath and focused, almost going into the slight trance necessary before casting any magic solely by will. She desperately hoped she had regained enough power to do this, and it didn’t help that she’d never cast it outside a classroom. Not having a wand or symbol, she carefully recalled the word foci to mind. She then looked at him pleadingly.

“Forgive me.”

He looked at her in puzzlement as she intoned several words. Karen thought she caught a few, but wasn’t adept enough to understand them all.

“Malleum somni battuo. Fligo. Nunc pello. Now!”

Bob was still looking mildly surprised as his eyes briefly shot open, then closed, his face going slack. A second later, his body followed, crumpling senselessly to the floor, and just evading Lisa’s recovered attempt to grab him. He lay sprawled awkwardly on the floor, apparently completely unconscious.

“Come on,” Lisa ordered Karen, and already moving to arrange his arms more comfortably. “Help me move him.”

“What did you do?” Karen asked, awed. She’d never seen Lisa cast an active spell without props.

“A deep stun. I hope,” Lisa added nervously. Together the lifted his limp body onto the bed. “Combined with lack of sleep and what has to be nervous exhaustion, I’m guessing he’ll be out for at least 6 hours.”

Seeing that Bob still seemed all right physically, albeit unconscious, Karen turned on her friend. “What happened?” she demanded. “Why did he …?” She gestured at the new clothes and body styling.

Lisa looked grim. “Remember what Darcy told us about someone messing people up? I’ll bet it was the same person. He’s parroting some classic mind control stuff.” Inwardly, she only hoped it was a person, and not something worse.

“What are you talking about?” Karen was near hysterical again.

Lisa sighed, trying to remain calm. “That garbage about fucking, for example. It’s rote stuff. You have to memorize the basics when you learn spell commands, and a lot of mind control instructions are almost boilerplate. There are established questions and commands, even a particular order to give them in – like a recipe. See, if you’re rewriting a person’s mind, you have to be really careful to get the result you want, even if you’re just going to turn somebody into a helpless slut. Otherwise.” A shudder. “Well, it’s bad.”

“But why would anyone do that?”

Lisa let the possibility that it was a directed, deliberate attack go for now. “For entertainment. Sometimes for power.” When Karen looked shocked, she continued. “Karen, you have to understand, there’s a dark side to magic too. For a lot of people, it’s all about power, and controlling or even humiliating others, just to show that they have that power. It’s corrupting. That’s one of the first things you learn at the Institute, and something we’re always supposed to guard against, but … well, power is intoxicating. Everyone falls sometimes. We just have to hope it’s someone’s bad idea of fun. At least then it won’t be too deeply imbedded.”

“Or?” Karen prompted, barely breathing.

“It could be permanent,” Lisa admitted. When Karen started to cry again, she hurried to add. “But if a hu… a person did, we can still undo it. Lines may be twisted but they’re probably still there. If it’s not…” She hardly dared finish the thought herself. “But Darcy said there’d been no sign of demon magic in the other cases, so let’s not think about that.”

They both stared wordlessly and helplessly at Bob’s sleeping form for several minutes. Karen reached down to smooth his hair.

“What are we going to do?” she asked softly.

Lisa seemed suddenly galvanized. She started going through her bags.

“We need to act fast. Whatever … I mean whoever did this to him is probably still around. Call Darcy’s number. Get him over here. And let me get a couple of things.” She straightened up grimly. “Then we’re going hunting.”

Nobody wants to be alone … Why can't we all just get along – “Androgyny”

The private party was indeed very impressive on the surface. The guests were elegantly dressed – or at least the men were. Many of the women wore relatively trashy or at least extremely revealing clothes, clearly vying for the men’s attention. It was hard to tell if any of them were also under compulsion spells, or this was their natural state, but Karen shuddered to imagine Bob flirting and giggling amongst them. There were a few men who seemed to be “available” for the more elegantly garbed women’s attention, but as was often the case, the women seemed more interested in style and desirability rather than wantonly advertised availability, and even these “boy toys” wore expensive, stylish clothes.

But under the surface of glamour and wealth, there was something else. Many of the attendees showed just a hint of curled lip or a cold eye that showed an arrogance and edge that left Karen very uncomfortable. Was this based on wealth, or were some of these people mages, imbued with the corrupting power that truly lifted them above the ordinary? If this was part of that “dark side” Lisa had mentioned, she wanted nothing to do with it.

Sitting together at a table defensively amongst the wolves, Karen, Lisa and Darcy surveyed the crowd. Darcy was checking an instrument on his wrist that Karen only now realized wasn’t a watch.

“Definitely magical traces. Nothing focused. And no locks yet,” he reported.

“The way some of these women are acting,” Lisa observed, watching a girl who might not even be out of her teens, rub salaciously against an unimpressed man in a tuxedo, her breasts almost bursting out of an undersized tube top. “She must have been involved.”

“Likely,” he conceded. “Their behavior matches some of the patterns. But we still don’t have anything specific to go on. Perhaps if we could wake your husband, Mrs. Rhodes, we might be able to get a description?”

“No,” Karen and Lisa chorused. Neither felt ready to face his new personality again, and Lisa felt sure that he’d be unable to help anyway. A proscription against betrayal was almost surely part of his conditioning.

“Let me make a sweep up closer,” he decided. “You two stay and see if anyone seems to be directing people.”

He walked through the crowd, making his way into a second room. There were “private” rooms off this one, but he had no desire to interrupt whatever activities were going on in there. He had just made it to a far corner when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He whirled and did an astonished double take at the black-haired beauty who faced him. She was dressed in a skintight uniform that accentuated her toned body and moderate curves.

“Yuri!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?” He looked in surprise at her form-fitting, unusual clothes, and also couldn’t help drinking in the body it outlined. “And what’s with the uniform? This is a civvie operation.”

“Backup,” the woman said. “We came as soon as Notokrisse told us what was happening. I, um, didn’t have time to change. Besides, with all these virtually naked women around, no one will notice. Anything to report?”

He shook his head. “Same MO. Probably a rogue mage or renegade. Still no demonic activity on the sensors, thankfully.” He paused, giving her a shy smile. Their last attempt to get together hadn’t gone well. “I’m glad they sent you. It’s good to see you again.”

She smiled, but it seemed a little forced.

“Me too. We’ve been following your case. We’ll get her.”

He paused. “How’d you know we suspected a woman? I hadn’t updated my report yet.”

She paused. “I, um, checked in with Notokrisse when I saw her just now. By the way, should you leave them alone like that?”

“They’ll be OK,” he said confidently. “I gave them a signaler, and she’s pretty smart. Tough too.”

“I know,” she nodded. “Still, we can’t be too careful. I brought some additional wards to keep us safe.” A look around at the crowd, then she nodded at one of the private rooms. “Come here, we can activate them inside.”

He followed her in and closed the door. While still facing away, she asked, “I assume you’re using standard defensive spells?”

“Yes. Level 2 antimagic and a screen.”

She reached inside a pocket of her uniform. “Any physical protection or armor?”

“No. We’ve had no indications of PSA capabilities.”

“Excellent. That will make things easier.”

Before he could make sense of her comment, she’d whirled, revealing a multicolored sphere in her palm. It whirled and shifted, as though not quite contained by physical space, and was surrounded by a glow, radiating needle-like glints of light or energy.

His eyes widened to recognize a spell manifest, but not one of the CSA’s defensive units. It was a mind flayer – a particularly nasty spell package created by advanced magic and designed to incapacitate. To say that he was surprised was an understatement, not least because of who wielded it, rather like finding that sweet, quiet girl who lived next door suddenly brandishing a blackjack. But before he could react further than a slight gasp, she clapped it against his neck with a triumphant smile.

A shimmering aura of displaced magic surrounded him, the specially designed spell going straight through his shields. His mind almost literally disintegrated, exploding in pain, but the magic worked so quickly, he didn’t even have time to scream before consciousness was ripped painfully into shreds. Instead, just as the spell intended, he crumpled immediately and silently to the floor.

The woman smiled sadistically over him several seconds, then began methodically removing his CSA equipment and magical aids. When she finished, she passed her hand in front of her face and reached to tug on her hair. Instantly, it morphed, lengthening and lightening into a long, summer blond. Her face transformed into a very young, pretty woman, looking like any of the college-aged beach regulars who doubled as resort employees. She then touched her belt, and her clothes shimmered into the practical, generic outfit of one of the resort hostesses. She gestured the unconscious Darcy into the air, his body jerking from invisible bonds, then floated him into a chair, where it looked as though he was sleeping.

“And now,” she said to herself, smoothing her hair and clothes. “The main course.”

Karen and Lisa were waiting apprehensively at their table, still studying the partygoers until their eyes burned, and hoping any second to hear back from Darcy. They barely noticed the pretty young woman until she spoke.

“Excuse me,” she said politely. “Is one of you Lisa Notokrisse?”

“I am,” Lisa announced, instantly alert.

The woman smiled reassuringly. “Good evening, I’m Susan Dill, one of the night staff. A Mr. Darcy called to ask if you could meet him in room 958. He said you’d be here, and that you knew what it would be about.”

“What?” Karen and Lisa both started to rise, tense and worried.

“Yes, ma’am. He said.” A pause as though remembering, “Everything has worked out perfectly. But he needs a hand to finish it.” Another pause as she looked apologetically at Karen. “He said to make sure you came alone because there was something only…only…what was the word he used…only an initiate could see. Does that make any sense?”

Lisa grimaced. “Maybe.”

“He seemed quite insistent, ma’am. If you have any qualms, I’d be happy to call hotel security. They can go with you or in your stead.” She made as though to hit a button on her cell phone.

“No, no,” Lisa stopped her. “I can go.” A look to Karen. “You’ll be OK?”

Karen nodded uncertainly. The other woman looked at them uncertainly, then cleared her throat suspiciously.

“Look, I think it might be better if I had security meet you anyway. This is beginning to look pretty weird. Please stay right here.” She again reached to use her phone.

“No, really,” Lisa assured her. “Sorry if he made it sound strange. He’s a friend, and just needs me to help him … with some business stuff. We’re getting ready to close a deal, but the acquisition numbers are still classified. Sorry.” She deliberately hid the nervousness she felt and looked as bland and relaxed as possible. “I hate to leave you and this wonderful party,” she added to Karen, hoping to make it sound believable.

Karen caught on. “Oh, no problem. Business first, of course. But I'm having such a wonderful time.” She put on a huge, forced smile. “I think I’ll just stay here a while longer.”

“Right, I’ll meet you back in the room,” Lisa said carefully.

“Right,” Karen acknowledged.

“Room 958?” Lisa asked.

“Yes. Are you sure this is OK?” the messenger asked, her finger still on the call button of her phone and increasingly suspicious. “I don’t know…”

“I’m already on my way,” Lisa called, hurrying out.

The woman watched her leave with a thoughtful frown on her face, then turned back to Karen.

“Well, that wasn’t very nice to leave you all alone,” she offered.

“I'm fine,” Karen replied curtly, standing up. “In fact, I think maybe I'm ready to go back to my room now.”

“Oh, don’t do that,” her new companion said, suddenly smiling predatorily. She unexpectedly reached out and touched Karen’s hand, and Karen felt the woman’s ring click against her own. “Dorozg bhulgoth. Sit down and relax. You’re having a wonderful time, remember?”

Karen felt an unusual sense of peace and happiness suffuse her, and somehow it would feel even more wonderful to do what this young woman suggested. And although she could make no sense whatever in those first nonsense syllables, she also suddenly realized that her new friend was absolutely correct in what she’d said afterwards - she WAS having a wonderful time. Smiling tranquilly, she slipped back into her chair and looked around. What a great party.

The other woman still held her hand.

“It’s such a shame Bob couldn’t make it.”

A little of that sense of peace evaporated, but Karen found her mind was too sluggish and unfocused to get really upset. She looked at companion uncertainly.

“How…?”

“Oh, please. He was the first one I went after when I got here, though I’ll admit you made a mess of my original plan. By the way, as much as I enjoy holding your hand, it could get pretty awkward. Take off your ward ring and give it to me, please.”

A little more of her mind came together, and she almost pulled her hand away, but then her thoughts and will slipped away again. Without even realizing she had done it, she saw herself hand her ring over.

“Thank you,” the woman said pleasantly, releasing Karen’s hand. “That makes this so much easier.” She touched a medallion at her neck as though readjusting something.

Karen’s whirling mind briefly focused again. She looked at the woman across the table.

“Kelly,” she whispered.

“Very good, Karen,” Kelly almost clapped. “Bob didn’t get it until I removed my illusion spell. But I was willing to cut him some slack. He didn’t really seem to be himself at the time - thanks to you two, I hear.”

“Then you … you …” Karen had a hard time thinking or forming words. She didn’t know it was because her mind was being conditioned to be purely passive – and ready to be remade.

“His little makeover? Yes, that was me. Isn’t he just the cutest little bimbo now? I’d love to watch him compete with some of my other projects here.” She looked with pride around the room at several of the more scandalously attired women.

Karen actually managed a flash of anger, and it showed.

“Yes, yes. The evil and twisted archenemy. That’s me. Blah, blah, blah,” Kelly brushed the look aside. “I would have loved to see him in action here when his slut programming really had a chance to take off, but I knew that was the risk in letting him go. I thought he’d be able to overcome the low-level block I gave him and make it back to you.” A sly smile. “That’s why I didn’t reinforce it. I so wanted to get a chance to talk with you again, and now everything is working out perfectly.”

A topless woman serving drinks walked by, looking uncomfortable in her leather micro-skirt and heels. She was older than some of the other women, though age and gravity were only beginning to wreak their consequences, and something about her face and hairstyle made her look very out of place waiting tables. Kelly glanced at her.

“I bet she’s going to miss those perks she had as a CEO, don’t you? On the other hand, how many people get a chance to start all over again in life, and under such different circumstances? It really gives you a chance to rediscover just who you are. Can she succeed as an “exotic” waitress as well as she did in business? I think it’s a very profound and metaphysical question – a social experiment in progress. So enlightening – both to us and her. Really, I think I did her a favor, don’t you? She’s hardly spilling any of those drinks today, so she may do better than I assumed at first. Though she’d still better reconsider my suggestion of hooking on the side – her body won’t take her very far in this kind of work at her age.”

She signaled the woman for a drink, and laughed at the woman’s terrified expression at seeing her. Nonetheless, she immediately delivered it with a trembling hand, obviously even more afraid of Kelly’s displeasure than facing her. Kelly watched her walk quickly away afterwards, her shaking tush barely covered by her skirt.

“You know, I do good work, even if I say so myself.” She gestured around, indicating some of the more desperate women Karen had noticed earlier. “And you wouldn’t believe how much some people will pay for their toys. Especially when it’s someone they would have thought unattainable. Sometimes it’s an enemy or ex-wife. Sometimes it’s just a total stranger they’ve taken a fancy to. Thank God for those sex drives.” She sipped her drink in satisfaction.

“Why do you…?” Karen managed.

“Partly for practice. I have to develop these powers, you know. I’m still only an apprentice. Though a damn good one.” Another sip from her drink. “Partly for the money,” she admitted. “Even with all this new power, I can’t just create it. Not to mention having to worry about all those high-tech financial monitors. Much better to have people give it to me. And I do enjoy the benefits of money. I suppose I could just control someone and have them write me a check, but it feels so much better to EARN your money, don’t you think?” She gestured at a girl caressing a man’s bulge – and particularly the look of utter dismay that came through her eyes, belying the insipid smile on her face. “And besides, I enjoy my work. I really do.” Another pause, with a slightly troubled expression. She idly touched her medallion. “And partly to pay this off. Not all of us have things handed to us, like you do. Some of us have to earn our power. And everything has a price.”

She suddenly leaned in very close, teasing and confiding. “I do have a life outside you, Karen. It can’t ALL be about you, you know.” A smile. “Well, most of it can be. After all, who do you think I've been practicing for?”

Even through her bespelled mind, Karen felt the chill go through her. She tried desperately to concentrate – to invoke the age control power she’d just started to control – seeking to feel the familiar flow of magic, to focus her disgust and rage into a devastating regression spell that would leave Kelly literally bawling like a baby.

And could do nothing. Her mind teasingly floated free of her attempts to bind it, drifting back to the unnatural calm that Kelly’s mind control power dictated.

Kelly stood up. “Now let’s go somewhere private before Lisa finally figures out that there is no room 958. She may be a little smarter than that imbecile CSA agent I laid out, and I don’t need to risk another confrontation in public like this. Besides, I want to keep her conscious for what I have in store later. Get up and walk out with me. Oh, and smile and laugh. You’re still having the most wonderful time of your life.”

Karen stood and followed, and to her own bizarre realization, her accompanying smiles and laughs were genuine. Helpless and leaving under the control of a woman who no doubt was planning some ultimate humiliation for her – what could be better than that?

She did everything to try to break the spell, miserably watching herself walk through the crowded room and follow Kelly out the door. They stopped for a second in the hall, and Kelly actually slumped against the wall as the party sounds receded. For just a second, she looked utterly drained and exhausted.

“The quiet is a relief, isn’t it?” Kelly asked, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. “You get a lot of psychic feedback in crowds with this damn mind control medallion, and I’ve been using it too much tonight. Not that I’m giving it up any time soon.” She opened her eyes and tried to make light of her momentary weakness. “Not until we’ve had our little talk. What do you think, Karen? Would you and Bob like to turn tricks together? Maybe you’d like to be the pimp? That might be fun, watching you degrade him and sell him. Hmm.”

They had reached the elevator, and Kelly pressed the down button.

“To be honest, I had something entirely different planned for him, but that transformation spell you two used on him ruined that. I'm not as perverted as your little threesome. Speaking of which, is what he said really true? Drop your skirt, would you?”

Karen unfastened her skirt and let it fall to the floor, feeling even more shame at her undress since Kelly was controlling it. Kelly looked down at her panties and the obvious bulge.

“Oh, that’s just sick!” she exclaimed. “Put your skirt back on. Yuck.” She looked at her in disgust. “Talk about wasting your powers. I don’t know why I bother with you.”

“Then why do you?” Karen asked. She thought the cotton wool blankness of her mind might be clearing slightly. Could something in the elevator or nearby stairs be interfering with the magic? She tried again to summon some of her own power, but to no avail.

“Isn’t it obvious, Karen?” Kelly mocked. “No? Let’s see, how shall we describe it? Kismet? Cosmic balancing – the yin and yang? Maybe closure? I'm sure a therapist would tell me that I have unresolved issues. How could I not after our first little run-in? All my work in establishing a new base, ruined. Forced to run as a renegade again. Embarrassed. Humiliated.” She punctuated these last statements by poking Karen hard in the chest. “And I got to watch as you had powers and privilege handed to you. Handed to you! Without deserving any of it!” A sneer. “And what do you do with your powers? Play with each other. Games! Sex games yet! What a fucking waste!” She grabbed Karen’s chin and twisted her face to look her straight in the eye. “Magic is power, Karen. You don’t understand that, and THEY won’t teach it to you. They’re afraid of it. That’s what all those Institute rules and restrictions are for. I tried to tell you that. I even offered to let you join me, forgetting our differences.”

Karen was actually able to crystallize an objection, perhaps in response to the way Kelly dug her nails into her skin.

“You … hurt people.”

“Oh please!” Kelly laughed, though she did release Karen’s face. “People? You mean the nulls back there? Don’t you see you’ve bought into that Institute garbage already? It’s our powers that set us apart. We’re different. Better! Just look what I can do to them – or you. Tell me that doesn’t excite you.”

Karen’s eyes answered for her, but even better, she was able to interpret Kelly’s statement to express it verbally too.

“That doesn’t … excite me. It disgusts me.”

Kelly’s eyes flashed angrily.

“I don’t know why he thinks you have potential. Damn it, if I could just …” The anger faded, replaced by a far more chilling gratification. “Of course. Why not? I’ll admit, I was planning some special depravities for you, Karen - did you know I can instill addictions with this?” She touched her medallion again. “I’ll never forget that first time. A sweet, Baptist girl. She looked so funny chain smoking afterwards, hacking and coughing, her lungs barely able to handle her new obsession. She even had trouble opening the pack of cigarettes, or knowing which end to light. And then, by the end of the day …” A sigh. “Oh well. Good times. I thought a career as a crack-addicted whore would be fun for you, especially watching you try to cover it for a while at work or home. Trying so hard to resist or hide the new habits, and ultimately losing everything.” Another sigh at the prospect. “But now. Well, why degrade when you can corrupt? I think it’s time I tested the full power of this medallion. It cuts deep – why, I barely scratched Bob with it and look what happened.” She suddenly reached into her pocket and playfully held up Bob’s wedding ring. “Look what he gave me. And he wanted to. Just think what else I can do with this. How about if we play with your core morals, Karen? You’ll find life much, much simpler without scruples. Not to mention a heck of a lot more fun. That might be just as wonderful to watch, especially when you meet Lisa again.”

She briefly broke her reverie to stab angrily at the lit but otherwise unresponsive elevator button.

“Where the hell is that elevator? We need to get out of here before she gets back.”

Vaguely, Karen wondered why Kelly would have to worry about Lisa at all, given the apparent power of her control magic, but the dampening power of the spell on her own mind kept her from worrying about it too much. Kelly poked impatiently at the call button once more than turned in disgust.

“Come on, we’re taking the stairs.”

She quickly led the way a short distance back down the hall, and opened the door to the stairs.

And that’s when Lisa broke her nose.

Lisa had been waiting just inside the door, and landed a roundhouse that brought her whole body’s weight with it and produced a sickening crunch. Kelly screamed and fell backwards, clutching her bleeding nose and all but blinded by pain. However, before she could put any distance between them, Lisa immediately grabbed her and pulled her hard into the stairwell, continuing the motion to send Kelly slamming into the concrete wall opposite them. Kelly bounced off the wall, her head snapping back and smeared with red, only to be caught in Lisa’s grip yet again. Before she could recover, Lisa had wrapped a cord tightly around her neck. Kelly pulled at it, her eyes bulging. Strangely, her face and body morphed again, this time back to normal as her desperation broke the illusion spells she had maintained. The perky, college girl disappeared, replaced by an all too familiar face. She was strikingly beautiful but with harder, sharper features which were cold, dominated by striking multicolored eyes and a cascade of luxuriant brown hair. Her face was also still marred by the broken nose, and now by bulging eyes from the cord that remained tight around her neck during the metamorphosis.

“Hello, Kelly,” Lisa smiled. “So good to see you again.” She loosened her grip just enough to snap the medallion from around her neck. “And thanks for telling me about your necklace. I think we’ll borrow it for a while. Karen, come in here.”

For Karen, it was a very strange feeling. She could feel a sense of relief at seeing her friend rescue her, and at Kelly’s mishap, but at the same time, the sense of utter peace and compliance remained. She opened the door and entered the stair not because of any urgency to help, but because Lisa told her to do so.

“Good thing Kelly’s a talker,” Lisa said. “I had enough time to lock the elevators between floors and STILL get up here in time to hear most of that.” She noticed Karen’s expression and looked worried. “Damn, I hope she hasn’t done anything yet. Kelly, I’m going to loosen his cord enough to let you tell me the release word. You lie, or try anything else, and I snap your neck, got it?”

To be honest, even a few sessions with Kei, the CSA’s best hand to hand combatant, hadn’t prepared Lisa to do anything of the sort, but there was no reason to think Kelly knew that. Indeed, the raw anger that had replaced the initial expression of shock and pain in Kelly’s face after Lisa’s attack now shifted enough to allow a glimpse of fear. She nodded when Lisa tightened the cord threateningly, then gasped as she loosened it just enough to breathe.

“Dalgoth,” she croaked, drawing a ragged breath at the same time. Unfortunately for her, Lisa almost instantly retightened the cord.

“It better be.”

She tried to hide her reaction at hearing the word. She was no expert, but thought she recognized demonic words when she heard them. If that meant the medallion used chaotic magic…

She turned to Karen, held the medallion out and repeated. “Dalgoth.”

Almost immediately, Karen felt her mind crash back. For a second, there was disorienting pain, and a sense of total despair at the loss of that magically imposed peace and passivity.

And the next instant, she was trying to finish what Lisa had started by strangling Kelly with her bare hands, her face absolutely transformed by fury. Lisa actually had to call her off.

“Don’t lower yourself, Karen. The CSA will have a field day with her, and we may learn something too.” Lisa tried signaling with a small electronic pin on her shirt again.

“She said she knocked Darcy out,” Karen informed her, barely able to resist battering Kelly around anyway. At least she was able to enjoy her expression while the captive pulled vainly at the cord around her neck.

“That’s what I assumed. I'm trying to pull Brandon in. He should be getting the same signal.” An extra pull on Kelly’s cord. “Got an activation phrase for this toy, Kelly girl?”

Again, just enough loosening to allow a couple of words and one tortured breath. “Gothbhul,” she spat.

That sounded about right from what Lisa could remember of her demonic incantations. A little short, but there was one way to see if it worked. She held the medallion towards Kelly. “Gothbhul.”

Instantly, Kelly stopped struggling, seemingly content to have her larynx crushed if that was what Lisa wanted. Lisa tried to think of some instruction to test the command hold.

“Tell us about all your magic items. Let Karen take them as you go.”

Kelly smiled. “Of course. You’re holding my most powerful item, an absolutely devastating mind control device. It’s demonic, but you probably already knew that. My ring has a special negation spell that can dampen wards enough to allow the mind control magic to penetrate. Unfortunately, its range and power are limited. Otherwise I would have taken you all at once. I have stun spells prepared and ready to be invoked by a word trigger. My belt has a copy spell that can transform my clothes …”

Karen had held off taking any of the magic items proffered, instead first angrily reaching into Kelly’s pocket to retrieve Bob’s ring. Now, while Kelly still held her hand meekly out, she reached to start on the spell talismans. She started by grabbing the ring that had overcome their wards, but when Karen touched it, her body seemed to explode with pain, almost like a powerful electrical charge, and she was thrown backwards into the wall. By the time her head cleared, she saw Kelly and Lisa struggling for the medallion, both faces contorted and furious, Lisa’s choke hold broken and the cord having been pulled away already. Just as it seemed Kelly was about to win, Lisa brought her forehead down onto Kelly’s already broken nose, bringing a fresh gush of blood and another howl of pain. Kelly staggered back, reaching blindly for something at her waist. Karen assumed it was another attack spell and concentrated as hard as she could, willing all of her consciousness and control into her own spell just as Kelly found her mark.

But a second later, instead of launching an attack, Kelly vanished. There was a soft popping noise as the air rushed into the space from which she’d teleported. The next second, Lisa was charging through the empty air herself in a last, vain attempt to grab her.

“Damn it!” she screamed, slamming the wall repeatedly in frustration. “She got away!”

“Not necessarily,” Karen replied. She was sure she’d felt her magic hit home.

Nothing in life is set in stone There's nothing that can't be turned around - “Androgyny” by Garbage

Several hours later, and their hotel room was now crowded. The most striking figures were hard to choose. There was a tall, young man with a prominent nose who was examining the medallion Lisa had taken from Kelly while muttering various half-suppressed exclamations, some seemingly horrified and other appreciative. Working with him was a black-haired beauty wearing a skin-tight uniform, a woman that any outside observer would have recognized as a twin of the form Kelly had chosen to ambush Darcy. Sitting with Karen and Lisa was a tall, strong-looking woman with dark hair, highlighted by the merest hint of red. Her most disquieting features were her ears and teeth, both of which came to points. Sitting alone, and trying not to look too bored, was a red-headed bookend to the other woman in uniform. Her hair mirrored a fiery temper, and her uniform seemed even tighter, showing off every detail of an obviously toned and powerful yet still curvy body.

And, of course, long-time readers will recognize the figures in question as the master sorcerer Gregor, his companion, the half-demonic Callista, and the most notorious but successful agents the CSA had to offer, Yuri and Kei. They had arrived at the scene before dawn, using Brandon’s signal and Yuri and Kei’s equipment to teleport there themselves. (Only CSA agents had the wherewithal to teleport extensively. The power and inherent dangers were too considerable for most mages.)

Oh, and Bob was there, of course, still slumbering peacefully on the bed. He was the only one not anxiously waiting for the results of their examination and slept as the dawn highlighted his face, unaware of the consternation that centered around him.

“Yes, I agree,” Gregor nodded in response to a comment from Yuri about the medallion and setting it down. He turned to Karen and Lisa, who had barely felt able to breathe for the last hour. “As you might expect, there’s good news and bad news.” He turned to Yuri. “Isn’t that always the way? Wouldn’t you like just once to be able to say ‘good news’ and stop there? I remember once when I was discussing a compulsion spell with TS. You may remember that business with the Midnight Carnival a while back. It seems…”

Callista made a reproving clearing of her throat.

“No? Well, well, perhaps not the time then. Still, very illustrative. A little distraction can do wonders to the mind.”

“What’s the bad news?” Lisa demanded, determined to keep him focused and all too aware of how easily Gregor could be distracted.

“Ah, yes,” he hesitated. “You were quite right. The artifact is demonic in origin, and the matrix is chaotic. Very nasty.”

“No!” wailed Karen and Lisa in chorus. Callista had stiffened unconsciously.

“Now then!” Gregor interrupted reprovingly. “Stop that! What’s all the bawling about? Very presumptuous. And you’re embarrassing Kei there.”

Kei looked up in surprise, looking decidedly unembarrassed until being singled out. In fact, she had been rather upset to hear the results herself, and was very sympathetic to the other women’s reaction. (Despite some guilty curiosity to actually see Bob in his new bimbo persona.)

“But … you said the magic was chaotic? Doesn’t that mean Bob is … aren’t the effects permanent?” Karen asked. She was still a neophyte, but remembered Lisa’s basic classifications.

“Nonsense!” Gregor snorted. “Poppycock. Folderol.” He paused. “Well, that is to say, yes. That’s true.”

Another threatened cloudburst.

“But what is permanent when we’re talking about magic, eh? Sleight of hand. Sic transit mundane and all that.”

“Is that supposed to be the good news?” Lisa asked suspiciously.

“What? Eh?” He shook his head. “No, no. The good news is that you snagged the actual talisman responsible for the changes. No better way to mend the threads than with the match that started the fire, eh? Stitch in time and twice burned. Matrix squared, as it were.”

Lisa and Karen were looking on in some confusion but with dawning hope.

“We think we can use the artifact to our advantage,” Yuri cut in, holding up the medallion gingerly. “It may be possible to recreate the vectors and their covalent instructions using a Heidegger extrapolation matrix in k-space.”

There was complete silence. Suddenly, Kei snorted.

“Ha!” She laughed, looking at the blank expressions around her. “For once I wasn’t the only one who missed it. OK, partner, care to repeat that in English?”

“I think we can use it to undo the damage,” Yuri clarified somewhat stiffly.

“Then why the hell didn’t you say so?” Kei demanded. She looked at Karen and Lisa. “You see what I have to put up with? It’s amazing Darcy fell for that fake Yuri when he was able to understand her without an interpreter.”

Yuri had colored, though whether at Kei’s teasing or the mention of Darcy was uncertain. In either case, she muttered something about wanting a little revenge against Kelly herself.

“Yes, yes, obviously,” Gregor told her impatiently. “But Darcy is recovering just fine, and Brandon has already told him about the illusion spell Kelly used. Very annoying, I'm sure. But while the mind flayer was certainly devastating in the short term, his antimagic protected him from any long-term effects. Sure to bounce back. Stout fellow and all that. Ha! Stout. Bounce. Reminds me of an inflation spell I saw last week at Lady Jane’s. You see, she said something about …” He trailed off at the disbelieving looks that had all locked on. “Ah yes. Quite right. Problem at hand. Yuri, I’ll thank you to stop changing the subject like that! Hrmph. Right now, we need to concentrate on Bob here. Broken threads you know.”

“Of course,” she agreed earnestly.

“You really think you can do it?” Karen asked hopefully, barely able to restrain her emotion.

Gregor drew himself up. “My dear Karen, you have here an absolute genius in magical theory.” He nodded towards Yuri. “A genius in restorative magic and chaotic theory.” A nod to Callista. “And… well…” He gestured to himself modestly. “A genius.” A dramatic pause, and then he smiled in a way that absolutely flooded Karen and Lisa with hope, washing like a physical wave over and through them. They jumped up and physically ran to hug him in their relief.

“Here now,” he said in embarrassment. “No distractions.” He looked around the room, almost filled beyond capacity with attractive women. “Besides, I think we need the old Bob back just to restore some balance. Too much of a good thing, eh?”

“What am I a genius in, Gregor?” Kei demanded, seeking to lighten the mood.

“In finding breakfast. Now go out and feed these two.” He pointed to Karen and Lisa. “Before they collapse from exhaustion.” A pause as Kei started to grumble. “Oh, and something for us. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” Another pause for a grumble. “Oh, and put on some normal clothes. You may be able to walk around at the Institute in an armored catsuit carrying sidearms, but you’re just liable to draw a little attention here.” A smirk at her remarkable figure. “As if you wouldn’t otherwise.”

Callista made a good-natured scolding sound, and Kei blushed despite herself. She turned to Karen and Lisa.

“All right, assuming you can lend me some clothes, we’ll let the fucking geniuses work undisturbed. Lisa, I need to show you a couple more disabling moves anyway. If anyone finds out you let this Kelly bitch get away after taking lessons from me, I’ll never live it down.”

They went to breakfast, but didn’t eat much. For Lisa, it wasn’t just worry but also the stomach flu she seemed to still be fighting. For some reason, it always seemed worse in the morning. She worried she might have some kind of gastritis, and resolved to avoid coffee and alcohol for a while, just to be safe.

A few-half eaten croissants, half-hearted conversation, and what seemed like many half-hours later, Kei received a signal from Yuri that is was clear to return. They all but ran the whole way back and arrived breathless at the room to find Bob still dozing in bed, surrounded by the others.

“Well?” Lisa demanded.

“We thought you’d want to be here for when he woke up,” Callista said.

“How did it go? Did it really work?” Karen and Lisa said almost simultaneously, staring at his untroubled, sleeping face. He didn’t look any different.

“Those two are amazing,” was Callista’s only reply. She nodded as though to hand credit to Yuri and Gregor.

Yuri cleared her throat. “I really think that Callista and Gregor get most of the credit. My calculations were really straightforward. Almost inevitable.”

“Nonsense,” Gregor demurred. “Brilliant as always. And Callista’s innate control over the chaotic flux was …”

[TheoW]

“Did it fucking work?!” Kei cut them all off. Were they trying to share the credit or spread the blame here?

“Let’s find out,” Gregor decided, nodding to Callista, who passed her hands over Bob’s face and murmured a short restorative spell.

For the first time since Lisa had stunned him, Bob stirred. He moaned, rolled over, than opened his eyes. He didn’t seem to really see anything or anyone for several seconds, then his face slowly registered a dawning comprehension. He suddenly realized he was in a room full of people. And they were all staring at him.

He jumped up, looking around wildly. He stared at each new face in turn, stopping at Gregor’s.

“I have a feeling this can’t be good,” he guessed, his voice still thick and slurred.

His gaze continued around, then paused in relief to find Karen and Lisa still there. He put his hands across his pounding forehead.

“I must have drunk a LOT more than I thought,” he mumbled.

Perhaps it was the sensation of long hair tickling his hands that reminded him. Suddenly, his eyes flew open and his hands dropped in a vain attempt to hide his breasts. It was bad enough that Karen and Lisa had seen him like this, but now to be on display for their whole group…

“Bob?” Karen hazarded.

He looked up at the name, without any sign of wanting to correct her, but before he could answer, he began shifting his legs tentatively. His face registered disbelief, and he actually lifted the sheet they’d used to keep him modestly covered to look beneath. A second later, he dropped it and looked around suspiciously. Trying very hard to keep his voice even, he asked, “Would somebody mind explaining how the hell I got into pantyhose?”

“It’s very simple,” Kei answered, making everyone look at her cautiously. No one was sure how much Bob would remember, and Kei wasn’t exactly known for tact. “One leg at a time, just like everybody else.”

Bob couldn’t understand why everyone laughed so much at the joke, or why Karen and Lisa were looking so relieved. But something about seeing them, and something about the normal feelings that resulted, suddenly made him very, very happy, and very, very relieved.

Boys Behind closed doors and under stars Girls It doesn't matter where you are Boys Collecting jewels that catch your eyes Girls Don't let a soulmate pass you by - “Androgyny” by Garbage

The rest of their week passed idyllically, or at least as idyllically as possible for Bob since he remained female. Gregor had insisted that they didn’t dare upset whatever restorative magic they had used to repair Kelly’s damage, and that they shouldn’t even think of changing him back for a week or two. He even arranged to have Bob’s vacation extended to avoid the rather unpleasant prospect of returning to work on Monday. (The office was used to men coming back with new hair styles, mustaches or beards after a trip, but Bob’s changes would have been harder to explain.)

Gregor had also insisted that they all remain, even Yuri and Kei, and had gotten them all rooms on the Institute’s account. He said it was because he needed the break himself, and wanted the CSA agents available for teleportation and backup, but Lisa suspected it was to make sure they were ready in case Kelly showed up again, and to personally make sure Bob was really all right, especially since the sorcerer spent most of the first couple of days talking with him about “this, that and the other thing – guy talk.” Whatever his intent, after considerable initial discomfort about being seen in his female body by their friends, Bob had seemed quite grateful to have another man with whom he could be himself.

And he did seem to be himself, at least as far as they could tell. Well, mostly. As Lisa had described it earlier, the threads were repaired, not restored. The events of the night were a complete loss, thankfully. He couldn’t remember anything that had happened with Kelly past their initial meeting at the stairs, and had needed considerable calming down when he’d looked in a mirror and found his lips dyed with the special, long-lasting gloss, and even more after he’d discovered each body piercing. (It didn’t help when Kei offered to share her earrings with him.) There was also an awkward moment when he automatically chose a pair of heeled sandals to wear – the very same strappy sandals Lisa had jokingly tried to make him wear before - to go down for a more enjoyable breakfast after explanations had been offered. He slipped them on as casually and comfortably as if they were his own sneakers, with no hint of his previous reluctance over wearing women’s clothes, and he wondered why Karen and Lisa seemed to hold their breath and exchange such worried looks.

Not surprisingly, everyone continued to watch him carefully through that first breakfast. They were somewhat reassured when he’d gone straight for the sports page, after which he proceeded to bemoan the team’s performance in their last game while examining all the box scores ravenously. But that didn’t really prove anything: Gregor paid almost no attention to sports, whereas Kei could name the starting linebackers for every NFL team (and probably could have started for half of them given her speed and relative quickness). He still seemed quite comfortable in his feminine footwear and clothes, but then brazenly crossed his legs as broadly as ever in a masculine style (thankfully, wearing shorts this time). He loaded his plate with breakfast meat and eggs at the buffet, and ate without regard to appearance or calorie count. When he spilled some coffee, he merely wiped up the excess from his shirt and shorts, not worrying about the stain or his clothes’ appearance, and Lisa noticed the only attention he paid his hair was keeping it out of the way of his mouth when he ate. These all seemed well and familiar.

Gregor certainly seemed reassured, and thought they all looked far too worried. He paused while buttering some toast and pointed at the drapes across the room.

“You know, Bob, I’ve been wondering. Are those more of a scarlet or a crimson? Perhaps even a cherry. Cherry’s a nice color, isn’t it? Fruit, flavor, wood and color – multipurpose. A renaissance word. Anyway, I can’t quite decide on the shading here. What color would you say they were?”

Bob stopped chewing for about two seconds. He looked at Gregor as though he were crazy and said, “They’re red,” then went back to eating.

“Ah, just so. Well, put.” Gregor’s eyes danced around the table as though saying “See?”

Lisa snorted. There was a lot more to being a woman than knowing subtle distinctions in color.

Besides, they were clearly magenta.

But the highlight of the breakfast was when Karen caught him paying a little too much attention to a particularly attractive waitress, giving her a sparkling smile and trying to catch her eye when she came to refill their coffee. She, of course, was unimpressed at being flirted with by another woman, but as she left, Bob’s eyes stayed on her nonetheless, following her swinging behind and nice legs lasciviously. Karen cleared her throat accusingly.

“Checking her out?” she asked coolly.

Bob blushed at being caught. “Umm…no, no. I was, um, admiring her …” He thought wildly, then became inspired. “Shoes. Yes, cute shoes. And her … hairstyle. It must be residuals from Kelly’s spell.”

Karen and Lisa’s breath caught, but it was Kei who jumped in.

“OK, Bobbo,” she interjected. “Look at me. Good. Now tell me – what color were her shoes?”

Bob froze. He looked at her helplessly.

“Um, brown?”

“Very good. Now, what kind of shoes were they? High heel or low?”

He relaxed a bit at his apparent success.

“You know, regular shoes,” he covered. “Medium heel.”

Kei looked impressed. “Open-toed or closed?”

“Open,” Bob said confidently.

“Wow,” Kei said. “OK, last test. What color was her hair?”

“Umm. Blond.”

Bob couldn’t understand why his answers seemed to be making the table more and more relaxed, but Kei suddenly smiled and simply said, “Good job. Look again, Sherlock.”

Bob looked. The brunette (but admittedly with highlights) waitress wore sneakers and white athletic socks. He flushed bright red (or was it magenta?).

“She had a great ass though, didn’t she?” Kei added knowingly, sipping her coffee.

“Yeah,” Bob admitted sheepishly, caught and contrite.

For some reason, instead of being upset, this admission caused both Karen and Lisa to suddenly lean over and kiss him on the cheek in obvious and delighted relief. He looked around with open-mouthed surprise. He was being kissed and admired – for being caught looking. It was obvious that he’d never understand women, even when he was one.

And Karen and Lisa wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Thus it was that they spent the days relaxing by the pool or on the beach (Bob got to wear that more modest one piece after all). Gregor insisted that Yuri and Darcy compare notes on their cases, and for some reason, after the first day, they seemed to decide this was something they were better off doing alone. Callista, looking happier than Lisa had ever seen her, was obviously delighted to pair off with Gregor on their first vacation together and actually do things that a normal couple did. As to exactly what those things were, we shall be discreetly vague.

That left Kei as a free agent, and when she wasn’t teasing Bob or joining him in grading the women on the beach (Karen and Lisa were still too relieved to chastise him now), she was demolishing the resort’s tennis pro on the court, or insisting they join her for workouts in the gym. Bob, in particular, was susceptible to her demands when she kept commenting on how thin his arms were and comparing his strength unfavorably to hers. It was both humbling and educational to find out just how much weaker he was, not only compared to himself, but in comparison to her, and Bob vowed that he would be more religious about his workout sessions from that time forward.

These workouts had another bonus. They allowed Bob to finally fulfill a life-long fantasy and go inside the women’s locker room.

Unfortunately, in this he was greatly disappointed. The casual and near-constant orgies that years of online pornography and adult videos had insisted were the norm here proved to be decidedly less frequent in real life. Not a single woman washed another in the shower, their shared ablutions leading to the inevitable lovemaking. They didn’t even share a group shower, using individual stalls instead. In fact, when he walked naked and with breathless anticipation out of the shower and into the locker area, he received several looks askance, some openly disapproving, others just embarrassed, and found that most of the women seemed positively modest. They managed to cover up far more than he would have thought possible with the small towels provided – it was like they had some secret gift in making the cloth expand and multiply, not to mention a talent unknown to men in making them stay on with a simple wrap. They could have gone out to dinner wearing those towels!

The greatest surprise of all: there was even a private room for changing, a facility that would have been openly derided in a men’s locker room, but which many of the women were even willing to wait their turn for. Where were the nubile, naked bodies, openly and saucily displayed? The barely restrained lust, waiting to explode? The wanton caresses? The moans of released desire? Could Penthouse have misinformed him? It was almost like they weren’t all desperately aroused and secretly waiting to start a huge lesbian orgy. What a rip-off.

In fact, the only one who seemed comfortable with open nudity was Kei, who seemed to guess what he had been thinking. She happily slapped him on his naked behind (drawing outraged and disapproving stares from the other women) and told him to get dressed, adding that they could come back later if he wanted to live out the fantasy. Of course, he assumed she was joking.

But with Kei, you never knew.

Karen, who understandably had to beg off going with them, and Lisa laughed as they saw his disappointed face afterwards. Luckily, they had a little orgy of their own planned for the evening, so he wasn’t entirely disappointed in his anticipation of female on female action.

But this time, we’re going to leave their session private.

All in all, the vacation went swimmingly after those first two days. Bob remained at least a little uncomfortable in his new body, although Karen and Lisa noticed with some trepidation that he seemed to retain a few of the mannerisms or desires that Kelly had attempted to overwhelm him with. For example, he now seemed perfectly content to wear women’s shoes or a skirt, although he still didn’t know quite how to preserve his modesty in one. He even wore heels and allowed them to make him up a little before their big, formal dinner one night in their second week. (Karen got to pick his shoes, and Lisa got to choose the lipstick shade. Needless to say, she chose something a little provocative.)

But to be fair, the makeup was a concession for feeling guilty. It had been an odd day. Bob had felt a little edgy and irritated, starting when he’d gotten up that morning and found that the shorts he’d taken to wearing were too tight. He tugged and grunted, only managing to button them when they’d displaced a small roll of tummy around their waist. Lisa, naturally, noticed.

“I warned you about those double cheeseburgers,” she laughed. “Now you know why women order so many salads.”

Bob, clearly irritated, snapped at her. “Thanks so much for pointing that out, Lisa. Just one fucking bonus after another,” he growled, glaring at her before looking in the mirror. He did look heavier – even his face looked puffier, which was odd.

Lisa was a little taken aback by his ire. “Sorry,” she said, looking bitten.

He immediately regretted his outburst. “No, I'm sorry,” he apologized. “I feel weird. Maybe I’m just sort of depressed about the vacation ending or something.” Indeed, he continued to feel “wrong” all day, showing recurring flashes of anger and impatience even over the most trivial things. He also refused to even consider wearing the infamous bikini “one last time” so Lisa could get a picture of them together in their suits. This wasn’t just his irritable mood – there was no way he would let them get a picture with his added weight – he felt absolutely huge, almost bloated, all afternoon. He also found himself feeling clumsy and self conscious, and this only added to his foul mood. Waiting for an elevator brought a short burst of profanity. Jokes were ignored. He even complained again about wearing a bra, saying it felt tight. This time, even Lisa didn’t dare make any cracks about his weight.

After yet another undeserved outburst, he’d felt guilty enough to finally give in to Lisa’s request from earlier in the week that they eat at the really upscale restaurant in the resort, even knowing that it required more formal clothes (Dress, heels and hose!) than he’d been willing to wear. Karen and Lisa had been delighted, not only at anticipation of the meal, but at one more chance of really playing dress-up with their new toy. Lisa insisted on sheer black hose and a black dress, while Karen had fussed about, helping Bob with his hair and then convincing him to wear “just a little more” makeup. He was chagrined at the result: he looked good, and totally feminine. He hated turning himself on.

Perhaps for that reason, he still couldn’t resist a dig. Before they went to dinner, when he found how tight the “little black dress” they’d convinced him to wear actually was, he asked sarcastically if he was even allowed to eat.

“No,” Lisa had replied. “You’re just supposed to look good.” His initial reaction was blunted, however, when she immediately followed it with a kiss and the comment, “And you look stunning.”

Stunning or not, Bob did manage to enjoy the dinner itself, though this time he limited himself to the petite filet, a salad, and a single glass of wine. Whether his new temperance was more out of concern for his weight or for not repeating the disaster of the first night wasn’t certain. He still couldn’t resist dessert. Not only had he found an entirely new appreciation for sweets and chocolate in particular (everything tasted better due to women’s keener smell and taste senses), but tonight he felt an almost physical craving for the dark mistress. He ate his “Death By Chocolate” (a rich, flourless chocolate cake garnished with hot fudge sauce and chocolate-infused whipped cream) with equal parts gusto and guilt. He could always buy bigger shorts.

Despite the rationalization, he wasn’t as happy the next morning. He woke before dawn with a moan, his first thought being that the dessert’s name had been literal based on the pain he now felt.

“What’s wrong?” Karen asked groggily.

“I think I may be catching what Lisa has,” Bob complained, holding his lower stomach. “Or something I ate last night. I’ve got terrible cramps.” He got up and staggered to the bathroom, also feeling an urgency to pee, since he was still having trouble with his smaller capacity bladder. He hoped emptying out would improve the symptoms, though to be honest, the pain wasn’t typical for a gastrointestinal bug, and he doubted relieving himself would help. The pain was lower, and almost constant.

Karen and Lisa had come fully awake for some reason. They exchanged looks as he disappeared into the bathroom.

“You think?” Karen asked tentatively.

Lisa nodded. “I’d bet. It’d explain yesterday too. Did you ever think we’d be describing Bob as bitchy?” A smile, unable to contain her reaction despite his obvious distress. She adopted an exaggerated southern accent. “I do believe Miss Scarlet has come home to Tara.”

Karen shook her head, then looked down at the very unladylike bulge that showed through her nightshirt. She was still getting used to waking up every day with a hard-on. It was very distracting. Were guys really ready for sex this easily and this often? (Author’s note: yes.)

“That’s something I’m sure not going to miss.” She lay back and stroked herself idly, wondering if she could get Lisa interested. “Maybe I’ll keep this after all.”

“I see your seduction technique is devolving to match your equipment,” Lisa joked, otherwise ignoring her. She was already out of bed and rummaging through her case. “But before we get distracted, don’t you think Bob’s gonna…”

She never finished. As if in confirmation of their suspicions, they heard an extended, profane exclamation from the bathroom. It wasn’t quite a scream, but it certainly contained prominent elements of both surprise and alarm. A few moments later, the door opened.

“Karen! Lisa!” Bob wailed. He was holding some tissues at his groin and was trying his best to stay calm. A dark stain marred the panties he’d kicked off on the floor. He knew what was happening intellectually, but it was so completely alien, his face and voice inevitably betrayed his true dismay. He looked confused and completely lost.

Lisa, for once, didn’t even think about teasing him. She met him at the door, with a paper-wrapped tube already in hand, and an expression of utter sympathy on her face.

And although Bob’s subsequent complaints and imprecations certainly deserve any number of exclamation points, we’re going to end this part of the narrative the same way Bob ended his vacation. With a period.

Epilogues.

Now, before we forget her completely, let’s digress back to the darker side, move half a continent away, and back in time to that critical night.

The study was an opulently designed and tastefully furnished room. It was also dark, closed and virtually soundproof – a world unto itself. Polished hardwood was the dominant theme, though the Aubusson carpet on the floor was thick and plush, and the chairs well-cushioned. Two figures sat in these chairs. One was a severe looking man, perhaps 40 years old, wearing an expensive and perfectly tailored suit despite the early morning hour. The other was an odd little girl. She looked no older than six, had brown hair, a bloody, slightly crooked nose, and had obviously been crying. She sat all but drowning in ridiculously oversized, adult clothes that draped around her, completely hiding her small limbs. She lifted an arm to wipe her nose again, the red-stained shirt sleeve flopping over her hand, and snuffled into it.

The man leaned back, his fingers tented in consideration.

“An unmitigated disaster, wouldn’t you say?” he asked. His voice was quiet, but the tone made her face pale in fear.

“It wasn’t my fault,” she whined, her voice high and thin. “My ring couldn’t handle more than one ward at a time. And how was I supposed to know that…”

“Silence!” he ordered, and she instantly shut up, her lip trembling, looking every inch the frightened child. “Your tactics don’t even bear discussion,” he sneered. “They were contemptible. I was referring to your strategy. I should have known there was an ulterior motive when you asked for leave to set up an away point there. Practice and opportunity indeed.”

Kelly kept silent, hardly daring to look up. She tried to fold her hands patiently, hardly daring to look at how small they were. The chair felt absolutely huge around her, adding to her discomfort. Karen’s parting regression spell had obviously hit home.

“But that doesn’t bother me. Indeed, I approve of ulterior motives.” A very brief, tight smile that almost immediately vanished. “But I had warned you against additional unsanctioned encounters with them. Had they been able to trace your jump…”

“They couldn’t!” Kelly suddenly interjected. “I disabled the agent. It was only…”

“Silence!” he reiterated. “No more excuses. Short of Rhodes actually presenting herself for my service, you had no further leave to encounter them. Obviously, you miscalculated or misjudged her again. And this,” he waved at her sorry appearance, “is the result. Perhaps I made a mistake in taking you on.”

If it were possible for her to become even paler, she certainly made an effort.

“Master!” she cried, thinking at first to continue with another excuse or plea. Instead, she suddenly bowed her head. “I am sorry, Master. I will not fail you again.”

He studied her for several seconds, before barely inclining his head.

“No. I don’t think you will either. Very well. We will consider this a learning experience.”

Kelly looked up in barely suppressed relief. “Thank you,” she said, before laboriously climbing out of the chair – her legs were too short to reach the floor while sitting – and gathering her falling, sagging clothes around her undersized child’s frame. She paused, her skirt dragging the floor and held up only by her tiny hand. “Um, Master? Do you think you could restore me now?”

He barely looked up from a report he’d retrieved from the table next to him.

“No, I don’t think so. I stopped the regression before you reached infancy – or worse. Let’s consider this part of a remedial lesson. Besides, I’d like you to meet our new ally, and your current condition seems most appropriate. She’s in the second guest room, next to yours.”

He didn’t even have to nod for Kelly to know she’d been dismissed. Without risking another word, she withdrew, secretly relieved and slightly puzzled that her punishment hadn't been harsher. Living as a little girl for a while was inconvenient, but considering what she had seen him do to others for failing him, almost insignificant. Of course, now that she felt safe again, she almost immediately began to channel her feelings back towards anger and anticipation about what she’d do to Karen and Lisa the next time they met. This second regression they’d caught her with just added to the balance.

Her reveries carried her to her own room, where she opened the door and gratefully dropped the useless, adult shoes she’d had to carry. She jumped at a sudden feel of fur and warmth around her legs, and looked down to find her familiar, Hecate, rubbing against her, seeing through the regression magic and welcoming her mistress back. Kelly thankfully reached down to scratch the cat’s ears, relieved to finally find a friendly presence. Scarabus lived lavishly, opulently, and through him she had access to undreamt of power, but the house always seemed cold and barren nevertheless. Finding this reminder of her former life and a safe haven seemed to suddenly bring home just how drained and exhausted she really was by the night’s disaster. She wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed and tell Hecate all about it.

But she remembered Scarabus’s comment and decided she’d better meet the new girl. No doubt another initiate like herself, though she knew Scarabus actually wanted more powerful allies. Too bad his last alliance had turned out so badly. She sighed and walked back out to the next room to hers.

She knocked on the door and was surprised to hear a very high girl’s voice answer. It was almost too carefully pitched and slightly artificial - the voice of a woman pretending to be a girl, or the voice they’d use for a cartoon character. Kelly slowly opened the door. The room inside was dark, and she could just make out the figure of a small girl – matching her own magically regressed age – wearing a long dress, wide-brimmed hat and sitting very quietly in a high-backed chair. She didn’t move or otherwise acknowledge Kelly’s approach as she stepped into the room, and her face, though obscured by shadows and the hat’s brim, seemed somehow flat and slack – Kelly couldn’t tell if she was asleep or awake. Indeed, only her rigid body posture and shallow breathing showed that she was even alive. She was tightly clutching an old-fashioned doll with ruffled clothes and a straw hat in the chair next to her.

Hecate suddenly arched her back and hissed. A second later, and the cat had raced back into Kelly’s room, disappearing deep within.

“Are you Kelly?” the voice came again, but Kelly could swear the girl’s lips hadn’t moved.

“Yes.”

“You’re little,” the voice laughed. “And your clothes look silly. Did he make you little so you could play with me?”

“No,” Kelly kept her own lips tight. She felt disoriented. Although the voice clearly came from the chair, she still couldn’t see the girl’s lips or face move. This suggested the girl might be more than she seemed, which is what she should have guessed anyway – Scarabus wasn’t looking to take in foundlings for charity – but she recognized the possible implications of the girl’s searching questions. It was a query about her own power or abilities. She shook off her building unease and squared her shoulders, deliberately trying to lower her voice. She needed to make sure this girl understood her strength and position here, despite her current physical appearance. “And who are you?”

“My name is Morwenna Rauku-selde. But you can call me Morwen.”

“Well, Morwen,” Kelly said coolly, wondering at the unusual name. “It’s nice to meet you, but I’m a little tired now. I’m going to clean up and get some rest.”

“Oh, don’t go!” the voice was musical and insistent. “She won’t play with me any more. She used to be fun, but now she just sits there. I need somebody else to play with.”

Kelly laughed harshly. “I think I'm just a little too old to play with dolls, Morwen. No matter what I look like right now.”

And then, to Kelly’s horror, although the girl remained absolutely motionless, the doll’s head slowly turned towards her. She saw that the doll’s face looked far more alive than the child’s. Indeed, the doll’s eyes danced in the shadows with a light all their own and locked triumphantly onto Kelly’s, burning into her and all but daring her to look away. And this time, when she heard the voice, it was the doll’s lips that moved ever so slightly into a smile.

“Oh no, Kelly. I don’t think you’re ever too old to play with dolls.”

And a few minutes later, even through the soundproofed wood, Scarabus looked up as the faint sound of a girl’s screams came through the wall.

Back to the future. And back from the vacation. Lisa was pouring Gregor some tea. He’d stopped by while Karen and Bob were out to see how they were doing now that Bob had finally been restored to his old, male self.

“He’s doing pretty well, considering what he went through,” Lisa offered. “He had a rough trip back, and a miserable couple of days back here.” A chuckle. “But I think he’s going to be much more sympathetic about certain times of the month from now on.”

Gregor looked reproachful, but maintained equanimity. “A more patient man that myself. Any more ill effects from the chaotic magic?”

“No, thank God.” A smile. “Well, nothing too bad. Sometimes he still has to consciously think about which clothes to wear.” She remembered how she’d tricked him when she replaced his briefs with panties, and found him tugging and pulling as he absentmindedly tried to stuff himself into a pair. “Plus he has an embarrassing physical reaction whenever he sees Pierce Brosnan or Brad Pitt in anything.”

“That must be pretty hard for him.”

“Yes, that’s the reaction exactly,” she laughed. “And he gets really embarrassed when I notice.”

“Careful, Lisa. He may decide to rearrange your threesome. Balance things out, eh? All’s fair and four square you know.”

“No way,” Lisa laughed. “Bob’s the only man for me, even when he was a woman. I think we’re all perfectly happy the way we are, thank you.” A sigh. “I know I am. Really happy. I don’t think I've ever felt quite like this before. I feel … different.”

“No residual spells to worry about, I hope,” Gregor said thoughtfully, looking at her oddly. There was something different about her appearance to. As though her skin glowed.

“No, no, nothing like that. In fact, that cock-growing spell didn’t even work on me. Can’t figure why. Sapphire’s stuff is usually sure-fire. The only effect I had was to make my boobs a little bigger. Weird thing is, they didn’t go back down, even after Karen’s magic wore off. Not that I'm complaining - Bob seems to like them this way.” A warm smile. “Still, it’s weird. You have any guesses about what went wrong there?”

Gregor sat consideringly. As much as he liked Lisa, he had started to recognize occasional lapses in her judgment or objectivity. “There are always the spell safeties,” he suggested quietly. “One in particular comes to mind.”

She looked at him accusingly. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve used protection ever since I learned the proper spells.”

His gaze never wavered. “Naturally. And what did you use when you lost your magic a few months ago?”

She opened her mouth indignantly, then closed it, a look of surprise transforming it. She opened it again and closed it again without being able to speak. Then, rapid successions of realization, more surprise, frightened but excited this time, and finally just excitement.

“No, I don’t think so,” she finally said, but Gregor thought there was an obligatory flavor to the denial, almost hoping for contradiction. “I mean, what are the chances?”

“Easy enough to find out,” he suggested. “I can lead you in the spell, or you can do it the regular way.”

Lisa opted for the second, preferring privacy and waiting until Gregor had left to go to the store to buy what she needed. Not that she’d ever really thought she’d need one. But now … well, her hands trembled when she used it.

And thus it was that when Karen and Bob arrived home, they found a special dinner waiting, and Lisa beaming at everything and nothing in particular. She’d even dressed up just because she felt so nervous and happy at the same time.

“What’s the occasion?” Karen asked, seeing Lisa’s clothes and preparations. There was wine poured for her and Bob, but Lisa’s glass contained only soda.

Lisa, who had hoped to wait until they’d had a chance to relax couldn’t contain herself any longer upon seeing them. She all but exploded as she jumped into the air and ran over to embrace them, stopping after hugging Bob and looking up into his surprised face first.

“I’m pregnant!” she cried exultantly.

There was a moment of flabbergasted silence, but even as Bob finally reacted, overwhelmed, gasping and then hugging Lisa back, Karen held back, still stunned and looking at her friend strangely, almost accusingly.

“How … wonderful,” she finally managed. Unnoticed by Lisa, Karen’s hands clenched until the knuckles looked white. “How absolutely … wonderful.”

The End For Now

Copyright 2002 by Nomdreserv

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Love this and all the Karen, Bob and Lisa stories. Can't seem to find them all though. Seems some are missing on this page and hopped you could point me in the right direction. Again they are absolutely amazing stories.