Chapter 1

I was not much of a nightclub goer, but I found myself in the clubbing district of my city anyway. The seizure-inducing strobe lights, the earth-quaking thumping of the bass. The noxious smell of liquor, perfume, and cologne in the air.

I sat by myself at a high-top table with a soda waiting for my friends to go back to campus. It was almost 11 p.m., and I knew that they weren’t going to be done soon. In fact, they might request a ride to a different club.

My friends - or rather my neighbors from the dorms - really wanted to go out clubbing. Many of them were freshmen without a car. Since I was a sophomore and was allowed to have a car on campus, I quickly became popular with my neighbors. Well, I wouldn’t say popular, but I was always asked for favors. 

Since we were minors and couldn’t buy drinks at the club, they had begun tonight’s festivities by pregaming for the past two hours. Thus they needed a ride to the clubs as well as someone to keep them out of trouble.

I, on the other hand, was spending my Saturday with a good book until I got a knock on my door asking me to be their designated driver.

In fairness, my door was open and I am friendly with my neighbors, and I want to feel like part of the community. I could’ve moved to an off-campus apartment, but I wanted to be social. I wanted a front-row seat for the action. Tonight, however, I didn't want to binge drink. In fact, I was getting to a good part in the action-fantasy-mystery I was reading.

But back to the present. I was sitting alone at my table, playing with the straw in my mostly ice-filled soda cup.

“Daniel!” Mike, one of my friends shouted, drunkenly wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He moved closer to my ear to talk above the music. His breath smelled like alcohol. “Why are you just sitting here alone?”

I turned to his ear and replied, “I’m the designated driver, remember?” 

“Just ‘cause you’re DD doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.” He let go of me and started dancing around the table holding his drink in his hand. His drunken dance moves brought him right back to me. “Why don’t you go find a chick to talk to?”

I sighed. “Girls don’t want to be hit on in nightclubs.”

“Who says? There’s a group right there,” he said, pointing to a table with three girls. 

Even in the strobing lights I recognized one of them. She was in my literature class. I didn’t know her name, but she sat next to me and borrowed a pen once. I examined her. She had pale skin and raven black hair. Her dress was mint green and form fitting, accentuating her already-perfect figure. It was a far cry from what she normally wore to class. Occasionally during class I look at her out of my periphery, wanting to find some reason to say hi to her.

All three were definitely set for a night on the town. They were so far out of my league, each dressed to the nines in very sexy dresses and all the glittery trimmings. I felt like a bum in my jeans and button-down shirt.

“Go over and talk to one of them,” Mike insisted.

“Nah, I’m good,” I replied in a lower voice that may have been drowned out by the music.

“Suit yourself,” he said, leaving me to fight the crowd to rejoin our other friends.

Mike’s right. Being the designated driver doesn’t mean I can’t have fun at the club. The problem was, I’m not a clubber. I don’t like dancing. I’m timid around girls. This isn’t even the type of music I like. I’d much rather get back home to my book where the protagonist does know how to have fun, and is about to get the girl. Or actually, the guy, since this particular book has a female protagonist. It doesn’t matter, I can live vicariously through any protagonist.

Just not myself. Who wants to be Daniel? Not me. I should change that eventually. Hopefully before college ends.

It’s ironic that I was thinking about that. Because I glanced back over to the table of girls, and the girl from my class was now at the table alone. “Could that moment be now?” I whispered to myself. 

I don’t know what came over me, and why I chose that moment to come out of my shell, but that split second changed my life forever. I got up from my stool and tried casually walking over to her.

She was sitting on her own barstool, long legs crossed, appearing to wait for her friends to return. She was even prettier the closer I got.

“Hi,” I nervously said over the loud music. “We’re in the same literature class together.”

She looked up at me, confused that a stranger was talking to her, and then in a moment of recognition smiled. “Yeah, we are.” 

“Hi, I’m Daniel," I said, extending my hand.

“Hello, I’m Jasmine,” she weakly shook my hand.

I retracted my hand quickly, hoping she didn’t notice my sweaty palms. “What brings you out?” 

“It’s Saturday night,” she coolly replied.

I shook my head in embarrassment. “Of course. I thought maybe you were celebrating something.” Good recovery.

She chuckled. “Nope. Just a girls’ night out.”

Her emphasis on the word ‘girls’ confirmed my earlier suspicions. Girls don’t want to be hit on at nightclubs. “Well, then I’m sorry I bothered you.” I was about to turn around when I was flanked by Jasmine's two friends.

“Who do we have here?” one girl inquired.

“Are you hitting on my girlfriend?” another asked with a mischievous smile.

I was filled with embarrassment as I realized how this situation looked. “I’m Daniel,” I timidly replied. “I was just about to go.”

“Why so fast?” the one claiming to be Jasmine’s girlfriend asked, blocking my retreat.

I didn’t know what to say. The two girls had a certain hunger in their eyes. Like predators stalking their prey. Or maybe defending their territory. They were likely upset that a guy interrupted their girls' night out. Abort, abort. This is why I don’t take risks.

“Daniel is in one of my classes,” Jasmine chimed in. That seemed to tame her friends.

The other girl pouted as if her meal was just taken away. 

I was just as relieved as I was surprised that Jasmine would vouch for me.

“Daniel,” Jasmine said closer to my ear, “these are my friends Morgan and Sydney.”

“Nice to meet you both,” I said with a smile. 

I was ready to head back to my table with my tail between my legs, but Morgan, the one claiming to be Jasmine’s girlfriend, was still in my way. Morgan was a red-head, about my height. Her freckles stood out as dark spots in the blacklights. She was wearing a strapless teal dress that begged for my eyes to look down at her cleavage - which I didn’t do. She also wore a very mischievous grin, which made me wonder why she wasn’t stepping aside to let me go. 

Morgan’s eyes were shifting back and forth between Jasmine and Sydney as if they were communicating non-verbally. Then she nodded. 

I should leave. When I was about to attempt to push by, Jasmine tugged my arm, stopping me from retreating.

“So, what brings you out tonight, Daniel?” Jasmine asked me.

While I was getting antsy to leave these girls alone, I supposed it was only fair to answer the same question I asked her. “I'm the designated driver. For my dorm friends.” I pointed at the crowd of people on the dance floor. “They’re somewhere in there.”

“That’s very responsible of you,” Morgan said.

“Well, I suppose someone has to drive their drunk asses around,” I chuckled. 

“They could’ve just called Safe Ride, or paid for an Uber,” Sydney pointed out. Sydney stood on the other side of Jasmine and it wasn’t until now that I really got a good look at her. She was a blonde bombshell with golden locks cascading down her shoulders. Through the strobe lights, I could tell she was well-tanned. She was wearing a very skimpy black dress that bared her shoulders and her waist.

“True,” I said, leaning towards Sydney to make sure she heard me. While Safe Ride was free, you still had to call to reserve a ride and then wait for them. “It was more convenient this way.”

“What would you be doing if you weren’t here tonight?” Jasmine asked.

“Well, I was reading a book. In my dorm.”

“What about?” she asked, leaning towards me and flashing a very cute and innocent smile that I knew I wouldn’t be able to say ‘no’ to.

I gritted my teeth. They didn’t want to hear about my book, did they? At a nightclub? Over this insanely loud music?

“It’s nothing. It’s boring,” I said over the music.

“Well, it can’t be too boring,” Sydney replied. “Or else you wouldn’t be reading it.”

She had a point. I was just skeptical they would be interested in my fantasy book. “Well… a beautiful heroine,” I said loud enough so the girls could hear me. “Set in a fantasy world - she has to unite the warring factions, take down the fascist emperor, and bring balance to the realm. She falls in love with the opposing prince.”

Morgan giggled.

My cheeks were burning. I was right. They didn’t really want to know. “I should go,” I said, trying to slink away.

“Wait, Daniel,” Jasmine implored with a sly smile.

I stood there looking at her, waiting for what she was going to say.

“You’re an enigma,” she stated.

“A what?” I replied, confused. “How so?”

“You want to be in two places at once. You want to both be here and you also want to be somewhere else.”

I thought that was a weird thing for her to say. Sure, Jasmine often had insightful thoughts about our assignments in lit class, but why is she analyzing me?

“If you don’t want to be here, then why did you let your friends drag you here?” Sydney asked.

“Who- who says I don’t want to be here?”

“Your body language,” she replied with a giggle.

“You said you’d rather be reading at home, reading your book,” Morgan added.

“You’re alone, yet you keep trying to run away from us,” Jasmine pointed out.

Well, they got me there. “Well, I was embarrassed and you told me I was intruding on your girls’ night out.”

“Fair enough,” Jasmine nodded.

“Daniel, answer one question and we’ll let you go,” Morgan offered.

“What is it?” I asked. I was frustrated by this interaction, but still curious.

“Why did you really come out tonight? Don’t tell me chauffeuring around a bunch of drunks is what you really wanted to be doing.”

I looked at the three girls. They were eagerly awaiting my answer. It was weird that they were dwelling on this. I have to admit this had to have been one of the strangest interactions I have ever had. But they had a point. Why was I here? Obviously, I was here to be the designated driver for my friends, but of course they didn’t want that answer. And they were right, I could’ve stayed home. But, I wanted to be here. I wanted to be around for their drama, not just hearing about it the next day. “I-I want to live vicariously through my friends.”

“And the heroine in your book,” Jasmine said, making the connection. 

At that moment, Morgan moved aside, granting me a path back to my table.

A feeling of relief washed over me as I was finally able to extract myself from this weird interrogation. “It was nice meeting you,” I said, as I retreated back to my table and climbed onto the bar stool. Despite the relief, the small part of me that was soaking up the attention was disappointed.

I picked up my soda cup, which was mostly watered down now.

As I sat there, I glanced back at the three girls. They too were sneaking glances over at me. They would talk into each other's ears. I couldn’t hear anything they were saying due to the loud music, but I had the uncomfortable feeling they were talking about me.

“Way to go, Daniel,” I said to myself. “Now they think you’re a freak and a loser.”

I shifted in my chair and looked into the crowd for my friends. Maybe I should encourage them to move on to the next club. I scanned around and was startled when I realized Morgan was standing beside me at my table. 

“Do you read a lot?” Morgan asked, leaning up against my table. She placed her clutch on the table next to my cup of watered-down soda.

I suppose the inquisition continues. I don’t understand what they’re getting out of toying with me. “Yeah, I do.”

“Are you a writer too? You're in Jasmine’s lit class.”

“I dabble. Nothing major though. I’m not great with words.”

“But you have a vivid imagination?”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

“Do you think Jasmine is attractive?”

I looked at Morgan, then looked over at Jasmine back at her table, who smiled and waved. I didn’t want to admit it in front of her girlfriend. “But, she’s your girlfriend.”

“Does that make her less attractive?”

“Umm. No.”

“Then answer the question.”

That put me in the awkward position of telling a girl that I find her girlfriend attractive. Typically you don’t tell people who are coupled up that. “Of course, she’s gorgeous. You’re um… a lucky girl to have her.”

Morgan smiled. “Now you want to live vicariously through me, too.”

I huffed in frustration. “I just mean-”

“Do you want to?” she asked, inching closer to me.

“Want to what?” I wasn't quite sure what she was asking me.

She was now close to my ear. “Live through me?” she whispered seductively, her hot breath blowing across my ear.

“I uh... I don't know what you mean.”

“Can you imagine what it would feel like to be me? Later tonight, with my girlfriend?”

Now she’s bragging? She could’ve just left me alone. But the way she asked - I couldn’t not imagine the situation. I don’t know Jasmine or Morgan, but images of the two of them flashed through my mind. Maybe cuddling, maybe kissing… maybe more.

She smiled. “You’re thinking about it.”

I shifted uncomfortably on my stool. “Well, you made me think about it.”

“Answer me one question, ‘Daniel who wishes he was home reading his book, but is also living vicariously through his friends - and me’. Would you like to be me for the night?”

What a bizarre question. “Be you?” I looked at her with my brows furrowed and head cocked in confusion.

“Hypothetically speaking, of course,” she added with a smirk.

God, she’s so cocky. She’s bragging about being her. About having a hot lesbian girlfriend. I couldn’t help but admire her sheer confidence. Of course I’d love to be her. “I dunno…” 

“Close your eyes. Pretend we’re characters in your book.”

I reluctantly closed my eyes. I don’t know why she wants me to daydream about her and Jasmine. But I did what she asked and considered them as characters in a story I was writing. Granted I didn’t know any of their backgrounds, but judging by tonight’s interaction, they weren’t like any other girl - or any other person - at this university, for that matter. They were certainly having fun toying with me. Obviously, at some point they’ll leave me alone and continue their girls’ night out. If I was writing a story, where would their night take them? It’s only 11 p.m. The night is young. When I’m long gone and back at my dorm in bed, they will continue having fun. They’ll likely dance some more. There the night will end and maybe Morgan and Jasmine will be intimate. I’ve watched some lesbian porn, and flashes of those scenes went through my head. Then I replaced Morgan’s character with my own and replayed the same scenes. I shifted uncomfortably again as I could feel a hard-on beginning. “I guess. I mean, yes. Sure.”

“Good,” she said. “Do you want to join an exclusive club?”

I opened my eyes. “What kind?”

“I can explain it, but you won’t believe me. The best way is to show you.”

Oh, my God, I just figured it out. The way they sized me up as prey. The way they were toying with me like I was food. The sudden interest in me joining them. They were Vampires.

Or maybe they weren’t. But my imagination was certainly running wild at the moment. Maybe it was best to see what she was offering. Maybe it was a literature club. “OK,” I reluctantly said.

That’s when Morgan leaned in… oh, my God, she’s going to bite me… and kissed me. I was taken by surprise, but I was able to push away from her. I was confused at what was going on here. “What about Jasmine?”

“We have an open relationship,” she casually said, as if it was no big deal, then leaned back in to kiss me. This time I didn’t resist. She gave me permission, right? Maybe this was a kissing club? Those things exist, right?

I wasn’t used to kissing a girl. It’s been a while at least. I had a girlfriend senior year of high school, and we kissed after prom and broke up shortly after graduation. But that was it. I was out of practice.

I was surprised when Morgan started asking me questions mid-kiss. “Who did you come with?” she asked through our locked lips. “Their names?”

Talking about my friends wasn’t really sexy. I ignored her.

“Their names,” she repeated, a little more sternly.

This must be some bizarre kind of foreplay. I guess all that matters is she’s getting off on it. “Umm,” I replied through our pressed lips. “Mike. Denis. Sal.”

“What kind of car did you come in?”

That was a weird question. Is she one of those girls who cares about the car a guy drives? “Hmm, a Camry.”

“What color?”

“Red.”

“What dorm do you live in?”

“Delta Hall.”

“Meet me tomorrow at the library. 2 p.m. Sixth floor.” She didn’t stop making out with me.

Wait, what? That surprised me. What about tonight? I didn’t actually ask that. I didn’t acknowledge it either, since we were still playing tonsil hockey. 

While I was busy worrying about my technique, Morgan held my hand. But she had something else in her hand that was now wedged between us. It was cold and smooth. Not smooth like glass. Smooth like a stone. It wasn’t perfectly round, it had slight imperfections. Maybe carved engravings? But it started to get warmer. I was going to pull away from the makeout session when Morgan wrapped her arm around me and pressed me closer to her body. I was trapped. I could’ve wriggled free, but the feel of her breasts against my own chest distracted me from what she was doing - and what the stone was doing.

I started to feel dizzy so I opened my eyes. The nightclub started to spin. The neon and strobe lights were streaks circling me. Morgan stopped kissing me and held me tighter. “Close your eyes, it’ll help with the vertigo.”

It was the weirdest sensation. As if all of my senses doubled. I had more limbs. I was simultaneously sitting on this stool. But I was also standing. I had my arms at my side, but also wrapped around… Morgan?

When the vertigo passed, I found I was standing, and holding onto Morgan. I opened my eyes. I was startled to see myself staring back at me. I was holding onto… me?

That can’t be right. I’m standing where Morgan was. And my reflection - no, my clone, was sitting on the stool.

I let go and backed away. I was now holding that strange stone. 

My clone stood up off the barstool. “Tomorrow. The sixth floor of the library. 2 p.m.”

“W-what?” I said, confused. I then realized that wasn’t my voice. I reached up to touch my neck and I realized it wasn’t my hand and wasn’t my neck. I looked down at my hands. One hand was still holding the stone. I confirmed that it was a stone - one that was glowing green. I looked at the hands themselves. They were small and there were rings on various fingers and the nails were painted a deep purple.

My clone reached into the clutch that Morgan brought to the table. He pulled out a mirror and directed it at me. 

In the mirror I saw Morgan. I reached up to my face and watched, what was clearly my reflection, do the same.

“Daniel,” my clone said, “I know you’re confused, but you’re going to be Morgan for the rest of the night. Go with Jasmine and Sydney.”

“I have to take my friends home,” I mumbled.

“No, you’re Morgan now. You’ve been drinking. I’m Daniel now. I’m their DD.”

I was shocked. This was unbelievable. I then realized I was feeling kind of a warm buzz that hadn’t been there before kissing Morgan. He was right. I did feel buzzed.

He noticed I was still in shock. “Hey.” His voice cut through the music with a tinge of calm empathy. He reached out and grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Look in the mirror again. You’re Morgan for the rest of the night. Tell me you understand.”

I looked in the mirror again, and my reflection showed a very scared, very shocked Morgan. I then looked up at my body - who had a very mischievous smirk. So very unlike me. I nodded. “I understand.”

“Tell me your name.”

“Dan-”

“No, what did I just say?”

“M.. Morgan?”

“Good girl,” he said, and he grabbed my shoulders. “You’re right, you’re Morgan tonight and I’m Daniel,” he affirmed as he handed me Morgan’s purse. “You girls have fun tonight.” 

“Does Jasmine know about…this?” I asked, my hand gesturing back and forth between us.

“It was her idea,” my old body laughed. “Now get going.” He turned me around to face Jasmine and Sydney who were watching us. I jumped forward with a squeak as I felt a hand playfully slap my ass.

It was then I realized I was wearing very thin and very tight clothes. I looked down to see very ample cleavage encased by the strapless dress Morgan was wearing. I was tempted to reach up to see if they were real and prove I wasn’t dreaming. But I also realized I was being watched. I then looked beyond them to see the hem of the dress barely reaching mid thigh. My legs were kinda cold, but I was oddly used to it. My feet kinda hurt, and that’s when I realized I was wearing heels.

I only got a few steps when I turned around to face my body.

“Tomorrow afternoon. Sixth floor of the library,” he yelled over the sound of the music.

That was when Jasmine reached out and took my hand and led me back to their table. I didn’t trip despite walking in heels. It was as if I'd walked in heels forever.

I looked at Jasmine and Sydney. Did they know? “I’m…”

“Morgan,” Sydney reiterated.

I get it. We swapped bodies. Jasmine and Sydney are in on this- whatever this is. But what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to be Morgan? Tomorrow afternoon at 2? They want me to be Morgan for the next 15 hours?

While I was contemplating what just happened, Jasmine took the stone from me and put it in her own purse on the table. She then took Morgan’s clutch from me and set it down next to her own. After that she grabbed my hand again and led me to the dance floor. 

We walked right by Mike who was lost in the beat of the music. He noticed me, but naturally didn’t recognize me. He not-so-subtly checked me out from head to toe before giving me a drunkenly flirtatious smile.

That was bizarre so I turned my focus back to Jasmine. 

“Let’s dance!” she urged.

“But, I don’t dance,” I declined. “I don’t know how.”

“Yeah, you do, girl,” she replied, taking my hand and starting to sway.

I could hear the song, and feel the beat, and I found my hips starting to shake with it. I gradually found confidence. Even though I didn’t know what I was doing, my body did, and I swayed with the music so effortlessly.

“There you go. You found your muscle memory,” Jasmine said. “See how easy it is.”

“I’m dancing!” I said, amazed. “In heels!”

“You are!” Jasmine smiled, reveling in my amazement. “Watching a newbie’s first time in a new body never gets old.”

“I don’t get it,” I said as we danced. “I have so many questions-”

“Save the questions for tomorrow,” she stopped me. “It’s girls’ night. Enjoy it.”

We danced a few long songs before Jasmine suggested we go back to the table for a drink.

I followed her and when we reached their table, I looked over to the table where I was perched earlier in the night. My body - or rather Morgan - was not there.

“Where did… I… go?” I muttered, suddenly feeling worried. What if something…happened?

“You mean Daniel?” Sydney clarified. “He left with his friends a few minutes ago.”

I realized that Morgan had my body. My car keys. My wallet. And now my friends. I hoped she knew what she was doing. But then I remembered all of those bizarre questions she asked me while we were making out. My friends’ names. Which dorm I lived in. What my car looked like. It was bizarre at the time, but clearly she had a method to her madness.

“Don’t worry about him, Morgan,” Jasmine said to me. “Let's worry about us. The night is young.”

Something happened when she called me Morgan. I got excited. This suddenly felt real. I was getting an evening to live as someone else. But not just anyone. An attractive college coed. My hang-ups eased and I smiled. “I’m Morgan,” I stated confidently.

“Yes, you are,” Jasmine confirmed.

“Ladies, let’s toast!” Sydney announced.

Each of my new companions took a drink in their hand. The remaining drink must be Morgan’s - or rather mine - now. I picked it up.

“Cheers!” Sydney toasted. We clinked our glasses and sipped our drinks.

I took a sip. I recognized the drink as a gin and tonic. But, I didn’t find it nearly as revolting as I would normally, and I took another sip. Actually, this was rather tasty. Was this a top-shelf liquor? A different flavor. Another sip.

“Slow down,” Jasmine advised, pushing my hand with the glass back down to the table. “You’re going to experience a whole new world of sensations. Slow down and savor it.”

* * *

She was right. The night was young. We paid our tab and headed to the next club. The next one was more crowded than the last. I noticed right away men’s eyes were all over me. At first, I would tug at the hem of the…of my dress. I was also concerned that my dress was strapless. I was afraid my… boobs would spill out of the top. But soon I found my lack of confidence and unease about being in women’s clothing dissipating. It felt normal.

Speaking of boobs. I couldn’t take my mind off them. Whenever I looked down they were in my field of vision. I could feel their weight on my chest. I felt some desire to touch them because they were now a part of my body. I didn’t. At least not with my hands. My arms would graze against them as I danced, reminding me they were still there.

We danced some more. At first I would notice how this body moved. The hips. The breasts. But those sensations culminated in a feeling I’d never felt before. I felt sexy. And with that came more confidence. I danced and moved to the music - not because I was trying to dance for Jasmine - but because it felt good!.

I clung to Jasmine and Sydney most of the night. Jasmine took me under her wing and made sure I was doing OK. Sydney got us more drinks. I wasn’t sure how old any of us were. I am - or rather Daniel is 19 and it’s likely so is Jasmine, maybe even my current body, so we were underage. But Sydney would come back with three drinks every time, and I drank mine, no questions asked.

Jasmine pulled me into the women’s restroom. I was hesitant at first. Mostly guilty about being a guy in the women’s room. I read that transgender women often got harassed for being in women’s-only spaces. But one glance and nod by Jasmine told me I was safe with her and it was OK.

In fact it was…underwhelming. It was just like a men’s room without urinals. Women going in and out of stalls. Women adjusting outfits and makeup in front of the mirror. Women chatting. Now, that was different. There was no talking in mens rooms.

We each waited in line for a stall. I was a little nervous at first about my new equipment. What do I do? When a stall opened up, I went in and as if on autopilot pulled down my panties, sat on the toilet, and did my business like it was no big deal. That felt really good and I couldn't wait to do more exploration.

After I was done and flushed, I joined Jasmine at the sink. I looked at my reflection. Amazing. I never in my wildest dreams imagined being a woman, and now here I am one. I washed my hands in the sink, never taking my eyes off my reflection.

“You’re doing great, Morgan,” Jasmine whispered to me. “You’re a natural.”

“How can I be?” I asked. “I barely know who Morgan is.”

“Easy. You’ve got her muscle memory, her confidence, her attitude. Don’t worry about the lack of memories. The longer you’re Morgan, the more you’ll fill in those blanks. 

“I thought I was only her for the night?” I countered, feeling a chill go up my spine.

She smiled at me. “This time. Here,” she handed me a dark red lipstick tube, “touch up your lips.”

There would be another? I had just begun this time. I took the tube and mindlessly rubbed it on my lips and blotted it evenly. 

“See what I mean, Morgan? I’ll bet you’ve never done that before.”

I looked at my lips. They looked perfect, and oh-so kissable. I just did that?

I followed her out of the restroom for more drinks and dancing. In some ways it felt like I was reading a book or watching a movie. I did things Daniel had never done, and it felt perfectly natural - as long as I didnt think about it.

While we were dancing, I felt Jasmine’s hand gently caress my ass and her breath on my neck. I gave her my best flirtatious grin to let her know her advances were welcome. I had never been in this position before. The amount of non-verbal communication between Jasmine and I was amazing. She threw her hands over my shoulders and we peered into each other's eyes. Her eyes burned with desire and I could feel the heat emanating from her. I could also feel an unfamiliar dampness down in my panties. Neither of us could wait to get each other home, and my anticipation grew with every passing minute. Images of my earlier daydream about Morgan and Jasmine flashed in my mind. The idea that I was going to be living out that fantasy shortly was making me excited. My own anxieties about the unknown were on mute, guided instead by this body’s confidence.

Before long, it was 2 a.m., and despite being incredibly aroused, I was also feeling tipsy. The three of us left the club hand in hand, giggling. I had the most amazing time. We eventually reached the Uber that Sydney had requested. 

The Uber dropped us off at an apartment complex a few miles from campus. Sydney got out first and helped me out of the car, then Jasmine. Sydney wished us good night and Jasmine held my hand and led me to what I imagined was one of our apartments. Whose, I wasn’t sure.

She got a key out of her purse and we both entered the dark apartment. The entryway was still lit by the parking lot lights behind us. 

At this point, my anticipation of this moment was a loud roar in my mind. Apparently, not just my mind either, because Jasmine dropped her purse to the floor and threw me against the adjacent wall and started kissing me.

Chapter 2

I was pinned against the wall as Jasmine started kissing my neck. She was firmly in control and deliberate with her actions. I came to the conclusion that she knew exactly what she was doing to me. My back arched as I moaned her name, “Jasmine.” 

I wanted this so badly. Ever since Morgan made me fantasize about the two of them being intimate, my arousal has been steadily growing. Now that I was Morgan, and what was originally just a fantasy was about to become reality, I could barely contain it. I could feel a smoldering heat all over my borrowed body and it was getting hotter.

My breathing was becoming more rapid and shallow as we kissed. Jasmine noticed my heightened arousal and took my hand, leading me through the darkened apartment. I could barely make out anything, but the ambient light from the windows provided enough illumination to allow me to see the bed that we were now standing next to. She gave me a playful shove backwards onto the bed and I found myself looking up at her.

“I…,” I moaned. “I’m a…virgin.”

Jasmine let out a cute chuckle. “Oh, girl, not in that body!”

“Oh, fuck,” I said as she pounced on top of me.

I’d never had sex as a man. I’d never had sex with a woman. My only frame of reference was sex education back in 6th grade - and porn websites. The idea that this body was going to lead me through my first lesbian sex experience was both comforting and exhilarating.

Jasmine reached into my dress and gently pulled one of my breasts free from the bra. The cool air instantly made my nipple erect. It sent a very welcome shiver through my body. I was jealous because I hadn’t even yet seen my own breasts but Jasmine was looking right at one. Any more thoughts on the matter were cut short when she started tracing my nipple with her tongue and it sent more electricity through my body.

This has got to be a dream right? There’s no way this is happening to me. I’m going to wake up in my own bed in a few moments, I just know it.

As she started suckling on my tit, a wave of ecstasy rippled through my body. I never knew that was an erogenous zone.

We shared a moment of eye contact. Her needy eyes twinkled in whatever ambient light was in the room. Just that look in her eyes was making me quiver.

I bit my lip as she worked her magic. Without thinking, I uncovered my other breast and began squeezing and rolling the rock-hard nipple. 

Jasmine noticed and moved over so she could suck on my other nipple. Sucking turned into nibbling.

I didn’t know what to do with my hands now, but I found that I wanted to caress her. To hold her. So, I started running one hand up and down her waist and back, and the other one to cradle her head, running fingers through her hair.

I felt her hands slip under my dress and in between my thighs. My legs naturally spread apart to welcome them. At this point, my dress and bra were bunched up around my midsection, so I grabbed the dress and pulled it over my head. I then in one fluid motion reached around and expertly unclipped the bra, a skill that would’ve been foreign to Daniel, but felt as automatic as breathing to me in Morgan’s body.

I laid on the bed in only my panties with my legs spread open waiting for my lover. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” I reminded Jasmine. Granted, so far she was doing all of the work.

“You’re doing great, Kitten,” she said to me. My new pet name made me even hungrier. “Let your body do the leading. You’ll know what to do.” She then slowly started rubbing her fingers up my inner thigh, stopping short of my panties. 

When she stopped I let out an involuntary whimper. I cupped my mouth, embarrassed I made such a sound.

Her hands went to my upper thighs and grabbed at the waistband of my panties.

My back automatically arched, lifting my ass in the air as she slowly pulled my panties off. I could feel the wet fabric cling to my pussy with my sticky juices as she slowly peeled it off. 

For a split second I felt self-conscious about how wet I was, but I remembered I’m her girlfriend and she knows what turns me on. She’s done this before, and so has this body. That gave me a burst of confidence as I smiled and opened my legs wide like I would a set of double doors. Come inside, lover.

It occurred to me again that only a few hours ago, I was Daniel, a loner who was only imagining Morgan and Jasmine having sex. Now, I am Morgan living out that fantasy. It’s not quite what I dreamt up… no, it was far better!

She slowly crept closer to my sex and I could feel her hot breath mere inches away. Her hands slid further up my thighs. She finally gave my sex a kiss. I didn’t know the terms - I didn’t know my own anatomy. It felt like the tip of my penis - but it wasn’t. It was my… my… was it my clit?

As she pulled the folds away I felt her tongue trace it like she did with my nipples. I jumped from the sensation. Oh, yeah, that was my clit. She was suckling at my clit. This is unbelievable! I have a clit, and my girlfriend is sucking it.

Every touch was like a crash course in my anatomy, as I suddenly knew what she was doing and where. Synapses in my brain were lighting up. It was like a computer when you plug new hardware in. “New hardware found, installing drivers.”

It was then I felt her finger caress my labia. Then it entered me and slipped right into my wet pussy. 

“Oh, God!” I moaned.

As she flicked my clit with her tongue, her finger continually thrust into me. I felt a building pressure as my body trembled. 

A second finger entered me and I gasped. I gripped the comforter on the bed and balled it into my fists. A barely-constrained moan escaped my mouth and I bit my own lip to prevent myself from screaming.

Her fingers sped up and so did my breathing. My mind was going blank and all I knew was I wanted more.

I looked down at her, and all I could see was her raven hair between my legs, her face buried in my pussy. My hand reached down and ran fingers through her hair, then pushed her head further into my needy sex. I could feel her smooth face against my thigh, her lips expertly lapping over my clit.

My body started to tense. I could feel a tsunami of pleasure building. My lips quivered. My legs shook. My toes curled. My mouth opened wide as I let out a primal scream, “Fuuuuck!”

She stopped to allow the wave of pleasure to wash over me.

I released her head and lay there panting and unable to move. Paralyzed from my first orgasm as a woman.

Jasmine stood up, pleased with her work. “How was your first time? Were you taking notes?” she asked coyly.

My legs still tingled and I struggled to catch my breath. “It… was… amazing. Will there be a quiz?”

“Absolutely,” she giggled as she climbed onto the bed beside me. “In fact, it’s right now.” She then hiked up her dress, slid down her own panties, tossed them aside, and splayed open her legs. “Don’t worry,” she assured me, “it’s open book.”

My mouth was agape at the sexy minx opening herself to me. A smirk formed on my face as I crawled closer to her. 

This was the first time I had seen a pussy up close. God, she had a beautiful one. Earlier in the night I wouldn’t have been able to find the clit, but now I felt like an expert as I reached over and parted her folds. It was there waiting for me, glistening in the faint light.

I teased her with my finger, sliding it up and down and making small circles around the clit. I could hear my lover start to breathe heavier. That is when I leaned over and repeated what she did for me. My tongue touched her warm clit and slowly played with it.

I ran my tongue up and down her folds, lapping up her sweet juices.

She wrapped her legs around me, squeezing me and pulling me further in. My nose grazed her clit as my tongue went deeper.

I buried my head into her pussy and licked her silky folds slowly in a rhythm.

Her thighs tightened and covered my ears. It was like a sensory deprivation chamber. I couldn’t see nor hear. My whole world was Jasmine’s pussy.

She was so wet and I let her juices pool onto my tongue as I drank from her.

Her body started to buck and she squeezed me tighter.

I wrapped my hands around her thighs to hold my position mounted to her pussy. I then sped up my tongue.

She shook and writhed and I could hear her muffled moans. Her moans were making me want more. “Oh, my God!” she moaned. Finally, I could feel her entire body tense up and freeze. “Fuck me, Morgan!”

When she called me Morgan I could feel my own sex quiver. I could feel her body go limp and I was finally able to pull away as I laid back against the wall. My hand automatically went to my own pussy and started rubbing. It was soaking wet. I looked at my lover. “Did I pass?”

“A-plus, girl, you nailed it,” she panted. She then removed her dress and her bra, before crawling over to me seductively. She dangled her bare breast just beyond my lips inviting me to take it.

I opened my mouth waiting to receive her. As she gently placed her nipple in my mouth I slowly took her in. I wrapped my arms around her, to bring her to sit on my lap.

Her wet cunt was on top of my clit and she started slowly grinding her pelvis into mine. 

She let out a moan as I continued to play with her nipple. I found my hips grinding into her as well. Our sticky folds mashing together was pushing me closer to the edge.

I let out a squeal as I came for a second time.

This time there was no chance to calm down. Jasmine got up, then tugged at my legs to pull me into a lying position. She turned around and backed over so we would be in a 69 position. 

Her pussy came back to my face and I eagerly accepted it. Now her juices were flowing right into my mouth as I lapped them up and played with her clit.

I felt one - two fingers enter me. “I want you to come with me,” she breathlessly moaned.

I wrapped my arms around her back, burying my face into her pussy again. I wanted her juices. I needed it. I was addicted.

As she did the same to me, I could feel a nibble on my folds and it sent electricity through my body. She kept thrusting her fingers into me. She was looking for something- she found it. A shock was sent through my body as she tickled what had to have been my G-spot.

“Yes, right there,” I cried.

Our bodies tensed up, but she didn’t stop thrusting into me - and I didn’t stop licking her. We both shook and trembled. I felt one wave, then another. Then another, before I was paralyzed again, and could no longer operate any part of my body.

I laid there panting as Jasmine climbed back around. 

She offered her fingers. 

I opened my mouth, and took both fingers in. I slowly cleaned them up, tasting my own juices for the first time.

Jasmine laid beside me and nuzzled her head into my neck.

My mind felt blank. I almost forgot what led me here. I almost forgot that I was Daniel, a virgin male. 

When my thoughts finally returned, I wondered if this was in the brochure for joining their exclusive club? Was this an initiation? I wanted to know more. Morgan was right. She couldn’t tell me. They could only show me. Now my eyes were truly opened. But why me? What could Daniel offer this group that they didn’t already have?

* * *

We laid there for at least twenty minutes in post-coital bliss. Our bodies glistened under sheens of sweat. Our breathing eventually returned to normal. I wanted to confirm how amazing that experience was, but she knew. I just hoped I performed well enough for her.

She got up out of bed and reached over to a dresser. I watched her open a drawer and in the faint light put a T-shirt and clean panties on. She then disappeared into another room in the apartment and came back with clothes for me.

“Thank you,” I said, as I slid on the clean panties, T-shirt and shorts.

She walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. 

I stood there awkwardly, not sure what I should do. After all, I’m in someone else’s apartment. In someone else’s body. In some weird way, I feel like Jasmine was showing me through her actions.

When she came out of the bathroom, I took her lead and used the bathroom as well. It was a good idea too because after all of that drinking and the sex, it was like a waterfall.

I next found Jasmine at the shared vanity. She turned on the light and it blinded me for a moment.

She started by taking off the necklace she was wearing. Then the earrings.

I did the same. Honestly, I had forgotten all about them during sex.

Next was washing off the makeup. She offered me wipes. There were two sinks, so I just took the hint and followed her lead.

Lastly, she picked up her toothbrush and applied toothpaste. She quietly pointed to another set, which must be mine. I picked it up and did the same.

We stood there in front of the mirror brushing our teeth. It was so mundane, but I loved every moment of it. It was so simple. It felt so right. Is that what it’s like to be in a relationship? I could totally get used to this life.

* * *

There was a knock at the door.

I groaned but didn’t get up. 

I was dreaming about that book I was reading, except I was the heroine. I had just got done battling a dragon when I saved the princess and made love to her.

I opened my eyes and realized I wasn’t in my dorm room. The events of last night came flooding back to the forefront of my mind. Which would explain where I was… and why I was being little-spooned by Jasmine. The memories gave me such a giddy smile.

Another knock at the door.

Jasmine groaned. “Tell him it’s too early.”

Him?

I lifted Jasmine's arm off me and climbed out of bed. Slowly I pattered barefoot through the apartment. One that I really didn’t know the layout to, but I remember being led through it last night. Plus I had a good feeling that my body remembers where the front door is.

Another knock.

I peered through the peephole only to see my original body standing there. Opening the door for him, I announced, “Jasmine said to tell you it’s too early.”

“Well, this body seems to be an early riser,” Daniel replied with a hint of annoyance. 

It was a curious thing seeing myself standing in the doorway. While he was dressed in my clothes, he was wearing a shirt I hadn’t worn in a while. In fairness, I was also wearing clothes I had not picked out.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought you said this afternoon at the library.”

He chuckled. “Not so eager to swap back, are we? Sounds like someone had a good time.”

“No, I’m just confused, and not quite awake, yet.” That was a lie, and I’ll bet he could tell from my blushing cheeks the real reason.

He then held up a white paper bag and a paper coffee cup. “Then this will help. I brought you breakfast.”

He walked past me into the kitchen and helped himself to paper plates and napkins and sat down. 

Then Jasmine slowly walked into the room with us. “Good morning, Daniel,” she said to him. “Good morning, Morgan,” she said to me sensually as she came over and gave me a long passionate morning kiss. Memories from last night came rushing back and I was quickly swept away again.

Daniel cleared his throat. “I take it last night was… enjoyable?”

Jasmine broke off the kiss as I stood there dumbfounded and very giddy.

“She was amazing,” Jasmine gushed.

I blushed again. They’re talking about this so casually. I slept with Morgan’s girlfriend and she was bragging about it. Since Morgan set this up, I suppose I should give him the satisfaction of knowing. “It was… mind blowing.”

He smiled as he dug through the breakfast bag. He laid the plate in front of himself - a sausage breakfast sandwich with coffee. My usual.

“How did you know what I wanted for breakfast?” I asked.

“It was saved to your online order app,” he explained. “When you’ve been a body swapper for as long as we have, you learn tips and tricks. Context clues to help with adapting to the life of the body you’re in.”

“Oh,” I replied. I thought about that. He said “we” which implied Jasmine too was a body-swapper. I kinda assumed that, but this was the first time it was confirmed.

Jasmine then came over and gave Daniel the glowing green stone. Daniel took it, faced me, and held out his hand. “Are you ready?”

Honestly, no. But I sighed and nodded and grabbed his hand with the stone in it anyway.

Five seconds passed before the apartment kitchen spun around like last night at the nightclub. I held onto Daniel's hand tightly and grabbed the table with my other hand.

When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at the girl who I was for the past eight or so hours. I was Daniel again, and she was Morgan. The sensation again was unreal. I was now wide awake, and not as groggy. And I was hungry - the scent of my breakfast filled the air.

“Aw,” Morgan said, looking at my facial expression. “You look so sad.” She took her hand away and gave the stone back to Jasmine. She got up, walked to the stove and turned on the tea kettle. As I watched her saunter around the kitchen, in the T-shirt and cotton shorts I put on last night, I was amazed that less than a minute ago, that was my body.

“I’m not sad, it’s just early,” I lied again. 

“You don’t need to deny it,” she said. “We’ve all had our first time.”

“It was his first time in more ways than one,” Jasmine giggled.

I turned bright red. It was uncomfortable to talk about sex so casually.

Morgan’s mouth dropped. “I had no idea! Congrats, D!” 

I tried to change the subject. “What about the library today?”

“Oh, that’s still on,” she said, pulling a tea bag out of the cabinet. “If you still want to. I take from your expression just now that this is something you want. So I wanted to give you the rest of the morning to reflect on last night. Meet us at the library at 2 after you’ve properly reflected. This is a big deal and you need to be in your original body to make those decisions. We don’t want you thinking you’re under any undue influence from this body when you make them.”

I nodded. I sipped my coffee and opened my sandwich wrapper.

The three of us ate our breakfast. I was mostly silent. After all, I was Daniel again. I didn’t know what to say nor had the confidence to bring up anything. 

I was replaying the events of last night in my mind, when I chuckled out loud. Both Jasmine and Morgan looked at me, wondering what was suddenly so funny. I looked at Morgan and explained, “I was just thinking about when we met last night.”

“Go on,” she urged. “What about it?”

“Well, you came over to where I was sitting. And the way you all were acting. You seemed so hungry and then you were seductively trying to get me to join an exclusive club.”

“That’s funny?”

“Well, the way you were acting. It was almost as if - I mean - then you leaned in for what I thought was a bite on my neck. I thought you were vampires!”

Morgan had picked that moment to take a drink of her tea, and it came spurting out of her nose. Jasmine just burst out laughing. I handed Morgan a napkin so she could clean up.

“You certainly have a vivid imagination, Daniel,” Jasmine said. “But I admit we did come off kinda aggressive. And I could use a tan.”

Morgan finally stopped coughing long enough to add, “I am willing to bite, but you have to ask nicely.”

After a few more snickers, Jasmine and Morgan talked about people whose names I didn’t recognize. I noticed Jasmine had curled up on the couch, writing in a composition notebook.

When I was done eating I looked up at Morgan. “Thank you for breakfast.”

“You bought it,” she giggled and winked at me.

“Of course,” I chuckled. I wondered what else she bought while she was in my body. I should check my accounts when I get back to my dorm.

“I’m assuming I haven't showered yet, right?” she asked me, reaching up and feeling her bed head.

“Umm... no,'' I replied. “We just woke up.” I looked over at Jasmine, who only 20 minutes ago I was cuddling next to.

“OK, I’m going to shower. You should head back to your dorm and reflect. We’re going to be asking you some serious questions later.”

“OK,” I nodded again. “Did… I shower?”

Morgan smirked at me. “Of course.” She then got up and left me and Jasmine alone.

Jasmine put down her notebook, stood up, and stretched. God, she was beautiful. Then she walked over to the door to see me out. It was a little awkward. I didn’t know what to say to her.

“I… don’t know what to say,” I admitted.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Jasmine replied.

“Last night. That was…”

“Amazing?”

“Yeah. Amazing.”

“I know,” she smiled. “It was for me too.”

I wanted to say I wanted to do it again. How do I ask that? We’re not in a real relationship. Hell, even if we were in a relationship, I wouldn’t know how to ask.

She then kissed me on the forehead. “You should head out, Daniel. We’ll see you later this afternoon.” Her friendly kiss on the forehead was like a bucket of cold water. A reminder that Jasmine didn’t have sex with Daniel last night - she had sex with Morgan. And I wasn’t Morgan anymore.

With that, I bid her goodbye, left their apartment, found my car, and headed back to my dorm. I had a lot to think about.

* * *

When I returned home everything was pretty much how I left it. My bed was made like how I usually make it. If I had Morgan’s muscle memory last night, that must mean Morgan had mine as well. I wonder what kind of skills she obtained while she was me.

The book I was reading was still sitting on my desk. Along with my own bookmark, there was another piece of paper sticking out from it. I opened the book to the bookmark. It was at the beginning of Chapter 4. Handwritten on the paper was a note. “D, you’re right, this is a good book.”

I propped open my door like I usually do and walked down the hall. Sal had his door open and I knocked on the door frame to announce my presence.

“Hey, Danny Boy!” he said looking up from watching TV. “What’s going on?”

“Hey,” I replied. “Was I acting out of the ordinary last night?”

“What? No,” he said, thinking back. “What’s up?”

“Just nothing,” I said. “I just…don’t remember much from last night.”

“We went to two clubs. You drove us there. You drove us home.”

I didn’t remember the second club. “Did I… drink?”

“A Coke, maybe,” he laughed. “You take being a designated driver very seriously. And we all appreciate it.”

I nodded.

“You OK, buddy?”

“I’m fine. I think maybe I’m just studying too hard.”

“You do study too hard. You should drink with us sometime. We could always find another DD.”

“Thanks, Sal, maybe towards the end of the semester,” I half-heartedly promised. “I’m a lightweight, and I usually fall asleep after one.”

Sal shrugged.

I actually wanted to tell him about my night - what really happened to me. Maybe I should go knock on Mike's door and brag that I did hook up with one of those girls. Of course neither of them would believe me. I wouldn’t believe me. “All right,” I said. “Thanks, I’m heading back.”

“Take it easy!”

I walked back to my room. I don’t know why I was concerned. But it would appear Morgan did nothing crazy with my body. I half expected her to start drinking, but she didn’t. She acted like me and no one was the wiser.

I considered that this was a test. She wanted me to see my room. She wanted me to go talk to my friends. She wanted me to know that body swapping was all about trust. She trusted me with her life last night, and she proved that I could trust her with mine.

I wondered about this exclusive club. How did it work? How often did they swap? How long did they swap for? What did they do during classes? And holidays? Did they swap for trips home? Could they fool each other’s families?

Then of course I had a nagging thought. How much of last night was me? There was a moment I felt like I was really Morgan. If a person remains swapped do they eventually lose their identity? I don't want that to happen to me… although last night provided enough temptation to wonder if losing “Daniel” was a bad thing.

* * *

I walked to the campus library. A place I only really went to when a professor said not to use Google and find real reference books.

As such, aside from the computer lab, the place was mostly empty. Plus, it was a Sunday afternoon. The 6th floor is mostly Special Collections, and even fewer students went up there. I found Morgan sitting by herself at a table near the microfilms.

“So,” she said, looking at me. “Have a seat. I’m sure you have questions. Ask away.”

I pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. “OK. Last night - how much of that was me? How much was you?”

“That was all you. The only thing that stays with the body is muscle memory. Repetitive tasks the body always does. An autopilot if you will.”

“So, I was still me?”

“Yup. There was no mind control at play.”

“But, I did things I never thought possible. I knew things I never knew as Daniel.”

“D, we role-play. That’s all we do. All of that stuff you told us last night about living vicariously through fiction - through other people - that's why we knew you’d be a great fit. You just finally got the opportunity to do it in real life. And from what Jasmine told me, you did great. She showed you what to do, and you pulled from your own experiences - whether it was a book or movie or porn and you applied it using your body’s muscle memory.”

“But, in that moment, I believed I was you.”

“Congratulations, D! That’s awesome! You were living in the moment. You were immersed in the character you created. It takes us many tries to achieve that and you got it on the first try.”

“Wait - so I wasn’t Morgan?”

“No, you were Daniel playing who you thought Morgan was. You only talked to me for twenty minutes. You couldn’t possibly play the real Morgan in that short time. But in those twenty minutes, I was bold and flirtatious with you. I told you Jasmine was my girlfriend. When you became Morgan, you had that information and you extrapolated a character from there.”

“Wait - so Jasmine is…”

“Just my roommate.”

I was stunned at that revelation. “But… but I had sex with your roommate last night!”

“So have I. It wasn’t the first time.”

“OK, fine, so how would I know who the real Morgan is?”

“If you join the group, you’ll get to know who each of us are, so when you swap with them, you don’t have to guess and create a character in your head.”

Now my head was swirling. “So you guys only role-play?”

“Yup.”

“And last night - I did all of that?”

“Yup.”

I sat back on my chair amazed. “Wow.”

“D, there was a reason I said you couldn’t be told. That you had to be shown. Our group is the ultimate playground for role-players.”

“OK, how many people in the group?”

“We’re currently at five. If you join, six.”

I nodded. “Is there a minimum or maximum amount of time to be someone?”

“Minimum of an hour. That’s a limitation of the stone. There is no maximum.”

“Are there… um… rules about what we can and cannot do?”

“Absolutely. The body’s original owner sets the rules for that body’s life. You can change some things, but you have to live within those boundaries. You can of course ask the body’s original owner to amend or change those rules.”

I took that all in. She’d answered my biggest questions. “Those are all the questions I can think of right now.”

“So,” she said, coyly. “Are you in or out?”

“I’m in,” I said without hesitation.

“All right,” she said with a smile. “But not so fast. I now have a few questions for you. Questions we ask every new member.”

“OK. Go for it.”

“How was last night? Was there any dysphoria or dysmorphia?”

I knew those words - at least I think I did. “Umm… none that I can recall.”

“Did you get sick? Nauseous?”

“No.”

“Before last night,” she emphasized, “did you have any type of dysphoria or dysmorphia?”

“No.”

“So we’re clear - are there any concerns about being in a body that is not your own, not your gender, and that doesn’t match with your own self-image?”

“Umm… No. Shouldn’t you have asked me that last night?”

“Even if I did ask, we needed that first swap to know for sure.”

I nodded. Being a woman for those 10 or so hours was strange at first, but I quickly felt at home in Morgan’s body. If I had been asked that question before the swap I wonder what I would’ve said.

“Are you bisexual?” she asked.

I paused. Sexuality. It was a question I hadn’t considered. I was straight. But I swapped with a lesbian. 

She noticed my concern. “You have more questions. You can still ask them.”

“So, is this group co-ed?”

“Yes, it is. Three women, two men, not including you.”

“I swapped with you last night - a lesbian, right? But what if you were straight?”

“That’s why I asked about your sexuality. Your attraction does not change. If you were attracted to women as Daniel, you would still be attracted to women as Morgan. But each of our bodies has an already established sexual identity - a character sheet if you will. Being bisexual just allows you to be comfortable in any body, male or female, straight or gay.”

“Is not being bi a deal-breaker?”

“No, not at all, not everyone in the group is bi. It just limits what you will be comfortable doing while you are swapped.”

“What if I find myself inside a straight girl?”

She giggled at me. “Abstain from sex with men, obviously. Same thing if you find yourself inside a gay guy. Or, you can take a walk on the wild side and experiment. Totally up to you. You are in control of whatever body you are in. You aren’t forced to do anything - but remember each body has rules.”

“So, do I get a choice who I swap with? Can I turn down a swap if I just don’t feel like it at the time?”

“Absolutely. Think of it like a part-time job. We often take shifts and we trade with people.”

“And the swaps are inclusive?” I queried. “Only among the members?”

“First,” she reminded me, “that’s what makes it a secret group. And second, we would never initiate a swap on anyone outside the group without permission first from at least half of the group, and the outside person. Totally unethical, and it would violate our rules.”

“What about me?”

“We were out recruiting last night. The three of us agreed to give you a test drive. And you agreed to it.”

“How long have you been doing this? What is that stone?”

“Each of us joined at different times. The Guild itself is over 10 years old. Obviously the original members have since graduated. I actually don't know where they found the stone.”

I was curious how this all worked and the offer seemed too good to pass up. “Is that all the questions?”

“Yes.” She got up and then pulled out her phone and typed a text message. She turned her attention back to me. “Follow me. I’m going to introduce you to the rest of the Guild.”

Chapter 3 - The Guild

Morgan led me to a private study room at the far corner of the 6th floor of the library. She turned on the light, then we both entered and took a seat. Seconds later the Guild arrived.

Jasmine, Sydney, and two male students walked in.

“You know Jasmine and Sydney,” Morgan did the introductions. “This is Antonio and Gabriel.”

I stood up and shook their hands. The crazy thing is - I recognized Antonio and Gabriel.

Antonio was a political science major who was always going door-to-door getting people to join various causes. Tall and skinny. A fast talker. He’s knocked on my door before. Everyone knew him. He was everywhere.

Gabriel was the university football team’s star running back. I had never seen him up close. Only from afar. He was huge. Toned, fit, his body was two of me.

“Daniel,” Antonio said warmly. “It’s so great to finally meet you. The girls have said so many good things about you. “I’m Antonio, the president of our Guild.”

“It’s nice to meet you Daniel,” Gabriel said. “You’ve been a celebrity for the past twelve hours. All the girls have been talking about is Daniel.”

“Me?” I asked, glancing at the three women standing there, then back at the sports star. “You’re the celebrity. I can’t even believe I’m even talking to you both.” 

“We’ve told the others everything about you,” Morgan teased.

“Everything?” I wondered if Jasmine had shared all the intimate details of our encounter last night. And if there could ever be privacy among the members.

I looked at the five students standing in front of me. The lesbian roommates, the activist, the sports star, the blonde bombshell. If you included me, you could play “One of these things is not like the other” because I stood out as a nobody.

“Shall we go over the rules?” Sydney asked.

“Whoa, wait,” I said, stopping everything. “I have one more question.”

“Sure, Daniel,” Antonio said in a soothing tone.

“Why me?” I asked, pointing at them both. “I’m nothing compared to Antonio or Gabriel or any of you. I’m a nobody.”

“We want a diverse group,” Antonio replied. “We’re down a male. And we need a life where we can just enjoy the college experience without the immense pressure.”

“It’s great to actually go to a real class,” Gabriel added. “Not that crap I’m enrolled in.”

“The fact you’re a loner is a plus,” Sydney added.

“You mean a loser-”

“No way!” Antonio corrected. “Daniel, you’re not a loser. Even if you think you are. Not anymore. We’re friends, and we’ve got your back.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “D, you’re about to embark on an adventure like no other with us. You’re about to learn the most intimate of details about each member of the guild, and in turn we will learn all about you. We’re going to be closer than most siblings.”

“So…” I stuttered looking at Gabriel. “I… could be… you? Playing in a real game-”

“Absolutely,” Morgan said. “We’ve all done it. 

“Remember that run against State last week?” Jasmine asked.

“Yeah, that won the game!” I said, amazed.

“That was me,” she gushed.

“Really?”

“And when Barkley lateraled to Gabe and he threw that touchdown bomb to Wilson, week 1?” Antonio said. “That was me.”

“Yeah,” Gabriel added, “but it was also you who fumbled away an easy touchdown right before halftime.”

That got the whole group laughing.

“That wasn’t me,” Antonio replied. “That was A.”

“This is…” I said, stunned, ”like playing a real-life video game.”

“Exactly,” Gabriel said. “Except we are the players and can trade the characters.”

Sydney spoke up, “And that time Morgan went to Washington and met the president - that was me,” she laughed.

I looked at Morgan and Sydney. “You met the President?”

“So, If you swap with Gabriel we’ll teach you the plays,” Sydney explained. “And If you swap with Jasmine, you’ll learn bioengineering. If you swap with me, I’ll teach you music. And of course, you’ll teach whoever is Daniel how to be… Daniel.”

“Well, that last part won’t take too long,” I joked.

“I like the sense of humor,” Sydney replied.

“I still don't see what being Daniel gives the group,” I said, confused.

“Some god-damn peace and quiet,” Morgan emphatically replied. “I had a great time last night just being DD for your friends.”

I felt like I was being sized up. The five Guild members were looking at me as a role to play. I didn’t know how to feel about that. But since I was excited to play them too, I suppose it was fair.

“Ready for the rules, D?” Antiono asked.

“Yeah.”

“Rule Number One,” Antonio announced. “Welcome to the Secret Guild of Body Swappers. We are role-players. We are here to play a role. Each of us has our own unique rules. You as the body’s owner get to make those rules.”

“Rule Number Two,” Gabriel said. “We call the body by its given name and pronouns. We call our spirit or soul, your essence, or whatever you want to call it, by your first initial.”

“Is that why Morgan keeps calling me D?” I asked.

“Precisely, D,” Morgan replied. That got a laugh from the others.

“Rule Number Three,” Sydney said. “With that being said, you are to role-play the body you’re in. You say and do whatever they normally would. And if you must break character, use your first initial.”

I nodded.

“Rule Number Four,” Morgan said. “Daniel is your body. You can get him back whenever you want. Or keep him. When you are in your own body you can refuse a swap, no questions asked. However, when you are in a different body, you are expected to cooperate with a swap request. No getting greedy on us.”

“Rule Number Five,” Jasmine said in the most serious voice. “Don’t fall in love with one of us.”

That took me by surprise, and it was a gut-punch, coming from her. “W- why?”

“We’re all playing a part, D,” Gabriel explained. “You will be too. There’s no telling if the emotions are real and who your emotions were ever directed at.”

That was a sobering thought.

“Rule Six,” he continued. “No swapping with outsiders unless given permission by the group.”

“So,” Antonio asked, clasping his hands. “You’ve already been Morgan. Wanna give someone else a try?”

I wasn’t expecting that so soon. “What? Now? So soon?”

“No time like the present. How about for one week?” he looked around at the group. “Assuming your schedule is open,” he added.

Everyone nodded.

“One week?” I echoed. “So, I’d have to go to class as that person? For a week?”

They all nodded and smiled.

“It’s not as hard as it looks.” Antonio said. “You’ll do great, D.”

“Who do you want to be?” Gabe asked.

I was nervous. It felt wrong to pick. I also cringed at being put on the spot. “I… dunno.”

“We can pick for you if you want,” Morgan smiled. “You should really take a turn in each body just to get familiar with us.”

The rest of the group seemed to have leaned forward as if they were non-verbally volunteering.

“Pick me,” Jasmine sweetly offered, batting her luscious eyes flirtatiously. 

I looked at Jasmine and gulped. I could be her? But I was crushing on her so hard ever since I saw her at the club. I even had sex with her last night. It never occurred to me until this moment that I could actually be her.

Jasmine pulled the stone out of her purse and placed it on the table. “So, what do you say, D?”

I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Let’s do it.”

“It takes five seconds of constant contact of two people with the stone to initiate the swap,” Antonio explained.

Jasmine picked the stone back up and held it in her palm. 

I reached out and held her hand with the stone.

Five seconds later, the room spun. This was the 3rd time I’ve done this, and I was already used to spinning, closing my eyes, and holding onto something stable.

I opened my eyes and I was seated where Jasmine was, holding hands with Daniel. I let go of his hand and the stone and looked at my hands. I was now Jasmine.

“Welcome to the Guild, D!” Antonio announced, as the rest of the Guild members cheered.

* * *

The rest of the Guild meeting was a whirlwind. Sydney asked for help with a calculus exam and swapped with Gabriel. Morgan then volunteered to be the keeper of the stone for the week, just in case I developed dysmorphia and had to turn back to Daniel. I just sat there taking it all in. I listened to the members discuss guild matters. Sometimes I got distracted by my new body.

I was given homework by the Guild. I had to come up with rules for being Daniel. I had no idea what to put down. Not something I’d ever thought of before now. It would have to wait. Maybe I could get ideas from the others in the guild.

The new Daniel assured me that he wouldn’t do anything crazy until he was given the rules. I agreed.

Sydney drove Morgan and me back to… our apartment.

When I walked back into the apartment, I thought how crazy this was to be here again. I turned to Morgan. “So how do I be Jasmine?”

“That is a great question,” she replied. “Follow me.” I then followed her into the bedroom we were in last night. “This is Jasmine's room. I’m in the room down the hall, past the bathroom.” She opened up the top drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a composition notebook. “We each keep a journal. Some of us keep a handwritten one. Some keep it on their phones. This is Jasmine’s. When you swap into someone, read their journal so you’re caught up on their life.”

I took the journal and flipped through the handwritten pages.

“I’ll leave you alone for a bit, Jaz,” she said walking out of my room. I smiled at hearing her refer to me by Jasmine’s nickname. It made this fantasy all the more real.

I sat down on the bed. It was the same bed from last night, but it felt different now. I rationed that it could be any number of factors, not just that I was in a different body, but that was probably a big factor.

At the front of the notebook was a stapled paper titled “Rules of Jasmine,” containing all of the same information I was asked to fill out.

Her full name is Jasmine Davis. She is 19 from a small town in Texas. She has a younger sister in high school named Willow. Her parents call weekly on Sunday night - which means I should be expecting a call from them tonight. Her major is Bioengineering and she’s currently a sophomore. Her current semester class schedule is hanging on the wall. Jasmine was straight until college. She had 2 boyfriends in high school. She started experimenting sexually with girls last year after a bitter breakup. She’s been in the Guild for about 10 months, having been recruited by Morgan.

There was a list of approved sexual partners. Morgan was on that list, so was everyone else in the guild - minus Daniel of course. There were names I didn't recognize. Male and Female. Jasmine is bisexual.

There was a list of “Nos” but the top three were: No smoking. No recreational drugs. No tattoos or new piercings.

I opened my purse and pulled out my cell phone. It was installed with a face recognition lock which instantly unlocked once I looked at it. I scrolled through my contacts. I saw the latest text from Morgan asking the group to meet Daniel in the study room. I scrolled through messages and most of them were Guild members. There were a few messages from family members.

I flipped to the middle of the book and read the last written page of the journal, written this morning.

“Sunday, September 28. Last night I went out clubbing with Morgan and Sydney at Bar Luna. I met a handsome boy named Daniel. He’s in my lit class. He was crushing on me hard at the club. It was kinda cute. After discussion with the other girls we decided to bring him in. Morgan volunteered to swap with him.

I had an amazing time with D. She took to being Morgan so well. We had fun dancing, and when we got home we had the most amazing sex. She made me cum four times! I can’t wait to learn more about D. He’s going to be a fun addition to our group.”

I was blushing hard at reading this. If this is written here, that means everyone who will ever be Jasmine will also see this. I closed the journal and went to see Morgan. 

She was sitting in the living room, scrolling through her phone. 

“Hey, Morgan.”

“Hmm?” she said looking up at me with a smile.

I held up the journal. “So… there are no secrets within the Guild?”

“Nope,” she replied.

“About last night,” I said. “You said you’re only roommates?”

“We, Jasmine. We are roommates.”

“Right,” I replied, trying to remember that I’m Jasmine now. How could I forget?

“We’re friends with benefits, since you haven’t read that entire journal yet,” she sighed. “D, I was being a good wingwoman last night. I told you we were dating because I thought Daniel was some random creeper. Usually that scares the creeps away.”

“Thank you, M,” I smiled.

“Whoa,” she said. “First of all - Rule 3 - don’t break character. Second, what makes you think I’m M?”

I was taken back at that revelation. 

She leaned back and began laughing. I'm sure the look on my face was worthy of her reaction. 

"Wait, so who are you, really then - on the inside?” 

“We never ask who anyone really is unless we have to. It helps us to 'stay in character', and it helps to keep things exciting."

"Whoa, wait. So, if you’re not M, that means last night… might have not been… J? Who did I have sex with last night?"

"Jasmine. Last night you were Morgan, and Morgan had sex with Jasmine."

The gears in my head were grinding and I was getting confused. “Wait - the Guild members I met today. Were any of them in their original bodies?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “We don’t know. Isn’t that exciting?”

“So who did I have sex with last night?”

“Me. You’re Jasmine. Last night you had sex with Morgan.”

“No, who did I- D have sex with?”

“I haven’t the slightest clue, D. And you know what - it doesn't matter. Nor should it. All that matters is that Morgan and Jasmine had sex. And you- are Jasmine now.”

“It matters because…” I paused.

“Rule 5,” Morgan sang, anticipating my rationale.

It finally dawned on me that for this person, whoever she actually was, this was all an exciting game. I was never going to get a straight answer from her. And maybe that’s the way it had to be. The person who took my virginity last night was a mystery. 

My smile turned into a smirk as a lightbulb finally came on in my head. I knew how to play her game now. I needed to get back into character, because she wants me to be in character. I hadn’t really found my “Jasmine” character yet, so I tried to put myself into Jasmine’s shoes. From my own memories, she had sex with Morgan last night and she loved it. She said it was amazing. Now, me as Jasmine wants to show her gratitude to Morgan. “So you’re saying we had sex last night?”

“Bingo!” she returned that mischievous smirk I remembered from the bar. “You remembered.”

“So,” I said, dropping the journal, and sauntering over to Morgan. I draped my hands around her neck. “Wanna go again?” I brought her in for a long kiss.

“Hmmm,” Morgan said, nibbling on my lip. “D, I thought you’d never ask. You do owe me for last night. That should’ve been me with Jasmine,” she pouted.

“Rule 3, no breaking character,” I reminded her, climbing up and straddling my roommate's lap. “My name is Jasmine.” 

“Now you’re getting the hang of it,” Morgan said, bringing me in closer. 

I suppose my homework can wait until later.

Chapter 4 - Jasmine Part 1

“... and I had her screaming my name begging for more. When we were tired and hungry for dinner I realized hours had passed. It was by far the hottest sex I’ve ever had.”

I closed Jasmine’s journal and returned it to its home in the nightstand. I wasn’t sure whether I should write that from Jasmine’s point of view or D’s, so I wrote what came natural. I never fancied myself a writer, but I’ve read many books. None of them erotic by nature (except that one which was totally by accident), but what I wrote was kinda steamy, in my own opinion. I debated on whether to rip that page out of the journal. I left it there, a part of me eager for the other Guild members to read it. Was that bragging?

I looked at my new closet. I wanted to get ready to take on the world tomorrow as Jasmine. It will be Monday and I will have to go to class for the first time ever, not as Daniel. The closet was filled with so many different choices of style and color. I had no idea where to begin.

I was nervous. Not just about the clothing. About going to classes I’ve never been to. About being a convincing Jasmine. And about how the previous Jasmine could be a convincing Daniel.

The cellphone on the nightstand rang with a saccharine melody. I gazed at the screen to see who it was. It read, “Mom.”

Shit. I sure didn’t prepare for this conversation. I was too busy having mind-blowing sex with Morgan. Now, I feel guilty. What would the real Jasmine - J - say about my selfish afternoon?

I answered it tentatively, “Hello?”

“Hi, honey, how was your week?” Jasmine’s mother’s voice sounded friendly, yet serious.

I put on a fake smile even though I knew she couldn’t see me. “Oh, you know, same as the others.”

“Jasmine Michelle!” she admonished. “I hope you’re not out partying and drinking.”

“Oh, no, of course not,” I lied. “I’m studying and getting ready for tomorrow.”

“Good. We can’t have a repeat of last semester.”

“Of course not.”

She continued the interrogation. “Whatever happened to that boy you were seeing?”

“Boy?” I asked, surprised. There wasn’t anything in the journal about a boy.

“What was his name… Brian? Ryan?”

That certainly didn’t help. I needed to think fast. “Um. Oh, him. I haven’t even talked with him in like… forever.” Or ever.

“Oh,” she responded disappointedly. “I was really hoping you’d find a nice boy before you graduate.”

Was she serious? I can’t imagine my parents having the same conversation with me. “I’m only a sophomore… Mom.” Calling this strange woman on the other end of the line Mom was weird. “And I didn’t get into college to earn an MRS degree.” At least I doubt she did.

“I just want you to be happy,” came the sullen reply. 

“OK.” I sat down on my bed, and felt my breasts bounce. I hadn’t put a bra back on after sex. Sex. A smile formed on my face at the oh-so recent memory. I had an idea. Why introduce Jasmine’s mother to a guy when she could introduce her to someone who really makes her happy? “How about if I bring a girl home?”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Mom?” I probed.

“Don’t you dare joke about that,” she said in an even more serious tone.

Oh. 

OK. Ixnay on the aygay. I should’ve known. My own parents taught me that love was love, but I knew that wasn’t the norm. Jasmine’s mother just reminded me that not everyone is as lucky as I am.

“We did not send you to college to fuck around,” she spat.

I cringed, just wanting to end this conversation. I walked into what I felt was a trap. I was embarrassed. “Hey, listen Mom, I have a lot of homework. K? Bye.”

I hung up the call and breathed a sigh of relief. I retrieved the journal and added “No talking to Mom about possibly dating girls,” then returned it to the drawer.

I sat on the bed and sighed. I hope I didn’t screw anything up. Well, too late. I have things I need to do so I don’t screw up tomorrow for Jasmine, too.

I returned to my closet to struggle with clothing choices. When I heard Morgan walking past my open door, I decided to get her opinion. “Hey, Morgan,” I called out. “I need some advice.”

She stopped walking and looked into my room. “About what?”

“What should I wear to class tomorrow?”

“Whatever you want,” she sang.

“Jasmine doesn’t have a style?” I probed further. “I found no mention of what to wear in her rules or journals. If I’m going to be role-playing her, I need to know what to wear.”

“I thought you knew Jasmine before you joined the Guild.”

“She’s in my lit class. I didn’t even know her name until yesterday. We never talked.”

“But you had a crush on her.”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“‘Kinda’ my ass! I’ll bet you checked her out every chance you got. Who wouldn’t?”

She had me. I looked down, only to see my crush, in the flesh. My ample cleavage, unrestrained by a bra, putting dirty thoughts in my head. “Well…,” my silent blush saying more than I could verbally.

“Then you know what she wears to class.” She gave me a huge smile then laughed. “Girl, don’t be ashamed. We’re roommates and I check you out every chance I get!” She then gave me a seductive wink.

I tried my best to ignore that wink. After all, I just wasted all afternoon having sex with her… well I wouldn’t say wasted. But, my body is sore, I’m tired, and I should really stop procrastinating. 

I thought about what outfits Jasmine wore that made me want to crush on her, and looked in her closet. A few of the outfits I recognized. She had a very casual style, mostly form-fitting T-shirts and jeans. Sometimes a skirt or shorts, depending on the weather. Sometimes a midriff-exposing tank top. Sometimes a sundress. “There's a lot to choose from. How do I pick?”

Morgan smiled. “This is actually part of the fun, D. Look at the weather. What do you have going on that day? How are you feeling?”

“OK,” I said with trepidation. “Sometimes she wears a cute outfit like this.” I pulled out a pink sundress. “But other days she’s wearing T-shirts and jeans.” I pulled out a grungy T-shirt with a band logo on it. 

“Want to know a little secret?” Morgan asked with a smirk.

“Yeah,” I eagerly replied, leaning forward.

“If you saw her wearing that,” she pointed at the T-shirt, “that was likely J. If you saw her wearing the dress, that was most likely G.”

I put the T-shirt back. “G? Gabriel? But - that sounds backwards.”

“Does it?” Morgan chuckled. “Typically the guys dress more femininely when they’re in the girls’ bodies than the girls do. Don’t ask me why that is, because I couldn’t tell you. G’s Jasmine is the most fashionable of us all. My Jasmine is a little edgier. There’s a pair of fishnets in her bottom drawer I absolutely adore.”

“Hmm,” was the only response I could give. I looked again at the closet and back to Morgan. “I thought we were all role-playing.”

“We are,” she replied. “But a little bit of our own individual personality bleeds through. And that’s totally acceptable. The point is to have fun being the person you are during a swap.”

I nodded. I was no closer to choosing an outfit for tomorrow, though.

“Have fun, D,” she urged. “I can’t wait to see your version of Jasmine.” She gave me another wink, then returned to what she was doing before I pulled her aside.

I let out an audible groan.

“Stop overthinking it!” Morgan yelled from the other room. “You’re going to a college lecture, not the ball. Some girls go in their pajamas!”

Now there’s an idea. I could just wear a T-shirt and pajama bottoms. But that feels like a cop-out. I should take advantage of this and wear something cute. But, she’s right. I’m overthinking it. 

I skimmed the rack of clothes and stopped at a dress that piqued my interest. I liked it, but it wasn’t appropriate for class. Then I saw a black flower patterned blouse that looked fun. I also remembered how good Jasmine’s ass looked in a pair of jeans. I smiled as I was formulating an outfit in my head. 

I pulled out a pair of flared jeans from her drawer, then paired it with that blouse. Yes. I could see it. I nodded approvingly as I found my outfit. I next focused on underwear. Jasmine had bras of so many different colors and patterns. They were all cute and the part of my mind that associated bras with breasts got turned on. At first I was going to choose the brightest color, but instead I opted to go with a solid black one. It was safe. I did the same with the panties. Solid black panties with lace along the hems.

I checked the time and realized I needed to get to bed. I wasn’t sure what Jasmine’s bedtime was, but I knew mine, and it was time to call it a night.

* * *

In the morning, I got up to Jasmine’s preset alarm then showered. The fact that I’ve had sex with and in this body already made getting undressed for the shower anti-climatic. But that didn’t stop me from feeling my sensual body under the steamy hot water. Touching myself was just as enjoyable as being touched by my roommate.

After a very erotic shower, I dried off, then I eagerly put on today’s outfit. I started with the bra and panties. The delicate material felt heavenly against my skin. After almost half a day of not wearing a bra, it felt cool and gentle on my nipples. Then the panties. Even though this is no longer the first time I put panties on, now, I finally savored the experience. They were soft and felt right. They hugged my hips and snuggly lay across my mound. Nothing like the stiff boxers I’d normally wear. That old feeling of letting my genitals just hang there. No, this felt safe and secure. And sexy. Then I pulled on the jeans. They were snug on my thighs, and hugged my curves. These might actually be my new favorite pair of jeans. And finally the blouse. It was thin, light, and airy, but I knew it was going to be a warm, early-fall day. Next, I had to decide between sneakers or sandals. I opted for the sandals. My blue painted toenails poked through to cap off what I thought was a good start for someone who was raised a male and never put on women’s clothes until yesterday.

I checked myself in the mirror, happy with how I looked. I looked feminine, but not too feminine. I also looked casual, but not too casual. Maybe I can experiment with different looks tomorrow. The idea put a smile on my face. I felt confident. I was actually looking forward to the possibilities.

When I came out of my room and met Morgan in the kitchen she eyed me up and down. As she watched, I did a spin so she could see all of me.

“So?” I asked, eager to hear her opinion.

“I like it,” she said. “Bold choice with the sheer blouse and a black bra.”

“Wha-” My head snapped down and I was mortified to see my mistake. I hadn’t considered that. “Oh my God, should I change?”

“What, no,” Morgan insisted. “It’s perfect.”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me,” she said, grabbing my hand. Her warm hands sent a feeling of support through me. “You’re hot. It’s fashionable. It’s also functional. Wearing jeans lets you avoid shaving your legs for another day. Now let’s get going before we miss the shuttle.” 

Shaving my legs? That’s something else I wasn’t prepared for. I was becoming even more worried and embarrassed. “Then what normally goes under this?”

“A camisole - but I like the bra look.”

“Do you think my legs are hairy?” I asked, subconsciously rubbing my leg through my jeans.

She raised her eyebrow. “A little. You can probably go a few more days if you want - but no skirts or dresses.”

Morgan and I ate a quick breakfast, grabbed our stuff, and left our apartment. Since we lived off campus, we took the campus shuttle bus to classes. It was nice to sit and relax for a few minutes instead of the speed walking I had to do as Daniel. We passed Daniel’s dorm. I saw the typical walkers as the shuttle drove by. I looked for Daniel, but didn’t see him. I hoped he didn’t miss class.

When we reached Morgan’s stop she gave me a hug and whispered, “Good luck on your first day, Jaz.”

I thanked her and she got off the shuttle.

Next stop was mine, the English department. I got off the shuttle and made my way to the building. I’m not sure if it was planned or not, but having my first class as Jasmine was also one of Daniel’s classes, so I wouldn’t have to worry about being lost on my first day. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence and I’m overthinking this.

Before I reached the doors, I was stopped by a cute brunette girl, who appeared to be waiting for me. She clearly knew me. “Hey, Jaz - so, about tomorrow night…”

“Tomorrow night?” I asked this random stranger. 

“Yeah, my sorority mixer, remember?” She held the door open for me, and we walked into the building.

“Riiiiight.” I pretended to remember. “Sorry - long weekend.” I don’t know why it never occurred to me that Jasmine would have more friends. Not just the Guild.

“I’ll bet. Did you go out with your other friends?” The way she said “other” was dripping with resentment.

I stared at her for a moment before responding. “Yeah, we went to a few clubs.” I was on the defensive. This girl wasn’t happy. Therefore, I found it prudent to leave out the part about me having sex with my roommate. Twice.

“So, wear something dressy. I want to introduce you to some of my sisters. Plus, there will be cute boys there from our brother fraternity, the Kappas.”

I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to a Greek-life mixer my first week in the Guild.

“Hey, Jaz, are you OK?” she asked.

“Yeah, why?” Dammit, Daniel, you’re blowing it already.

“No, seriously. We like, never talk anymore. Like really talk. Ever since you moved in with… Morgan, I feel like you’ve been distant. You don't tell me anything.”

“Oh,” I replied. I wonder if that coincided with Jasmine joining the Guild. “I’m fine…” I lied, wishing I knew her name.

“I’m your best friend, you know you can tell me anything.”

Um, definitely not this thing. “I just… have a lot going on right now,” I truthfully replied. I remembered what the Guild had said about swapping with Daniel - a little break from their demanding lives. “This has been a stressful semester. What I’d really love is for some peace and quiet and settling down with a good book.”

“Whatever,” she replied impatiently. “But you’re still coming out tomorrow, right?”

I looked at her and smiled with fake sincerity. “Of course I am. You’re my best friend.”

She hugged me. “Oh, thank you, thank you!” She let go of me. “I have to get to my class. See you later!”

I watched her walk away. She has a cute ass and it swayed nicely with each step. Wait, I’m Jasmine, and that’s my best friend, I need to stop staring.

I was a little frustrated that I didn’t get her name. Typical Daniel… or D. I’m going to have to get used to calling myself by a letter. Anyway, I was always forgetting to get the girl's name. But I’m supposed to know her. I’ll have to ask Morgan who this mystery best friend is later.

As I continued to my classroom I realized there’s a lot about Jasmine’s life that wasn’t in the journal. I wonder if that was by design, or just an oversight by the Guild members writing in it.

I walked into the classroom to see that Daniel was already there, sitting in my - his - usual seat. He was early! He looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back. I wasn’t sure if Daniel and Jasmine are supposed to know each other outside of this class. The Guild is secret after all.

I took my seat and got out the book we were studying. Good thing I already read it as Daniel. It would’ve really sucked to come to class having forgotten my homework. 

As class droned on, I kept sneaking glances over at Daniel. I caught him eyeing me up a few times. It felt kinda nice being the one getting crushed on, for a change. Of course, I was overthinking it. He is just role-playing Daniel - right? Unless whoever Daniel was is actually attracted to me. I smiled at the thought, but knowing he’s a Guild member certainly complicates things. It also occurred to me that Daniel is the former Jasmine. I had sex with Jasmine-now-Daniel Saturday night. Maybe he does like me. But what about Rule 5?

During the discussion, Daniel answered one of the professor's questions with a very insightful response. I was impressed. I think Daniel actually did his homework last night. While slightly jealous of his answer, it did put me at ease. He’s got this. I don’t have to worry about him screwing up my life. I just had to worry about screwing up the life of whomever I am at the moment.

After class ended, I was thinking of swinging by to say hi to him, but I noticed he was talking to a girl. Her name was Kristy, and she typically sat in front of me - I mean Daniel. Yet another one of my crushes. At least I got her name once.

I walked closer to hear what they were talking about. They were actually talking about our reading assignments.

Daniel smiled at her and offered to go over the book with her after class one day. She smiled and said that was a good idea.

I couldn’t believe it. That boy’s got game. He’s been Daniel for less than 24 hours and he’s actually talking confidently to girls.

With that, I left the classroom and headed to the next class on my schedule.

* * *

My next class was something called Engineering Molecules. According to the syllabus in my notebook, it's a bioengineering class. It was across campus in the Engineering Building. I come here for my computer science classes. That’s where the similarities ended. I have no idea what bioengineering is.

Everything the professor said went entirely over my head. I took notes, but I didn’t comprehend what I was actually writing.

I was lucky he didn’t insist on class participation. My fear was to be called upon to answer something I knew nothing about.

This led me to wonder how exactly do classes work for Guild members? Maybe I should have asked about that before swapping. Too late now.

* * *

When both Morgan and I were home, I took it upon myself to ask her all of these burning questions. Who were these people in Jasmine’s life and how I was expected to handle Jasmine’s unfamiliar courses?

“Hey, I have a few questions,” I said. 

Morgan was sitting in the kitchen working on her laptop when she looked up at me. She smiled, signaling I had her attention.

“Apparently, I have a best friend. What’s her name? And I was dating a guy recently. I didn’t see any of that in the journals. And bioengineering? Seriously? The professor could’ve been talking in a different language and I wouldn’t have known it.”

Morgan laughed.

“What's so funny?”

“You’ve been hazed, girl! Welcome to the Guild.”

“Hazed?” I repeated incredulously. “So…”

“Text Daniel, I bet he hid those journals somewhere.”

“But how would he have known…”

“He did volunteer to swap with you,” Morgan giggled. “He also likely didn’t shave yesterday before the swap on purpose. That bitch.” More laughing.

“Was he - she supposed to?”

“It is kind of an unwritten rule to make sure the body you’re handing off is clean, properly groomed, and fed. And homework is done.”

“Oh. Does the Guild come with its own syllabus? I’m finding there seems to be a fair number of unwritten rules.”

“You’ll figure them out in no time. How’d you do today? Aside from bio.”

“I did fine. But I would’ve liked to have known those things.”

She smiled. “That’s awesome. You’re a natural, then. OK - your other questions. Yes, Lauren is your best friend from back home. You both came to college together, and were roommates in the dorm last year.”

“Lauren,” I echoed, attempting to commit that to memory. “But not any more…” Obviously she’s not living with me and Morgan.

“She joined a sorority - Delta something - and moved in with them over the summer.”

“Ah. That explains that. She doesn’t seem to like you.”

“She doesn’t like the Guild, Jasmine,” Morgan explained. “Before Daniel, you were the most recent one to join. You started hanging out with us more than her. Lauren’s kinda resentful of how much time you spend with us.”

“I see. And my…boyfriend?” I asked nervously. “Or is it ex?” I added, sounding hopeful.

“Ex. Definitely. Well, Brian was a douche. And a stalker. Wouldn’t take no for an answer. He kept following us. Gabriel - that is Gabriel’s body - put him in his place. I think he was J at the time, which was even funnier.”

“Do I need to be worried?”

“Nah. Haven’t seen him since last semester. When a 200-pound running back threatens your life, you listen.”

“OK. What about classes?”

“We study together on Wednesdays. We have a standing Guild meeting to study. We share notes, help each other with homework. Since we’ve all been Jasmine at this point, any of us can help you with that.”

“And if I don't get it? Bioengineering looks tough. And nothing like what I - D - came here to study.”

“You can tag out. Like Syd and Gabe did last night.”

I nodded. “Thank you Morgan. This has been a huge help. I suppose I should text Daniel then about the journals.”

Morgan smiled and walked into her bedroom, as I took a seat in the living room.

I retrieved my cell phone from my backpack and sent a message to my old phone number. “Hey. So, about my missing journals.”

Seconds later, he replied with a smile emoji and, “There’s a storage container under the bed. Welcome to the Guild, D! Love ya!”

I looked under the bed and found the two missing journals. I skimmed through them quickly and found references to last spring when Jasmine joined the Guild. About Lauren’s jealousy. About Brian’s jealousy and their breakup. Also, there was tension with Mom that I would’ve liked to have known about before our phone call. 

After spending an hour studying the journals, It was time to do some real studying. I pulled out my class notes and read and re–read my nonsensical writing. I kinda wondered if there was something else I should be doing with my time.

Listening to one of Jasmine’s music playlists helped put me in a better mood. I found my head bobbing, and my bare foot tapping to the beat. It got me energized to face another day. 

As I sat in my room listening to music, I wondered if Morgan was ever going to come over and seduce me. She didn’t. Maybe our roommates-with-benefits thing was weekends only. Or maybe she was waiting for me to make a move. Either way, it wasn't meant to be tonight.

* * *

Tuesday came and went. My Tuesday classes were just as crazy as my Monday classes.

There were more bioengineering classes. At least one of the classes was a generic math class that I had already taken as Daniel.

In the evening it was time to get ready for Lauren’s mixer at her sorority house. I really wanted to tap out of this, but they were right. I should see this through just so I could get more experience role-playing in a setting I wasn’t comfortable with.

I picked out a modest blue dress for the mixer. When I tried it on, I liked the way it accentuated my curves. It came down to my knees and certainly was longer than the dress I wore as Morgan on Saturday. I then realized I needed to shave my legs. I was a little nervous about doing it. I could’ve asked Morgan, but decided that I needed to learn some things by myself. That’s what the internet is for, right?

I took a shower and applied the same rules about shaving my face to my legs. Once I started doing it though, apparently muscle memory kicked in and my legs were done in no time. I loved running my hands up and down my silky-smooth legs.

While I was doing my makeup, my phone buzzed. There was a new message from the QuikChat app. I opened it and saw it was a group chat for the Guild. The message just now was from Sydney asking if anyone wanted to join her at the gym. So, that’s how they remain in constant communication.

Within seconds replies came. Antonio said he was meeting with a student committee, Gabriel said he had practice. Morgan replied, “Yes.” Daniel responded, “Not tonight.”

I replied, “Sorry, I have a mixer tonight.” And I truly was sorry. Though the gym really wasn’t my thing, joining Sydney and Morgan there seemed better than what I was heading into. 

I scrolled up through the conversation history. Since the start of the semester, there was talk about recruiting a “replacement.” The girls volunteered to pick up a guy during their next girls’ night. I blushed knowing that I was that guy. Then they said they found a potential candidate who was going to swap with Morgan that night. I blushed when Jasmine said I was awesome. Then there was a vote on whether to bring Daniel in. It was unanimous, then directions to meet at the library for the Guild meeting.

Wow. There are no secrets with this group. I put the phone down and continued my makeup.

When I was ready, I rode the campus shuttle to Greek Row, a collection of on-campus housing for fraternities and sororities. I had found all of the information about this mixer in my phone's planner app. It was a mixer for newly initiated Delta Pi Theta sisters - Lauren being one of them.

Speaking of Lauren - I noticed her waiting for me outside of the Delta house. She looked amazing in a single-strap little black dress. I wondered what I would look like in that number.

When she saw me she smiled and opened her arms for a hug. “Jasmine, thank you so much for coming!”

I returned her embrace and replied, “Anything for you, Lauren.” It felt good putting a name with a face.

“Come,” she said, taking my hand. “I want to introduce you to some of my sisters.”

I followed Lauren into her house. Pop music was playing but drowned out by around fifty or so students mingling with each other. The girls were wearing very skimpy outfits similar to Lauren, which made my own outfit look like I was going to church.

Of course, with all of these insanely attractive and popular students around me, my mind went back to the fact that I’m not really Jasmine. I’m Daniel in disguise. And the fact that my outfit was more conservative than theirs made me feel like even more of a pretender. “What the hell am I doing here,” I mumbled to myself.

As we walked through the crowd, I could feel eyes on me. The girls gave me judgemental glares while the boys smiled and their eyes drifted to my breasts or ass.

Lauren pulled me over to a group of girls who were already engaged in conversation. “Ella, I wanted to introduce you to my best friend from back home, Jasmine.”

The girl in the middle, who was tall, blonde, and very attractive looked at me and gave me a fake smile. “Oh, hi! I’ve heard so much about you.” She stepped forward to hug me and I met her halfway and we awkwardly embraced.

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” I replied with my own fake smile.

We let go of our hug and she raised her eyebrows as if she was waiting to hear more.

In my life as Daniel I tended to avoid superficial people like this, so I had no experience in how to socialize with them. I think she might have been expecting me to return a flattering comment her way.

“You’re Lauren’s friend with the lesbian hypnotist roommate, or something like that, right?”

I gave Lauren a snide glance. What did she tell them about Morgan? “Not quite.”

“Are you thinking of pledging?” Ella asked me, not caring about my response, and disdain showing through her smile.

“Oh, no, I’m just here to support Lauren,” I replied. “I thought pledging was a freshmen-only thing.”

“We rush twice a year. Usually in the spring we look to bring in exceptional upperclassmen.”

“Jasmine is in the honors program and is currently studying bioengineering,” Lauren gushed.

I continued to smile. Was Lauren really trying to get me to join this group?

“That’s wonderful,” Ella robotically replied. “Make yourself at home, there’s beer and wine in the kitchen.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“It was so nice to meet you, Jesse.”

“Jasmine,” I corrected her, but she had already turned her focus elsewhere.

I turned to whisper to Lauren. “So what do we do now?”

“Just mingle. I can introduce you to more of my sisters. Do you want a beer?”

Typically I’d decline, but I felt so awkward, a drink wouldn’t hurt. “Please.”

I followed Lauren to the kitchen where there was a line for the keg.

“What did you think of Ella?” Lauren asked.

“Oh, she seems nice,” I replied.

“She’s the captain of the dance squad.”

“Is that like cheerleading?” I asked.

“No, the dance squad is different - they do more performances than the cheerleaders.”

“Oh, OK.” I decided to just stop guessing and ask Lauren her intentions directly, “Seriously, Lauren, do you really want me to pledge your sorority?”

“Well.. yeah,” she admitted. “I mean, my sisters are much better than those other people you hang out with.”

“Hey, what did you tell them about Morgan? A lesbian hypnotist? Really?”

She shrugged. “That’s the truth isn’t it? She did brainwash you.”

“I am not brainwashed!” 

“Whatev, Jaz, let’s just enjoy the party.”

“Hey, Lauren,” another sorority girl interrupted, “can I get your help with something?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” Lauren replied. She turned to me. “Will you be alright?”

I shrugged, “Sure,” I guess. Sure, leave me alone in a house full of strangers. Me included.

“I’ll be back,” she promised. “Mingle!”

I waited in line for the keg and awkwardly stood there as other people were talking to each other. I was mostly ignored by the girls, and checked out by the guys. I eventually got my beer and retreated back to the living area. I found an empty spot against the wall where I leaned against it. I took a sip of beer reiterating my internal thoughts of what I was doing here. I typically do the same things when I’m Daniel at a nightclub. But then I at least have my friends. What do I have here? Too bad I couldn’t invite Mike, Denis and Sal. They would’ve loved coming to this and mingling with all of these attractive women.

“Hi,” a male voice said beside me.

I turned to the greeter and replied, “Hi.”

“Not your scene?” he asked with a smile.

I chuckled, “How’d you guess?” I took a sip of my beer to seem like I belonged.

“I dunno,” he laughed. “The look on your face. The fact you aren’t dressed like any of them. I’m Aiden, by the way.” He extended me his free hand.

I softly shook it. “Jasmine.”

“What brings you to the Delta house, Jasmine?”

“My best friend is a recent inductee and wanted me to meet her sisters. Possibly pledge in the spring.”

“Very nice. What was your impression?”

“Oh, I dunno,” I said, trying to hide my true feelings. “I suppose they were nice.”

“You can say it,” he laughed. “Stuck up and fake.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his directness. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“And the guys?”

“Well you’re the first one I’ve talked to. But their gaze has been all up and down me,” I said annoyed.

Aiden laughed. “Pervs.”

“Yeah, right,” I laughed with him. “They’re just beefed up predators.”

“Well, I’m a Kappa, too.”

My mouth dropped open and I turned red. “Oh, my God, I’m sorry for insulting your brothers.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said with a smile. “You’re right about some of them. Honestly, most of them are out of your league.”

“Well, thank you. I think.”

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said with a smile. “Am I one of the good ones?”

I wasn’t thinking that. “Are you?”

“I am.”

That is something one of the bad ones would say. I nervously glanced around for Lauren to save me.

Aiden stepped closer, too close for my liking. “Hey - it’s stuffy in here. You wanna get out of here?”

Suddenly, I saw major red flags with this dude. “I’m kinda waiting for my friend.”

“I’m sure she’s fine.” He waved with his free hand. “You’re in excellent hands with me. I’m the co-host of this event. I can show you around, introduce you to some of my brothers. The good ones, that is.”

“I’d rather just stay here.”

He placed his hand on my hip. “If you change your mind, let me know.”

Warning bells went off in my head. Never had this happened to me. As a guy, the only unwanted physical contact was from bullies bumping into my shoulder or stupid shit like that. This was something different. Just as unwanted, and a million times creepier. I was mostly in shock and just nodded my head.

“See you later, Jasmine.” He walked away with a wink.

Let’s not.

At that point I decided I wasn’t going to wait for Lauren. This isn’t even my body and I wasn't going to put either myself or Jasmine in that kind of danger. That is why I left my beer on the kitchen counter and made a beeline out of the sorority house. More people were going into the party, but I wanted nothing more to do with it. I’d have to apologize to Lauren later.

Chapter 5 - Jasmine Part 2

The next day, Lauren asked me what happened and I just dismissed it as, “I had to leave.” She seemed to genuinely like those people. But they just weren’t my type. I was too embarrassed to talk about the Aiden incident to anyone. Lauren seemed sad that I wasn’t excited nor that I wanted to pledge to her sorority. Thankfully, she dropped the conversation.

In the afternoon I met up with the rest of the Guild for our study group. It was good to see everyone again. It felt like I was part of a group, and they genuinely cared for me. When each person saw me, they all lit up like they were seeing their best friend. Was it because I’m Jasmine or because I’m D?

“How are things going, D?” Antonio asked me. “How’s life as Jasmine?”

“It's um… eye opening,” I admitted. 

“Are you having any problems? Friends? Family? Classwork?”

“I-,” I started to speak, then froze. I wanted to mention Aiden. If anyone would be able to help me through those emotions, it would be the Guild members. But, I just couldn’t bring myself to talk about it. What would they think? D’s first night alone as a woman and he gets sexually harassed? I felt awful just thinking that.

Just then, Sydney walked in. “Oh, my God, girl,” she interrupted us. “That outfit is so cute on you.”

“Thank you,” I blushed. Today, I was wearing a white blouse and jean shorts over a pair of dark tights. “Pinterest,” I explained. 

“Keep up the good work, girl,” she smiled and took a seat.

 I turned my attention back to Antonio. There was something I was having a problem with. Before Aiden. “I’m having problems with classwork.”

“Well, that’s why we’re here today.” He put his own backpack on the table. “And yes - I agree with Syd - you’re a natural.” He then looked up at the rest of the study room. “OK, everyone, let's get to studying. Raise your hand if you need help with a subject.”

I raised my hand. I was the only one, which made me shrink in my seat.

“Jasmine,” Antonio said. “Please don’t feel embarrassed. It’s your first week. Which class are you having trouble with?”

“Bioengineering,” I admitted. 

“Which class?”

“Actually, all of them.”

Antonio chuckled, then looked around, “Who wants to help Jasmine?”

Sydney volunteered. “Come on over, Jaz,” she said, motioning me over to her table.

I walked over to Sydney’s table, sat down next to her, and took out my notes. First thing I noticed was Sydney’s choice of clothing today. She was dressed in a plain T-shirt and jeans. Her blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was wearing glasses. It was a far cry from when I last saw her on Sunday. 

I also noticed the other members seemed to pair off. Antonio and Morgan, Daniel and Gabriel. 

I looked over at Daniel and got his attention. “Daniel, do you need help with anything?”

“Nah, I already took your classes,” he said with a wave of his hand. “I’ll come over when you’re done with Syd.”

I looked at Sydney, “So how does this work?”

“You read back all of your notes. Stop when you don’t understand and I’ll elaborate. You’re essentially going to teach me, even if you don’t know the terminology. I’ll also help you understand it so you’ll have an easier time taking notes. Then you’ll pair off with Daniel so you can get his notes.”

I looked at her and cocked my head. Why was I paired up with Sydney to learn Bioengineering? In the three days I've known Sydney, she gave me ditzy vibes. Not that I thought that she was dumb. She was in college, after all. But Bioengineering? Unless… “Wait,” I whispered. “Does that mean you’re J?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s how this works. I need to learn this stuff too. I still plan on getting a job in the field when I graduate, but I’m also getting so much world experience by being in the Guild.”

Finally, I knew someone's real identity. Of course, I blushed realizing that I was sitting with this body’s owner. I was silently gushing that she complimented me on my outfit. “J, I… I have so many questions for you,” I continued.

She giggled. “D, you’re fangirling over me. That’s so cute. But, all in good time. Let’s study first.”

I nodded.

We slowly went through my notes. She helped explain terms that I didn't know. She explained what the field was and what kind of jobs she was hoping to get after graduation. I got the impression that J was very smart. For the first time, it was rather obvious today’s Sydney was a very different person then the one I met last weekend.

After an hour, Sydney finally said, “What would you like to know, D?”

“How long have you been in the Guild?”

She chuckled. “That’s your question? That’s all in my journals.”

“I mean - I read them. But since you’re the second newest member, and I’m the newest I kinda wanted to hear it firsthand.”

“Sure,” she said. “I joined during spring semester. It was at the Valentine's Day Dance at the student union, and I was out with Brian. And he had the nerve to start flirting with Morgan - before I met her. But she noticed that Brian and I were a couple and knew right away that he was a player. That’s why she asked me to dance. Brian got insanely jealous. He wanted us to leave, but I was having fun. That’s when he left me at the dance by myself. Morgan kinda took me under her wing. Well… she did more than that.” Sydney's face lit up with a smile and a blush as she remembered it.

I chuckled, recalling my own experience with Morgan. “I know the feeling.”

“Oh, I’ll bet you do,” she giggled. “Don’t get me wrong. I kinda figured I might be bi in high school. I never had the opportunity, though. I was home-schooled, so I never interacted with any boys. I was also a nerdy girl. A T-shirt, jeans, and glasses kind of girl.”

“You? A nerd?”

“Yeah! I was so unremarkable. We’re both in our second year. Odds are we ran into each other last year and you just don’t remember me.”

“But, you had a boyfriend.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t a good one, and just held me back and kept me from really finding myself.”

“So, Morgan seduced you?”

“Yeah - but I was more than willing to be seduced by such an attractive girl.”

“That explains why Lauren thinks you’re brainwashed.”

“Exactly - she was actually there by herself and watched the whole thing go down,” Sydney continued. “I remember wearing a simple unflattering dress and Morgan was hot. Like, super hot. She was wearing this sequined red dress. I don’t blame Brian for thinking she was hot either. When Brian was gone, this hot girl started talking to me. Like, why me? I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I do remember telling her how jealous I was of her.”

“Then you swapped?”

“We swapped numbers. We also made out at the end of the night. I was in heaven. Something felt so right with her and yet, I felt like she was out of my league. She walked me home. It was so cute. But we didn’t actually swap that night. She didn’t have the stone with her. So Morgan came back the next day. She said she wanted to show me something. She held out the stone in her hand but didn’t tell me what it did. When we swapped it was amazing. I couldn’t believe it. We hung out all day as each other. It was so thrilling being her. But I also saw things I wouldn’t have. How people treated me as Morgan and how they treated Morgan as Jasmine. Let me tell you, D, looking at your life from the outside is a great way to gain a new perspective.”

“Then the Guild asked you to join?”

“Yeah, one of our former members was graduating at the end of the semester and they were looking for a replacement. It didn’t take much convincing. Between Brian and Lauren and my Mom, I needed a vacation from being Jasmine.”

“How often are you Jasmine now?”

She laughed. “I’m like, never Jasmine anymore. True, we get first dibs on our own body. But what’s the point? I’m having so much fun. My favorite is being Gabriel.”

“Gabriel?” I said, shocked. I realized I was being loud and Gabriel looked over in my direction. I lowered my voice back to a whisper. “The nerdy girl’s favorite role is a football player?”

“Hell, yeah. When I'm him I’m the opposite of the girl I came to college as. The strength. The power. The women.”

“The women,” I echoed whimsically.

“It’s just a lot of hard work. Lots of football practice and time at the gym. You know. Work hard. Play hard.”

I nodded.

“How’s my mom?”

I rolled my eyes. “She’s… the same. I guess. I kinda let slip that I was thinking of bringing a girl home.”

She giggled. “That’s funny. I’d love to have heard her reaction. She’s been worried about me being gay for a long time, so don’t you worry about it. My boyfriend from high school - his mom and my mom were friends. So, we were set up by our mothers because he was home-schooled too. I just worry about Willow.”

“Your sister.”

“Yeah - she’s the only thing from Jasmine’s life I miss. I hope she’s doing OK.”

“I haven’t heard from her.”

“I’m not surprised. She only calls occasionally.”

“Your journals don’t mention your dad. Is he…”

“He’s around. He works a lot. He’s a doctor and works a lot of shifts. But he’s the reason I want to get into Bioengineering. My parents are old fashioned. He works and makes money. Mom stays home and home-schools us.”

I smiled and tried to put all of these pieces together. “You describe yourself as a nerd - but that’s not what I see when I see Jasmine.”

“That’s totally the Guild’s doing. They saw through my unpolished exterior. Each person brings something new to Jasmine’s life.”

“But.. aren’t you weirded out by seeing your body being…” I waved my hands over myself. “... piloted by someone else? Wearing things you wouldn’t have worn?” Going places you wouldn’t have gone? Doing things you wouldn’t do?

“At first, sure,” she shrugged. “But you get over it pretty quickly and then you see it for what it is.”

“Really? What is it?”

“An opportunity.”

”Oh?”

“Have you ever second-guessed yourself? Wondered what your life would be like if someone else was in charge? Or maybe you’re curious what other people think of you. This is the ultimate, ‘look at yourself from someone else’s perspective/point of view’.”

“Sure.”

“I also love seeing what everyone does with my wardrobe. I never took chances. I get to see what works and what doesn’t, and ideas I never considered. Same with my hair and makeup. D, I wasn’t lying when I said how hot you look. Seriously.”

“Thank you” I said, blushing.

“How about you? Your original body is sitting two tables over. He’s not being “piloted” by you. How are you taking it?”

“I don’t know.” I glanced over at Daniel who seemed to be looking at my phone… his phone. “It’s weird. I haven’t interacted with him much yet.”

“You will. It’s eye-opening. During one of the first weeks, I remember seeing my old body for the first time. I mean - really seeing her. Seeing how beautiful she is. Sometimes you take that for granted when you’re stuck looking out from your own eyes. Sure, we can look in a mirror, but a mirror doesn’t really do you justice, and you can often see only what you want to see.”

I nodded as I considered her words. I never thought of it like that. I was too excited about role-playing other people, I never considered how seeing my old body being role-played would open my eyes to tell me about myself.

That’s when Daniel came over and sat down next to us. “It’s my turn,” he smiled.

Sydney leaned over and gave me a hug. “It was nice chatting with you, Jasmine. You’re doing great. Keep it up.”

“Thank you, J- I mean, Sydney.”

She got up and joined Gabriel at his table.

“So,” Daniel said, putting out some books. “Obviously we don’t need to go over Lit notes since we’re still in the same class. But I can go over Calculus with you.”

“That’d be great,” I smiled.

I thought about what Jasmine said, and I looked at Daniel from an outsider’s perspective. The first thing that came to mind was - is that what my voice really sounds like? It was deeper, more confident. Not as goofy as it sounds when recorded.

I considered asking Daniel what I missed over the past three days, but much like J, I realized I didn’t care nor miss it.

Before the study session was over, Daniel and Gabriel swapped. I asked about this and they explained that everyone can swap whenever they want. Since I was new, they wanted to give me a full week. I tried keeping a count in my head, I determined that this was the third new person who’s been in Daniel.

I then listened in as Daniel was explaining everything Gabriel needed to know about Saturday’s game. It was weird watching my old body talk about football. I was never into sports and seeing him talk about plays and recapping the week’s practice was weird.

* * *

Talking to J gave me much more confidence. Now that I had the support and blessing of this body’s owner, I stepped out into the world as Jasmine. I think Morgan noticed that I was committed to the role, as she just smiled knowingly.

I was staring out the shuttle window when I saw Sal walking to class. Naturally, he didn’t see me staring at him from inside the bus. I hadn’t even thought of my dorm-mates in days. It’s only been four days since taking over Jasmine’s life. It feels like four weeks. In some ways my life as Daniel seems like another life. Seeing Sal is like an echo of a previous life. 

I was about to enter one of the class buildings when I ran into Aiden, who was waiting for me outside. I could feel my body tense up. Just when I had my confidence back, this douche had to show up.

“Hi, Jasmine,” he said.

“Are you stalking me?” I asked. I wished I had some pepper spray in my backpack.

“Nah,” he said. “I have class here too.”

“Just letting you know my last stalker is buried under the 50 yard line in the football stadium.” That’s a lie of course, but I’ve never seen this mythical ex-boyfriend I had. The way Sydney described the situation, nobody else had either, since Gabriel ‘talked’ to him.

“You’re funny,” he chuckled. “It was good seeing you on Tuesday, are you thinking about pledging the Deltas?”

“Don’t you need an invite to pledge?” 

“I’m president of the Greek Council. That gives me some strong influence over each of the Greek houses. If you want to be a sister of Delta Pi Alpha, I can make it happen.”

“I’m not sure, Aiden. I’m nothing like those girls. I wouldn’t fit in.”

“I think you would be a perfect fit,” he laid it on thick. “And we could see more of each other,” he said with a wink.

Yuck. I know what he means by that. Can I kick him in the nuts now and just get it over with?

Not wanting to lose the sale, he continued his boasting, “You might’ve heard about the possibility of the expansion of Greek Row. More and newer houses. I’m the one who drew up the proposal and plans.”

I wasn’t sure why he was telling me this. Was he trying to brag about his influence? Is this how he flirts with girls? “Hey, listen, I really need to get to class.”

“OK, see you around, Jasmine.”

As I walked to the classroom, I was suddenly worried that this would become a daily routine. I’m going to need to find a way to put him in his place, or at least ask the Guild what I should do about him.

* * *

After class, Sydney invited me to join her at the gym. Regretting I was unable to go on Tuesday, I decided to take her up on her offer this time. I figured I could burn off the steam from the Aiden encounter on the treadmill anyway. Plus, I was enjoying my time talking to my current body’s owner.

I wasn’t sure what Jasmine typically wore to the gym, but I decided a sports bra, T-shirt, and gym shorts were sufficient.

When I got out of my school clothes and into my gym clothes, I noticed something I hadn't before.  A tattoo right above my right hip. I didn’t recognize the symbol. I wondered if J or Jasmine got the tattoo. I remembered a rule about tattoos. Or was it new tattoos?

Sydney came to the gym in just a pink sports bra and yoga pants.

“So what kind of exercises do we do?” I asked.

“Let’s start by stretching,” she said, leading me over to the stretching area.

I followed her lead as we stretched our leg muscles. 

“Was today better than yesterday?” she asked me, when bending over to do a lunge.

“Definitely,” I replied, mirroring her stretches. I was surprised at how limber I was. “I understood most of what the professor was teaching us.”

“That’s great.”

“I wanted to talk to you about the sorority mixer I went to on Tuesday.”

“Oh?”

“Lauren invited me to her mixer. I met her big sister, Ella.”

“Yeah, she’s a total bitch.”

“Oh, good,” I said. “I was worried I was screwing something up for you.”

“Nah, I’m good. Lauren is a good friend - my best friend. But she’s kinda… needy. I think being in a sorority will be good for her. Her sisters will be around when I’m not.”

“They wanted me to join.” 

Sydney chuckled. “Hell no. I can’t see me… us… maintaining the Guild lifestyle and being a Delta. Too demanding of our time. Besides, can you imagine M or G in a house full of hot women?”

“Well, I don’t think they were serious anyway. Lauren might have been, but not Ella.”

“Lauren just wants to spend more time with you. You should plan something with her. Whether it's you or the next Jasmine.”

“That’s a good idea.”

She sat down on the gym mat, spread her legs and started lunging to either side. I followed her lead.

“There was something else that happened at the mixer,” I brought up.

“Oh?”

“There was this guy.”

“Oh, really?” she smiled with a raised eyebrow.

“Not like that,” I explained. “He came on to me. It made me feel very uncomfortable.”

“What did you do?”

“I passed on his advances and left.”

“I think you did the right thing. Trust your gut. Guys will continue to come on to you.”

“Then he showed up again outside class this morning.”

“If you feel threatened let me know. One of us will take care of it.”

I nodded. “Thanks, I’m just out of my element.”

“You’ve only been a woman for a few days, but already you recognize the red flags.” She looked at me. “You’re doing a good job D. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

I smiled and we continued our workout. 

When we got to the row of treadmills, Sydney asked me, “Hey, isn’t that Daniel?”

I looked over and sure enough, my former body was at a weight machine. “Yeah.”

He saw us and waved.

I remember what J told me yesterday about watching your body do things that you’d never do. It was weird, but I was happy knowing that whomever was piloting Daniel was taking better care of his body than I had.

A few miles on the treadmill. Then mild weight training. Then some squats. I smiled when I realized that for the first time in a long time I actually had a friend, and I was enjoying that camaraderie. Of course, I won’t be Jasmine in a few days, and J probably won’t be Sydney either.

* * *

I needed that talk I had with J. That night I called Lauren and we made plans for a best-friend’s night out next week. Sadly, I won’t be there for that, but the next Jasmine will and I suppose that’s all that matters. I wrote about my experiences in my journal. About the mixer. About Ella and Aiden. About making more time for Lauren. In only a few days I’ll move on to my next body. These would become someone else’s problems. The next Jasmine. I look forward to when I become Jasmine again to see how these small seeds have paid off.

By time Sunday came around, being Jasmine had become second nature. Cute outfits. Class. Homework. Flirt with Morgan. Repeat. As the excitement of a new life slowly changed from abnormal to normal, there were times I felt like I really was Jasmine, both in body and mind.

I would answer to “Jasmine”, make feminine hand gestures, subconsciously cross my legs. As crazy as it initially seemed to leave behind Daniel and become Jasmine, it now seemed crazy that in a few hours I would do it all over again. A new life to learn about. A new life to become. I could hardly wait.

Chapter 6 - Antonio

Morgan went home for the weekend so I had the apartment to myself. Both Lauren and Sydney separately asked if I wanted to go do something, but I declined. I needed a night to myself to just reflect on the week. 

I also considered who I wanted to swap with next. I’d certainly like a week as Morgan. Being Gabriel sounded overwhelming at this point. Sydney is 21 and the only member who could drink legally, but that didn't matter much to me. Then there was Antonio who I knew was the leader, but didn’t know much about.

I lay there in my quiet apartment, in the body of a girl I was crushing on earlier in the semester. I’d taken over her life for the past week. I had sex with her. I had sex as her. Just being her felt like I was more intimate with her than I ever could’ve imagined.

Now it was time to give Jasmine back. All of my homework was done, so I wrote in Jasmine’s journal. I reiterated things I mentioned earlier in the week. I included Lauren’s desire to spend more time with her, and a strong warning about Aiden. 

I remembered what this body was like when I got it, so I made sure to shower, shave my legs, and eat something before heading off to the Guild meeting. I decided for my final outfit as Jasmine to wear a gray checkered skirt with a black top; accessorized by a black belt, those sexy fishnet stockings Morgan adores, and some heels. I put my hair up into a loose bun, with some tresses framing my face, and then added some tasteful makeup. Sure, it was a little formal for a casual Sunday, but I wanted to show the Guild how much I’d learned during my week as Jasmine.

The Guild members sat in the same study room in the library. Morgan was a few minutes late getting back from her weekend at home, so we were killing time making small talk. I didn’t mind since it meant being Jasmine a little bit longer.

As we sat around, each of the members complimented me on my appearance and composure. I looked and acted like I’d always been a woman. It was feeling completely natural to me now.

When Morgan finally arrived, Antonio started the meeting with a bang of his gavel.

“D,” Antonio said. “Did you have a great week?”

“I did.”

“Have you thought about who you want to swap with next?”

“I thought about it this morning and I decided I kinda want to swap with you, Antonio.”

He smiled. “I love your confidence. Let’s go!”

I got up to stand next to Antonio as Morgan handed him the stone. He reached that hand out to me.

I took his hand and five seconds later the now-familiar swirling happened. I closed my eyes until it stopped. When I looked around, the first thing I noticed was that I was much taller. Taller than I ever was as Daniel, and of course, Jasmine. I looked down at Jasmine who smiled and winked at me then let go of my hand.

Jasmine dug into a bag that must’ve been Antonio’s. She placed a piece of paper in front of me. It was titled, Guild Agenda. “You’re in charge now. Follow this.” She then sat where I was originally sitting.

I quickly scanned the agenda. At the top was “follow-up with D and facilitate his next swap” after that was “New Business.” I looked over at the other Guild members who were looking at me for direction. “I umm.. Do we have any new business?”

“Yes,” Gabriel spoke up. “So, I might have a date this week.” 

“Oh, really?” Morgan asked. “Who is she?”

“A girl I met at the post-game party yesterday. I got her number. I just wanted to run this by the group.”

“Is this something we do?” I asked the group.

“We have to,” Daniel said. “We’ve each put our trust in each other. Making big life choices like getting into a relationship are part of that. Especially since if it lasts long enough, we could all be dating her.”

Wow. That was something I hadn’t considered. “But shouldn’t G have a say?”

“Well, we ask G first,” Morgan explained. “If G agrees, then you put it up for a general vote. If G says no, that’s the end of it. In order to protect G’s anonymity, we need to have a paper veto.”

“Oh. How does that work?” I asked.

Each person writes down something on a piece of paper and gives it to you. Only one answer is from G, and you announce their decision.”

“OK,” I said, and began passing out scraps of paper I made from a blank notebook page. 

Each person wrote something down and passed their paper back to me. I wrote on my own scrap as a formality.

I scanned through all six papers and shuffled them. One was mine, on which I just scribbled, ‘X’. One was a heart. One was a smiley face. One was a dick and balls. I looked up at the group and grinned. “Really mature, guys.” Jasmine was giggling. One was simply the letter ‘A’. Finally, one paper said, “no objections - G.” I announced, “G approves.” Then I put it up for a group vote. “All for Gabriel going on said date, say ‘aye’.”

“Aye,” the group echoed.

“Any nays?” I asked.

Nothing.

“Abstains?”

Nothing.

“Have fun on your date, Gabe,” I said. “And, um, be safe!”

The Guild members snickered. I was enjoying this power.

“OK, what else do we have?”

Morgan raised her hand. “Can I be Daniel next?”

Daniel agreed and I handed him the stone.

I watched as Daniel and Morgan swapped. That’s the fourth person in Daniel, I think. At some point I’m going to lose count. I’ve already lost track of who is who.

At the end of the meeting I asked, “Are there any other matters for discussion?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Who gets the stone?” I asked.

“I’ll take it,” Gabriel volunteered, leaning over and swiping it off the table.

“Meeting adjourned, then,” I said, picking up the gavel and tapping it on the table.

The Guild members all got up and started collecting their things.

“So, um,” I asked no one in particular, “where do I live now?”

Jasmine laughed. “I gotcha.” She took out a piece of paper, wrote an address on it and handed it to me. “Oh, and Antonio?”

“Yeah,” I replied, pocketing the paper. Pockets! I didn’t realize how much I missed pockets.

“It’s extremely important to look at your schedule when you get home. You’re a busy guy.”

“Got it.”

I watched the rest of the Guild file out of the room. I wondered maybe if I should’ve swapped with someone else.

* * *

It turned out, Antonio actually lives on campus in the dorm right next to Daniel. This made sense because I remember seeing Antonio all the time when I was Daniel. The building is a collection of single-occupancy rooms so I didn’t have a roommate. 

It was a small room. A raised bed with a couch under it, a desk with two chairs and a TV on top of a dresser. It was kept very neat. It was just small.

Per the former Antiono’s direction, I immediately looked for my new schedule. I found a full desk calendar with handwriting all over it. Antonio is very busy.

Tonight, I had a meeting with the Residence Hall Association, the group responsible for representing those living in the dorms. I had been to one meeting as Daniel this year, ironically at the insistence of Antonio. Back then we were lobbying for more parking for on-campus residents.

After that meeting there was just a name. “James.” Who is James?

I didn’t have time to figure all of this out, I had to head to the RHA meeting.

At the meeting, I learned I was a senator in charge of my dorm. I was also part of a task force to put on a block party next month. I tried to just be quiet and let the meeting happen, but I kept getting glances my way. People were looking to me for opinions and direction.

When it became time for someone to volunteer to get sponsors for the block party, I finally raised my hand. “I’ll do it.” It was something I imagined the real Antonio doing.

Everyone looked relieved that I volunteered.

Then they needed volunteers for the dunk tank. Again their gaze went to me. 

“Sure,” I said. “Sounds like fun. But we’re going to need other people as well.”

They agreed to seek out other volunteers. I wondered if any Guild members would help out. I knew Morgan and Jasmine lived off-campus. I didn’t know about Gabriel or Sydney. Maybe I can rope in Daniel.

I made my way back to my dorm, with a half hour to spare before my next appointment with whomever this James person is.

I looked through the desk drawers and found Antonio’s journals. I opened them to read more about the life I’m currently inhabiting.

His full name is Antonio Bradford Jr. He is 19 years old, from a small town only a few miles away from campus. Because he’s so close to home, he stops by to visit often. Usually, he bums a ride from Sydney. He’s got two older brothers. His major is unsurprisingly Political Science and he’s currently a sophomore. He’s a gay man and is currently in an on-again, off-again relationship with… James.

Uh-oh.

I checked the agenda again. It wasn’t a meeting - it was a dinner date. I cursed at myself. Before I joined the Guild, Morgan hinted that there was a gay man in the Guild. I never bothered to ask who. Shit. I didn’t have much time before I-

There was a knock on the door.

I opened it and saw a skinny platinum-blonde dude, taller than me, standing there. He was dressed flamboyantly in a very tight shirt and a pair of revealing booty shorts.

“Hey, Tony,” he gleefully sang as he entered my apartment. He was swinging a wicker picnic basket as if he was strolling through the woods heading to Grandma’s house.

“You're early,” is all I could muster.

“I couldn’t wait,” he said. He came in for a full-on kiss, but at the last second I turned my head so his lips landed on my cheek.

He stood there and looked me over from head to toe. “So, who are you today?”

“What?” I asked, unable to hide my confusion.

“I know about your secret society. And that’s not how A kisses. Or J or M. Who are you? Is that you G?”

He knows? I was instantly flustered. “I’m umm... D.”

“D? Wow. Fresh meat!”

“Pardon?” I sputtered, my eyes going wide.

“I’m just joking with you, dude. Hi, I’m James.” He extended his hand. “What’s your original name?”

“Daniel,” I said, taking his hand.

He pulled my hand and hugged me. “We hug in this relationship.”

“O…K,” I wheezed through his incredibly strong bear hug.

He let go of me and went to work, moving the desk into the center of the room and taking stuff out of his basket.

“You’re OK with this?” I asked. “Obviously, A’s not here.”

“I’m having a dinner date with Antonio. Not A. Since you're Antonio today, I'm having dinner with you. I hope you’re OK with that. I don’t bite - well, not unless you ask nicely.”

How do I break this to him? “Umm, since you know I’m D now, you should also know that I’m straight.”

He laughed. “Wow - skipping foreplay and straight to the sex talk.” He made a cat meow.

I defensively crossed my arms. “I-I just wanted to set expectations… or rather boundaries.”

“Listen. I am well aware that I’m dating a guy who changes often. It’s part of the deal. I’m in love with Antonio. You just happen to be Antonio today.”

I said nothing.

He noticed I was timid. “Listen, we don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. I’m your boyfriend and I will respect your boundaries.”

“OK. Thank you.” I have a boyfriend. This is so surreal.

Apparently that wasn’t convincing enough. He came over to me. “Listen to me. I promise to only do things you’re comfortable with. Can I hold your hands?”

I nodded.

He took my hands. “There. We’re establishing boundaries.” He gave me a great big friendly smile. “You may not know me yet, but I love you, and I won’t do anything to hurt or make you uncomfortable.” He was warm and gentle. “Now, let’s eat.” He pulled a desk chair out for me.

I never had anyone pull a chair out for me. Even when I was in one of the girl’s bodies. “Thank you,” I said as I sat down. 

“I call Antonio, Tony. Would that be OK with you, or would you prefer Antonio? Or even D or Daniel?”

I thought about that for a moment. I’m supposed to be Antonio. Being D feels like I’ve given up on the role-play after only a few hours. I didn’t want any other Guild members to know I suck at this. “Antonio is fine. This is my first day, and I need to get used to hearing his name.”

“That’s cool,” James assured me, “and don’t worry, I think you’ll make a fine Antonio.”

I nodded.

James then meticulously set up a romantic dinner for the two of us. He got out the plates and silverware and he lit some candles. Then he turned off the overhead lights. He poured some sparkling water in a pair of glass flutes. Then he brought out a set of insulated food containers and sat down next to me.

I looked over all of this. “James, this is… incredible. You did all this for…me. I-I’m touched.” I honestly never had anything like this done for me. Aside from that girl I took to prom, I’ve never been in a relationship. And now I had a boyfriend pulling out all of the stops.

“Don’t say that until you’ve tasted dinner.” He opened the first container and pulled out steaming-hot chicken breasts. They smelled great. He put one on each plate and poured the sauce from the container on top. My stomach rumbled loud enough for the next door apartment to hear. James simply smiled at me. Then he opened a second container and divided up helpings of garlic green beans onto our plates.

I was about to dig in when James held up his glass for a toast. I picked up my own glass and looked at James.

“Antonio, here’s to you and I. May we always have each other.”

“And here’s to you, James,” I offered, “the best boyfriend a guy could ever ask for.”

He smiled as we clinked our glasses together and took a sip. Gesturing towards the food he announced, “Bon appétit, ma chérie amour.”

I cut into the chicken and took a bite. This was not the crap the dining hall served. I’m not much of a cook, nor do I have a refined pallet, but the flavor was amazing. “Wow!” I exclaimed after swallowing. “That was amazing.”

“Why, thank you. We might not have sex tonight, but I was still able to put my meat in your mouth.”

I nearly choked on what I was chewing. The word ‘might’ was sending chills down my spine.

James was laughing.

I swallowed and dabbed my mouth with a napkin. I looked at him and couldn’t help but chuckle with him. I gave him a playful smirk. “And I fully enjoyed the taste of your meat.”

“Yes!” he cheered, excited I was playing along. “I think we’re going to get along nicely, D.”

I smiled. His exuberance was calming my nerves.

“What flavor is that?” I asked.

“Sage,” he replied. “It’s become a new favorite after using it in class.”

“Class?”

“I’m a culinary arts major.”

“I… had no idea our school had that major. But seriously though, the dining hall should hire you and your classmates.”

He looked at me and laughed. “What major is Daniel?”

“Computer science.”

“I imagine you don’t get out much, or didn’t before joining that secret society.”

“It appears that way, doesn’t it,” I agreed.

We continued to eat and make small talk. Apparently we do this every Sunday. A tradition James had with his own family. James talked about his day and I mostly just listened. He understood why I didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation.

As we finished the main course, James pulled out one last container, which held two thick slices of tiramisu. I can confirm, Antonio has excellent taste buds to go with his excellent taste in friends.

After dinner, I offered to do the dishes. It was the least I could do. I took all of the dirty dishes to the common kitchenette on this floor. James followed me and helped by drying everything.

Oddly enough, it actually started to feel like a real date. James was tender and loving and made me realize Antonio was a lucky guy. I had no physical attraction to him, but I was getting more comfortable just being with him.

When we were alone in the kitchen, James asked, “So D, why did you join this role-playing group?”

“My own life was boring,” I explained. “I figured I could get more enjoyment out of living vicariously through others.”

“How has that been so far?”

“It’s been great.”

“Who have you been?”

“I was Morgan for a night. Then I was Jasmine for a week.”

“And now you’re going to be Antonio this week.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I give you some advice?”

“Sure. Anything would be helpful. I haven’t read his journals yet.”

“Antonio is about confidence. Even if you’re nervous. Portray confidence. People look up to him. They will look up to you. They want to see a rock. They want to see a leader.”

I nodded. “I look forward to trying.”

After we returned to my room, we decided to watch TV. There was a new movie on Netflix that James wanted to see. 

He sat right next to me on the couch, but still gave me my personal space. 

I was comfortable enough now to place my hand on top of his.

He looked at me and beamed with happiness, which in turn made me feel great.

There was, of course, something that was bothering me about this situation. “James, how are you not bothered by dating someone different each time there’s a swap?”

He hesitated as if he was holding something back. “Fair question. I’m not bothered because it hasn’t mattered. Sure, when a new member joins - like today with you - it's a little awkward. But after a while I can’t tell who is who. So, I’m just back to dating Tony again.”

“You can’t? I thought everyone is supposed to bring their own individuality with them.”

“Well... I can tell - and they do bring some personalization. But at some point I can’t tell any of you apart from the real Antonio - because your customizations become part of who Antonio is. To me, at least. Tonight was fun, I got to date someone entirely new.”

“Hey, James, I have another question.”

“Anything.”

“You called us a couple. But in my journal you’re called ‘on and off again’.”

He sighed.

“Technically we’re in an open relationship. I just can’t stay away.” He chuckled. “Your - or rather Antonio’s - official position is that it's for my own good because I shouldn’t be dating a member of your group. In fact, I largely suspect the times we’re ‘off again’ are because you’re either M or the straight guy.”

“G?”

“Yeah. And now we have another straight guy.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“But James, what do you want?”

He was now stroking my hand. Perhaps out of habit. “I love you and I’ll do anything for you. Including seeing other people if that’s what you really want.”

“Well I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’m new and trying to get the lay of the land. I can’t speak for the others, but you seem to be a good boyfriend. I hope when A decides to stop swapping, you two will be happy together.”

As we continued to watch the movie, I tried to reconcile what James just told me with J’s first person account. She seemed to relish being everyone else over being Jasmine.

That made me a little worried. After all, I wasn’t ready to go back to Daniel yet, but I couldn’t see myself completely abandoning my former body.

When the movie was over, it was time for James to leave. 

“Good luck tomorrow,” he said. “You’ll do great.”

“I don’t know, I was able to be Jasmine last week, being Antonio is a completely different task.”

“I’m sure it’s not as different as you imagine. Besides, you’ll do great because you’re Antonio. Remember, bring his confidence with you.”

I smiled. “Thank you for dinner, James. It was delicious.”

“Good night,” he said. He leaned in, and I offered my cheek to him.

“Good night.” I said, as he lightly kissed me.

I spent the rest of the night reading through Antonio’s journals. What was weird was that nowhere did it mention that James knew about the Guild. Clearly he knew about it and its members. And Lauren seems to know something. It begs the question - how many others know about it?

* * *

I woke up to the preset alarm on my phone. I’m not going to lie, it was kinda nice being in the body of a guy again. Getting ready in the morning was easy. After a quick shower, I was ready to get dressed.

Antonio dresses in a preppy male style. A polo shirt and slacks. Polos and button down shirts were essentially all he had in his closet. The only choice I really had was which color. The only T-shirts I found were of the free kind. The kind with event names and sponsors plastered all over them. So, I picked a forest green polo shirt with the university logo on it. I paired that with a pair of beige khaki pants.

I walked to class reminding myself I was Antonio. I held my head high, smiled, and tried to exude an air of confidence.

People would walk past me and say hi. Girls would smile at me. Guys would come up and shake my hand. Many people wanted my time and to chat with me about something they needed help with, but I needed to be in class. I had to promise I’d get with them later.

Antonio’s classes were nowhere near as difficult as Jasmine’s classes. Political Theory, Economics, World Affairs. Sure, most of it was dry, but at least I understood all of the terminology. 

After class I headed over to the student activities offices. In addition to soliciting sponsorships for the block party, I had volunteered to submit the permit for space on the quad. After James left, I spent a good portion of last night and during class rehearsing what I was going to say in my head.

On my walk back from class, my cell phone buzzed. It was a group text from the group. Morgan was asking Sydney to borrow the car. Then a reply from Sydney that she could give her three hours but she had to be somewhere that evening.

I found these casual swaps interesting. Borrowing a body was no different than borrowing the car.

I arrived at the office for campus activities. 

The girl at the desk looked up and recognized me. “Hi, Antonio!”

“Good afternoon,” I greeted her. I looked around for something that would give away her name. I couldn’t find anything.

“What kind of cool thing are you doing today?” she asked.

“Well, RHA is putting on a block party next month,” I replied, handing over the permit.

She looked at it, and started typing on her laptop. “This looks like fun.”

My previous interactions with Antonio were such that he always seemed to be flirting with… everyone. Men and women. “You should totally come.” I gave her the famous Antonio smile.

She looked at me and blushed. “Maybe I will.”

“Everyone is welcome,” I bragged. “In fact - they’re putting me in the dunk tank.”

“You? In the dunk tank?” 

“Hmm,” I could feel her eyes look me up and down. I’m sure her imagination is running wild. I can at least confirm that Antonio is in great shape with a very visible six-pack he keeps hidden behind these polos and button down shirts. 

She was done typing and looked at me. “All done!” She then wrote something on my permit and stamped it.

I looked at it and saw her name. Tia. And her phone number. “Thank you so much, Tia.” I said.

“Anything for you, Antonio.” She smiled and winked at me.

My next stop was hitting up different student organizations to sponsor us. I pulled out Antonio’s solicitation letters and walked into the first office.

Which was ironically the Kappa Nu Tau office. I took one step in, and saw Aiden sitting there by himself. I was glad I wasn’t Jasmine at the moment.

I was about to say, “Wrong office,” and turn around, when he said, “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” I said, putting on my best smile. “I’m looking for sponsors for-”

“Wait - you’re Antonio Bradford.”

“That’s me.”

“It’s good to finally meet you.” Aiden came over and shook my hand firmly. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, RHA is looking for sponsors for our block party.”

“A block party on campus? Rad.”

“All of our sponsors will be proudly displayed throughout the event.” Just looking at this guy creeped me out.

“RHA? That’s for the people in the dorms right?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “We typically don’t cosponsor things with the dorms. It's kind of a conflict of interest for us.”

I had to remind myself how I acted with Tia. Antonio flirts with everyone. Including people like Aiden. In fact, people like Aiden are likely looking to have their egos stroked a little. I also bet Aiden has a rivalry with the other frats.

“Oh, I get it.” I said as I turned to the door and paused for effect. “I was about to ask the Sigmas anyway.”

“The Sigmas?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “They’re partnering with us next semester to help with Rush.”

He looked at me with bulging eyes. “W-Which Sigmas? Sigma Rho Chi or Sigma Alpha Gamma?”

Shit. “Umm.. both.” 

“Seriously?”

“It’s going to be big,” I lied.

“Um, how much for a sponsorship?”

I handed him the letter, being sure to touch his hand with mine, then stood close enough to him to make him feel just as uncomfortable as he made me feel when I was Jasmine. 

“A partnership between our two organizations would be huge. The Kappas are very influential.” I laid it on thick. “And, there are seven thousand students in the dorms.”

Aiden started slowly nodding as he saw the potential.

“Aiden, this could be huge for you. Think of the reach!”

“Not so fast.” He stopped me. “What else would I get out of this?” he asked.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “I also have some sway with the Senate. You’ve been trying to head up a Greek Row expansion right?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Right. I’m the lead on that.”

I slid my hand to the small of his back and I felt him stiffen up. “I bet with our combined influence we can get the administration to listen to us.”

He nodded harder this time. “Absolutely.”

I noticed he had a clear bandage on his cheek. “What happened there?”

“Oh, this week I was dancing with this girl and we were getting friendly. God, she had a nice firm ass. And then out of nowhere she just slaps me. Them bitches be crazy, am I right?”

God, this guy sucks. “Right. OK, then. You’ve got my sponsorship paper. That paper has my number. Give me a call.”

I walked toward the door. “It was good chatting with you Aiden. I look forward to your sponsorship.”

I walked out of the Kappa Nu Tao office and down to the next one, breathing a sigh of relief and chuckling to myself at the look Aiden gave me. I have no idea how Antonio does this. Just pretending to be an extrovert is draining me.

I made my way from office to office getting all of the sponsorships I needed. The more I chatted with other students, the more I felt like Antonio. The more I felt like I was an influential figure. Of course, it was draining as well. When I got home I crashed hard.

* * *

On Wednesday I realized I had nothing scheduled, nor anything planned. In fact, every day of the calendar was full - except this one. Obviously, I still had my normal classes.

So, I did what was supposed to be my normal Wednesday routine. When I was done getting dressed, there was a knock at the door. I figured it might be James bringing me breakfast.

It was Daniel.

“Daniel, what are you doing here?” I asked my original body.

“I’m so sorry, D,” Daniel said. “I meant to get the stone so I can swap with you for the afternoon. But Gabe still has it, and he’s at practice until late.”

“Oh,” I said. “You need Antonio’s body. His schedule was empty. I didn’t realize.”

“I emptied your schedule for a reason.” He sighed. “It’s your birthday.” 

“My birthday?”

“Actually, my birthday.”

“Your birthday?” I echoed with surprise. “You’re A.”

“Yeah, I’m A.”

“I’m so sorry. Did you have something planned with James?”

“Actually no, I have plans to go home. I mean, my mom wants me to come home this afternoon. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but my brother let the cat out of the bag.”

“OK, I suppose I should say happy birthday.”

“Thanks. So - um - I can’t go as I am. I kinda need you. Wanna take a ride?”

“You want to take me home?”

“Well technically you’d be taking me home,” he laughed.

“Right. What about class?”

“Eh, we won’t miss those. We’ll be back for the Guild study sesh.”

“OK,” I said. “Let me just lock up.”

“Then it's a date!” he said smiling. He must’ve seen the concerned look on my face. He put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m joking, D.”

So that’s how I found myself in my own car as a passenger. I offered to drive, but he said he only gets a chance to drive when he’s inhabiting a Guild member with a car, which as of right now, is only Sydney and Daniel.

We didn’t say much until we were off campus and on the open highway. 

“Why doesn’t anyone else know it’s your birthday?” I asked.

“Because I don’t want to make a big deal over it. When people know it’s your birthday, they spend money. They get you gifts. They buy decorations. I’d rather people didn’t do that for me. My family has never had much money, so I tend to feel guilty when people spend money on me.”

“I see.”

Daniel decided to change the subject. “So is being me all it's cracked up to be?”

“I’ve had a busy couple of days. I have no idea how you do it. I’m exhausted.”

“I like to keep busy. Even when I’m in other bodies. I have to remind myself to slow down.” 

“What have you been doing as me?”

“I did all of your homework, typed up the Guild’s minutes, drove your friend Mike to the ER, volunteered at the soup kitchen, hung up flyers for the RA, and studied with Kristy.”

“You volunteered? Wait, why did Mike need to go to the ER? Wait - Kristy from Lit class?”

“Lighter accident. He was drunk and tried to light his farts on fire. Yes, Kristy from Lit class.” 

“Typical Mike. But wow - you’ve only been me since Sunday.”

“I told you, I have to keep moving. It's not in my personality to sit still.”

“Even when you’re role-playing?”

“Even when I’m role-playing. I tell myself to put energy into making the person whose body I’m in… better.”

We pulled onto a dirt road of what appeared to be a series of mobile homes. This appeared to be a poorer neighborhood. I didn’t say anything, afraid of judging Antonio.

“We’re here,” Daniel announced, unbuckling his seatbelt.

I unbuckled and got out of the car as well.

“After you,” he said. “It’s your house. Remember, I’m just your guest.”

I took a deep breath, and tried to channel the Antonio persona I’ve been building up over the past three days. I walked to the home and up the worn wooden steps. I opened the screen door then the main door and walked into the unfamiliar house. It was silent. Too silent.

That’s when a chorus of voices announced, “Happy Birthday!” as people came out from behind furniture and bedrooms.

I jumped back, feigning surprise. “Thank you. Thank you, all!”

A woman in her 50s came over, “Happy Birthday, Tony!” She grabbed my shoulders and gave me a motherly kiss. She looked behind me. “Tony! Manners,” she scolded me, releasing me from the hug. “Who’s your guest?” 

“Hi, Mrs. Bradford,” Daniel said, without waiting for me. “I’m Antonio’s friend, Daniel.”

I felt kind of guilty. He should be in these shoes right now. Not me.

Antonio’s mom looked at Daniel then back to me with a raised eyebrow. “Friend?”

I understood what she was asking. “Just a friend, Mom.” I heard Daniel chuckle behind me.

She walked away as two men, who looked similar to me, approached. They must be Antonio’s older brothers.

“Happy birthday, bro,” one said, holding out his hand. 

I took his hand and he brought me in for a hug. “Thank you.”

The other brother asked, “Were you surprised?”

“Absolutely!” I replied. “I thought you all forgot my birthday and had gone out somewhere.”

There were other people in the house that I slowly went around thanking. Aunts, uncles, neighbors.

I saw Mrs. Bradford take Daniel by the arm. I followed at a distance.

“You’re a new face, honey. I’m so glad Tony is making friends at college. We miss him here.”

“I’ll bet,” Daniel replied.

“He means so much to the community. The things he organizes. The donation drives, the lives he’s touched. We’re so proud of him.”

Daniel didn’t reply.

I wondered how many times Antonio has heard his mom brag, but this might’ve been the first time he heard it with different ears.

Eventually there was a cake. I was told to sit down and get my pictures taken with what looked like a home-made cake with chocolate frosting with a ‘2’ and a ‘0’ candle happily flickering as everyone started singing “Happy Birthday.”

After cake and chocolate chip ice cream, the party guests started to thin. 

I turned to Daniel and whispered to him. “I’m sorry A,” I said. “I’m sorry that I stole your birthday party.”

“You didn’t steal it, D,” he whispered back. “I was here for it. I was here for the old stories, and the looks on my family's faces as they told them about me.”

“They’re extremely proud of you.”

“I know, and I want to continue to make them proud.”

A had such a good relationship with his home and his community, it made me wonder why he was trying to escape it. “A - why are you in the Guild? You could be doing so much more as just yourself. As just Antonio.”

“Because I can help others. Being the other five members gives me even more reach to touch people’s lives.”

“You really can't sit still, can you?”

“Nope. Not at all. Nor can I stand injustice. I want to help as many people as I can. Each life I touch I want to be better than when I found it. You’ll see when you return to your life. I hope the decisions I make while I’m you have a positive impact on your life.”

“You’re only 20, yet you’re the leader of the Guild.”

“They needed a leader when they recruited me. They were so disorganized, with barely any rules. Naturally I stepped up.”

“How so?”

“I don’t want to dwell on the past,” he replied. “Besides the dysfunction, there were some questionable decisions made. We’re safe now because of the rules we made.”

That didn’t really answer my question, but instead made me curious what the Guild was like before Antonio.

We eventually left, and I resumed my life as Antonio. We went straight to the library for our weekly study session. Nobody there knew it was Antonio’s birthday. I know A preferred it that way, but I wondered what would’ve happened if they knew? At the bare minimum, people would wish me a happy birthday. And maybe more cake.

Chapter 7 - Morgan

Being Antonio felt like the longest week ever. It was exhausting always being on and happy and pushing myself to be sociable with everyone. I talked to every student organization and every influential student I could find. I met with the university administration and spoke about the block party in front of the senate. And I still somehow managed to show up to each of my classes.

Fortunately, I had help to get me through the chaos of each day - my boyfriend, James. He listened whenever I complained, and let me just be me for a few hours. I didn’t have to wear a mask for him. 

On Saturday, James invited me over to play video games. Unfortunately, after the week I’d had, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Instead, we cuddled in front of a TV show and I fell asleep by 8 p.m.

Needless to say, I was ready for a break. That was way too much, too soon, for introverted D. 

At the Guild meeting, on Sunday, I was eager for the next swap. “I call this meeting of the Secret Guild of Body Swappers to order,” I announced and banged the gavel. “First on our agenda is New Business. The floor is open.”

Morgan raised her hand. “How are you doing D?”

“That was the busiest week of my life,” I admitted. “But, it was also one of the most rewarding. I met so many interesting people, and came out of my shell. One girl even gave me her phone number.”

The other members chuckled and nodded their heads in agreement. Gabriel added a fist bump and a “Way to go, man! Too bad you’re gay.”

I smirked and shrugged my shoulders. “Still a win for me.”

“May I suggest you swap with Morgan next?” Sydney suggested. “You were her for a night already, and being in the same apartment with Jasmine could give you back some sense of familiarity and normalcy.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to be me yet,” Gabriel advised. “I have a big game on Saturday.”

“I suggest you actually study up on being Gabriel while you’re Morgan,” Daniel added. “Then you can be him next.”

“What do you say?” Morgan asked me. She was sucking on a lollipop and looked at me intently with a smirk.

“Sure,” I smiled. I’m not going to lie, being Morgan again actually sounded nice.

Gabriel handed Morgan the stone, and Morgan stood up next to me. 

The redhead held out her hand with the stone, and I held on to her to initiate the swap. I closed my eyes and held onto a chair for stability. 

Seconds later, when I reopened them, I was looking up at Antonio. I looked down at my manicured and polished hands and I felt a certain familiarity at being Morgan again. I also had the weird sensation of having a lollipop suddenly appear in my mouth.

“Can I have that back?” Antonio asked.

“Oh, right,” I said, taking the lollipop out of my mouth and handing it to him.

He put it in his mouth and enjoyed it like the swap never happened. Weird.

“I can take that,” Gabe said, reaching out towards me for the stone.

I tossed the stone at him, and his eyes went wide as he caught and pocketed it.

“Careful there,” he cautioned. “We don’t know if the stone would break from falling, and we don’t have a backup.”

I nodded in embarrassment, and muttered, “Sorry.” I then took a seat as Antonio continued the meeting. 

I took a moment to examine my outfit. I hadn’t seen Morgan’s wardrobe last time. And realistically, I was naked for a good portion of that night anyways. A sly smile crept onto my face. I was wearing a teal tunic with black leggings and ankle boots. A cute outfit for a cool fall day.

“Anyone else today?” Antonio asked.

Sydney raised her hand and asked, “Can I be Jasmine?”

“Hey,” Jasmine whined. “I was hoping to be Jasmine for another week.”

“Well, I invoke Rule 4 then. I’m J.”

“Aww,” Jasmine looked disappointed. Rule 4 was the rule where the owner of the body could reclaim it unconditionally. Apparently J wanted to be Jasmine again.

Antonio looked at the girls. “Do we need proof?” He then looked at the rest of us. “J?”

Everyone else, including me, shook their heads.

“She can have her,” Jasmine said disappointedly, taking the stone from Gabriel.

I watched intently as Jasmine and Sydney swapped. When they parted, Jasmine sauntered by and winked at me before taking a seat right next to me. I got the distinct impression J wanted to be Jasmine again because I was her roommate.

My suspicions were confirmed as I felt her hand on my stockinged leg, slowly caressing me.

Even though the Guild meeting was going on, I was getting wet and wanted nothing more than to go back to our apartment.

“Sydney?” Antonio asked. “Would you like to be Daniel instead?”

“Nah, not this time.” Sydney said. “I don't want to wait for the cool-down period. Besides, I haven’t been Syd in a while, it’d be nice to catch up.”

Antonio looked at Daniel. “Are you OK staying as Daniel? I’ve already been Daniel.”

Daniel shrugged. “Another week won’t hurt. It's a nice, quiet change of pace.”

It’s weird hearing my original life referred to as a “quiet change of pace.”

* * *

On the walk back from the library, Jasmine held my hand. J and I hadn't really reconnected since I was Jasmine a week ago. I wondered if she liked me. But that would break Rule 5, wouldn’t it? I put that thought out of my mind and instead enjoyed the walk with my roommate. It was a nice stroll though campus. 

I casually checked her out. She was wearing a cute lacy low-cut white blouse and skinny jeans. I remember seeing that exact blouse in her closet. She looked good in it. 

Jasmine was the first to break character. “So D, tell me how did the last week and a half go? How was it being me? Or Antonio?”

“Well, being you was fun, I suppose. Being a girl was new and exciting. At the same time, scary because the predators made themselves known.”

“Yeah, that part sucks. The guy at the mixer?”

“Yeah, Aiden.”

“Wait - Aiden from Kappa Nu Tau?”

“Yeah - that’s him.”

“What a sleazebag. I’ve run into him multiple times as different Guild members.”

“Yeah, I ran into him as Antonio, too.”

“Did he do anything to you as me?”

“No, no. Like I said at the gym, he raised a whole bunch of red flags. He had such a creepy vibe. I left that party so he didn’t have an opportunity to do more.”

“I’m glad nothing bad happened.”

“I supposed we could ask Sydney if anything happened last week.”

“If so, I’m sure it will be in my journal.”

There was a lull in our small talk, so I decided to ask her a question. “I was wondering what it was like being yourself for a change?”

She giggled. “It’s a little weird. It’s familiar and comfortable. But at the same time I know it had its own life while I was gone. It’s like coming home, but there’s been some new decor added.” She ran her hands over her shirt and jeans. “I didn’t buy these clothes.”

“They look good on you.”

“They do.” She smiled at me.

When we got home, Jasmine unlocked the door and held it open for me. I was reminded of this exact scene from two weeks ago when I first became Morgan.

Jasmine followed me inside and closed the door. She briefly looked around.

“Welcome home,” I said with a warm smile.

She chuckled. “Would you believe I’ve never been here as myself?”

“What? Really?” I said in astonishment.

“I’ve been here as Morgan, though. I just haven’t been Jasmine all semester.”

“That’s gotta be so weird for you.”

“A little bit.” She nervously crossed her arms under chest, pushing her perfect breasts up.

“Why did you choose now to be yourself?” I asked, trying to keep my eyes locked with hers.

“I mean - I haven’t been me all semester. Plus, aside from our study meeting and the gym, I haven’t really gotten to know you. I’ve gotten to know the other Guild members intimately. Since you’re the new girl…” She timidly bit her tongue as her eyes finally left mine and wandered down to my chest.

Another awkward pause. I just wanted her to come and ravage me. Or was she wanting me to ravage her instead?

“I uh…,” I stammered. “I should read Morgan’s journal.”

“I should do the same with mine. I haven’t read it in a long time.”

I blushed, suddenly remembering what I wrote in her journal.

We both smiled as we retreated to our respective rooms.

Why was Jasmine so nervous? Is it because she was back in her original body? 

Morgan’s journal was actually a digital document on her computer. I clicked the file open.

Morgan Walsh, 20-year-old third-year communications major. She’s originally from Michigan. She has older brothers and played a lot of sports in high school. She has an aunt an hour away, who she goes to visit several times a semester.

I was interrupted by a knock at the door. Again? This felt like a repeat from last week when I was trying to read up on Antonio and was interrupted by James. I walked to the door and opened it.

Standing there was a teenage girl and a middle-aged woman. Neither of which I recognized.

“Hi,” I said.

“Is my daughter here?” the older woman sneered.

Wait a second - I recognized that voice.

“Mom?” I heard Jasmine say from her room. She joined me at the door. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean ‘what am I doing here?’” Jasmine’s mother snapped back. “We’ve been calling your cell phone all day. I told you we’d be in town and we should do lunch.”

Jasmine pulled her cellphone out of the back pocket of her short shorts. I noticed that it was off and Jasmine was frantically turning it back on. “That bitch!” she whispered only loud enough for me to hear. She turned her attention to her family. “I’m so sorry, but it's good to see you!” Jasmine hugged her sister. “Willow! I missed you!”

I looked at Mrs. Davis and held out my hand. “Hi, I’m Morgan.”

She gave me a judgemental expression and turned away from me. Apparently her personality over the phone actually is representative of her in-person personality.

“Let me get my purse and we can go to dinner,” Jasmine said, running back to her bedroom.

I watched her come back. She looked at me with a regretful grin, then left with her mom and sister.

A few minutes later, my own phone buzzed. It was a QuikChat group message from Jasmine to the rest of the Guild. “Screw you, Syd!”

Then a quick reply from Sydney. “Sorry, Jaz! I was actually looking forward to that free dinner from your mom.”

I chuckled at the thought of planning something, but then swapping before you get to enjoy that thing you planned.

Meanwhile, I continued reading Morgan’s journals and getting to know the girl I’d be for the next week. Surprisingly, I knew some of this from my time as Jasmine. Her schedule was rather simple. She had Public Speaking and Communication in the Digital Age on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Women in Communication and Intro to Theatre on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

* * *

Eventually Jasmine came home, slamming the door. “I hate that witch!”

“How was dinner?” I asked, though judging by her attitude, I’m pretty sure I knew the answer.

“You’d think after a month of not being Jasmine, I'd come to appreciate my own mother. But no, she’s just as cruel as ever!”

“I’m sorry for hanging up on her when I was you.” I said. I’ve been harboring that guilt for two weeks.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s nobody's fault but her own. She’s been like this all my life. Never really letting me be myself. I’m glad I found the Guild. I’m glad I get to experience other lives. Normal families. I’m grateful you all pitch in and handle my mother from time to time.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “I need to go read my journals. Hopefully former-me didn’t leave me any more surprises.”

I retreated back to perusing my pre-completed homework and listening to Morgan’s music choices on my earbuds.

About ten minutes later, Jasmine returned.

“Hey D,” Jasmine said, knocking on my door frame.

“What’s up?” I looked up. I pulled out the earbuds, and instantly got worried. She used my initial instead of “Morgan.” This must be serious.

“So,” she said with a coy smirk on her face. “The hottest sex I’ve ever had, huh?”

Busted. “You read your journal,” I replied flatly.

“Isn’t that something only I can judge?”

“Well, it was only my second time having sex. I wasn’t lying.” Not only that, I’m not extremely embarrassed. After all, that was her body I did it with, and I’m just a stranger. “I’m so sorry for having sex in your body. Please don’t hate me.”

“I don’t hate you D,” she giggled. “I thought it was funny and cute.”

“You did?”

“Besides, I’m glad you were enjoying yourself. Hey, so I'm curious. You said you were a virgin before meeting us?”

“Um, yeah,” I said sheepishly.

“Where umm… did you… um… learn all of that?”

I turned yet a deeper shade of red. “I umm… saw this fantasy book that looked really good. I started reading… but what I didn't realize was that it was actually an erotic story… and um… I didn’t stop reading it.”

Jasmine giggled some more. “I love you, D. Please don’t change.” She then left for her own room.

I felt really embarrassed. Here I was hoping we’d have sex when we got home. I guess not. I should get up and march over to her room and say, “Do you want me to show you what we did?” But, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

* * *

I’m quickly realizing that one of the most exciting moments of my time with the Guild is when I pick out my outfit for the next day. At least when I’m one of the women. Despite being a sharp-dressed man, Antonio week was rather dull compared to my time dressing as a woman.

Morgan’s closet didn’t disappoint. Her clothes were bolder and more flattering. All of her casual clothes were put away in drawers that I only saw Morgan wear on lazy days. When she went out, she was always stylishly dressed.

I saw a dress on Morgan during the week I was Jasmine that I absolutely wanted to try out. I skimmed her closet, found it, and pulled out the bright yellow swing dress. I paired this with polka-dot stockings and black high-heeled ankle boots. Just seeing my outfit laid out on my bed made me excited for the morning.

In the morning when I put it on, it was everything I hoped for. The dress felt shorter than it looked. Jasmine said I looked hot, and I noticed she couldn’t take her eyes off my legs during the whole shuttle ride to school. I got plenty of other stares on the shuttle and in my classes. At first, the constant glare of men would make me uncomfortable, but even that became fun. 

There was just something about being Morgan. There were also glances by women. Some gave me a knowing smile. Some got embarrassed that I might have awoken something in them. It seemed I had a magic power over both men and women. What I liked most was the confidence it gave me. Every eyeball on me made me smile. Every lustful stare gave me power over them. Hell, it made me horny too. After a certain point, I desperately wanted to go home and pleasure myself.

* * *

Monday afternoon, I was home first. I knew from my time being Jasmine that she had two more classes before she came home, so I had our apartment to myself. 

I also had a strong feeling I could find a vibrator in one of my drawers. I was horny and pent-up and wished Jasmine was here to release all of my pent-up lust.

Almost on cue, there was a knock at the door. I knew I wasn't expecting any guests, and any guest for Jasmine would know she was in class.

I opened it and was surprised to see Lauren standing there. She was dressed sexily, with a short skirt and crop-top revealing both her midriff with her cute belly button, and a cavern of cleavage I could get lost in. It was very different from what I usually saw her wearing.

“Uhh… umm,” I stammered, confused, attempting to keep my eyes glued to hers. “Jasmine’s got class right now.”

“I know,” she said, pushing herself into my apartment. “We only have an hour.”

“For what?” I said, looking at the alluring sorority girl. 

She rolled her eyes and huffed in annoyance. “You know…”

“No, I don’t know.”

She impatiently fidgeted, then mumbled, “Make me like Jasmine. Make me your sex slave.”

I kinda wish I was looking at my face, because I’m sure it was painted in shock. Sex slave? Jasmine’s best friend? Why wasn’t this in the journal? Does she know about this? Or anyone else in the Guild, for that matter? Nah, someone in the Guild had to have known. Who was Morgan last?

“Sorry, Morgan,” she said, looking down in embarrassment. “I know you want me to role-play. I’m just not good at this.”

Good at role-playing? What’s going on here? Honestly, I was intrigued and I wanted to see where this could lead. “Practice makes perfect, I guess.” I shrugged, nonchalantly.

Lauren closed her eyes, paced back and forth in front of the closed door, and wrung her hands. Like an actress getting ready to go on stage, she shook out her nerves and tried to get into character. Her breathing increased. Her eyes then snapped open and she looked at me. “You’re not going to make me a clone of Jasmine!” she vowed, petulantly stomping her foot. Her mock anger was adorable.

Oh, this was going to be good. “A clone?” I echoed, slowly walking over to her, my hips swaying seductively. My eyes bored through hers, all the way to her soul.

Her acting got a little more enthusiastic as she backed away from my advances. Eventually her back was to the door. “Stay away. Your hypnotic powers aren’t going to work on me!” She put her hand on the door knob as if to flee, but made little effort to open it.

I tried not to giggle, but I think I understood her role now. “Do you think you can resist me? That’s what Jasmine said. That’s what all the girls said,” I snickered. 

She whimpered. It wasn’t a whimper of fear, but one of desire. Lauren was getting off on this.

Hell, so was I.

I had so many questions. How long have they been doing this? Who knows about it? Does Lauren know the real reason Jasmine is Morgan’s roommate, or is this part of the act? The more pressing question is what does Lauren actually expect me to do? How do I “hypnotize her into being my sex slave?” Do we have a safe word? Can I make one up? Can it be ‘pancakes’?

Then I realized something. Of course. This was as much a game for Guild members as it was for Lauren. She was the prey and I was the predator. It was up to me to conduct the hunt. That’s why this was never written in the journal and why it was never discussed at Guild meetings. 

Oh, God, so it's likely Jasmine knows as well. I wonder if Jasmine has turned her best friend into her sex slave at least once too? Fantasizing about that possibility was only making me hornier.

Well, I’m not going to lie. I was already horny when I came home, but this Lauren role-play is pushing me over my limit. If it’s a game, then I’ll gladly play it.

“Lauren,” I purred, slinking towards her. “Look into my eyes.” I remember reading a fantasy where one of the villains could hypnotize people with their eyes.

She did as I instructed.

“You’ll notice my irises pulse with a green glow. Can you feel your heart beat in time with them?”

“No,” she moaned, not taking her eyes off of me. Not turning the doorknob.

“My pupils are an endless pool, still and inviting,” I said. “Dive in, Lauren.”

“I won’t,” she faltered, her refusal lacking conviction.

“You feel your resistance start to waiver. They’re pulling you in. My eyes are sooo deep.”

“Sooo deep…” she echoed, her voice slurring.

Oh my God, she’s playing along with this. My sex quivered and I could feel a hot dampness in my panties. “Yes, that’s it. So deep. The deeper you plunge into my pool, the more you’re mine.”

“No, I… I must resist!” she pleaded, feebly pushing against me while attempting to turn her head aside.

“It's too late for you, Lauren," I cackled, grabbing her chin and gently turning her eyes back towards mine. “You came here willingly. You walked into my apartment. You’re already under my control. The more you fight it, the tighter my control becomes.”

“No,” she whimpered, her knees giving way, her body slumping against the door.

I leaned into her, my breath hot against her ear, and whispered, “Yes.”

I then started backing away from her and gave her a devious smile. “It’s too late for you already, Lauren. You can’t resist me. You’ve already fallen too deep.”

“Too deep,” she repeated hypnotically.

“Come to me,” I commanded, as I kept walking backwards. 

She complied and followed, taking slow, unsteady steps as if she lacked control over her body.

“As your resistance crumbles, you feel compelled to finger yourself.”

She stuck one of her hands down her skirt, her fingers tracing slow circles.

I can’t believe this is working. “The more you touch yourself the more your resistance fades away to nothing.”

Her mouth opened and she let out a moan as her fingers worked their magic behind her skirt and panties.

“Who else knows about me?” I demanded, pretending to be a villainous mastermind.

“No one,” she cried. “Just me.”

“Perfect,” I gloated. “Your resistance is gone. There’s nothing left. You are drawn to me. You need me.” Now my own back hit the wall.

She kept slowly coming towards me.

“You’re mine now. Just like Jasmine. My two perfect playthings.” I wrapped my arms around her waist. “Tell me what you are.”

“I’m your sex slave,” she moaned, her fingers moving faster.

“Louder!”

“I’m your sex slave!”

“Just like Jasmine.”

“Just like Jasmine.”

I glanced down at her lips as she closed her eyes. Our lips met and I instantly tasted the sweet, fruity taste of her lip gloss. I dug my fingers into her waist and pulled her in tightly as I pried her mouth open with my own.

She eagerly fell into my arms as our tongues danced with each other.

As I contemplated our next move, I realized my bedroom was too far away. I wanted her, no, I needed her, right here and now. My reward for playing this game. I slipped my hands under her crop top and started to push it upwards. She pulled her hand out of her skirt and raised her arms, as I slid it over her head and tossed it to the side.

We stopped kissing for a moment and she stood motionless, gazing into my eyes for further instruction.

“Remove my dress,” I ordered her.

I could feel her wet fingers rub against my bare skin as she slipped the straps off my shoulders, pulling my dress down my body and letting it pool at my feet.

“And now your skirt.”

Eager to comply, she swiftly tugged it over her hips, letting it fall into the growing pile of clothing on the floor.

“You’re being a very well-behaved sex slave, Lauren. But you must pledge your total obedience to me. And only me. Do you understand, pet?”

“Command me, Morgan.”

“No!” I yelled. “You will address me only as Mistress. Now. Do you understand, pet?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Kneel.”

She did as she was told. Our eyes met and I could see the hunger and lust burning in her eyes.

I ran my fingers through her brunette hair and then pushed her head to my panty-clad pussy.

She didn’t need any more direction as she grabbed my legs and forced her mouth in between them.

She hungrily put her lips to my panties. A few soft kisses at first, before she passionately started licking them and taking them in her mouth, as if the thin fabric wasn’t there.

I let out a moan as I felt her mouth over my clit. I held her head. “You’re doing great, my pet.”

In fact, she was doing too well. My legs started to tingle and get weak. I needed to find a better position.

I pushed her away, then walked to the couch. She began to whimper. I peeled off my wet panties and splayed my legs open for my new sex slave. “You may satisfy your thirst now. Come, and drink of my sweet nectar.”

She stayed on her knees and crawled to me. She dove into my pussy and started to eagerly eat me out.

“My my, someone was thirsty,” I panted, while I stroked her brunette hair. Actually, I was too. I just can’t believe Jasmine’s best friend is eating me out.

She continued to use her lips, tongue, and fingers to pleasure me.

“You’re doing great, my pet.”

After I came a second time, I decided to turn the tables. “You did great. You have earned a reward from me. Do you want a reward, my pet?”

She looked at me, saliva and sex juices dripping down her chin, and nodded eagerly, an image of which was now burned into my memory forever. I definitely won’t be able to look at her in the same way ever again.

“What would you like for a reward?”

Her eyes went wide and her nostrils flared as she trailed her hands down her body, into her panties, and started rubbing circles around her clit again.

I patted the couch and got up so we could trade places.

Sitting down on the couch, she hooked her thumbs under the band of her panties and looked up at me for permission. I nodded in assent, and she slid them off and opened her legs for me. Wiggling her ass from side-to-side, she began to lewdly mash her breasts through her bra. I could see the anticipation all over her face. 

I nestled my head between her legs, my hot breath on her hot sex. “Do your sorority sisters do this for you?”

She shook her head. “No… Mistress,” she whispered slowly, as if in a trance.

“Then maybe I should order you to bring them to me so I can make them my sex slaves, too.”

Her eyes popped open, and she stared at me in shock, breaking character. 

Was that too far? Maybe, but her expression of shock didn’t last long as I started slowly licking her clit.

Within minutes she had her legs wrapped around my neck, screaming out, “Mistress! Mistress! Thank you, Mistress!” 

When we were completely spent, she laid down on the couch and I joined her, spooning my new pet.

As we laid there, catching our breath, she lifted her wrist to look at her smart watch.

“Shit! Jasmine’s going to be home in ten minutes!” she exclaimed, jumping off the couch.

I leaned up on my elbow and watched her frantically get dressed.

When she reached the door she turned back around to me. “Same time next week?”

“Absolutely, my pet,” I smiled.

* * *

When I saw Jasmine later that evening I asked, “So, when was the last time you were Morgan?”

She looked at me and smiled a knowing grin. “At the beginning of the semester.” She then giggled, “So, how was Lauren?”

“You know?”

“It’s one of our best-kept secrets,” she explained. “We don’t share so we can keep it fresh.”

“That was so hot,” I admitted.

“I know, right? I feel kinda guilty about it knowing she’s my best friend. But I’ve had a crush on her since we were like, sixteen, and she would never admit she was bi. She still doesn’t.”

“So, you’ve had sex with your best friend?”

“I’ve had her screaming my name,” she giggled.

I giggled too. “You mean, the name of the body you were in - Morgan, right?”

“No, literally - my name - Jasmine. We once role-played that I was Jasmine and she was eating out her best friend.”

“Wait,” I said, leaning up. “So you were role-playing Morgan, role-playing Jasmine?”

“I know, right?” she giggled. “Isn’t joining the Guild so much fun?”

Fun? If every day is like today, I may never swap back.

* * *

That night we got another guest. This time they were invited and expected. Gabriel came inside holding a few large binders stuffed full of papers.

“Hi, Gabe!” Jasmine said, running up and giving the big guy a hug.

He turned to me. “So, you want to be me next?”

I nodded. “Yes, I think.” Although, recalling this afternoon, it’s no longer 100%.

“You think? Oh, wait. It’s Monday. How was Lauren?” he laughed.

Jasmine joined in with a girly giggle. I wanted to crawl under the table and hide. My face turning red as a beet told him everything he needed to know.

“Hey, it’s OK,” Gabe assured me. “We’ve all been there.”

“Um, could we please change the subject?” I practically begged.

“Sure. Here’s our playbook,” he dropped the binders on the kitchen counter. “Obviously, I will still be me on Saturday, but we can swap on Sunday. You’ll have the rest of this week to study, then all of next week to actually practice…”

“Sunday?” I questioned. “Are you sure that will be enough time? We could swap Saturday after the game if you-”

“Not a chance,” Gabe cut me off. “I work hard in practice, and even harder out there on the field. Saturday night is for me to let off some steam. Don’t worry D, you’ll do fine. And then next Saturday night will be all yours to enjoy.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

“It meaning ‘being me,’ or it meaning ‘playing college football’?”

“Um, both,” I said sheepishly.

“This is a lot of work,” Jasmine warned me. “But it’s worth the experience.”

I wasn’t sure that was entirely true. I had never played sports, but I suppose I wanted to know what it felt like at least once to say I did.

“We’ll go over the plays and terminology first,” Gabriel said. “I, unfortunately, have practice for the rest of the week, so I can’t help you practice. But I’m sure you can run the plays with Jasmine. Muscle memory will get you halfway there. You’ll have to know the plays though.”

I nodded.

He sat down and opened the binders. “OK, D,” he said. “Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me what you know about football.”

* * *

On Tuesday I got a personal text from Sydney. “Hey girl, I'm going clothes shopping this afternoon. I need you to come with me.”

“Sure,” I said, unsure why she texted me of all people. I was trying to figure out who was inhabiting Sydney today. I hadn’t hung out with her since I was Jasmine. Since I know J is back in her own body, that meant Sydney could be anyone. I should really stop trying to figure this out and just enjoy the role.

When Sydney parked in front of my apartment and I got in the car, she made the reason known.

“So, I saw this cute outfit on sale last week that I thought would look great on you,” Sydney announced.

“Me?” I asked. “I thought we’re going shopping for you.”

“It's kinda both,” she confessed. “I’m M. You’re in my body. I need you to model some outfits for me.”

“Oh,” I said. I didn’t know how I felt about playing dress-up with M, but knowing how giddy I got choosing each day’s outfit, clothes shopping could be fun.

During the drive, I decided to chat about being in the Guild. So far, I’ve only had one-on-one conversations with J and A, andI figured it would be nice to add M to that list.

“Being you is crazy,” I confessed.

“Don’t I know it,” she giggled. “Remember, I was Morgan for 18 years.”

“When I’m walking around as you I feel like I’m sex personified. Everyone looks at me with lust in their eyes. Guys and girls.”

“It wasn’t always like that,” she chuckled. “When I first came out as lesbian in high school, I had a lot of people hating me. Calling me cruel names. I was essentially shunned.”

“Then it’s good you left them behind and came to college.”

“That really hasn’t changed. Sure, there’s many more accepting people here, but there are just as many closed-minded people. For example - those Delta girls - they think I’m some kind of seductress.”

I blushed, knowing the things I did as Morgan. That description certainly fit my afternoon with Lauren.

“I mean - they’re right,” she quickly glanced at me and giggled. “But I’m not doing it on purpose.”

“What about Jasmine?”

“OK,” she smiled. “You got me - I did do that on purpose - but she gave me vibes that she wanted me, too.”

“That’s pretty much what she said. How do you do it? I mean in the Guild. It must be rough being a lesbian.”

“It’s actually easier than being a straight guy. Sure, Jasmine is bi, but there isn’t a guy in the picture. Everyone else is either single or into girls.”

“Wait - what about James?”

"True… I've had sex with James occasionally.”

“How does that work? As a lesbian.”

“Honestly, D? Two things. One. It’s just a label. Two, it’s none of anyone’s business who I have sex with.”

“I’m sorry.” I turned red with embarrassment. “You’re right - it’s none of my business.”

“I don’t mean you. We’re in the Guild. We share these things with each other. I mean outsiders. Society. But why are you asking? Are you struggling with your sexuality?”

“Me? No.”

“Your gender?”

“Um, no.” My answer sounded almost like a question.

“D, It’s OK. It’s OK to experiment. Life’s too short to not experiment and find yourself. I know who I am. I know who I’m attracted to, I know who I love. I do have sex with James as Antonio. Not because I’m attracted to him, but because I love him. He’s such a cherished friend, and we’re two consenting adults having fun. Honestly, I’d prefer to have sex with women, but according to A’s rules, women aren't allowed. But sometimes a girl has needs. And when I’m Antonio, James is technically my boyfriend and he’s also a very willing partner.”

“Oh. But James said you both abstain when you’re Antonio—”

"Wait, did James say we abstain from sex when I'm Antonio? Oh, hell no, he didn't. Homeboy loves being feminized when I'm with him.”

“Feminized?”

“Yeah, he lets me treat him like a girl. He gets off on it. He gets to have sex with Antonio, and taste a little bit of BDSM. I get to have sex with a girl. A win-win,” she laughed. “I’m sorry. That’s supposed to be private between me and James.”

“I’ll forget you said anything.”

“Listen, James and I go way back. I met him when we both joined Pride together. He’s a very good friend. While I don’t find him attractive - and he doesn’t find my original body attractive, we’re still like the best of friends.”

“OK,” I said. “This is all new and a bit confusing to me.”

“Did it help any?”

I laughed. “I forgot why I brought it up in the first place. Your life is so cool. Why the Guild?”

“Why not?” she echoed. “I was a role-player before all of this. It’s where I met some of the former Guild members. This is the role-play of a lifetime. I’m having a blast being everyone else - and it sounds like everyone else is having a blast being me.”

* * *

We arrived at the clothing store and I nervously followed my body’s original owner inside.

While I was out of my element, she was bouncing around rack after rack, display after display, like a kid in a candy store.

“Clothes shopping was never a big deal for Daniel. Just get what he needs, and get out,” I explained. “And, I’ve never gone clothes shopping as a woman,” I admitted.

She laughed. “I know. I wanted to be the one to take you for your first time.” She handed me a stack of clothing. “Can you try these on for me?”

“OK,” I said. “Where are the changing rooms?”

She pointed me in the right direction and I took the clothes with me. I stripped down to my underwear and put on the midnight blue leggings and beige sweater. Turning from side to side, I modeled myself in the mirror. The outfit looked cute on me.

“How is it?” Sydney asked.

“It’s cute,” I replied. “I like it. It looks great on me.” I walked out to show off the outfit.

“Damn, girl, that’s nice,” she said. She then handed me another stack of clothes.

I took them and returned to the changing room. This time it was a dark-plaid shirt and a long-sleeve black sweater.

When I showed off this look, Sydney asked, “Are you having fun yet?”

I smiled. “I guess so. I kinda feel like a doll.”

“It’s up to you, do you want to do more?”

I nodded. “I think so.”

Sydney smiled wide. “Good girl.” She then handed me another stack of clothes. 

Then I tried on some boots. And scarves. Before I knew it, our cart was filled with piles of fall outfits - all for me.

I glimpsed a price tag. Shit! “Um, who's paying for this?” I nervously asked my shopping companion.

“Mom and Dad,” she explained. “Pull out your purse. There’s a Discover Card in there under Dad’s name. I’ll give you the PIN after you run it.”

I did as I was told, paid, and walked out of the store and to Sydney’s car.

When I put the bags in the car and sat down in the passenger seat I looked at her. “You know what? That was more fun than I thought it would be.”

“I know,” she said, giving me an all-knowing smile. 

* * *

The next few days went by in a blur. I studied all of Gabriel’s playbooks. Jasmine was a great help when I would need clarification on something.

On Friday afternoon, we decided to go to the intramural fields and practice what I learned.

I would get into a 3-point stance and Jasmine would hike the ball and hand it off to me. I visualized the offensive line blocking where they were supposed to and where the defense was likely to be.

Then on one play, Jasmine played defense. I hiked my own ball and pretended to hand it off to myself. I attempted to juke around Jasmine, but instead she snagged me by my waist and took me down.

While she lay on top of me, she said, “Don’t worry, Gabe is a lot more agile than Morgan.”

“I bet,” I huffed.

“Morgan played softball in high school, unfortunately not track and field.”

We exchanged a moment where our eyes met. “We should, um, run that again,” I suggested.

“OK,” she said, getting up and reaching out a hand to pull me to my feet.

I lined up again and hiked the ball. This time she had me on the ground before I had taken two steps. I looked up at the goddess lying on top of me. “What play was that?”

“It wasn’t in the playbook,” she smiled at me.

Our eyes locked again. I reached up and ran my hand through her silken hair.

She slowly leaned in and our lips met. Then she wrapped her arms around me.

I embraced her too as our tongues danced around.

She pulled away and looked at me apologetically. “I’m so sorry. I’m anxious and timid when I’m in my own body. I let my mother get to me. I was afraid. She kept telling me how being with another girl was a sin. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I wanted to be with you so badly.”

“Then be with me,” I breathed.

We returned to kissing.

Minutes passed before our lips became unlocked. We looked around and realized we weren’t alone and a few passersby were getting a steamy show.

“We should take this inside,” Jasmine suggested.

“We should,” I agreed.

* * *

We walked back to our apartment holding hands. Within minutes of reaching the privacy of our apartment we were tearing at each other’s clothes.

We only made it as far as the living room couch. Same place where I’d hadLauren screaming my name, now where my roommate and I were screaming each other’s.

Jasmine also screamed, “Fuck you, Mom, I’m bi!” That was right before she buried her face into my pussy again.

After sex, as we lay in a pretzel of naked limbs she turned to me and said, “You’re right, D. The hottest sex I’ve ever had.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Sex as a woman was amazing. I wondered when I would finally have sex as a man.

Chapter 8 - Gabriel

I sat there at the Guild meeting in anxious anticipation. The plan was for me to swap into Gabriel. A man who is the complete opposite of Daniel. And after swapping into two women and a gay man, I will be swapping into what from my point of view is the epitome of masculinity.

The current Gabriel, reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts and pulled out the stone. “Morgan, are you ready?”

“Yeah,” I said in anticipation. I placed my small, manicured hand on top of the stone and into the palm of his large hand.

I closed my eyes as I felt the swirl of the body swap.

When I opened them, I was much taller and staring down at the new Morgan. I was just as tall as Antonio, but I was the width of two of him.

The first thing I noticed? My dick twinged looking at the sexy redhead who only moments ago I was. Yup, I’m a guy again.

Morgan and I took our seats and the Guild continued with more swaps.

Daniel, who didn’t swap last week, was eager to move on. Since whomever Sydney was hadn’t yet been Daniel, she volunteered to swap with him.

Then Jasmine, who no longer had me as a roommate, and was likely fed up being herself for a week, decided to swap with Antonio.

And just like that, the six of us were all now in different bodies than the ones we occupied when we walked into the library.

* * *

The football team is assigned to its own set of dorms across the street from Daniel’s. On my walk home, I noticed the looks people would give me. Those who recognized me smiled, complimented me on a great game, and wished me luck next week. Those who didn’t know me, silently gave me a wide berth. After all, I was an imposing, if not intimidating, figure. Being Antonio for a week gave me a taste at being an on-campus celebrity. Being a sports star felt similar, yet different. I was larger than life, and people treated me as such.

I walked into my dorm and my apparent roommate was there, lying on his bed in a nest of disheveled sheets and blankets, watching TV.

“Hey, Turbo, how was the library?” He asked, looking up at me.

Turbo? “Good books,” I awkwardly replied.

“What is it you read there every week?”

I had no response, and I didn’t know what explanation previous Gabriels had said. So I shrugged and walked to my desk.

Gabriel keeps his journal on a tablet that’s facelocked. I opened it and started reading.

Gabriel Rameriz is a 20-year-old, 3rd-year student on a football scholarship. This year he is one of two starting running backs for the football team. He’s got a large family of brothers and sisters who come to all the home games, and even some of the away games.

His roommate is Derek, a 21-year-old who is looking to be drafted in the spring. Derek was actually taller than me.

In order to go to Sunday Guild meetings, Gabe typically sneaks out or claims he has to go to the library to read comic books. On Wednesdays, he pretends the Guild study session is a class. I’ll remember that for next time Derek asks.

Two weeks ago he met a girl at a post-game party. I remember this was brought up for a vote during a meeting when I was Antonio. They had one date last week. They haven’t had a second date yet because of Gabriel’s busy practice and game schedule.

There wasn’t much else in his journals. His time is mostly all eat, sleep, gym, football. This made me wonder how he even met the members of the Guild.

“Yo, let’s grab dinner,” Derek suggested.

My stomach growled in agreement. “Yeah, I’m starving.”

I followed Derek to the dining hall. We got in line and I grabbed one of each food. 

Derek, who was in front of me, looked at my tray. “Not hungry today?

I looked down at my tray. Here I was thinking that I got a lot. How much does Gabriel usually eat? “I’m watching my weight,” I chuckled.

“Yo, don’t let Coach hear you say that.”

I was speechless. Only an hour in, and I realized I was leading a very different lifestyle than I was used to.

I followed Derek and we sat down at a table with other football players. Actually, there was more than one table. They spent as much time horsing around as they did eating. 

There was one guy at the other table who was catcalling girls who walked by. “Hey honey,” he said as a girl walked past their table and then ours.

I hate that shit. As Daniel I just ignored it because I had no ability to stand up to those people. What made matters worse is I had to deal with that future sexual predator, Aiden, when I was Jasmine and Antonio, and had to grin and bear it. But now that I’m Gabriel, I bet I can finally say what I’ve always wanted to. “Leave her alone,” I said, my tone dead serious.

“Yo, T, what are you doing?” Derek whispered to me.

Catcaller looked at me, confused as to why I was calling him out. “You know her, Turbo?” He stood up. He was about my height. Maybe not my width, but he was certainly well-built.

“No, I don’t. Does that matter?”

“Maybe you want to take her place? Maybe you have a nice and willing pussy.”

I stood up.

Catcaller stood up as well and puffed up his chest and looked like he was ready to come say that directly to my face.

Derek grabbed my shirt and pulled me back down to the chair. “T, what are you doing? If Coach catches us fighting, we won't play Saturday.”

“Someone has to stand up to that jerk,” I grumbled.

“Do it on the field. Meanwhile, don't let Jenkins get to you.”

I saw Jenkins sit back down and turn his attention back to the people at his table.

It was then I realized I ate everything off my tray and was still hungry.

* * *

The rest of the evening was uneventful. I played some video games with Derek, and listened to music. Studying didn't seem to be a priority. But in the morning, I was awoken by my alarm. In a groggy haze, I thought to myself that this has to be a mistake right? It’s still dark outside. I should go back to bed.

But then I realized I’m Gabriel. And it was time to hit the gym before classes.

The football team has their own private training center, so the only people in the gym were football players. It was a far cry from when I went to the regular gym with Sydney. You could smell the sweaty stench of masculinity in the air, and there was a distinct lack of femininity. I mean, after yesterday’s demonstration during dinner, that was likely a good thing.

I brought a scrap of paper that listed the exercises I was supposed to do. So, I spent the next hour doing squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. What surprised me was how strong I was. Daniel wouldn’t have been able to lift a tenth of this.

After an hour, I headed back to my dorm, took a shower, and headed to class.

Class was easy - very easy. I didn’t bother taking notes at first. But then I realized I likely needed to take notes for G’s sake, not mine.

Then it was off to football practice.

I hated being in men’s locker rooms as Daniel. It was no different here, except I at least looked like everyone else. It’s a shame neither Jasmine or Morgan played sports. Maybe Sydney does. It would be nice to balance this with something else.

At practice I started to learn everyone’s name and position. I learned that the table I sat at yesterday was essentially for the offense. Jenkins was on defense.

Speaking of Jenkins, the first play during scrimmage, he cut my legs out from under me and I fell hard to the ground.

I definitely preferred getting tackled by Jasmine.

The next play, the same thing. The son of a bitch was gunning for me. I pulled my helmet off.

“Turbo, don’t lose your cool,” Leach, the quarterback, warned.

I turned to the lineman who was responsible to block Jenkins. “You gonna block him, or what?” I fumed.

“Sorry, Turbo,” he replied.

I put my helmet back on. The next play was a long shotgun pass so I was to be extra protection for the quarterback. I lined up in the backfield and scanned the defense for Jenkins. Screw the play, it was payback time. I set myself in a blocking stance. As soon as the center hiked the ball the defense blitzed. With a roar I took off running and as Jenkins burst through the line I hit him like a runaway train. The sound of our helmets colliding was like thunder echoing around the practice field. The other players stopped to watch me slam him into the turf, knocking the wind out of him. As the coaches were blowing whistles I grabbed the stunned and wheezing Jenkins by the arm and pulled him up, facemask-to-facemask. “Who’s the pussy, now?” I growled, a ‘don’t fuck with me’ look on my face.

He shoved my arm away and slowly walked back to his side of the line. The offensive coach ran up to me screaming, “What the fuck was that, Rameriz?”

“I-I dunno, Coach,” I lied. “I guess I got carried away. Won’t happen again,” I promised him. I meant it, I didn’t want to cost Gabriel his scholarship.

“It better not, or you’ll sit out Saturday’s game,” he warned. Then he headed into the huddle to talk to the quarterback. That was a close one.

Fortunately, I think Jenkins got the message because the next time I got the ball, I ran through the line like it was Swiss cheese. Jenkins didn’t even try to stop me. 

Was that immature of me? Absolutely. But it at least made me feel better, and maybe Jenkins will think twice next time about catcalling women.

Once I was clear of the defense, I poured on a sudden burst of speed and took off for the end zone. I think I suddenly realized how Gabriel got his nickname. Wow, this athletic body was a real rush. I couldn’t wait for Saturday.

* * *

And this is how it went all week. Eat, sleep, gym, football.

Wednesday afternoon was my old return to my new reality. My mood brightened upon seeing the smiling faces of the Guild. Naturally they all asked how it was going.

“It’s hard and tiring work,” I admitted. “I mean, when I was Antonio I was emotionally exhausted from trying to be an extrovert. But being Gabriel is physically exhausting.”

“Do you want to go back to being me?” Daniel asked.

“No,” I said. “I put over a week’s worth of work into this. I want to see it through.”

When everyone took their seats, Antonio spoke up, “Anyone need any extra help?”

No one said anything.

“Alright - let’s study.”

I got my notes out and Jasmine sat right next to me. I could smell her perfume. It was a flowery scent I wore a couple of times as her. “Hey, big guy,” she purred. She was dressed in a fall sweater, denim skirt, and tights. I recognized her outfit. She was sucking on a lollipop and had the paper stick pursed between her luscious pink lips. She smiled at me. God, I missed that smile. Has it really only been a few days?

“Hey, Jasmine,” I smiled back.

“What do you got for me?”

I leaned back and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “G, I presume?”

“Hmm,” she acknowledged through her lollipop.

“Sorry. I don’t know why I didn’t expect you in one of the girl’s bodies.”

She giggled, “It’s fun being a girl.” She then grabbed her breasts and started fondling them. “Do you miss these?” she teased. Yes. Yes, I do. And judging by the squirming in my pants, so did ‘Turbo Junior’.

“Yo, Jasmine,” Antonio said with a stern look. “Not here. Do that at home.”

“Sorry,” Jasmine giggled.

Antonio shook his head. It was then I remembered that Antonio is really J. That’s gotta be embarrassing.

I looked at Jasmine again. G’s version of Jasmine was so feminine. I couldn’t see any trace of who I thought G would be. I took my notes out for us to review.

“Are you looking forward to the big game?” she asked me.

“Yeah, I’m excited for the experience.”

“There’s really nothing else like it when you run out there for the first time.”

I tried to imagine running onto the field between the rows of cheerleaders and hearing all those screaming fans. The closest I ever came to that was running out for pregame in my high school marching band. “I’m looking forward to it,” I said, grinning.

“How about the plays?” she asked. “There’s a lot to memorize in a short time.”

“Well, I’m pretty good with the running plays-”

“Yeah,” she chuckled, “you’re so big you basically flatten anyone who gets in your way.”

“But the pass plays are confusing,” I continued. “It’s hard to remember which way to run sometimes. Or even knowing if Leach is going to throw the ball to me.”

“Well, first, keep studying the playbook,” she urged. “If I can learn the routes I know you can. And second,” she leaned in like she had a big secret to reveal, “watch Leach when he is calling out the cadence. He’s studying the defense to determine his receiver. Right before the snap, he will tilt his helmet in your direction if he plans to throw your way. It’s subtle, so pay attention.”

“Thanks,” I responded, “I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“Anything else?”

After being Gabe for four days I was curious about something. “G, you seem to have everything going for you,” I began. “Sports, scholarship money, fans, fame, girls, popularity. So, what are you getting out of the swaps?” 

“Me? You’ve met my teammates. All testosterone, all the time. Sometimes you just need a break from all of that.”

I nodded, thinking about my daily routine this week. “I can see that.” I gestured at Jasmine’s clothing and face. “Is that why you go so girly when you’re in a female body?”

“Exactly,” she said, batting her long, dark lashes. “It gives me balance. And to be honest…it’s fun.”

I smiled, thinking about how much fun I’d had as well in Jasmine’s and Morgan’s bodies.

“D, I know you’re an introvert,” she said. “But if you want to survive Saturday’s game, you’re going to need to tap into your primal urge to kick ass.”

I thought about body-slamming Jenkins earlier. “I’ll see what I can do.” 

“All right then - teach me what I missed in class.”

* * *

Nobody could say I didn’t put in the effort. All week I lived and breathed Gabriel’s life and thus football was life. Aside from calls from Gabriel’s parents to wish him luck on Saturday and the Guild’s group texts, I had no other contact outside of the football team.

As I sat in the locker room at the stadium dressed in my jersey and pads I contemplated all of this. Part of me was excited. Part of me wished I was currently any of the other five Guild members. Being them - including Daniel - would be much easier.

Before turning off my phone, there was a group message. “Good luck, Gabe! We’re all at the game today.”

I had an audience. Never mind the twenty thousand spectators in the stands, including Gabriel’s family. Those strangers I could handle. The fact that I had friends in the stands made me much more nervous. Not only were they counting on me, each of them have been right here in these cleats and pads. How would my performance today measure up to theirs?

“You OK, Turbo?” Derek asked.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I'm just visualizing the plays and getting psyched up.”

“Let’s go show the other team whose house this is.” He then slammed his fists on my shoulder pads and let out a primal grunt before running out of the locker room.

* * *

I stood in the tunnel leading out to the field and watched as each offensive star got their name called and they ran out to the field.

Then it was my turn.

“Number 27,” the announcer said, “Gabriel ‘Turbo’ Rameriz.”

I ran out, and the crowd cheered. I raised my arms up as I took in the applause. The crowd was deafening with their cheering. I even heard my name shouted from places all over the stadium. The noise was like adrenalin, giving me a high like I’ve never felt before. I can see why Gabe thrived on the emotions of the crowd. I felt so pumped. What a rush! I was ready to take on the world. And the game hadn’t even started.

After warmups, we all gathered around Coach for any last-minute instructions. He stressed staying focused, but I was too busy looking around at the people in the stands, soaking up as much of their positive energy as I could.

Before I knew it, the game had started. We were on defense first, so I sat on the bench and studied my counterpart in action. How he stood, where he looked, when he moved.

Their drive stalled, which elicited the stadium to erupt in cheers. Now it was the offense’s turn. It was my turn. I didn't want to let anyone down. 

Our first play had me running up the middle, with our line opening up a hole for me. As soon as I had the ball, I charged forward and looked for the gap. It was tiny, and collapsing fast, but I managed to barrel through for five yards before being thrown to the ground. That was the first time in my life I’ve really been tackled. Aside from Jenkins, everyone else was going easy on me in practice. Having several 300 pound defenders crash into - and on top of - me was not a pleasant experience.

I still got five yards though. It was good, but it wasn’t Turbo good. I wanted, no I needed, to do better.

The next play was about the same, but the other back carried the ball while I helped block. He got within a yard of a first down. My turn again. 

This time I ran at the line, then turned sideways and ran toward the outside. I saw a defender coming at me and I instinctively spun around to avoid him. Muscle memory. When I saw an opening I darted forward, picking up eight yards. First down.

I got subbed out for a couple of plays to catch my breath and then right back in.

As soon as the ball was snapped I took off toward the sideline. Then I stopped and turned around. Leach threw a soft lateral to me. I caught it and held on for one agonizing second to draw the defense to me. Then I threw it back to Leach and he heaved a bomb downfield. Derek was wide open. He caught the pass and ran into the end zone. And just like that, we were up 7-0.

As I ran to the sideline, I could feel the adrenaline pumping through me. I felt like a gladiator, putting his body on the line to entertain the crowd.

With the lead, we settled down into a running game, which meant more plays for me. I was getting more comfortable in my role, and was able to carry the ball further. Thanks to our blocking, I was able to pull off runs of 33 and 48 yards.

Disaster struck just before halftime. It was a simple passing play. I was supposed to run out 15 yards and then run across the field where Leach would throw me the ball. I ran out OK, but then turned towards the wrong sideline. Which meant Leach threw the ball to the other team. Five plays later, the game was tied, while I watched from the bench.

I was so mad at myself for letting everyone down. To my teammates' credit, they encouraged me to shake it off. I vowed not to make that mistake again.

We did run that play again in the third quarter, and I made sure to get it right. I caught the pass, then held on as two defenders hit me from opposite sides. That hurt, but I managed to get 19 yards on that play. I felt somewhat redeemed for my earlier mistake.

My next chance for a big play came in the final minutes of the game. Our coaches had spotted a weakness in their defense, and we had a play just waiting to exploit it.

I couldn't wait. As soon as the ball was hiked I ran over like before, and Leach lateralled the ball to me.

As expected, their defense anticipated the same play from earlier and went after Leach. But it was a fake. I just tucked in the ball and took off down the field like a runaway train.

The fans saw what was happening and cheered me on. I turned on ‘Turbo’ mode and was running as fast as I could toward the end zone, but it felt like I was in slow motion. All of a sudden, someone grabbed my legs and pulled me down at the 2-yard-line. Damn! So close.

As I picked myself up my sub checked in and I headed to our sideline for a breather. With a third and goal from the one yard line I went back in.

“Alright, Turbo,” Leach told me before the huddle, “finish what you started. I’ll hand off and you go over the top.”

We broke huddle and lined up tight. I was behind Leach. As soon as the ball was snapped he turned and handed it off to me. I put everything I had into a running leap and hurdled over the tangle of bodies, breaking the plane of the endzone for my first touchdown.

As my teammates pulled me up from the ground, I had a shit-eating grin on my face. The crowd was on their feet, and teammates celebrated with me. What a rush! 

We held them off while time ran out and made our way to the locker room. 

* * *

The locker room was full of laughter and shouting after our win. Coach had a few words to say, but I was so far onto Cloud Nine I didn't hear a thing. I was still in a daze, when we launched into the chorus of our fight song.

I was congratulated on my game play by coaches and players. 

Derek had no words, just a smile as he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a hug.

Even Jenkins came over. “Good game, Turbo,” he simply said.

“Thanks,” I replied with a nod.

I showered and got dressed and walked out of the locker room where someone was waiting for me. Someone who I didn’t expect to actually know me.

“Hey, Gabe,” Ella purred seductively.

Ella? Lauren’s Delta Pi Theta big sister. What is she doing here?

“That was a great game.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

She changed the subject. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you after our date,” she gushed.

Date? Wait - that was her? If I would have known she was the one Gabriel was dating, I would’ve voted ‘No’.

She grabbed my hand. “Do you want to do something? Go out?”

“Well,” I said timidly, “the team is having a victory party.”

“Cool,” she said. “Is it at the Psi house like last time?”

“I think it’s in front of the student union tonight.”

I heard Derek make a comment down the hall. “Uh oh! Turbo, the Ladies Man, is gonna teach all you neanderthals how it's done!”

Ella blushed in embarrassment at the attention. Actually, she’s kinda cute when she’s being modest.

“Don’t worry about my roommate,” I apologized. “He doesn’t get beautiful visitors.” Maybe I should be careful not to overinflate her ego. Then again, she seems to thrive on compliments.

We walked hand in hand from the stadium to the Student Union. It was a pleasant walk. She did all of the talking. Events Delta Pi Theta were putting on. Who’s being a bitch in the Delta house. No mention of Lauren or Jasmine. She certainly liked to hear herself talk. 

“I can’t wait until after football season when you’ll have more time for me,” she finally said.

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I simply responded, “I’m looking forward to it.”

That response at least gave her a smile.

We eventually arrived at the Student Union where a crowd was already starting to form around a DJ.

It was loud there and we kept getting strangers coming up to talk to me.

Ella sighed, seemingly bored with not being the center of attention.

“It’s kinda loud out here, want to go inside?” I said over the music and crowd.

“Sure,” she said, eager to escape the noisy chaos.

I led her into the lobby of the Student Union which was much quieter than outside.

She looked around and whispered to me, “I know where we can be alone.” 

“Oh?” I replied.

Ella pulled me across the lobby and towards a dark stairwell. When we got in, it was dark and only illuminated by emergency exit lighting. That’s when she stood up on her toes to give me a kiss.

I leaned over to make it easier to stand and we started making out. I was still weirded out by making out with this girl who acted so cold to me when I was Jasmine. However, Little Turbo in my pants wasn’t complaining at all. Maybe she’s a different person outside of Delta Pi Theta.

Minutes went by, making me wonder if I should take her home. I have a roommate though. Or would she take me home? To Delta House? That would be interesting.

While I was contemplating that, she broke off the kiss and knelt down in front of me. She unzipped my shorts and pulled out my erect member in one fell swoop. Looks like the question of ‘where’ was settled.

Before I could tell her to stop, she took my dick into her mouth. Did I even want her to stop?

I never got oral before, and the warm wet sensation of her tongue and lips on my dick sent a shockwave of pleasure throughout my body.

She removed it from her mouth and stroked it some more, then teased the tip with her tongue and took the whole thing into her mouth again.

I was starting to see stars, and my legs were getting weak. I leaned up against the wall behind me and cradled her head as it bobbed up and down my shaft.

“I’m going to cum,” I whispered.

That only spurred her on, and she kept sucking as I ejaculated into her mouth. She licked my dick clean.

“I should get going,” she said to me. “The girls are expecting me at the house.”

“I um,” I stammered, putting my dick back into my pants. “See you next week?”

“Maybe,” she smiled. “I’ll text you.” She then blew me a kiss and walked out of the stairwell.

I wasn’t sure what Ella's game was. Was she really into Gabe? It’s not like their two worlds were very compatible. Their schedules certainly weren’t. I couldn't put the idea that she had an ulterior motive out of my head.

* * *

When I finally got back to my dorm, well after the ‘official’ team curfew, I checked my phone. There were a number of unread group messages from QuikChat.

“Great game, D!” wrote Jasmine. “Couldn't have done any better myself!”

“I think D’s ready to take the training wheels off,” Daniel said.

“Yes!” replied Sydney. “Time for the randomizer!”

What were they talking about? Randomizer? I fell asleep with a smile on my face, satisfied at how my week went, and excited for what tomorrow would bring.

Chapter 9 - The Randomizer

“This meeting of the Secret Guild of Body Swappers will commence,” Antonio announced to start the meeting. He banged a gavel and took his seat. “First order of business is the next swap. We’ve gotten a number of requests to use the randomizer.”

I raised my hand.

“Gabe?” he asked, looking at me, anticipating my question with a smile.

“What’s the randomizer?”

Antonio was excited to explain. “The randomizer is when all of us touch the stone at the same time. The first time we do it, it resets all of us back to our original bodies. When we’re all in our original bodies the randomizer will do what it sounds like. It will randomly swap us with someone. There’s no way to know whose body you’ll get. Totally random.”

“How is this different from what we normally do?” I asked.

“The appeal is that we mix it up,” Jasmine replied. “Then we won’t know who’s who.”

“And we all talked about it, D,” Morgan added, “it’s time for you to fly solo.”

“Nobody will know which body you’re in,” Daniel said. “You won’t be treated like a newb and nobody will be holding your hand.”

“Oh,” I replied. I get it now. “So this… reset. Do we all have to be here?”

“The stone will put everyone back who has both their mind and body present,” Antonio explained. “If your own body isn’t here, you’ll stay in your current body, or swap with another body whose mind isn’t here.”

“Does that ever happen?” I inquired. “I mean, not everyone being present to swap?”

Antonio hesitated and looked around the room. “Occasionally,” he answered. “Sometimes things come up with school or sports or family life. We just roll with it. It’s not like we have a randomizer event every week, or even every month.”

“Yeah,” Jasmine giggled, “it’s random.”

“Oh,” I replied, wondering if getting trapped in the wrong body could ever happen. What if something bad happened to my body while someone else was in it? A foreboding chill went up my spine. I also felt that Antonio was withholding something too.

“So, who’s in favor of mixing it up?” Antonio asked the group.

While I had no qualms about this randomizer, I did want to inform the group I hadn’t been everyone yet. “I haven’t been Sydney, yet,” I protested.

“It’s OK,” Sydney replied. “You still have a one-in-six chance of becoming me this afternoon anyway.”

“OK.” Since I didn’t really have a strong opinion, when everyone else raised their hand, I followed suit.

Sydney placed the stone in the middle of the table and everyone reached out to place at least a finger on it. Our six fingers barely fit on the stone. I wondered if that's a reason not to have more people in the Guild.

Five seconds later, the familiar sensation of body swapping occurred and I found myself inside my old body again.

I looked down at my own hands. “Hello, old friends,” I said to myself.

I then looked around at the Guild members. For the first time I knew who each person was. 

“OK, let’s continue the meeting,” Antonio said, tapping the gavel on the table to get our attention. Which was interesting seeing as he wasn’t himself seconds ago. He pressed something on his smartwatch. “We have to wait an hour before using the stone again. In the meantime, let’s move onto the next agenda item.”

I raised my hand again, this time as Daniel. “Why wait an hour?”

“A cool down period,” Antonio replied. “The minimum time in order to swap again.”

“The stone needs a cool-down period?”

“Not the stone. You. For an hour, our soul or spirit or aura or whatever you want to call it, is unable to swap again.” Antonio looked around. “Is there any other business?”

I raised my hand.

“Daniel?” Antonio replied with a smirk. I hope he doesn’t start to find me annoying for asking all of these questions.

“I have new business,” I said timidly. I looked to Antonio for approval.

He nodded.

“Who's actually met Ella?” I asked the group, looking around.

“Who’s Ella?” Sydney asked.

“Ella, the girl I- I mean Gabriel went on a date with,” Morgan clarified.

Everyone else shook their heads.

“Well, I met Ella back when I was Jasmine,” I stated. “She is Lauren’s sorority sister.””

“Is that a deal breaker?” Jasmine asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “She was kinda standoffish when I was Jasmine. Granted, she was much more friendly when I was Gabe.” I wondered if anyone noticed the blush I was feeling as I recalled the stairwell.

“She’s a Delta,” Morgan said, shaking her head.

“But, Lauren’s a Delta too,” Jasmine replied, halfheartedly trying to defend the Delta girls.

“But Lauren was our friend before all of the sorority brainwashing stuff.”

“So what should I - or the next Gabriel - do about it?” Gabe asked.

“Maybe she’s only a bitch to me,” Jasmine suggested. “Maybe it's just a façade and she is really a nice girl.”

“I doubt that,” Morgan added. “I don’t like the Deltas, and they certainly don’t like me.”

“Maybe she just wants some of that ‘Turbo Juice’,” I chuckled, which elicited surprised looks from everyone. I turned red and covered my mouth in embarrassment.

“Wow, D,” Antonio remarked. “You’ve really come out of your shell. OK - sounds like Gabriel should just let it ride, and be cautious.”

The group nodded in agreement.

“Any other new business?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“Well, we need to wait an hour.” He looked at his smartwatch. “We can study or just chill.” Then he sat down.

There was some casual talk amongst the girls. I sat by myself unsure of where I should butt into a conversation. I was still embarrassed about my last comment.

But then Antonio and Gabriel sat down next to me, eager to chat.

“Daniel-,” Antonio started. It was almost surreal to be referred to by my real name again.

“So, what was it like for you?” Gabriel cut in excitedly.

“What was what like?” I asked.

“Being a woman,” Antonio clarified. “You got to be both Jasmine and Morgan. You must have an opinion now.”

“It was fun,” I admitted, “seeing things from a much different perspective.”

“The outfits,” Antonio smiled.

“I loved being a petite human for once,” Gabriel said. “People look at me much differently than they do when I’m myself.”

“Hell, it changes your self-confidence to see someone else in the mirror,” Antonio added.

“Especially when you’re a very attractive woman,” Gabe agreed. “I like to think I’m a decent looking dude. But when I’m Jasmine or Morgan - damn - I’m hot. My self-confidence is through the roof!”

“I can see that,” I added. It’s true. I was much more confident as Morgan and Jasmine. But also as Antonio and Gabriel. Maybe it was a me thing.

“Did you have a favorite?” Antonio asked.

“Outfits or bodies?” I chuckled.

“Both.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve only been each for a week. Morgan for several hours more.”

“Well, Jasmine has this beautiful sundress,” Gabriel said. “Sadly, it's too cold for that now. But that was my favorite. You already know Jasmine’s my favorite body.”

“I just like dressing to impress,” Antonio said. “Give me a nice blouse and pencil skirt. As for my favorite host - I don’t think I have a favorite.”

“I don’t have a favorite… yet,” I added. “But I was getting the hang of it last time when I was Morgan. There were a few outfits I wanted to wear on my next go-round as her.”

“Look at you boys chatting like a bunch of girls,” Morgan giggled from behind Antonio.

“Hey, now,” Gabriel chuckled. “We are girls half of the time now.”

“It’s just cute, that’s all,” Jasmine laughed. “I love that you’ve each found your feminine side.”

“I mean, I do owe half my wardrobe to Gabe,” Morgan joined in.

Gabriel shrugged. “Well, I don’t anticipate going pro. Maybe there’s a place for a guy like me in the fashion industry.”

“After playing football as you, Gabe,” I argued, “I don’t see how you could not turn pro.”

“Thanks, Daniel,” Gabe smiled, “but it doesn’t happen as often as you think. I should have a backup plan.”

“I’d love to see that,” Sydney said, joining in. “College running back turned fashion designer.”

We continued having small talk with each other. It was nice to get to know the real Guild members in their original bodies. I could see each of their personalities shine through with them playing a part. Antonio was definitely the confident leader. When he spoke, everyone listened. Jasmine was very much a mother figure, looking out for everyone, and making sure everyone was heard. Morgan pushed boundaries. She often would interrupt and make sure her opinion was known. Gabe was your typical jock, but I got the feeling he didn’t like being that, and he was comfortable enough with the group to let his feminine side out occasionally. Sydney was the enigma. Often she was quiet, but when she did talk, she spoke with experience and made good points. Other times she cracked a joke to make us laugh. What I also noticed is that they all loved each other. Even though I was still the newest member, I felt the warmth they had for me, too. After an hour, Antonio’s smart watch beeped.

“Alright, time to randomize,” Antonio said, silencing his watch.

We all touched the stone in the center of the table again, and in another five seconds we were someone else.

Now that I'm used to swapping, I'm more attuned to the feeling of it and can describe it better. When I arrive in a new body, I’m at first disoriented and feel detached from it. But suddenly I feel hyper-aware of it. I can feel the weight of my hair. My chest. I can feel each article of clothing. Obviously, I was a girl again. I also realized my bra was slightly out of position.

I removed my manicured finger from the stone and looked at it, and my arms, and then my body. I was Morgan again. I wonder if one day I'll be able to tell who I am just from the feeling, and not from looking.

First things first. I adjusted my bra and fixed a strap that was falling off my shoulder. There was also a strand of hair tickling my face that I automatically tucked behind my ear.

Other members were checking to see who they were. I noticed everyone else doing the same thing I was doing, and getting acquainted with their new bodies and adjusting something the previous occupant didn’t notice.

“Yess!” Gabriel cheered. I suppose whoever got Gabriel was excited to be him again.

“Meeting adjourned,” the new Antonio said, banging the gavel, then pocketing the stone.

I was impressed at how easily people became Antonio. The Antonio who walked in, then the real A, then whoever is Antonio now. It felt seamless.

I looked around and realized nobody knew I was D. I was truly part of the Guild now. There was no more handholding and the training wheels had come off. I’m Morgan now, and I would be expected to behave as her full-time without breaking character.

Jasmine and I made our way back home. Falling back into Morgan’s life felt like a homecoming of sorts. It wasn’t my real home, but I enjoyed the other times I was her, and Jasmine and I picked up right where we left off - even if this wasn’t the same Jasmine as two weeks ago.

Now that this is the third time I’ve been Morgan, I feel like I’m getting more used to it. Morgan and Jasmine’s apartment is seemingly like a second home to me now. Especially since I haven’t even gone back to Daniel’s dorm in almost a month.

* * *

The first thing my roommate and I did when we got home was read our journals. I logged onto Morgan’s computer and pulled up her journal. I was Morgan only a week ago, so I didn’t have much to read. 

I heard Jasmine yell from her room. “What. The. Fuck!”

I got up from the computer and rushed over to see what was wrong. “What's going on?”

“The previous Jasmine obliged me to go to the Delta Halloween Party.”

I cringed. “Sucks to be you,” I giggled.

“Wait,” she appealed. “You’re coming with me. Please.”

“What?” I had a hard time imagining Morgan being welcome at the Delta house. Especially when I heard M’s true opinions on them at the meeting. “Me? At the Delta house?” I laughed. “That’s a good one.”

“I don’t want to go there by myself,” she begged. “I need my emotional support roommate.”

“How about Lauren, your emotional support hometown bestie?” I countered.

“Last time I was there, Lauren abandoned me and I ran into that douche, Aiden.” It’s funny hearing her say that since it happened when I was Jasmine. She was just repeating what I had written in the journal. 

“Regardless, they’re going to kick me out of the party. They think I’m some kind of lesbian hypnotist.”

“Maybe you are,” she joked. 

“If that were true,” I countered, “I’d have already hypnotized Ella into thinking she was a giant chicken trying to lay an egg.”

“I’ll bet you $20 they will find you intriguing enough to not kick you out.”

“I don’t even have a costume.”

“Have you checked?”

“Um, no.” Busted.

“I’ll bet we do have costumes. Delta’s annual Halloween party is a huge event. In fact, I’ll bet you that over the last month Morgan and Jasmine planned out their Halloween costumes.”

Wouldn’t that imply that a previous Morgan and Jasmine had this exact same conversation? I huffed. “I don’t know, Jaz. I hated going there when I was Jasmine. I can’t imagine it being any better as Morgan.”

“There’s only one way to find out,” she smiled. 

I rolled my eyes. “If I find a costume, you owe me. More than $20.”

She sauntered over to me. “Oh, I’m sure I can find something to pay you with,” she whispered in my ear.

Damn, she knows exactly what I want. I bit my lip. “OK. But only if I find a costume.”

Spoiler - I found a costume. One of the previous Morgans bought a skin-tight spandex Spider-Gwen costume. There was also a sexy maid outfit. I’ll take my chances with Gwen. Now I was on the hook to wear that to the Delta’s Halloween party.

* * *

Monday afternoon, right on time, there was an eager knock on the door. I opened it to find a smiling Lauren.

“Welcome back, pet,” I purred.

“Hey, I was wondering,” she said, coming inside. “Can we play a different game today?”

“Oh?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said, fidgeting. “Um... I liked that one we did maybe a month ago.”

“Which one was that?”

“The one where I got to be Morgan and you got to be Jasmine.”

Wow. I didn’t expect that. This was interesting. I had already assumed each member of the Guild role-played with Lauren slightly differently. It never occurred to me that Lauren could also choose the game. I was totally up for it, too. “Sure.”

She walked ahead of me into Jasmine’s room. “You can wear this.” She held out a T-shirt and a skirt. Something I think the real J might’ve worn. “I can wear what you’re wearing now.”

She pulled off the sweater she was wearing. I guess we’re doing this right here. I hoped Jasmine wouldn’t mind.

I followed suit. Today I was wearing a nice fall dress and tights. I took off my dress first. I handed it to her as I started unrolling my tights. When I was done with those, I placed them beside her.

We were both sitting there in Jasmine’s room in our bras and panties.

She put the dress on and I started putting on Jasmine’s clothes. 

“Can you put on her glasses?” she asked, while putting on the tights.

Her glasses? “Sure,” I said. I knew where in the vanity she kept them and pulled them out of their case. Usually she wears contacts during the day, and her glasses at night. 

Unfortunately, Morgan doesn’t need glasses, so when I put Jasmine’s glasses on, everything was just slightly out of focus. Hopefully I won’t have to wear these too long.

I stood there in Jasmine’s band T-shirt, a skater skirt, and her glasses. A spitting image of what Jasmine might’ve worn before she joined the Guild. 

Lauren was standing there in the clothes I was just wearing. A part of me took a bit of pride knowing that I picked that outfit out this morning. Good thing we didn’t swap panties, because the idea of a clothes swap was turning me on. Or maybe it was the anticipation of my time with Lauren.

Lauren then paced back and forth getting into character. “Jasmine,” she said with less confidence than her role demanded, “I want you to be my slave.”

That’s the best she can do?

“No,” I replied. I figured I should provide some resistance. “I’ll never be your slave.”

“There’s no way you can resist me. Feel your resistance shedding away.” She waved her hands as if she was casting some sort of spell. Or was she pantomiming rain? Unsure. She came over to me and put her hands upon my hips.

“Y-You can't,” I whimpered. “I will fight you.”

She skipped the rest and just started kissing me. She wasn’t very good at role-playing or foreplay. Or maybe she was just impatient. I mean, I was too, but I kinda liked all of that role-playing we did last time. I worked really hard on coming up with that and was proud of the character I created.

She started sucking on my neck, and I let out a moan.

I reached under her dress and lightly stroked her pussy through her panties.

She let out a louder moan than I expected. And that’s when she surprised me. Looking into my eyes, she said softly, “Jasmine, I love you.”

I wondered. Was that Lauren-playing-Morgan saying that or just Lauren saying that? What do I say to that? I worried about leading her on.

Before I could respond, she pushed me onto Jasmine’s bed and ravaged me.

* * *

After another Monday of mind blowing sex, Lauren left and Jasmine came home. Ever since Lauren dropped the ‘L’ word I felt a little uneasy about the whole thing. Aside from James who was aware of the Guild, no one inside the Guild had a relationship. How would that work? Are you allowed to use the word ‘love’?

If Lauren was more like James and understood that she’s dating six different people maybe I wouldn’t feel weirded out. But she doesn’t know and she told me that she loved me. But I am Morgan and she called me Jasmine. This is so confusing to me.

While Jasmine was unpacking her backpack I decided to ask her.

“Hey, about Lauren,” I said to her.

“What about her?”

“Is she OK with the weekly sex? I mean - are there any feelings there?”

“It was her idea,” Jasmine replied. “Sometime over the summer. You both - she and a previous Morgan - had a big argument over me and somehow wound up sleeping together. She talked to you about it afterwards. You both came to a mutual understanding. To Lauren it was fun. A way to blow off some steam. She admitted she was jealous of you. We found out she was into role-playing. Someone considered asking her to join the Guild. But that would break Rule 5.”

“She said she loved you - Jasmine? She said so again today.”

“Yeah. She just hasn’t said so to my face. Nor has she admitted she’s bi.”

“So Lauren is in love with Jasmine, but fucking Morgan behind her back?”

“Well, it’s hardly behind my back, since we all know about it. But, yeah. You - Morgan - allow her to play out her fantasies. She doesn’t have to admit she’s in love with me. She doesn’t have to admit she’s bi when you’re pretending to hypnotize her.”

“I was worried I was taking advantage of her. That she was developing feelings for me.”

“Nope. Just sex. If anything, she’s taking advantage of you - us. I asked her about it, last time I was you. While she denied she was in love with Jasmine and bi, she admitted she was in it for the mind-blowing sex.”

“She kinda sucks at role-playing.”

“Yeah, she does. Likely another reason she wouldn’t be voted in. Hey, Morgan… are you wearing my clothes?”

Chapter 10

The rest of my week went by quickly. Finally, it was Thursday - Halloween - and the night of the Delta party. I put on my Spider-Gwen outfit but left the mask off until we got to the party. When I first put the costume on, I realized it was very form fitting. It left nothing to the imagination.As I looked at myself in the mirror I realized quickly that underwear lines were ruining the look, so I decided to forgo the bra and panties. I found pasties in my things to tame the nips.

Jasmine came out of her room wearing a very revealing and sexy mermaid costume. She had a form-fitting sequined mermaid skirt that flared into a sheer dress just below the knees. Her top was a purple bikini, with beads dangling over her exposed midriff. Her hair was pulled up and braided into a crown with glitter strands running throughout it.

“Wow!” I exclaimed.

“Whoever bought this for me had a sick sense of humor,” Jasmine complained. “I suppose I should be grateful it’s not an Arabian princess costume.”

“Good point,” I agreed. “It could be worse - but you pull this look off.”

“I feel very exposed,” she fretted, tugging at the low-riding skirt.

We decided to walk from our apartment to Greek Row. As I walked, I could feel the spandex cling to my skin. It was certainly different. Kinda sexy. Kinda hot, too. 

As we were walking, Jasmine leaned into me. “So, I brought something with me to make the evening more interesting,” she whispered.

“What?” I asked. “A flask?”

She opened her clutch. Right there in the center was the swapping stone.

“You brought that with us? How’d you get it?”

“I asked to borrow it. I thought it would be fun to experience this party from both perspectives. Think of it like trading costumes. Besides, neither of us wants to be at this party. I figured this could be fun.”

I looked her up and down in the mermaid costume. “But, I don’t wanna trade costumes!” I whined.

“Sure you do,” she said with a wink. “Don’t you want a turn at being Ariel?

I rolled my eyes. “So, what’s the plan?” I asked. “Do you just want to hang out together all night?”

“Actually, I was thinking I really need to spend some time with Lauren. You already spent time with her this week.”

I chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t call what me and Lauren do, friendship bonding.”

“You can mingle with the rest of the girls. But check up on me from time to time to make sure I’m not cornered by Aiden.”

“I don’t know, Jaz,” I said. I wanted to say I sucked at mingling, but that might out me as D. “What if they don’t like me because of my reputation?”

“Then they’re bitches. We can leave if you're bored.”

“Really? That’s all I have to do to get you back home?,” I replied with a smirk and a giggle.

She stuck her tongue out at me. “Let’s just give it an hour.”

* * *

Finally, we were at the Delta house. There were already crowds of costumed guests on the front lawn. I put on my Spider-Gwen mask to cover my face. We made our way through the crowd and into the house. 

Once we got inside, Lauren spotted us. “Jaz!” she shouted, rushing over to give her a hug. Lauren was dressed as a cheerleader with a very short shirt, and a top that left almost nothing to the imagination. I doubt that was a regulation cheer outfit. After the hug, she then looked over at me, scanning for clues to my identity. “So, who do we have here?”

I like grand entrances, so I pulled my mask off to reveal my face.

Lauren took a step back in shock. She had one of those expressions like when you see something that doesn’t belong in this setting. After all, I’m her secret Monday fuck buddy. She doesn't want me in her sorority house. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s Halloween,” I said. “I’m here for the tricks and the treats.”

“I invited her,” Jasmine said. “I didn’t want to be here by myself.”

“You’re not by yourself,” Lauren coldly replied. “You have me and the rest of the Deltas.” 

I was concerned about taking advantage of her earlier in the week, but seeing as she wants to keep treating me like a bitch in public I decided, I was just going to tease her. “I figured you could introduce me to some of your friends,” I said to her. I seductively licked my lips.

“No,” she quickly said. “Absolutely not.”

“C’mon, Lauren,” I protested. “We’ve been fighting all semester. Don’t you think it's time to bury the hatchet?” I know where I’d like to bury her face.

She looked at Jasmine, confused at what to do.

“Morgan will behave,” Jasmine said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Trust me.”

Lauren slowly nodded in resignation.

“Let’s all get a drink,” Jasmine suggested.

Each of us grabbed Halloween-themed punches from the kitchen. They were neon green with gummy worms at the bottom of them. Part of me wondered if they were spiked. I took a sip - yup definitely spiked. I’m not sure why I doubted it.

While Jasmine and Lauren started talking about stuff I wasn’t privy to, I decided to leave them and mingle. 

There were some cool costumes all over the place. I found a pair of girls - one was dressed as Dorothy and the other the Wicked Witch. There were a few Taylor Swifts. One Wonder Woman. The guys were not as sexy. They wore superheroes. A giant banana. A walking voting booth with a sign that read, “Women vote here!” Creeper.

I found a group of three girls near the corner of the living room, looking over the party like they were judging everyone. The girls were dressed like the Plastics from Mean Girls. Not that I could tell which one was which. I wondered if their judgemental postures and expressions were part of the costume.

I took a deep breath. Here we go. Being Morgan was much like being Antonio. Very much the extrovert. Yes, it was draining, but the more I did it, the more confident I got.

“Hi, I’m Morgan,” I announced, shaking two of the girl's hands. They didn’t give me their names. I therefore dubbed them Gretchen, Regina, and Karen. “It’s Thursday. Why are we wearing pink?” I giggled.

They gave me an annoyed look like they had no idea what I was talking about.

I stopped giggling. Tough crowd. “You know - Mean Girls? ‘On Wednesdays we wear pink.’ It’s a quote from the movie.”

“Oh, right,” the middle girl - whom I’ve deemed Regina nodded, and the others echoed her understanding. Maybe these girls weren’t in costume.

“Wait - Morgan? Aren’t you Lauren’s friend’s roommate?” Gretchen asked.

“I am,” I said with a great big smile on my face.

“Then is what they say true?” Karen asked, her voice conspiratorial.

“Depends,” I asked with a cocky smirk. “What are they saying?”

“That you’re a… hypnotist,” Regina supplied. Funny, she left off the ‘lesbian’ part.

“No, I’m not,” I replied. “I don’t even own a pocket watch. No pockets.” I laughed again but stopped when nobody joined me.

“Oh,” Regina replied, looking disappointed. “I figured a hypnotist would be great at parties.”

“But, I am great at parties,” I smiled and stuck my tongue out. “I just don’t brainwash people.”

“Wow!” Karen said, looking me over. “That is some costume, Morgan.”

“Yeah,” I replied, sliding my hands over my spandex curves. “It’s very tight. I’m not even wearing panties.”

The looks on the girl’s faces were priceless. Gretchen and Karen giggled nervously, but I noticed that Regina had a certain smile on her face. Oh, you like that Regina?

“What are you supposed to be?” Gretchen asked.

“Spider-Gwen,” I replied. I wasn’t surprised none of them knew the character.

“Is that like… Spider Man?” Karen predictably asked.

“Well, kinda,” I explained. “She’s Peter Parker’s girlfriend from an alternative universe who got… you know what, it’s not that important.”

They at least nodded their heads.

“You wear it well,” Regina complimented, as she eyed me up and down.

“You do,” the other two nodded. Jeez, they even act like the Plastics with the group agreeing with Regina.

“Well, thank you,” I replied graciously. Finally, I was getting somewhere. All I had to do was prime the pump with Morgan’s personality. I doubted I could ever pull this off as Daniel.

Suddenly they weren’t as cold, and acted as if I was the most interesting person at the party. Maybe I was.

Over the next twenty minutes, these Delta girls hung on every word I said. Never had I ever had a group of women eating out of my hand. There is certainly something about the confidence of being Morgan that I never had as Daniel. 

Eventually Gretchen dropped out of the conversation and disappeared. Regina, however, kept inching closer. Occasionally her hand would brush up against me. Before I knew it, Karen disappeared too, and it was just me and Regina.

“Morgan,” Regina asked. “Do you want another drink?”

“Sure,” I replied as we each got another punch.

Then she asked, “Would you like a tour of Delta house?”

“I would love one,” I smiled graciously. At least getting a tour would give me a break from having to constantly think of something to say. I was getting exhausted from being an extrovert.

She walked me through the common areas. Places I had already been. The living room, the kitchen. The study. Each of the common areas were packed with partygoers.

Then she led me upstairs. “These are the bedrooms.” I felt her hand graze my hand. Her touch was electric.

“Which one is yours?” I asked.

“This one on the right.” Her hand timidly touched the small of my back and led me into the bedroom.

“Nice,” I said, looking around. “Do you have to share?”

“I dooo,” she pouted. “My roommate is Taylor.”

I’m not sure who Taylor is. “My roommate is Jasmine.” I then turned to face her.

She didn’t let go of my back and I wound up rolling into her. Her hands went to my hips.

“Hello there,” I slyly chuckled. Perhaps now might be a good time to get her actual name.

She turned red and let go of me. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice breaking. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I just broke up with my boyfriend and-”

“Don’t be embarrassed,” I interrupted. “We’re just two girls at a party. You’re being a gracious host.”

“Yeah,” she replied, her eyes focusing on my lips.

“Can I break the ice?” I asked softly. I didn’t want to spook her.

She gazed into my eyes and nodded.

I hope I interpreted her signs correctly. I leaned in and our lips met. Her lips and tongue tasted like Mango.

Her hands gently caressed the spandex of my bodysuit.

Before we could go any further though, or before I could even ask this girl’s name, I heard someone in the hallway clearing their throat. It was Jasmine.

“Morgan, I need to talk to you,” Jasmine said. “Privately,” she added.

“Sure,” I said. I turned to Regina. “I’ll be right back, I promise. Don’t go anywhere,” I smiled. 

I stepped into the hall and closed the bedroom door. “What’s up, Jaz?” I asked impatiently. “I was really hitting it off with Regina George in there,” I said pointing at the bedroom door.

“Can we swap now?”

“Now?” I asked, flabbergasted. “You just interrupted me making out with that girl in there.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that Aiden has been hounding me and isn’t taking no for an answer. Plus Lauren ditched me again.”

“Where’s Lauren?”

“She’s playing beer-pong with Ella. I’m just done dealing with Aiden’s advances and Lauren’s standoffishness. She invited me here but keeps spending her time with Ella.”

“Ella,” I echoed, rolling my eyes. “Figures.”

“And I kinda want to trade costumes. I feel naked in this. So, can we swap?”

I looked from Jaz to the bedroom door, behind which was to have been my reward for coming here tonight. But at the end of the day, I’m still D. And D is more at home being a wallflower than flirting with girls at a sorority party. Swapping now did seem tempting. “Fiiine,” I sighed. 

Jaz looked surprised I gave in that she got a great big smile then looked towards the room. “What’s her name again?” she gestured toward the bedroom door.

“I don’t know. She never gave it… but Jaz, you owe me big time,” I said, pointing my finger at her for emphasis.

“I do,” she said. “And I swear I’ll pay you back - with interest.” She pulled the stone out of her clutch, and I held her hand and the stone.

Five seconds later I was Jasmine and she was Morgan. I could feel the cold air on my exposed midriff. Wow, she wasn’t kidding. I feel naked.

“Good luck, Spider-Gwen,” I told Morgan. 

“Thanks, Ariel!”

I tucked the stone back into my clutch and decided to seek out Lauren.

Morgan smiled then dashed back into the bedroom to give Regina the best night of her life.

I looked down at my new attire. This was my first bikini, and it didn't cover much. I did, however, love the braids in my hair. I’m going to have to learn how to do that.

I was disappointed. Not so much that I had to cut short my time with Regina George, but that I let D’s personality allow it. It took me a lot of effort to talk to this girl and not run away. And then when she started showing interest in me, to not screw it up. And after getting past all that with her, I still ran away. But now I’m drained. I was kinda drained before Jasmine showed up, but now I’m back in introvert mode and want to be at home with a good book rather than remain here at this party. I wish the stone would allow me to be an extrovert without all the effort.

I suppose I could try again to find a closeted bisexual Delta girl, but I was already drained. I needed to do something to get back into the role. I needed to center myself to become Jasmine again.

I retrieved lip gloss from my clutch and reapplied it. I wanted to sit and get reacquainted with this body, but since I was at a party there was no time for that.

I wandered the Delta house sipping spiked punch. I wondered where Lauren had gone off to this time. I finally found Ella near the keg. She too was dressed like a cheerleader. I wondered if she and Lauren coordinated that. Seeing Ella reminded me of my encounter with her Saturday night as Gabe. A knowing smile crept on my face. In fact, I felt a tingling down below. A phantom dick was reacting to her.

I walked up to her anyway. “Hey, Ella, have you seen Lauren?”

She looked up at me with disgust. “No.”

Ugh. I was hoping she’d give me a little more information than that. She was much nicer when I was Gabriel. “I heard you’re dating a guy on the football team.” Maybe if I’m friendly to her, she’ll be friendly back.

“What?” she asked. “Who did you hear that from?”

That was an odd response. “He told me.”

“You know a member of the football team?”

“He’s a good friend,” I said, getting frustrated. “Listen, I just want to find Lauren.”

“She was talking with a guy. Maybe she wants to be alone with him. You know - that thing that normal girls do when cute guys are around.” 

Before I could argue, she sighed and walked away from me and out of the kitchen.

Geez, what’s up her ass? I should go find that Wicked Witch and let her know I found her broomstick.

I watched Ella walk away. I noticed that she wobbled while she walked. She must be drunk. Then she kept looking around as if she was hiding something. She walked down the opposite wing from where Morgan and Regina were, then ducked into a bedroom.

I don’t know why I followed her. Did I believe she was lying and she knew exactly where Lauren was? Maybe.

I stood in front of the open bedroom door and saw Ella inside making out with Aiden. Aiden who looked like he was dressed up as Elon Musk. I wasn’t surprised.

A part of me felt sorry for Gabriel - or rather whichever Guild member wanted Gabe to date her. But then I realized, we’d all have had to date her if it had worked out; in which case we’re all better off without Ella in our lives.

Aiden was the first to notice me standing there. He pushed Ella away. “Jasmine! What are you doing here?”

Ella turned to me, “What the hell? Why are you spying on us?”

“I was just looking for Lauren,” I said, holding my hands up.

“You can’t tell anyone you saw us,” Aiden said to me, his voice tinged with fear.

“Hey, it’s none of my business what you two do,” I said. Honestly, I didn’t care about either of these clowns and I cared even less about who they’re cheating on or with. Or why they’re so concerned about being caught.

That’s when Ella grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into the room, shutting the door behind us.

“What the fuck?” I yelled at her. “I told you I don’t care about what you two are doing in here.”

That’s when Aiden pinned me against the wall. I could smell alcohol on his breath. “I can make it worth your while to stay silent.”

Seriously? Sober Aiden is a creeper. Apparently Drunk Aiden is full-on rapey. He thinks he can buy my silence by screwing me? “You’re drunk, Aiden. Let me go.”

Then he forced a kiss on me. I cringed as his tongue forced open my mouth. Yuck. I wonder if a previous Jasmine finally put mace in this clutch. I reached in and found something a little more interesting. The swapping stone.

Aiden finally pulled away from me, as Ella awkwardly watched in silence. I wondered what she was thinking watching this. I doubt she’d have my back.

I needed a plan of escape. I figured I could overpower Ella, but not Aiden. The stone gave me an idea. “I was watching you two because I was jealous. Theesome?” I glanced at Aiden.

The look on Aiden’s face turned to one of intrigue. He got a big smile on his face. His hot breath reached my nostrils. Ugh. He was so drunk.

Ella shook her head in disgust at my suggestion.

But Aiden either didn’t notice or didn’t care and pulled Ella over to us. 

She didn’t look happy at this turn of events, but she stumbled over anyway.

Neither looked concerned that I had a hand in my clutch.

I intertwined my free hand with AIden’s, hoping for him to mimic that with Ella.

He subconsciously held Ella’s hand then started kissing my neck. She reluctantly started kissing his. Now was the opportunity I was waiting for.

I remembered what the Guild said about a cool-down period. It had only been 15 or so minutes since I last swapped. I inconspicuously palmed the stone from within the clutch.  I wasn't sure if I needed to press it into Aiden's hand or not, but this was my only chance to get out of here safely.  I waited five agonizing seconds just holding it.

They must’ve been too drunk to realize I had my hand in my clutch. But right on time, they stopped what they were doing. I saw Aiden’s and Ella’s eyes glaze over. I was still me. I let go of them as they both collapsed to the floor from the vertigo, or so I assumed.

I let go of the stone and took my hand out of my clutch, stepped over them, and left the room, closing the door behind me.  

This might have broken one of the Guild rules, but it was either that or get assaulted - or worse - by Aiden and Ella. 

I was done with this place. I’ve come here twice and twice gotten assaulted by Aiden. I wanted to leave, but I also didn’t want to leave Morgan behind. I also didn’t want to flee without saying goodbye to Lauren again. Also, I didn’t want either of us walking home alone, especially in these costumes. I could barely take baby steps, running was out of the question.

I pulled my phone from the clutch and texted Morgan. “I’m ready to leave.” I then headed down the hall and ran into Lauren coming up the steps.

“There you are,” Lauren said, looking relieved. “I thought maybe you left again.”

I thought about it. “You left me alone again, Lauren.”

“I’m sorry, Jaz - I tried to get away. This guy wasn’t taking a hint.”

I nodded. Fair excuse since I had the same thing happen each of the times I’ve been Jasmine. “Let’s ditch this place,” I said. “It's kinda stuffy in here.”

“We can go outside,” she suggested. “There’s some games out there.”

“Anything’s better than in here,” I replied. “Hey, So you were talking with a guy?” I inquired, making small talk.

“Well, he was doing all of the talking. He was mansplaining something about cryptocurrency. He clearly didn’t sense my boredom. Ugh. I’m sorry.”

“That sucks,” I simply said. A part of me wondered if I used to do that as Daniel. But then I remembered Daniel rarely talked to girls, and could never be accused of rambling on.

“Where’s your roommate?” Lauren asked.

“Last I saw her she was getting a private tour from one of your sisters,” I replied.

“Oh?”

Was I detecting some jealousy?

I followed her outside. I expected a scream to come from the upstairs bedrooms, but it never came. Maybe the stone didn’t work. Either way, it served its purpose and allowed me to get away. No doubt I won’t be on either Aiden’s or Ella’s friend list any time soon. I’ll have to bring this up with the guild so future Jasmines can avoid them.

“Morgan’s behaving herself, right?” Lauren asked.

I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure she found that one of your sisters was interested in a private hypnotism session.”

“No, really?” she said, surprised.

“Really.”

“I thought the Deltas were all straight,” she mused.

“Not everyone is straight,” I said, looking at her intently, hoping she gets the hint that I wasn’t, and that maybe she’d admit she wasn’t either.

“You were straight last year.”

“Lauren,” I whispered. “No, I wasn’t.” I recalled what J had told me. “I realized I was bi before college.”

“How come you never told me?”

I thought about that for a moment. I was entering the part of the conversation where I didn't know Jasmine’s exact history. But, I took a few guesses. “Well back home I was afraid of my mom. And in college, I was afraid of changing our friendship.”

“Why would you being bi change our friendship?” she asked.

Oh, no. How do I answer that? I tried to think of something-

“Oh,” she whispered looking straight ahead. Apparently she didn’t need me to say it.

“Yeah,” I replied.

My memories went to Monday. When Lauren whispered, “I love you Jasmine,” as she sucked on my neck.

She was predictably silent, and I desperately wanted to know what was going on in her head. Was she contemplating coming out to me? Was she going to come clean about her secret arrangement with Morgan?

Before she could answer, Morgan finally showed up. 

“Oh, hey,” Lauren said.

“Hey girls,” Morgan smiled. She whispered into my ear. “That was amazing. I owe you!”

“You’re damn right,” I replied.

“What did I miss?” Morgan asked.

Lauren shook her head. “Nothing.” I guess I won’t be getting any deep confessions from her tonight.

Morgan leaned into my ear. “Let’s go home,” she whispered. “I plan to pay off my debt tonight.” She then playfully nipped at my ear.

I turned to Lauren. “Thanks for the invite. I think we’re going to head home now.”

Lauren nodded.

“Bye Lauren!” Morgan sang. “See you soon!” Then winked at her.

As we walked away, I casually glanced back at the house. I expected some sort of commotion from Aiden and Ella. But nothing. Did I use the stone correctly? Did they swap? Did something else happen? The lack of knowing was eating away at me.

Chapter 11

There was no need for Morgan and me to swap back, so I stayed as Jasmine. On Friday, I heard nothing from Lauren about our conversation. I also heard nothing about Aiden nor Ella, which made me anxious. I knew I broke one of the Guild’s rules by using the stone. Should I come clean? I’m not even sure if it worked. So, if it didn’t work, should I still tell them? 

I read through Jasmine’s journal to catch up on what I missed while I was Gabriel and Morgan. Apparently, Jasmine is expected to go home for Thanksgiving. Thankfully, that’s not for a couple of weeks. Hopefully I’ll be someone else during that time frame. That did make me curious what the Guild did during holidays. Did we use the reset feature and just go home? Or is interacting with each other’s family part of the role-play?

On Saturday afternoon, I got a group text from Sydney. “Hey, ladies,” it read. “We haven't had a girls’ night out in like, forever.”

“Yeah!” Morgan texted back.

“Sounds great!” I agreed.

“Pregame at our place?” Morgan texted. “9-ish?”

“I’m so there!” Sydney replied.

* * *

I’ve done a lot of things since that first night when I met and thus swapped with Morgan. But I hadn’t returned to a night club. Typically Daniel would dread it and only do it to be sociable with friends and live vicariously through them. This time, in Jasmine’s body, I’m looking forward to it.

By time I had showered and shaved my legs, Morgan had already turned on some music, and I found myself swaying my hips to the beat as I walked back to my bedroom in my towel.

I noticed my phone had a missed call from Lauren. Maybe she was ready for that serious talk. I decided to call her back.

“Hey, girl,” she sang when she answered.

“Hey,” I replied in my sweetest voice. “What's going on?”

“What are you doing tonight?” she asked.

“I’m going out with Morgan and Sydney.”

Silence from her end.

“Are you still there?” I questioned.

“You know how I feel about them.”

“I know,” I replied. I really wish she would just come out to me. About everything. Maybe then she and Lauren can be friends in front of me. “They’re my friends too, Lauren.”

“I just wish you’d spend more time with me.”

“I want to. But I already made plans with them tonight. Hey, why don’t you come with us? You know, this way you can really meet them. For real, I think you and Morgan would actually hit it off.”

“I can’t Jasmine,” she said. “Maybe we can try again next weekend.”

“Or during the week,” I offered.

“Of course. Have a fun night.”

“You too.”

I sighed when I put down the phone. I need to just have patience. Anyway, I have to get dressed.

When I was last Jasmine, I had noticed some dresses that would look great on me next time we did a night on the town. I found one hanging in my closet and eagerly pulled it out. It was a sexy little black dress. When I first saw it, I knew I should try it on.

I eagerly pulled out a lacy black bra and matching panties. I discarded the towel around my chest and slowly slid the panties up my freshly shaven legs - a feeling I’ve come to appreciate at this point.

I effortlessly put the bra on and adjusted the girls for maximum cleavage. I stood in front of my mirror to admire how sexy my body was. If I wasn’t already Jasmine, I would be jealous I wasn’t her - or her boyfriend or girlfriend. It was getting harder to differentiate those thoughts.

I thought about what James said to me about losing ourselves in the part. Maybe that’s why I am taking the whole Lauren situation so personally. I feel like I am Jasmine. I need to remind myself that I’m D - not Jasmine.

I went out to the shared vanity where I put on my makeup. A few minutes later, Morgan joined me. Also in just her underwear. I watched as she put bright red lipstick on. I lost my train of thought looking at those luscious lips and started licking my own. Maybe tonight I can taste them again. I was eager to have a repeat of mine and Morgan’s first night together.

She noticed me staring and smiled and gave me a wink.

I returned to my room and put on my LBD. Just as I was done smoothing it out, a knock came from the apartment door.

I rushed out to the common area and opened it for Sydney who came in carrying two boxes of wine. I took one from her and we placed them on the counter.

Let the party begin.

* * *

Remember that time when I was Daniel and I’d watch my friends pregame while abstaining and wishing I was them? That memory seems like a different life. I poured myself another glass of wine. 

I glanced at my sexy reflection in the vanity holding the glass of wine. “Who are you?” I half-jokingly whispered to my reflection. I know who she isn’t. She isn’t that wallflower Daniel. Instead of reading about sexy heroines, she is one.

I returned to the living room and danced around my apartment with my girlfriends as we discussed where we wanted to take the party. 

Same place as last time, so it would seem.

When it was 10:30 pm, we walked out of our apartment and to Sydney's car. We decided our first stop was going to be the same one where Daniel had originally met us. It was a popular club, the drinks were cheap, and Sydney had an understanding with the bartenders. Plus, it wasn’t the Delta house. That point alone made me excited.

We parked and walked to the club. Each click and clack of our heels brought me confidence and made me excited about what the night would bring.

Once again I found myself in the same nightclub where this whole thing started. This time, however, the lights, music, and smell gave me a confidence boost. It reminded me that I wasn’t Daniel. I was a hot coed tonight.

And this time I wasn’t alone. My girlfriends and I held hands as we snaked through the crowd. Sydney led us to the same table we were at when I first met them. When we arrived at the table, Sydney almost immediately headed off to the bar.

This time I knew the act. Sydney was 21 and could buy alcohol. But she could only buy one at a time. The solution was to get a guy to buy her and Morgan a drink. Morgan wasn’t 21, so she couldn’t be there when the drink arrived.

I smoothed my dress, sat at the table, and crossed my legs. I learned that this dress was so short, that if I didn’t cross my legs, I was showing the whole world my lace panties. I watched Sydney at the bar work her magic.

She bought her first and sneakily passed it to Morgan. A minute later, a guy in his 20’s struck up a conversation with her and Morgan. Sydney smiled, and returned the small talk. That’s when Morgan came back to the table with her drink. Sydney then showed her ID to a different bartender.

A minute later two drinks showed up in front of Sydney. She thanked the stranger, and took a sip with him. Then she was on her way back with the two drinks.

Sydney passed a drink towards me. 

I leaned in towards Sydney so she could hear me over the music. “That was so smooth,” I said to her.

“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” she confessed. “Have you gotten a chance to try?”

Try what? Buying an underage drink? Flirting with a guy to get a drink? “No, I’ve always chickened out at the last minute,” I replied, feigning embarrassment.

“Next time you’re Sydney, you should totally try!” she said with an excited smile. “It’s exhilarating.”

I didn’t want to bring up that I’ve never been Sydney or else I’d give away that I’m D. I’m actually excited to be Sydney next. I could see why the Guild was eager to get a new member. There’s something exciting about swapping into a new character whom you’ve never been. As much as I’ve enjoyed being Jasmine, I think I’m gonna talk to Sydney tomorrow about swapping with her.

Once we raised our glasses, us girls toasted to the night.

I wanted to reminisce about having been here five weeks ago, and where my life has led me since then, but no one in my current company knew I was D. Which was actually kinda fun. While everyone has always treated me like the body I was occupying, there was always an undercurrent of being treated like a newb, and a first-time girl. Since this randomizer I’ve been treated like I’ve always been Jasmine.

But, because of the randomizer I also lost track of who was who. From the outside, the three girls at this table are the same three girls from five weeks ago. But in reality, each of us could be a completely different person inside. In fact, there’s no evidence that any of the three original girls are even here tonight. I could ask, but I doubt I’ll get a straight answer from them. And did it really matter?

Out of the corner of my eye, I recognized some old faces. I turned to see Mike, Denis, and Sal. Trailing behind my old neighbors was my original body. Daniel was there looking awkward as ever. Seeing him evoked the same disgusted feeling I’d experienced looking at old pictures of me.

I felt bad for whomever was in Daniel tonight. They had to act awkward and couldn’t really have a good time. I smiled at him and waved.

Oops. Not only did he see me, but so did Mike.

Naturally, Mike took this as an invitation. He turned to Daniel and said something.

The four guys walked towards us led by a reluctant Daniel. 

“Hi, Jasmine,” Daniel timidly greeted me. “I wanted to introduce my dorm neighbors. This is Sal, Mike, and Denis.”

“Jasmine,” I proudly proclaimed. I shook hands with the three guys. Naturally, they were all staring at my chest. I coughed lightly to get their attention. “Eyes up here, gentlemen,” I smiled. How many times did I want to call them out for that when I was Daniel? It was nice to finally put them in their places.

A part of me wondered why I was even friends with them. But deep down I knew the answer to that. They were friendly with me, treating me like one of the guys. I admired their confidence. Often they’d bring home attractive women. They let me live vicariously through their more interesting lives. Sometimes they tried to play matchmaker for me. That never worked.

“Nice to meet you,” everyone echoed each other, cheeks red at having been caught looking.

I had expected them to go find their own table after the introduction, so I was surprised when Morgan invited them to join us.

I turned to her in shock. It’s one thing hanging out with these guys as Daniel. It’s quite another as Jasmine. Actually, I don’t know what it’s like, but I know Mike is a horn-dog, and behind closed doors in our all-boy’s dorm, they all talk about women as trophies to hook up with.

“Gladly,” Mike announced as the guys came back with four stools and we all adjusted ours to make room for our guests. At first it seemed like Mike was going to sit next to me. Instead, I was surprised when he grabbed Daniel by the shoulders and swapped places with him so Daniel was next to me.

“So you’re in Dan’s class?” Mike asked me. He was leaning into Daniel so Daniel had to lean towards me.

“Yeah,” I said, looking at Daniel between us, who was playing the part of the embarrassed friend.

“You two should totally hang out sometime,” Mike announced.

And here I was thinking Mike was going to hit on me. Instead he was being a wingman.

Daniel let out a chuckle. “We should.”

I smiled and nervously fidgeted with my hands. I don’t know why I was nervous. Maybe I was nervous for Daniel. Or maybe I was nervous because I didn’t want my two worlds colliding. My world as Daniel was one thing. My world as Jasmine’s was another. “Sure,” I said. “I mean, we can always study for Lit together.”

“Do you ladies all live on campus?” Sal asked.

“No,” Morgan answered. “We all have apartments off campus. Jasmine and I are roommates. Sydney lives a few doors down.”

Conversation amongst our group continued. Sal and Mike were talking with Morgan and Sydney. Denis was looking on. Daniel seemed bored. The odd thing is, so was I. I wanted to relive that night from four weeks ago. I was ready for Morgan to pull me off to the dance floor. Or was it my turn to do that?

While I was figuring out a way to extract the girls from the table, I caught a familiar scent emanating from Daniel. I recognized my cologne. “Is that cologne you’re wearing?”

“Yeah,” he replied.

I knew it. I got it from my Aunt for my junior prom. I brought it to college with me, and used it only for special occasions. Usually it sits at the back of my nightstand. “Embrace the Night,” I said the name out loud.

He chuckled. “You know it?”

I opened my mouth to answer but paused. I reminded myself that nobody here knew I was D. I didn’t have to tell them, right? Especially not Daniel. Daniel was playing a part. He was playing the nervous introverted guy - quite convincingly I might add - and I was playing the part of his cute crush from class. This is the first time I’ve really hung out with Daniel outside of guild meetings. What would happen if he found out I was D? Would he be able to play his part well enough? Would he fear judgment from me?

“Yeah, my ex used to wear it,” I replied. I never met Jasmine’s ex. I already forgot his name. But I do know he wasn’t a part of her life so this seemed like an easy white lie. “It smells really good on you,” I smiled.

All I know is that I’ve been in his position before and just seeing him sitting there awkwardly was making me feel awkward. I was eager for Morgan and Sydney to hit the dance floor. I supposed I’d make small talk with Daniel until the dancing started. “Daniel, did you ever finish that book you were reading?”

“I did,” he replied, suddenly looking more interested.

I wanted to ask how it ended, but I didn't really want to spoil the ending for myself. I’d finish that book next time I swapped back into my old body. Whenever that might be. I was having too much fun right now being ‘not’ Daniel.

“I started a new one,” he added.

If I showed more interest in what the new book was, I’d certainly give away that I was D. “That’s great,” I simply replied. It was then that I realized I've been worrying too much. At least three, maybe four other guild members have been Daniel, who would all know these details. So I shouldn’t worry.

I exchanged glances with Morgan who seemed to be over whatever story Sal was telling.

As if she read my mind, she nodded her head towards the dance floor. “You wanna?” 

“Let’s,” I agreed, standing up without hesitation.

As Morgan and I headed to the dance floor, I realized Daniel and Mike must’ve taken that as an invitation for them to join us. Or rather, Mike was dragging Daniel to join. I groaned to myself. Dammit, Mike, let it go.

The music was thumping and I let my body just move to the bass. I found that Jasmine was a much smoother dancer than Morgan. Or maybe I was adding real memory to the muscle memory.

Meanwhile Daniel was dancing awkwardly. He wasn’t moving his feet. He didn't know what to do with his arms. I cringed at the sight. Apparently muscle memory works both ways. I felt sorry for him. I should find out who is playing him. They deserve an award or something for top-notch acting.

“You don’t have to dance if you don’t want to,” I said to him. “I can tell it’s not really your scene.”

I was interrupted by Morgan who started dancing right in front of me. I gladly followed her lead and grinded on her. 

Eventually I noticed Daniel was gone. Thank God! Mike was still there, however, dancing horribly by himself. His signature move, apparently. He moved closer to me and spoke into my ear. “I think Dan likes you. He’s just shy.”

Thanks, Mike, for stating the obvious. Of course, there was a part of me that appreciated that Mike was trying to be a good wingman for his friend. 

I continued dancing and working up a sweat with Morgan and later Sydney. I was at bliss in my own world. Ever since Daniel and his friends came into the club, they were distracting me from having a good time. Being with Daniel brought back my insecurities. When he and Mike left and It was just me and the girls, there was no longer any pressure. I could be myself - or rather I could be Jasmine. As the night crept onward, I felt more and more Jasmine, and less and less Daniel.

Eventually I needed a drink so I headed back to our table. As I left the dance floor I was surprised to see Daniel dancing with another girl. I didn’t recognize her at first because she was dressed for a night of clubbing in a red bodycon dress that left little to the imagination. I wondered what I would look like in one of those. When I got closer I realized she was Kristy from Lit class. I subconsciously began to adjust my own dress as I watched them.

My first thought was, “What is she doing here?” But clearly she was doing the same thing all of us were doing.

I tried to put those weird thoughts out of my mind. I took a sip of my drink and watched Sydney go to the bar for another round of drinks.

A curiosity swept over me and I looked to find Daniel again. This time I was surprised to spot him and Kristy making out on the dance floor.

I was taken aback. I felt a knot in my gut. I quickly pulled Morgan aside. “What the hell is he doing?”

“Who?” Morgan replied, oblivious to the scene Daniel was making.

“Daniel,” I replied pointing at the couple.

Morgan looked around and saw the couple, lips locked. “Oh,” she replied in a nonchalant tone. “Looks like he’s having fun. Good for him.”

Why was she treating this as no big deal? “No, he’s not supposed to be having fun. He’s supposed to be playing me.”

Morgan looked at me in confusion and cocked her head. Then she realized. “Oh, D. I’m sorry. Don’t worry about it. Whoever is Daniel tonight likely has lots of experience picking up girls. Don’t take it personally.”

Damn, I just gave away that I was D. I felt a whiplash of emotion. I was just on the verge of losing myself to Jasmine, and now I’m worried my old body is doing things I wouldn’t do. I was so confused. Oh, well, at least I can be open about it with Morgan now. I let out an exasperated sigh. “I stop being Daniel for four weeks and now he’s making out with a random floozy?”

She looked at Daniel and Kristy again. “Oh that’s Kristy. She’s in Daniel’s and your class. I’d hardly call her random.”

“That’s not the point,” I hissed. “Wait - how do you know Kristy?”

“I’ve been both Daniel and Jasmine at least once this past month. I’ve interacted with Kristy. I think that’s awesome that they’re together.”

“Is everyone making out with Kristy behind my back?”

“What? No. It’s nothing serious yet. It’s just that Kristy has been showing more interest in Daniel since…” Morgan stopped speaking, realizing I wasn’t going to like the answer.

“Since I stopped being Daniel?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you thought it. Besides, I thought the whole point of being Daniel was a break from everyone’s social expectations.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with the situation. Being Daniel can be fun, too.”

“If you say so.” I looked over at the kissing couple again. I was turning red.

“Jaz,” Morgan tried to get my attention.

I wasn’t listening. I wanted to go over and… I don’t know what I wanted.

“Jasmine.” Morgan closed her eyes, took a deep breath and recomposed herself. “Jasmine, get a hold of yourself. You are Jasmine, remember. That is Daniel. Daniel is a grown man. He can do what he wants. Just like you are doing in Jasmine’s body. That’s how this works. That’s what we all agreed to.”

“But that’s not the point,” I whined.

“Then what is the point? Did you put in your rules that Daniel can’t have fun?”

“No. He can have fun.”

“That he couldn’t kiss a girl?”

“No.”

“That he couldn’t date?”

“No.”

“Then what's the problem?”

I sighed. “I don’t know.” I paused. I didn’t have an answer. “Why is this bothering me Morgan?”

“Are you jealous?”

“Jealous?”

“Yeah. That could’ve been you over there.”

“I’m not jealous,” I denied, sounding every bit as petulant as I was behaving. “I’ve had more sex in the last five weeks than I had crushes when I was him.”

Morgan laughed. “Wow, you are jealous. Who are you jealous of? Daniel or Kristy? I’m sure we can lure one of them into a threesome.”

I was shocked at the suggestion. “We are not going to lure them into a threesome!” I hissed.

“Foursome? Them two. Us two.”

“No! A none-some!”

Morgan giggled, “You are so cute when you're flustered, Jaz.”

I put my face into my hands. Why was I behaving like that? Not only was I acting weird in front of Morgan, I was embarrassing myself. “Oh, Morgan, I don’t know what is going on with me. What should I do?”

“Let it be. Remember, you’re Jasmine right now. Act like her. You have your pick of the entire club, if you want. You’re in control. Unless you’re considering dating Daniel, just let it be.”

She’s right. I’m letting this get to me. Daniel and his friends threw me off my groove. We can have a good laugh about this on Monday. 

I got up from our table and went to the restroom. I sighed when I saw a line for it. Of course, there was no line for the men’s room. While I was standing in line Denis came up out of the Men’s room and walked over to me.

“Um, Jasmine,” he nervously began, “do you think Morgan would go out with me?”

I looked him in the eyes, my emotions on a slow boil. First, Daniel and Kristy. Then Denis asks me if my roommate would go out with him. “Sorry dude, she’s into girls.” 

His bubble burst and he looked dejected. “Oh.” He then walked away.

That’s right! She’s mine. Nobody but me would have Morgan tonight-

I cursed myself when I realized what I just thought. Oh God. What am I doing? I was taking delight in crushing his dreams. Why was I getting pleasure from his rejection? Seriously, what was wrong with me tonight? 

When I got back to my table, I sat down next to Morgan, then glanced over to where Daniel was kissing Kristy - and they were gone. 

I frantically scanned the club. The dance floor. The bar. The restroom lines. Daniel and Kristy were gone. I turned back to Morgan, “Hey, where did Daniel go?”

“Daniel and the guys left,” Morgan replied. “While you were away.”

I felt mad at myself for asking, but I needed to know. “Was Kristy with them?”

Morgan shook her head in disappointment. “Honestly, Jaz, I don’t know.”

We spent another hour in that nightclub. But I was no longer in the mood and Morgan and Sydney could tell. I felt like I let them down. It was supposed to be a girls’ night out and I turned it into “D worrying about Daniel’s social life.”

* * *

When we arrived at home, I pulled Morgan aside. “I’m sorry about tonight. I wasn’t acting like myself.”

“It’s OK, Jasmine,” she said lightly petting me. “It happens to all of us.”

“Does it?” I whispered.

“Yes. The first time one of us does something out of the original owner’s comfort zone. It’s jarring seeing yourself from the outside doing something you wouldn’t normally do. Or even being successful at something you weren’t.”

“Thank you.”

See continued to lightly pet my arm. She looked into my eyes with a hint of disappointment. “You’re still thinking about it, aren't you?”

I silently nodded in embarrassment.

“Would it help if you talked to him?”

The thought had crossed my mind ever since Daniel and Kristy left together. I could go and talk to him. I hated feeling powerless. “Tonight?”

“If you must. If it makes you feel better.”

I returned her gaze. She was disappointed that I wasn’t staying with her. A part of me was disappointed too. After all, I chose these matching lace underwear for her. But I felt like I had to intervene in my original life, or I’d regret it. 

“Be careful. Text me when you get there.”

“I will.” I gently kissed her, and walked back outside our apartment.

I quickly walked onto campus. I was aware I was a woman, alone, in the middle of the night, but I made sure to stay out in the open and under the safety lights. Still, I heard a couple of catcalls from the shadows and I picked up my pace. I suddenly became fearful. An attractive woman straight from the club, all alone. Maybe I shouldn’t have come alone. It was normally a ten minute walk, but I kept my head down and did it in seven. I would’ve done it faster if I wasn’t in heels.

When I got to Daniel’s dorm, it was then I realized I didn’t have my keycard. Of course I didn’t. I wasn’t Daniel at the moment. I ran around to the side of the building. Oftentimes residents would leave the door propped open out of laziness.

I pulled at the side entrance only to realize it was also locked. I slapped my hand against the door.

“Jasmine?” A male voice said behind me.

I turned to see Denis with a cigarette pressed between his lips looking at me.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “It’s kinda late.”

“I need to see Daniel,” I explained.

A smirk formed on his face. “I knew it.” He flicked his cigarette. “I’ll let you in. Follow me.”

I wanted to say “It's not like that,” but I figured I'd let him believe what he wanted as long as he let me in. I followed him back around to the main entrance. He swiped his card and the door unlatched. He opened it for me.

“I know where I’m going,” I said to him. “Thank you.”

He nodded and turned to go back outside, presumably for another cigarette.

His niceness made me feel guilty about taking enjoyment out of telling him Morgan was a lesbian. Maybe what I really need is a good night’s sleep to clear my head.

I walked through the dorm and to Daniel’s room. It felt weird being back after four weeks. Nothing had really changed. But it felt like I didn’t really live here anymore.

I hadn’t let go of my cellphone since I left my apartment. Now was a good time to let Morgan know I made it. “I'm at Daniel’s now,” I texted.

“Just be careful,” was her concerned reply.

I arrived at my door and loudly knocked on it.

Seconds later the door opened and a surprised Daniel stood there. “Jasmine? What are you doing here?”

I barged by him into my room and looked around. “Is she here? Did you bring her home?”

“Who?”

“Kristy.”

“No. I got her number though. I was going to wait a few days before calling her.” He seemed proud. “That’s how this works right? Three days?”

“How could you?”

“How could I what?” he asked, bewildered. “Jasmine, I don’t understand. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you didn't sleep with her.”

Daniel looked perplexed. “Why would you care, Jaz?”

“I-I'm a virgin.”

Daniel burst out laughing. “Jasmine, you are not a virgin.”

“No. Not Jasmine. Me, D.” I looked down in shame at revealing both my V-status and my identity.

“Oh,” Daniel said. He rolled his eyes. This was kind of the same way Morgan acted when I broke character. They must be thinking that the randomizer was a complete waste. Or maybe I failed my “no training wheels” test. “OK, D, were you saving yourself for marriage? If so, you should really write that in your rules.”

“No,” I curtly replied. “I'm not saving myself. It's just that…” So what was it? What was the real reason I was jealous? I lowered my voice to an embarrassed whisper. “I thought when the time came. It would be me. I wanted to experience losing my own virginity.”

“Oh.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “So you want to be the one to lose your virginity?” Daniel echoed my sentiment to confirm this was what I wanted.

“Yeah. I know it sounds stupid. I thought I was safe. There’s no way a girl would be interested in Daniel. Then when I saw you making out with Kristy… that should’ve been me.”

“I get it. It’s not stupid. We should’ve asked that question. When all of the others joined the Guild we were already sexually active. Some more than others.”

I started inching back towards the door. I could feel my face heat up with embarrassment. What was I doing here? This was a stupid thing to dwell on and ruin my night. “I’m sorry about all of this. I’m embarrassed. I should go. Forget I was even here.”

“Wait, D. I get it.” He took my hand to comfort me. He had a tender touch. I wondered who he was. J? A? “Listen, I don’t have the stone with me, so I see two options. Option one, we write that in your rules. “D wants to be the one to lose Daniel’s virginity.” Or option two. We have sex. Me and you. Right now.”

I didn’t expect him to say that. “Wait, what? I'm straight.”

“But I'm not some guy. I'm your body. You know me so intimately. You've masterbated with me. Have you ever tried to suck your own cock?”

I paused at the absurdity of this line of questioning. I didn't know what to say. He was right. But I couldn't. “I can't.”

Daniel came closer to me and gently caressed my bare arm with his fingers. The same way Morgan did earlier.

I felt a warm quiver run down my body. I involuntarily closed my eyes. “This is crazy.” That's when I felt a damp warmth between my legs. I can’t believe his proposition turned me on. Having sex with yourself - that’s like one of those crazy dreams you have. What are the pros and cons of having sex with yourself?

“You're thinking about it,” Daniel smiled.

“I shouldn’t,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

“Think about it. You’d be the one to take your own V-card.”

“I… uh…”

“Would it help to know that you've already been intimate with me?”

I looked at him and cocked my head. “Wait - I’ve only been intimate with two - no three - shit - four - people since meeting the Guild.” That got me curious. Jasmine, Morgan, Lauren. Does Ella count?

He chuckled. “I was your first.”

“You were Jasmine that night?”

“And you were Morgan. You came up to me - when you were still Daniel. Now… you’re Jasmine and I’m Daniel. Perfect symmetry.”

“How do I know you’re the same person? You could’ve read that in one of the journals.”

Daniel leaned over and whispered into my ear. “It’s really me, kitten.” 

The memories of that night came flooding back and my legs suddenly felt weak. “I-I don’t know. I’m afraid.”

“I get it,” Daniel said. “It seems weird. Having sex with yourself. Until you’ve tried it.”

I was curious. “Have you?”

“I have,” he confessed. “Once. It helped that the person in my original body was someone I was already intimate with and trusted. It makes everything less awkward.”

I nodded, then paused for a moment. “I'm sorry, but I’m just not ready.”

“OK,” he said with a warm smile. “That’s totally fair. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable or do anything you’re not ready for.”

“Good night,” I said, making my way to the door before turning around to face him, “Daniel.”

“Good night, Jasmine.”

I left the room and walked into the vacant hallway. I needed to get out of there. I quickly walked through the halls, and out of the building. I leaned up against the cold brick wall. I tried not to think about what just happened, but I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Thoughts were swirling in my head.

I was almost seduced by Daniel. Daniel. A part of me wanted to go home. A part wanted to turn back. I suddenly thought about Lauren. How she keeps running to Morgan every Monday, embracing the taboo and using Morgan for her own fantasies. I didn’t want to date Daniel, but the temptation of no-strings attached sex was pulling at me. This was wrong, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I needed to keep moving.

I started walking. This time slowly. As if I was dragging my own heels. I kept thinking about what would’ve happened if I stayed. What would sex be like with my original body? I was alone on this walk, and I found myself stroking my breasts as my breathing increased.

I could feel the wetness growing between my legs. I wanted to touch myself through the dress. Only another few blocks before I’m home and safely in bed and can touch myself to my heart’s content.

I stopped. Why did I stop? I was horny and curious and having major regret for leaving.

I bit my lip as I pulled my phone out of my clutch. I was having second thoughts. I pulled up the contact for Daniel. I typed a text message for him, “U still up?”

“Yes,” he quickly replied.

Of course he is. I only left five minutes ago. I could turn back and be there in five minutes. But then what? What was I doing? What was I expecting? What did I want to ask? How do I want to word it? I was so horny I couldn’t think straight. I continued, “Can I come back?” He was probably annoyed with me. But I didn’t care at this point.

The phone buzzed and he left his reply. “Yes. I’ll prop the side door open.”

Chapter 12

Content Warning: Self-cest. If this makes you uncomfortable, you can skip ahead to Chapter 13 without missing any plot.

I texted Morgan that I was going to spend the night at Daniel’s, then turned off my phone. I still had doubts as I hit send.

I found myself standing at the door to my room - I mean Daniel’s room. The door was open slightly, looking closed to passersby, but clearly an invitation to me. Was I really about to do this? I was both horny and curious, so I pushed the door open and walked in.

The main lights were off, and the room was illuminated by my laptop. 

I let the door close behind me. 

Daniel closed the lid on the laptop and the room went dark, save for a distant streetlight filtering in through gaps in the window blinds.

Am I really going to do this? Sure, he’s my body. Maybe if I pretend he’s Morgan. Or maybe I’ll pretend he’s Jasmine. After all, he’s been both.

His silhouette stood up in front of the window. “Jasmine, we don’t have to-”

Now or never. I rushed towards him and kissed him before he could finish his sentence. Earlier he had planted the seed of kissing yourself. Curiosity got the best of me. As our lips touched, my body instantly went into autopilot and I embraced him as if he were my long-time lover. In a way, he was.

Daniel wasted no time wrapping his scrawny arms around me. Those were my arms not so long ago.

Thankfully, kissing him was no different than kissing any of the girls I’ve had relations with over the past five weeks. I raised my hand to cradle his face, but the moment I touched the familiar grainy stubble that I dealt with throughout my adult life, my hand recoiled. It broke the illusion I was going for. I tried again, this time putting my hands on his shoulders to pull him in tight.

Daniel softly groaned and his hands timidly caressed my back - as if he didn’t know what to do with them. 

This went on for at least a minute or two. We kissed and kissed and his hands didn’t move at all. This surprised me because if he was truly the girl I had sex with four weeks ago then he was far more experienced than me. Either he was playing the part of virgin Daniel, or he was making it abundantly clear that this was my show. After all, I was the one who willingly came back. 

From what I have come to know of Guild members, the answer was likely a little of both. He was playing a part, and he was respecting me as a woman, and respecting me as a Guild member.

The idea he was playing me felt weird. He was awkward and timid and I wasn’t flattered by this portrayal, whether accurate or not. It almost seemed as if he was mocking me.

But, however Daniel behaves, I still have to play my part. I’m Jasmine. I have to lead. This is my story and I get to decide how Daniel loses his virginity. 

I grabbed his hand and placed it against one of my breasts.

He gently massaged it. I felt a tingle, and my nipple began to harden inside my bra.

Two things were swirling in my head. What do I want done to my current body, and what do I want done to my original body? In search of answers, I reached down between his legs and felt his growing bulge. I gently massaged it with my hand and felt it get larger. 

“Fuck,” he moaned as he broke away from our kiss. Through the faint ambient light I could see he had lust in his eyes. Lust for me. 

I unbuttoned his jeans and slid them and his boxers down enough to spring free my old friend. Oh wow, he’s been manscaping. I actually liked it. It made Little Daniel look larger. As I stroked my old penis I reminded myself that this was indeed my penis. It was a little weird stroking it from this angle, but Daniel made no complaints and started to breathe heavier. As I stroked the length of it, I could feel my pussy throb and dampen my panties even more.

He whimpered needily and stood there waiting for my next move.

I slowly walked us over to my bed- I mean his bed. I sat him down and gave his hard cock one more stroke.

He leaned back against the wall looking lustfully at me. It was time to take things to the next level.

“Good boy,” I whispered. I knelt down in front of him and looked at his dick. My dick. My mouth watered as I contemplated what I was about to do. He was right. There were times I wanted to take my own member in my mouth. I was single, and the idea of finding a girl to go down on me seemed like a distant pipe dream. I was curious. What would it feel like on my tongue? What would it taste like? Sadly, my body didn’t contort that way and I nearly threw out my back once while trying. But here was my opportunity. I gently wrapped my fingers around it and stroked it a few times. 

My pussy throbbed some more. I could feel my own juices continue to soak my panties. With my free hand I reached down and rubbed my clit through them. She would just have to wait her turn.

I leaned closer to my former dick. I’ve gotten close in the past, but never this close. I could feel the heat radiating off of it. When it was mine, I was rather proud of it. It’s length. Its girth. I was no porn star, but I felt I could measure up to any of my male peers and make any woman swoon. Sadly, my confidence in my dick never manifested to any other part of my life. In fact, that pride seemed so insignificant now. I felt no remorse or jealousy that it wasn’t currently attached to my body.

Daniel looked at me with a patient smile on his face. He must have known what was going through my mind, and was happy to let me savor this moment, even if it delayed his pleasure.

I stroked it a few more times until I noticed a bead of precum on the tip. I leaned forward to lick it off. The sweet and salty flavor greeted my tongue.

I could do this. I just had to remember what Ella did to me the other week. I grasped his dick around the base and slowly brought it closer to my mouth. I slowly ran my tongue along the underside of his shaft to the base, and back to the tip. Then I slowly traced it around the head, before making another trip down the shaft. 

Daniel squirmed in pleasure. “You’re doing great.”

That wasn’t something I would say, but it was something an experienced partner would say when they knew this was my first time giving head. The expert/novice role reversal gave me a brief pause. I shook my insecurities away and continued.

I swirled my tongue slowly around the head until I found I was taking it into my mouth, wrapping my lips around it. I was actually sucking my own dick. Not something I expected to be doing when I got up this morning.

Daniel grabbed my hair and moaned, “Good girl.”

The out-of-character affirmation should’ve given me another pause, but instead sent a warm feeling throughout my body. I instantly started sucking it, and pumping the base some more. Inch by inch I took more of the shaft into my mouth.

My mind wanted to contemplate the differences between giving oral to a man vs a woman, but I had to remind myself that now wasn’t the time for that.

The more he moaned, the more of him I wanted to take. Before long, I could feel the head of his dick reach the back of my throat and I gagged.

That didn’t stop me and I tried again. With every moan I bobbed my head faster, wrapping my lips tightly against his cock. My cock. Even if it wasn’t attached to me at the moment, It was still mine, and if anyone was going to suck on it first, it was going to be me.

“Yeah, Jasmine,” he grunted. “That’s it.”

As I went faster and faster, I felt him tense up.

“Wait, wait,” he cried, cradling my head.

I took his stiff rod out of my mouth and looked up at him, my eyes begging to let me finish him off.

“I don’t want to cum yet,” he panted, then chuckled. “I don’t quite have the same restraint as your previous partners.” 

I nodded in agreement. He was right. I’m actually surprised he lasted this long.

He patted his lap, and I climbed up to join him. His dick was mere inches from my very soaked and pantyclad pussy.

For the first time, he took the lead and pulled my dress off, then clumsily unclasped my bra. I giggled patiently while he pretended to struggle, but a part of me was growing impatient at his performance, knowing full well that my lover had plenty of experience with putting on and taking off bras. “You’re so beautiful,” he gasped as he took in my naked form.

The compliment pierced through my insecurities. While I didn’t grow up Jasmine, I was Jasmine at the moment, and I felt beautiful and sexy and the compliment made me radiate.

“I’m all yours for tonight. Tell me what you want. I want to serve you, Mistress.” 

“Mistress?” I giggled. Usually that title is reserved for Lauren and-

“I read about your sex with Morgan.”

I blushed. “Oh, yeah. I don’t know what came over me that afternoon.”

“It was hot. I want some of that action.”

OK, well if that’s the part he wants me to play, then I’m going all in. I then arched my back and offered my breasts to him. 

He brought his head to my left breast and started tracing my nipple with his tongue. It sent a familiar electricity through my body. The wave of pleasure hit me and I wrapped my arms around his neck so I could hold him close.

“Good boy,” I said to him.

He clumsily played with my breast, completely ignoring other needy places.

I started massaging my other breast as I found my hips slowly starting to buck. The action was making my ass inch further and further up his lap. Until I reached what I was really looking for. I felt a jolt of satisfaction when my pussy was up against his dick.

His rod was iron-hard now and pressing firmly against my mound. 

I could feel it twitch. I could feel my pussy twitch in response.

He finally turned his attention to my other breast, and I continued to rub my pussy against his dick. All I knew is I wanted it. Hell, I needed it. I needed to feel it against my folds. Honestly, I think I really just wanted him to go down on me. After all, I’ve only ever had lesbian sex. That's all I know. Now I had the chance of a lifetime - to experience sex as a straight woman.

Out of nowhere, he lifted me into the air and laid me down next to him. I had no idea I was that strong. My legs were dangling off the bed and he knelt down in front of me.

Instead of going down on me, he reached up and cupped my breasts. 

I was a little disappointed. He was between my legs but playing with my breasts? I was starting to grow impatient, so I took one of his hands and placed it between my legs.

He gently traced the outline of my slit through my soaked panties, making me shiver. There we go, that’s better. He teased me with his hot breath as he continued to pet it.

Another minute went by and my panties were still on, and he didn’t bother putting his finger under them. Maybe I could reach my phone and check emails while waiting for him to get to third base. “Fuck it,” I muttered. I was getting impatient so I hooked my fingers into my panty’s waistband and arched my back.

“Allow me, Mistress,” he protested.

“On one condition,” I stipulated. I needed us to be on the same page. “I appreciate the role-play, but it’s a little weird. It's almost like you’re making fun of me. Can you just be yourself, and not Daniel?”

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I can be whoever you want me to be tonight.” He cupped my hands still hooked around my panties. I let go, and he slowly continued my panty’s path. He lightly caressed my legs as he took them off. I was so glad I shaved them.

I could feel the cool air on my wet pussy and I spread my legs for him. I coyly bit my lip and instinctively traced my folds with one of my fingers.

He removed my hand and held it tenderly while he brought his face to my sex.

He nuzzled my mound and I let out a whimper. I could feel his stubble on my skin. 

Much like he was Jasmine and I was Morgan, he masterfully peeled my folds away and flicked my clit. I’m glad he dropped the virgin Daniel act. I wanted to have sex with the same person I had sex with four weeks ago, not them pretending to be a timid virgin guy. After all, he knew what I wanted. He knew what this body wanted. Pretending otherwise was just tormenting me.

I balled up the comforter in my hands as wave after wave of pleasure filled me. I wanted to scream my partner's name. I didn’t know their name. All I knew was their body’s name. But that was my name. Would that be awkward? I did it anyway. “Fuck me, Daniel!”

Then his tongue and fingers went into overdrive and I let out a very primal moan. Yes, I remember this from our first time. This is really why I came back here.

“Fuck!” I’m sure the neighbors heard that.

He pulled back and looked at me as I caught my breath. He stroked his dick. “Do you want this? It’s not too late to change your mind, D.”

“That’s Mistress Jasmine to you,” I replied with a smirk.

“Command me, Mistress Jasmine. Make me yours.”

I adjusted myself on the bed so I was lying down. So he could top me. Here it is. I’m about to have my own penis thrust inside me. “I want you to fuck me, Daniel.” I instructed. “Stick your massive dick into my pussy.” Hey, I was stroking both our egos.

He opened his nightstand and pulled out a condom wrapper. 

Yes, I was a virgin at the start of this. I was also the kind of virgin who kept condoms in his night stand - just in case. I just wasn’t imagining this literal scenario where I was the one about to be fucked with one.

When he was done, he climbed onto the bed and positioned himself over me. He held onto his cock and teased my pussy by tracing the sticky wet folds with his own latex-wrapped head.

Slowly he began to push inside. I could feel myself filling up with his girth.

I wrapped my legs around his back as he started to slowly thrust.

My eyes went wide at the feeling of being filled with a dick. It was like no feeling I had felt before.

He slowly pulled out and pushed back in. Every nerve inside me could feel every part of his cock sliding back and forth.

He picked up his pace and my breathing increased. He then paused for a moment and shifted himself. The next thrust he did hit a different spot and I spasmed with pleasure.

“Oh fuck, that’s the spot!” I exclaimed.

He kept pumping and pumping.

“Yes, that’s it,” I said as I was filled with an orgasmic rush. “More, more.” Another orgasm washed over me.

“I’m close,” he grunted. He looked like he was painfully trying to hold it back.

I wanted this to last longer. “Don’t cum yet.”

He nodded and grimaced.

“Pull out,” I commanded. “I want to ride you.”

He pulled out of me. Even that action was pleasurable as I felt the shaft of his penis rub against my opening and the head pop out like a cork.

We both clumsily swapped places and I was now straddling his legs. I wondered how much more he had left in him.

I grabbed his dick and raised one of my legs. I slowly guided it into my hole. We were both covered with my juices so it slid right in and I exhausted a moan of pleasure.

I slowly started to bob on top of him, trying to find the same spot he was hitting earlier. After adjusting a few times I found it and let out a gasp.

“Yeah,” he moaned. “That’s the spot for me, too.”

I pinned his arms above his head and continued to ride him. “I want us to cum together,” I cried as my breathing picked up.

“Yes, mistress,” he moaned.

I continued to ride him as another wave of pleasure built up in me. 

He started to grunt.

I screamed, “Yes!”

As a massive orgasm thundered through my body I could feel his cock rhythmically pulsate and the subsequent hot liquid filling the condom inside me.

Neither of us could move until the orgasmic bliss subsided, nor did we want to. We shared another kiss as I dismounted his cock.

Both of us laid there catching our breath.

He eventually got up and discarded the condom into the trash before returning to the bed and nuzzling up next to me.

We both laid there panting as I draped my arm around him.

“You were amazing, Jasmine,” he whispered as he placed another kiss on my lips.

“You too, Daniel,” I said, returning the kiss.

We continued to make out for another few minutes before I noticed he had stopped kissing me.

“Are you awake?” I asked in a whisper.

He didn’t answer. I looked over and realized his eyes were closed. 

As the postcoital euphoria started to wear off, I started to get a weird feeling. Guilt? Shame? Embarrassment? I tried to push those thoughts out of my mind. I closed my own eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 13 - Sydney Part 1

I woke up in a nest of my sheets and comforter, in my dorm room. But within seconds I realized I wasn’t supposed to be here and the memory of last night came back. 

Oh my God, what did I do? Reliving last night’s events felt like an out-of-body experience. I wanted to flee.

Daniel was already awake and out of bed, doing something on his laptop.

“What time is it?” I asked groggily.

“It’s about 9,” he replied. “You were dead to the world.”

“I suppose I hadn’t slept in my own bed in weeks,” I chuckled, trying to make light of my situation.

“Do you want to stay?” he asked. “We can get breakfast at the dining hall together. I’m sure you miss your old dining hall’s food.” He laughed at his own joke. Nobody would miss that slop.

“I really need to go,” I admitted. I extracted myself from my nest and started awkwardly getting dressed. My panties were still damp from last night and gave me a dirty, icky feeling. I couldn't wait to get back… home… or rather to Jasmine’s apartment and take a shower.

“Jasmine, are you OK?”

“Yeah,” I lied. “I just need to get home.”

“Listen, D,” Daniel said, his tone becoming more serious.

I paid no attention as I straightened my dress, then my bird’s-nest hair, in the wall mirror.

“This doesn’t need to be a one night stand,” he suggested.

“I don't know,” I replied, turning red and looking away. “I can’t think about that right now.”

“I like you,” he said. “I do. We can make this a regular occurrence if you want. Regardless of which body we’re in.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “What about Rule 5? How is that even going to work? I don’t even know who you are. Who are you? J? M? One of the guys?”

He didn’t reply and looked down at his feet. Great, I guess I’ll never know.

I picked up my heels and paused at the door. I turned around to Daniel. “Um.. I guess I’ll see you in class?”

He smiled. “See you in class, Jasmine.”

I opened the door slightly and checked the hall. It was quiet. I left the room and silently shut the door. I held my heels and walked barefoot through the hallway towards the side exit when Mike came out of his room.

He noticed me and suddenly had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Oh, good morning, Jasmine.” 

Fuck. I turned bright red. I never knew how demeaning the “walk of shame” was until this moment. I said nothing and kept going until I reached the side door and exited the dorm and stepped out into the morning daylight.

* * *

When I got home, I slowly crept through my apartment hoping Morgan was still asleep. 

No such luck. She was already awake, eating breakfast. “Well, well, well,” she said with a playful smile. “Look who spent the night at a boy’s place?”

“I did it so I could sleep in my own bed,” I chuckled. Humor was always my go-to defense mechanism.

“Sure, you did,” she laughed. “So, how was it?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, shaking my head.

Morgan sensed my avoidance and got concerned. “Jaz, you can talk to me.”

I kicked my heels off and fell onto one of the couches.

“D,” she said sternly. “Talk to me. This was your first sex with a guy. What's going on in your head right now?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “That I didn’t particularly enjoy it. At least not how I felt afterwards.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean physically it was good, don’t get me wrong. But - I don’t know. I felt no attraction. No connection. It was just sex.”

“And when you were with Morgan or Jasmine?”

“It was hot. There was an attraction.”

“So, you won’t be doing that again?”

“Nope. Not with my former body. Not with another guy.”

She chuckled, “You’re a bonafide lesbian, girl. M will be thrilled.”

I grinned. “Maybe.” 

“Hey, look on the bright side,” she smirked. “You now have a good comeback for the next time someone says, ‘Go fuck yourself.’”

I shook my head and forced out a small giggle.

“Too soon?”

“Yeah.” I considered what I said about the one-time thing. I think that’s what bothers me most. It was essentially a one-night stand, even if I see whoever that was again in a girl's body and we have sex again. I didn’t know how to bring that up to Morgan because I had this feeling that part of the allure of being in the Guild was the casual sex. I got up from the couch. “I need to take a shower.”

“Oh,” Morgan said. “I know this is all new. But we forgot to mention that when you’re Jasmine, if you’re going to have sex with a new partner you have to get the group’s approval - before, obviously. That’s a her-rule.”

I stood there and turned red. I forgot about the list of approved sexual partners. “Oh my God, I forgot. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s OK, D,” she said. “When you left here last night I wanted to make sure you were OK. I texted the group. They all OK’d it. You can now add Daniel to your approved partner list.”

I turned even redder. “You told everyone?” I pulled out my cellphone, turned it back on, and looked at the group chat. Sure enough,there were unread messages.

“Yeah - I got your back, girl.”

“Um, thanks?” I didn’t know how to feel about this invasion of privacy. “But that means you told Daniel, too? Before I got there?” I looked at the timestamp of the group messages. 1 a.m. That was while I was walking back to Daniel’s place.

“Yeah. He OK’d it also.”

Of course he did. It was his idea. I turned red with embarrassment. “Oh my God. He was expecting me. Now everyone knows Daniel and I had sex. Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Maybe he didn’t want to spoil your moment,” Morgan speculated. “Everyone was going to find out anyway next time they read either Daniel’s or Jasmine’s journal.”

“I just... I dunno. Takes something away from the whole experience. Anyway, I’m thoroughly humiliated. I’m going to take that shower now.”

“Oh no, D. Don’t feel humiliated. I’m sorry- The rules-”

I raised my hands. “I just can’t now.” I then immediately went to the shower.

As I soaped up I imagined the warm water washing away all traces of last night. But I knew it couldn’t erase the memories of what happened. I toweled off, put on my sleeping clothes, and climbed under the covers.

“Jaz, do you wanna get breakfast?” Morgan said from my doorway.

“No,” I replied. When I heard the apartment door close, I shut my eyes and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

I felt a body sit down on the bed next to me. 

I opened my eyes a smidge to see Morgan sitting there. 

She stroked my hair and noticed I was awake. “How are you doing?”

“Everything has been so overwhelming,” I admitted. “I thought I had it under control. This past week proved I don’t.”

“You’ve been amazing, D. You’ve handled everything like a pro.” Her petting my hair felt soothing.

“If you want to kick me out of the Guild-”

“Why would we do that?”

“Because I lost control last night. I wasn’t myself. I wasn’t Jasmine. I wasn’t D. I was a jealous control freak.” And she doesn’t even know about Aiden and Ella at the Halloween Party. “And then the experience with Daniel…”

“Maybe you just need a day break. You’ve been at this nonstop since joining the Guild. You’ve followed each crazy week up with a crazier week.”

“A break? You mean like staying in bed and feeling sorry for myself? Or going back to being Daniel? I’m not sure if I could look at myself in the mirror after last night. At least, not yet.”

“I have an idea,” she said, standing up from the bed. “Give me an hour.”

I closed my eyes and lost track of time again.

* * * 

When Morgan returned, Sydney was with her.

“Hey D,” Sydney said. “I heard you’re overwhelmed.”

I groaned and put the pillow over my head. I didn’t want to share my embarrassment with anyone else. “What is she doing here?” I said into the pillow.

“She’s going to help,” Morgan replied. “D, get up.”

I removed the pillow and sat up in bed. “What time is it?”

“It’s noon. Do you still have the stone?”

“In there,” I replied, pointing to one of my dresser drawers. “I put it in there after the Halloween party.”

Morgan retrieved the stone and handed it to Sydney. “I invited Sydney here because before we brought you into the Guild, she had the least stressful life. We would be her when we needed a break from the non-stop lives of Antonio and Gabriel. Or the relationship drama of Jasmine and Morgan.”

“I’ve got a car,” Sydney reminded me. “You can get off campus for a few hours. There’s this cute coffee place we always go to.”

I nodded. Something hot sounded good right now. And I could use some comfort food.

Sydney sat next to me and held out her hand with the stone in it. I held her hand and we swapped.

I brushed a blonde lock out of my face and looked at Jasmine. I still wanted to lay back down, but then I remembered I’m not Jasmine anymore. I’m wide-awake Sydney, ready to take on the world. This isn’t my bed, and this isn’t my apartment. I stood up and handed the stone to Morgan. Sydney was shorter than the others, so I was back to looking up at everyone. I also noticed my chest was heavier. I looked down and framed between my long blond locks was an impressive cleavage view.

“The address for the coffee shop is in your phone,” Jasmine said, handing me my new purse. “When we're Sydney, we go there to center ourselves.”

After having sex with myself last night, the shameful walk home this morning, and now swapping with a whole new person, I could barely think straight. “So I go there? What should I do? Just relax?” I asked. 

“Whatever you want,” Morgan replied. “The goal is to just be D. Don’t worry about being anyone else for the next few hours.”

I nodded and Jasmine stood up to give me a hug. Then Morgan gave me a hug.

I waved goodbye to the girls and walked out of the apartment. OK. Now where’s Sydney's car?

* * *

After texting Jasmine, I was informed that Sydney’s car was in an adjacent parking lot. The little white sedan chirped when I pressed the beep button on the fob.

I opened the car door and sat down. I hadn’t gotten a chance to really look at my new body, so I flipped down the visor mirror. Staring back at me was Sydney with her long blonde hair framing her face. 

I was wearing a white sweater and black yoga pants. It was a very comfy outfit.

I started the car, and set my destination to the recommended coffee shop. The coffee shop was located in a trendy part of the city. While I wasn’t looking forward to finding parking, the idea of getting off campus sounded nice.

I found parking in a garage near the coffee shop. It was only a two minute walk, but I could feel the air getting colder. It was November, after all. Unfortunately, the previous Sydney didn’t leave me with a coat.

I pushed through the door of the coffee shop and a jingle went off to let the employees know a new patron walked through.

The blue-haired barista behind the counter gave me a friendly knowing smile as if I was a regular.

Despite having driven all the way here, I wasn’t sure if I was in a coffee mood. Instead I looked around, and found what looked to be a very comfy chair with a table in the corner of the shop. 

I sat down and sank into the chair. If the chair was a person, and could give you a hug - this was the chair. I crossed my legs and looked out the window.

This table overlooked the street and was excellent for people watching.

I noticed someone was beside me. I looked at the figure and saw the barista standing there holding a coffee mug. “Hi, Sydney, here’s your usual.” She then placed the mug and saucer on the table.

As I reached into my purse, she waved me off. “I started you a tab. Is there anything else I can get you?”

I glanced at her nametag. Natalie. “No, Natalie, thank you,” I smiled.

As Natalie the barista walked away, I examined the mystery drink. Sydney’s usual? It was bright green and steam was coming off of it.

I picked it up and blew over the top of the mug before taking a little sip. It was tea. And it was actually rather delightful. I could feel my tensions already loosening up.

I placed the mug back on the saucer. I can see why this is Sydney’s usual. I wondered if the tea would taste as good as someone else. I hadn’t really gotten the chance to experience unique foods as different Guild members. Now that I pondered it more, what if James’s meal for me was actually Antonio’s favorite, leading to me thinking it was good.

“And I thought I was the only one who ordered that,” said a girl nearby.

I looked up at her, confused why anyone would be talking to me.

“Hot Matcha Latte with cream,” she said, pointing at my cup. “It’s my favorite.”

I smiled. “Oh, right. I’m not in a coffee mood today.”

“I don’t know how anyone is ever in a coffee mood,” she replied. She then returned her attention to an open laptop.

I took another sip of my tea and tried to clear my mind. I hadn’t really gotten a chance to reflect on the past five weeks. They were no doubt the most exciting five weeks of my life. But I worried about who I was becoming. I spent so much time as Jasmine I felt like I was becoming her. At the same time, I felt a distance from Daniel that I couldn’t put into words. I wasn’t Daniel anymore - and he wasn’t me. And if I’m not Daniel, who am I?

Everyone else in the Guild seems to have it together. Although looking back on it, nobody outside of Antonio seems eager to return to their original bodies. Not Jasmine. Not Gabe. Not Morgan. In fact Jasmine and Gabe gave off vibes that they’d rather not return to their original bodies.

My mind suddenly went back to Morgan’s interview question. She asked me if I was transgender. No, she asked me if I had dysphoria. Are those different things? What if one of us was transgender? What would that mean? What if Jasmine or Gabe didn’t want to go back? What if I didn’t want to go back? I sat on that question and let it sink in.

“Excuse me,” the girl said, interrupting my thoughts.

I looked up.

She was holding out a tissue.

It was then I realized I was crying. I took the tissue. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed.”

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No. I’m fine. I’m just having a crisis of identity,” I explained vaguely.

“You too?” she giggled. “First the coffee, then our existential crises.”

I doubt her crisis of identity was anything like mine. “Why are you having a crisis?”

“I’m a twin,” she explained. “Either I’m never seen as an individual - or I’m playing second-fiddle to my sister who’s better at everything. How about you? Are you a twin too?”

“Me? No. I don’t have a twin.” At least I didn’t think Sydney had one.

“So, what’s eating you?”

How do I explain my situation without giving away the nature of the Guild? “Well, I met some new friends about a month ago. It's been amazing. They’ve been great. Fun and supportive.”

She flashed a confused smile. “Then what’s the problem? That sounds ideal.”

“Well the problem is they pulled me out of my comfort zone. I’ve done things I never would have done on my own - experienced things I never would’ve experienced. And I liked it. Most of it, anyway. And it’s making me question who I was originally.”

“We’re the sum of our experiences. The you of today, is naturally going to be different than the you of a month ago.”

“That’s fair. I suppose I’m different for having met these friends.”

“Life’s like that, I guess. It throws you experiences you weren’t expecting. And it changes you.”

“I certainly wasn’t expecting this,” I said, shaking my head. If you only knew.

“Such is life. Hi, I’m Kaylee,” she introduced herself, leaning towards me with her hand extended.

“Sydney”, I replied, softly shaking her hand.

“Do you come here often?” she asked.

“Only when I’m having an existential crisis,” I giggled, taking another sip of tea.

“How often is that?” She had such an infectious smile.

“I have no idea but-,” I laughed. “The barista knows my name and my drink.”

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” she chuckled. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“No, you’re not,” I smiled. “You’re helping me forget why I came.”

She giggled. “It’s my first time here. Normally I’m at the coffee shop at the bookstore, but a coworker suggested I try this place. I like it. It’s nice and cozy.”

“I like it too,” I replied, looking around. It’s nice for my first time.

“Do you go to work or school around here?” she asked.

“I go to college up the street.”

“Oh, cool. I couldn’t afford college. I’m an aspiring writer by day. But writing doesn’t pay the bills - yet. So I also waitress by night.”

“You’re a writer?” I asked. “I’ve always wanted to write.”

“Yeah, I am. I write high fantasy. Romantic high fantasy,” she clarified.

“No way,” I replied. “I was just in the middle of reading one last month. I didn’t get a chance to finish it though.”

“You like high fantasies?” she asked. “I post my stories online and most of my readers are guys.”

That statement hit me like a bucket of ice water. I suddenly remembered I was Sydney and I knew nothing about her likes or dislikes. I never got a chance to read her journal. Of course I wasn’t expecting to be in a social situation this afternoon. All I could do is just go with the flow. “Well I enjoy them. So that has to count for something.”

“What book were you reading?”

“The Heroine Prophecy.”

“OMG, I loved that book!” Kaylee squealed. She grabbed her own tea and sat next to me. “And you haven't finished it yet?”

“No, I haven’t,” I replied. “Remember when I said my life has been chaotic for a month? Well. I haven’t picked it up since then. I’m at the part where the fascist emperor plunges the realm into chaos.”

“It’s sooo good. You have to finish it.”

My mind drifted to how I would make that work. Retrieving my book would require me seeing Daniel - but I wasn't ready to see his face again so soon. 

“How about A Dragon's Menagerie?” she asked.

“Read it.”

“Secret of the Siren's Song?”

“Awesome!”

“The Fallen Cathedral?”

I chuckled. “Not yet.”

“I love that we have the same taste in literature.”

I watched Kaylee tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She was so cute. While I had come here to center myself, I was feeling content talking with her.

After what seemed like an hour, I looked at the clock and realized it was 1:45 pm. The weekly Guild meeting is at 2 in the library. There’s no way I can get there in time.

“Is everything OK?” Kaylee asked.

“Yeah, I just realized I was supposed to be somewhere at 2. A um - study group.”

“Can you make it?”

“No,” I replied. I started typing a message to Morgan. “I’m not able to get back in time. Can I skip this one?”

Morgan responded quickly. “No worries, girl. Take your time!”

I exhaled. “I’m able to get out of it.” I leaned back into my chair and exhaled. I was excited to get more time with Kaylee. “Tell me about your twin.”

“Where to start? She’s older by twenty minutes. She’s smarter and prettier and more popular. Because of that, she’s outgoing and makes friends easier. My friends are her friends.” 

“You can always do your own thing.”

“It's so hard. I look in a mirror and I see her.”

I wanted to empathize with her so bad. I look in a mirror and I see someone else. A temporary body I have on loan. I'm afraid of what happens when I return to my own body and feel the same thing. “I feel the same thing sometimes too.”

We continued talking and talking. It became easy as if we were old friends. Before either of us knew it, it was 3 pm, and the November sun was getting low in the sky.

“I should head out now,” Kaylee said standing up. “It was so nice meeting you, Sydney.”

“Same, Kaylee,” I replied. “Thank you. I needed that chat.”

“Me too.”

She packed up her things into a bag and started for the door. Before she opened the door, she paused, then turned back to me. “Do you want to exchange numbers?”

I smiled. “Of course.” I didn’t know my own number yet, so I asked for hers. I dialed it and her phone rang.

“You now have one friend that your twin doesn’t,” I smiled.

“Hang in there, Sydney. You’re awesome. You’ve got this - whatever it was that brought you here.”

* * *

Of course, I had a slight problem going home. Where exactly do I live? I’ve never been to Sydney’s apartment. I know it was somewhere near Morgan and Jasmine. Thankfully a quick text to Morgan solved that.

“I’ll be right over,” she responded.

I texted back, “That’s not necessary, I found it.”

I parked the car, then entered my apartment and took in my surroundings.

Sydney’s apartment was kept neat. She had very little furniture or decorations. I made my way into the bedroom. It too, was clean and mostly bare of personalizations. 

Nothing in this apartment told me anything about Sydney. I had always considered her the more quiet of the Guild members. Her style and personality would fluctuate depending on who was inside her. Almost as if she had no base personality of her own. If you would ask me to describe Sydney, I would respond, “She’s the only one who's 21 and the member with the car.” And that’s essentially how she’s treated. 

I was eager to learn about the real Sydney.

I found her journals and started at the summary page. Sydney Ann Moore. 21. Music major. She’s a single child and has minimal contact with her parents. She’s currently not dating anyone. 

There was a knock at the door. What is it with people knocking on the door when I’m trying to read my journals?

I looked out the peephole and found Morgan standing there, fidgeting. What was she doing here? I told her I didn’t need her. I opened the door and smiled.

“Hey,” she said. “Can I come in?”

“Sure, Morgan,” I replied. “Thanks for everything. I’m sorry I missed the meeting.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Previous Morgan explained that you needed some time to yourself and we all understood.”

Oh. So this Morgan isn't the same one from this morning. “What did I miss?” I asked.

“Nothing much. Ella is not returning Gabe’s calls. Jasmine swapping with Antonio… I swapped with Morgan…” she hesitated and fidgeted. “I was Daniel.”

I groaned at that revelation. I considered pushing her back outside and shutting the door. I wasn’t ready to talk to whomever this was.

“D, wait. Before you kick me out. I didn’t come here to talk about this morning.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I kinda wanted to catch you before you started reading Syd’s journals.”

I paused. “Why?”

“There’s some things that you should know.”

“I’m listening.”

“Let’s go to her bedroom.”

I stopped her before she came in. “Seriously?”

“D, please. I didn’t mean it like that. Her journals are in the bedroom.”

I nodded and led Morgan to my bedroom. I sat at the desk, and she sat on the bed. “Go ahead, tell me what I need to hear. Then leave.”

“How far have you gotten?”

I held up the journal I was just reading. “Her name. Her major.”

“That’s my handwriting,” she explained. “You’re going to want to start…” She opened a bottom drawer, moved away a few articles of clothing and pulled out another journal. “...here.” She handed it to me.

I raised my eyebrow in curiosity and took it. I opened to the first page and was taken aback by the scribbles and the drawings. Pictures of skulls, poison, knives. I flipped to more pages. More of the same. Angry scribbles cursing the world. Large blocks of words that said, “I hate myself. I hate my breasts. I hate my hair.” I looked at Morgan, confused. “What is this?”

“Cries for help,” she whispered. “You see - S is transgender.”

I was stunned. I considered reaching down to my groin to verify this but decided not to do that in front of Morgan. “She was-”

“He is a trans man.”

A trans man? “How do you know this? Are you S?”

“No, D,” she said, shaking her head. She paused and looked at me. “I’m R.”

Chapter 14 - Sydney Part 2

“R?” I echoed in a state of confusion. “Who’s R?”

“Robert,” Morgan replied. “A Guild member who graduated in the Spring - the one you replaced.”

“If you’re R - then where is S?”

“He took my body. He graduated. He left.”

“He stole your body?”

Morgan sighed and closed her eyes. “He didn’t steal it. It was my idea. I let him have it.”

“But why?”

“S was one of the first guild members. Back then he was just as feminine as the other girls in the Guild. This was back before Antonio helped us create rules. To help us be selective in who we bring in. Before we recognized how destructive dysphoria could be. None of us had even met any transgender people. S didn’t even know he was trans - until he started swapping. The euphoria of being one of the guys. The dread of being one of the girls.” 

I gazed down at the journal with scribbles all over it. The person who wrote and drew in this was in a dark place. I began to wonder if I too could be pulled into this dark place if I kept swapping - if I didn’t return to being Daniel.

Morgan continued, “Years went by and S became more and more withdrawn from us. He’d only swap with the guys and avoid swapping with the girls - especially back into his original body. Two years ago, he got in a tiff with G. S had been Gabriel for over a month. G needed his body back for some reason. The problem was G was currently Sydney. S refused the reset, and would verbally tell us how much he hated his original body. We didn’t know what to do. We finally forced S to swap back into Sydney. The next day, Sydney cut his hair off. He started wearing binders and male clothing. He wanted us to call him Sid. And he stopped coming to Guild meetings.”

“Wasn’t there anything you could do?”

“We didn’t know what to do, D. We’re a family, and one of our family members was hurting. This was back before Antonio and Morgan joined. We didn't have any LGBTQ members in the Guild prior to Sydney. We didn’t know how to handle it. We pleaded for him to come back. He said only under one condition: he never had to swap with any of the girls - including his original body. We agreed and from then on, he’d bounce between my body - Robert -  Jackson, and Gabriel. Later, Antonio, when he replaced Jackson. He would avoid the reset and randomizer. The people who were role-playing Sydney reverted her body back to its feminine appearance. None of them wanted to role-play a trans man, plus they were annoyed that whenever S had role-played a female in the past, he wouldn’t maintain her hygiene. He wouldn’t shave or wear that body's makeup. We had our unspoken rules about role-playing and he wasn’t abiding by them out of spite.”

“What changed?”

“Eventually, we invited Antonio and Morgan into the Guild and said goodbye to two other original members. Because A and M were involved with several LGBTQ groups, they empathized with S’s plight. They encouraged S to attend Pride meetings with them. And to protect the other members, the Guild made the rule to ask about dysphoria before letting a new member in. Plus we made that arrangement that S never had to be forced to swap into any of the female bodies - including Sydney - except when she’d graduated of course.”

“I’m guessing that wasn’t enough.”

“No. He was still hurting. The thought of graduating and being forced to return to Sydney permanently was looming over him. I could see it. While other Guild members adapted to the role-play, you could always tell who S was. I knew he didn’t want to be here any more. I was about to graduate. I offered him my body. He gladly took me up on the offer and graduated, leaving the Guild and the university.”

“What happened then?”

“When the rest of the Guild found out, they were pissed at me. Said it should’ve been a group decision. So now without S or Robert, I’m essentially the new S.”

“So what happens during a reset?”

“I always wind up back as Sydney since I don't have my body here anymore and Sydney’s body doesn’t have her spirit.”

“But Sydney is a senior. She is going to graduate next semester.”

“You’re right. When Sydney graduates the Guild will give me the Sydney body permanently. I haven’t been Robert since before he graduated - five months ago. Slowly, I'm coming to terms with the fact that I’ll never be Robert again. I’m going to need to remind myself that I am Sydney now and forever. It’s not as easy as it looks. To become someone else permanently.”

“Why am I just learning about this now?”

“When you joined, I wanted to tell you the truth. So did A. The others were afraid it would scare you away. Just the idea of a member running off with another’s body.”

“You’re right - that was a fear I had initially. Where is Robert now?”

“He’s got a job as a personal trainer a couple hours away. We exchange texts every now and then.”

“Is he happy with his new life?”

“It seems like it, but it’s only been a few months.”

“What about your family and friends? You can never see them again.”

Morgan sighed. “I think that’s the hardest part of this agreement for me. I will miss my family. I’ll have to rely on S to give me updates.”

“What about friends and classmates?”

“I had a few friends growing up, but we all drifted apart after high school. I guess I could find ways to connect with some of them, but with my original body gone - who would I introduce myself as? I could reach out as Sydney, and try to explain I’m really their old friend Robert; but even if they believed me, it would be a very different dynamic,” Morgan said, gesturing at my curvy body for emphasis. 

I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat at that remark. Time to move on. “And you’re OK with her life?” I asked, turning the focus back to R’s destiny to be Sydney.

“It’s not too bad.  I’ve only met her - I mean my - family a few times.  They seem OK.  Definitely relieved that their daughter is no longer going through that ‘trans phase’.”

I nodded my head, taking all of this in.

“Actually, right now they’re your family.  You’ll get to meet them if you stay Sydney long enough.”

I couldn’t think of any more questions. We both sat there in silence for a minute.

It was Morgan who broke the silence. “D - about last night.”

I sighed, because for one brief moment, I forgot about that.

“I’m sorry. If I knew that’s how it was going to be I wouldn’t have pushed you into having sex with me.”

“You didn't know. Hell, I didn’t know.”

“What happened, if you don’t mind my asking? I hope it wasn’t anything I did.”

“I don’t know. I felt a weird disconnect from my original body. As if he wasn’t me anymore.”

“That sounds a lot like…”

“S.”

Morgan nodded.

“And I think I realized I’m only into girls. Part of the allure of last night - of what made me come back - was having sex with myself. My body. If it’s my body, it isn’t gay. Right? But the more I didn’t see myself in Daniel, the more that illusion was broken. When I woke up - I had memories of having sex with a guy and they didn’t sit right.”

“Well at least you know now. When I had sex with my original body, I realized I was bi.”

I nodded. “Can I talk to Robert?”

“If you want. His phone number’s in your phone.” Morgan stood up. “He might not want to see you. He and the Guild didn’t part in the most friendly of ways.”

“I understand.”

“I’m sorry, D,” she said. “For not letting you know sooner. And for last night. I hope you don’t regret it.”

I had a lot to process. This whole thing with S and R was crazy. Then of course I now had a name to go with the person I’ve had sex with - at least twice. Where each of us were different bodies. It turns out R is a guy - but does that even mean anything when we constantly body swap? What does it mean that R is destined to be Sydney forever?  So is R even a guy anymore? If I didn’t know about S, I would think that gender might be meaningless when you don’t have a constant body. But that’s not true, is it? Or else S wouldn’t have broken away from the Guild and taken the body of R with him. If being in the Guild was torture for S, what does that mean for the others? For me?

Of course, not lost in any of this was what Morgan had said the moment she walked in the door. Ella wasn’t returning any of Gabe’s calls. That certainly didn’t sit well with me. Should I fess up to Morgan right now while she’s here?

Morgan hugged me. “Goodnight, Sydney.”

I guess I wasn’t going to confess tonight. “Good night, Morgan,” I replied. “Thank you for telling me about Sydney.” She nodded and I watched her leave my apartment.

After I was sure Morgan was gone, I pored over Sydney’s journals a little longer. I felt a connection with the emotions scrawled in these drawings. I searched Sydney’s things and found a photo of Sid from three years ago. He had no makeup and a buzzcut. He was barely recognizable from the woman I see now in the mirror. I couldn’t imagine what he went through. Not just the swaps, but watching the other Guild members feminize his original body. All I knew is I wanted to talk to Robert. I had to.

I searched my phone and found his number. I typed the following text. “Hi, my name is-” I paused wondering what to call myself. I figured I’d stick with my original identity. “-Daniel. I’m a sophomore at your former college and I’m a new member of the Guild. I was wondering if we could talk.”

* * *

On Monday morning, I stared at my closet, determining how to dress my new body. Sydney had a wide range of clothes. Without a set ‘style’ Guild members were free to give Sidney any look they wanted.

I was tempted to pull out a dress, but it was looking cold outside. I instead opted for a knit sweater and leggings. I pulled my shoulder-length blonde hair into a messy bun. I looked in the mirror and saw a college co-ed who was about to head to class in November. Objective met!

Each time I swapped into a new person I was met with unique problems. Body size, height, weight and shape took me a while to get used to. Sydney is shorter, so shaving my legs went quicker, but I had to use a stool to reach things in upper cabinets or shelves. Sydney’s curly blonde locks required more product and more time under the hair dryer. Sydney had a classic hourglass figure. Her short stature meant that her boobs and ass were larger. Getting my bra right took more time. Pulling my pants up over my ass took more time and effort.

I had a choice of driving to class or taking the shuttle. As Daniel, I hated driving around campus since I wasn’t allowed to park during the day. Sydney was an off-campus resident who would be allowed to park - somewhere. The thought of driving and having to find parking gave me anxiety. So, I opted to just take the shuttle.

On the shuttle, I kept staring at my phone. I was anxious. Would Kaylee call me? Would Robert text me back? Would anyone bring up Aiden and Ella?

As I was for the other four identities I’ve assumed, I was nervous going to class as Sydney for the first time.  This first class was Music Composition 405. I remember learning about music scales in elementary school, but haven't attempted to read music since. I suppose I should be grateful this wasn’t a performance class.

Thankfully, class was no different than the other ones. I took great notes, even if the terminology went over my head. Maybe on Wednesday someone will explain them to me.

Of course, now that I know S isn’t a member of the Guild, who exactly is going to teach me Music?

That thought was interrupted by the professor, who made sure he had the class's attention. “It’s November.  This is a reminder that your end-of-semester compositions are due in four weeks.” 

The class groaned.

The professor continued. “Remember this class has a project in lieu of a final exam.  Therefore these account for 60% of your final grades.”

I sat there blinking.  End-of-semester composition? Did the rest of the Guild know that?  I pulled my planner from my backpack and flipped to December.  Sure enough, there was a note that the Music Comp project was due December 2nd.

As the class was dismissed, my cell phone lit up with a notification. I had received one of the replies I was waiting for.  It was from Robert.

“I’m at work now. I get off at 4,” he replied. He then sent the address. It was two hours away.

It was then that I decided I would take that road trip this afternoon.

When I got back from class, I ate some lunch and packed some snacks for the road.

While I killed time, I logged into Sydney's computer.  

On my computer was a folder titled “Music Comp.”  

I clicked on a file that launched some music composition software.  Scales full of musical notes filled the computer screen.  I hit play and heard a beautiful song start to play.  I noticed it wasn’t finished yet.  

I closed the music program and saw another file in that folder titled “journal.”  I opened it and saw notes written by the others, detailing the additions and changes to the song.

Just reading that made me want to listen to it again.  I reopened the song and listened to it.  It was beautiful.  I could feel the different personalities shining through.  Five different people wrote this.

The idea that I would have to add to this and finish it felt daunting. I didn’t know the first thing about writing a song.

Another file that caught my eye was a video.  I clicked it and a video of Sydney popped up. 

“Hey guys,” she said, looking into the camera.  “Here’s how you assemble Sydney’s clarinet.”

Clarinet?

Sure enough, sitting in my closet was a clarinet case.

I watched the video and assembled it.  At the end of the video, she started playing the first few bars of the same song I had just listened to. 

I pulled the song back up and looked blankly at the notes.  Apparently reading sheet music was not part of muscle memory.  I was curious though.  I pressed play and closed my eyes.

I started to play along with the song. I realized the fingering comes naturally thanks to muscle memory.  

I glanced at the clock. I needed to get going, so I packed up my clarinet, turned off my computer, and left my apartment to go see Robert.

.

* * *

On the drive to visit Robert, my mind drifted to Aiden and Ella. Not knowing what happened kept worrying me. If they swapped, why haven’t they said anything? If they didn’t swap, why not? I know I was exempted by the cool-down period. Were they? Or did the stone initiate a reset instead of a swap? I saw them both collapse and pass out. So what actually happened? Maybe the reset made them pass out.  Maybe they were just drunk.

I should just tell the Guild about it. They would have answers. But at the same time, I’m worried about how they’ll react to learning I broke the rules.

I arrived in Robert’s city, found a spot for my car and walked a few blocks to where he said he worked.

That place appeared to be a corporate fitness center, which is not what I expected him to be doing. After all, Sydney was a music major. I looked in the windows and saw state of the art exercise machines. The clientele walking out of the building looked wealthy, wearing branded athletic clothes and gym bags.

I checked my phone to verify the time when I heard a male voice from behind me.

“I can’t believe you came here in that body,” the voice said, his disdain clearly evident.

I turned to look at the speaker. He was not much older than me. Clean cut, and very in shape. He was wearing workout pants and a form fitting polo shirt that didn’t hide his chiseled physique. 

“Robert?” I timidly asked, sensing something was off.

“That’s me. Why are you here?” He avoided looking at me, and stared off elsewhere.

That’s when I realized what he meant. I’m currently in his former body. The one that caused him so much dysphoria. “Oh, God,” I panicked, the blood draining from my face. “I”m so sorry I showed up in this body. I was so eager to get answers I didn't think to swap to someone else.”

He glanced at me, shook his head, then glanced away again. “Daniel, right?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Why did you drive two hours to see me?” 

Since I got the impression he was annoyed by my presence, I decided I needed to make every question count. “I’ve been in the Guild for a month. Yesterday was the first time I learned of your history.”

“Why does it matter?” he retorted. “I’m no longer the owner of that body. I’m no longer in the Guild.”

“Because I saw your journals. I want to know why they kept you a secret.”

He nodded. He seemed to have an internal debate on whether he wanted to keep talking to me. He finally let out a loud exhale and nodded his head down the street. “There’s a cafe a block away.”

“Should I call you S or Robert?” I asked.

“Robert,” he replied curtly. “I haven’t been in the Guild since May, and I am Robert now.”

* * *

The cafe was a cozy, yet trendy, place. It was filled with people in suits. I felt out of place in the sweater and leggings I was wearing.

We sat at the bar and the server behind the counter came over to us. “Can I help you?”

“Want something to eat?” Robert asked me.

“Nah, I’m good,” I replied to both Robert and the server.

Robert ordered a salad and an organic smoothie from the server. When the server left, he turned to me. “So, how is everybody?”

I sensed that this was just Robert making small talk and he didn’t really care. “Everyone seems fine,” I replied. 

“So, you saw my journals.”

“Yeah, I talked to… R. He said-”

“She,” Robert corrected.

“She?”

“Yeah, it’s polite to use someone's correct pronouns.”

I looked at Robert with my mouth agape. “I… I didn’t know-”

“Didn’t know R was trans?”

“No. They didn’t tell me that.”

“She voluntarily gave me her body. She’s going to be Sydney permanently when she graduates. I thought - I thought that part would’ve been obvious, Daniel.”

I didn’t know what to say. Maybe I made a mistake coming here. I thought about R and Sydney. I never got the impression R was gung-ho about becoming Sydney permanently.  Or else there would be more rules for being in Sydney’s body. The way Robert was looking at me in disdain made me think he’s just being an ass. I decided that two can play. “D. I go by D.” I clenched my jaw.  I wasn’t going to be chased away before I got my answers.

He didn’t expect that response. Or maybe the resolve coming from my facial expression.

It was a stand-off to see who would back down.

Then he took a deep breath and sighed. “I’m sorry, D,” he apologized. “I’m being combative. I don’t know you, so I shouldn’t judge. I’m sorry I interrupted.”

I nodded. Maybe we’re on the same page now. “Again, I apologize for coming here as Sydney. I wasn’t thinking.”

He nodded. “So, you were saying something about R before I cut you off?”

“R said he felt a disassociation the longer he was away from his old body. Is that your typical trans experience?”

He chuckled. “Well your typical trans experience doesn’t involve trading bodies with your DnD friends. But yeah, It was eye-opening for me. When I was growing up as Sydney, I preferred girl’s sports, dresses, and playing with dolls. I lived up to the expectations society put on a young girl. But, I also had friends who were boys. Until puberty hit me. Boys stopped hanging out with me and started treating me differently because of-” he went to cup his toned pecs then instead nodded at my chest - his former chest. “Those. But even then, I thought that was just the part of a patriarchal society that treated women like sex objects. I continued to be a good girl all through my adolescence and into college. I was told to go to college to find a husband so I dressed for the male gaze.”

“Then you joined the Guild.”

“The Guild was originally a DnD club. It was the stone that changed everything. But yeah, we weren’t organized yet. But the first time I swapped into a guy it was like the weight of the universe was suddenly lifted. The way people looked at me, the way they treated me. I could dress how I wanted. I could learn what I wanted. I could have sex and not be shamed for it.”

“When did you figure out you were trans?”

He chuckled. “It took longer than it should have. I knew something was wrong the first time I swapped back into a woman’s body.  It was after a month of being one of the guys.” He paused to exhale. “I didn’t want to be there anymore. I was so uncomfortable. After the cooldown, I immediately wanted to swap to someone else. But I remained silent in my depression. I was in denial for that first year.  Every time I would swap into a woman, I felt like I wanted to get out quickly.  When I made those doodles you saw - I had finally come to terms with the truth.  I was a transgender man. I didn’t belong in a woman’s body. I then spent the next two years avoiding being a woman.” He tilted his head to the side and looked at me. “Why did you really come here?”

“I came because I haven’t been myself in a month - outside a brief reset. And I’m worried that I have no desire to go back.”

“OK. Do you think you’re trans, D?”

“No. Maybe? I saw your pain in that journal. I don’t want to dismiss the possibility. I’m just- I’m just worried. I’ve been Jasmine the longest. And I found myself identifying more with her than my old self.”

“Jasmine’s a very attractive woman. I bet being her makes you feel things you’ve never felt.”

“Exactly. I have more confidence. I have more self-esteem.”

“That's how I felt when I swapped into a guy.”

I nodded.

“But,” he emphasized, “Those feelings alone don’t make you trans. Only you can make that decision. Don’t let me or anyone else make that decision for you. Some of the guild members have said that being with other people helped them find who they really were. That whole ‘walk a mile in someone else’s shoes’ thing. It certainly helps everyone discover their sexuality.” He chuckled.

“I had sex with my original body,” I blurted out, instantly turning red with embarrassment.

Robert raised his eyebrow at me sharing something so intimate. “Oh? And how did that go?”

“That night it felt wonderful.” I shuddered remembering the climaxes. “But the next morning it just felt all wrong. Everyone else said it’s no different than masturbating. But I disagree. I had no connection to him. It felt like gay sex and I was sick to my stomach.”

“Hmm. What brought you to the Guild, D? Was it the sex?”

“The sex? No. I mean - yeah, that was part of it. I-I was a virgin. The sex was nice. It was the thrill of being someone else. I’m an introvert, and being someone else was fun. I was more confident.”

He chuckled. “Sounds like us in the beginning. A bunch of DnD virgins found this strange power. What started as role-play, missions, and character sheets turned into orgies.”

The Guild used to have orgies? “That's… crazy.”

“You said you’ve only been a Guild member for a month, there’s no rush to jump to conclusions.”

“But you said you were in denial for a year.”

“D, the fact that you came here and we’re having this conversation means you’re more mature and open to possibilities than I was. Maybe you’re trans. Maybe you’re not. Maybe you’re genderfluid. Maybe you're something else entirely. I’m assuming you’ve swapped into one of the guys already…”

“Yeah, I was both Antonio and Gabriel for a week each.”

He smiled. “I miss being those guys. How did it feel being them?”

“Different. I was overwhelmed by their lifestyles.”

“Did it feel suffocating? Crushing? Did you feel like you wanted to rip your skin off?”

“No. Not at all.”

“That’s what it felt like for me to be a girl again. Now granted, everyone feels dysphoria differently.”

“What do I do?” I asked. “When I joined, they asked me if I had dysphoria. I told them no.”

“Things change, D. One of the great things about the Guild is you learn so much about yourself. It’s funny. You learn more about yourself divorced from your own body than you do with it. You learn who you really are without having your physical presence define you. I’m kinda envious of you. You have more freedom than I had to explore who you are.”

I nodded as if I was in a class lecture.

“Here’s what they don’t tell you - or rather what they haven’t realized yet. They talk about the excitement of role-playing and being new people. What they haven’t realized yet is - they’re not role-playing. Not at all. For the first time in their lives, they’re actually being themselves.”

“So you don’t regret joining the Guild?”

“Not at all. I wouldn’t be the man I am today. It's just that, we butted heads a lot towards the end. Before R and I made that pact, I was annoyed at the choices they were making for Sydney. I could’ve added those to my rules, but I felt I shouldn’t have to. They knew I was a trans masc and yet there they were parading Sydney around in the pinkest, most feminine outfits possible.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” 

“I didn’t know what to wear today.”

He looked at me and we made eye contact. This was the first time he made eye contact with me. I saw his eyes take me in. I could see emotions behind those eyes. “I wasn’t talking about you per se. But, I like how casual you look. You’re wearing something I would’ve worn when I was Sydney. Actually, you look good.”

I blushed at the compliment even though all I’ve contributed to the Sydney-look is today’s clothes.

Since we were opening up to each other’s looks I decided to ask, “Were you always that ripped?”

He laughed. “No. Just ask R. Before I took over, Robert was a tall scrawny guy - much like Antonio. Working at a fitness center has its benefits.” He flexed his biceps and laughed.

“I see,” I said smiling. While I didn’t find Robert attractive, my life as Daniel told me what peak masculinity looked like - because I was never it.  But Robert - the former S, appeared to have achieved what he was looking for. He was happy and it made him attractive. “Do you miss your old life? Your family? Your friends?”

“A little bit. But that’s why I keep in touch with R. We traded lives. She contacts me occasionally to see about her old life.”

“I still can’t believe they didn’t tell me about you.”

“A few of them didn’t like that me and R permanently swapped. We were the first ones to make such an arrangement. It went against their core belief that the Guild is temporary, and you not only can, but it’s assuming you’ll return to your original body. Breaking that assumption scares them. And between me and you - I dont think we’ll be the last ones to permanently swap.”

My phone buzzed. It was a text message from Kaylee. My heart skipped a beat before reading it.

“Hi, Sydney, I was wondering if you were going to be at the coffee bar tomorrow?”

“Who’s that?” Robert asked, leaning forward to look at my phone.

“Oh, just a girl I met yesterday.”

He chuckled then had a smirk on his face. “Oh, to be in college again.”

“This is actually new for me. I was an introvert before the Guild.”

“Then have fun. I did. I just wish I left the Guild on better terms.”

“I can send my regards.”

He waved his hand. “Nah. That part of my life is over. Maybe tell R I’m doing fine. The family is fine. I’m going home for Thanksgiving.” 

The server brought Robert’s food out.

“D, are you sure you don’t want anything to eat? To drink?”

“No, I really should get back to school.”

“I don’t miss their food,” he chuckled. “Good luck, D. I hope you found what you were looking for.”

“I think I did,” I replied.

“Remember, don’t worry about whose body you’re in. Find yourself. Find what makes you happy.”

Chapter 15

The next morning I stared at my closet. Knowing now what S went through, I felt uneasy about picking out an outfit. I wondered if the rest of the Guild had the same problem. Is that why Sydney’s journals are barren? Why she has no style or rules? And if Sydney is now owned by R, why hasn’t he - or she - made rules? I suppose the Guild doesn't know what to do with her.

So I picked out what I wanted to wear. I found a cute pink flannel shirt and a pair of fashionably-ripped jeans to wear. I put on some makeup, but not too much.

I had class first, then my meetup with Kaylee.

After a back and forth text message conversation, Kaylee said she had to work in the evening, but she was available to meet up in the afternoon at her normal hang out. A downtown bookstore.

Of course, I had class in the morning, so we agreed to meet up that afternoon at 2.

I was anxious about meeting Kaylee because I wasn’t role-playing Sunday afternoon. I was myself. And for the first time since being in the Guild, someone was interested in me. But was she really interested in me - or just the Sydney body? Hell, I don’t know if Kaylee is even into girls. This could just be a budding friendship. How do I maintain any type of friendship or relationship when I am not in a consistent body? My mind was in overdrive, overthinking this situation.

I pushed through my morning routine. My second morning as Sydney proved easier than the first day. After getting ready, I boarded the shuttle and headed to class. 

This class was Music History. Another class I knew nothing about. I’m kinda eager to see what happens on Wednesday. Who teaches me music? This also makes me wonder about what R thinks about taking over Sydney’s life again. Is a Music degree what they really want? On the flip side, S was a music major and is now working at a corporate gym.

When I got home, I had an unexpected visitor - Jasmine. Of course, whenever I see Jasmine I can’t help but smile. Since joining the Guild, she’s the person I’ve spent most of my time with - and as.

“Hey, Syd,” Jasmine smiled.

“Jaz, what’s up?” I asked. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I need to borrow the car,” she said with an innocent smile.

My mind immediately went to my initial assessment of Sydney. She was the Guild member whose personality was “the one with the car.” So, I shouldn’t have been surprised by this.

“Oh yeah, sure,” I acknowledged. I put my key into the door to unlock it, then handed the whole key ring to her. “I just need to have it back before 1:30.”

She looked at me like I had three heads. “You know I don’t have a license. I need to borrow you.”

“Oh,” I replied. 

She wants to swap. 

I shifted my weight uneasily. I wasn't ready to swap lives. I had things to do. Could this be temporary? What time was it? Was there enough time for a cool down before my meet up with Kaylee? I checked my phone. It was already 11:30. 

Jasmine noticed my unease. “Is everything OK?”

“Everything is fine,” I said, awkwardly. “Sure, we can swap. But I have something at 2.”

“Oh, what is it?” she excitedly sang. “Could I do it for you?”

“No,” I abruptly replied, taking her by surprise. “I mean - it’s something I’m looking forward to.”

“Oh, OK,” she replied. “I can have her back by then. Let's go inside so we can swap in private.”

* * *

Two minutes later, I was Jasmine. Again. 

I stood outside Sydney’s apartment, and watched Sydney drive away. Before she left, I asked her to be back by 1:30, but I was uneasy about it. After all, now I have no car, and Kaylee’s contact information is in Sydney’s phone.

With all my accumulated time as Jasmine, and only two days since I was last her, it felt normal being her again almost instantly. Of course, this time, I’m not anticipating being Jasmine for more than two hours.

With Jasmine’s next class not until 3, I decided to walk to her and Morgan’s apartment. 

When I walked inside, Morgan was in her room with headphones on. I’m pretty sure Morgan is still R, and I didn’t feel like talking to her right now. Either about Robert, or us. I should ask her about Robert’s assertion that she’s trans. Perhaps another time.

I walked to my room and sat down at my desk. I didn’t feel like reading Jasmine’s journals since this visit was only temporary. 

I leaned back in my desk chair and closed my eyes. I suddenly had this idea, that I should take advantage of being Jasmine. I can see about whatever is going on with Ella. I pulled out my phone and texted Lauren.

“Hey, girl, what are you up to this afternoon?” I sent.

“Just got back from class,” she replied. “Nothing going on. Was going to do some homework.”

“Can I stop by?”

It took her a few minutes to respond. After all, it wasn’t every day Jasmine asked to go visit Delta House. “Sure,” she replied.

“I’ll be back,” I announced openly to the apartment, but I wasn’t sure Morgan heard me. Not like it mattered.

I left my apartment and made my way to Greek Row and to the Delta Pi Theta sorority house. Lauren was waiting outside, holding the door open for me.

“What's new?” she asked, a pleasant smile on her face.

“I had some free time,” I said, casually walking into the sorority house. “I figured we could hang out for a little bit.”

“I’ve got some calculus homework if you want to help,” she chuckled.

As I followed her to her room, I looked around and noticed I hadn’t been to the sorority house in the daytime. It was quite empty and quiet. We walked right by Regina George. Maybe one day I’ll get her real name. She said hi to Lauren, but she neither recognized me nor acknowledged my presence. Why would she? I had been Morgan the night we met, but I wasn’t Morgan at this moment. I kept my eyes peeled for Ella. 

When we reached her room, she sat down in a desk chair and I sat on her bed. She had books and notebooks strewn across her desk. The open book was definitely a calculus book. She wasn’t kidding, she was studying.

“How was Saturday night?” Lauren asked, chewing on a pen, not looking up from a notebook.

Saturday night? What should I say? That I had sex with Daniel? She doesn’t even know who Daniel is. “It was fun. We went out dancing.”

She nodded as if she was only partially listening.

I decided to test that theory. “I hooked up with a guy.”

She stopped what she was doing, pulled the pen out of her mouth and looked at me with wide eyes.

“Wait, what? Who?”

“A guy from my Lit class. Daniel.”

“Are you… going to see him again?” Her tone was full of concern. I got the impression she was concerned for my safety. Or she was jealous.

“He’s just a friend.”

“Oh,” she said. She sighed out of relief. I’m not sure if she meant it to be obvious. “Are you still bi?”

“Definitely,” I responded.

She went back to looking at her notebook.

“What did you wind up doing?” I asked.

“One of my sisters rented a movie on Prime and a few of us stayed in.”

That was my opening. “Ella?”

“Ella?” she asked. “She wasn’t here.”

“Oh,” I replied. Well, there goes that.

She looked back at me curiously. “Did something happen between you two on Halloween?”

“Yeah,” I confessed. I needed to keep her talking about Ella, so I decided to be at least partially truthful. “I walked in on her and Aiden.”

“Aiden, the Kappa President?” she scoffed.

“Yeah, they were sucking face.”

“Eww.”

“I know, right? Well they got pissy that I saw them and they both assaulted me.”

“They assaulted you?” she asked, incredulously. “Like, assault assault?”

I nodded. “Yeah, like pinned to the wall and forced to kiss Aiden.”

“Jaz, why didn’t you tell me?” she admonished.

“I didn’t want to make a big deal of it.”

“But it is a big deal. You’re my best friend. You come before the people in this house.”

That was the first time I heard her say that. I was wondering where I stood in her hierarchy. Of course the real reason I didn't say anything was because I used a secret magic stone in self-defense.

“The next morning, she said something while hung over,” Lauren revealed.

“Oh?”

“She said that you’re a perv and a bitch and we won’t be allowing you to pledge. But, I figured that was OK with you anyway.”

“I’m totally OK with that.” 

“But she assaulted you?”

“Well, it was more Aiden.”

“That prick. I’m sorry, Jaz. I should’ve been there.”

“I managed to get out of it.” Time to dig further. “Has Ella been acting…weird?”

“Weird how? I dunno. I honestly haven’t seen her much since Halloween. When she does come home, she locks herself in her room.”

“Oh.” 

“I saw her last night, though. She came home looking very disheveled.”

“How so?”

“She usually wears cute outfits, but was wearing baggy clothes. It looked like she hadn’t showered in days.”

“I see.”

“Wait, do you think Aiden did something to her too?”

“Oh, no. I just think she was acting weird at Halloween.” Thinking fast I added, “Both her and Aiden were pretty drunk.”

“Actually, one of my sisters said she was being creepy the other day. We all thought it was a bit she was doing.”

“Does she usually do bits like that?”

“No. So, I’m not sure what’s going on there. Maybe she’s going through something. The end of the semester will be coming up soon. It’s a stressful time for all of us.”

I thought back to Sydney’s music composition project. “Yeah, definitely.”

“But if Aiden did something to her, then we have to tell someone.”

“I don’t think he did. And I have no proof.”

There was an awkward pause and I wanted to check the time on my phone, but Lauren whispered, “I think she’s having sex - or masturbating. Not sure which. But it's loud.”

“Wow,” was the only response I could muster. 

She turned back to me, a quizzical expression on her face. “Did you just come here to ask about Ella?”

“No,” I lied. “I came to see you. We haven’t really talked since Halloween. What movie did you guys watch?”

“A cheesy time-travel flick where a girl travels back to 2003.”

“Oh, yeah, I heard about that,” I replied. “I wanted to see that.”

“It was OK.”

“Hey wanna go out this weekend?” I asked in earnest. “We can make up for last weekend.”

”Definitely,” she replied, grinning like we were old friends again..

“Great,” I replied. “Um, can I use the bathroom?” I whispered, trying to sound embarrassed.

“Sure,” Lauren shrugged.

I hopped off the bed and went out into the hallway. I knew where the bathroom was from the last time I was here, but I wanted to do some investigating first. 

I quietly made my way down the hall to where I knew Ella’s room was. I played the theme song from my favorite spy video game in my head. I found her room, but the door was closed. I lightly knocked on it. Enough for someone inside the room to hear it, but not someone down the hall.

I didn’t know what I was looking for. Evidence that Ella wasn’t Ella? What would such a thing look like? Lauren’s description wasn’t hard evidence, but it made me think that a swap was likely. 

Nobody answered, so I tested the door handle. It opened freely. I peeked in the room. “Hello?”

When nobody answered, I looked up and down the hall to make sure nobody saw me, then I ducked into the room, closing the door behind me.

Her room was messier than I remembered it from last week. Clothes were strewn everywhere, and the bed was unkempt. Was that evidence? Maybe, I haven’t been Daniel in a month, yet his room looked identical to when I last left it.

I dug through clothes. Nothing. I went through the papers on her desk. They were various homework papers.

After spending a minute looking through the room, I gave up. Aside from the mess, there was no evidence Ella was Aiden. 

I was startled by a knock on the door.

“Ella?” a feminine voice called from the other side of the door. I didn’t recognize the voice.

The doorknob started to turn. Looking for cover, I ducked behind the bed.

The door creaked open slightly. “Ella, are you home?” the voice persisted.

The door creaked shut.

I poked my head out from behind the bed to make sure I was alone again. I breathed a sigh of relief and quietly made my way to the door.

I made sure nobody was in the hall before quickly leaving the room and resuming my way to the bathroom.

As I sat down in the bathroom, I checked the time. 1pm. I texted Sydney to remind her that our swap back time was fast approaching.

I returned to Lauren’s room. “Hey, I need to get going.”

“So soon?” She sounded disappointed.

“Yeah, I need to meet up with my friend Sydney, then I have class at 3.”

“OK,” Lauren said. “Saturday?”

“Definitely,” I replied. I’ll make sure to put that in Jasmine’s journal.

* * *

Sydney was ten minutes late. I was pacing in front of her apartment watching the minutes go by on my phone, when she finally pulled into the parking lot.

“You’re late,” I said.

“Sorry,” Sydney replied. “I lost track of time.” She got out of the car and pulled out several shopping bags.

“Let’s swap,” I urged. I needed to get going.

“Hold your horses, girl,” she laughed, opening the door. “Got a hot date?”

I followed her into her apartment so we could swap out of sight of any passersby.

Once I was Sydney again, I wasted no time. I said bye to Jasmine and ran to my car. I drove as fast as I could to Kaylee’s proposed meetup spot.

The bookstore was very busy this afternoon. Plenty of people were shopping. And the attached cafe was full of people as well. I found Kaylee at the cafe with an open seat in front of her. She saw me first and waved her hand.

I walked over to her, pulled out a chair and sat down. “I’m sorry I’m late,” I huffed, a bit out of breath.

“It’s OK,” she assured me. “It gave me a few minutes to get my tea and read.” She closed the book in front of her. “You didn’t have to rush.”

“I was worried about missing you.”

“That’s sweet. How are you today, Sydney?”

“Today was good,” I replied. “I had class in the morning, and hung out with my best friend until I came here. How have you been?”

“I’ve been better,” she sighed. “Today was actually fine. But when I texted you yesterday I’d just had a falling out with my twin.”

“Oh, no, what happened?” I asked.

“Our 21st birthday is going to be coming up soon. She planned a party without my input.”

“I’m assuming it’s not a surprise party for you.”

“Nope,” Kaylee replied. “She wants to go out to a dive bar I don’t like.”

“Can you do something else?” I suggested.

“I can - but we have the same friends. Who am I going to go out with?”

A stray thought popped in my head, “Me?” But, I decided against it - at least for now. I had no idea if I would still be Sydney on Kaylee’s birthday. “Have to talked to her about it?

“That’s what led to our argument. She said she likes that bar, but it’s loud and you can’t hear shit. I suggested a nightclub - while we might not be able to hear each other, we can at least go dancing.”

“How about someone’s house?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “It sucks because she always does this. It's like I’m invisible.”

“You’re not invisible. I can see you right now,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

“Listen to me complaining. I’m sorry, taking advantage of your company, Sydney.”

“Nah, it’s OK,” I replied. “That’s what friends are for.”

“How are you?” she asked. “Any luck with your identity?”

I smiled. “I think so. I talked it over with someone and figured out I don’t need to worry about it. I’m young and this is the best time in my life to find out who I am.”

“That’s a great way of looking at it,” Kaylee replied with her own smile. “Hey - so I mostly came here today because I want to buy a book, and I thought you’d be interested, too.”

“That'd be cool.” I replied. “Which one?”

“The Fated Crown,” she replied. “By Simon Littlefield”

“What’s that about?”

“Well, an evil Orc swaps bodies with an Elven Princess-”

“They body swap?” I interrupted.

“Yeah,” she replied matter-of-factly. “Now the princess, in the body of this Orc, must gather a party to take back over her homeland from the imposter.”

“Interesting.”

“But given that both you and I are talking about identity, I figured this would be a good one to read together. What makes this princess a leader? Was it her looks and family blood line? Or was it something inside her?”

“Yeah - that sounds great.” I paused for a minute. “Do you… read many body swap stories?”

“I mean, I’ve read a few. I’ve seen movies like Freaky Friday. Why?”

“I was just curious. It’s a fascinating premise right?”

“Yeah, I suppose. I’d love to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. My luck, I’d just swap with my twin,” She giggled. “In The Fated Crown, this princess trades her grace and poise for strength, durability, and endurance… I read a few reviews already. I didn't seek out spoilers though.”

I bit my lip. I wanted to dive deeper. I wanted to tell her the truth about me. About body swapping being a real thing. But I couldn’t. It was against the rules. Granted, so was attempting to bodyswap Aiden and Ella. I shouldn’t push my luck and break two rules in the span of a week.

“Did you ever finish The Heroine Prophecy?” she asked.

“Oh - um. No. I loaned it to a friend before I was able to finish it.”

“Oh,” she said, looking mildly disappointed.

Sounds like she really wanted to talk about it. And I realized I really wanted to talk to her about it too. Which means I’m going to need to get that book from Daniel. “I’ll see if my friend is done with it.”

She smiled, “Definitely. I enjoyed it and can’t stop thinking about it.”

Well, looks like I have to pay a visit to Daniel tonight.

I followed Kaylee through the bookstore racks and to the Fantasy section. We each picked up a copy of The Fated Crown.

I looked at the copy in my hand. A beautiful picture of a princess adjacent to an ugly Orc graced the cover.

“I can’t wait,” Kaylee gushed. “It’s like we have our own private book club.”

“I’m going to try to finish my other book first,” I stated.

“Sure, just let me know when you want to start the new one.”

I smiled. I was eager to read both. I was also eager to spend more time with Kaylee.

Eventually we paid for our books and parted ways. We didn’t make plans to see each other again, although it felt like an inevitability. The lack of concrete plans, however, made me nervous. As well as the fact she didn’t ask me out. Was this just a platonic relationship? Or should I have made the first move?

* * *

I texted Daniel later to ask him if I could borrow The Heroine Prophecy. He said sure and would meet me at the dorm lobby.

Sure, it occurred to me that by asking for Daniel’s book, I was outing myself as D, but I figured I had already done that this weekend when I swapped into Sydney and didn't show up to the meeting.

Daniel greeted me with a smile and open arms like we were long time friends. “Hi, Sydney.”

“Hey, Daniel,” I said, returning his hug. I haven’t seen him since we slept together, so it was awkward for me. But the Guild member inside him right now isn’t the same one I slept with.

We released our hug and he handed me the book. “I'm surprised you asked for this.”

I examined it, and my bookmark was right where I left it over a month ago. “Thank you. I was thinking about it this afternoon and was eager to see how it ends.”

“Is being Sydney that boring?” he chuckled.

“No,” I replied. “I just have a little more free time than I did as the others.”

“I hear ya,” he replied. “Being Daniel allows me to catch up on some of my own projects that I haven’t been able to do. Hey - how are you doing? I heard about last weekend.”

“Oh, I’m fine. I just needed to get away for a few hours.”

“Good. Listen D, if you’re having troubles of any kind, don’t hesitate to tell us.”

I nodded. Well, that confirmed that Daniel knows I’m D.

“I’m serious. We’re a close-knit group and the only other people who understand what it’s like. If there’s an issue, odds are one of us has already gone through it.”

I sighed and hugged my book against my chest. “Thank you.”

“Enjoy the book.” Daniel smiled as I left my former room. I wonder if he will be as understanding after I tell the Guild what I suspect about Aiden and Ella.

Chapter 16

I enjoyed a nice quiet night just being myself. I turned off my phone, cuddled up in my bed and resumed reading The Heroine Prophecy. It almost felt as if I was Daniel again - but I was still in Sydney's body. Maybe this is all I needed. Relax with a good book - one in which I started back when I was Daniel - to get in touch with who I am. 

After reading several chapters, I was itching to start the new book just in case I saw Kaylee.  So I switched to reading The Fated Crown. After several chapters of that, I finally got tired and decided to call it a night. I was looking forward to discussing some of the book’s twists with Kaylee.

In fact, that’s all I could think about during class. I found myself daydreaming and realized I forgot to write down ten minutes worth of lecture notes.

When I got to our Wednesday study session, I noticed nobody was talking and everyone seemed depressed. It was very unlike them. My guilty conscience immediately went to Aiden and Ella.  On, no. They know. I’m in trouble.

I bit my lip nervously and asked no one in particular. “Why is everyone so quiet today?” 

“The election results last night,” Daniel replied.

“Oh,” I replied. I was momentarily relieved this wasn’t about me. “I’m sorry - I really wasn’t following it.” It’s true. With everything going on in my life this past month, current events seemed like a low priority. I hadn’t even thought about it since I cast my absentee ballot over a month ago. Well before the Guild entered my life.

“Moore won,” Antonio said with all the enthusiasm of someone whose puppy just died.

I sat down, letting that news sink in. He wasn’t who I voted for. I knew the issues. Moore was a populist who pushed a nationalist agenda. His opponent, Clark, was more centrist and often was quiet on more progressive issues in fear of ceding voters to Moore.

Gabriel beat the table with his fist. “Dammit, we needed Clark to win.”

“We knew he was a long-shot,” Jasmine said. “He just wasn’t strong enough on LGBTQ issues.”

“But with Moore in charge, he’s going to push anti-gay laws,” Antonio replied. “This country is going to regress.”

“True, but Clark never publicly took a stance on any of those issues,” Daniel added. “We both know that the silence is condemning, and there is no guarantee that he would be better in that regard.”

“So, I shouldn’t be upset?” Antonio asked. “A whole bunch of people opted to abstain because Clark wasn’t strong enough. That’s fucked up.” This was the first time I’ve seen Antonio use profanity and show this much raw emotion.

“Hell no,” Daniel replied. “We should all be pissed, but let’s save that passion for when we can make a difference.”

“What can we do?” I asked. I was out of my league in this conversation, but I’ve grown to think of the Guild as good friends.

“As a group of gay and queer college students, we can make sure our voice is heard,” Daniel implored. “Don’t just accept the status quo. We stick together. We watch each other’s backs over the next term.”

A resigned silence filled the room as everyone nodded. It was the only thing we could do. For now.

“This could change things, you know,” Gabriel finally said. “We’ve talked about permanent swaps in the past.”

“Whoa,” Jasmine stopped him. “I thought we weren’t supposed to talk about that.”

There was a pregnant pause around the room and I could feel eyes on me of those who knew I was D.

While they weren’t talking about me, they were - indirectly. I decided I needed to speak up or else they’d keep trying to tip-toe around the secret being kept from me. “I know about Robert.” 

All eyes were on me as each student was wondering how I found out. Regardless, it felt like with the secret out in the open, a little bit of tension eased.

“Well, that was only a matter of time,” Jasmine chimed in.

Antonio sighed. “Fine. But now is not the time-”

“When is the time?” Gabriel barked. “You know damn well that since Robert left a few of us had the same idea. As I see it, a permanent swap will allow us to live as our authentic selves - regardless what our fucking government thinks our gender and sexuality should be.”

“But what if there’s a fight over bodies?” Antonio asked. “We’ve talked about this.”

“It’s not rocket science, M!” Jasmine argued. “R and S made a private arrangement about their own bodies. This doesn’t have to be a group decision. Nor should it.”

This was the first time I really saw the Guild members break character.  Role-playing was taking a back-seat to serious discussion about their future.

Antonio sat down and put his head into his hands. “I’m sorry. You’re right - I’m just emotional right now. I’m pissed and upset at the election,” he sighed. “I can’t be Antonio right now. A, can you take over?”

“Sure,” Daniel replied. “For what it’s worth, M, I didn’t want to come to class either. I wanted to dig myself into a hole and not talk to anyone else.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s get back on track,” he continued. “This is a study session. We can save the permanent swap discussion for Sunday. And let’s focus today on what we can control - studying.”

Everyone nodded and started pulling notebooks from their bags.

“Anyone have any major needs?” Daniel asked.

I raised my hand. “Music.”

“OK, I need R and M to help D.”

As everyone shuffled around the tables, Jasmine and Gabriel came over to me first.

“D, I’m sorry we kept that from you,” Jasmine said.

I simply stared at her and gave her a forgiving smile. I didn’t know what to say.

“We thought if you knew one of our members ran off with another member's body it would scare you away,” Gabriel added.

“I suppose that was my fear in the beginning,” I admitted.

“Is that still a fear?” Jasmine asked.

I thought about that question. With everything going on, would I be upset if someone decided they wanted my old boring life as theirs? I suppose it depended on who I got stuck with. I knew where this line of questioning would lead, and I wasn’t ready for that kind of self-reflection. “I don’t think so.”

“I’m glad you didn’t get scared off then,” she chuckled.

Gabriel nudged her. “What she means is she’s glad you’re here with us. You’re a good friend and a valuable member of the Guild.”

“Thanks guys,” I smiled.

Antonio and Morgan hovered over Jasmine and Gabriel.

“Sydney, are you ready for us?” Antonio asked.

“Yeah,” I replied as Jasmine and Gabriel left us to do their own thing.

Antonio and Morgan then gave me a beginner’s crash course in reading and playing music. I had already known Morgan was R, and I now learned that Antonio is M. Antonio was a very muted version of himself, but seemed to be working through it.

Over the next 50 minutes we worked through notes and fingering. “Try again,” Antonio patiently said to me.

“C C G G B-”

“A”, Morgan corrected me.

“Sorry,” I replied. “I’ll get it.”

“You’re doing good, Syd,” Antonio assured me. “Once you get the notes and the fingers, the rest will be muscle memory.”

I nodded.

“Try again. This time use your clarinet,” Morgan suggested.

I picked up the clarinet and started to play the notes. They came much easier. I glanced up to my tutors for acknowledgement.

“Don’t look at us,” Antonio said. “Keep looking at the music. The idea is to associate the notes with the fingers and the tone. It’s the same as learning any new language.”

I heard some giggling coming from the other side of the study room. I turned to see Jasmine and Gabriel having their own conversation. Meanwhile Daniel was by himself reading a book for Lit class. 

“Come on guys, keep it down,” Antonio asked. “You’re distracting Sydney.”

Morgan lightly grabbed Antonio’s wrist and looked at his watch. “Study session is almost over anyway.” She looked back up at me. “Keep practicing at home.”

“What do I do about the end-of-term music composition project?”

“Most likely I’ll be the one to finish it next time I’m Sydney,” Morgan frowned. “But It’d be awesome if you contributed when you’re ready.”

“I’ll try.”

Everyone started packing up.

As I started to disassemble my clarinet I glanced at Gabriel. I needed to borrow his body to investigate Ella further. In order to do that, I’d need the stone. I looked over to Jasmine. “Hey Jaz, do you still have the stone? I want to borrow it.”

“Yes I do,” she said, taking it out of her backpack and dropping it in my hand.

“Thanks.” I finished packing up and ran after Gabriel.

“Gabe, wait up.”

A librarian sternly hissed at me, “No running in the library.”

“Sorry,” I replied with a guilty grin, slowing my pace down to a speed walk.

“What’s up Syd?” he said, stopping to allow me to catch up to him.

“Can we swap for a few hours?”

He shrugged. “Sure. I had no big plans. Just dinner. But I do have an important practice tomorrow.”

“I’ll make sure to eat, and have him back to you later tonight.” 

“Deal.”

I held out my hand with the stone in it. He placed his much larger hand on top of mine. Five seconds later, I was the star football player again.

“Have a good evening, Gabe,” Sydney smiled, putting the stone in her bag and walkingtf towards the library exit.

“You too, Syd,” I smiled, adjusting the strap of the backpack I was now wearing and following her out.

* * *

This evening’s mission was to see if I could actually talk to Ella. I could easily make my way over to the Delta house. What concerned me was that I wasn’t sure she was even home. I’m not Jasmine, so I can’t text Lauren to ask. So, I just have to go. Which led me to my next concern. I’m not sure Gabriel was ever at Ella’s place. Plus, last time I brought up Gabe, Ella acted like her dating the football player wasn’t common knowledge.

And a new concern that I just noticed. I was hungry. I forgot how much Gabe typically ate. I was going to need to stop to eat something before finding Ella.

I walked into the dining hall.  I could see the linemen already sitting at our table.  I didn’t want to get invited over, so I quickly got in the food line, and grabbed a cheeseburger… scratch that, I needed more. Two cheeseburgers… and a cup of fries and a brownie to go, and continued on my way.

Derek and Leech were standing by the entrance chatting, so I turned the other way, and found a back exit from the dining hall.  I managed to avoid anyone else that recognized me as I walked outside and headed towards Greek row.

While I walked I took a mental check of myself. I was inside the body of a guy again and I wanted to know if I was experiencing any of the dysphoria Robert talked about. I felt fine. I was wearing a long sleeve wicking shirt and cargo shorts. It’s not as cute as what I was wearing as Sydney, but this shirt was very flattering on my gym-toned torso. So far, so good.

I scarfed down my food before I got to the Delta house, wiped the crumbs off my shirt, and knocked on the door

A girl I didn’t recognize opened the door and stared up at the tall football player standing on the porch.  “Hi, can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Ella,” I said with a smile.

The girl looked me up and down and smiled. Her eyes lingered on my toned pecs. She then realized she was staring before responding. 

I grinned a little thinking of that old, “My eyes are up here” line.

“Let me see if she’s home.” She turned back into the house and announced, “Is Ella home?”

There were some muffled replies.

The girl turned back to me. “She’ll be right out.”

Twenty seconds later Ella came to the door. Normally she was taller than me when I was one of the girls. But now, I towered over her. She was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants and no makeup. Her long blonde hair was flat and frizzy. She looked almost nothing like I remembered. She looked at me curiously. “Hi?”

“Hey, Ella, I haven’t heard from you in a week,” I replied. “I thought I should check in on you.”

Her eyebrow raised and her eyes scanned me. “Do I-” then her eyes popped open. “Wait - you’re Turbo Rameriz!”

“The one and only,” I smiled.

She took a step back and looked me over again out of disbelief. “Wait - are we dating?”

“Kinda,” I replied. “Nothing official. We’ve been on a few dates.”

“I’m dating Turbo Rameriz?” she said rhetorically. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

I took a deep breath. This all but confirmed my suspicions that this wasn’t really Ella. Of course, I didn’t want to give away that I caused this, so I had to play along. “Where have you been?”

She timidly bit her lip trying to figure out how to answer that. Her normal confidence and superiority were gone. “Me? Oh, um.. I’ve been around. Uhh. I don’t know. I haven’t really been myself lately,” she chuckled.

I decided to press on. I smirked, “Well then, who have you been?”

Her eyes opened wider and her mouth hung open. “I’m.. uh. On my period. You know. Girls become someone else when they’re on the rag.” A ripe tomato could not have been redder than her cheeks.

The real Ella wouldn’t be so crass. Now that I knew this wasn’t Ella, I had to confess what I did to the Guild. I got what I needed from this brief conversation, so I think I should do this sooner rather than later. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No,” she abruptly said. “I’m sorry I haven’t called you back. Can I make it up to you?”

“It’s OK, I forgive you,” I said, waving my hands dismissively.

“Want to come up?” She opened the door for me.

She’s inviting me in? I didn’t really want to - I hate going into the Delta House. But since she’s inviting me in, I might be able to get more information from her. The more I know, the more I can tell the Guild when I confess. Not to mention, I’m here now as a totally different person. Every other time I’ve been here, I’ve been either Jasmine or Morgan. How would I be treated as Gabriel? Curiosity got the better of me. “Sure.”

Ella took my hand and led me inside. There were more sorority girls at this hour of the evening. I tried to keep a low profile, but as Gabriel, that was hard. As we walked through the house and through the halls, each girl stopped and stared at me. I wasn’t just any guy walking through a sorority house. I was the school’s star football player. 

That must be why the real Ella never invited Gabriel over. I saw a knowing smirk on this Ella’s face, however. I was being paraded around the sorority like a trophy. Something, I realized, would never happen to Daniel.

When we finally reached Ella’s room, it was even more disheveled than it had been when I snuck in yesterday.

She started picking clothes off the bed and throwing them towards the corner of the room. “Sorry for the mess. I’ve been so out of it this week.”

“Did something happen?” I asked coyly, hoping to get the larger question out of the way.

She put her hand on her head. “Uhh.. our sorority Halloween party. I got fucked up. Maybe someone roofied my drink or something. My mind has been hazy and I seem to be forgetting a lot of stuff.”

She then pushed more clothes off the bed and motioned to me. “Sit.”

I pulled off my backpack and sat down on the bed. Ella sat next to me. Right up against me. Our thighs were touching.

“So, Turbo,” she said, placing her hand on my leg. “Can I call you Turbo?”

“It’s actually Gabriel or Gabe,” I replied. “I’m only Turbo on the field.”

“Right,” she said. “I forgot.”

“It's none of my business,” I said, looking her in the eyes, “but do you need help figuring out what happened? Have you talked to anyone about it?”

“I haven’t told anyone. Except for my other friend. Same thing happened to him.”

“Him?”

“Ohmygod, I mean a friend. He’s just a friend. Nothing’s going on with him. With us.”

“Whoa, calm down, Ella. I wasn’t accusing you of anything.”

“What I mean is, I think we were both roofied.”

“Did you go to the police?”

“No. Who would believe us?”

“I’m sure they’d believe that you were roofied at a halloween party at a sorority.”

“Right,” she agreed. “Maybe we should call them. I dunno.”

I needed to know if they were blaming Jasmine. “Were you both alone when it happened?”

“It’s not like that.”

“I believe you,” I reiterated. “I mean, do you have any idea who would have roofied you and… your friend.”

She was silent for a moment. “I have an idea, but my friend thinks it's crazy.”

“Try me.”

“Well, when I first rushed, my brothers said-”

“Brothers?”

“Sorry- my sisters said there used to be this fraternity on campus - Tau Kappa. And they all went crazy. They claimed a genie had cursed them.”

That’s not what I was expecting her to say at all. “Wait up - a genie?

“I knew you would think I was crazy too.”

“No - I just want to know whose ass I need to kick. You really think a genie roofied you?”

“I know - it’s stupid.”

I thought back to Halloween. I was dressed as a mermaid. Not a genie. Wrong Disney character. “I mean - it was Halloween. Are you sure?”

“There was someone else there with us. I just don’t know how she’s involved.”

Now we’re getting somewhere. “Who?”

“Just some girl who has been around a few Delta events. She was trying to get with me - I mean my friend. He is looking into it.”

I’d heard enough. Since I got what I needed from Ella, I should leave and swap back into Sydney. But then I wondered if I should pay Aiden a visit as well. 

“She’s not important,” Ella suddenly shifted gears. “What’s important is that you’re here alone with me now. I’ve missed you.”

I smiled, and tried hard to keep myself from laughing. She doesn’t even remember me, and yet she misses me? I wonder if this is what I or the other Guild members act like from the outside.

Ella’s hand that was on my thigh squeezed it and started inching up. “I’m sorry about this week. Can I make it up to you?”

I noticed she was leaning into me further. “How?”

She then grabbed my crotch. “I’m super horny. I bet you are too after not seeing me for a week.”

I took her hand off my crotch. “Maybe now isn’t a good time for this,” I feebly protested, feeling guilty. “With you not feeling…yourself, and all.”

“Now’s the best time!” she smiled seductively. She awkwardly slid her sweatpants down to reveal black lace panties. She then turned around and sat on my lap with the grace of a sumo wrestler. She grabbed my hands and placed them on her breasts and started squeezing them. “Oh, yes.”

“Didn’t you say you were on your period?”

“Did I? I’m not. Let’s do this, big guy.”

Wait - here I was thinking this was Aiden in Ella’s body. Would Aiden throw himself at a guy? Aiden wasn’t gay - that I knew of. “Ellla,” I objected. “Seriously, this might not be a good idea.”

She started grinding on my lap. Little Turbo awoke from his slumber and made his presence known. “Yes,” she moaned. “Fuck me.”

Whether or not this was Aiden, this wasn’t Ella and therefore wasn’t right. When the Guild swapped with each other, we were all consenting to have sex in each other’s bodies. Ella did no such thing. I pried my hands off her breasts and grabbed her under her arms and lifted her off of me and set her back down on the bed.

“What the fuck?” she said angrily.

“We can’t do this. You don’t even know who I am.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, falling down to her knees and crawling between my legs. “Maybe sucking your cock will jog my memory.” She reached for the buckle of my cargo shorts.

“What?” I reactively said, pushing her hand away.

I thought back to when I first met Aiden. He was a creep to me as Jasmine. The way his unwanted hand touched my hip. Then at the halloween party. The way he pinned me to the wall. I wanted nothing to do with him. Even if he was now a hot girl between my legs. She grabbed my wrist and stared at me with her eyes. Just like Aiden did to me.

This is Aiden. Why he’s trying to have sex with a guy, I can only imagine. She was fingering herself with her other hand and looking at me eagerly. Aiden - male or female - was a predator and I wanted nothing to do with them.

I stood up and grabbed my backpack. “Sorry, I gotta go.”

“So soon?” she pouted, standing up with me. 

“Coach gave us a curfew,” I lied, shrugging my shoulders. “Nothing I can do.”

She attempted to push me back down. Attempted. She was too weak. She grabbed my wrist with both hands with the same result and got frustrated. “I can make it worth your while.” She licked her lips.

“Ella, we can’t-”

“What the fuck, dude! I’m the hottest girl on campus and I’m throwing myself at you.”

“That's the problem,” I said. “The Ella I know wouldn't just throw herself at me.”

“Maybe I want to be the bad girl for once,” she growled. “Yes. Punish me. Stick that cock in my pussy and split me in half!”

“I’m out of here,” I said disgustedly.

“What’s the matter?” she spat. “Are you gay?”

I looked at her. She looked pathetic. I wasn’t going to dignify that with an answer, so I turned and left the room.

She didn’t stop me as I strode straight out of Delta House, a few more girls turning to watch me go by.

My mind was swirling. I held my backpack in front of me to hide that my dick was still straining against my shorts. Aiden was creepy no matter which gender he was. 

As I walked back towards my dorm, I texted Sydney, telling her to meet me there so we could swap back.

* * *

When I got back to my dorm room, Derek was reclined on his bed studying the playbook for our next game.

“Yo, bro, where ya been?” he suddenly spoke up. “I wanted to go over some of these plays with you before practice.”

“I, uh, had to study,” I stammered. “I was at the library.”

“Bullshit,” he countered. “Red said he saw you headed for the Delta House.”

“Oh, that. That was nothing,” I explained. “I had to return a book I borrowed.”

“Sure, dawg, whatever you say,” he laughed. “You had to return… a book? To a sorority girl? What was it? Moby Dick?”

I cracked a smile.

“Yeah, boy!”

“OK, that was a little funny.”

“Now can we go over these plays?”

“Sure,” I replied. Then my phone buzzed.  Sydney was outside. “Hey man, be right back.”

* * *

After I swapped back with Sydney, Gabriel asked how my evening went. I was tempted to come out to him. To tell him I made a mistake. To tell him I used the stone on Aiden and Ella. Or, at the bare minimum, that I went to see Ella and she threw herself at me. But telling him that would lead to telling him about her erratic behavior which would lead to my confession. I wasn’t ready to make that confession just yet. Instead I shrugged it off casually. “It went good.”

He took that as an answer and left it at that.

I next needed to see Aiden in person. I needed to see how the real Ella was handling the swap. I also needed to see what Aiden’s Ella was talking about when she said, “My friend is looking into it.” Did this mean they were investigating Jasmine? Would they eventually find out about the Guild?

Just thinking about it also confused me, and made me realize why Guild members assigned letters to each person’s spirit. I think moving forward I would have to call Ella’s spirit ‘E’ and Aiden’s spirit… ‘A’? No, that’s Antonio. ‘A2’? Sure, that works.

I pulled out my phone and texted Antonio. “Can I swap for a few hours tomorrow afternoon?”

It took a few minutes, but he replied, “Sure, I’ve been meaning to go to a few stores.”

I chuckled, remembering that’s all Sydney is. Just a body with a car.

When I got home, I decided to crawl under the covers with The Fated Crown.  I needed to push this Aiden and Ella thing out of my head, and the best way to do that was with a good book.  And a promise of talking about it with Kaylee.

Chapter 17

I dreamt of being a character from The Fated Crown. Kaylee was the princess. I was her chambermaid. What’s up with that? Shouldn’t I have been her knight? But anyway, instead of an Orc stealing the princess’s body, Aiden did. Now Kaylee and I had to confront and defeat Aiden and swap them back.

I woke up right before kissing Princess Kaylee. I let that nice dream linger for a bit before I extracted myself from my nest of blankets.

I checked my phone and saw a message from Kaylee. I instantly got warm and giddy as if I was back in my dream.

“Want to do book club this evening?” the message read. “I have off from work tonight.”

I smiled. What a way to start the day. “I’d love to,” I responded.

This made me feel excited and rejuvenated. As I dressed for class, I decided to dress cuter. A nice knit sweater, some heather black leggings, and knee boots. I then accessorize it with an infinity scarf.

While doing that, I suddenly had a thought. I should invite Kaylee over. So, I picked up my phone and replied to her. “Do you want to do it at my apartment?”

She responded almost instantly. “I’d love to! Just send me the address.”

I responded with my address, a time, and a closing message, “See you this evening!”

I now just need to make sure my time as Antonio ends before my meetup with Kaylee.

* * *

After my last class of the day, I walked to Antonio’s dorm. I was nervous about seeing Aiden, or rather E. I’m glad I’m seeing him as Antonio and not one of the girls. Even though I’m confident that Aiden is E, Aiden’s physical presence makes me nervous since he has assaulted me every time I’ve been around him in a female body.

Antonio was waiting for me outside his dorm. He gave me a warm welcoming smile, and a little more confidence that I can get through this afternoon.

“Thanks for doing this,” I said.

“No problem!” he replied. “How much time do you need? James is coming over tonight.”

“I only need an hour or so.”

With that, we both swapped. I was now Antonio and walked to the student union while Sydney walked towards her car.

As with yesterday and swapping with Gabriel, I took inventory of my feelings being a guy. I was fine. I was OK. I have yet to feel dysphoria. Granted, Antonio’s polo shirt and slacks weren't as cute as what I put on Sydney today. I think if anything, I can see why G wants to go into fashion after his football career ends. I wonder if given the opportunity, would more guys be interested in taboo feminine things?

As with the last time I was Antonio, various students greeted me. Some wanted to carry on longer conversations about RHA, Student Government, or protesting the national election results. I told them I had a meeting and promised I’d get back to them. I made sure to shake their hand and make them feel important. Being Antonio is hard work, but it's worth it to see the look on their faces after they’re done talking with me.

When I got into the student union, I walked upstairs to the Kappa Nu Tau office. I stood outside the door for a moment, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. I put on my best politicians’ smile and grabbed the door handle.

When I entered the office, I was surprised to see Aiden was not alone. 

There was a pretty girl standing there, smoothing out her dress and covering up her bra straps.

Aiden was behind her, buckling his belt.

The scene was enough to make me blush. I was about to turn right back around and flee when the girl looked at me.

Her face turned red. Not only were her cheeks red, her lipstick was smeared on her chin. Before I could say anything she pushed me aside and darted out of the office.

I looked at Aiden who didn’t seem bothered by the scene. Instead he looked at me quizzically wondering what I was doing in his office. “What do you want? Do you have an appointment?”

“Aiden!” I announced like we’re old friends. “How goes it?”

He wiped his hands off and extended one. “Hi, I’m Aiden, what can I do for you?”

“We met a few weeks ago. You’re cosponsoring our Spring Block Party.”

“Spring Block Party?” he asked. “When is that?”

“In the Spring Semester,” I replied. “March. It’s a party the dorms are putting on. Carnival games. Dunk tank. Live band.”

“I thought we didn’t cosponsor stuff with the dorms,” he said, a look of confusion on his face.

“You made an exception. Because we can turn around and help you with Rush.”

“Um, we don’t need help with Rush,” he said in a very effeminate tone. He propped his hand on his hip and curled his lip in disgust. I’ve seen Ella strike that exact same pose when I was Jasmine.

“I, um, figured our two organizations could benefit.”

“Honestly, Anthony-” he started to say in a whiny tone.

“Antonio.”

“Whatever,” he said dismissively. “The Greek Council has its hands full. Previous leadership has left us bankrupt. Morally and financially. I cannot commit to giving away more money to non-Greek entities. Fraternities and sororities have been letting the wrong people pledge. Girls who aren’t committed to their sororities. Guys who are fucking predators. This has been going on for years!” He punctuated that remark by shaking his fist. Then he stared me down while his lips formed into a sneer. “And I finally have the power to undo that.”

I stood there surprised. Impressed, actually. This new Aiden apparently seemed to be seizing the opportunity presented to him. Of course, I also wondered about the girl who had just left. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Is there anything else?” he impatiently asked.

I thought about it for a moment. I wanted to keep him talking. “I was talking to a mutual acquaintance. Gabriel Rameriz.”

The look of recognition flashed upon his face. “You know Gabe?” He sat down on an office couch.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I tried out for the football team once. We’ve kept in touch.”

He laughed. “You’re a little scrawny for football.” He then looked down and noticed a wad of pantyhouse sitting next to him. Were those from his previous visitor? He quickly grabbed them, balled them up and stuffed them into his pants pocket.

“Coach thought so too,” I replied. “So Gabriel is dating this sorority girl. You might know her - Ella.”

He looked up at me with a sneer. “Yeah, I know her.”

“Well, she was telling him some crazy things about the Delta Pi Theta Halloween Party.”

His sneer turned to disgust as he was taken aback. “What kind of crazy things?” He leaned forward, suddenly really interested in what I had to say.

“You pinned her to the wall.”

“I did no such thing!” he spat. “She’s lying.” Aiden continued, obviously shaken, “Why do you care? Are you trying to blackmail me?”

“No, no. Nothing like that.” I needed to throw some accusations against the wall to see what stuck. “I’m running for Student Government. I want to get to know the power players. You know. Which wheels need to be greased. She said you were trying to bribe her.”

“That little bitch!” he said, rising from the couch. “Aiden was trying to bribe me!”

“Aiden?”

“I meant Ella! She used to be in charge. She needed my soror- the Greek Council to help pay off her debts. She thought she could use her body to sway me. The fucker was going to steal from the Deltas.”

Well, now I know what was going on when I walked in on them on Halloween. Aiden was trying to get Ella and Delta Pi Theta to help out with some debt. They were both drunk and Aiden was likely forcing himself upon Ella as some sort of power play. Seeing Jasmine at the door caught them off-guard. “Was anyone else there?”

“Just some witch friend of my sister - her sister.”

“Can she corroborate your story?”

“Probably not. We were all fucked up.”

“You called her a witch.”

Aiden shrugged. “Aid- Ella called her a witch. I actually don't care. Karma’s a witch too. You know what, you should tell your friend Gabe to dump her ass. She’s a different person now than she was then. And she’s not going to go back to that naive and powerless girl she was.”

I nodded. “I’ll tell him. So you’re not going to go after her?”

“Who?”

“The witch.”

“No! I could care less about some floozy that leeches off the Delta house.”

I paused for a moment, then whispered to him, “Ella?”

He looked up at me as if I called his name.

I continued. “What about her?”

“What about her?”

“Is she trying to blackmail you?”

“I’ll… talk to her tonight,” Aiden promised.

“OK,” I replied. I got what I needed. Any more time spent talking to Aiden would just put me at risk of being found out. It was time to go. 

I was about to leave when he said, “Hey, you’re gay right?”

I raised my eyebrow. “Umm. I am.”

“If you want your cosponsorship, come back after office hours. We might be able to work something out.”

That is not what I expected him to say. He wants to bribe me with sex too? I wondered if that’s what was going on before I came here. “I, uh.. Have a boyfriend.”

“Shame. The offer still stands, Antonio.”

“I understand,” I replied and started walking back to the door. I turned around, “Thanks for seeing me.”

“Anytime,” Aiden replied as I walked out the door.

As I walked through the student union I was sure of a few things. One. Aiden and Ella definitely swapped. Two. Both seem OK with it. E appears to be dealing with it the best. She’s in control. A2 seems to be just dealing. Three. They’re not going to seek out Jasmine. That part gave me relief. But that leads to- Four. I need to tell the Guild. Our next meeting isn’t until Sunday, so I should tell them before then. Of course, since E is in control and not seeking to harm themself, A2, or Jasmine, that means I don’t have to do it right away. Although there is the matter, E appears to be using her new position to get sex for favors. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I shouldn’t procrastinate too long, either. Maybe tonight? Maybe after my book club with Kaylee? Maybe tomorrow.

I also considered E and A2. Their sexuality. Both were straight before the swap… at least I thought so. Now they’re both…perhap bisexual? Or maybe it’s something different. 

* * *

When I returned to Antonio’s dorm, James was waiting for me outside. “Hey, James.” We embraced and kissed each other on the cheek.

I unlocked and opened the door and let him in.

“Lemme guess - D?” James said with a smirk.

“How did you know?”

“When you lean in to kiss me, you tense up like you’re kissing a male family member.”

“Oh. Sorry,” I replied.

“No worries. Are you joining me for dinner this evening?”

“No, actually, I just borrowed this body for an hour. Your dinner date will be back shortly.”

“Your loss,” he said, smiling and holding up a brown bag of food.

“I know,” I said, rubbing my grumbly stomach. I wonder if Sydney already ate. When we swap, we’ll be swapping stomachs too. Of course, right now I really want the food James brought over. I put that thought out of my mind. Since I had James here, I wanted to ask him about dating Guild members. “Hey, James, I have a question for you.”

“Go for it.”

“It’s about dating a Guild member. From your point of view. There’s someone outside the Guild I like.”

“As Antonio?”

“No, no. As Sydney. Is it fair to her if I date her?”

“Well,” James said, holding my hand. “When Antonio joined the guild, he told me fairly early. Actually, he tried breaking up with me first. But when he failed to tell me why he was breaking up, I managed to get the truth from him.” He laughed. “At first I didn’t believe him. Who would? But once I did, we both agreed it made sense for me to know what I was getting myself into by continuing to date him.”

“So, you’re saying I should tell her?”

“Absolutely. Dating is an emotional investment. I know I’m dating six people who are all trying to be different versions of my boyfriend. I know what to expect.”

“You’re managing your expectations,” I chuckled, recalling our first conversation.

“Always,” he smiled.

“I dunno. I’m afraid to tell her.”

“What does everyone else say?”

“They don’t know I’m seeing her.”

“They don’t? What about your journals?”

“Well, I’ve only known the girl for less than a week. And I’ve been Sydney most of that time. I kinda wanted to keep this girl to myself. I know. That seems selfish of me.”

“Antonio knew he couldn’t keep me for himself. Which is why he tried to set me free. But I’m also glad I know, and I’m also glad I met everyone in the Guild. You have to tell the Guild eventually. You’re also going to have to tell this girl eventually too.”

I nodded. “I haven’t brought it up. I’m not even sure if she’s into girls.”

“Oh, honey, you need to get your life in order.”

“I’m kinda new at this. I rarely dated as a straight guy. Now suddenly I’m trying to date as a lesbian. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Lesbian, eh? Well, Sydney was ace…”

Ace? As in asexual? “Oh,” is all I could reply with.

“But you do you. I’m not sure about the Guild’s rules regarding that.”

“I know, I know. I have to ask. I’ve been all sorts of screwed up since… since… last week.”

“What happened last week?”

I wondered if I should share. James is easy to talk to. He knows about the Guild, but isn’t a member. He seems to genuinely care about all six versions of Antonio. “I uh...had sex with… myself. I mean my original body… Daniel.”

“Oh, do tell,” James said, propping his head on his hands. “I love hearing stories when straight boys realize they’re not straight.”

“I hated it.”

“OK, then maybe you are straight. Or you need someone more experienced.” He winked at me.

“I think I’m going to pass. Thank you though, James.”

“Actually, let me tell you a secret.”

“OK.”

“I got to use the stone once.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and I had sex with myself. That was a crazy experience. Even though I’m gay, I’m not attracted to myself, and I didn’t necessarily enjoy it. So food for thought - if you ever decide to try having sex with a guy again. Maybe you just can’t have sex with yourself.”

“I dunno. There’s something about this girl though. I can’t get her out of my mind.”

“I hope it works out for you, D. But it sounds like you need to be honest with your friends and your girl.”

There was a knock at the door and Sydney walked in carrying a few grocery bags. “Sorry I’m late!”

“Sydney!” James said. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

James went over and hugged Sydney.

“But, I thought she’s been Antonio all week,” I commented.

“I mean I haven’t seen Sydney.” James said. “I rarely see the other Guild members. Everyone’s always Antonio when I see them.”

“Well, you could invite us over for those amazing dinners,” I proposed, remembering our first meal together.

“Or maybe have all six of us over for dinner,” Sydney suggested.

“Ooo, kinky,” James snickered.

“Wouldn’t that be weird?” I frowned.

“It wouldn’t be the first time we… umm,” Sydney admitted. “But that was before my time. My meaning M. R could tell you some stories, though.”

“That was definitely before Antonio’s time as well,” James said. “I’m almost sad I never got in on that action.”

“Anyway,” Sydney changed the subject and held up a box of frozen garlic bread. “I got some garlic bread for dinner.”

“Perfect,” James said.

Is now the time to pull M aside and tell her about Aiden and Ella? How do I start? I broke the rules and I threw two lives into chaos. I nervously fidgeted. I didn’t necessarily want to involve James.

“Who is Kaylee?” Sydney suddenly asked me.

I froze. “Kaylee?”

Sydney held up her phone. “She’s looking forward to seeing me later.”

“Oh, um,” I stammered. “We have a book club.” I noticed out of the corner of my eye, James raised his eyebrow.

“Oh - well I hope you have fun,” Sydney said. “I need to use the bathroom before we swap, excuse me.” She ran back out into the hallway.

James looked at me. “Book club?”

“A private bookclub.”

“I see. Syd - ney and Kay - lee sitting in a tree…,” he sang.

“I wish.”

“Good luck.”

When Sydney came back, she held out the stone. I greedily took her hand. I wanted to get out of here. I can tell the Guild about Aiden and Ella later. Maybe tomorrow. I have a private book club date to get to. Five seconds later we were swapped, and I was Sydney, holding Antonio’s hand.

Crap, I’m still hungry.

“Syd, I’d offer you to stay for dinner, but it sounds like you have somewhere to be.” James said.

“Definitely,” Antonio added. “You’re welcome to stay.”

My stomach growled. Now I’m annoyed that M didn’t feed this body before giving it back to me. “Thank you.” I replied. “That food smells awesome and I am hungry. But I have to meet Kaylee.”

“It was good seeing you, Sydney,” James said. “Have fun with Kaylee.” He gave me a parental look of concern.

I nodded, and slipped the stone into my purse. “It was good to see you too, James. Have a good dinner, you two.”

“Bye, Syd!” Antono said.

“Bye,” I echoed, leaving his dorm room. It was time to head home and get ready for my guest. Or at least grab a snack from the student union before I get there.

* * *

I looked around Sydney's apartment. It hadn't really bothered me that it was so spartan before. It made sense as Sydney is treated by the Guild as just an identity that has a car. Since Robert left, no one has stepped up to give Sydney a permanent personality. Not even R. And now I felt a sense of dread, realizing that this dorm was about to be seen as a reflection of me.

Before I could berate myself too much, there was a knock at my door. A quick glance through the peephole confirmed that Kaylee had arrived.

I was giddy she was here. I attempted a deep voice and queried through the door, "This gate may not be passed by those who do not walk the path."

I could hear Kaylee giggle before responding proudly, "The path leads all who seek clarity through many gates, not just one."

I opened the door and bowed. "Enter, traveler."

Kaylee smirked and walked in holding two steaming coffee cups. 

“I’ll take those from you.” After closing the door, I took the coffee cups from her so that she could take off her coat. Once she was ready to go, I handed back one of the coffee cups and guided her to the small couch by the window. I took my usual spot on the left side tucking my leg under myself, a position I’ve come to find comfortable.

Kaylee looked around for a moment and seemed to be taking in what she saw. Finally, her gaze returned to me and she sat on the right side of the couch. She set her coffee cup on the table, set her bag next to the table, and pulled out her copy of The Fated Crown from her bag.

My nerves seemed to get the better of me as I was sure she was judging me for Sydney's apartment. I took a sip from my cup. I reminded myself that I needed to try a Matcha Latte when someone else - to better understand if it's something that I like or something that Sydney likes. "Thanks for bringing hot drinks. It feels like it warms the soul on these cold days."

"I always enjoy a good beverage when I settle in with a good book,” Kaylee replied, sipping her own drink. “Figured it wouldn't be fair to exclude you."

"So, you found it to be a good book?"

"Well, I wasn't trying to jump right to the end, but yes, overall, I think it is a good book. Couple of rough edges that I think would have been caught by a better publisher, though."

It had been lost on me that I would be discussing a novel, not with a friend, but with an author. I took another sip and tried to compose myself and convince myself that Kaylee wouldn't think less of me for not being on her level. "You mean like how it felt like a TV show?"

Kaylee squinted a little and cocked her head to the side a bit. "What do you mean?"

"The whole thing seemed to be structured like each chapter was an episode. And the short passages at the end of each chapter so we know what the Orc is doing as Lenaria never added to the story, but just seemed to be tacked on as a pseudo-cliffhanger."

Kaylee looked down at her book for a few moments. "Huh. I hadn't considered that angle. But I see what you are getting at. Those passages did seem a little out of place, but there is nothing wrong with ending each chapter on a cliffhanger, and some of them were important to the story. Like when the Orc is offered the fruit by Rafton and she lashes out at him because it had spoiled. When you read that passage on subsequent readings it takes on a whole different meaning when you know Lenaria is colorblind and that this interaction sows the first seed of doubt for Rafton."

“I suppose I consider this a story about Lenaria in the Orc’s body. I kinda don't care what the Orc was doing in hers. I suppose I’d rather read a story from a single point of view than have it bounce back and forth.”

She giggled. “I understand what you mean. Some stories bounce around too much. But for this story, on re-reads you get some new details from the Orc’s point of view.”

"Wait, did you read it more than once already?"

"Three times, actually. But I don't have to deal with a full schedule of classes like you do. Plus, there were some scenes I really wanted to reread. And I write for a living. I was kinda procrastinating my work-in-progress."

"Wow,” I exclaimed. Kaylee was way out of my literary league. “Okay, I hadn't considered scenes taking on different meanings when you reread them. But that kind of furthers my point since you see that a lot in movies. I can't count the number of times people have told me that they didn't catch the double meanings until they saw a movie for the fifth time."

"I always tease people when they say things like that. Sure, they try to be subtle with the foreshadowing, but once you understand how that works it becomes so obvious."

"Same! I was starting to think I was the only one. I guess the presence of mundane scenes helped to hide the important scenes. Still, I would have much preferred that the author consolidated the Orc chapters. They could’ve been their own book.”

"So, what did you think of the actual story?"

"I loved it! When you gave me the brief synopsis I was intrigued, but after reading the foreword I knew I was going to enjoy it. I thought it was really smart for the author to avoid using the tropes of standard fantasy races."

"I know! The standard fantasy races are super problematic if you inspect them at all, so it was refreshing to see an author try something new. And having everything have a logical consistency made the world feel all the more real."

"Well, the magic system was a little bit hand-wavy."

"When is it not? Honestly, as long as it's not over the top without a reasonable excuse, I give all magic a pass. I’ve read so many fantasy books, there are no new ideas for magic systems anymore. I will say that I liked that magic was used sparingly here. And when it was used it always came with a cost. And although linking magic to natural forces has been done to death, I found this version to be nuanced, and I appreciated that it aligned with the racial links to natural forces."

I wonder what the cost of using a magical body swapping stone was. Besides being hungry.

Seeing Kaylee get so passionate brought a smile to my face. I felt a kinship with her that I hadn't felt with others before, even the other Guild members. I wondered what it meant that I felt more connected to Kaylee than the people I have literally shared bodies and lives with.

Kaylee caught me lost in thought. "Hey! Don't hold back. If you liked the magic system you can say so." She seemed a little hurt.

"Sorry! I've always found magic systems to be fascinating. I felt like this one was a little underwhelming, but your perspective gave me reason to reconsider. I always worry that by introducing magic, you’re also introducing a deus ex machina."

Kaylee's smile returned. The evening sun decided at that moment to grace the window with the perfect lighting conditions. Kaylee was resplendent. And I was the only one privileged to see it. I could tell I was smiling now as well.

"But magic systems aside, the story was really good." I paused for a moment to put my thoughts in order. "I know that it can be seen as a negative when every issue that comes up is addressed in the next chapter, and I will add that to my 'the author was trying to write a TV show' argument, but in this case, I felt that it worked to the story's advantage. Lenaria needed to grow and had a short time to do so. There was no time to eventually get around to certain moments of character growth."

"It wasn't just the pacing that felt a little rushed. When Lenaria looked at her restored Orc body in the mirror after Toriji cleansed her, the acceptance she had for her new body seemed to come a little too quickly. It definitely didn't feel entirely earned."

In that moment my own enthusiasm almost got the better of me. After all, I had experience. I wanted to tell her how exhilarating it can be to find yourself in a more appealing body. "I don't think it was unearned. L was finally fully connected with her new body, and-"

She looked at me and cocked her head. “L?”

“Oh, sorry,” I replied. “My nickname for Lenaria’s soul when she’s in the Orc’s body.”

“That’s clever. Later she chooses Narr the Mighty as a name. Sorry, I interrupted you. Continue that thought.” 

“It’s fine. Based on the reactions from Tarusk and Gelbin it is clear that once restored she was quite attractive, and not just for an Orc. Suddenly finding yourself in a beautiful body that you feel connected to has to feel like a massive weight has been lifted. I loved that scene. L was so euphoric. Her body no longer felt foreign or unnatural.” I wish I could feel that euphoria. Maybe I’ve come close. My times as Jasmine, Morgan, and Sydney feel like breadcrumbs to an epiphany.

My tone must have betrayed some of my recent struggles as Kaylee's face adopted a look of concern. But there was something else. A recognition. It wasn't that she could tell I had been struggling, but that she knew the struggle as well.

"Sometimes…,” she breathed, “...we don't need a new body to see the beauty in ourselves that others see. It isn't just mirrors of the magical variety that can show us the truth about ourselves." It sounded like she was trying to convince more than just me of that.

I watched Kaylee and had an idea. I lifted my phone and snapped a quick shot of Kaylee as the sun graced her with its most radiant of beams.

"Hey! Warn me if you are going to take a picture," Kaylee protested.

“Just follow me here.” I sent her the picture over text message with the caption 'Magic mirrors don't have a filter that can compare to natural beauty'.

Kaylee’s phone vibrated and she looked at the message I sent. So many emotions played across Kaylee's face. “That's… a really good picture of me.”

“No filters. Just beauty.”

Kaylee blushed as I rendered her speechless.

"So you agree that Lenaria's reaction wasn't unrealistic then?" I queried.

Kaylee narrowed her eyes at me. "Fine. But that was a sneaky way to make your point. I'm watching you." She flashed a playful smirk.

I laughed. "So was that one of those scenes that you mentioned wanting to reread?"

"It grew on me. But the scenes that I wanted to revisit were the coronation, the encounter with Tea Master, the final confrontation, and..." she trailed off for a moment " ... the final cleansing."

"In that order? ‘Cause one of those definitely seemed to have more of an impact on you."

Kaylee blushed slightly. "Don't judge."

Kaylee and I continued discussing the book for the next hour. We talked about the assassination, the coronation, and how Princess Lenaria adapted to her new body. Over the course of that hour, our positions on my couch got closer. Kaylee would occasionally scoot closer in excitement.

Eventually our bodies were touching. I put down my copy of the book and we shared hers.

“About that cleansing,” I asked. “I don’t understand what happened. What did Toriji whisper in L’s ear?”

“Toriji isn’t Toriji’s real name. Priestesses keep their true name secret and only give it to someone they love. Giving their true name will bind them to that person, and bind that person to them. It is considered rare for a Priestess to do this. See, consider these paragraphs.” 

I could feel her breath close to my face.

Kaylee read:

Toriji leaned in. "Yes. But your heart cannot belong to Toriji." 

Confusion pulled Lenaria back from her reminiscing. 

"To protect us, and others, before we begin our training we are given a new name. Our true names, when given, will create the bond. If you are willing for our path to be forever traveled together, I will tell you my true name."

"Nothing would honor me more," Lenaria replied. 

Toriji smiled. 

Lenaria's imagination had failed to fully capture how beautiful Toriji's smile would be. Toriji cautiously moved closer to Lenaria. Neither felt like this moment was real, and neither wanted to do anything to interrupt it.

Their bodies now pressed together, their breathing had synchronized. "Narr the Mighty, Princess Lenaria, holder of my heart, I give you my name." Toriji moved her lips next to Lenaria's ear. The world froze for the pair as Toriji whispered in Lenaria's ear.”

I traced the words with our hands as I read the passage. Neither of us said anything. I raised my thumb up and caressed her palm. “So we - the readers - don’t know Toriji’s name?”

“No, only Lenaria,” she said, looking at me. “I found that scene very romantic. In that moment they are exposed as their true selves and it binds them forever.”

I gently turned my head and matched her gaze.

I felt her breath again and it felt as if time was slowing down for us.

She glanced at my lips as we both moved closer.

Suddenly, I felt her tense up and pull away.

“I’m sorry,” she said, leaping from the couch. “I gotta go. I’m sorry.”

“Is something wrong?” I asked, getting scared. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” she said very apologetically. “You did nothing wrong. It was me.” She grabbed her copy of the book and her drink and ran out my door.

I was left in my apartment alone and confused.

What happened? I thought things were going so well. I must’ve misread her signals. She’s straight. And I ruined it.

I was reeling. I was hurting before I swapped into Sydney and now I just ruined the only good thing in Sydney’s life. 

This has been the worst week ever. First the Halloween party, then sex with Daniel, now Kaylee. My mind kept dancing around the logical conclusion. That body swapping had become too difficult and all I was doing was hurting myself. Perhaps even sabotaging the Guild.

Despite that, I didn’t necessarily want to leave the Guild. I didn’t want to go back to Daniel just yet. But I do know I’m done being Sydney. I’m ready to swap into someone else. I’m also ready to confess what I did to Aiden and Ella. The only logical next step was to just rip the bandaid off. I picked up my cell phone and dialed Antonio.

“Sydney, what’s up?” he answered

“Antonio, I need to confess something,” I said through tears.

“What’s wrong?”

“I broke the rules.”

Chapter 18

I spent all last night and all this morning with my guilt festering inside of me. During that time I ran over what I was going to say to them. Then I speculated what each member’s reaction would be. How would I justify my actions? What would I do if they kicked me out of the Guild? It was a rough night and rough morning. Even my normal makeup couldn’t hide the bags under my eyes. 

It was now Friday afternoon - the earliest time the group could agree on for an emergency meeting. 

“I call this emergency meeting to order,” Antonio said as he solemnly slammed the gavel upon its sound block.

Everyone had a confused look on their face. That’s because Antonio had not explained ahead of time what the emergency was about. Antonio had insisted I tell them myself. 

“D?” Antonio said, hinting that I take over.

“I broke a rule,” I started, struggling to make eye contact with any of the members.

The confusion on my friends’ faces turned to shock and disbelief. I saw Gabriel whisper, “What?”

“I swapped two non-Guild members without their consent.”

“Who?” Jasmine asked, eyes wide.

“Aiden and Ella.”

“Remind me who they are again?” she questioned.

“Ella is Lauren’s sorority sister,” Gabriel replied.

“Oh, her,” she said scornfully.

“I went on a date with her when I was Gabe,” Morgan added.

“Aiden is President of both Kappa Nu Tau and the Greek Council,” Daniel said.

“And a total womanizer,” Antonio added.

“D, how did this happen?” Daniel asked calmly. “Start at the beginning.”

“It was at the Delta Halloween party,” I replied. “It was while I was Jasmine. They were both drunk. They pulled me into a bedroom. Aiden pinned me against a wall and started assaulting me. I used the stone on them to escape.”

Silence hung in the air. Everyone was at a loss for words. Were they going to be angry? Were they going to be emphatic?

“First of all,” Gabriel asked, “are you OK?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “A little shook up, but I got away before anything bad happened to me.”

“Do they know how it happened?” Daniel asked. “Do they know about the stone?”

“They, uh, might be under the impression Jasmine is a…genie,” I sheepishly replied, glancing her way.

“A genie?” Morgan echoed in disbelief. 

I thought I - you - were a mermaid for Halloween,” Jasmine recalled.

“We were,” I confirmed.

“We?”

“I was with D,” Daniel replied. “I was the one who brought the stone. I was Jasmine at the start of the party. D was Morgan. We swapped because Aiden was harassing me. I’m the reason D was put in that position.”

“How do you know what happened after you escaped?” Morgan asked me.

“I wasn’t even sure they swapped,” I began. “I was during the cool-down period for me. I ran out of there during their drunken confusion. I hung around to see if they made any kind of scene at the party, but nothing happened. Then I looked for signs during the past week. Nothing. Finally, I decided to see for myself. I visited Ella as Gabe in her sorority house and she was definitely not acting like Ella,” I explained. “Then I met with Aiden as Antonio in his office and caught him in a lot of name and pronoun mistakes. But they haven’t admitted that they swapped. Both are attempting to live as they appear. Poorly, I might add.” 

“So, we should expect at some point they’re going to confront Jasmine to ask to be swapped back,” Antonio speculated.

“Why haven’t they done that yet?” Morgan asked. “It’s been a week since Halloween.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I think maybe E likes the power trip she has been on as Aiden.”

“E? Oh, God, don’t call her that,” Gabriel shuddered. “It makes it sound like she’s a member of this Guild.”

“It’s fine, it alleviates confusion,” Daniel said. “Either way, I’m sure neither would pass a vote to join us.”

“That power trip will get old,” Antonio retorted. “So I’m betting one or both will ask - or demand - that Jasmine swap them back to normal. So we need to be prepared.”

I hesitated before revealing the next part. “They also appear to have ramped-up libidos,” I said, embarrassed at the memories reddening my cheeks. “When I was Gabe, Ella paraded me in front of her sisters before trying to rape me in her room.” I looked at Gabriel before proceeding. “But I left before anything serious happened.”

“So, is that why you wanted my body?” Gabriel spoke up. “A booty call?”

“Hardly,” I responded, “though she was really in the mood.”

Gabe just rolled his eyes.

“And Thursday,” Antonio jumped in, “You used my body to visit Aiden?”

“Yes,” I replied quietly. “Oh, and the new Aiden tried to trade sex for political favors while I was you.”

“This just keeps getting better,” Antonio sarcastically replied, cringing as he visualized it.

“I don’t understand why they’re suddenly… gay?” I asked, “Or is it bi?”

“Lowered inhibitions,” Antonio replied. “Plus society gender roles. Don’t underestimate sex as power, too. Like us, they’re playing a role. Odds are, Aiden’s feeble mind thinks that because he was straight as a guy, and Ella is straight, he as Ella must also be straight.”

“That’s sadly a common rationale in fiction,” Daniel added. 

“And Ella?” Jasmine asked.

“Power,” Antonio theorized. “Aiden is well connected. Moderately attractive. Rich parents from what I’ve heard. Ella - or rather E - has just entered a world of privilege. No more gender roles. She’s likely testing her new boundaries, while playing a role, like us.”

“Unlike us, though, they have no rules,” Daniel added.

There were nods all around.

“OK, let’s get back to the situation we are in,” Antonio said with some force to his words.

“Should we just fix the problem?” Gabriel asked. “Put them back now? Apologize?”

“We’d be exposing ourselves and our secret,” Morgan stated.

“But, we can’t just leave them like that,” Jasmine implored. “Especially if they’re going to come after me.”

There was silence again.

Daniel sighed, then looked at me. “I’m sorry D. This is my fault. I put you in this situation with Aiden.”

“That’s in the past. We have to deal in the now,” Antonio said before pausing. He then sighed. “There’s the matter of punishment.”

I looked at him in surprise. “Punishment?”

“She was just protecting herself,” Gabriel said, defending me. “Was she just supposed to let them beat her, or even rape her?”

Antonio tapped the gavel to maintain control. “Guys - the guys who grew up guys. I’ve encouraged you all on multiple occasions to put mace in your purses.”

“It doesn’t fit in my clutch,” Jasmine whined.

“I don’t have mace,” Morgan said.

“Yes you do,” Antonio said, annoyed. “Your middle dresser drawer. I bought it freshman year.”

Gabriel sighed. “Antonio’s right. Sometimes you each forget you’re an easy target for the Aidens of the world. And you don’t have your original body to defend yourself.” 

I paled at the thought of how things could have gone with those two drunken fools. “I reached into my purse to see if I had any pepper spray or something to defend myself. All I found was the stone.”

“See!” Gabriel exclaimed. “D grew up as a guy and even she gets it! Do we really have to punish her for defending herself?”

Antonio looked at Daniel. “A, back me up here.”

Daniel stared at the table while he considered his words. “But it’s my fault she was in that position,” Daniel feebly pleaded. He already knew his protest was meaningless.

“But she still misused the stone. A, you know she has to be punished.”

Daniel looked up and sighed with acceptance. “You’re right.” He took another breath. “I’m sorry, D. We made these rules for a reason. However justified you were at that moment, you put us all in danger. Not only did you possibly expose our secret, but something bad could have happened to the stone. Imagine if it was in Aiden’s or Ella’s possession right now. Or lost.”

“I would’ve kicked that bastard in the nuts,” Jasmine cursed.

Gabrel sighed and shook his head. “This isn’t a movie, Jaz.”

“Are…are you going to kick me out?” I stammered.

“No,” Gabriel replied, looking around at the group. “Right?”

“No, you’re a good person, D,” a more subdued Jasmine added. “We’ve enjoyed having you in our group.”

“But we have to follow our own rules,” Antonio reminded us. “Or else what would be the point of having them?”

“I should have the same punishment,” Daniel offered. “It’s only right.”

Antonio nodded. “OK.”

“I think we should make the punishment lenient,” Morgan proposed. “It was a first offense, and D was acting in self-defense. Let’s just…let’s just do a reset for a week.”

“I agree with Morgan,” added Jasmine. “If it hadn’t been for D’s quick thinking I could be sitting here right now all beaten up, or with an STD…or worse.” 

We all stared at Jaz while we considered the potential implications of Aiden’s assault.

“No, I don’t want to do a reset,” Gabriel dissented. “I have a big game on Saturday.”

“We can do a reset and you can swap back with Gabriel after the cool-down,” Daniel suggested.

Gabriel nodded. “Fine. Let’s vote and get this over with.”

“All for resetting and exempting D and A from swapping for a week say Aye.”

“Aye,” a few voices half-heartedly said. I noticed not everyone voted.

“Nays?”

Silence.

“Motion passes with abstentions,” Antonio stated. “The stone?”

Since I still had the stone, I walked towards the center of the room and held out my hand.

The five other members put a finger on the stone.

Five seconds later I was Daniel again. It wasn’t a welcome reunion with my original body. I was upset at myself for breaking the rules. I was also upset I was being punished, given the circumstances. But a part of me was relieved that a weight had been lifted - and I don’t mean the lack of breasts. I took a deep breath and walked back to the seat this body was sitting in.

“OK,” Antonio said. “D - and I. We’ve got a week starting now. Gabe, if you want to swap with whomever was just Gabe, you can do that after the cooldown.” He handed the stone to Gabriel. “Obviously Sydney and Morgan can swap if you desire.”

“I’m going to stay myself for a little bit,” Sydney said. “Aside from resets, I haven’t been Sydney for well over a month.”

Morgan chucked. “I haven’t been myself in a while either. I’m interested in reading my journal and seeing what you’ve all done as me. I’ll stay for a week. Anyway, now what do we do about Aiden and Ella?” 

“Can we just leave them like that?” Jasmine asked.

“That’s unethical,” Morgan replied.

“Serves them right though,” Gabriel added.

“We should switch them back,” Sydney said.

“How?” Jasmine asked. “Without exposing who we are or the existence of the stone.”

“How do we even get them alone together?” Gabriel asked.

“What if,” I interrupted, “they don’t want to be swapped back?”

“We should swap them back anyway,” Gabriel said.

“That’s unethical too,” Morgan replied.

“Wait - so which is it, Morgan?” Gabriel replied to her. “Make up your mind. Are you for swapping them back or leaving them?”

“I’m not for any rash decisions,” she retorted. “I don’t think we have enough information to form a plan of action.”

“How do you expect to ask them?”

“We need to be stealthy about this,” Jasmine advised. “But if they think I did this, then it can’t be me.”

There were another few seconds of silence.

“I think we need to table this while we think about it,” Sydney suggested. “Maybe everyone thinks of a plan and we talk through our options at the next meeting on Sunday.”

“In the meantime, how about those with access to Aiden and Ella observe them some more?” Morgan suggested.

Everyone else nodded their agreement.

“OK,” Antonio said. “Everyone think of ideas. We’ll also keep an eye on them. We’ll discuss further on Sunday. Emergency meeting is adjourned.” He slammed the gavel down as a formality.

I sat there in self-pity as everyone got up.

Jasmine came over to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up. I would’ve done the same thing.”

Next was Antonio. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought the stone to Halloween.”

I was slightly surprised that A admitted that he was my roommate that night. My curiosity wanted to ask him about a gay male eagerly roleplaying a lesbian, but I knew now wasn’t the time. “If you didn’t, you would’ve been the one sexually assaulted by Aiden.”

Antonio nodded and walked away silently.

Finally, Sydney pulled up a seat next to me. “If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

I thought about that and the first thing that came to mind was Kaylee. The way I left things was kinda awkward. She hadn’t texted me back since last night. Clearly she was straight and I made a mess of things.

The thing I wondered about was whether I should fill Sydney in on that. I never wrote anything about Kaylee in Sydney’s journal. I suppose it’s a moot point now.

“Sorry, I left your body with only a few hours of sleep,” I apologized.

“It’ll be fine, I’ll go to bed early tonight,” she yawned. “For now, maybe I’ll get some coffee.”

After Sydney left, I was alone in the study room. I sat there for a good five minutes before I decided to head home and face an unfamiliar life as Daniel for a week.

* * *

I walked into my dorm room and collapsed onto my bed. It had been less than a week since I’d last been here. That was the night I, as Jasmine, took Daniel’s virginity. It seemed like so long ago. But now I’m back to being just plain-old boring Daniel again. 

The events of the past week swirled in my head. The budding and now broken friendship with Kaylee, the Aiden and Ella situation. My punishment.

I could bury myself in a good book - if I had one. I left both of my books at Sydney’s apartment because I wasn’t anticipating a swap today. Really, I’m not sure what I was anticipating.

What I needed to do was get back into the Daniel mindset. What would I normally do on a Friday? Oh, yeah, read a book.

I propped my door open and poked my head out into the hallway. I heard music coming from Mike’s room, so I decided to pay him a visit.

Mike’s door was open, and I could see him sitting there playing Playstation while listening to music.

I knocked on the door frame.

He turned to see who was there. “Heeey, Dan. What’s going on?”

“Nothing much,” I replied. I wanted to ask, “What’s new this past month?” but that would just confuse him.

“Wanna get in on a game?” he offered.

“No thanks,” I replied. “I was just seeing what’s going on.”

“Just shooting up some zombies. After that, maybe hit up the dining hall. You’re welcome to join us.”

“I’ll think about it,” I replied. Since he was busy playing video games, I quietly left and went back to my room. I crashed on the bed and laid there staring at the ceiling. For the first time in over a month, I was bored. I had nowhere to go. No one to see. I didn’t have practice, or a roommate, or parties to get dragged to. All I had was homework, and I wasn’t about to do that on a Friday night.

I thought back to what Robert said when he was forced to be Sydney. He considered it cruel since he had dysphoria in his former body. Do I have dysphoria? Or am I just used to the excitement of being the other Guild members?

Speaking of Sydney. I texted her. “Can you bring my books over?”

While I was waiting for her to respond, I decided to check out my journal. The composition notebook was in the top dresser drawer. I skimmed through it to the most recent entries.

“Saturday, Nov 2. Went to the club with Mike, Sal, and Denis. Ran into Jasmine, Morgan, and Sydney and joined them for a bit. I also found Kristy from Lit Class there. We hit it off and I got her number. Jasmine (D) followed me home, worried about me losing my virginity to a stranger, so we had sex.”

I frowned. I’m glad R didn’t go into details there.

“Tuesday, Nov 5.” was written in different handwriting. “I called Kristy and we chatted on the phone for an hour. I asked her out on a date, but she’s out of town this weekend. We have a tentative date scheduled for next Monday evening (Nov 11).”

I have a date with Kristy on Monday? Sure, I thought Kristy was cute. But I feel weird dating her when it wasn’t me who asked her out. I wonder if she’s been told about the Guild yet.

I sighed and put the journal back in time for Sydney to text me back.

“D, you have a car too!”

I mean, she’s right. I’m not a prisoner in my room. But why does it feel like it?

* * *

The next 24 hours slowly trudged by. Saturday morning, I drove to Sydney’s apartment to get my books. I felt weird to be there as Daniel. I didn’t feel much like talking, so I made small talk and left with my books. Sydney got the hint and reiterated that she was always available to talk. Once I returned to my dorm, I started to read, but that didn’t make the feelings go away. In fact, reading the books just made me think of Kaylee and how I just assumed this girl was into me. I tortured myself by reading Fated Crown’s final cleansing scene again. Reading it seemed hollow without Kaylee around.

I’m sure I’m not the first lesbian to be shot down by a straight girl. 

I chuckled at calling myself a lesbian. Being different people was certainly doing weird things to my identity. Perhaps, being Daniel for a week is just what the doctor ordered.

As the day crept into the late afternoon, I contemplated what the other Guild members would be doing right now. Jasmine would be hanging out with Lauren on the outing I set up. Gabriel would be getting ready for his game. Antonio likely went home to do some community service. Morgan is probably out with some friends. Sydney would be home practicing her clarinet.

And me? I’m lying here awaiting the end of my sentence. I’d rather be doing any of the things that my friends are doing right now.

As the evening wore on, there was more and more commotion in the hall. Here at my dorm, rather than go out clubbing, my neighbors decided to have a party. 

Sometime around 9, Sal stopped by and dragged me out of my room. “Daniel, what’s going on?” he asked. You’re acting like you just got dumped.”

“Oh, no.” I replied. “I’ve just been in a funk these past two days.”

“Well let's get you out of that funk. Mike’s mixing up some drinks.”

We both walked into Mike's room. Our dorm rooms are small cinder block prisons designed to accommodate 2 people. But when we have parties, we somehow manage to fit 15 people in them. It helps if it’s mixed company.

Mike was making mixed drinks on his dresser. When he saw me, he handed me a pre-poured Solo cup.

“Thank you,” I replied, as he got to work on running the blender again. I took a large sip and nearly gagged on the alcohol. Geez, how much vodka did he put in this daiquiri? I took another sip to take the edge off.

I looked around and recognized several other neighbors amongst the party goers.

“So Danny Boy, what’s new?” Sal asked.

“Not much, I suppose,” I replied.

“What about the girl you brought around last week?”

I cocked my head. “Jasmine?”

“No, not her. The other girl. The redhead.”

“Oh, Kristy. She’s out of town this weekend.”

“Damn, Daniel, don’t miss out on that. She’s cute. You seeing her again soon?”

“Monday,” I replied.

There was cheering coming from the corner of the room. It was Denis who was looking at his phone. Denis high-fived another guy and a girl who were huddled around his phone with him.

“Yo, what’s the score?” Mike said, looking up from the blender.

“20-0,” Denis announced. “Turbo just scored a touchdown.”

“Turbo Ramirez?” I asked.

“Yup. Damn that guy’s awesome!” Sal exclaimed. “Daniel, do you watch football?”

“Not really but… but I’ve met Gabriel. In passing.”

“He sounds like a cool dude.”

“He really is.”

“I can’t imagine all of the girls that guy gets.”

“Well, he’s single. His practice schedule doesn’t really allow for too much dating.”

“Is that so?”

Someone came up to Sal to strike a different conversation and I backed away into the crowd.

I accidentally bumped into a girl. “Sorry.” Thankfully she didn’t spill her drink. I looked her up and down. She had a cute dress. A fun pattern, a form fitting shape that emphasized her small waist and hugged her boobs just right, while providing a plunging neckline, teasing the eyes. It would look amazing on me. I mean Jasmine or Morgan. Even Sydney.

She broke my thoughts by saying, “Hi.”

“Sorry for bumping into you,” I apologized again. “I love that dress.” I said before catching myself.

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Um, thanks.”

It was time to go, so I downed the rest of that drink. I could feel the alcohol go straight to my head. Apparently the ice went to my head too, as I felt a brain freeze come on.

“Hey,” Sal announced over the noise of the crowd. “Who wants to play a drinking game?”

A number of people cheered.

I decided now was a good time to leave and head back to my room.

“Yo Danny boy,” Sal said. “Where ya goin’?”

“I uh-” I stammered.

“Come play with us. You’re not driving anywhere.”

“Empty,” I held up my empty Solo cup.

Without another word, Mike took my empty cup and handed me a full one in return.

I shrugged in resignation. “OK, sure.”

“What game are we playing?” one person asked.

“Never Have I Ever,” Mike replied. “Does everyone have a drink in their hand?”

Ugh. I hated this game.

“Who wants to go first?” Mike asked.

“I’ll go,” Sal volunteered. “Let’s see.” he looked around the crowd to see who was playing. 

There was Mike, Sal, and Denis. And Bernie from the 2nd floor. Then there were three girls. One of whom was the girl in the cute dress. Another was wearing a purple crop top, and the third one was wearing a university-branded T-shirt. 

“Let’s start off tame,” Sal continued. “Never have I ever cheated on a test.”

Mike groaned and took a sip. “All you good, honest test takers.”

“Never have I ever skinny-dipped,” Cute-dress girl giggled.

The other two girls took a drink. None of the guys did. 

“Never have I ever played strip poker,” Denis chuckled.

Nobody took a sip. I was getting antsy to take another drink.

“Seriously?” Denis commented. “Well, now I know what we’re playing next.”

“Dude, I don’t want to see you naked.” Sal said, nudging Denis.

“Who said I’m going to lose?” Denis replied.

“Never have I ever had sex with two people at the same time,” T-shirt girl said.

“You bitch!” Purple-crop-top said, taking a drink. 

“Yo, when are we going to drink?” Mike asked.

“OK fine,” Purple-crop-top laughed. “Let's get the guys. Never have I ever had sex with a girl.”

The guys and I all took a drink. I beamed knowing that I’m no longer a virgin. Cute-dress girl also took a discreet sip that only I noticed.

When Sal was done with his sip he held up his hand to me for a high-five. “Damn right, Danny Boy! I knew you hit that!”

I smiled and slapped his hand. I didn’t want to brag too much, but it was nice not being seen as the virgin anymore. It was also my turn. I hated this game. I hated that when I was put on the spot, I could never think of a clever question. “Never have I ever…um…smoked pot.”

Everyone groaned as they all took a drink.

It was Bernie’s turn. “Never have I ever… had sex with a guy,” he laughed. “Drink up ladies!”

I turned bright red. There was no requirement to actually admit to these things right? I could have lied. So why did I turn my head and take a drink instead?

When I turned back around Mike was looking at me. “Dan?” he asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah?” I replied, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“You weren’t supposed to drink.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Unless he did,” Purple-crop-top girl said.

“Did you?” Cute-dress girl asked me.

“Just once,” I admitted truthfully. I could feel the alcohol swirling in my head, lowering my inhibitions, encouraging me to tell the truth. “It wasn’t enjoyable, though.”

“Holy shit, dude!” Sal exclaimed. “Here I was thinking you were a virgin and instead you play for both teams.”

I shrugged. “I’m still straight.”

“What’s your number?” Mike asked me.

“My number?” I repeated.

“How many girls… sorry… how many people have you had sex with?”

“I don’t want to brag,” I said, as I started counting them in my head. Jasmine… Morgan… 

They didn’t take that for an answer. Lauren… Daniel…

“Four,” I answered. Oh, and Ella.

My friends cheered and hollered. 

“Five, if you count oral as sex.” 

“Dude,” Mike said, offering me another high-five. “We have a sex God in our presence. You are the man!”

I smiled and turned red. It’s ironic he said that “the man” because in every sexual encounter except Ella, I was a woman. That thought should’ve been a strike against my masculinity, but I didn’t care. I was proud of it all.

“You did not have sex with five people,” Cute-dress girl questioned in disbelief.

I smiled confidently and took another sip. The alcohol was in full control. “Wanna make it six?”

That got the crowd to go wild. Cute-dress girl was taken aback and her jaw hung open.

“He even hooked up with a lesbian,” Denis stated.

“I- I,” I stammered trying to explain myself, but realized I couldn’t.

“Don’t deny it Dan, I saw her leaving your room in the morning,” Mike tattled.

I shrugged. Technically he saw me. I was the one doing the Walk of Shame. 

Cute-dress girl and I made eye contact. 

She crossed her arms and smiled.

While this was a nice distraction, I was done being the center of attention. “Listen,” I said, chugging the rest of my drink. “I really need to get going. I had fun.”

My friends said, “Aww,” as I got up.

“OK, OK,” Sal said, eager to continue the game. “It’s my turn again. Never have I…”

I walked through the crowd and out into the hallway. I grabbed onto the wall because my buzz was causing me to be a bit tipsy. I remembered why I never drank that much as Daniel. I was a lightweight and had very little tolerance for hard alcohol. Especially vodka.

I returned to my room and sat down on the bed. The room had a slight spin to it and I tried to steady myself. I took a breath before I decided I should grab my toiletry bag and get ready for bed.

There was a knock at the door.

I got up mumbling, “Dammit Mike, I’m going to-” I opened the door.

Cute-dress girl was standing there.

“Um. Hi,” was all I could say, holding onto the door to steady myself.

“Hi. I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Chloe.”

“Daniel. Why aren’t you at the party, Chloe?”

“That game got boring when you left.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Is it all true?”

“Umm. Yeah. Mostly. Depending on who’s point of view you’re looking at.”

“So you’re bi?”

“No. I’m just… I dunno. I’m straight. But…”

“But you’re a little queer… like me. Just trying to figure it all out.” 

I smiled. “Yeah, I suppose. I saw you drink when asked about having sex with a girl.”

“My roommate. It was like the first week of school. It was unbelievably hot.”

“Sounds like it,” I smirked.

“I meant the weather,” she giggled. “It was that August heat wave, remember? We were just sitting in our dorm in underwear, and somehow…”

“One thing led to another?”

“Right. What about you? Tell me about your time with a guy.”

“Well...” How do I tell her had I sex with myself without admitting to body swapping? “I suppose I was curious. And kinda horny. And he offered.”

She giggled. “That’s how it always goes right? Is it true about you having sex with a lesbian?”

“That’s true too,” I admitted.

“How? How did a straight guy like yourself pull that off?”

I was out of excuses. How could I explain that I was a girl at the time too? “I have my ways.”

“I bet you learned a thing or two.”

“I definitely did.” I couldn’t help smiling as I thought about those encounters.

“I like that,” she said. “Most guys won’t admit that. You’re not like other guys, Daniel.”

“Yeah. I get that a lot.”

“I just got out of a bad relationship,” she opened up. “He was an asshole. Had no idea how to pleasure a girl. And no desire to learn.”

“That’s a shame,” I replied. “I mean, as a guy, you have like - one - job.”

“I know right?” she laughed. “How about you? Did that lesbian teach you how to properly pleasure a woman?”

I nodded. “I guess.”

“Five partners, you must be doing something right?”

“I’ve had no complaints.”

“Three,” Chloe said.

“Three?” I echoed in confusion.

“That’s my number of partners. Two mediocre guys and my roommate, who blew my fucking mind.”

“Are you and your roommate together?”

“No. She wound up being straight.”

“Wait. She gave you mind blowing sex and she wound up being straight?”

Chloe laughed. “I think that might be more of an indictment on the guys I’ve been with then her.”

“But yeah, I know that feeling. I’ve been trying to see this… person I met at a coffee shop. We hit it off, but it turned out they didn’t swing my way.”

“Fuck’em!” she said with a hand wave. “My roommate. Your coffee shop friend. Fuck ‘em!”

I smiled at the thought. If only. “Yeah, they’re missing out,” I agreed.

Chloe stepped past me into my room, but not before closing and locking the door. “Is your offer still available?”

I smiled and played coy. “Which offer?”

“Number six.”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

Chapter 19

I didn’t know whether or not to take the lead. After all, this would be the first time I’ve ever had sex as a guy. While it wasn’t the most opportune moment for self-realization, I realized that I had different preferences when in different bodies. Not my sexual preferences, but my role-play seemed to extend to sex. When I was Jasmine, I’d rather take charge. When I was Morgan, I’d rather sit back and let them come to me. Unless I was Morgan with Lauren, of course, then I went full-on domme.

But now I’m Daniel. 

The Daniel I was a month ago would not be in this position at all. Both of us have grown. My soul and this body. My disconnect with my original body was never more evident than in this moment. Who am I? I better figure it out soon because Chloe is seductively inching closer to me. 

I determined that since Chloe initiated this encounter by coming into my room and closing the door behind her, it was my obligation to take the next step.

I reached out and held her hips. Her dress was even softer than I imagined. Her body was warmer. As I pulled her closer to me, I could feel the heat radiating off of her.

Her eyes closed and her lips parted and I knew I needed to take her.

The moment our lips pursed together, she wrapped her hand around my neck, cradling my head and encouraging my lips to part.

Our tongues sought each other out and started massaging each other. She tasted of strawberry daiquiri.

We stood there making out for a few minutes. I could feel my member getting erect, straining against my jeans. I was consciously holding my groin away from her, but Chloe had other plans.

She wrapped her other hand around my waist and pulled me in. My erection was now pressed up against her. There was no hiding it anymore. Her mouth opened wider, our kisses got passionate and her pelvis started to rub against mine. This gave me the green light to relax - she’s consenting to this - this is happening.

That’s good, because I needed this. It’s been such a stressful couple of weeks. I needed this distraction from my Guild drama. I moved my kisses from her mouth to her ear to her neck. 

Chloe let out a moan as she continued to rub against my erection.

As my kissing exploration reached her collarbone, she tugged at the shoulder of her dress to reveal more of her shoulder. Then with another tug, her breast popped out of her dress. Did I say how much I loved her dress?

At this point, having been on both sides of the female nipple, I was determined to get it right with Chloe. Instead of adolescent squeezing and pawing, I knew slow and easy would give her the most pleasure. I gently cupped her breast with my hand, then leaned in, lightly tracing her erect nipple with my tongue.

She responded by eagerly pulling my head into her chest, forcing me to suckle on her tit. Leaning in, she started nibbling on my ear then neck.

I came up for air and pulled her other breast out of her dress. 

That’s when she simply pulled the dress off over her head. Bye-bye dress. I should really ask her where she got it. 

I followed her lead and pulled my T-shirt off. I wrapped my arms around her naked back and lowered my mouth to her newly-exposed breast. The nipple was already hard, awaiting my tongue.

When I thought her breasts were thoroughly played with, I slowly laid her down on my bed. I know she’s here because she believes me to be an experienced lover. Or at least one with knowledge on how to please a woman. So since my only experience is as a lesbian and her best experience is with a lesbian, I think I had a general idea of what she was looking for.

She raised herself onto her elbow and looked at me with eager eyes.

I knelt down in front of her and rubbed my hands on her thighs. I then slowly splayed her legs apart revealing her panties with a telling wet spot.

I started kissing her creamy thighs as she ran her finger through my short hair. I inched my way up her legs and finally kissed her mound through her panties. She let out a moan as I nibbled on her.

I backed away. By now her panties were nearly transparent. I looked up at her and whispered “May I?”

“Hmmhmm,” she agreed.

I grabbed the waistband of her panties and slid them down her legs. 

When they were off, she opened her flower for me again. She had a cute landing strip above, pointing as an arrow towards her sex. She was shaved, but not recently. Odds she didn’t expect this to happen tonight either.

I hesitated out of inexperience. Not with going down on a woman, but doing it as a man. I decided it shouldn’t matter, and let my uncertainty fade. I was pretty good at this, based on reactions from Morgan, Jasmine and Lauren.

She reached out and ran her fingers through my hair again. She pulled me head closer to her pussy, making her desire known. She then wrapped her legs around me preventing my unlikely escape.

My tongue lightly brushed against her slit. I reached out and parted her labia to reveal her sex button. I lightly flicked it with my tongue.

Her moans let me know I was doing it right.

As I continually ate her out, her moans were turning me on. My dick felt like it wanted to hulk out of my jeans. When I would glance up at her, she had a smile on her face and she was moaning in ecstasy. I couldn’t wait until she returned the favor and ate me out.

After she orgasmed a fourth time, she cupped her pussy with her hands and let out a strained cry as if she was out of breath.

I looked up at her and in the dim light, I saw Kaylee. My heart skipped a beat and gasped. I blinked and I saw Chloe again. 

“I want you in me,” Chloe whispered. 

In her? For a brief moment I forgot I was Daniel. I thought I could feel a phantom clit and my own pussy getting wet. I reached down and confirmed that yes, there was a massive erection attached to my body. I felt something I couldn’t describe. It couldn’t be disappointment, could it? I’m having great sex. How could I be disappointed?

She leaned forward and grabbed my pants. She undid the button and zipper and pulled out my hard member. She slowly worked it like a piston and looked up at me. “Do you have a condom?”

“Yeah, I do,” I replied.

She let go of my dick and laid down on the bed waiting for me. 

I reached over to my night stand where the condoms were waiting for me. Now this is the unlikely dream situation I bought these for. I ripped open the foil package and rolled the latex sleeve down my dick.

I exhaled as I approached Chloe. I knelt onto the bed and waded between her legs. Gripping my cock I lent over and assisted the tip to her pussy as I traced her slit with it. My experience when I was Jasmine and had sex with Daniel was to go slow. I slowly pushed the tip part way into her. The sensation of her tight pussy wrapping around the head of my cock was amazing. I slowly pulled back out, feeling the head of my cock slide through her insides.

She moaned in approval.

I repeated my penetration, this time going a little deeper.

The deeper I went, the better it felt. God, she was so tight. This feeling was so different from when I was a woman. My cock could feel inside of her. I could feel her muscle clamping down on my cock. I was afraid if I went too fast I would cum prematurely.

I remembered something, though, when having sex with Daniel. Angle was important. I kept my dick inside of her as I wrapped my arms around her legs and shifted her a little.

She gasped, “That it’s right there!”

I started to make a more fluid motion as our breathing became raspy with desperation.

“Oh, fuck!” she cried as I felt her muscles tighten around me. “Yeah, keep going!”

I kept thrusting, moving faster and deeper.

“Oh my God, another one!” she yelled. I could feel her orgasms vibrate through my cock. “Yes, yes,” she moaned.

Another image of Kaylee flashed through my mind. Her face in my memory made me even harder and put me on the brink. “I’m getting close,” I huffed. I felt kinda guilty for imagining Kaylee as I fucked Chloe. “Just don’t say the wrong name,” I thought.

“Let's…cum…together,” she barely managed to gasp out.

I picked up speed and just as I was about to explode into her she moaned loudly. That was enough to trigger my own orgasm. 

I stopped and lingered in her as I ejaculated into the rubber. When it stopped, I pulled out and laid next to her.

I did it. I officially lost my male virginity. What a way to go.

“Wow!” Chloe exclaimed. “That was amazing.”

I rolled over to catch my breath. “‘Wow!’ is right.”

“You knew every spot on me.”

“I just paid attention,” I said, trying to downplay my experience.

“I dunno,” she huffed. “I think you were a girl in another life.” 

I turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow. She didn’t notice my reaction to that. I resumed staring up at the ceiling. “Maybe I was,” I replied. It’s a partial truth right?

I looked down at my deflating dick still wrapped inside the spent condom. I kinda wanted to go again, but knew my current equipment needed time to recharge. Looked at the digital clock on my nightstand. That was only ten minutes? Sex as a guy goes by way too quickly.

“You were thinking about someone else weren’t you?” she said, breaking my thoughts.

“I- uh.” I stammered as I rolled the condom off my dick and tossed it in a nearby wastebasket.

“Why are the best ones always taken?” she mumbled to herself. She then turned towards me. “You don’t have to deny it. It’s OK. This was fun. No strings attached. But whoever this person you were fantasizing about, they’re lucky to have you.”

“Yeah.”

“Hopefully I’ll find someone like that soon.”

It’s a weird conversation to have with someone you just had sex with. I understood where she was coming from. Not only was I fantasizing about Kaylee, I was thinking how different straight sex and lesbian sex was. Maybe she was thinking the same thing. “I uh.. I know some single lesbians. If you want me to introduce you.”

She leaned up and smiled. “Are these the lesbians who taught you how to pleasure a woman?”

“Maybe.”

“I’d like that.” She reached around the bed and pulled out my phone from the mess of sheets. “I’m giving you my number.” When she was done, she handed it to me. She had put her contact in as “Six” with a wink emoji.

Chloe sat up and started collecting her clothes. “I should get going. My friends are likely looking for me.”

“You should definitely save them from my friends.”

When she was dressed, she turned around. “See yah later, Four.”

“See you later, Six.”

* * *

In the morning, I awoke with one thing on my mind. OK, two things.

One, I was feeling kinda guilty for that one night stand. My second in as many weeks. But the way it happened… that wasn’t like me. I never drink that much. I hoped I didn’t come off like an asshole or some womanizer. I did get Chloe’s number, so hopefully I didn’t behave too badly.

My second thought and maybe the most prominent on my mind. Kaylee. I missed her. Last night was a boost of confidence. I never imagined I could have a night like that as Daniel. But I did. And maybe I could do it again. Maybe not as a one-off, but perhaps as a real relationship. I could be Daniel and still get girls. Therefore, if Kaylee wasn’t interested in me as Sydney, maybe she’d be interested in me as Daniel. Sure, I’d have to cancel on Kristy, but Kaylee would be worth it.

Thankfully it was Sunday. A whole week since I met Kaylee originally. Maybe she’d be at the same place at the same time.

After breakfast I showered and shaved. Shaving my face with an electric razor was so simple compared to using a blade and shave gel on my legs. Then I headed for my closet to pick out clothing. I sighed as I looked at my boring collection of similar pants and shirts. I missed the vibrant colors and variety of girl’s clothing. I put on a nice button-down shirt and my best cargo pants. It was a little more formal than what I’d wear around campus, but I wanted to impress Kaylee. When I was happy with my appearance, I drove to the coffee shop.

I sat down in the same seat I sat when I first became Sydney a week ago. I pulled out my copy of The Heronine Prophecy. Now, I just need a coffee. I checked the time on my phone. This was about the same time I first met Kaylee. I didn’t have a full plan, but I had enough confidence that I could strike up a conversation with her.

Natalie the barista was working again. She saw me briefly but stayed behind the counter.

Daniel wasn’t a regular so I was going to have to get up and order. I took off my jacket and draped it on my chair and walked up to the counter.

“Hi, welcome to The Coffee Exchange,” Natalie beamed. “What can I get for you?”

“Umm,” I said, fiddling with my hands. I suppose I should try to be the same person I was when I met Kaylee. “Hot Matcha Latte with cream.”

I expected Natalie to make a weird face at me, but instead she went to work creating the drink. She looked up at me. “I can bring it out to you when it’s done, sir.”

Sir? Oh, yeah, I almost forgot I was Daniel again. “Thank you,” I said, returning to my seat. I wondered how long it would take to feel normal as a guy again.

As I sat down, I heard the jingle of the door. Kaylee was walking in.. She was just as beautiful as I remembered, if not more. While it’s only been a few days since she came over, I sorely missed seeing her.

Out of the corner of my eye I watched as she took off her coat and took her book out of her bag.

Nataline came over and set my drink on the table.

“Thank you,” I said, but she was already busy setting down Kaylee’s usual drink. Yep, Kaylee was certainly consistent and punctual.

“Thank you Natalie,” Kaylee said with a warm smile.

I took a sip of the Matcha Latte. I recoiled from the taste of it. It tasted like I was drinking grass. Well, I guess that answers whether or not body swapping results in different tastes. My original body did not like this. I slid the drink to the other side of my table. Perhaps I should go up and get a normal coffee. But I didn’t, no matter how bad it tasted. I needed this drink to help me strike up a conversation - because it worked last time.

I returned my focus to the reason I was here. Kaylee. I saw that she was still reading The Fated Crown, which I found bizarre since she’d already finished it and reread it three times before we talked about it last week. Why was she still reading it? 

Kaylee looked around the coffee shop.

Our eyes met for a brief moment and I smiled. “Whatcha reading there?” I asked, feigning curiosity.

“Oh,” she replied, looking down at the book. “Just a fantasy book.”

“I like fantasy,” I said. “I’m reading one right now.” I held up my book.

“Oh?” she said, seeing the book in my hand. “I’ve read that one recently.”

“Did you like it?”

“I did. It's a good book.”

“Well, I’m nearing the end,” I admitted.

“Which part are you on?” she asked eagerly, turning her body to face me.

“The heroine has to lead the prince’s army, but they’re reluctant to follow her.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a good part.”

I smiled. “Hi, I’m Daniel.”

“Kaylee.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kaylee.”

“Same.”

“I noticed your book is worn and marked with lots of tabs and sticky notes. Are you writing a report?”

“A report?” she echoed. “Oh, no, I’m not in school anymore. I’m a writer.”

“A writer? Wow, that is so cool.”

“It’s cool, but it doesn’t pay the bills.”

I chuckled. I think she said something similar to me the first time I met her as Sydney. 

“But I highlight and mark passages that resonate with me. Examples of something I want to reread. For various reasons.”

“So, it must be a good book.”

“Well, I think so.”

“Would you recommend it?”

“Depends,” she said. “What do you think about body swaps and fantasy romance?”

I paused while I considered my answer. “Those are cool topics. Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes is a fascinating concept.”

“Then, yeah, I’d recommend it.” 

“So, you write. I wonder if I’ve read any of your stuff.”

“I doubt it. I’m an independent author so I publish books myself. Mostly ebooks online. I’m not in any bookstores.”

“I think I’ve read a few indie books.”

“Oh, OK. Have you heard of The Mist Queen?”

It suddenly struck me that I hadn’t asked that question of Kaylee as Sydney. Now, I wish I had. I could’ve actually read one of her books. I frowned. “No, I haven’t.”

She giggled. “That’s because I haven’t published it yet. At least, not as a complete novel.”

“Oh.” 

“I have some of the first chapters online to gauge interest. I have the rest done, but have been afraid to publish the remaining chapters.”

“Oh. Well, why haven’t you published it yet?”

“I’m afraid to. It’s a very niche genre and I’m worried about people telling me it’s good or authentic.”

“It’s fantasy,” I said. “How could it be authentic?”

“Well it tackles… real world allegories.”

“I see.”

“So now you know about me,” she said, changing the subject. What do you do Daniel?”

“Oh, I’m in college.”

“The one down the street?”

“Yeah, that one.”

“I know a few people that go there. What do you study?”

“I’m still undecided.” I put my hands up in mock surrender. “I know, I know. I should pick a degree program.”

She laughed. “I’m in no position to lecture you on degree programs, Daniel. Though I wish I was in your position. College was just never in the cards for me.”

I went to open my mouth. I wanted to know more. Does her twin go to college? Why was college not in the cards? She’s clearly brilliant. Was it money? “So what does pay the bills?”

“I’m a waitress.”

“Where at?”

“An Italian restaurant nearby. And, no, I cannot give free meals.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“You’d be surprised how many people do ask,” she smiled, and looked down at her book. Then she glanced at the door again. I got the impression I was keeping her from something. Or someone. 

There was a growing knot in my stomach. Something wasn’t right. My banter with Kaylee wasn’t right. It wasn’t like it was when I was Sydney. Then, it had been more playful. We both wanted to get to know each other. Not this time. Kaylee was being polite and we were carrying on friendly conversation, but that’s all it was. Another glance at the door. Another fake smile.

This wasn’t working. I thought we’d be able to hit it off again, but apparently the first time was lightning in a bottle.

I reluctantly stood up and packed my book. Better to cut my losses with Kaylee - and ditch this awful beverage.

“Heading out?” Kaylee asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “I have to be back on campus for a meeting later.”

“Well, it was good meeting you, Daniel.”

“Same, Kaylee. Good luck on your book.” I took my bag and coat, but left my Matcha Latte and walked out of the coffee shop. I exhaled and mourned the realization that Kaylee and I weren’t meant to be.

* * *

I wanted to sulk in my bedroom, but I had a Guild meeting to attend to. As I entered our study room in the library, everyone else acted like it was a normal Sunday.

“Are we ready to start?” Antonio asked.

Everyone nodded.

Antonio banged the gavel on the table. “I call this meeting of the Secret Guild of Body Swappers to order. Old Business. Aiden and Ella. Who's got updates?”

Jasmine raised her hand and stood up. “So I went out with Lauren last night, but I stopped by Delta house before leaving. Get this. Lauren says New Aiden stops by, like, every night to visit Ella. She says they’re definitely fucking.”

“Did you bump into either of them?” I asked, imagining the worst.

“No, I didn’t.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. I worried what A2 would do to Jasmine.

“Have any Deltas interacted with her?” Morgan asked.

“No. She’s keeping to herself. And Aiden.”

Antonio asked, “Has anyone interacted with New Aiden?”

Nobody raised their hand.

“So what do we do?” Gabriel asked.

“We have to swap them back,” Jasmine implored.

“How do we swap them back without outing ourselves?” Gabriel replied.

“What if we didn’t reveal our identities?” I asked. 

“Maybe cover them with hoods and force their hands together, then escape in the confusion, kinda like D did originally,” Gabriel suggested

“That’s called kidnapping,” Antonio admonished. “And they would still think Jasmine was behind it all. So, that’s a hard no.”

“And I didn’t put hoods on them,” I corrected. “But they were drunk.”

“Then we’ll get them drunk again,” Gabriel said, shrugging his shoulders. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

“How do we do that?” Morgan asked.

“What if we enlisted some former members?” Sydney offered. “They could claim it was them all along, and maybe take the heat off of Jasmine.”

“Yeah, Jackson and Sarah are still local,” Jasmine pointed out.

“Robert?” I asked.

“Good luck getting Robert to help us,” Jasmine said, crossing her arms. “We’re not exactly on good terms.”

Antonio was shaking his head.

“I still think we need to ask them,” Morgan countered. “They’re not hurting anyone.”

“Yet,” Gabriel replied.

“We can’t even kidnap them without revealing our identity. Or get them drunk. How are we going to ask them?” Jasmine questioned.

Groans and sighs of resignation filled the room.

“We could just ask them - as ourselves.” I suggested. Everyone started shaking their heads. “I know it's a risk. Maybe they’ll keep our secret.”

“No way,” Morgan immediately replied. “Even if we could trust Ella, I don’t trust Aiden at all.”

“Motion to table until we come up with new ideas,” Jasmine recommended.

“Seconds?” Antonio asked.

“Second,” Gabriel replied.

“Voice vote. All in favor?”

We all said our Ayes.

“Motion to table passes. New Business?” Antonio asked, looking around.

“Yes.” Morgan said, standing. She opened up her bag. “Pepper spray.” She tossed a canister of pepper spray to Jasmine and one to Sydney.

“Thanks,” Jasmine said sarcastically.

“You’ll thank me if Aiden or Ella come looking for you,” Morgan replied. “Men, do you want one? I’ve got extra.”

I raised my hand. “You never know.”

Morgan handed me one. 

“How does this work?” I asked, rotating it in my hand, never having held one before.

“Careful there,” Sydney advised. “Or else you’re going to spray yourself with it.”

“You aim it at an attacker instead of using a magic swapping stone,” Morgan deadpanned.

I smirked at her sass. “Ha-ha. Thanks.”

“Aim and spray,” Gabriel elaborated. “I remember taking a self-defense class a few years ago. My begged my mother. I was surprised she said yes.”

“Not a bad idea,” I said to myself.

* * *

After the meeting was over, I decided to ask Morgan about Chloe. “Hey, Morgan,” I said, catching up with her. 

“What’s up Daniel?”

“I met a girl who is looking for me to set her up with a lesbian. I thought of you. Since you’re single.”

She raised her eyebrow. “Is she a top, bottom, switch?”

“I don’t know - I think she’s experimenting.”

Morgan sighed. “I dunno. I don’t like being an experiment. I want a real relationship, you know? I’ve had my share of girls who used me to figure out they were straight.”

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t think-”

She put her hand on my shoulder. “What’s her name? Is she cool?”

“Chloe. And, yeah.”

“Then I’ll take her on a date. Assuming I’m still Morgan at that time. Hell - it might be you taking Chloe on that date,” she giggled.

“That would be awkward,” I replied. Then my mind wandered back to how unfulfilled I felt having the wrong equipment last night. Being Morgan with Chloe would give me a second chance. But honestly I wasn’t feeling it. I was still reeling from being hung up on Kaylee.

“Do you want to give her my number or give her number to me?”

I pulled out my phone and found the contact labeled “Six” and gave Morgan Chloe’s number.

“Thanks, D,” she smiled. “How are things going in exile?”

I considered telling Morgan about my evening with Chloe, but I didn’t want to give her any preconceived notions. And I definitely wasn’t going to mention Kaylee. So I just shrugged my shoulders. “Two days down, five to go, right?”

“Right. You know, D, you’re not grounded. You just can’t swap. You’re allowed to do things. Hell, you’re allowed to come visit.”

“Just not tomorrow after class,” I giggled, knowing what happens on Mondays.

Morgan laughed. “No, I don’t think Lauren will appreciate an audience. Or a threesome. But I’m serious. Daniel is allowed to be friends with us outside of Guild meetings. Perhaps you would like to join us on a shopping trip.”

“By join us you mean drive you, right?”

She looked at me with a hurt expression. “No. We can take the bus if you want. I meant I enjoyed spending that afternoon with you. When you were me. I got the impression you enjoyed it too.”

I smiled. “Maybe. Sure. I’d love to. Just let me know when you’re all going.”

“Good,” she replied. “You’re our friend, D. No matter what body you’re in.”

Chapter 20 - A Day in the Life

Monday as Daniel, I was able to fall back into my old routine. At least until Lit class. Unexpectedly, Kristy was there at my desk with a huge smile on her face.

“How was your weekend?” she asked.

“Oh, it was good,” I replied. I suddenly felt guilty again for my one night stand with Chloe. But Kristy and I aren’t official. Hell, we haven’t even had our first date yet. “I did some reading. My dorm-mates had some people over for drinks.”

“Sounds better than my weekend,” she replied. “I went home to my parents. It sucked because I was already going to go home for Thanksgiving too. But no, they wanted me home for my baby cousin’s birthday. So it was me, a bunch of toddlers, and a bunch of middle-age adults. Boring.”

“Yeah, that sounds awful.”

“You know what won’t be awful?”

“What?”

“Tonight.” She flashed another great big smile. Kristy was cute. I had a minor crush on her earlier in the semester. But I wasn’t over my infatuation with Kaylee. Of course, just cause D isn’t ready, doesn’t mean Daniel isn’t. So, I need to suck it up.

“Damn right!” I replied. “Speaking of tonight,” I said, leaning into this role I’m playing. Thankfully a previous Daniel set this date up already. “I’ll pick you up at six?”

* * *

I hadn’t been on a date in over a year. I had a few first dates freshman year, but those fizzled out. I’m glad this date was already planned for us. We were going to a casual dining Asian restaurant chain. At least it fit within my modest budget. 

I imagine if I start to go on more dates, I will have to call home to have my parents deposit more money into my account. Of course, they’ll ask me why and I’ll have to tell them about dating. I’m not sure what their reaction will be. Will they be thrilled that their socially awkward son is finally dating? Or will they be concerned that I'm not studying?

I’m also grateful there was a page in my journal dedicated to stuff I’m supposed to already know about Kristy. Her major, what other classes she’s talked about, her family, where she grew up. It also included potential date conversations.

I scanned my closet for some clothes to wear. At the far left of the closet I saw a white garment bag. I opened it to see a brown sports coat. I didn’t buy this. I wonder if the same person who set the date up also bought this coat. It has to be either R or A. Those are the only two I knew who’s been Daniel since he and Kristy started talking.

When I got dressed, I put on a black shirt, dark fashionable jeans and slid the coat on. Standing in the mirror I saw a very handsomely dressed Daniel. Mom would be proud.

I pulled my car in front of Kristy’s dorm. She was standing there wearing a big puffy coat, but peaking out beneath the coat were legs in fishnet stockings and the bottom hem of a floral dress or skirt.

I put the car in park and rushed out to open the passenger door for my date.

Typically, I would say “excuse the mess” but someone - not me - cleaned my car.

We made small talk during the drive to the restaurant. We talked a little bit about Lit class. About the current novella we’re reading. About the professor who makes strange mannerisms and is way too excited about teaching dramatic irony.

At the restaurant the date kicked into full force. After ordering ourselves soda and spring rolls, we started talking about our lives. 

We talked about our family life. Oddly enough we had similar experiences growing up. We were both only children of very busy and successful parents, and we both came from out of state.

She asked me what I was doing for Thanksgiving. I knew before joining the guild I was planning on going home. There’s a digital airline ticket somewhere in my email. She was eager to see friends she hasn’t seen since the summer. I had no one I was eager to see.

We got into hobbies. I reluctantly talked about my interest in fantasy books. Kristy hasn’t read the ones I have. She’s read the popular stuff. In fact, her hobby is actually creating cosplay. She talked at length about creating a costume for the renaissance faire this year.

I asked if she did any role-playing. She smiled and admitted that a few friends occasionally play D&D. I smiled, realizing this must be why A and R like her so much. She could easily be a Guild member if there was room for her. Of course, that would break multiple rules. And I wasn’t about to do any more rule breaking any time soon.

* * *

After we ate and drove back to campus, we pulled up to Kristy’s dorm again. I rushed around to open the door for her, then walked her to the door of her dorm holding hands. 

She stopped and turned around to face me. “I had a good time, Daniel.”

“I did too,” I replied.

I leaned in to give her a goodnight kiss. 

Once our lips met, she clasped her hands around my back and pulled me closer. She wanted more than a kiss, and I was ready to oblige.

We stood there for at least a minute making out.

When we finally stopped kissing, she was all smiles and her face was flush.

“Good night,” I said.

“Good night,” she replied, then turned around and walked into the dorm. She turned her head around to face me through the door window as she kept walking away. Then she ran into someone while she wasn’t looking.

I wanted to say “careful” but she wouldn’t have heard me.

I walked back to my car and slammed my hand into the steering wheel. “Fuck! Why couldn’t I have met her a month ago?”

It's true. I had a good time. A great time, in fact. Kristy is fun to talk to. I feel completely at ease with her. It's just that I’m in love with someone else.

I thought about the Guild rule. “Don’t fall in love.” Is the rule about falling in love with a Guild member or about falling in love in general?

I drove my car back to the parking lot and walked to my own dorm trying hard to put Kristy out of my mind. That is, until I got a text message from her reiterating she had a great night.

Not long after Kristy’s text, I got a QuikChat message from Antonio. “So how did it go?”

“It went great,” I replied. “Thank you for setting this up.”

“I hope you’re OK with it,” Antonio replied. “I wasn’t sure which one of the Guild members would be going on that date with Kristy. But I’m glad it was you.”

I smiled at the idea that Antonio was happy he was playing matchmaker. 

I figured everyone would want to know, so I opened up the QuikChat group and messaged the Guild, “The date went great.”

There were a series of congratulatory messages and emojis from everyone.

I should be happy. I should be ecstatic. While we aren’t official, I kinda have a girlfriend. I mean - Antonio’s right. Kristy is good for Daniel. It’s just that-

And that was the moment I realized it. I’m not Daniel. At least not the current one.

Or maybe I never was. I wasn’t good at it. I was sitting there in my dorm day after day watching life go by. I was living vicariously through my books and my dormmates. But that was just existing, not living. Living was what I had been doing over the past month, since joining the Guild. I was a new person every week. I got a taste of being cute women and popular guys.

The illusion I was holding onto shattered. If I’m not Daniel, then who am I? Who am I supposed to be?

I feel like I need to talk to someone. But who? It’s late. Nobody wants to hear from me at this hour.

I thought about my new friends in the Guild again. I also thought about Morgan’s offer to visit them. It was too late in the day for that, but I wondered what they were doing this week.

* * *

Gabriel (J)

The Monday after a big game is always fun. I had a two-touchdown, 200-yard game on Saturday night. On Monday the coaching staff congratulated us for our performance over the weekend, then we reviewed film from the game. 

But Tuesday - is a clean slate. What happened in the past was over with. We moved on and looked to the next game.

I woke up early to hit the training center. My teammates greeted me enthusiastically as I hit the weights. 

After my workout, I admired myself in the mirror. My chest and biceps gleamed with sweat. I flexed and was pleased with what I saw. What’s crazy is that it didn’t turn me on. Not like it used to when I was an adolescent girl. Not gonna lie - I would’ve had a poster of Gabriel ‘Turbo’ Rameriz on my wall. Next to the queer female celebrities I also had crushes on.

But right now - I am Gabriel. And damn, looking this good gives me confidence.

I see Gabriel in the mirror. No sign of Jasmine. No sign of that homophobic mother. Just Gabriel. And it is glorious.

I looked at my phone that was sitting on my gym bag.

There was an unanswered private text from G. “Any thoughts about what we talked about?”

I looked at the mirror again and smiled.

From day one, being in the Guild was an escape from my repressive mother and a release from the pressures of my life as Jasmine. My entire freshman year was spent either studying or going on dates with my boyfriend, Brian. I put a lot of focus on getting a good job so I wouldn’t have to return home. Although dating Brian was suffocating my social life, dating him was also a way to placate my mother and perhaps never have to return home.

But now, being a member of the Guild allows me to live the life I want to live without anyone questioning it. I can date anyone that I want. Especially girls. Cute ones that make my blood pressure rise and remind me that I’m a man. I smile and flex my biceps. When I’m Gabriel I can take on the world. 

I spent a good portion of my time in the Guild being Robert and Gabriel. Sure being Antonio was good too, but he was in a committed relationship. Being Robert and Gabriel was when I had the most fun. But, that changed when Robert graduated. 

I admit I was upset when I learned S was gifted Robert’s body. 

One. I never considered that an option. Two. I was jealous. Three. What does that mean for me moving forward?

I never considered myself transgender, but I could see the appeal. I barely got to know S before he left as Robert.

So this semester, I’ve been spending most of my time as Gabriel. A few swaps to Sydney and my original body.

Up until now I hadn’t considered the possibility of what it would feel like to be Gabriel on a longer basis. That was until last week.

Last week when the election happened, the subject of Robert came up. Over the summer we had lengthy discussions about permanent swaps. When it came up again, I felt like we needed to revisit it. Antonio shut that down, but after the meeting, while we were studying, G whispered to me and asked me a simple question. “Do you want to trade? Long term?”

“Like a month?” I remember asking.

“Longer.”

I remember looking at Morgan, and Antonio teaching D how to read music. I wondered what they’d think about us permanently swapping. Would they treat us any differently?

G must’ve known I’d spent a considerable amount of time as Gabriel. In fact, while it was hard to keep track of everyone’s swaps, I had this impression G was Jasmine quite often.

The thought scared me. I told him- no her - she was Jasmine at the time, I’d have to think about it. It still scares me. To leave behind the life I grew up in. I wouldn’t miss Mother. I wouldn’t miss my hometown. But I’d miss Willow. I’d miss Lauren.

I needed time to think. I actually hadn’t gotten a chance to be Daniel yet. I was going to ask to be him next, but then Friday happened and D was returned to his body and barred from swapping for a week.

But looking in the mirror… I liked what I saw. The more I looked, the more I wanted to tell G yes.

The idea was exciting. Jasmine was a sophomore. Gabriel was a senior. If I stayed Gabriel, I’d be graduating next semester. What would I do? I’m not good enough to go pro. Gabriel’s degree is in sports science. I could see myself doing that. It wasn’t all that far from Bioengineering anyway. Technology to help athletes is improving all of the time. 

I replied to her text, “I’m game if you are.”

I then started daydreaming of all of the possibilities if I just stayed as Gabriel. 

It’s Tuesday. Last week is over. Today starts a clean slate. 

* * *

Jasmine (G)

I was showering when I got the response from J. She was game. No, he was game. A wide grin spread across my face. Cause J is Gabriel now. I’m Jasmine. I’m her. A slight tingle filled my body as I considered my new name and pronouns for the foreseeable future.

Sure, we hadn’t agreed on a time frame yet. But the idea was simple. Instead of role playing, we were just going to be each other. Make decisions based not on what the original body owner agreed to, but what we wanted to do.

It’s one thing to role-play Jasmine. It’s another thing to just be her. I should really use the rest of the week to simply be Jasmine to see how it feels.

I danced around my room pulling different outfits from my closet. It was a chilly fall day. A cute sweater. Skinny jeans. Knee-high boots.

I found Morgan leaning up against my door frame.

“You’re in a good mood today, G,” she observed.

I give her a friendly grin. “I’m Jasmine today, Morgan.”

“Oh, sure. Right,” she replied. “I just figured since we all reset for the week we stopped role-playing.”

“Well, if J is still role-playing Gabriel, I should still role-play Jasmine,” I replied, hiding the actual truth - that J and I were contemplating a permanent switch - and I wanted to be Jasmine.

“I get it,” she replied. But did she really?

After we both grabbed a quick breakfast from the fridge, we got our stuff for class and boarded the shuttle.

The shuttle passed the Athletics center. I glanced at it and thought about what I’d be missing. The hyper-masculine locker room? Nah. Having to listen to the coach go on and on about school legacy and how our team is the most important part of our lives. Bite me.

I wasn't always like this. I grew up a football boy. Like my brothers, I was enrolled in youth football when I was five. My sisters were in cheerleading. There was a clear separation of gender roles and expectations in my family.

I was good at football. I took pride in scoring and playing with my teammates. Coaches and parents kept telling us that football was life. I was happy. My teammates were happy. But you know who else was happy - my sisters. They were happy and they weren’t in football. Sure they cheered us on, but their lives didn’t revolve around what we did on the field. They would cheer and smile even if the football team lost. In some ways it felt like we were trapped and they were free.

After my bioengineering classes, I headed back towards the Math building for my final class of the day. I found Lauren waiting there in front of the Math department.

She smiled at me. I reached out and held her hand and we walked together into the building.

“I had fun on Saturday,” I said.

“I know,” she giggled. “You told me yesterday.”

“I just want to make sure you know it. Hey, do you want to come over tonight?” I asked. 

“I might have some homework,” she replied. “Do you want to come to my place instead?”

I thought about it. While I wasn’t fond of Lauren’s sorority, it might be a good opportunity to check out the new Ella for myself. “Sure,” I replied. 

We got to the fork in the hallway.

I turned to her and squeezed her hand. “Have a good day, Lauren.”

She squeezed back and for a moment her eyes glanced at my lips. “You too, Jaz.” I tingled when she called me Jaz. It helped define the new me.

I smiled as I watched her leave. Lauren had a great ass. Not as good as mine, though. Maybe a close second.

Both J and I have been working on Lauren for a while. We knew she was into us, but we had to give her space and support, and let her come out on her own terms.

I walked to my class and a number of the guys smiled at me and raised their eyebrows in a subtle flirtatious way. I had started to get used to guys flirting with me. It was weird at first, but a part of me enjoyed the attention. I knew how flustered I’d get when I would walk past an attractive woman.

But I’m just not into them. It’s one of the many things I like about being Jasmine. I can continue to be into girls and no one will care.

Except for Jasmine’s mom. But I can deal with her. I’ve dealt with coaches yelling into my ear since I could walk. A homophobic mother is nothing I can’t tune out.

In fact, now that I know I will be Jasmine for the foreseeable future, I’m going to put distance between me and “Mother.” I’ll keep talking with Willow, though. She’s thinking of applying to college here. That would be awesome. While I grew up in a large family, I wasn’t close with my brothers and sisters. Willow is different. She looks up to me, and I love having her around. She treats me like a big sister and it gives me all the joy in the world.

Speaking of Willow, she texted me last night to tell me she’s excited to introduce me to her new boyfriend when I’m home for Thanksgiving. I’m excited to provide my sisterly duty and support her. 

Of course if that guy ever lays a hand on my new sister, I will unleash my suppressed Gabriel and kick the living shit out of him.

* * *

I made my way to the Delta House. I’ve been here a few times. Once to help Lauren move in, another another time when she wanted to hang out. It was a complete coincidence that I managed to not be Jasmine other times. Or maybe I was avoiding it.

As Lauren escorted me through the sorority house, I recognized Ella who was standing in the hall, clutching her head. She looked sick.

She recognized me and stood up straight.

“Ella, are you OK?” Lauren asked. “You need something?”

“Something for a headache,” Ella replied.

“Sure, come with us.”

Both Ella and I walked behind Lauren. 

As we walked, Ella shot me a few glances. It was an awkward walk down the hall because I certainly didn’t want to hang around Ella or Aiden or whatever we’re calling this person. She probably had the same thoughts about me.

“Hi Jasmine,” she creepily mumbled.

“Hi Ella,” I replied carefully. I didn’t want to let on that I knew her secret.

We reached Lauren’s room as Lauren opened up a drawer and looked up at Ella. “How severe?”

Ella looked confused as she held her head. “What?”

“Well, do you want the Advil, or the Midol?”

Ella’s confusion intensified.

“Here’s the Midol,” Lauren said, tossing the pill bottle to her sorority sister. “I’ve been there.”

Ella caught the bottle then looked at me. “Can I speak to Jasmine in private real quick?”

Lauren shrugged and looked at me.

“Sure, I guess,” I replied.

I followed Ella back into the hall.

“What do you remember about Halloween?” she asked me.

Ah, time to recall D’s account of that night. “I remember you being drunk.”

“Did something happen?”

“Yeah, your boyfriend forced himself on me.”

“No, I remember you wanting a threesome,” she replied. “It was consensual.”

“No way,” I insisted. I didn’t know exactly what happened between Aiden, Ella, and D, but I know it wasn’t consensual. “I was there. I didn’t give consent.”

“You bitch! You told me you wanted a threesome.”

“Are you upset you didn’t get one? Is there something you really want to say to me?” This is it. I need her to admit she’s Aiden. I need her to tell me if she wants to remain Ella or swap back to Aiden.

That’s when her phone buzzed. She looked down at it and back up at me. “I have a visitor. I have to go.”

Bummer. This conversation could’ve helped us resolve this situation.

I was curious, so I stealthily followed Ella back to the common areas. She went to the door and let a visitor in. It was Aiden. They were whispering to each other and I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

I pulled my phone out of my purse and I took a quick photo of the two of them together for Guild evidence then returned to Lauren’s room. 

Lauren and I talked briefly about what we wanted to do. We agreed a movie was good for tonight.

After Lauren was done with her homework, we laid on her bed and watched a movie off her laptop. I laid against a pillow propped up against the wall. She laid her head on my lap.

I found myself stroking her hair at times during the movie. She casually rubbed my leg with her hand.

The sexual tension was unbearable. I was almost glad I wasn't a guy or else I couldn’t hide how turned on I was.

There was a knock at the door. Since we didn’t bother to close the bedroom door, a sorority sister stood there with a grin. “Check this out,” she whispered.

Lauren sat up. “What's going on?”

The girl silently motioned for us to follow her.

We followed her down the hall to where I knew Ella’s room was. A few sorority girls were standing around holding their ears up against the door.

I didn’t need to put my ear against the door. The familiar moans of a sexual encounter filled the hallway. A number of the girls around us were blushing and holding their hands up against their mouth trying to mute their giggling.

“Should we do something?” one girl asked.

“Like what?” another responded.

“Maybe, like, tell them to keep it down?”

We were interrupted by Ella screaming in pleasure, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Fuck me! Harder!”

Even I couldn’t help but blush. After all, I was still horny from snuggle time with Lauren.

“Take my cock, you bitch!” Aiden could be heard demanding from behind the door.

Some of the girls hung their heads in disgust.

“Who’s with her?” One girl asked.

“OK, ladies, back to your rooms,” a woman in her 20s announced. She then looked at me and Lauren, announcing, “Visiting hours are over.”

There were disappointed groans from the crowd in front of Ella’s door.

“That’s our House Mom,” Lauren explained to me. “I’m sorry, looks like we have to cut movie night short.” She looked flustered and even more disappointed than the other girls.

I understood. I imagine the House Mom is the sororitie’s version of a resident assistant. After all, I lived in a dorm when I was Gabriel, Antonio, and Daniel. The RAs were always around to break up craziness. “Yeah,” I agreed.

We hugged each other. She held me a little longer than usual. I was waiting for her to invite me to stay, but she didn’t.

As the crowd dispersed, I left too. At least I got some good tantalizing gossip for the Guild.

* * *

Antonio (A)

I couldn't remember the last time I felt so drained. How could it be harder to handle just one course load and a few Student Council meetings than trying to live six lives at once? I had just enough time to get some homework sorted before heading out to volunteer.

I had only been in my dorm long enough to set my things down when there was a knock on my door. I straightened up and put on as big a smile as I could muster and opened the door ready to tackle whatever problems were on the other side.

I was not prepared for James to push past me with a larger-than-usual basket of food. 

"James, I wasn’t expecting you. That smells great, but you shouldn’t have." I twisted my smile to show how relieved I was, but also how sorry I was. "Can I get a rain check?"

James was already clearing off my desk and setting our places for dinner. "Not a chance, hon. You have been pushing yourself too hard this week, and I would be remiss if I didn't force you to take care of yourself. And by ‘take care of yourself’ I obviously mean that I am going to take care of you."

"You really don't need to. I'm fine. And I already signed up to volunteer tonight at the-" I couldn't finish before being cut off.

"No, I spoke with Lily and explained to her that you were feeling under the weather. She wants you back in tip-top shape and agrees that you should take the night off."

I was not thrilled that James had gone behind my back. He's lucky that I love him. It was clear that James wasn't going to take no for an answer, and frankly I didn't have the energy to have an argument right now, so I gave in to his demands. I exhaled. “Thank you. I do need a break.”

I watched as he took pre-made food out of the basket. It smelled wonderful. I sat down on the bed waiting for him to finish.

“So,” he said, looking at me with a hurt expression on his face.

“So?” Where is he going with this?

“Long time no see, A.”

“I’m… sorry I haven’t been around more often.”

“I haven’t seen you all semester.”

“James, you know I’ve been living other lives.”

“I know. And I’m willing to share you. Though, I expected you to be Antonio occasionally. But it's been since the summer. Summer, Tony. I haven’t seen you since the summer. It’s practically Thanksgiving!”

“I tried to break up with you. You knew what you were getting into.”

“You’re lucky I love you and your five friends.”

I sighed and rubbed my temples. More pressure on me

He came over and massaged my shoulders and hugged me. “I’m sorry I got angry. I miss you. I like the other Antonios too, but I miss the real thing.”

“I missed you too,” I admitted. “When I’m other people, I’m not really in a relationship. There were many nights I’d lie awake thinking about snuggling with you.”

“I know,” he whispered.

He leaned in for a kiss, and I gladly accepted. I melted into my boyfriend. It was like being home again.

After the kiss he looked at me with that mischievous grin again. “So, since you’re finally here, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Something came up in the Guild. We did a reset.”

“Hmm, you know I like a good story.”

“Let me tell you about it over dinner. The smell is making me hungry.”

* * *

"That's a hell of a story," James finally said.

James had always been a good listener. Even so, it amazed me that he let me talk without interrupting for 40 minutes. "And now we're trying to figure out next steps. As I mentioned, not everyone is on the same page."

"Well you're not going to figure it out alone. And you aren't going to figure it out if you keep pushing yourself like you have been this week. I know you said you are punishing yourself, but that doesn't mean you have to break yourself. You're bad enough about taking time for yourself as it is."

"Hey, I like helping others. I want to help anywhere I can. We, as humans, are stronger together, as a community, and I am doing my part to foster a better community."

"You can't meet everyone's needs if your own needs are never met. You are also part of 'everyone', after all."

"I'm fine. My needs are sated."

"Bullshit. Look, I love you," he leaned in to give me a tender kiss, "but when you are in Antonio mode - hell, even when you’re not - you never put any of your focus on Antonio. I'm not complaining. You've got five great friends who are helping to keep your life more balanced. I just worry about what's going to happen when that stops being the case. If this week is a representation of that future, you aren't going to last long before you burn out. And neither of us wants that."

"Are you suggesting that being in the Guild is making me worse?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. It's making you stronger. More resilient. More empathetic. More knowledgeable. But instead of burning the candle at both ends, so to speak, you are burning six candles in a sort of rotation. You can push yourself harder because you don't have to suffer through the consequences of going past any one body's limits. You've got five other bodies refreshed and ready to go. That isn't always going to be the case, and you need to learn how to limit and regulate yourself. Sometimes you just have to say no."

James always was incredibly insightful. It's one of the many reasons I love him. And one of the key reasons that I chose to tell him about the Guild. Actually, I'm not sure he hadn't figured it out already by the time I did tell him.

Maybe he had a point. Perhaps I was using the Guild to increase my available energy to put into helping others. Doubt began to creep in. Could it be that I was making things worse for the other Guild members? Was I twisting the Guild into a tool for my benefit? It was starting to feel like I was doubly deserving of this self-imposed punishment.

James let out a deep sigh. I turned to face him. Before I could say anything he put his hands on my upper arms and locked eyes with me. The amount of concern on his face could not be understated. “Let me lift some of this stress off of you,” he whispered. “You don’t have to do anything.”

I smiled. Who am I to argue with my boyfriend? I let him take me. I pushed my worries away for the night.

I awoke the next morning, alone in my bed, sheets and pillows strewn all over. I smiled, remembering how they got that way. I smiled even more when I saw a big blueberry muffin sitting on my nightstand with a note propped against it. “Dear Tony, thanks for a wonderful evening” With a number of hearts drawn on it.

* * *

Sydney (R)

I was sitting at home staring blankly at the music composition program on my computer. I didn’t know where to take this arrangement. I knew it needed an additional verse and refrain towards the end.

The problem is I was stumped and I felt I had no creative juices left to finish this.

Writer's block sucks.

I think one of the biggest problems that keeps nagging me is that - I’m not a musician. S was. I’m sorry - Robert. God, it’s so weird referring to my former body in the 3rd person.

It’s not to say I’m unhappy as Sydney. It’s more me… meh.

I feel that same ambivalence towards the four other guild members too. I was really hoping I would feel some sort of euphoria for being Daniel. I didn’t.

So back to square one.

It is weird of course, looking in a mirror every day and never seeing myself anymore. I imagine that’s what it must feel like to really be transgender.

Did I regret that I let S take my body? 

A little bit. 

But S needed it more than I did. I did something good for someone I loved. His happiness should keep me going. But since I don’t see him often, I feel like I gave up something I shouldn’t have. Now I’m in limbo.

In his defense - he refused at first. He was planning on hormones and transitioning Sydney’s body the normal way. I reminded him that we have a magic swapping stone. In five seconds we could fix his dysphoria permanently.

He told me the gift was too much. That he couldn’t possibly accept.

I pushed him.

He finally accepted.

And I was rewarded with the relief I saw on his face as he was finally his real gender. The raw euphoria radiating from from the knowledge he never had to be a woman again. That he owned that body now.

Of course, it’s not a gift I could take back. Robert is happy in my old life.

My only real hope is that someone will want to take Sydney off my hands. Then I will stick around the Guild until a person joins who - like me and S - wants to trade.

What happens if that doesn’t happen for a long time? What happens if someone does take Sydney? And if someone takes the next open body. And I still don’t have a body to go to? Can I stay in the Guild infinitely? Does that make me immortal? Will my soul age while my available bodies remain forever college-aged?

My thoughts were interrupted when my phone buzzed. Good, I can use some procrastination from looking at this composition.

I was expecting it to be someone from the Guild. Instead it was from someone I didn’t recognize. Who is Kaylee?

Chapter 21

It was on my way back from class that I got the text from Sydney.

“D, who is Kaylee?”

My breath stopped. I had successfully pushed Kaylee out of my thoughts for the past two days. But Sydney asking this question means she doesn’t know. I didn’t write about Kayee at all in Sydney's journal. I replied, “A girl I was trying to date.” Of course my mind went to why Sydney was asking. Was she scrolling through her message history? I then added, “Why?”

I eagerly waited for five minutes for Sydney to respond. My guilt and curiosity was burning me up.

Then the reply came. “She wants to apologize for running out on you last week. She wants to meet.”

I could feel a flutter in my chest as I wasted no time and promptly called Sydney.

“Hi,” she answered.

“So, what did she say?” I cut to the chase.

“It was just a text. She said she was sorry. She said she was scared. She wants to meet me again.”

“Oh.” I was holding back on my excitement. I had gotten my hopes up once before and they got dashed.

“So you were trying to date her,” Sydney probed. “What happened between you two?”

“She came over for our book club.”

“Book club?” she asked in surprise. “Wow, a lot has happened since I was last Sydney.”

“Well no, it was a… private book club. Just me and her.”

“Oh. A private book club. Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

“No, I’m serious. We were reading a book together.”

Sydney giggled. “I know, I’m just giving you a hard time.”

“Well, we were talking about the book we were reading together. We started to get close. I thought we were going to kiss. Then she gets up and runs away. I thought maybe she’s straight.”

“Attempting to date a straight girl, huh? I’ve been there before.”

“Yeah, it sucks,” I agreed.

“What do you want me to do, D? Do you want me to hear her out?”

I didn't know what to say. I didn’t want to get my hopes up and have them dashed again. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to at least hear her apology.”

“At least tell me more so I can properly meet her. You said nothing about her in my journal.”

I sighed. “I know. I’m sorry. I kept her to myself. I broke another rule.”

“That’s not a rule, D, but it helps us be able to continue schoolwork and relationships when we swap; so we’re not suddenly surprised like I was today.”

“I know, I know. I just… I was selfish.”

“You like her. And you wanted to be the only one to date her?”

“Yeah. I know that’s stupid. I’m in the Guild now, I can’t think singular anymore. I’m sorry. I’m rambling. I can send you a recap of our interactions.”

“Thank you,” Sydney replied. “What if she is straight and just wants to be friends? Can you handle that possibility?”

I hated that possibility. “I guess that’s OK then. I enjoyed spending time with her. She’s cute. She’s got a brilliant mind. Spending time in her presence made me forget about everything else.”

“OK. I’ll hear her out then.”

* * *

The wait was excruciating. I knew Sydney and Kaylee were meeting. And I wasn’t there. It was killing me.

I was having reservations about Sydney meeting up with Kaylee without me. She assured me it would be OK. Saying I was nervous was an understatement. I paced back and forth in my dorm room anxiously trying to keep busy. Unfortunately there wasn’t anything I wanted to do here. I wanted to be with Kaylee. I wanted to be with her. I wanted to hear her explanation for last week. Not cooped up in this room.

Crazy thing, isn’t it? I have a car. I can go wherever I want. I have freedom. But the one place I want to go, I can’t. So, I must stay here and pace and wait for Sydney to text me or something.

There was a knock at the door. I quickly raced across the tiny dorm room to open it. Sydney was standing there with a sheepish smile. “Hi, D.”

“How did it go?” I asked her, skipping right past saying hello and inviting her in.

“It went well,” she said.

I escorted her into my room. “Tell me what happened. I need all of the details.” I sat on the bed, waiting on every word.

“Well, Kaylee apologized for the other evening,” Sydney began, sitting next to me. “She was spooked because she had never had feelings for a girl before.”

“So she is interested in me - I mean Sydney.”

She giggled. That was a good sign. “Most definitely.”

I realized I had stopped my breathing. I had to take a deep breath. “Well, what happened?”

“Well,” Sydney said, swallowing hard. “Kaylee… well, she took the initiative and… kissed me.”

“She kissed…. you?” I said, my jealousy betraying me.

“Yeah,” Sydney said nervously, patting her thighs with her hands.

Silence hung in the air for a pregnant moment.

“But, I felt guilty,” Sydney continued. “I knew Kaylee was really interested in you. Not me. And you’re interested in her, right?”

Interested? That doesn’t even come close. Maybe interested times 1000. “Oh, I am,” I gushed. “Every room is brighter with her in it. And it’s not just that she’s cute. I love the way she deconstructs a plot and how when she’s excited about something, she makes me excited about it too. What happened next?”

Sydney then did something unexpected. She leaned in and kissed me. It was not unwelcome. Sydney was the only female Guild member I hadn’t kissed. But I have kissed R. Her lips were soft and tasted like a lip gloss that I didn’t remember owning. I felt her fingers run through my hair.

After the kiss, we both pulled back. I was confused. I mean, R and I have had sex before. As multiple genders. But I always thought it was just fun. No attachments. Friends with benefits. It never occurred to me that R had feelings for me. I didn’t want that to be true. Me and R? That would go against Guild rules. 

I tried to consider that R wasn’t coming on to me. But what if she was just passing on Kaylee’s kiss? I never considered kisses to be transitive. “Are we reenacting what happened?” I awkwardly asked, trying to ignore the other possibility.

“No,” she giggled. Then her face got serious and she looked down. “What really happened next is I told her we couldn’t. She didn’t understand.”

“Oh, no.” What seemed so hopeful a few seconds ago now sounded like it was now out of reach. My imagination started to run wild. “What happened?”

“Well,” she said and paused for dramatic effect. “I told her the truth. That the person she was hanging out with the past week was a person named D and I was a person named R and we’re in a group of body swappers and the person she should really be kissing is you.”

My jaw dropped and my mouth hung agape. “You told her that?”

“Yeah, she didn’t believe me. Are you surprised?”

“No, shit. Oh, no. Tell me she didn’t run away screaming.” 

“Thankfully she didn’t. I’m glad she didn’t.”

“What happened?” I was on the edge of the bed waiting to hear the fate of a relationship I was trying to start.

“Well, D,” she looked at me and smirked. “When R told me the truth, I was, of course, skeptical. I demanded proof.”

“Wait, what?”

Sydney looked at me with a familiar smirk. One that I recognized from someone else. “Daniel, D, holder of my heart, I give you my name.” She then leaned in so her lips were right up against my ear. “You may call me K.”

I was taken aback. I stared at the smiling face of Sydney. But this wasn’t Sydney was it? Call her K?

“K... K-Kaylee?” I stammered.

“That’s me,” she replied. She reached over and brushed a strand of my hair to the side. “Daniel. You came to see me. On Sunday.”

“I did,” I replied. “I thought... I um-”

“After I ran out on Sydney - on you - You thought I was straight and you might have a shot as Daniel.”

I nodded, still in shock at what had just transpired. Sydney is Kaylee - or rather K. That must mean Kaylee is R.

“Well, I’m… um.” She turned red. “I’m bi. There. I said it. I didn’t think it’d ever say that out loud. I find some girls attractive. But I’ve always told myself I was straight. But here you are - you’re really a guy. What does that mean?”

“I have no idea,” I chuckled. “I’ve been in the Guild for just over a month. It has thrown my identity into chaos. I’ve spent most of the past month as a girl. And it’s been so crazy, that I now find this body - my original body - foreign.”

“Is that what you were worried about when we first met?”

“It is,” I admitted.

“Wow, I had no idea. It all makes sense now. Now I feel embarrassed about how trite my problems are.”

“No. Don’t. Your feelings are valid too. I enjoyed discussing it all.”

She smiled at me. “I missed you. I felt so bad. We started flirting with each other. I never flirted with a girl before, but I was enjoying the attention. I was worried I was leading you on. But I slowly started developing feelings for you. Then it got real - and I got scared.”

“So what now?” 

“R gave me 10 minutes,” she replied.

“Ten minutes? For what?”

“This.” She leaned in and gave me a kiss. She was forceful and I immediately melted into her. I closed my eyes and made out with K.

As I made out with her, I considered how different K was than R. R was confident. K was more sensual and timid. She was new to all of this. She was in a foreign body, making out with a boy she only met once last weekend. But she knew it was me. Occasionally we’d open our eyes and match each other's gaze. I’d see her face light up - which was bizarre itself. I had never seen that expression on Sydney before.

It didn’t feel like 10 minutes had passed when there was a knock on the door.

I cleared my throat and called out with some sadness, “Come in.”

Kaylee walked into my dorm room and closed the door behind her. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

My heart fluttered at the sight of Kaylee’s body even though I knew that wasn’t her.

“Well, we were just reconnecting,” Sydney gushed, wiping saliva off her lips.

“R, what happened about getting permission form the Guild?” I asked.

“We’ve made exceptions before when we were intending on dating someone,” Kaylee responded. “Like James. You do intend to date Kaylee, right?”

I blushed as I looked at Sydney - who was really Kaylee. “Yeah,” I said with a big grin.

“Then that’s settled,” Kaylee, who was really R, responded. “K, are you ready to swap back?”

Sydney shifted uncomfortably. “I’m not really ready. Can I get a little more time?”

“The cool-down period is up,” Kaylee said, checking her phone.

“And sadly I’m grounded,” I replied. The girls looked at me. I didn’t feel like explaining it to K. “For reasons.”

"So, you can't swap?" Sydney asked.

"That’s correct,” Kaylee answered for me. “D isn't allowed to swap with anyone in the Guild until Friday afternoon."

I could see the gears turning in Sydney's head. Last time I saw that look she was processing some of my thoughts on The Fated Crown.

"So, let D swap with you," Sydney said conspiratorially, with a smirk.

"Enough rules have been broken lately,” Kaylee sighed. “It's bad enough that you reached for the stone when I tried to show it to you, putting us in this situation. I'm not digging myself into deeper trouble."

I looked at both of them, confused. “This swap was an accident?”

"But you wouldn't be breaking any rules by letting D swap into Kaylee,” Sydney persisted. “After all, Kaylee isn't in the Guild."

Kaylee's mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to find a counter to Sydney's logic. I myself wasn’t sure the exact wording of my punishment. I’m not sure Kaylee remembered either.

"I promise I'll bring D back before curfew.” Sydney added. “Then the three of us can do a restore."

"It's called a Reset," I gently corrected her.

Kaylee closed her eyes and took a deep breath before grunting in frustration. She looked so cute when she was frustrated - even if it’s R that’s controlling the body at the moment. "I imagine you are going to spend the next few hours with D regardless, and since Daniel has just started dating Kristy it would be good for both Kaylee and Sydney to leave Daniel's room together in case there are any prying eyes."

I heard the name Kristy and suddenly felt a guilty pang as I touched my lips. I could almost see the blood draining from my face. Damn. I forgot about her.

Sydney squealed with joy and clapped her hands.

"Two hours,” Kaylee insisted. “That's twice as long as I should give you." She reached into her bag and pulled out the stone.

I looked at Kaylee. It was so good to see her again. And now I'm going to be her. I never imagined things would go this direction, but my mind was racing with how this created so many new and exciting possibilities.

I reached out for her hand and five seconds later was looking at Daniel again.

I looked at my hands and felt a warm giddy feeling. A new body to explore! 

I wanted to go to the mirror, but instead Sydney pulled my hand. “Let's go, we only have two hours!” She dragged me out of the door, leaving Daniel standing there shaking his head, past Mike who looked dumbfounded, and out of the dorm.

* * *

The evening sky was already radiant with oranges and blues. It would definitely be dark before our two hours were up. We were still holding hands, as neither of us wanted to let go. As we strolled, it felt like we were a couple. We started walking toward the middle of campus. I felt all warm inside. Everything just felt right.

"So tell me all about this girlfriend of yours," Sydney implored.

"Ugh," I groaned. "Daniel just started dating Kristy,” I said dismissively. “She's in one of his classes." What had I gotten myself into?

"Wow," she mocked with a faux shocked tone, "You didn't wait long before moving on. I'm hurt."

“I didn’t - It’s not like that.” I stumbled over my words. "I thought R explained the difference between identity and body..."

Sydney smirked. "I wonder if I think you are cute when you are exasperated because this body is attracted to mine, or if it's the feelings I have for who is inside it."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

Sydney laughed. "Yes, R explained it to me. I'm just giving you a hard time. It's kinda fun to have this kind of control over you."

I wondered if that joy came from a desire to want to have power over her twin sister, but I didn't want to ask because it was really nice to see K this happy. Even if she’s in Sydney’s body.

"But you did go on a date with her, right? And clearly it went well, so I wanna know who I'm up against."

"You aren't being compared to her. This isn’t a competition. You are the one I am interested in. Sure, had I started dating Kristy before the Guild I would probably be happy with that relationship, but then again my experience from the Guild might have helped forge that relationship, so who knows?"

"Well I'm glad you joined the Guild. We wouldn't have met otherwise. I mean, I'm pretty sure Sydney and I have been in the coffee shop at the same time, but we've never interacted."

"Lesson one, you need to accept that you are the person you appear to be. Stop talking about Sydney in the third person. That's who you are."

"Sorry, Kaylee." She giggled as if she was mocking someone. Perhaps that’s how her twin mocked her.

I knew she put a ton of emphasis on calling me by her name, but I couldn't help but smile when she did. Maybe I liked the name Kaylee. It’s a cute name.

"But still, if Kristy is such a good fit for Daniel, and you are an evolved version of Daniel, I want to know what it is that makes her a good fit. Maybe I can become an evolved version of Kaylee that's an even better fit specifically for you."

"No!" I practically shouted. "You are perfect already. Besides, it's not right to change who you are for someone else.” 

Sydney giggled. “Says the girl who showed up Sunday afternoon as a guy because she thought I was straight.”

I bit my lip and pouted. She had a point.

She giggled at my visible frustration. “I want to be a guy next.”

“Next?”

“Yeah. I want to feel what Lenaria felt. To feel that strength.”

“Well, Lenaria became an Orc. We don’t have any Orcs in the Guild.” 

She nudged our shoulders playfully.

I chuckled. “Unless you count Gabriel.”

“Gabriel is an Orc?”

“No. He’s a giant football player.”

“Same thing,” she laughed sarcastically. “Sportsball Orc.”

“I’m not sure about joining the guild though,” I frowned. “We have a rule about dating other Guild members. We can’t. So we’d have to break up.”

“Whoa,” she said. “You move fast. Who said we’re a couple?”

“I- I’m sorry. I thought.” I looked at our hands clasped together, then back up to her face.

Sydney giggled again. “I’m messing with you. This is so much fun!”

We settled into a calm silence as we continued walking. She leaned up against me. We had no destination in mind. That’s what I thought until she said something.

“Umm,” Sydney said. “I have no idea where we’re going. I’ve never actually been here.”

“Oh,” I said. “First time on campus?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “I knew my parents couldn’t afford college for both of us. So I just never visited any.”

“I was wondering about that. So your twin is in college?”

“Yeah. But she doesn’t go here. She’s at the community college. Another reason she stole the spotlight from me,” She sighed.

I got a devious smile on my face. “No. You’re wrong. That’s my problem at the moment. You don’t have a sister.”

She looked at me confused.

“That’s one of the benefits of being in the Guild. Remember, lesson one. You’re not Kaylee right now. You’re Sydney. Sydney doesn’t have a suffocating twin.”

“You’re right,” she said, eyes widening in finally understanding. “I’m not Kaylee. I’m Sydney.”

“That’s right. And since you’re Sydney for the next two hours - what do you want to do?”

“I want to be a college student for once.”

“OK, let's do it,” I replied. “It’s the evening now, so we’re limited on which classes are still in session. What field of study?”

“Surprise me.”

I led her through the Student Union and outside to the courtyard. Fountains and evergreen hedges lined the courtyard. The fountains sparkled and reflected the vibrant sunset colors.

“This is so beautiful,” Sydney remarked.

“You should see it in the spring,” I added.

“Hopefully, someone will invite me back,” she teased.

I smiled. Just a day ago I was sulking. Now in the moment, I felt like my future had just opened up in ways I hadn’t imagined.

We continued walking. I led her to the Engineering Department. I knew they had evening classes. We snuck into a lecture hall and found a seat in the back of the auditorium.

The professor was talking about mathematical models and equations were projected on the screen at the front of the class.

“What class do you think this is?” Sydney asked.

“Perhaps Calculus,” I replied, studying the screen.

The lecture went over my head, but instead I watched Sydney. She listened intently with a great big smile.

About five minutes went by before she noticed me watching her.

“What?” she mouthed silently.

“Watching you experience new things is pretty cool.” I whispered. “I’m the newest member of the Guild, so I’ve never seem someone experience a swap for the first time.” 

“We should get going,” she said. “While I find this lecture fascinating, I don’t want to waste all of our two hours in class.”

“Agreed.”

We walked out of the lecture hall and headed outside. We resumed our slow stroll and held hands again.

“So why are you grounded, D?” Sydney asked.

“Because I broke a rule,” I replied.

“That makes sense that your group would have rules. What did you do?”

“I swapped two people without their consent.”

“Oh.” She noticed my body language. “I’m guessing they deserved it.”

“Yeah, but it was still against the rules.”

“So your self-imposed purgatory ends tomorrow?”

“Who said it was self-imposed?” I protested.

“R did. They said you were punishing yourself. That your only punishment was not swapping. That it was you who decided to lock yourself in your dorm for a week.”

I groaned. “Yeah, I suppose I did that.”

“So tomorrow are you going to be Sydney again?”

“I dunno,” I replied. “Why?”

“Because I want to know who’s taking me on a date this weekend, silly.”

I couldn’t hide my smile. “You still want to date me even though I’m not the same person from week to week?”

“Yeah,” she replied with a smile. “You're cute. I mean... Sydney is cute. I mean I’m cute. Wow, this is confusing.”

“You get used to it,” I shrugged. “But I like you for you. You’re easy to talk to. I enjoyed talking about books with you. I want to know you better. I want to know K.”

Sydney smiled but then had a confused look on her face. “How does dating work in the Guild? Would I be dating Sydney or D?”.

I frowned. My selfishness was still present. But I had to accept this outcome. “I think Sydney. Just like James.”

“Who is James?”

“Antonio’s boyfriend. Antonio is another member of the guild. When he joined he tried to break up with James. But James didn’t want to break up. Then he was told the truth. So pretty-much, James is happy dating six versions of Antonio.”

“That sounds crazy.”

“It is.”

“So I’d be dating six versions of Sydney? What if I wanted to date... Just D? How would that work?”

“I - I honestly don’t know. The whole premise of the Guild appears to be role-playing. That’s literally rule one.”

“Were you role-playing with me?”

“No. I was myself. I went to that coffee shop to clear my head, and stop role-playing for a few hours. Besides, there is no Sydney to role-play - that’s a long story too.”

Sydney stared down at herself, then back at me quizzically. “I look forward to you sharing it with me.”

We stopped under the glow of a campus street light. I took both of her hands. I went to lean in for a kiss, but Sydney’s eyes got wide and she instead pecked me on the cheek and gave me a hug.

“We should probably head back,” she said.

I was weirded out by that, but we resumed walking and holding hands as if the attempted kiss didn’t happen.

* * *

We returned to Daniel’s dorm where he was waiting for us. 

“How was it?” Daniel asked.

“It was wonderful!” Sydney gushed. “We have to do it again.”

“We’ll see.” Daniel grinned. He held out the stone and we all touched it.

When we reset I was Daniel again. I closed my eyes and sighed. But then I looked up at Kaylee and I couldn’t help but get warm all over again.

“D, I had a wonderful time,” Kaylee said, squeezing my hand. She reached over and gave me a hug. “I hope Kristy isn’t too upset that I made out with her boyfriend. Hey - if you’re someone else, wanna hang out Friday afternoon?”

“I’d love to,” I smiled.

I watched as Kaylee left my dorm. I then turned to Sydney who was watching me with a smile. “What?” I asked.

“That looks like it went well,” Sydney observed.

“I dunno,” I replied, looking down at the ground. “She freaked out when I tried to kiss her.”

“Remember, you were in her body. I seem to remember you freaking out when we had sex when I was in your body.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Besides, I freaked out after.”

“Just give her a little grace, D.”

I nodded.

“You two were so cute together, though,” she added before walking to the door.

I blushed.

“Alright, Daniel. Have a good night.”

I was left alone with my thoughts. Mostly excitement, with a dash of worry.

There was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Mike. I smirked at him. “Yes?”

“Dude!” he exclaimed. “More girls. Two at a time. How do you do it?”

“Those girls were just friends. I’m dating Kristy now.”

“That’s the redhead right?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice!” He nodded in approval. “So if those girls who just stopped by are just friends, maybe set me up?”

“Sorry, man, all of my lady friends are lesbians,” I smiled. A little white lie. But I certainly wasn’t going to set Mike up with anyone in the Guild - or Kaylee.

He stood there in disappointment.

“Goodnight, Mike,” I said, closing the door.

Chapter 22

I was so eager to see Kaylee again that I couldn't hide my excitement throughout last night or all of this morning. Even Kristy asked me about it.

“Wow, you’re in a good mood today,” she noticed before Lit class.

“I dunno,” I lied. “I guess I’m really excited for the weekend.”

“Me too,” she smiled, believing I was talking about her.

Even though I don’t expect to be Daniel this weekend, I’m still expected to act as if I will be and therefore need to plan a date. I haven’t done anything yet, so that means I better get to planning something so the next Daniel can execute it.

I glanced over at Jasmine. She was wearing a cute floral dress with leggings, and was checking out her makeup in a compact mirror. Part of me was envious of how she looked. I hadn’t been a woman in a week, and I was excited that my punishment would soon be over. I could be her or Morgan, but honestly I was most looking forward to being Sydney so I could see Kaylee again.

Kristy and I chatted a little more before class started. It sounded like she was interested in something more interactive than dinner. Perhaps a hike. Perhaps an arcade. I took some notes in my Lit notebook and focused the rest of my attention on the lecture.

After my classes, when I got back to my dorm, I had an unexpected visitor. Gabriel was standing outside the entrance, waiting for me.

“Gabriel,” I said, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Congrats, D,” he said. “Your punishment week is over.”

“Thank God,” I sighed with relief. It was awkward with us both standing there. Daniel and Gabriel never interacted outside of Guild meetings at the library. We looked like quite the odd couple, with the tall muscular football player and the short nerdy bookworm.

He smiled back in an expression I was familiar with.

“You want my body. Or my car?” I surmised.

“Both, actually,” he replied eagerly. He then nodded in a direction away from potential passers-by. We started walking around the outside of my dorm. “Actually, I realized I haven’t been you yet. I’ve never been Daniel.”

“Oh,” I replied. “You’re J, right?”

“That’s me.”

“You haven’t been me? Really?”

“Really. Everyone else got a turn. I was planning on being you this past week. But then… you know.”

“Yeah, I know. Sure. You can be Daniel. But don’t you have a game tomorrow?”

“I do. But I’ve been doing some self-reflection, and I kinda want to use the downtime to think. Football lends zero time to really think.”

“OK, but I don’t know about me being Gabriel. I haven’t practiced for the game tomorrow.” Besides, being Gabriel would allow me no time to hang out with Kaylee. Although, I’d love to see her face if I showed up as a football player.

“Well, you don’t have to stay as Gabriel,” he replied. “You can swap with someone else in an hour. Someone with a better handle on the playbook.”

“I suppose so.” My first thought of course was Sydney. I wonder if R is up for being Gabriel.

“What do you have going on this weekend?” he asked.

“Well, I have nothing concrete planned yet, but I think Kristy wants to hang out.”

“That’s awesome,” he said. “I like Kristy. Do you have any ideas?”

“Nope,” I replied. “I was going to plan something when I got home. She wants to do something more interactive than just dinner.”

“No problem. Leave it to J! I’ll woo her off her feet!”

I chuckled, “Great, thanks J.”

He dug into his cargo pants pocket and pulled out the stone.

I grabbed his hand, and five seconds later I was towering over my former body.

Daniel slapped my shoulder. He winced, with a pained look on his face as if he had slapped a brick building. “Good luck, bro.” He left the stone in my hand. “I imagine you’re going to want to hold onto that. Hey - don’t forget you have practice this evening.”

“Thanks,” I replied as I watched Daniel walk back towards his dorm’s entrance, shaking his throbbing hand.

I walked towards my own dorm so I can figure out where I need to be, or at least find someone to swap with.

* * *

“I don’t really feel like playing football this weekend,” was Sydney’s text response.

I was devastated. I wanted to swap with Sydney and hang out with Kaylee. I didn’t want to be stuck as Gabriel this weekend.

“Find someone else to swap with me, then we’ll talk,” she directed. So hope wasn’t lost.

I asked Antonio and Morgan as well, with similar results. The problem with being Gabriel was that it was a huge commitment, and nobody felt prepared for it. Maybe I should’ve said ‘no’ too.

Jasmine was my last attempt. I assumed Jasmine was still G, so I’d be asking her to swap back into her original body. I texted her, “Hey Jasmine, it’s D, I was wondering if you wanted to be Gabriel for this weekend.”

It took a while, but she responded. “I kinda don’t want to, but I can swap if no one else is willing.” She must’ve read my mind.

“I already asked everyone else,” I responded.

“OK,” was her response. “Come on over with the stone.”

* * *

I walked to Jasmine and Morgan’s apartment where Jasmine let me in.

“How long?” she asked, skipping over normal greetings.

“At least through Saturday night,” I replied.

She sighed. “The game. Of course. OK, time to be Gabriel again.”

“Sucker!” Morgan laughed from her bedroom.

We both glanced down the hall.

“I asked her first.” I explained.

“I know,” Jasmine chuckled. “OK, let's get this over with.”

I found it odd that G was treating going back to Gabriel like I treated going back to Daniel. I held out the stone, she held my hand and we swapped five seconds later.

I took a welcome breath. Odd. Being Jasmine felt more like a homecoming than being Daniel.

“OK, since you’re Jasmine now,” Gabriel announced, “you have a date tonight with Lauren.”

“What?” I asked. Shit. It never occurred to me to ask what I’d be doing if I swapped with her.

“Yeah, she’s coming over. I got James to cater.”

“I got James to cater,” Morgan’s voice echoed from her bedroom.

“That’s cool,” I replied. Part of me was excited about eating a James meal. The other part was disappointed that while I dodged one date with Kristy, I got myself into another one with Lauren. “Is this like a… date, date?”

“I’m treating it as such,” he replied. “We’ve been seeing a lot of each other lately. I really want to take things to the next level if she’s willing.”

I nodded.

“So why did you want to swap?”

“J just swapped with me, and I don’t know the playbook,” I responded. That much was true.

He laughed. “D. I don’t know the playbook either.”

“But… you’re G, right?”

“Aside from resets, I haven’t been in my original body all semester.”

I cocked my head. This confirmed my suspicions about swapping back into your original body. Apparently nobody wanted to. No matter how attractive or popular they were. Or maybe the grass was always greener in someone else’s life? “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied. “Odds are many of the plays are reused from last year. I’ll get a quick refresher before practice.”

“OK,” I replied.

He looked at his phone. “Practice in an hour?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Then I should get going. Have fun tonight, Jaz.”

“Bye, Gabe. Good luck tomorrow.”

I plopped myself onto the couch, and then Morgan came out of her bedroom.

“So what is so important that you text everyone in the Guild to swap?” she asked.

“I just wasn’t ready for tomorrow’s game.”

That answer seemed good enough for her, so she returned to her room.

I considered asking Sydney to swap now that I was Jasmine, but I didn't feel a pressing need. Kaylee knows I swap bodies, so showing up as someone besides Sydney or Daniel should be fine. I could be Jasmine for another few hours, and maybe swap into Sydney later before my date with Lauren. I wonder if Kaylee has a preference. She obviously likes Sydney, and we hit it off again when I was Kaylee and she was Sydney. I’ll have to ask.

I got Kaylee’s number from Sydney and texted her. “Hey, this is D. Did you want to hang out this afternoon?”

“I’d love to,” she responded. “Want to meet at the bookstore? At two?”

I grinned with anticipation. I wonder what Kaylee will think of me as Jasmine. It was almost time to go. Now I just needed to grab my…

Oh, no. I don’t have a car.

I hung my head in defeat. Why does this have to be so difficult? Now I know why Daniel was recruited into the Guild.

I could swap with Sydney or back to Daniel again. But I don't have that kind of time anymore. Plus, I don’t want to be Daniel again so soon. 

As I was sitting there pouting I realized something. Kaylee has a car.

“Could you pick me up?” I texted back. “The body I’m in today doesn’t have a car.”

“Sure! Text me the address.”

Wow, telling the truth was easy when the other person believed you. I responded with the address of my apartment, then went to the mirror to make sure I looked good. I was still wearing the floral dress and leggings I wore to class today. I tossed my hair and touched up my lip gloss. Say what you want, but G keeps Jasmine very well put together. I grabbed my coat and purse and stood outside of the apartment waiting for my ride.

* * *

I hadn’t seen Kaylee’s car, so I wasn’t sure what to keep a lookout for.

After about ten minutes of waiting, a red sedan pulled up beside me. Kaylee rolled down the window and gave me a curious, embarrassed look. “Umm… D?”

“That’s me!” I replied. 

“Good,” she said with a sigh of relief. “I don’t usually drive around parking lots looking to pick up strangers.”

She unlocked the doors and I walked around to the passenger side and got into the car.

Her eyes slowly checked me out from head to toe and I noticed a slight smile creep onto her face. “So, um, who are you today?”

“I’m Jasmine,” I replied.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jasmine.” She pulled out of my apartment’s parking lot and started to drive.

“So tell me about yourself, Jasmine,” Kaylee asked.

“Well, I’m a bioengineering major,” I replied.

“Really? Wow, what does that do?”

“Well, the original Jasmine was interested in working on MRI machines.”

“I wouldn’t have expected that.”

“It’s got very hard courses. I barely understand it.”

She nodded and gave me a sideways glance before focusing back on the road again. “You’re so pretty. You look like a popular cheerleader I remember from high school.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Neither, I suppose. But she was attractive and got all of the guys.”

“Well, Jasmine was homeschooled and was sheltered by a smothering mother. I’ll bet she would’ve loved to have that experience.”

“That sucks. I can relate to being smothered though.”

I nodded. Whenever we brought up her family, Kaylee seemed to go back into her shell. We rode in silence for a minute. “So, what’s at the bookstore today?”

“Coffee,” she replied. “And I thought maybe we could find another book.”

“Another body-swap fantasy?”

“Maybe,” she said nervously. I noticed she was holding something back. But then she timidly suggested, “Or perhaps a lesbian romance?”

“That could be fun,” I smirked. I grabbed and squeezed her free hand.

Her gaze didn’t turn away from the road, but I saw her smile.

She parked and we walked into the bookstore holding hands.

“People are looking at us,” Kaylee nervously observed. 

“They see two cute girls holding hands,” I replied. “They’re just jealous.” I flipped my long black hair around to show off.

We got into the coffee line. Kaylee ordered a matcha latte and I ordered a caffè americano.

“No matcha for you?” Kaylee asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, actually,” I responded. “That’s a Sydney favorite. Apparently when body-swapping, we don’t bring our taste buds with us.”

“Oh, how interesting,” she replied. “What’s Jasmine's favorite, then?”

“I really don't know,” I replied. “Jasmine isn’t much of a coffee drinker.” 

We got our drinks and walked towards the books.

I took a sip and shuddered. It was much bolder than I remembered. “Maybe I should’ve gotten a medium roast.”

“Do you think she’s a tea drinker?”

I cleared my throat from the coffee. “Actually, now that I think about it, she might abstain from all caffeinated drinks.”

“Sounds like Jasmine might like a… jasmine milk tea,” Kaylee giggled. “Maybe you should try one next time.”

"Ha. Ha" I smiled. Pun aside, I was wondering if she’s hinting that she’d prefer to see Jasmine again or Sydney.

We made casual conversation as we strolled through the bookstore. We didn’t really talk about what book we were looking for. I think we just enjoyed each other’s company.

Eventually, we found ourselves in the far corner of the bookstore, away from most of the patrons.

“This is crazy,” she said.

“What is?”

“Us. I mean, I’ve never dated a girl. And you’re not the same girl I saw last week. Or the guy I kissed yesterday. I’m not sure how to process this.”

“Well, I’m the same person inside if that makes you feel any better.”

“It does, actually,” Kaylee nodded. “Hey, turn the corner,” she directed suddenly.

As I turned the corner, she grabbed my hand, and slammed me against one of the stacks of books. Her mouth attacked my own with such ferocity that I was instantly out of breath. 

I wrapped my arms around her waist and let her kiss me. I was turned on, and wanted her to take me right here in the bookstore. Of course, then I remembered where we were.

My eyes nervously shifted around to make sure no one was watching.

She pulled back from her kiss and grinned, her face flushed. 

“What happened to being nervous and unsure?” I said, out of breath.

“You reminded me you’re the same person, and… I've wanted to do that since last night.”

“Me too.” 

She stood up straight and recomposed herself. “Sorry. I got carried away. It’s not every day you can live out the fantasies you read about.”

“It's OK,” I said, giggling. “It was welcome.” I stood there gushing. The concern I had last night about her avoiding my kiss disappeared. R must’ve been right. K just didn’t want to kiss herself.

“I can’t believe I just made out with a girl I picked up on the side of the road,” she said, giggling.

I giggled with her.

“Oh - I forgot to ask. Sorry,” Kaylee apologized, turning red. “Are you - is Jasmine - single?”

“Yeah - I’m single,” I replied, nervously playing with the hem of my dress.

“It’s a shame I have to work tonight.” She bit her lips. She left the words unspoken. I understood. 

I wanted to spend more time with her, too. That also meant that there was no rush to switch out of Jasmine tonight, but also that I was on the hook for that date with Lauren. “Maybe it's for the best,” I replied. “Jasmine’s single at the moment, but has a complicated relationship with her best friend. I’m meeting her tonight.”

“Wow, way to make me jealous,” Kaylee replied.

“I’m sorry. I know this whole situation is complicated.”

“No,” Kaylee said, putting her finger on my lips. “Don't apologize. This is the most excitement I’ve experienced in a long time.” 

I nodded. I was worried initially. At least verbally she appeared to be OK with it. I do think at some point, however, I should stop swapping and provide some stability for our relationship to grow. “Hey, Kaylee?”

“Hey, Jasmine.”

“I was wondering. Knowing it’s me inside, do you prefer Jasmine or Sydney?”

She looked at me with a concerned grin. “I like you. I like D.”

“I’m serious. If I can control who I show up as.”

“Weren’t you the one telling me yesterday not to change who I was?”

“Yeah- and I meant it. It’s just that I’m not sure how the Guild is going to react to me telling them I’m dating someone. If I use precedent as a guide, they’ll say you’re dating a body, not a soul. And if that happens, I want to be that body.”

“I get it. I guess I kinda have more of a crush on Sydney.” She held up her hands defensively. “Don't get me wrong. Jasmine is hot! But Sydney is… I dunno. She’s cute. In a ‘I just want to cuddle with you’ kinda way. Someone I could just be with. Besides, you said Jasmine’s relationships are complicated.”

“Then I’ll attempt to be Sydney next time we meet.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow.”

We eventually found a steamy lesbian romance to read for Book Club. We paid, finished our drinks, and she dropped me back home with a promise to see each other again tomorrow.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon Morgan and I cleaned our apartment to get ready for Lauren. About 15 minutes before she was due to arrive, James came over, carrying bags of freshly-prepared food.

“Sorry I’m late,” James apologized, starting to set up.

“You’re still early,” I replied. “Lauren’s not due for a little bit.”

“I wanted more time to set up,” he explained.

“Thank you for doing this, James,” I said. “I want everything to go just right tonight.”

“Girl, no problem. You know I have a soft spot for making meals for friends.”

“And I called in a favor,” Morgan added. “I hope Lauren appreciates what I did for you two.”

“Pssh,” James said, dismissively. “Don’t listen to her. She’s being overly dramatic. I would’ve said yes if you asked too.”

“Anyway,” Morgan announced. “Everything is cleaned and set up. I need to bolt before Lauren sees me.”

I sighed. “I really hope one day we all can be friends.”

“Me too,” Morgan agreed. “But it won’t be anytime soon.”

I smiled forlornly.

Morgan gave me a hug. “You got this. Besides, Lauren canceled on me Monday. She said she wasn’t feeling up to it. That’s gotta mean something, right?”

“Maybe.”

Morgan left the apartment, and I assisted James in setting out the meals along the countertops.

When we were done, it was James’s turn to leave. He hugged me. “Good luck, Jaz.”

“Thanks for everything, James.”

“And if it doesn’t go well,” he smirked, giving me a wink, “you can always swap with Antonio and I’ll make it up to you.”

I giggled. “Thanks, James. I’ll keep that in mind.” I most certainly won’t be taking him up on that offer.

James left, and five minutes later Lauren was at the door.

I welcomed her into my apartment. 

Her jaw dropped at the fancy candlelight dinner we had set up. The lights were dimmed, the place settings were arranged, and the aroma of fine food filled the air.

“Wow, Jaz!” she exclaimed as she took everything in. “When you said come over for dinner ,I had expected you were ordering pizza.”

“You’re my best friend,” I said. “And I wanted to make sure you know that - despite how busy I get and despite which other friends I hang out with. You’re my constant. My BFF.”

Lauren hugged me. “I feel the same way.” She let go of me and looked at the food. “You didn’t make all this, did you?”

“Oh, hell no,” I laughed. “I have a friend, James, a culinary major, who loves to cook for us.”

“Wow,” she exclaimed. “It looks professional.”

“Let’s dig in. James will kill me if I let everything get cold before we eat it.”

We both loaded our plates with the food at the counter, then walked to the table where I pulled out a chair for her. 

“Why, thank you, madame,” she said, giggling at the formality.

I took my own seat and we started eating. 

“So, I have some more Ella gossip,” Lauren announced between bites.

“Oh, really?” I asked. “Dish, girl.” I found it interesting that Lauren has started to willingly share details about her sorority sister with me.

“She quit the dance team.”

“Maybe she wasn’t very good.” I kinda regret not seeing A2 attempting dance routines.

“Um, she was the captain.”

“Oh, right.”

“I swear, something is up with her.”

“Well, you know her better than I do.”

“Maybe she’s on drugs.”

“Anything is possible. I wonder what her grades look like.”

Lauren thought of something and gasped. “What if she’s pregnant?”

I weighed what I knew. “Well, that’s not out of the realm of possibilities.” Aiden and Ella have been fucking like rabbits. And it's possible A2 could have forgotten to take birth control. Hell, I would’ve forgotten if it wasn’t part of every Guild girls’ rules. But it’s only been a few weeks since Halloween, and I didn’t know much about how these things work.

Lauren sighed. “I know she’s OK.”

“You care about her,” I stated.

“She’s my big sis. She brought me into the sorority. She was there for me when…” She let the silence hang in the air.

I decided to finish the sentence. “...when I was preoccupied with Morgan and my other friends.”

She nodded.

“Well, I’m here now. And hopefully whatever is going on with Ella will be resolved soon.”

I smiled. She smiled, and we continued eating.

“This is delicious,” she gushed. “Compliments to the chef.”

“I’ll let him know.”

There was more silence as we ate.

Lauren looked up at me with concern on her face. She put her fork down and wiped her face with a napkin. “I know what you’re trying to do,” Lauren finally said.

“What am I trying to do?” I asked, playing dumb.

“These last few times we’ve hung out…” she murmured, “they’ve felt like… dates.”

“Am I being too weird or awkward?” I asked.

“No,” she said timidly. “It’s just tha—”

“I can back off. I can give you space. I just want you to know how much you mean to me. And to apologize for my behavior this past year.”

“No,” she replied. “I’ve enjoyed it all. I’m just afraid of… ruining our friendship.”

I nodded. We were dancing around what we were leaving unsaid. She’s all but acknowledging I want to date her. “Me too. I certainly don’t want to push you to do anything you don’t want to do.” 

She grabbed my hand across the table. She peered into my eyes. She was shaking. “Jaz,” she said nervously.

“Lauren,” I whispered back.

“I… I do have feelings for you. But I have no idea what that means. And on top of potentially ruining our friendship, what does dating you mean for me? Am I gay?”

“Do you have to figure that out to date me?” If there was anything I learned in my time in the guild it’s that labels are just words.

She contemplated that. “I suppose not.”

I gave her a reassuring smile to let her know it was all right. “I’ve learned that labels aren't as important as we make them out to be. Do what you want. Be what you want. Don’t treat labels like a box that confines you.”  

“That’s easier said than done. There was this time in middle school. I mean - I was only like twelve. I had this crush on a classmate. I tried getting close to her. Once she figured out I liked her, she… called me names. Really nasty names.”

“Lauren,” I said. “That’s awful. But you both were twelve. Kids at that age suck.”

“I know. But it’s stuck with me since then.”

“It’s OK to be yourself. Especially with me.”

Lauren was starting to tear up. “There were times I hated myself for having crushes on girls. F-For having a crush on you.” She turned away to try to hide the tears. “I’m in love with you so much it hurts.” She got up and ran into the bathroom.

“Wait!” I gasped. In an instant it felt like everything changed. As good as it felt to hear those words, I was suddenly struck by a ton of guilt. This shouldn't be me sitting here. It should be J. I stole this moment from her because of how badly I wanted to get out of Daniel. Maybe I should try to get out of this situation. Lauren needs the real Jasmine, not me.

I sat down at the door of the bathroom. “It’s OK, Lauren, I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” I started texting Daniel to come here immediately to swap with me. “Lauren is confessing her love for me - for Jasmine. She’s crying. I think you should be here instead of me,” I texted.

“I’m afraid I’ve ruined everything,” Lauren cried from behind the door.

“You haven’t ruined anything.” I said to the door. “You know my history. You know about my mom. You know what it was like for me to be a lesbian teen in a homophobic household. I’m here for you.”

There were a few more minutes of silence before there was a light knock at the door, and I immediately stood up. “I’ll be right back.” I walked to the door and slipped outside my apartment.

I expected Daniel - who I assume to be J - to be standing there. But it was Gabriel, who I assumed to be G.

“Where’s J?” I asked.

Gabriel looked down at his feet and fidgeted. “J told me what’s up and to come over.”

“I don’t get it.” Why would G come instead of J?

“D, can you keep a secret?”

“Sure, of course.”

“J and I are going to permanently swap.”

I stood there speechless. Another couple is going to permanently swap?

“I plan on being Jasmine for the long term. So J said it should be me with Lauren.”

“I don’t know what to say.” 

“Say you won't tell A or M. R we can trust.”

“G, I promise our secret is safe with me,” I assured him.

I still had the stone in my hand and held my palm out.

Gabriel took my hand and we swapped.

When I was Gabriel again, I saw Jasmine close her eyes and exhale. Maybe I had noticed it in the past. Maybe I didn’t want to see it, but Jasmine glowed as if the world was perfect for her. She looked at me and smiled. A small tear fell from her eye.

“Thank you, D,” she said, hugging me.

“What should I do about this weekend?” I asked.

“Give me a few hours,” she said. “Then come back over and I can take Gabe back for the game.”

I nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” I smiled back at her. “You better get back in there,” I told her. “Lauren needs you.”

Jasmine gratefully stepped back into her apartment, leaving me outside, wondering what I should do for the next few hours.

* * *

It was around 11 at night when Jasmine finally came knocking on my door. Derek was asleep, so I crawled out of my bed, put on a T-shirt, fished the stone out of the cargo pants that were on the floor, and walked into the dorm hallway.

“How’d it go?” I asked groggily.

“It was touch and go for a little bit,” she said. “When she was done crying, I told her it’s going to be OK. We agreed to try it out. Dating, I mean. She’s still iffy about her sexuality, but I told her it didn’t matter to me, and I’ll be there regardless if she decided it wasn’t working.”

“That’s great,” I replied.

Jasmine grinned bashfully. “And then we made out for a few hours.”

“I was wondering what kept you,” I chuckled.

She grabbed my hands and gushed excitedly, “D, I have a girlfriend.”

“That’s awesome.  You make this sound like you have never have - which I find hard to believe.”

“Football is life,” she responded. “The quarterback gets the girls. I get the quarterback’s girlfriend's best friend for a prom date.”

“I should break the news to Morgan.” I chuckled.

“No need. She already texted me that Lauren messaged her to tell her their arrangement was off.”

“Good for you,” I said with a smile.

She smiled back and wiped a tear off her face. “I love her, D.”

“I can tell. Is she why you want to be Jasmine permanently?”

“No!” She was quick to shoot down. “She’s the cherry on top. I was going to do this even if Lauren never came around.”

“Sounds.. lonely.”

“Listen, I’m not sure if I’m transgender or not, but… I’m something. I was coasting as a guy. Doing football because I was expected to. Being good at it trapped me. I just want to be Jasmine.”

“I feel bad for swapping then.”

“Don’t be. We’re friends. Being Gabe doesn’t give me massive dysphoria. And I’m willing to help you out.”

I held out the stone, and five seconds later I was Jasmine again. I could feel the irritation around my eyes from tears I hadn’t cried. I could also feel that my lips were puffy from an intense makeout session. “I owe you.” I said.

“No - I owe you,” Gabriel chuckled. “Good night, and thank you for that. It meant the world to me.”

“Good night...” I started, looking at the football player in front of me, “Jasmine.”

His face lit up at being called his someday real name. He looked down the hallway to make sure nobody was around, then closed his door.

I’m not much of a romantic, but I do appreciate a good love story. It felt like I just participated in one.

There was also something else I was feeling.  Something in G’s story that felt familiar. Something I’ve been stuffing that back into its box every time it comes up.  Maybe it’s time to talk to someone about it.  If anything, I now know I can talk to G and J about it.

Chapter 23

I woke up to a sunny, albeit chilly, Saturday morning. I opened my eyes and was greeted by the warmly decorated bedroom of Jasmine. It’s certainly a far cry from waking up in the cinderblock prison of Daniel’s dorm room.

I reached over to my nightstand and picked up my phone. There was a message from Lauren already. A heart emoji followed by, “Last night was amazing.”

G didn’t indicate they’d had sex, but I figured making out with someone you really love is amazing by itself. After all, I loved making out with Kaylee. That was amazing.

I replied with a heart-eyed smile and added, “Yes, it was.” I pried myself out of my warm bed, sat up, and stretched before I slowly walked out to the kitchen in my bedtime T-shirt and shorts.

Morgan was already in the kitchen eating toast. “How’d last night go?” she queried.

“Amazing,” I replied, echoing Lauren’s sentiment. “She finally came out to me. Well, I mean, she didn’t come out exactly, but she told me she loved me and we’re going to try to make something work. I then swapped with ummm…” I caught myself before saying G, “the real Jasmine. So - so she could be with Lauren. Then we swapped back after Lauren left.”

“Aww,” Morgan cooed. “I’m so happy for you. That explains why Lauren texted me to tell me she’s not coming over on Mondays anymore.” Morgan held up her phone with a smile. “I told her I was happy for her and I still wanted to be friends.”

“What did she say?”

“She said not yet. Which I get. It’s going to take time.”

“I’m sorry for ruining your weekly booty call.”

“Don’t be. While I can’t speak for the other Morgans, it was starting to get old for me. Not the sex, of course. The secrecy. Besides, this frees me up to look for another booty call. Maybe this girl, Chloe, that Daniel is trying to hook me up with.”

I smiled at that. It at least confirmed that Morgan didn’t know I was D. I missed being treated as just Jasmine. I made myself toast with jam, poured a glass of orange juice, and sat down at the table with Morgan. She was scrolling through her phone sipping coffee, while I did the same with my OJ.

Lauren texted back, “I want to see you again today. Come over?” 

I beamed at the love story unfolding in front of me and responded. Of course, I didn’t want to take this away from G. I knew she had a game as Gabriel at 3:30 today, so the earliest Gabriel would be available would be 7. I replied, “Sure. But I’ve got things to do today. I won’t be available until tonight.”

“Tonight is fine. I can’t wait.”

I really should run this by G first.

Morgan looked up from her phone. “What do you think of a girls’ clubbing night tonight? I already asked Sydney, she's going to bring a friend.”

“Clubbing… tonight?” I asked before what she said finally registered. “Wait - Sydney is bringing a friend? Who?”

I wondered how she knew, but then I remembered that M was there when Kaylee texted me and I was talking about her with James.

“She didn’t say. I haven’t met them yet. If it’s who I think it is, Syd’s been dating her for a couple of weeks.”

“I just texted Lauren that we could hang out tonight,” I relayed to Morgan.

“Then bring her with us,” Morgan said with a devilish smirk.

I frowned. “You know she won't go for that.”

“Won’t hurt to try.”

“Yes. Yes it will. We just got together. Part of her hesitation has been her jealousy of you.”

Morgan put her hand on my arm. “Jaz, I know, I’m just teasing. Are you OK? You seem a bit wound up.”

“I really don’t want to screw this up,” I said, thinking about both Lauren and Kaylee. G needed to be with Lauren and I wanted to be with Kaylee. But G is playing football as a favor so I can be with Kaylee. This swapping is getting complicated. “How am I going to be in two places at once?”

“Girl, you don’t have to come clubbing with us. Spend time with your new girlfriend. There’s always another time.”

Ugh. Wrong girlfriend. “But I want to,” I countered. Actually I wanted to spend time with Kaylee. I just want to avoid saying that to Morgan. Then she’d know I’m D again, and I rather like being treated like a—

“Then swap with J. You said so yourself, she should be with Lauren anyway.”

“Ideally, I would.” Morgan also doesn’t know J is Daniel and G is Gabriel. G was insistent that I keep their intention of a permanent swap a secret. I kinda feel bad that we’re keeping all of this from Morgan. “But then that would require me to play in a football game I didn’t practice for.”

“Oof,” Morgan replied. “What time is the game?”

“3:30.”

“Oh, you have plenty of time!”

“But that means swapping with Gabriel. I want to go to girls’ night too.

“So, come as Gabriel. Nobody will bat an eye if the star football player tags along with us. In fact, you can make sure no creepers start hitting on us. Not to mention, you would have your pick of practically every girl in the place.”

I went to protest when Morgan held up her hand.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she calmly said. “You want to go to girls night as one of the girls.” She sighed. Maybe she did know I was D. “Do you want to swap with me now, and I’ll swap with Gabriel when he gets here?

“Thanks, but what about you?”

“I’ll deal,” she chuckled. “That new booty call can wait. Besides, I’ve been a girl all my life.”

“Sorry.”

“You know, if Lauren is going to keep Jaz on the sideline, I think we need to find more ladies to go out with. We should get to know Daniel’s new girlfriend. We can invite her next time.”

I chuckled at the thought of having a girls’ night with Kristy. I lead a strange life now. “Let’s wait on the swap. Maybe Gabe will get here early enough.”

“Yeah, there’s no reason to swap now anyway. We’re both doing the same chores.”

I looked around the apartment. “Oh, right, it’s Saturday,” I sighed.

* * *

I spent most of the day doing chores. Going grocery shopping with Morgan, cleaning our apartment for tonight, doing my bioengineering homework, continually checking the time until I can see Kaylee again. Actually, it was quite enjoyable just doing normal things with Morgan. I missed being her roommate. I missed the girl's talks we’d had.

I worked out a plan in my head. Gabriel will stop by around 7. We’ll swap. He said to order a pizza for him. Just one? So Morgan, Jasmine, and I - as Gabe - will eat dinner. After the cool-down, I’ll swap with Morgan. At 9, Sydney and Kaylee will come over to pregame. Jasmine will hang out with Lauren after we leave. Gabe may or may not join us clubbing.

It was complicated, but it was all I had.

Of course when 7 got here, Gabe was running late. Like, real late. The game was still going on! Morgan put it on TV so I could pace around the living room munching on a slice of pizza. It was triple overtime. I wasn’t even sure what that meant in college football, but I know it meant the game was eating into my swap time.

The TV camera panned to Gabriel. Sweat was visible under his helmet. I wondered if he was nervous because he was late meeting up with me or because the score was tied. Probably the former. Yeah, definitely the former.

There was a knock at the door and Morgan opened it.

That’s when Sydney and Kaylee came in holding hands. 

“We came early!” Sydney announced, taking off her coat, and placing it and Kaylee’s on a nearby couch.

I turned to face them. My heart did somersaults as I made eye contact with Kaylee. 

Kaylee was dressed in a fancy black blouse over a short red skirt. Her strawberry blonde hair was down and given a slight curl. She always gives off cute girl-next-door vibes, and I couldn’t help but stare.

She acknowledged me with a wink. So that must mean she knows I’m D and she’s hanging out with R. Of course she knows. We had this conversation last night. She’s dating Sydney - not D. 

I noticed she’s holding Sydney’s hand. I wish that was my hand. Jealousy becomes me. I just need to be patient. Hopefully, Sydney would be amenable to swapping. 

Speaking of Sydney, she was wearing a white tube top with a tight leather skirt that came down to the middle of her thighs. “Wow,” I wondered, looking her up and down. That wouldn’t have been my first choice to wear to the club. She pulls it off though. I wonder if I can pull it off.

“The game is still going on?” Sydney asked incredulously, looking at the TV.

“Yeah, it is,” Morgan replied impatiently. “I wish Turbo would just score and end this.”

“How’s he doing?” Sydney asked, inching closer to the TV.

“He’s having a shit game,” Morgan replied. “No touchdowns, one reception, and he’s been held under 50 yards all game.”

Hearing that made me feel remorseful. G said she wasn’t ready to be Gabriel so soon. I should’ve listened. But I was too selfish. It’s not like I would’ve done much better though.

“Oh, I forgot the introductions!” Sydney said. “Morgan, Jasmine, this is my girlfriend, Kaylee.”

Girlfriend. I felt both an excited warmth and a simmering jealousy at the same time.

“Kaylee!” Morgan echoed. “I’m Morgan. It’s so good to meet you.” She gave Kaylee a hug. “I’ve heard about your and Sydney’s book club.”

“Good to meet you, Morgan,” Kaylee replied.

“Hi, Kaylee,” I said, giving her a hug too. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Hi, Jasmine.” Kaylee squeezed me and her hand slid down and grabbed my ass.

I looked at her as she giggled. “How did you know I was D?” I whispered.

“R told me when she picked me up,” she replied. “I assumed you were still Jasmine.”

I giggled. “I’ve swapped twice since I saw you yesterday.”

“Then I’m glad I wasn’t wrong.”

The crowd on the TV erupted in disappointment as Gabriel was stuffed on his run. 

“Where’s your blockers?” Morgan yelled at the TV.

I picked up my phone and texted Daniel. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

He responded, “It’s nobody’s fault. It’s only a game.”

I’m not sure if that made me feel any better.

“Don’t count G out,” Daniel added. “Turbo is unstoppable when the game is on the line.”

The camera panned to Gabriel, Derek, and Leach having a discussion. After the huddle the players all lined up.

We all stared at the TV with bated breath.

Leach snapped the ball, handed it off to Gabriel - wait, no - it was a fake handoff as Gabe crashed into the defense. Leach scrambled. Derek was covered by two defenders. Leach pump-faked. That’s when Gabriel showed up on the other side of the field wide open. Leach threw a perfect spiral right into Turbo’s waiting arms.

Gabe caught it, and just as a defender dove at him, leaped right over him and started running down the field.

The crowd at the game was cheering. The crowd in my apartment was cheering just as enthusiastically.

Touchdown, Gabriel! We won!

We all yelled and high-fived.

When we all calmed down, Sydney pulled me aside. “Jaz,” she whispered. “Can I see you for a minute?”

“Sure,” I replied, and followed Sydney to my room.

“D, right?” Sydney asked me.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Kaylee said you were Jasmine yesterday,” Sydney said as we got to my room. “I assumed you were still Jasmine. I know you’re eager to switch with me.”

“Definitely,” I replied. 

“Kaylee wanted to hang out with you, even though I told her I was still R. When Morgan suggested a girls’ night, I invited her over.”

“Thanks,” I said as I retrieved the stone from my purse and held it out for Sydney.

Sydney grabbed my hand and five seconds later we were swapped. 

Jasmine kept the stone. After all, I didn’t need it anymore tonight, and she still needed it to swap with Gabriel.

After the swap I was hyper-aware of my new clothing. I wobbled a little, as I realized I was wearing heels. Along with being tight-fitting, the outfit was very skimpy and the air in this apartment was a little chilly. I also noticed I was wearing a strapless pushup bra under the tube top. Looking down provided a perfect view of the cavernous cleavage this outfit provided. I pulled the hem of the dress down to cover more of my leg. “Isn’t this kinda short?” I asked Jasmine.

“Girl, that’s what we wear to the club.”

“In November?”

“In January too,” Jasmine giggled. “Wear a jacket. Get a nice buzz going.”

“Will that help me get warm?” I asked, rubbing my arms.

“No, not at all. But you’ll have a buzz.”

I smirked at her as we returned to the party in the living room.

I went over to Morgan, “No need to swap anymore.”

“Good,” Morgan said, relieved. “I was really looking toward being myself at the club tonight.”

“Yeah, now you can look for that booty call”

“True! I could’ve gotten one as Gabe too. But Gabe is a very different experience.”

“I’ll bet.” I then joined my date and whispered. “I’m D again.”

“Good,” she whispered back. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of R for much longer.”

I playfully stuck my tongue out at her.

“So, where did you two meet?” Morgan interrupted.

“Coffee shop,” Kaylee replied.

“That one I always go to,” I added.

“We share the same interest in books.”

“I heard about this private book club,” Morgan teased. “Are you looking for more members?”

“Sure,” Kaylee replied gleefully.

“No,” I said to both of them, turning red with embarrassment. “Morgan, it’s not that kind of book club.”

Morgan laughed.

“I mean… it can be,” Kaylee offered.

I looked at Kayee with my mouth open.

“I’m kidding!” She said, putting her hand on my arm.

“Oh, Kaylee, I love you already,” Morgan gushed. “We are so going to get along. I can’t wait to share Sydney stories with you.”

“I look forward to hearing them,” Kaylee giggled while looking warmly at me.

I shook my head and chuckled. What have I started?

* * *

For the next hour, we pregamed. The wine and beer were flowing. We joked and laughed. Kaylee seemed to be enjoying her time as well, often glancing at me with a flirtatious grin.

Eventually, Gabriel showed up, freshly showered, wearing a snazzy blazer over a button down shirt and designer jeans. He was ready for a night on the town, too. We all congratulated him on his game-winning touchdown. 

I introduced Gabe and Kaylee. Gabe asked the usual questions. Where Kaylee and I met. Kaylee asked if she could squeeze Gabe’s biceps.

“Both of my hands can’t even make it around once,” Kaylee exclaimed.

When we had a moment in private, Kaylee whispered in my ear, “I love your friends.”

“Me too.”

“Sportsball Orc is bigger in person.”

“Yeah, he is,” I laughed.

“So you’ve been them all?” Kaylee asked. 

“Yeah,” I admitted. “One a week for the past month.”

“Wow. This group is amazing. I’m kinda jealous of you.”

“Sometimes it gets complicated.”

“I’m sure, but think of the experiences you’re having.”

“None compare to this experience.” I gently pulled her closer to me, and she gladly moved in tight for a kiss.

Morgan, Jasmine, and Gabe noticed us and gushed at our affection.

Since not everyone knows Kaylee is aware of the stone and our group, Gabriel and Jasmine nonchalantly went to a corner and swapped. That meant that G was in Jasmine in time for Lauren to come over, and R was Gabriel. 

After a while, Jasmine interrupted us. “Alright everyone!” Jasmine yelled over the crowd in her apartment. “The Uber is here and Lauren is on her way over. It’s time for you all to leave. Get out!”

“Let’s go!” Morgan cheered, herding everyone out of the apartment with our coats and purses.

The cold air felt like it was stabbing my bare legs. Thankfully, the Uber had the heat on.

Kaylee got into the car first, followed by me, then Morgan. Gabriel got into the front seat. The Uber driver looked at the big fella as if he wouldn’t fit in the car.

Kaylee put her hand on my bare thigh. Her hand was warmer than the air. Maybe I could get used to skimpy skirts in November.

Twenty minutes later the Uber pulled up to the club. We all piled out of the car and got to the back of the line.

“I got this,” Gabriel said, walking up to the bouncer.

The bouncer recognized him, calling out his name, “Turbo!” He smiled, they shook hands.

Gabriel motioned for us to cut the line and we followed him into the club.

“Have a good night, ladies,” the bouncer said.

Once inside, like a gentleman, Gabriel took our coats. Kaylee and I followed Morgan to a table.

Kaylee glanced at the football player. “I thought this was going to be a girls’ night. Not that I’m complaining of course. We have our own bodyguard.” 

“I’m pretty sure that’s R now,” I replied. “Honorary girl.”

“How do you keep track of everyone?” Kaylee asked.

“We’re not supposed to. But sometimes it's hard not to see patterns.”

Kaylee nodded.

“Alright Syd, you’re up,” Morgan said to me, nodding her head toward the bar.

It was my turn to get the drinks. This would be a first.

I grabbed my clutch, left Morgan and Kaylee, and sauntered over to the bar. I had finally settled into the heels as I walked to the bar. Far from feeling embarrassed, I actually felt empowered.

After adjusting my boobs for maximum effect, I waved for the bartender.

The bartender came over, quickly flashed his eyes at my cleavage, pretended that didn’t happen and asked, “What can I get you?”

“Cosmo,” I replied.

“Can I see some ID?” he asked.

“Sure,” I nervously replied. I fished my driver’s license out of my clutch and handed it to him, giving a nervous smile to match the one on the ID.

He examined it, tilting it back and forth in the ambient light of the club for a good three to four seconds, then glanced at me, before handing the card back.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched as the bartender made my drink. Sure, I know that I’m Sydney and 21, but a part of me is still that 19 year old Daniel who would never consider using a fake ID. Not that this is a fake ID either. Maybe I suppose I’m a fake Sydney.

I laid down my credit card and he exchanged that for the cosmopolitan and placed it in front of me. 

I felt a gentle hand at the small of my back. It was Morgan. I nonchalantly slid the drink to my side and I saw her hand reach around and the drink disappear behind me.

When the bartender returned my credit card, I stuffed it back into my clutch and signed the receipt. Almost on cue, about a half minute later, a guy walked right up to me in a cloud of cheap cologne.

“Hi,” he greeted me, also glancing at my cleavage. Universal Guy Greeting. Trademark, me.

I had a part to play and smiled warmly. “Hi, yourself.”

“I saw you standing here all alone.”

“Just trying to flag down the bartender,” I lied and giggled. I twirled a lock of my blond hair.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” I replied enthusiastically. Behind the guy, I saw Gabriel flag me down, holding two drinks. That told me I only needed one more.

“What are you drinking?” the stranger asked.

“Cosmo,” I replied.

The guy raised his hand to get the attention of a different bartender than the one I had used. “Can I get a Cosmo and a Manhattan?” He asked her.

The new bartender asked for our IDs, and I showed mine again. This time, I felt a little more confident than before.

“A Manhattan?” I asked the guy. “Who are you - my grandpa?”

The guy looked mortified. Maybe my playful banter was too much.

“I like it,” he said unconvincingly. He clearly thought I would be impressed by his mature choice of drink. “So, you go to school around here?” the guy asked to change the subject.

“Yes, I do,” I replied.

“I graduated a year ago,” he replied. “I work for an accounting firm.” He puffed his chest in confidence.

“Oh, really?” I replied. I remember Morgan telling me the trick to this was to get the guy to continuously talk about himself. That allows him to feel like he had a deep conversation with a cute girl, and we get a drink out of it. “I’ll bet that pays well.”

“It does,” he bragged. “I have my own apartment.”

“Must be nice to have a job and your own money.”

“It’s the best.”

“Do you enjoy your job?”

“It’s tedious. The bosses work us hard. But they also pay us well. You know what they say - work hard, play hard.” He turned to me. “Are you graduating soon?”

“Next semester,” I replied.

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, I’m getting a degree in Music Theory.”

“And what are you going to do with that?”

“I have no fucking clue,” I giggled, which elicited a friendly laugh from him.

The bartender placed our drinks down.

“Cheers,” the guy said, raising his glass.

“Cheers,” I echoed as we clinked glasses and took a sip.

I stayed with the guy for another five minutes, trying to figure out a good time to exit his company. Eventually the conversation stalled, I thanked him for the drink, and retreated over to my friends. When I returned to the table, everyone had their own drink.

“Thanks, Syd and Gabe for the drinks!” Morgan said, raising her glass.

The rest of the table raised their glasses and cheered.

“That was stressful,” I admitted. “I don’t like flirting with guys.”

“For someone who doesn’t like to flirt, you sure were doing a great job of it,” Morgan countered. “I was worried I was going to have to save you.”

“And I was getting worried that that guy was going to take you home,” Kaylee commented.

“Not a chance in hell,” I chuckled and smiled at my date. I looked at her, looking all cute in the mix of strobe and black light. “Wanna dance?”

She leaned into me. ”I have a confession.”

“What?”

“I’m not much into clubbing.”

“You’re not?” I asked. I don’t know why I was so shocked. I mean, neither was I. Or rather neither was Daniel. My enjoyment here is based solely on my girlfriends and the confidence in my body.

“I only came here to be with you.”

I almost melted on the spot. “Well, we don’t have to stay long,” I assured her.

“So, let’s dance, then get out of here,” Kaylee urged.

“I like how you think,” I giggled.

We took our drinks and walked onto the dance floor. 

It was loud and I could tell Kaylee was a little uncomfortable. There were vultures of the male persuasion circling us, so I danced close to her.

Kaylee said something but I couldn’t hear her, so I got even closer. 

Our bodies were touching now while grooving to the beat. I wrapped my non-drink hand around her. “What was that?”

She leaned into my ear. “Remember the celebration scene in The Fated Crown?” Kaylee asked over the music. “I imagined it looked a lot like this. But more natural.”

“Well, Orcs are more attuned with natural forces,” I replied, raising my voice so she could hear me. “Although Lenaria struggled more because of the Elvish culture’s commitment to prim and proper dancing.”

“I read it more as the struggle to let go and allowing the world to influence her for once. Once Toriji pushes Lenaria to listen to the rhythms of the world she starts to move with them.”

“Yeah. And she starts to enjoy herself.”

“God, it’s so hot when you show me a new way to look at a story.”

I looked at her, and my face turned red. Here I was being a book nerd at a nightclub. Normally when I’d bring up books in a social setting, girls would run. Kaylee, however, thinks it’s hot, and I’m not even sure what to do with myself.

She noticed I was speechless and added, “Will you be my Toriji?”

I giggled. “You’re assuming I’m in tune to clubbing culture. I most certainly am not. But I’ve found that if you’re dancing with a good friend, it doesn’t really matter.”

I was about to give her her space back, but her free hand wrapped around me, holding me close.

After a song or two, we both loosened up. A dance partner makes all of the difference. It was as if the crowd of grinding dancers beside us vanished and it was just Kaylee and I on the dance floor. Just as I wanted.

“Wanna get out of here?” Kaylee finally asked.

“Yeah,” I grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

We went back to the table where Gabriel was chatting with two girls, one on each side of him, competing for his attention. I couldn’t find Morgan. I scanned the club and finally spotted her in a dark part of the dancefloor, grinding and making out with another girl.

“Hey Gabe,” I said, interrupting him. “I think Kaylee and I are going to head out.”

I expected him to say something about us leaving so soon, but instead he smiled at me and winked. “Have fun. I’ll keep an eye on Morgan.”

I pulled the phone from my clutch and summoned an Uber. Kaylee and I finished our drinks, fetched our coats and purses, and left the club.

Standing outside, waiting for the Uber with my arms wrapped around Kaylee, I forgot it was cold outside.

* * *

During the ride, I could tell we were both tired. The Uber dropped us off at my apartment. Both of us clumsily walked inside.

I was looking forward to getting her alone. Now that we were finally alone, we were tired and slightly drunk.

I offered her something to sleep in. She chose an old racing T-shirt and shorts. I chose an old band camp T-shirt and slipped on a more comfortable bra.

We both laid down on my bed. She put her arm around me. I loved how her arm tucked under my boobs. I could feel hers pressing up against my back. Our bare legs were tangled together.

“This is so much better than that loud night club,” Kaylee mused.

“I agree,” I said, taking in her warmth.

“Tell me what it’s like,” she tiredly whispered.

“What’s what like?”

“Being in the Guild. Changing lives. Bodies. Genders.”

“It’s different.” I answered. “It’s actually been eye-opening to the fact that I was wasting away as Daniel. A spectator in my own life.”

“And now?”

“I’m having fun learning about everyone. Learning about myself. I’ve done things I’d never considered doing.”

“It looks like you have a good group of friends, too.”

“They are. They look out for me too. Sometimes too much.”

“How so?”

“Well, I’m the newest member. So they’re a little overprotective of me. Sometimes they treat me like a newb. Or a boy.” That last sentence came flying out of my mouth without me thinking it through.

“How do you want them to treat you?”

“Well…” I started. “I didn’t tell Morgan I was D tonight. She might have known anyway. But it was girls’ night. And… I just really wanted to be treated like a girl.”

“But, you are a girl.” Kaylee said with a yawn. Her statement shot right through my defenses and hit me at my core. 

I was silent for a minute as I let her statement soak in. It’s been an issue I keep kicking the can on. An issue I keep tabling until tomorrow. At some point I need to answer it. I gave some good advice to Gabriel last night. It’d be nice if I followed it too, right?

“Kaylee, does this make me trans?” I asked.

She didn’t respond. Instead all I heard was her gentle, rhythmic breathing.

Chapter 24

As I slowly regained consciousness, I could hear a few things. Birds chirping outside my window. Cars driving through the parking lot. Pages from a book being turned right beside me.

I opened my eyes to see Kaylee lying next to me on her stomach reading a book. She was above the covers and had her legs bent into the air.

“What are you reading?” I yawned.

“Your music theory textbook,” she giggled.

“Still having fun pretending to be a college student?”

“It was the only book you had.”

I sighed. “Sorry, all of my fiction books are back at Daniel’s dorm.”

“It’s all right. I figured as much. I also figured it was only a matter of time before you woke up. I was just killing time.”

“I’m up now,” I smiled.

“Good morning,” Kaylee returned the smile with her own. God, she was so gorgeous.

“Good morning.” I sat up in bed. “Want to get breakfast together?”

“I’d love to,” she replied. “But I realized I never brought a change of clothes with me.”

“You can borrow some of my clothes,” I said gleefully. I sprung from the bed, and went over to my closet. As I started scanning through clothes on hangers I stopped then looked back at Kaylee who was staring at me curiously. “Oh,” I realized. “We’re not the same size, are we?”

“I don’t think so,” she shrugged.

Even though this isn’t my body, I started to feel self-conscious. “Sorry that my body is too—”

“Perfect. You’re perfect!” she exclaimed, springing up from the bed and kissing me before I could finish that sentence.

I melted into her arms as I returned her kiss.

“I’m sure I can find something to wear in there,” Kaylee suggested. She stared at the closet in dismay. “Wow. That is a lot of clothes.”

“Yeah, Sydney has a lot of clothes for some reason.”

Kaylee started browsing the clothes hanging on the closet rod. “Wow. There's a wide variety in here. Very wide. Sydney, you have an interesting taste in clothes.”

“Yeah,” I said, inspecting the contents of the closet. Sydney certainly has more clothing than Morgan and Jasmine combined.

Kaylee pulled out a polo shirt and looked at it. “Like, the whole right side looks like a man’s closet.”

“It might be,” I said evasively.

“Do you like dressing androgynously?”

I wasn’t sure how much detail to go into. “You have to remember that there are six different people role-playing as Sydney.”

She put the shirt back and looked at me quizzically. “I thought you said when each of you role-play you try to match the personality of the body’s owner.”

“Yes. That’s with the others. Sydney is more of a… blank slate.”

“Why is that?”

I bit my lip. “Because the original Sydney isn’t around anymore.”

“Oh my God, what happened to her?”

“Him.”

“Him?”

“Yeah, you've met everyone in the Guild except Antonio. You must’ve noticed you haven’t met anyone whose name started with R.”

“I did notice that, but I didn’t think anything of it. I thought R might be really into pirates or something.”

“No,” I said with a slight smile. “S and R traded bodies permanently.”

Kaylee started nodding her head in understanding. “Because S is a… he?”

“Yes.”

“And he wanted a man’s body,” she said, putting the pieces together. “R is a…”

“Robert.”

“Wow. I thought R was a girl. Like Rachel.”

“Since S left as Robert, everyone has been putting their own style on Sydney.”

“So, what’s your style then?” Kaylee asked.

“I… I don’t know,” I replied. “I’ve just been taking random stuff from the closet. I haven’t added my own flair to her - yet.”

Kaylee continued to skim the closet. “Oh my God, this is so cute,” she said, pulling out an embroidered tan sweater.

I thought it would be too big on her, but she seemed unconcerned as she stripped off the T-shirt she was wearing. She stood topless in nothing but a pair of shorts, and I immediately spun around to give her some privacy, heat rising in my face.

“You are too cute,” she teased, giggling behind me. “Sometimes I forget that you’re new to this whole girl thing. You don’t have to turn away. We’re both girls here, and… and we’re dating.”

I timidly turned back around, and tried not to stare. Really. But it was hard. My eyes were drawn to her body.

Her skin was paler than mine. She had freckles on her arms and across her chest. A light smatter of dots that trailed down her sternum, tempting me to follow. When I realized what I was doing, my eyes snapped back up to hers, which were sparkling with amusement.

She slid the sweater on, and tugged one side so it hung off her shoulder. “What do you think?”

“It’s cute.”

“I want to see you wear it now.” She pulled the sweater off and handed it to me.

I smiled, “OK.” I pulled off my T-shirt. I was still wearing my bra from last night. Fortunate for my modesty. Unfortunate for my ribcage that it had been digging into for the past twelve hours.

“I have that same bra!” she gushed. “Isn’t it so comfy?

“Yeah, it is,” I agreed. I blushed. Five weeks into the Guild and I’m still embarrassed talking about women’s underwear. “I just thought it… looked cute.”

“It’s one of my favorite bras. Obviously, it’s back home.”

“My favorite is…” I paused before I could finish my sentence.

“What?”

“Oh - well, my favorite bra is actually one of Jasmine’s.”

Kaylee giggled. “I see. Tell me about Jasmine’s bra then.”

“Well it's got this really cute pattern. It's as soft as this one. Plus it's worked with a bunch of different outfits I've tried. And I kinda liked the way it showed off my, um...”

“Your boobs? Tits? Melons? Coconuts? Ladies?” she teased. “My twin and I used to call ours ‘The Fantastic Four.’”

With each passing euphemism, I could feel my face getting redder.

“D, you deserve to have your own bras. If you’re going to be Sydney more often, you’re going to need to find your own style.”

I waved my hand dismissively. “One day I’ll go shopping for my own stuff.” I put the sweater on, adjusted it around my waist and chest, and pulled my hair out of it.

“How about… today?”

“Today?”

“After breakfast?”

“I have a Guild meeting at two.”

“We’ve got time.“ Kaylee tossed me a pair of black leggings. “These will go great with that sweater.”

“Thanks,” I said, sliding them up my legs.

“So, can I try on anything else in here?” Kaylee asked, retrieving her bra from last night which was hanging on my desk chair.

“Umm, sure.” I said, watching her as she expertly slipped her bra on and clasped it behind her back without looking.

Kaylee then did something I wasn’t expecting. She returned to the section of Sydney’s closet with the old male clothing. She put on a pair of baggy jeans that had been cuffed at the end. They looked good on her but clearly my hips were wider as she struggled to keep them from falling down. She found an old canvas belt and fed it through the loops.

Once the jeans weren’t falling down it became clear that she had longer legs than me, so she unrolled the cuffs. Finding a pair of trendy bold colored men’s sneakers, she inspected the tongue. We must have similar enough sized feet because she placed them on the floor and slipped her feet inside.

“Wow, these are comfy,” she said, flexing her feet. “Totally beats last night’s heels.” Next she put a white crop top over her bra, covering it with an unbuttoned flannel shirt. “What do you think?”

“You look cute,” I said, looking her over. I stepped over to her, put my hands on her exposed midriff and brought her in for a kiss.

“My twin would never be caught dead in this,” she said. “It’s rather freeing to wear this stuff.”

That’s funny. I thought wearing women’s clothes was freeing.

* * *

Before we headed to the stores we stopped by the coffee shop - our coffee shop - for a quick breakfast. 

As we sat down at our usual table, Natalie the barista appeared with a bright smile and our usual drinks. Identical matcha lattes. “Good morning, ladies.”

“Thank you, Natalie,” Kaylee said.

“Can I get you anything else?”

Kaylee glanced at me with a smile before answering, “I think we’re going to order something to eat.”

“What can I getcha?”

Kaylee motioned for me to go first. Usually I let the ladies go first, then I remembered I am one, and Kaylee is the one being chivalrous.

“Egg and cheese sandwich, please. On a bagel.” I answered.

“And for you?” Natalie asked.

“The fruit bowl,” Kaylee replied.

“I’ll be out with those shortly,” Natalie smiled and walked away.

I took a sip of my matcha latte. The warm tea touched my lips and greeted my taste buds. “Wow, that’s much better as Sydney.”

Kaylee smiled, reached across the table, and we held hands. What I asked last night still weighed on me, and Kaylee’s chivalry reminded me of it.

“About last night…” I started.

“It was so much fun.”

“I said something, but I think you were asleep.”

She looked at me with a supportive concern. “What was it?”

“I asked if my enjoying being a woman… made me transgender?”

“Transgender? I dunno. When I met you, you were a woman. I met Daniel twice, with each of those meetings lasting ten minutes, tops. The rest of the time, you’ve been a woman. That’s how I see you. How do you see yourself?”

“I don’t know… I enjoy it. Being Sydney and dating you feels right.”

“Sydney, it’s lovely you enjoy being with me. I enjoy being with you, too. But what if we weren’t dating? Would you still want to be Sydney? A woman?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I enjoy being Jasmine and Morgan too.”

“And the guys in your group?”

“They're OK. Being Gabe is exciting. Being Antonio is exhausting but rewarding.”

Kaylee looked like she was thinking. She had a curious smile. “In The Fated Crown - Is Lenaria transgender?”

I pondered that for a moment. “I… don’t think they ever actually indicate the gender of the Orc that stole Lenaria’s body.”

“Right, and I think we are both in the ‘the Orc was female’ camp. But I definitely thought the Orc was male at first.”

“That would certainly change a few things. I might want to read it again with that in mind. But if we both concluded that the Orc was female, why would you ask if Lenaria was trans?”

“If the Orc was male,” Kaylee said, pausing to make sure I followed her reasoning, “and Lenaria accepted being male, would that make her trans?”

“I see where you’re going with this. But I think the intention was Lenaria goes from a small elegant body to a large powerful body and she eventually accepts it as her own. But if we interpret it instead as Lenaria going from female to male, I don’t necessarily think that acceptance equates to ‘desired identity’. Plus- Lenaria never had any dysphoria in either body. In the end she just had a new appreciation for her new body.” 

“Sounds like someone I know.” Kaylee smirked and raised an eyebrow at me.

I replayed what I knew about that book through my mind, changing the Orc to male. Was I really like Lenaria? “Yeah, I appreciate being a woman. And I’ve started to feel a disassociation with my original body. I’ve been worried about what that means for my identity for weeks now. I suppose I’m worried about the label. I’ve never really worried about labels before this. I even gave some advice to Jasmine’s girlfriend on the topic. So why am I concerned now?”

“Sometimes it’s hard to follow your own advice.”

“You’re right. It’s not about the label.”

“Then what is it about?

“I mentioned Robert earlier. S was trans. He gave up his old life for a new one.”

“And that concerns you.”

“Yes? No?” I wavered. “That’s the problem, I don't know. I really enjoy being a girl, and I keep thinking about what life would be if I wound up as one permanently. But it’s all so confusing, wanting that… like what if I’m wrong?”

Kaylee smiled and squeezed my hand. “You are lucky then. You have the gift of experimentation. And it sounds like you’re using it to find yourself. I envy you.” 

“G came out to me a few nights ago. Said he and J are going to permanently swap one day.”

“And they’re trans too?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask. But I assume so by the way G was talking.”

“Wow,” she said. “So the S and R thing isn’t a one-off?”

“Not anymore. So what do I do?”

“Even if you are trans - it sounds like you’re in good hands with your friends. Have you talked to G about this?”

“No. You’re the first person I’ve told.”

“I’m flattered. But I’m not the best person to talk to about this.”

“I’ll talk to G.” I smiled.

Natalie came over with our breakfast and placed the plates in front of us.

“OK, how about some lighter conversation?”

We both giggled and I felt relieved I got that off my chest. A part of me also felt that speaking it out loud made it real. I would have to talk to G about it.

* * *

While I had fun clothes shopping with Morgan weeks ago, I hadn’t thought about it since. I still felt like a fish out of water in these stores, but spending any time with Kaylee felt right and was helping me get over that anxiety.

Kaylee immediately started looking through racks of clothes.

“So, what are we actually here for?” I asked.

“I’m just browsing,” she responded. “I don’t go out shopping for myself very often.”

“Why not?” I asked. 

“Money, mostly,” she replied.

“Well, my closet is always open to you if that helps,” I mentioned, eliciting a smile from Kaylee, “but I thought you had a job?”

“I do have a job. But I could use more hours. Being a hostess pays like shit. And when I waitress, people are horrible tippers.”

“Well, at least you have money,” I griped.

Kaylee suddenly turned the topic around. “I never asked if you had a job.”

“I don’t. Sydney’s parents - sorry - my parents give me a very small amount for food and stuff. I’ve been pretty good at rationing it.”

“How does that work with six people running your life?”

“We manage. Oftentimes other Guild members with money will pay for those of us without.”

“And no one has a job?”

“Nope. Unless you count Gabriel being a football player.”

“He gets paid for playing football?”

“Sort of. Endorsements. Likenesses. That kinda thing.”

“That’s crazy.”

I spotted a cute dress behind Kaylee. “How about that?” I pulled it off the rack and held it up to her.

“That reminds me of my sister,” Kaylee scoffed.

“Sorry,” I replied, quickly hanging it back up.

“This,” she said, pulling out another, “is more my style.”

“It’s cute,” I agreed.

Kaylee looked at the price tag. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Not that cute,” then hung it back on the rack.

I made a mental note to maybe come back for that later when I’m with Morgan. Perhaps it could be a gift.

“We came,” she announced, “to get you a cute bra so you don’t have to fawn over Jasmine’s.” She started walking towards the women’s undergarments section of the store and I tagged behind.

I giggled. “I’m not fawning over her bras. Wait, are you jealous?” I teased back.

“No,” she said dismissively and gave me a playful nudge.

“I can fawn over your bras if you want.” 

That elicited a bigger laugh from Kaylee. “Have you seen my bras?”

“Umm, just the one you’re wearing right now.” I blushed, thinking about her this morning.

“This is my nicest one. The others - they’re old and ratty.”

“Sounds like we both need new bras.” We stopped in front of displays of bras and I let out an exasperated sigh. “I am so out of my element.”

“Just find something cute,” Kaylee encouraged me.

I started browsing. I found all different styles and shapes. Lace and bows. A rainbow of colors and patterns. I slowly browsed the selection, feeling the texture of each. I stopped at one table, running my fingers over the silky material. “I like the way these feel.”

Kaylee joined me. “They are nice.”

I picked through a selection of teal bras with little hearts all over them, then scanned for Sydney’s size. I finally found one and held it up. “I like this one.”

She looked at it and smiled. “Would it be cliché if we bought matching bras?”

“I- I don’t think so.”

She came over to me and found her size.

“Like twins,” I said, before considering how my words would affect her.

Her face turned to stone. “You’re right - I should get something else.” She put the bra back.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I agreed that I thought it would be cute if we matched.”

“I’ve matched with someone almost all of my life.”

I reached out and put my hand on her arm. “Kaylee, I am not your sister.”

“I know,” she agreed. “But—”

“And, there’s only like twenty patterns here. Odds are, someone in the world is going to have this same bra no matter what you pick.”

She stood there looking down at the bras.

I moved closer and put my hand around her. “If you were to match your girlfriend, I’d think it was really cute.” 

I saw a smile finally poke through.

“And hot.”

Her smile got bigger. “OK, but I’m going to get the pink version of this. We’ll still kinda match.”

“I love it,” I replied.

‘We should try them on,” Kaylee suggested.

“Should we?” I asked. “I know my size.”

“Different brands, different fits.”

I grunted in frustration as we both made our way to the changing rooms.

In the changing room, I pulled off my sweater and my current bra. At this point in my Guild membership, putting on a bra was starting to feel natural. Clasping the new bra around my waist, I rotated it, and pulled it up. Then I wrangled my substantial boobs into the cups. Finally, I slid my arms through the straps. It fit comfortably around my body, but the straps were way too tight. I attempted to contort my arms to adjust them, but I wound up frustrated instead.

“Need any help?” I heard Kaylee ask.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I can’t get the straps—”

A knock came on the changing room door. “Can I come in?” Kaylee asked.

“Umm, sure,” I said, not at all sure about the etiquette of girls’ changing rooms. I certainly couldn’t picture Daniel sharing a changing room with another guy.

I watched through the mirror as Kaylee opened the door a smidge and squeezed through, before shutting it behind her.

“Could you please help with these bra straps?” Stepping behind me, she adjusted the straps to loosen them across my shoulders. 

“How’s that?”

“That’s so much better, thank you,” I replied, twisting my body from side to side to admire the bra from multiple angles. I liked the feel of the cups. The support. The cleavage it created. 

Kaylee moved beside me so we were both visible in the mirror. She, too, was wearing her new bra. “What do you think?” she asked me.

She didn’t fill it out nearly as much as I did, but I liked it even better on her. “That looks gorgeous on you.”

“Not on me. On you, silly!”

“Oh! Right. It’s cute and comfortable,” I said, twirling a bit and running my hands over the cups. Suddenly a different feeling washed over me. I was buying this. Sure, it was with Sydney’s parents' money, but I was buying this bra. This will be my bra. My first bra.

“Let’s get them!” she squealed.

* * *

By the time we got out of the store, it was raining. We made a mad dash with our shopping bags to Kaylee’s car, and were fairly soaked by the time we got in and slammed the doors.

“Where to?” Kaylee asked. “My place or yours?”

“It doesn’t matter to me,” I replied. “I just need to be home before two so I can get to my meeting.”

“I’ll show you my apartment then,” Kaylee grinned mischievously.

She drove to her apartment, which was near the coffee shop, but a good distance away from campus. It was still pouring, so again, we had to run from the car to her apartment. She let out a girlish scream as the rain drenched us.

Whatever parts of us that were still dry got soaked as she searched for her key. Unlocking the door, she lunged into the apartment. “Don’t mind the mess.”

It was just as small as mine. A common area containing a kitchenette and a living room with a single bedroom and bathroom attached. It was tidy and I wasn’t sure what “mess” she was referring to. There was a lack of sitting furniture but plenty of bookshelves, each overflowing with books.

My soaking wet clothes plus the cool air of Kaylee’s apartment sent me into a teeth-rattling shiver. I wanted to make a joke about whether or not her job paid her enough to turn on the heat, but I remained silent as I stood there shivering.

“I’m sorry about the rain!” Kaylee said. She too was drenched, her sweater clinging tightly to her body. “We should get these wet clothes off,” she said, pulling her arms out of her flannel, then pulling the crop top over her head and hanging both on the back of a kitchen chair to dry.

“Agreed,” I blushed, kicking off my wet shoes. Then I pulled off my sweater while walking around the living space and eyeing the books to hide my temporary embarrassment.

She stopped at an old thermostat, adjusted it, and disappeared into her bedroom with her shopping bag. 

A loud groan emanated from the heating system and a light tickle of warm air graced my skin.

Kaylee returned moments later wearing a bath towel over her shoulders. She handed me a folded up one.

“Thank you,” I said, wrapping the towel around my shoulders like a cape.

Kaylee shivered.

I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms tightly around her, pressing myself in close to share our body heat. “You must be freezing.”

“Kinda.” Kaylee took a shuddering breath, and I could sense she was ready to say something she’d been holding back. “Sydney, I um... brought you here so I couldn’t run away this time.”

“Run away?”

“I’m so nervous right now.” Her voice was strained, and her body trembled.

“Kaylee, there’s nothing to be nervous about.”

“I really like you.”

“I feel the same about you.”

“Even if I’m not as experienced as you are?”

“Experienced?” I cocked my head. “I’m not sure what you mean?”

“You’re in college,” she said. “I’m not.” She raised her hand, little finger curled inward. “You’ve lived as six people.” She curled another finger. “Six attractive people.” Another finger. “And I’ll bet you’ve had a lot more experience in bed.” The rest of her fingers. All that was left was a fist. “I’m not sure how I can compete with that.” She shrugged, the corner of her lips tilting downwards. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Kaylee, stop,” I said, turning her around and looking up into her eyes. “There is no one - and I mean no one - I want to be with right now but you. Hell, I don’t even want to be anyone else.” My grip on her shoulders tightened. “There’s no way you could disappoint me.”

“I know,” she said, “and I feel the same way. But my anxieties are going a million miles per minute. I’m not sure if—”

“Stop.” I placed a finger across her lips. “And kiss me.” I tilted my head, leaned into her. She met me halfway. Our lips touched.

This wasn’t the first time we made out, but this time it felt different. Momentarily, her lips were firm and unyielding. Then she sighed, and her lips softened. We wrapped our arms around each other, our towels falling to the ground, and for a time there was nothing but the heat of our bodies and the sounds we made together.

We paused to catch our breaths, our foreheads pressed together. She was all smiles and I could feel her labored breath hot against my face.

Stepping back, she locked her green eyes onto mine and I could see the yearning in them as she bit her bottom lip and gave me a timid smile. Reaching behind her back, she unhooked the clasps of her bra, and it slackened, clinging loosely to her body. “Sydney,” she whispered.

My breath caught in my throat.

“I’m ready.”

Running my fingers up her arms, I slid the straps off her shoulders and the bra fell away from her body and onto the floor. 

This time I wasn’t shy about checking her out. Her breasts were pert and perky, the freckles from her chest giving way to pale skin below. Still damp from the rain and chilled by the cold air of the apartment, her nipples stood erect. Goosebumps rose in a ring around her areolas, and her breasts gleamed in the warm light of the apartment. They were perfect.

I returned her gaze, now starting to smoulder, and began to gently caress her breasts with my warm hands. Her eyes fluttered closed, her head tilting upward as she leaned into me. My thumbs trailed lazy circles around her nipples, the tips of my fingernails leaving subtle white marks that appeared and quickly faded. I heard her breath quicken, and a flush spread across her chest as she arched her back and thrust herself into my hands. 

“Sydney… I want—”

“Yes?”

She bit her lip. I knew what she wanted.

Wasting no time, I lowered my lips to her breasts, trailing a series of kisses along their undersides. Breathing warm, heavy breath upon her nipples, I took one of them into my mouth, and then the other, sucking and running eager circles around them with my tongue. She gasped, a pleasurable moan escaping her lips, and she held me tightly as her legs grew weak.

I could feel her weight pulling me down so I stopped and looked at her. 

Her eyes were aflame and her breathing erratic.

“We should go to your room,” I said, the tremble in my voice hinting at question and desire in equal measure.

“Yes,” she agreed. She wobbled unsteadily before regaining control of her legs, then took my hand and led me into her bedroom.

Her room was right off the living room. More bookshelves lined the room, and the lesbian romance novel we both purchased was sitting prominently on her nightstand next to her copy of The Fated Crown. 

She sat down nervously at the foot of her bed. Her eyes tracked across my body, starting at my legs, then up my hips, waist, shoulders, and followed my long blonde locks to where the ends of them came to rest.

I sidled up in front of her, stepping between her legs. “Now it’s your turn.” I smirked, slowly and deliberately looking down at my bra.

Her eyes went wide, and she gulped and nodded. Reaching her arms up and behind me, she attempted to undo the clasps. After some fiddling, the last hook came undone, and she pulled the bra down off my body and let it fall to the floor.

“It’s funny,” she said. “I’ve removed my own bras countless times, but this is the first time I’ve removed someone else’s. It’s way harder than it looks.” Her eyes drifted down to my breasts. “Also, like… wow!”

I burst into laughter at her wide-eyed appreciation. Sliding my hands over my boobs, I hoisted them upwards and mashed them lewdly. Flesh overflowed my fingers, and it looked so absurd that I couldn’t help but jiggle them for her. She laughed back, and soon we were both overcome with giggles.

“Well, Kaylee, you did great at removing my bra,” I said, wiping away a tear, and taking a couple deep breaths to recover myself. “But now it’s time for your reward for a job well-done,” I said, taking her hands and placing them on top of my boobs. They looked comically small in comparison.

She gave them a few tentative squeezes and then one firm one. “Good grief, how big are these ladies again?”

“Umm…” I blushed, “I think the bra I bought today was a 36F?”

“Dang. I’d be jealous, but they seem like such fun play toys,” she grinned, pausing, and then deciding to give them a few more mischievous squeezes in appreciation.

I looked down and could see the delight on her face, the anxiety of earlier having melted away. “They are,” I agreed, giving her a slow wink. “But remember, you have to turn your toys on first.”

“Oh, is that so?” she wondered, tilting her head left and right while examining them. “Ah-ha! I think I found their power buttons,” she said, immediately giving both of my nipples a sharp pinch.

“Eep!” I squealed, jumping a couple inches into the air. Tangled in her legs, I stumbled forward onto the bed, knocking her backwards, and pinning her under my arms. My blonde hair cascaded downward, forming a canopy over our faces.

She looked up at me, her face turning a bright crimson.

“Hello there,” I said, giving her a broad, toothy grin.

“Hi there cuti—,” she started, interrupted by my lips pressing into hers.

Surprise flared across her face, her eyes wide and then half-lidded, and she kissed me back with equal intensity. Our tongues met, a playful dance where they greeted each other, left to explore the others’ lips, and returned to find themselves together once again. I bit her lip, a soft moan escaping her as I tugged on it, pulling my head away.

“Wh- why’d you stop?” she asked.

“I was wondering if you could maybe, uhh, scooch back a bit,” I said, nodding towards the pillows at the head of her bed.

“Maaaaaaybe,” she purred, her hips shimmying back and forth as she slid backwards across the bed. She lifted her head and set it on her pillow, before running her hands behind her head and splaying her hair out invitingly.

It may have been the most exquisite sight I’ve ever seen. On my knees, I crawled towards her, my breasts swaying pendulously beneath me. Inch by inch, agonizingly slow, with my eyes never leaving hers. Up the bed, between her legs, then climbing over them and straddling her waist. I leaned over, and whispered in her ear, “Still ready?”

She nodded, at first slightly, and then again with more enthusiasm.

I gave her a kiss on her cheek, almost chaste, and murmured, with breath hot against her ear, “Kaylee. Relax.” My tongue ran a slow trail along the edge of her ear and I could feel her shiver between my legs.

Straightening back up, I took a moment to study her. Arms bent, her hands lay by her head, fists loosely clenched, the soft pale undersides of her arms giving way to the freckles atop them. Strawberry blonde hair fanned out like flames against the flaxen color of her bed sheets. Her eyes were closed and her body positively thrummed with anticipation.

“You’re so beautiful,” I said softly, and in the quiet of the bedroom I could hear her breath hitch.

I laid my cold hands on her warm abdomen, and she hissed, arching her back before settling back into the bed. Sweeping them to her waist, then downwards, the tips of my fingers grazing the crest of her hips. Inwards, the palms of my hand trailing the scratchy edge of her jeans. And upwards, between her breasts and, with the slightest of touches, along them.

Her nipples stood erect and I traced indolent circles around them. She moaned, a low, soft sound, heavy with contentment.

Her eyes fluttered open. “You make me feel like I’m living through one of those books.”

“Which books?” I asked, curiosity rising.

“Romance novels.” She blushed. “Like the one we bought together. The way authors describe their characters being caressed, their bodies worshipped.”

“Is that what you want?” I asked. “Gentleness? Like your romance novels?”

“Not every time.” She bit her lip. “But, maybe this time?”

“I would love to. Now close your eyes and be my altar.”

She did.

I laid myself gently on top of her, breast to breast, closing my own eyes to feel the rise and fall of her breath. Then a kiss to her lips, so brief. She tried to kiss me back but I pulled away, kissing her chin, along her jaw, lingering with a slow kiss just below her ear.

A few kisses along her neck. Then I crawled backwards, our bodies parallel, savoring the friction between them, and closing her thighs as my legs forced them together. Our mounds met, and I rubbed myself against her. I felt on fire, burning up, a slick wetness between my legs. I needed more, was hungry for more. Bearing down, firm pressure, and a desperate moan escaped from me.

My moan trailing off, and I pushed myself vertical, a juddering motion, with my hands on her hips. Curling my fingers under the hem of her jeans, I slid them inwards, stopping to rest with my thumbs on her belt buckle. I looked upwards and she nodded, her lower lip caught between her teeth.

Pulling upwards on her belt strap, I unhooked the buckle and pulled the strap through. Then, the button of her jeans and dragged her zipper downwards. She felt warm beneath my hands, like a furnace. I clambered backwards off the bed, and she raised her hips, allowing me to tug the loose jeans off her hips and onto the floor. She looked stunning, rubbing her legs together, making barely-restrained upward thrusts with her hips, naked but for her panties.

They were forest green with white lace trim and a little keyhole in the shape of a heart, and I instantly knew that she had worn them for me. Even in the dim light of the room, it was apparent how wet they were.

Climbing back onto the bed, I spread her legs apart. Then, I ran a finger upwards, between where her lips met, and her whole body shuddered. Her panties clung to her wetness, a visible outline of her sex, and I was overcome with a craving to taste her, to pleasure her.

I hooked my fingers under the band of her panties, and she lifted her hips again. I was eager, so eager, but forced myself to take it slowly. I pulled the band over her bottom, inching them downwards, but still they held to her wetness. Finally, at long last, they separated, and Kaylee exhaled.

I tugged them down her leg, over her toes, and they tumbled to the floor. I noticed then that her toenails were painted a matching green and I flushed with pleasure knowing Kaylee planned for me to discover such a detail.

Kissing around her ankle, I slowly trailed up her calf, then onto the back of her knee. The earthy scent of her arousal surrounded me. Inhaling deeply, I took a moment to savor her, and felt myself grow ever wetter.

Up her thighs, and now I was so close I could feel the heat of her sex against my face. Neatly-trimmed copper curls framed her sex, matted from her wetness. I ran my hand over them, feeling their coarse texture on the tips of my fingers.

Wanting to feel them with my lips, I kissed along on their edges, into the crook where her thigh met her mound. Pulling back, I made to move to the other side but paused to hover over her. Exhaling, hot deep breath across her, and she whimpered. Then to the other side, one, two, three long kisses. Back and forth, more kisses, more exhalations, and each time her whimpers grew louder.

I stopped. Holding myself over her, hot breath, seconds ticking by. Her mewling grew louder, and still I waited. Breath in, the smell of her, breath out, a gentle torture.

Her hips thrust and I attack her with my tongue. Sucking, licking, first wildly, then with intention. She’s hot, and tangy, and so wet.

Words tumble from Kaylee, incoherent to me. My world is nothing but the lapping of my tongue on her labia, her curls tickling my nose, my fingers digging into her thighs. Her folds in my mouth, a gentle tug, and then letting them go. She growled and her hands clenched the bedsheets.

Pulling away, I wet my fingers in my mouth. But there was no need: a couple seconds of probing her entrance and my fingers were slick with her juices. And then I was inside her, one finger, then two, and I curled them upwards. She arched her back, pressing down against my fingers.

I slid them out a bit, then back into her. More sounds. Louder this time. With each thrust, I could see the muscles of her stomach clenching. I curled upwards again, holding them still, and brought my face back down to her.

This time I didn’t bother with the kissing, the tasting, the hot breath, or gentle caresses. She was too close for that. Firm pressure. Left and right, up and down, my tongue moved swiftly, lashing her clit.

Her hands clawed at my shoulders, then she reached for my hair, grabbing tight fistfuls of it.

“Sydney, ohhh my God, pleeeeas—”

I stopped tonguing her for a moment.

“No no nonono, don’t stop, Syd—”

The moment ended. No more stopping. Left and right, flicking and darting, my fingers inside her.

Her back arched, and suddenly she was still, silent. Until she wasn’t.

“I’m gonn—,” she wailed, and then her body fell back to the bed and she came for me. Convulsions wracked her body, and I slowed, rewarding myself with little spasms whenever I flicked her clit. She let out a deep, contented sigh, and I withdrew my fingers and I sat up to look at her.

Kaylee laid there, flexing her feet back and forth, still twitching from the pleasant little aftershocks running through her.

Wiping her juices off my face, I licked my hands and lips clean, inhaling the last lingering scent of her musk. Then I crawled up the bed and laid next to her, nuzzled her shoulder and ran slow sweeps of my hand across her abdomen.

She rolled on her side to face me. “Sydney,” she murmured, slurring my name a bit, as if trying to remember how to use her words. “That was… wonderful.”

Leaning in, I gave her a light kiss on the corner of her mouth. “It was.” I wanted to say more, but my thoughts were jumbled with the intensity of the emotions I felt for her in that moment.

A pained expression crossed her face. “Did you know that was the first time anyone has ever done that to me?”

I tilted my head, surprised. “Really?”

“Really. None of the guys I dated ever wanted to.”

“Their loss,” I scowled.

She giggled. “Don’t worry about it. Turns out I’m loving the perks of having a girlfriend.” She kissed my forehead, and we sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

Wiggling, Kaylee propped herself up on the head of the bed, looking lost in thought. “Hey D, with all that time you’ve spent in the girls’ bodies, have you ever… masturbated as them? Or would that feel too weird?”

My face flushed, and I could feel the tips of my ears burning. “I- I tried a couple times. But I- I couldn’t make it work,” I stuttered, gesturing vaguely towards the lower half of my body, “O- only when someone else was touching me.” I was so embarrassed. I wanted to crawl under the bed sheets and hide.

“Aww, D, I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” she said, running her fingers through my hair. “It’s hard enough to figure it out when it’s your own body, I can’t imagine what it would be like in a brand new body every week.” A wicked grin crossed her face. “Can I… can I teach you?”

“Teach me?” I echoed, not entirely sure I heard correctly.

“Yes! I’ll give you some Kaylee pro tips. It’ll be fun!” Her grin grew even wider, and she repeated my lower-body gesture. “And we’ll see if we can make this all work together."

Kaylee sat up straight against the headboard. “Come over here,” she instructed. Spreading her legs, she gave the bed in front of her a couple pats. 

Scooting over, I wriggled between her legs, my back pressed against her chest.

“First thing’s first,” she said, excitement in her voice. “These things have got to go.” She picked at the hem of my leggings, snapping it against me.

“Yes ma’am,” I giggled. Lifting my butt off the bed, I tugged my leggings over my ass down to my calves, and fluttering my feet until one final kick sent them flying over the edge of the bed.

While I was distracted, Kaylee slid her hand down my abdomen and rested it between my legs. “Oh my,” she purred, amusement in her voice, “looks like somebody got awfully excited earlier.”

My belly was filled with an embarrassing flush, but, so was another area below.

“Sadly, as cute as these undies are,” she said, running a finger along their damp center, “I’m afraid they also have to go.” This time she removed them herself, sliding them down to my knees.

As soon as she did, I felt the cold air of the room against my wetness. A shiver ran up my spine, my body responding by getting warmer, wetter.

“Are you ready for your first lesson?” she asked.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Let’s start by touching yourself. Don’t hurry, there’s no rush. Just you and your body, learning from each other.”

She moved my hand downward and set it between my legs. Resting her fingers on top of mine, she guided my fingers in slow circles around my clit.

Maintaining the tempo she showed me, I rubbed myself in slow clockwise circles. Zoning out a bit, I tried to focus on the sensations: an electric tingling, the rough texture of my pubic hair, the radiating heat of my body.

“Once you’ve warmed yourself up a bit, spread your legs. Take a finger or two, slide them down, into your body, and feel how wet you are. Explore yourself.”

Opening my legs, I curled a couple fingers, and entered myself. I was so wet. I withdrew my fingers slowly, friction against my opening, and hummed with pleasure. Slick with my juices, I ran my fingers up through my labia, then down, massaging them between my fingers. Then I returned to my clit, resuming the motion she had taught me.

“Perfect. While you keep doing that, it’s time for your next lesson. I don’t know what it’s like in a male body, but at least for me it helps to touch my whole body.” She ran her hands along the side of my body, over my hips, then down and up the inside of my thighs.

A surge of warmth in my core, and my fingers grew ever slicker. I started to move them faster, but Kaylee grabbed my hands, and set them on my breasts.

“Remember, no rushing. This is about learning your body, not winning a race. Now I want you to caress yourself - slowly.”

I did as I was told. Light touches on the sides of my breasts, then underneath. I slid my hands over their tops, and my body twitched as each finger tugged an erect nipple as they passed over them.

“And don’t forget you can do this,” she grinned, giving both nipples a forceful pinch.

My eyes went wide. Pain exploded within me. My back arched, my body on fire, and then fell I back into her body with ragged gasps. I saw stars.

“Good girl, you’re doing great,” she cooed.

She took my hand and set it back down onto my clit, the circular motions of her hand indicating I should resume my pleasuring.

I didn’t need any encouragement. I’d never been more turned on in my life.

“And now for the most important lesson. What’s happening up here,” she said, tapping my head, “is at least as important as what’s happening down there. There’s a reason why I have all these romance novels, after all.”

I did my best to acknowledge her, but all that came out were a series of incomprehensible grunts.

“I’m sure you’ll get well-acquainted with my books later, but for now we’ll use your imagination. Are you ready?”

Not trusting my voice anymore, I nodded.

“I want you to close your eyes and imagine the two of us. We’re standing alone in a study, surrounded by bookshelves, books from floor to ceiling. Our hands meet, and you stare into my eyes as candlelight flickers across my face.”

Kaylee paused, and the only sound was that of my wet fingers circling.

“As you stare into my eyes, you see the burning desire growing within them. I need you so badly. Without warning, I surge forward, slamming you into the bookshelf.” She grabs my shoulders, and I startle, almost yelping but it comes out as a squeak.

“My hands are all over you, touching, groping. Our lips meet, tongues dancing, and I bite you so hard you taste blood in your mouth.”

I’m gasping, barely able to breathe, the taste of iron somehow on my tongue.

“We’re desperate. And needy. There’s no time. We rip each other’s clothing off - buttons popping, seams tearing, tatters of silk and lace falling to the floor.”

She digs her fingernails into my hips, then drags them forcefully up my ribs. I hiss and writhe, and my fingers move faster and faster. 

“Naked, sweaty, bosoms heaving, and we’re clawing frantically at each other. Pushed back into the wall, our breasts, our bodies, pressed against each other.”

My breath becomes increasingly frenzied, and something rises within me.

“My fingers curl and I’m inside you. You slump against the wall and scream my name out loud.” Breath, hot against my ear, and Kaylee whispers to me, “I’d really like you to come for me, Sydney.”

I explode, screaming her name, wave after wave of pleasure coursing through my body. Kaylee clenches me tight in her arms and thighs, and I twist and turn and writhe against her. Pulses, seemingly without end, and then suddenly everything crests and I collapse into her.

Opening my eyes, the room slowly comes into focus. Not ready to talk, I turn sideways, laying my head against her chest and listening to her heart beat.

Kaylee looked down at me tenderly, a contented look on her face. I curled my knees up and she stroked my hair and cuddled with me until I was ready to talk again.

“I wish I could stay here all day,” I sighed.

“I wish you could too,” she said, giving me a gentle squeeze. “I have to work this evening.”

“And I have my Guild meeting in…” I sat up to look at the time. My eyes got wide as I realized we were out of time. “Twenty minutes!”

Chapter 25

I arrived at the Guild meeting out of breath with a minute to spare. Morgan gave me a knowing smirk. Embarrassed, I responded with a sheepish wave as I took my seat.

As Antonio banged the gavel to start the meeting, Jasmine raised her hand.

“Jasmine?” Antonio said.

“Motion to postpone old business and start with new business.”

“Seconded,” Gabriel added.

“All those in favor?” Antonio asked, to a chorus of ‘ayes.’

“Motion passes,” Antonio announced. “We’ll start with New Business before getting into Old. What do we have for New Business?” He glanced at Jasmine.

Jasmine stood up. “I’ve started dating Lauren. I’d like to date her as my exclusive girlfriend.”

There were some happy cheers from the group.

“It’s about damn time,” Morgan said.

“Procedure calls that we need to confirm with J,” Antonio said.

“I’m J and I see no problem with that,” Daniel remarked.

“Whatever happened to anonymity?” Antonio complained.

Gabriel sighed in annoyance, “Can’t we just have a little fun for a change and chill with the formality?”

“Yeah, only a few of us have swapped since last week’s reset,” Daniel added. “We all know who we are.”

“You put me in charge to bring order to chaos,” Antonio reminded the group.

Gabriel chuckled, “Since I’m Robert, can we suspend Robert's Rules of Order?”

“Well, you’re not Robert anymore are you?” Antonio shot back with a smirk.

“Let’s just get on with it,” Jasmine said.

“OK, then. Back to our formality,” Antonio said, opening up his bag. “Let me get some paper—”

“I move to allow Jasmine to exclusively date Lauren by unanimous consent,” Daniel stated.

I saw an opportunity to participate in our casual mutiny of Antonio. “Seconded,” I said, smiling.

Antonio chuckled and shrugged his shoulders and closed his bag. “Motion passes. Congrats, Jasmine.”

Jasmine smiled, blushed, then sat back down.

“Other new business?” Antonio asked.

Daniel stood up. “Things with Kristy are going well. Move for Daniel to exclusively date her.”

Antonio chuckled again. “Y’all have been busy this week.”

“Seconded,” Jasmine said.

I smiled. I’m truly happy for Daniel. I’d spent my entire adolescence hopelessly single, but in the weeks since being in the Guild, both Daniel and I had found someone we really clicked with. That realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Maybe I was never meant to be Daniel. I was meant to be someone else. I don’t feel like Daniel anymore, so I’m not going to stand in the way of this happiness. I like Kristy for him. But she’s not Kaylee. Kaylee. God, I can’t wait to see her again. My hand grazed against my thigh under the table and memories from this afternoon resurfaced.

“D?” Antonio said, breaking my reverie. He was looking around, pretending I could’ve been in anyone but Sydney. Everyone else was staring directly at me.

“Oh, sorry,” I said. “What was that?”

“You have to be OK with Daniel and Kristy.”

“Right,” I said, remembering what we were talking about. How is that worded - oh, right. “I’m D and I endorse this. I move to allow Daniel to exclusively date Kristy by unanimous consent.” 

As I said that, it occurred to me I should do the same thing with Kaylee. Of course, I don’t want it to be the same. Jasmine and Daniel’s relationships with Lauren and Kristy will be treated like Antonio’s relationship with James. Therefore mine - or rather Sydney’s relationship with Kaylee would be similar. Kaylee will be dating Sydney - and only Sydney. That means - I took a long swallow - when I’m not Sydney I’ll have to watch as someone else is dating my girlfriend.

“Seconded,” Gabriel added.

“Motion passes,” Antonio announced. “Congrats, Daniel. Other new business?”

I had to bring up Kaylee. And I had to bring up my desire to exclusively date her. I stood up with a big smile on my face. “I have another relationship to add.”

“Seriously?” Antonio asked. “Sorry. That was unprofessional of the chair… Sydney, you have the floor.”

“I’ve started dating this girl from the coffee shop I go to. Kaylee.”

“Kaylee’s a cutie you guys,” Morgan chimed in. “You are all gonna love her!”

“I’m so happy for you,” Jasmine said. “Sydney’s been single for a long time.”

Daniel announced, “Move to allow Sydney to exclusively date Kaylee by—” 

“Wait!” I interrupted. Everyone looked at me. “I want to date Kaylee. Me. D. Not Sydney.” I cringed at how selfish that sounded.

There was silence as everyone looked around at each other.

“We haven’t done it that way before,” Antonio said, scratching his head.

“How would that work exactly?” Morgan asked. “Kaylee dates six different people?”

“Yeah - like James - but reversed,” I explained.

“Does that mean…” Antonio surmised, “that Kaylee knows about us?”

“She does,” I admitted.

Antonio groaned in judgement.

“Oh, Antonio, don’t you dare,” Gabriel admonished. “You were allowed to tell James.” 

“I know, I know,” Antonio replied. “Do you trust Kaylee? How long have you known her?”

“I do,” I asserted. “Two weeks.”

“A whole two weeks,” Antonio echoed, rolling his eyes.

“Kaylee’s cool,” Gabriel said. “I can vouch for her too.”

“The problem with Kaylee dating D and not Sydney,” Morgan argued, “is what happens if D is Jasmine or Daniel? We just voted to take them off the market.”

I was about to say, “Then I won’t be Jasmine or Daniel anymore,” but realized that would cause more drama. “If I’m someone not single, I’ll just abstain from doing anything with Kaylee that would constitute cheating.”

“And if Lauren, Kristy, or James asks, ‘Who is this Kaylee you’re hanging out with?’” Morgan probed a little deeper.

“Then I’ll explain she’s just a friend,” I responded. “Kaylee would understand the arrangement. I can even introduce them all.”

“I dunno, D,” Morgan expressed her doubt.

“I don’t want to say no,” Antonio said. “D obviously likes Kaylee. But Morgan brings up valid concerns. Anyone have other thoughts?”

“I can predict what happens if only Sydney can date Kaylee,” Jasmine said.

“I know,” Morgan replied. “I’m thinking that too. I just want to make sure we all know what we’re getting into.”

“How about we allow this on a trial basis?” Gabriel suggested.

There were nods.

“But D has to swap with everyone and be with Kaylee for them to prove they can both handle this,” Morgan added.

I bit my lip at that last suggestion. I didn’t necessarily like it, but at the same time that is what I was asking for.

“Let’s bring this to a vote,” Jasmine suggested.

“Alright, all for allowing D to date Kaylee regardless—”

Gabriel interrupted, “Motion for unanimous—”

“No!” Antonio responded sharply. “I want everyone to vote. Raise your hands for allowing D to date Kaylee regardless of body on a trial basis. The term of the trial is that D has to spend time with Kaylee in all six bodies.”

Everyone raised their hands.

“Motion passes,” Antonio announced. “Any other new business?”

Silence.

“Moving on to Old Business. Aiden and Ella. When we last tabled this discussion we were stuck on whether or not to ask them if they want to switch back.”

“I think we were stuck on how to ask them,” Morgan corrected.

“I have an idea,” Daniel offered. “I’ve been thinking about this since last week. We need to ask them, but we don’t want to out ourselves. How about an anonymous note?”

“If it’s anonymous, how do they reply?” Gabriel asked.

“They reply in public. In code. Something only we’d recognize, but anyone else would ignore.”

We all listened.

“Imagine we slip them a note,” Daniel continued. “If you want to swap back - do this inconspicuous thing in public that only we’d notice.”

“What kind of inconspicuous message do you have in mind?” Jasmine asked.

“Scribbling on a wall in a bathroom stall?” Gabriel suggested.

“Configuring furniture in the student union?” Morgan proposed.

“How about an email from an anonymous account,” I countered.

“I was thinking about a coded system of flyers on a bulletin board, but Sydney’s idea is more practical.” Daniel said.

“A burner email address,” Jasmine nodded. “I dig it.”

“I like it,” Morgan said. “It satisfies all of my concerns.”

“Except one,” Antonio interjected. “What if Aiden and Ella want different things?”

“You mean if one wants to swap back but the other doesn’t?” Morgan asked.

I hung my head, deeply ashamed over the mess I’d created.

“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” Daniel countered. “What other choice do we have?”

After a few seconds of nods from the group, Antonio asked, “All in favor of this anonymous email plan, say ‘aye’?”

“Aye,” everyone said.

“Nays?”

Nobody.

“Plan passes. Let’s not waste any more time on getting this done - it’s already been two weeks since Halloween. Who wants to write the email?”

“I’ll write it,” I volunteered, eager for the opportunity to fix my mistake.

“Great,” Antonio confirmed. “Is there any other business?”

Nobody responded. 

“Anyone want to swap before we leave?” he asked.

Daniel raised his hand. “I’d like to go back to Gabe now.”

“Sure,” Gabriel replied.

“I’m open to swapping with anyone,” Morgan offered.

Jasmine shook her head.

Morgan looked at me. 

I answered, “Well, I have to be everyone as part of my trial, so I may as well. I can still write the emails as Morgan.”

We all agreed.

“Meeting adjourned,” Antonio said, banging the gavel.

* * *

I haven’t been Morgan since Halloween. Being her was a homecoming of sorts. But I didn’t feel any different from being Sydney. Now that I knew that I preferred being a woman and that I was never meant to be Daniel, I was expecting more with each new swap. More epiphanies. Some kind of sign as to what kind of woman I should be. But there wasn’t any. What does that mean? If anything?

After swapping, I immediately texted Kaylee the news. That I, as D, am allowed to date her regardless of whose body I’m in. And that I was going to be Morgan for a little bit. She had to work Sunday night, so we agreed to meet up Monday afternoon.

The next thing I did with my time as Morgan was compose the emails to Aiden and Ella. I felt responsible for the whole situation, and I needed to be part of the solution.

I created a new Yahoo email address, using the ISBN of romance novel Kaylee and I will be reading. I also got Aiden and Ella’s email addresses. Campus email addresses aren’t public, but with both of them being active in their Greek organizations, it was fairly easy to find their personal email addresses.

I rewrote the draft several times, making corrections, before finally reading it one last time:

From: D1250841003@yahoo.com
BCC: DeltaPiThella@gmail.com, KappaPres2024@gmail.com

We know what happened to you on Halloween.

We know that you and your friend swapped bodies.

We know these past two weeks have been difficult for you.

We have the power to swap you back into your original bodies, but only if you agree to it. Please reply and let us know whether or not you would prefer to be returned to your original body.

As you can imagine, because of this powerful ability, we must remain anonymous. Do not attempt to find us.

I clicked send.

Around 11 PM, I got a call from Kaylee.

“Hello?” I answered, laying down on my bed with a big smile on my face.

“Heeeeeey cutie,” she said.

“Are you just saying that because I’m Morgan now?” I joked.

“Well, you’re cute as Sydney too. So your text said you’re allowed to date me as D rather than Sydney. How does that work?”

“Well, it’s a trial. During which, I will swap into all six of us and me and you will hang out. We need to prove that we can do it without affecting the lives of the Guild members who aren’t single.”

“How long is this trial?”

“It’s not a matter of time. I need to be all six people with you. I decided to not delay and Morgan was available. They want me to prove that we can make this work.”

“Make what work? Our relationship? I never had to ask permission to date anyone before.”

“Well I’m not just one person. And three of the six Guild members aren’t single. I have to prove that we can still date while being all six Guild members.”

“If you say so.”

She sounded skeptical, so I changed the subject. “How was work?”

Kaylee sighed. “They had me waiting tables again. It sucks because I’m not 21 yet, I can’t serve alcohol, and some patrons tip less because of it. So, I make server wages, but with lower tips.”

“That sucks.”

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too. When are you working tomorrow?”

“My shift doesn’t start until six. When do you get off class?”

“Early.”

“Can I come over tomorrow before work?”

“Absolutely. Do you remember where I live?”

“R drove me that night, but I remember. Will Jasmine be home?”

“Nope. We’ll have the apartment all to ourselves.”

“We’d be alone? By ourselves? Oh my, what could we possibly do to pass the time?” she teased.

We both giggled.

“Then it’s a date,” I announced.

“I can’t wait… Morgan.”

* * *

I awoke on Monday morning to find there were no replies from either E or A2. I imagine they’re doing their due diligence to try to figure out who I am and whether my email is legit.

All morning, I daydreamed about Kaylee. This must’ve been the longest we’ve been apart in days. She texted me to tell me that she'll be over around 2 PM. So now I found myself counting down the hours.

When I finally got home, I made sure our apartment was tidy. I was actually grateful the weekly Lauren rendezvous was no more, as I could replace that slot in my schedule with Kaylee’s visit.

Right on time, there was a knock at the door.

I opened it for Kaylee.

She stepped through the door, standing close and smiling. “Hi!”

“Hi,” I said, as we slowly kissed each other.

She giggled. “This is crazy. I’m kissing Morgan.”

I giggled with her. Yes, it is crazy.

“Wanna know what’s crazier?” Kaylee teased.

“What?”

“I can kinda tell that it’s you in there.”

“Really?”

“The way you look at me. You glow. It sends warm feelings through me.”

“How does the real Morgan look at you?”

“Was that the real M Saturday night?”

“Yes, she was.”

“Umm… she looked at me all cocky and ready to pounce.”

“She was disappointed that I wanted to keep you all to myself.”

“I can believe that. Will… umm… she be upset if we… fool around?”

I giggled. “She’d be jealous, but I think she’d be more upset if we didn’t.”

Kaylee smirked. “Well, I would sure hate to disappoint Morgan.” She wrapped her arms around me and we tumbled onto the couch without our lips parting.

* * *

My next swap was going to be Antonio, but he said he had some important business to attend to on Tuesday afternoon. That meant I remained Morgan for another day.

On Tuesday evening, I got an email response from A2. 

“Who are you?” was all it said. 

I shook my head. Of course Aiden wouldn’t follow directions. “A friend,” I replied.

“Tell me who this is!!” he responded a few minutes later. 

I didn’t respond, frustrated that he wasn’t following directions and telling me if he wanted to swap back.

An hour later, one from E showed up. “We don’t know who you are, but we’re going to report you to the authorities for this awful prank!”

I closed my email program. They can’t really track me can they? Regardless, their nastiness earned them another day before I responded to either of them. 

I had more important things to attend to. Like the message from Antonio. 

“I’m ready when you are. Tonight or tomorrow morning?” he asked.

I responded, “Tonight is fine.”

“I’ll be right over,” he replied.

Ten minutes later he was at my apartment door.

“Hey, Antonio,” I greeted him.

“Hey, Morgan,” he smiled. “How’s things been going?”

“Not so great, to be honest. Aiden and Ella are being difficult.”

“Yeah, I predicted that. They’re pissed. And we waited three weeks before talking to them.”

“What should I do?”

“Keep reaching out to them. We can’t keep them like this.”

Guilt swelled up in me, “Antonio- I’m sorry again.”

He held up his hand. “It’s in the past. And you’ve served your time. It goes to show you why we have these rules. It sucks it had to happen again.”

“It’s happened before?” I asked, surprised.

“Before my time,” he frowned. “Jackson and Cherry were going around swapping with people to take tests for them. They waited to swap a few of them back until panic set in and there were threats to expose the Guild.”

“They- don’t sound like nice people.”

“Power corrupts. The original members were a close-knit D&D group. They hated each other when I showed up. It was important that S, G, and R recognized that and decided we needed rules and order.”

I nodded in silence. I really screwed up. Sure, I’d served my sentence, but that didn’t make the guilt go away. I just hope that Aiden and Ella come around to accepting my help. 

“Ready to swap?” he asked.

“I am,” I said, holding up the stone.

* * *

That night, I tried to take A’s advice and I made another effort to reach out to Aiden and Ella.

“I am a friend and I want to help you. Threatening me will not get any of us anywhere.”

I put them out of my mind and crawled into bed with the lesbian romance novel.

* * *

Wednesday was going to be a big test. I was Antonio, with plans to hang out with Kaylee after Guild study group. Not only that, I was going to introduce her to James.

To say I was a nervous wreck was an understatement. I told James about my trial run with a girlfriend who was tied to D and not my body. It was his idea to meet her. I agreed because it was easier to introduce Kaylee to James than to either Lauren or Kristy.

Of course, James being James meant that he wanted to put on his usual big production. We were both in the common kitchenette down the hall from my room. A bolognese sauce was simmering on the stove top and I was quickly cleaning up from all of the cooking prep. Various neighbors kept poking their head in to see what the aroma was.

A part of me wondered if James was jealous of Kaylee.

“Look at you,” my boyfriend said, “Tony, you’re so nervous.” 

“I’m not nervous.”

“You’re wiping the pattern off that plate.”

I looked down at the dish I was scrubbing. Was I scrubbing the same plate this whole time? I rinsed it and put it into the drying rack. “Well, it's not everyday you introduce your new girlfriend to your boyfriend.”

“You’re afraid I’m going to chase her away.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are a terrible liar, D.”

Before I knew it, Kaylee was texting me that she was here. “I’ll see you in the room.” I left the kitchenette and went down to the lobby to let her in.

This was the first time Kaylee met Antonio so when I opened the door for her I had to tell her it was me. “Hi, Kaylee.”

She cocked her head. “Antonio?”

“That’s me!” I winked, holding the door for her as she walked inside.

“You’re taller than I imagined.”

“For once, right,” I chuckled. “I feel like you tower over me when I’m Sydney.”

“So how’s this work?” she asked me as we walked toward my dorm room. “You’re a gay male, right?”

“Antonio is. But on the inside, I’m still D. My sexuality hasn’t changed.”

“But you have a boyfriend.”

“Antonio has a boyfriend,” I clarified. “His name is James. And he’s eager to meet you.”

“But you’re Antonio.”

I nodded. “Today.”

“So, your boyfriend - James. I’m eager to meet him too. Does this make us a temporary polycule while you’re Antonio?”

“Oh.. I… uh. I never thought of it that way.”

“It’s OK. This is new ground for both of us.”

I opened my dorm room door and let Kaylee walk in, following behind her. James was already setting up the food on my desk and dresser. “James, this is Kaylee.”

“Kaylee!” James exulted.

“Hi—” Kaylee started to say, before James pulled her into a bear hug.

“Didn’t D tell you? We hug around here.”

“I'm pleased to meet you,” she squeaked out.

“I’ve prepared an exquisite dinner for us. For appetizers, I made a nice garden salad and prosciutto-wrapped apple slices. For an entrée, we have pasta - rigatoni with my homemade bolognese sauce - and a side of butter garlic bread. As for refreshments, some cabernet sauvignon. The cab will bring out all of those flavors.”

“Fancy,” Kaylee gushed. “I didn’t know D’s boyfriend was such a talented chef.”

I wanted to correct her by having her call me Antonio, but I let it pass. “Shall we?” I asked, motioning to my desk, which was covered with a linen tablecloth. I escorted her and pulled out a chair for her.

“Thank you,” she said, sitting down.

When I sat down, James poured the red wine into each of our plastic wine glasses. He lifted it up, raising it towards the center of us. “To new friends.”

“To new friends,” Kaylee and I echoed, tapping against each other’s glasses.

James sat down and we started serving ourselves.

“So Kaylee,” James began. “Tell me more about you. Do you go to school?”

“Well, I’m not in college. I’m an aspiring author. I work at an Italian restaurant. Sometimes hosting, sometimes waiting tables.”

“I did not know you worked at an Italian restaurant,” he said, frowning at me. “I would’ve made a different cuisine."

“Oh, no, James,” she said, circling her fork above the food. “This is awesome. So much tastier than the bland red stuff my restaurant puts on their overcooked pasta.”

James beamed at the compliment. “You’re an aspiring author, huh? I happen to know a certain someone who is an avid reader.”

Both sets of eyes fell on me.

“I happen to know someone too,” she giggled.

“So,” James said in a serious tone, leaning in and waving his fork menacingly. “What are your intentions with my boyfriend?”

I nearly choked on my food. I’d gone over this with him, and his sudden jealousy made me second guess this whole thing.

Kaylee set her fork down and looked directly at James. “I’m going to steal him from you.”

James dropped his fork onto his plate and wiped his mouth with his napkin before tossing it at her. “Bitch.”

There was a moment of what felt like interminable silence before both Kaylee and James broke into grins and started cackling.

“I like you, Kaylee,” James said, picking his fork back up. “You’re going to get along nicely with everyone. A sense of humor is key in this wonderful, yet somehow messed-up, situation.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said.

“You guys had me,” I admitted.

“D, you’re so cute when you get flustered,” Kaylee remarked. 

“No matter what body you’re in,” James added.

“I’m glad you’re both getting a laugh at my expense,” I said, my eyes wide, a mock pout upon my face.

“You need to torture him at least once a day,” James said to Kaylee.

“Oh, I promise,” she agreed with a devious smile.

I rolled my eyes.

“Speaking of… odd relationships,” Kaylee said to James. “What’s it like dating six people?”

I chuckled and took a sip of my wine. “Guys, I’m right here.”

“Shh,” James said. “Let the girlfriends chat. It’s interesting, but technically I’m only dating one person - Antonio. It’s just that there are six different interpretations of Antonio, all trying to be the same. I am more interested in your relationships. You’re also dating six people.”

“Well, I’m dating D. There’s only one D.”

“Have you noticed D is different when they’re in a different body?”

I took another sip as I expected Kaylee to say, “No.”

“Yeah,” she said.

I nearly spit out my wine. “What?”

“You’re different when you’re Jasmine or Morgan - or even now as Antonio,” she explained.

“I am? I’m not trying to be.”

“It’s not a bad thing, I find it endearing. You’re more confident when you’re Morgan or Jasmine than you are when you’re Sydney.”

“Interesting,” James added. “I see things from the other direction. I find each of them acts just a little differently, D is more chaste than some of the others, but he’s still pretty adorable. So back to your original question. Me dating six versions of Tony wasn’t the plan. When A first joined the Guild he tried to dump me,” James admitted.

“Really?” Kaylee said, leaning on her hands. “What reason did he give?”

“Well, he said he loved me but didn’t want to hold me back.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said, “Tony, you ain’t holding me back. I’m an adult and I can make my own bad relationship decisions. I think what he was really worried about was that he would be spending time as five other people, and that he couldn’t devote the time needed to our relationship. He wouldn’t be able to properly role-play them while in a committed relationship with me. I get it.”

“I mean - that makes sense. How did you two not break up?”

“I think what neither of us expected was that the other five would work so relentlessly to pick up his slack.”

“Do you get jealous of him?”

James nodded. “Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“I mean- I did at first. But I told myself I have such a unique relationship, that I should treat it as such. This is a blessing and I feel love for these six people and I know deep down they feel the same for me.”

“Don’t you worry that they’re just role-playing that love?”

“No,” he said confidently. “Because they’re not. I can see it in their eyes. Occasionally when I interact with Jasmine or Morgan or Sydney or hell - even Gabe on the rare occasion I run into him - they treat me like they’re still Tony.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“Sorry, D, we’ll change the subject,” James said to me with a smirk that matched Kaylee’s.

“Thanks,” I said, taking another sip of wine. I chuckled. As I watched them enjoy each other’s company I started to relax. All of that stressing out for nothing.

* * *

After James left, Kaylee and I cuddled on the couch holding hands. There was a good silence for a few minutes. Despite talking about other things since dinner, I felt that Kaylee and James’s dinner conversation lingered.

Kaylee whispered to me. “D, am I holding you back?”

“What? Don’t be silly - no.”

“Sorry. Antonio.” she sighed, “I mean- look at me. I haven’t called you by your body’s name - the name I’m supposed to use - all evening.”

“It’s OK to call me D. And no, you’re not holding me back.”

“But you’ve got this awesome opportunity here. You can live six lives. I feel like I’m getting in the way of that.”

“That would be true if I was only allowed to date you as Sydney. Then I’d only be her, just so I could be with you. But now I can be with you as any of them.”

“Not really,” she disagreed. “For example, I can’t be with you right now. I mean… not intimately. I just met your boyfriend. If we were intimate now, wouldn’t that be like cheating on him?”

“I assured the rest of the Guild that you and I can handle this situation. I believe in us.”

“I believe in us too. I’m just worried about you.”

“Don’t worry about me.” I smiled. “I’m good as long as you’re around.” I wanted to kiss her, but she kept me at a distance. She wasn’t going to let me kiss her as Antonio.

* * *

When Kaylee left for the evening, I checked my anonymous email account. There was an email from E.

“Stop emailing us and leave us alone!” it read.

I considered her use of the word “us”. That implies they’re talking to each other and sharing our correspondences. At this point I really had no other choice but to leave them alone. I did have a suspicion they’d reach out to me when they were ready to take my offer seriously.

Chapter 26

Thursday, I swapped back with Morgan, as A had a bunch of things he needed to do with Antonio. So I welcomed the swap.

I informed him of Ella’s reply. He told me I was doing a good job, and to keep checking on them. They’d come around eventually.

I spent a good portion of my day while in class looking for the next swap of my trial. I knew it was too late to be Gabriel, so that was an automatic no. 

I was worried about being Jasmine so soon. One, I didn’t want to take Jasmine away from G, and two, I was worried about introducing Lauren and Kaylee. I know Lauren has a history of jealousy with Jasmine’s female relationships. I have no idea how I could rationalize introducing Lauren to Kaylee who didn’t even go to our school.

There was Daniel, but I honestly wasn’t ready to be him again so soon. 

All that was left was Sydney but she didn’t count for this trial since she’s where the relationship started.

I sighed. This trial is proving harder than I thought it would be. Half of the Guild is in committed relationships. A part of me wondered whether this was the point A and M were trying to make.

Being Morgan wasn’t all bad. I’d never seen Kaylee as thrilled as she was after we discovered Morgan’s drawer of toys, and got to demonstrate that she knew exactly how to use them. 

On Friday, I got a text from Chloe. I was confused for a moment, thinking she was texting me, D. But then I read her message.

“Hey Morgan, I was wondering if you were free this weekend?” the message read.

I didn’t respond right away, but I checked to see if there was any past correspondence, and yes, there was. It seemed that Morgan and Chloe had been talking for the past week. Some of it was very explicit. 

Good for them. Of course, I had no desire to spend time with Chloe when I could be spending it with Kaylee. But I was the one who set them up and didn’t want to get in their way. So, I made weekend plans with Chloe, and then on Friday I swapped with Morgan to be Sydney again. 

My trial seemed to have unceremoniously ground to a halt. I needed to find a way to be Jasmine, Daniel, and Gabriel soon, and each of them were proving to be challenging.

As the week gave way to the weekend I wondered when I was going to get the next opportunity.

Still nothing from Aiden and Ella.

* * *

“Hey, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Kaylee asked me during our nightly phone call.

“I have no plans,” I replied. 

“Well, I was wondering if I could bring you home to meet my family.”

My heart fluttered. This was such a big important step. Of course, this in and of itself presents complications. “I’d love to meet your family. But who do you want to bring home?”

“I thought about that,” she admitted. “If I bring you home as one of the guys, my parents would certainly give us the talk.”

“The sex talk? Isn’t it a little late for that?”

“No, you’ve never brought a boy home. They’ll grill you. Ask you about long term plans, marriage, kids, everything. My dad will say and do boomer shit like showing off his gun.”

“Yikes- I never had that experience from the guys’ side either.”

“Yeah, they’ve been pestering me about one day bringing home a guy. But introducing you as my boyfriend feels like a lie and I don’t want you to feel like you have to lie to be with me.”

“Yeah.”

“I could ask you to come as one of the girls and introduce you as a friend. Sure, that’s a lie too, but then I don’t have to have… the other talk. 

“The bi talk?”

“Yeeeah.”

“That sounds uncomfortable as well.”

“I’m not sure which talk I’m least looking forward to. The one where I tell them I’m dating a guy. Or the one where I’m dating a girl.”

“I’m OK with however you want to play it. Including introducing me as your… boyfriend.”

“Well, it’s not fair to you to ask you to come as one of the guys. I want you to be yourself. I want to be truthful and introduce you as my girlfriend. Because you are. I think I want to bring you home as Sydney. Can you be Sydney?”

“Well, I’m Sydney now,” I chuckled. It’s a weird feeling. She wants me to be me. She wants me to be Sydney. But I don’t own Sydney. R does. But R will likely have no objection to me taking Sydney to Kaylee’s home. Which isn’t a problem now, but I could see this being a problem long term. The same problem I was trying to avoid when I asked the Guild to date Kaylee as D. Am I already failing this trial? 

“Are you - or I mean is Sydney - available for Thanksgiving? Aren’t you going home to her parents?”

“Yeah, Sydney is available. No, her and her parents aren't really that close; and the last message she got was that they were doing their own plans for Thanksgiving anyway that don’t involve her. They’re expecting her for Christmas, though.”

“Then you can come home with me? My parents don’t live that far away.”

“I’d love to.”

* * *

“Old Business?” Antonio announced. “What’s going on with Aiden and Ella?”

I raised my hand.

“Syd, you have the floor,” he said.

I stood up. “Well, after last week’s meeting, I sent them both emails from an anonymous email account I created.” I handed out printouts of our email correspondence. “They weren’t happy. In fact, they didn’t believe I was trying to help. They thought I was trying to prank them. My last correspondence with them was Wednesday night, where Ella ordered me to leave them alone.” I sat back down.

“So that’s it?” Jasmine asked, holding up the paper I gave her. “We leave them alone?”

“That’s it,” Antonio said. “They know how to contact us if they change their minds.”

I snickered at Antonio’s choice of words. “I don’t actually believe this is over,” I said. “They dismissed me as if it was a prank. I believe they’ll contact me when they’re ready.”

“It’s been over three weeks,” Gabriel pointed out. “Maybe they want to stay this way.”

“Then they should’ve just said, ‘Nah, we’re good,’” Daniel added. “Sounds like they went out of their way to lash out instead of fix things.”

“They’re angry, and think they’re punishing me by not giving me a straight answer,” I replied.

“Fuck ‘em!” Jasmine spat. “We’ve already spent too much time on them. They were handed a lifeline and they-” she looked at the paper, “told you to go to hell.” She finished addressing the room. “They don’t deserve our attention or pity.”

A silence hung over the room before Antonio looked at me. “Keep checking your inbox in case they come to their senses.”

“OK,” I replied.

“Next up - D’s dating trial. How’s that coming?”

“I’ve successfully pulled off dates as Morgan and Antonio,” I replied.

“James had nothing but glowing things to say about Kaylee,” Antonio added.

“Two down, three more to go, huh?” Morgan asked.

“Yeah. I’m finding it’s hard to do with everyone’s schedule. Gabe is single and therefore should be the next easiest but it requires a week-long commitment.”

“And obviously it’ll be hard to do with this upcoming week being Thanksgiving,” Gabriel pointed out.

“Yeah, so I may have to pause and resume it next week.”

“Speaking of Thanksgiving,” Antonio segued, “New Business. When do we want to do our Thanksgiving reset?”

As others shifted uncomfortably in their seats, I asked, “Thanksgiving reset?”

“Typically, on holidays where we go home, we do a reset so we can go home to our real families.”

“Can we not reset this time?” Jasmine asked.

“Yeah,” Gabriel agreed. “Let’s not reset.”

Antonio looked surprised. “You… don’t want to go home?” 

“Oh, we’re going home,” Jasmine said. “Just not to our original homes.”

“I mean, I have a big game Saturday,” Gabriel reminded Antonio. “Rivalry game.”

“I’m actually looking forward to meeting my parents,” Daniel said. “If that’s OK with you D?”

“That’s fine with me,” I replied, even if it did sound a little weird.

“So if Jaz, Gabe, and Daniel aren’t resetting, what are Morgan, Sydney, and I going to do?” Antonio asked.

“You guys should swap too,” Jasmine suggested. “It’s just Thanksgiving. Savor another family’s food. Watch some football. Talk politics with someone’s conservative uncle.”

Antonio rolled his eyes. “I don’t have a crazy conservative uncle.”

“See, you’re missing out,” Gabriel laughed.

“Antonio, why haven’t you swapped since D’s punishment was up?” Jasmine asked.

“I swapped with D for a day. Twice. Besides, that was my punishment too,” Antonio replied.

“It’s up. It’s over. You can swap again.”

“It’s something James and I talked about. I worry that I’m putting my pressure on your lives.”

“What?” Morgan questioned. “That’s nonsense. Swap with me or Syd for Thanksgiving. Let go of whatever’s been eating you these past two weeks.”

"Well, if everyone else is celebrating Thanksgiving as someone else, I guess I can too," he smiled.

“Who do you want to be?”

Antonio was lost in thought. “I’ve been spending too much time as Morgan.”

“So?” Jasmine said. “Be Morgan.”

“Yeah, let’s swap, A,” Morgan offered. “I spend a lot of time as you, too. It’s not a big deal. I know you have fun as me. As I do as you. Besides, your mom makes the best pecan pie.”

“What does your mom make for Thanksgiving?” Antonio asked.

“I guess you’ll just have to find out,” Morgan teased.

“What about you, Syd?” Jasmine asked.

“Oh, well, I already have plans as Sydney,” I replied. “Kaylee is bringing me home to meet her parents.”

There was a chorus of, “Awws.”

“Have fun then,” Jasmine said with a wink.

“Since that’s all settled,” Gabriel said, “let’s adjourn the meeting.”

“Hey!” Antonio retorted. “I’m still the chair.”

I giggled and handed Morgan the stone. 

Morgan took the stone, stood up, and giggled too, “Not for long.”

“This is mutiny!” Antonio laughed as he let Morgan take his hand.

Five seconds later, the new Antonio banged the gavel. “Meeting adjourned everyone. Have a lovely Thanksgiving. Don’t eat too much. Sydney, good luck meeting the parents. Don't do anything that I wouldn’t do.”

* * *

The first half of the week went by in a blur. Classes were light, so I spent afternoons and evenings either with Kaylee or reading.

On Wednesday morning, it was time to go to Kaylee’s parents for Thanksgiving. I was going to ride with her so she came to pick me up at my apartment. 

She knocked on my door and came in. “It’s me!”

“I just finished packing,” I yelled out from my bedroom. I had spent all morning packing, struggling to decide what to bring to wear. I’ve never “met the parents” as a guy before, so I was equally confused at what to wear as a girl. I may have overpacked, making sure I had both casual outfits and dresses for whatever occasion should break out.

“No rush,” she said, walking into the room with a frown.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Ugh,” Kaylee said, throwing herself dramatically onto my bed. “I’m not looking forward to this weekend.”

“Why not?” I asked. “You’ll be spending it with me. Would you rather I be Morgan? There might still be time for me to swap.”

“No, no - Sydney is fine. I wish I could just spend it with you - and only you. It’s spending it with my family that’s the problem.”

“What's so bad about them?” I sat down next to her.

“Expectations of family time. How family holidays have to always be perfect. Except I’m not perfect.”

“I have a hard time believing that. You are perfect to me.”

“Not to my parents. It's the constant comparison to my twin. Miss Perfect. It’s almost as if they blame me for not having enough money to send both of us to college. It’s always Alyssa this, Alyssa that. Alyssa is dating a law student. Alyssa got great grades this semester. Never anything about poor Kaylee. The invisible twin.”

“I’m sorry, it sounds like that gives you a lot of anxiety.”

“What’s your family like?”

“Sydney’s family, or Daniel’s?”

“Whichever. Your real parents. Daniel’s.”

“There’s not much to tell. I was a single child. My parents worked most of the time. I always had the feeling that I was a mistake. They’d often wax poetic about how things used to be in their 20s - AKA - before me. They’d traveled the world, done excursions, found the time for hundreds of hobbies. Growing up, they were often lost in their nostalgia of days gone by. We hardly did anything. We never went anywhere. It’s almost as if they were counting down the days until I left for college so they could resume their lives.”

“That’s awful. So, what is Daniel doing for Thanksgiving?”

“Oh, he’s said he’s going home. He’s actually looking forward to meeting them. I should’ve told him that my parents converted my bedroom to a guest bedroom.”

“Who is Daniel right now?”

“R.”

“Well, that makes sense then,” she said. “R kinda gave away his family.”

“Yeah, good point.”

“Well, I think I’d take either of those scenarios over my family.” She rolled onto her stomach.

“I doubt that.” I rubbed my girlfriend’s back, “I’m kinda looking forward to meeting your family. Especially your twin… Alyssa?”

“Why would you want to meet her?”

“Because there happens to be two of my girlfriend in the world. I think that’s kinda cool.”

“But she’s nothing like me.”

“I suppose I’ll be the judge of that.” I nudged her playfully.

Kaylee sighed again. “I just wish I could spend the weekend with you and not have to face the ire of my family. Let’s just skip Thanksgiving. Stay here. Or at my place. We’ll order a turkey from DoorDash and have sex all weekend.”

“Hmmm… That does sound tempting…” My voice trailed off as the gears in my head started turning. I laughed. “I have a crazy idea.”

“We DoorDash a ham instead?”

“No, we can swap,” I laughed, dismissing the whole idea. “I can deal with your family, and you can be the cute girlfriend.”

Kaylee rolled over and sat up, eyes wide. “Are you serious?"

“Maybe… kinda?”

“What if we did, though?”

I shrugged my shoulders. I hadn’t run it by the Guild. I certainly wasn’t eager to break another rule, especially considering that I’m still facing the consequences from the previous time. “I dunno.”

“You would be me and I would be you?” she clarified, pointing at each of us.

“I mean… hypothetically that would work.” I noticed how excited Kaylee got at the mention of us swapping. I didn’t want to disappoint her. So I followed my crazy idea to its conclusion. “That would mean I would face their critical attitudes. It’ll be fine. Them judging me would be more attention then I get from my actual parents. I’ve never had a sister, let alone a twin.” Wait, that made it seem too tempting.

“You really mean it?”

I’d really put my foot into my mouth this time. I should tell her no. I should reiterate that I was just joking. But the smile on her face. The eagerness. I was putty in her hands. “Uh… yeah, sure.”

“That would be awesome! I’ve been meaning to ask you if we could swap again. That was so thrilling when we did that. And then I can face my family not as Kaylee. That would be amaze-balls!”

Back to reality. “The only problem is I don’t have the stone. I think Morgan has it.”

“Oh.” Kaylee looked disappointed and her enthusiasm deflated.

Oh, no. I just ruined her weekend. Maybe Morgan’s still here. If I run I can catch her. “It’s fine. Stay right here,” I said. “Don’t leave without me.”

“I wouldn’t think of it.”

I dashed out of my apartment and jogged to the next complex over where Jasmine and Morgan’s apartment is. I knocked on the door.

Jasmine opened it. “Syd! Hey, what's going on?”

I walked in and realized we weren’t alone. Lauren was there. They both looked like they were ready to leave. “Oh, hi Lauren.” 

“Have we met?” Lauren asked, looking at me, a total stranger. Oops.

“Oh, no - sorry!” I said. “I’m Sydney. Jasmine has said so much about you.”

“Sydney is one of my friends from the Guild I talk about,” Jasmine awkwardly introduced us.

I looked at Jasmine in surprise. She told Lauren about the Guild?

“It’s nice to meet you,” Lauren said stiffly. “So you’re one of her role-play friends?”

“Yeah,” I awkwardly replied.

“I never got into D&D, and I don’t understand any of it. Dice and character sheets. It's just too much for me.”

Oh - that’s what she thinks we do. I exhaled a sigh of relief.

“We’re about to head out,” Jasmine said. “We’re going to my mom’s-”

“You’re going to your mom’s?” I echoed in surprise. “And you’re bringing Lauren?”

“I’m not sure it's a good idea either,” Lauren chimed in. “She’s going to kick us out. We’re totally gonna be eating Thanksgiving dinner at McDonalds.”

“No, we’re doing this,” Jasmine said. “My mom is going to accept both of us with open arms - or else.”

I held up my arms. “Good luck to both of you.”

“Did you need something?” Jasmine asked.

“Yeah. Morgan was going to let me borrow something before I headed out.”

“Morgan already left for the weekend.”

“Oh,” I said, my hopes momentarily dashed. 

“Oh, right,” Jasmine realized. “I think she mentioned something about that. It’s in her room.”

My hope returned. “Can I grab it quickly?”

“Go for it.”

I walked into Morgan's room and searched her desk drawer and found it. I also needed to have something else in my hand so Lauren doesn’t see me walk out with a magic stone. I grabbed a curling iron I found in one of her drawers. I returned to the door, holding the curling iron up for the girls to see. 

“Is that for Kaylee?” Jasmine gushed.

“It is,” I admitted. “I’ll bring it right back.”

“Take your time. We won’t be leaving for another hour,” Jasmine said. “I want to keep my mother off balance.”

It occurred to me that Jasmine is currently G. And I’ve been putting off talking to G about my thoughts about my gender. I paused at the door. “Hey, umm, Jaz?”

“Yeah?”

“I know it’s not the time. But there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

“What about?”

“Something about me.”

She tilted her head quizzically, and then gave me a warm smile. “Sure, Syd. I think I already know what it is. My door’s always open to talk.”

I returned her smile. “Thanks. Maybe when we come back.”

“Have a good weekend, Syd!” she said.

As I left I heard Lauren ask, “But I thought she was going to be right back?”

I jogged back to my apartment holding the stone and curling iron. Kaylee was right where I left her. 

“We just need to give it back to Jasmine,” I explained. “It can’t leave campus.”

“Sure,” Kaylee replied. “What’s the curling iron for?”

“Jasmine’s girlfriend was there. I needed to pretend to borrow something.”

“Good idea.”

I held out my palm holding the stone.

“Before we swap, I need to do something,” Kaylee said. She walked up to me, put her hands on my shoulders and pulled me in for a long passionate kiss. Her tongue was a welcome distraction from everything. As she nibbled on my lips I considered revisiting that whole “sex weekend” plan. She disengaged from the kiss. “Sorry. I don’t think we’ll get any other opportunity for that after right now.”

I nodded. I then remembered that she avoided intimacy with me when I was Kaylee last time. I sighed, knowing that it’ll likely be a chaste weekend.

“There’s um… something else you should know before you do this,” she cautioned.

“What is it?”

She looked at me guiltily. “I didn’t tell them I’m bi like I planned to. I told them I’m bringing a friend. Not a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” I said. I felt hurt and disappointed. I was looking forward to being introduced as the girlfriend. Of course with the stone I won’t be the girlfriend anyway. But it still stung. “Sure. That won’t be a problem.”

“OK,” she said, rubbing her hands together. “Are we still going to go through with this?”

She gave me an out. I could change my mind right here. But I think the moment I ran to get the stone I was fully committed. “We are.”

“I’m getting chills. This is so exciting!” 

I held up the stone. “Grab this hand—”

She took my hand before I could finish the sentence.

Five seconds later, I was Kaylee and I had to brace Sydney with both hands as she stumbled, off-balance from the temporary vertigo. I took the stone from her before she dropped it.

“I’m sorry,” I said to her. “I forgot that you’re a newb at this. It’s best to close your eyes while swapping.”

Sydney held out her arms, turning her hands inwards and outwards. “The first time felt like a dream. But now it feels so real. I can’t believe this is your life and you get to do this whenever you want.”

“It is,” I echoed with a smile. “Although, I could use some stability after all of the chaos.”

She didn’t say anything and stood there admiring her new form.

“We should get the stone back to Jasmine.”

“Shouldn’t we curl your hair, as part of our cover story?” she asked. “I think you’ll look really cute.”

“I… guess,” I replied. “I’ve never actually curled my hair. Do we have time?”

“My mom is expecting us for lunch, but we’ve got some time. I’ll show you how.” She picked up the curling iron and led me to the bathroom where she plugged it in.

“OK, where do we start?” I asked.

She grabbed a lock of my strawberry blonde hair. “You separate a small section of your hair. Then you clamp down with the curling iron, pull it down, then curl it around the iron like so.” She demonstrated it. “Now you try.”

I repeated the same steps she showed me for another section of hair. “Like that?”

“Perfect.”

“So a few rules for this weekend.” I said, curling another chunk of hair. “You call me Kaylee, I’ll call you Sydney. We can call each other D and K in private, but we should avoid it as best as we can. I imagine we won’t have much private time anyway.”

“We won’t. I’m sure of it.”

“You should tell me about your family so I don’t stand there dumbfounded when I meet them.”

“I can give you the crash course on the drive over.”

A half hour later I had a head full of bouncy red curls. I had to admit I looked pretty cute like this.

“Next,” I said, walking back to the door. “You - Sydney - need to put the stone and the curling iron back in Morgan’s room.” I handed her the stone and the curling iron.

“OK. It’s the next complex over to the right?”

“Right.”

“OK,” she said, leaving my - her - apartment.

While Sydney was gone, I walked into the bedroom to check out my new body in the mirror.

I saw Kaylee’s reflection looking back at me. I smiled a big smile and watched as the reflection mimicked me. I posed and twirled in front of the mirror. I bounced my newly-curled hair. It felt like my heart rate was beating millions of beats a minute. I was enjoying this more than I thought. 

Being Kaylee felt different than being Sydney or the other girls. I couldn’t pinpoint why, but I couldn’t stop smiling. 

I stuck my tongue out at the reflection and giggled.

Sydney returned a few minutes later with an eager smile. “I put the stone and curling iron back in Morgan’s room. I think Jasmine knew it was me. She called me K.”

“Yeah, I kinda hinted at who I was using the stone with.”

“And I kinda roped us into a double date next week.”

“A double date?”

“Well you were telling me and Jasmine how you needed to find a way to both be Jasmine and hang out with me. A double date. It was her idea and she was excited to tell me.”

“That sounds great.”

“So,” Sydney said, pausing, “the stone is out of our possession now. I’m guessing we’re stuck like this for the entire weekend?”

“Yup,” I replied.

She smiled. “How exciting! Ready to get this weekend started, Kaylee?”

“I’m ready! Sydney.”

Chapter 27 - Kaylee Part 1

We spent the half-hour drive to Kaylee’s house going over her biography as well as mine. I learned about her family. Her parents Tiffany and Jared, aka Mom and Dad, her twin Alyssa, and her little brother Owen. We also talked about how her parents view her job and hobbies, as well as who was going to be at Thanksgiving.

“I don’t get it,” I said. “You love reading. Why didn’t you go to school for writing?”

“I love reading fantasy,” Sydney replied. “And romance. Not the boring stuff they make you read in high school. When school would assign us reading, I’d pick up a different book instead. Alyssa had better grades - which is why she got to go to community college.”

“You didn’t like Steinbeck, Dickens, or Shakespeare?”

“OK, a few of those were good. But for every classic, there were two equally grueling novels I couldn’t get through.”

“I suppose that’s fair. I couldn’t get through Catcher in the Rye.”

“Let’s be honest, most high school kids only like Catcher in the Rye because it has profanity in it.”

A phone vibrated and Sydney pulled hers out of her purse. “Um, who is KappaPres2024?”

“Remember how I told you I swapped people without their consent?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he is one of them. What did he say?”

Sydney read the email. “I’m ready to talk. Can I meet you tonight?”

I laughed. “Fucker. He waited until Thanksgiving weekend?”

“Do you want me to reply?”

“Sure. Tell him I’m gone for the weekend so we won't be able to meet until next week.”

“Gotcha,” she replied, typing the response. “Sent. So what do I need to know about you? In case my family asks.”

“Honestly, you can likely make shit up at this point,” I confessed. “The real S has moved on and has a better life.”

“You told me Guild members keep a journal with a bio. What does hers say?”

“Let me think… um… 21 years old. Music major. Single child. I think she’s from the Midwest. I don’t know why her parents don’t contact her often. Neither R nor Robert gave me any reasons. They said they were relieved when Sydney stopped—” I quickly made air quotes with my hands before putting them back on the steering wheel, “her tomboy phase.”

“That’s awful.”

“In some ways Sydney’s parents remind me of my own.”

“This is my street,” she said. “Turn here. Second house on the left. Pull into the driveway.”

I pulled into the drive and put the car into park. I took a deep breath. It’s showtime.

“Are you ready?” Sydney asked.

“Yeah. This is the third time I’ve met someone else’s parents as their kid. Antonio’s mom was cool. Jasmine’s mom - now that wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

“I hope this is better.”

“We’ll see.” I got out of the car and went to grab my bag.

“Wait - that’s my bag now,” Sydney reminded me.

“Right,” I replied. “I just feel bad because I overpacked.”

“You’re too cute. Why did you overpack?”

“I wanted to make a good first impression.”

“I guess that’s up to me now,” Sydney chuckled.

I walked bagless up the path to the door as Sydney trailed behind me with her suitcase.

“You can just walk in and announce yourself,” she coached me.

I turned the knob, walked through the front door, and into the foyer. “Mom, Dad, I’m home,” I announced.

“Kay, we’re in here!” a woman’s voice was heard from around the corner.

“Hey,” I said, walking into the kitchen, trying to keep it casual for a family I hadn’t met yet.

Standing there were two women. One was clearly Kaylee’s identical twin sister, Alyssa. Identical, but I could tell she wasn’t Kaylee. A blond streak in her hair. Her eyes, slightly closer. Her nose, smaller. The other woman could've been a triplet if not for the fact she was twenty years older and gray roots were showing in her hair. 

“Dad’s at work until later,” Kaylee’s mom answered. “And who is your friend?” she asked, smiling at Sydney.

“This is Sydney,” I said, gesturing at her.

“Hi, Mrs.—” Sydney began.

“Call me Tiffany,” she interrupted.

“Thank you for having me… Tiffany,” Sydney said awkwardly, her throat suddenly dry.

“Took you long enough,” Alyssa complained to me. “You said you would be here by noon.”

I didn’t have a watch nor a phone on me. “What time is it?”

“It’s 1:05,” Alyssa snarked back at me. “We were about to order lunch without you.” 

I looked at Sydney who gave me a ‘see what I have to deal with’ look. K had coached me during our drive to make sure I volley her snark right back at her. But I couldn’t find the right words. It also occurred to me that it was K’s idea to curl my hair before we left. Maybe she purposely made us late? I turned back to my family. “Sorry, I lost track of time. Besides, traffic was a bitch.”

“Language, honey,” Mom immediately interjected.

“Sorry, Mom.”

“Here’s the menu,” she said, handing it to me. It was a sushi take-out menu. I took it over to Sydney.

“It would’ve been nice for them to text us during the drive to ask if we actually wanted sushi,” Sydney whispered. 

“I like sushi,” I whispered back. Maybe I was being too agreeable. It also occurred to me that it was Daniel who liked sushi. Does Kaylee? I’m not aware if Sydney has any seafood allergies. It wasn’t written in her journal. I’d feel really bad if K’s time in Sydney came to an end because of allergies. “Can I borrow your phone real quick?” 

Sydney handed me her phone.

I found the contact for Robert and texted him. “Do I have any seafood allergies?” Hopefully he gets back to me before we eat.

We quietly picked out what we wanted and relayed our order to Mom.

Robert quickly replied with “Nope. No allergies.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, thanked Robert, and handed the phone back to Sydney. “You don't have a seafood allergy,” I whispered to her.

She looked at me surprised. “Good call. I didn’t think to ask.”

Mom picked up the house phone to order. “Kay, why don’t you show your friend to your room while I order this?”

“Sure thing, Mom,” I said.

Sydney was reaching for her bag when Alyssa found another excuse to criticise me. “Geez, Kaylee,” Alyssa whined, “making your guest carry her own bag.”

I frowned at her before asking Sydney, “Can I carry that for you?”

“Nevermind, I’ll get it,” Alyssa said, cutting me off. She came over and attempted to lift Sydney’s bag, but instead nearly pulled her arm out of her socket. “What do you have in here, Sydney?” Alyssa cried, rubbing her shoulder.

“A few dead bodies,” Sydney calmly replied. “I needed to get them as far away from the scene of the crime as I could.”

Alyssa was rendered speechless for a moment. “Um, OK.”

“Let me show you my room,” I reiterated, taking the bag back from Alyssa. I hoped she wouldn't follow us. 

Sydney angled her head to indicate to go upstairs.

I took that hint and led her up the stairs, carrying her bag.

“On the left,” Sydney whispered, gesturing at the door with a drawing of Link from The Legend of Zelda on it and the name “Kaylee” stenciled in gothic calligraphy underneath.

We walked into her room, and I announced loud enough so everyone could hear, “And this is my bedroom.”

Sydney giggled at my performance, then shut the door to give us some privacy.

I looked around. There was a large window to the backyard that was letting ample sunlight into the room. The walls were painted lavender, and, much like her apartment, it was filled with books. It was also dotted with fantasy figurines and photo frames. “This is cute,” I whispered.

“Well, you didn’t have to live here for eighteen years,” she replied.

“I could imagine myself here,” I said, examining the books. Many I’ve read. Including some young adult novels I remember having in Daniel’s room - before my parents purged all of that.

Standing in the center of the room, in the midst of the afternoon sunlight, I scanned the warmth of my bedroom. I picked up a photo frame of two teenaged red-headed twins. I smiled at the picture of younger me and Alyssa.

“We were certainly something growing up,” Sydney reminisced, looking over my shoulder. “Before our falling-out.”

“What happened?”

“It was a lot of little things that led up to one big thing. I really don’t want to get into it.”

“OK,” I replied. Although a part of me thought that I really should know that information if I’m going to be Kaylee for the weekend.

“Hey - don’t let Alyssa walk all over you.”

“Sorry, I’m not used to that kind of banter.”

“I know. Your innocence is one of the things I love about you.”

“I like to find goodness in everyone.” I thought back to Aiden. “Well, at least I try.”

“It’s sweet.”

I looked around the room. “The way you described your childhood home, you made it sound like a medieval dungeon. Your mom seems very nice,” I said, looking back at the photo frame before setting it down, “and you and Alyssa are adorable.”

“Adorable is a reach. Sure, you say that now. That’s because you have a guest here. Let me get your opinion again at the end of the weekend.”

I looked around the room, stopping at the full-sized bed. Then raised an eyebrow at Sydney. “That’s right, you didn’t tell them we’re dating.”

“Yeah - doesn’t matter. It’s not like we’ll be doing anything kinky this weekend.”

Oof. Stabbed through the heart. “Hey, we never talked about it the last time we swapped. Are you afraid of kissing yourself?”

“Oh,” she said, looking down in embarrassment. “It’s not about kissing myself. It’s about kissing Alyssa. You see, when I look at you, I don’t see my reflection. I see my sister.”

“Oh. That makes sense,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. I'm not sure why I didn’t realize that before.

“So, if it’s OK with you, I’d really like to avoid the whole kissing-my-sister thing.”

“Yeah. Sure,” I replied. “I get it. The only time I kissed Daniel, it was awkward.”

Sydney’s eyes got wide. “You kissed yourself?”

I turned red from embarrassment. I didn’t want her to know I’d had sex with him too. “Yeah. But all it did was reaffirm that I’m not into guys.”

I turned to look at some of the other artifacts in her bedroom when she came up from behind and wrapped me tightly in her arms. She whispered in my ear, “Remember, I offered you a weekend of endless sex and a naked Thanksgiving, but you decided you wanted to meet my family instead.”

“I just wanted to spend a weekend with you. Clothing optional.”

“You will spend the weekend with me. But we can’t get naked until we get back home.”

“I’m sure I’ll survive.” I turned my head and smiled at her.

“If you survive my family I promise I’ll give you an IOU on the naked weekend.”

“Only if it comes with a turkey leg.”

“I promise.” She squeezed me tightly.

* * *

When Mom returned with the sushi, we joined her and Alyssa in the kitchen. Both women wasted no time in getting to know their guest.

“So, Sydney,” Mom opened. “Where are you from?”

Sydney glanced at me, worried she didn’t have enough information for this interrogation. “The Midwest,” she vaguely recalled.

“Oh, which state?”

“Minnesota,” she quickly, but erroneously, clarified.

Mom looked confused. “Wow, you don’t sound like you have an accent.”

“Well, I’ve been around here for a while,” Sydney explained.

“Kaylee said you’re in school?”

“Yeah, I’m a music major. I’m graduating in the spring.”

“A music major?” she questioned. “What does a music major do?” 

“I’m… learning how to compose music,” Sydney explained. “It’s all about the notes and harmony.”

“That’s right,” I chimed in. “I got a chance to hear her final composition. It's gorgeous.” This reminds me that I should really show it to K. She might like that.

“That’s nice,” Mom replied, sounding a bit disinterested. 

I ripped the paper off my chopsticks and sat back down, then expertly grabbed a sushi piece with my chopsticks and flung it into my mouth.

“Kay, how’s your job going?” Mom asked.

I knew where this was headed, so I took a moment before responding, “It’s a job,” I said with a weak smile. “They don’t pay me enough.”

“Then maybe you need to be more serious about finding a better-paying job.”

“Well, when I turn 21, I’ll finally be able to serve alcohol, and then I expect the tips to start rolling in.”

“Do you really want to be a waitress for the rest of your life?” her voice dripping with derision.

“Of course not,” I replied with a smile. “You know I want to be a writer.”

If eye-rolls can kill, someone better call 9-1-1.

“Tough crowd,” I muttered, turning to my twin. “Hey sis - how are classes going?”

“They’re going well,” Alyssa replied. “Sydney, what’s your college like?”

“Oh, it’s gorgeous,” Sydney gushed. “Sydney took me - sorry - I mean I took Kaylee for a tour a couple weeks ago. I wish Kaylee could go to school there. I’ll bet there’s writing classes.”

“I know they have creative writing classes there,” I smiled. “Maybe I could sit in on one?”

“That would be awesome,” Sydney chimed in.

“I suppose,” Mom relented, “As long as it doesn’t cost us any money.”

Getting Kaylee into my university would be awesome. Even if just for one class. I wanted to suggest that I could apply for some financial aid, but I didn’t really know Kaylee’s family’s financial situation. Maybe they already looked into that. I decided to not continue this conversation without having more background information.

“So, tonight we’re going to Dockside," Alyssa announced, changing the subject. “The gang is looking forward to seeing you.”

“Oh, wow,” I said, faking enthusiasm. “Dockside. Gosh - I can’t even remember the last time I was there.” I noticed Sydney giggle. I took a deep breath and looked at my twin. 

She didn’t seem mean or anything. She looked like a more-assertive Kaylee. Now was that opportunity to stand up for myself.

“Hey, Aly,” I countered, using the familial nickname K directed me to use. “Can we go somewhere else tonight?”

She looked at me with a surprised expression. So did Sydney.

“You don’t like Dockside?” Alyssa asked.

“I do,” I replied. “It’s just that it’s loud. And I want to catch up with the gang. I want to be able to hear them.”

“Oh,” Alyssa said, nodding in agreement. “Of course, makes sense. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Yeah,” I replied. I turned to Sydney and asked, with a sly wink, “Wanna go to that place I was telling you about?”

Sydney smiled. “Yeah, I’d love to go to Howie’s.”

“Howie’s Hideaway?” Aylssa asked, taken aback. “That’s a dive bar.”

“Dive bars are the best,” I replied. “It’s quieter there.”

“Do they serve underage kids there?” Mom asked.

“Mom, please!” Alyssa whined.

Mom raised her hands. “Fine, I’ll stay out of it. As long as you girls make good decisions.”

“OK,” Alyssa conceded. “I can text the gang. Howie’s at 8 pm.”

“I’m so excited!” I exclaimed with a big smile.

Alyssa looked at me weird and Sydney mouthed, “Too much.”

I made a mental note to tone down my enthusiasm. I dunked a large wad of wasabi into my soy sauce and mixed it around with my chopsticks. After dunking my sushi in there, I popped it into my mouth. 

“Careful with—” Sydney whispered.

Too late. I could feel the tingling and tickling of my sinus. I couldn’t stop it and I wasn’t quick enough to grab a napkin. I sneezed and bits of chewed up rice and fish sprayed onto Alyssa’s face.

Alyssa looked mortified. I must’ve looked mortified too. 

“Oh my God,” I cried, jumping up from my chair. “I’m so sorry!”

That’s when Alyssa started giggling. The same giggle that I had gotten used to from Kaylee. The giggling was contagious and both Mom and Sydney started laughing.

I sat down in humiliation and offered my twin a new napkin.

“That was gross,” Alyssa said after her giggling stopped. “No more wasabi for you.”

“It was good,” I coughed. “I just used too much of it.”

* * *

“That was awesome!” Sydney exclaimed when we were finally alone again.

“Sneezing chewed up bits of sushi on your sister?” I asked. “That was not my finest moment.”

“Nah - that was funny. I mean getting her to change where we’re going tonight. It’s always a fight.”

“So what’s at Howies?"

“Karaoke,” she smirked. 

“Karaoke?” I echoed. “I thought we were going somewhere quieter?”

“It’s much quieter than Dockside. Trust me.”

“But I can’t sing.”

“You, as in Kaylee or Daniel?”

“I umm… Daniel.”

“Well, Daniel isn’t here right now, and I know for a fact that you - Kaylee - can sing.”

I considered that for a moment. Does muscle memory cover singing? I know it covers daily routines, dancing, playing football, playing an instrument, and sex. I see no reason why it wouldn’t cover singing too. But if Kaylee can sing, what can’t she do? “K, I’m feeling very inadequate,” I said, staring into her eyes. “I bring nothing to this relationship. You’re a writer, a singer, you’re beautiful…”

Sydney blushed. “D, you don’t give yourself enough credit. You have such a pure heart. You disarmed my sister like a pro.”

I shrugged.

Sydney lifted her bag and placed it on my bed. “So, let’s see what you packed me.” She unzipped the bag and it popped open, its contents overflowing. “This is like your whole closet.”

“Well, one of everything,” I explained. “I didn’t know what we’d be doing. Plus, I brought some extra stuff for you if you wanted it. Well, that was before we swapped. So, I guess now there’s extra stuff for me.”

“That was very thoughtful of you, D.”

“So, what do we do for the rest of the afternoon?”

“I was going to show you around town. Maybe we can play a yard game out back. Or maybe just relax on the couch watching TV. I don’t want to bore or disappoint you.”

“I won't be bored. Before you asked me to come, I was just going to hang around campus all weekend. But this? Being here with you and with your family? This is more than enough entertainment for me.”

“Well, whatever we’re doing, we should do it soon. My brother will be coming home shortly. Then my dad shortly after. Then dinner. Then Howie’s.”

* * *

As we were rummaging through the shed for backyard games, Alyssa pulled me aside and away from the shed and Sydney. “I couldn’t get anyone on board for Howies. So we’re still doing Dockside.”

“Oh,” I replied. This lets me off the hook from having to sing, but I know K really wanted to go to Howies.

“Why’d you do that?” she said with a disapproving scowl.

“Do what?”

“Why’d you make me try to change our plans? You knew for days that we were planning on Dockside for Thanksgiving Eve.”

“I… I just thought it would be nice to do something I wanted to do for a change.”

“I thought you were OK with Dockside. Are you trying to make me look bad in front of our friends?”

“No. Not at all.”

“It’s just that-” 

At that moment Sydney came out of the shed holding a frisbee.

“Just… nevermind,” Alyssa huffed, raising her hands in frustration and walking back to the house.

“What was that about?” Sydney asked me.

“We’re still going to Dockside.”

“What?” She was livid. “See. This always happens. We always do what she wants to do. Never what I want to do.”

“Sorry. I tried.”

“Whatever. Screw her.” She held up the frisbee. “Look what I found.”

“Frisbee. Cool.”

I really wanted to get to the bottom of what’s going on between the twins. At the moment it appeared that neither Alyssa nor K wanted to talk about it.

We wound up spending the afternoon staying at Kaylee’s parent’s house, playing frisbee in the backyard until Owen came home from school. Owen was maybe around thirteen, and like the rest of the family had strawberry-blonde hair and freckles.

I was waiting for K to introduce me when I remembered I was the sister. “Owen, this is my friend, Sydney,” I told him.

“Hi, Owen,” Sydney said with a smile and a little wave. “Nice to meet you.”

“Uh, hi, S-Sydney,” Owen stuttered while eyeing her up and down.

Owen turned red and whispered to me, “Your friend is cute.”

“I know,” I automatically replied without thinking about it.

He looked at me curiously, but let the comment go. 

I was surprised when he dropped his backpack and joined in on our game of frisbee. 

Owen kept stealing glances at Sydney and showing off his frisbee skills. If he only knew that was his sister inside that body.

“Can I play?” Alyssa asked, suddenly reappearing on the porch.

“Sure,” I replied. I was relieved that Alyssa had come back. I didn’t want to spend the whole holiday in the midst of a family feud.

After about five minutes of casually tossing the frisbee amongst the four of us, Alyssa had a suggestion. “Do you guys want to play a quick game of Ultimate?”

I shrugged. “Sounds cool.”

“What’s the teams?” Sydney asked.

“Teams?” Owen shouted. “Me and Sydney against the twins!”

Us three girls laughed.

“Owen, you know better than to challenge the Wonder Twins,” Alyssa warned. “How about Kaylee and Sydney versus me and Owen?” 

I turned to Sydney who nodded. 

“I’m game,” I said.

Owen looked deflated that he couldn’t be teammates with Sydney.

“Don’t worry, Owen,” Sydney pointed out, “that just means you have to cover me.”

“Our goals are the fences,” Alyssa directed, pointing towards each end of the yard.

We started playing the game. I realized right away that Alyssa was very competitive. For a noncontact sport, she certainly made plenty of contact as she prevented me from throwing the frisbee to Sydney. 

There was a brief moment when I made a perfect throw towards Sydney, only for it to be intercepted by Alyssa.

“That’s for making me try to change our plans,” she smirked.

Does that mean we’re even?

Sydney had a much easier time dealing with Owen, who was as tall as she was, but at least was letting her make her throws.

As Alyssa jumped up and down flailing her arms to block my pass, I couldn’t help but giggle.

“You want some of this?” she taunted me. “I’m the frisbee goddess!”

I remembered a football play from my time as Gabriel that might be of use. I faked throwing the frisbee to where Sydney wasn’t. Alyssa jumped at the fake, and I managed to throw it behind her into Sydney’s waiting arms.

Alyssa kicked the grass in frustration. “Owen, wake up!” she barked.

She scored the next goal by essentially running over me. All that did was remind me I wasn’t Gabriel.

Alyssa, to her credit, helped pull me up. “Too slow, sis!” she taunted.

As I scored the final goal, Mom opened the door and announced to us that Dad was home and dinner was ready.

Chapter 28 - Kaylee Part 2

When we walked into the house, I noticed Kaylee’s Dad - or rather my Dad. He was a physically fit guy with blonde hair. He was flipping through mail when he looked at me and sarcastically said, “There’s my long lost daughter!"

“Hi, Dad,” I replied cheerfully, intentionally ignoring his tone.

“Have you published any books yet?” he asked.

I noticed Sydney was getting angry, but responded before she could, “You know those things take time.”

“I just don’t want to see you jobless and in a gutter.” He discarded his mail on the counter.

“I have a job,” I reminded him. “I’m not homeless.”

“But, you also have a home right here. And we wouldn’t charge you rent.”

“I know, I just want to spend some time learning to live independently.” I made this same case with Daniel’s parents when I decided to go out of state for college.

“Won’t that be a moot point when you find a nice guy?”

Find a nice guy? Gross. Usually I was calm, but that got me miffed. But I was held back by an unlikely ally. Alyssa grabbed my hand and shook her head discreetly, making me realize this was likely an ongoing argument and nothing I could say this evening would change that. I took a deep breath and instead tried to change the topic. “Dad, this is my friend, Sydney.”

“Hi, Sydney, welcome to our home,” he greeted her warmly. He then turned to Mom and asked, “What’s for dinner, hon?”

“I figured you didn’t want any poultry since tomorrow is Thanksgiving,” she explained. “So I made a meatloaf.”

The family sat down around the formal dining table. Mom and Dad at each end, and I sat on Mom’s end next to Sydney but across from Alyssa. Owen, unsurprisingly, was across from Sydney.

Before sitting himself down, Owen helped Sydney with her chair. Then he spoke up, “Um, Sydney, can I get you anything to drink?”

Sydney looked at the table, which had a big glass pitcher of ice water on it. “No thank you, Owen,” Sydney sweetly replied. “But thank you for asking. You’re a real gentleman.” He plunked down in his seat as Sydney and I exchanged glances.

“You never do that for us,” Alyssa faux-complained, giving her younger brother an all-knowing smirk.

“That’s because you’re not guests,” Owen countered.

“So, Sydney,” Dad began the interrogation, “what brings you to our house for Thanksgiving?”

“Oh, um,” Sydney stumbled, “my family wasn’t doing much.”

“That’s a shame,” Dad said. “Thanksgiving is a time for families to be together.”

“It’s for new friends too,” I blurted out. “Honoring the original feast between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.”

Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Did they not teach that in school here?

“That too,” Dad finally agreed.

Perhaps now wasn’t a good time to show off my knowledge of the significance of the first Thanksgiving and the lies and misinterpretations perpetuated by mainstream American society.

Sydney flashed me a concerned look. I wasn’t sure what to do. Usually I would be a guest on her best behavior. But I have to be their daughter. Of course I wasn’t sure how to be their daughter, so I was winging it. I looked back down at my plate to grab a forkful of potatoes.

“How’s Daniel?” he asked.

“Oh, he’s fine,” I replied out of habit. The ensuing silence caused me to look up from my dinner to see everyone giving me looks of confusion. Especially Alyssa.

“Daniel is home with his family,” Alyssa said, giving me the side-eye.

“Daniel?” I echoed. Now I was confused.

“My boyfriend,” Alyssa emphasized.

“Oh,” I said. “Your boyfriend… Daniel.” I do recall K telling me Alyssa had a boyfriend. She had neglected to tell me his name. I glanced at Sydney who was trying hard not to laugh. “The law student, right?”

“Right. I thought I told you about him.”

“You did. I just forgot his name. Daniel. Now I’ll never forget it.”

Alyssa turned back to Dad. “He hasn't decided which law to practice.”

“He sounds like a great guy, Aly,” Dad replied. He then turned to me. I already know what he was about to ask. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“No,” I was quick to respond. Maybe too quick.

That earned a judgmental look from Dad.

We all returned to eating our dinners.

A moment later, Alyssa asked me, “Who did you think I was talking about?”

“I-I umm…” I stammered.

“I have a friend named Daniel,” Sydney interjected. “That’s who she was thinking of.”

“Is he single?” Dad chuckled.

“No,” both Sydney and I replied in unison.

Sydney and I exchanged smirks as if we had dodged a bullet.

“Uh, Sydney,” Owen nervously asked. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Sydney stopped eating, gave me a side glance, then smiled warmly at Owen. “Let’s just say there’s someone special in my life.”

“Oh,” he said, disappointed.

“Owen, do you have a special girl at school?” Sydney softly asked.

“Me?” Owen replied, nervously. “N-No. Girls hardly ever pay attention to me.” He was turning red and sinking down in his seat.

“Well, don’t worry, Owen. Things won’t be like that forever. I remember when I was your age. Girls don’t know what they want. Give it time. They’ll start noticing you.”

Owen perked back up at that little pep talk. “Kaylee tells me the same thing.”

Sydney froze realizing her mistake.

“Great minds think alike.” I said, coming to Sydney’s rescue.

“Yeah, we can hit the gym together, son,” Dad confidently stated, “and I can teach you how to be a total babe magnet.”

“Dad, please,” Alyssa complained.

“What?” he asked with innocence. “It worked for your mom.”

Mom just gave him an indulgent smile.

The rest of dinner was a mixture of talking about everyone’s day and discussions about what their plans were for the weekend. 

I, however, couldn't ignore the tension between Dad and me. He was clearly upset that I had moved out, and that I wasn’t dating someone with the status of Aly’s boyfriend. At the same time, I was upset that he insinuated I needed a man in my life. Which is ironic considering my current gender issues. Even if I wasn’t D, and I was just Kaylee, I didn’t need a man. Odds are, good ol’ Dad is being overly possessive. Which in and of itself is gross.

Sydney, to her credit, remained mostly silent after her snafu with Owen. Her body language showed she wanted to chime in on family topics she knew about, but instead held back and played the part of a shy guest.

* * *

After dinner, we were back in my bedroom getting ready to head out to Dockside. I turned to Sydney. “Hey, is Dad always like that?”

“Yeah,” Sydney reluctantly replied. “He means well. He prides himself in being the ‘protector’ and the ‘man of the house’. But yes, it comes off as chauvinistic sometimes when he chooses the wrong words. See what I have to deal with?”

“Is he why you didn't want to introduce me as your girlfriend?”

“Mostly, yes. He has these visions of me bringing home the perfect gentleman. Like Alyssa’s Daniel.”

“So he can give his ‘I have a gun, don’t mess with my daughter’ speech?” I guessed, rolling my eyes.

“Exactly. I feel like he’d be crushed to learn I brought home a woman instead.”

I walked over to her and put my hands on her waist. “What if I brought him the perfect woman?”

She removed my hands. “He’d freak.”

I sighed at that revelation.

“Oh - and I had no idea his name was Daniel,” Sydney admitted. “Or I would have warned you that your deadname would come up this weekend.”

My deadname? I suppose it is, in a way. “I hadn’t thought of Daniel as my deadname. Maybe because Daniel is still around. But I’m not him anymore.”

“Well, I heard some people are sensitive to hearing it,” she reasoned.

“You heard? From who?”

“After you came out to me as trans, I did some reading up on it. And a lot of people wrote that they got upset when they heard their old names.”

“You’re too sweet, K.”

She smiled but then frowned again. “I’m sorry about my family, D.”

“Don’t be,” I said, as an awkward silence settled between us.“Owen seems nice,” I ventured, trying to change the subject to something lighter.. “And he sure seems smitten with you,” I laughed.

“Ugh,” she replied. “I didn’t consider how attracted he would be to this body.”

“Is your brother flirting with you as weird as your girlfriend being in your body?”

She snickered. “Weirder.”

“At least you and your brother have good taste,” I giggled.

“Yeah,” she said, poking me gently in the ribs. “I am a hottie!”

I smiled at her, seeing the inner K show through. I tried to put family issues behind us. “So what should I wear tonight?”

“I have some ideas,” she said, showing me to the closet.

“What does Alyssa usually wear?” I asked.

Sydney shrugged in disinterest. 

“Do you ever do the whole twin thing? Dressing like each other?”

“No,” she frowned. “We haven't done that since elementary school.” She began to riffle through her closet. “Normally during summer, everybody hangs out at the bar on the dock at Dockside. But since it’s November, everyone will be inside dancing instead. Which means we need clubbing attire.” She pulled a sexy emerald green bodycon dress off a hanger and handed it up to me. “What do you think?”

I turned to a mirror and held it up against my body. It looked fantastic, and made my curls pop even more.

Which reminded me, “How long will my hair stay curled?”

“Just the day,” she replied. “It’ll flatten out when you sleep on it. We can curl it in the morning again if you want.”

“I’d like that.”

I didn’t pack clubbing attire for Sydney, but she was content with skinny jeans, heels, and a sheer black blouse.

“God, you weren’t kidding,” Sydney exclaimed, standing there in just her bra. “These boobs are huge!” 

I giggled. “You’ve seen them before, silly.”

“Not from this angle!” 

“So, who all is in your friend group?" 

“A bunch of friends from high school. We were really close. Let’s see. I’m not sure who’s coming tonight, but if I had to guess…. maybe Lexie, Chrissy, Erin, and Simone. Erin lives around here. The others went off to college, but might be back in town for Thanksgiving.”

I nodded in acknowledgement. Hopefully, I can keep all of those names straight. It’s hard enough remembering them when you’re meeting one person at a time, but a whole friend group seems daunting.

Sydney reached around and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “I’ve been getting all of these notifications for the past half hour.”

I raised an eyebrow. “From who?”

“It’s a group QuikChat thread. Started by Jasmine. It says, ‘That homophobic bitch freaked out. Looks like Lauren and I will be dining at McDs for Thanksgiving.’ Then Morgan offered to take them in. So did Antonio and Gabriel. Jasmine called her mom some words I can’t repeat - or pronounce. Are those Spanish curse words?”

“I feel bad,” I explained. “Jasmine’s mom is not accepting. They were so hopeful this morning.”

“That’s why I’m afraid to come out to my parents.”

I sighed. I felt like we’d have to tell them eventually. I can’t imagine Tiffany being anything like Jasmine’s mom. Maybe Jared. “Your parents are nothing like Jasmine’s mom. I met her once.”

Sydney smiled half-heartededly didn’t reply. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” I replied, as I turned off the bedroom light and we walked downstairs to meet up with Alyssa.

Alyssa was waiting for us at the front door dressed in a fun blue strappy dress and heels.

“That’s such a cute dress,” I complimented my twin sister.

She smiled, “Thanks, Kay. I’ve always thought that dress looked great on you. And, wow, Sydney, I love that top. It’s hot.”

“Thanks,” Sydney replied.

We grabbed our coats and headed to my car.

Alyssa was originally going to order us an Uber, but I offered to drive us instead. I didn’t feel like drinking, and since I’m now Kaylee I couldn’t legally do it anyways. For me, alcohol was always about fitting in. When I was Daniel, I barely tried. When I was any of the girls from the Guild, I felt obligated. But as Kaylee, I felt I didn’t need a crutch. 

* * *

We arrived at Dockside - seafood restaurant by day and dance club by night. The space in the center of the restaurant had been cleared of tables and made into a dance floor. Unlike the club we went to near campus, this one had an entirely different clientele. The lack of college kids reminded me I wasn’t back at school.

One table to the left was filled with older women, dressed to impress, giving us the jealous stink eye. Another table to the right was filled with older men, gawking at us like prey. I subconsciously tugged at the hem of my dress. Muscle memory? I wonder if those two tables will hook up by the end of the night.

“I see you noticed the welcoming committee,” Sydney whispered to me.

“They’re hard to miss.”

“Well, this is another reason I don’t like this place. The men who come here are creepy. They don’t care that we’re not even twenty-one yet.”

“At least now you can tell them you’re not looking for a man.”

She chuckled. “As if that’d stop them. God, they’re my father’s age.”

“I wonder what would happen if you brought one home to Dad.”

“He’d likely go play golf with them.”

We casually walked through the restaurant until we noticed a group of people our age waving us over. These must be our friends.

A girl with short blue hair ran up to me with open arms as another went to Alyssa. “Oh my God, Kaylee, you look so good! Oh, those curls are so cute on you!” 

Sydney whispered to me. “Lexie.”

We hugged. 

“Lexie, it’s good to see you again,” I said. “This is my friend Sydney,” I motioned.

“Oh, hi, Sydney, I’m Alex, Kaylee and Alyssa’s friend from high school.”

“Nice to meet you… Alex?” Sydney replied but gave her friend a curious look. “I love your hair!”

“Thank you, Sydney,” she said, turning back to me. “Yes, I’m going by Alex now.”

Sydney reacted before I could react. “That’s so cool.”

“It is,” I added.

“Yup,” Alex said. “I’m Alex. They/them. I’m trying something new.”

“That’s awesome, Alex. Everyone should try that.” I wish I could tell them how many new things I’ve tried over the past two months. Or even how many names I go by.

“I haven’t seen you in forever,” Alex complained. “How is life in the big college town?”

“It’s good,” I replied, smiling at Sydney. “Amazing, really. I’m independent. And I don’t have to worry about my parents breathing down my neck.”

“How are the college boys?”

I chuckled. “Umm. They’re OK.”

“Just OK?” Alex said in disbelief. “I’d expected you to be hooking up with some frat guy by now.”

I let out an awkward chuckle. I definitely hooked up with a sorority chick. I almost made it two, if not for A’s ill-timed swap. I made a sideways glance at Sydney who looked disgusted by the idea. “You know me better than that.”

“I know,” Alex said with a frown. “I just want you to be happy. And you’ve been alone since… Nick.”

Nick? Who is Nick? “The less said about Nick the better,” I said, taking cues from her delivery.

“Understood,” Alex agreed.

I wanted to turn to Sydney to ask about this infamous Nick, when the three other girls greeted me one after another. Simone, Chrissy, and Erin. I wasn’t sure how I was going to keep all of their names straight.

We all sat down at the table. 

I sat between Alyssa and Sydney.

I leaned over to Sydney and whispered. “You know, I think if you want to come out as bi to someone, I think you could come out to Alex. They sound accepting.”

“We can’t talk about that here,” she firmly whispered back.

Ixnay on the aygay. Again. “Fair enough.”

“Alex looks so happy,” she said.

“Yes, they do,” I agreed. “Hey, you can drink if you want.” 

She looked at me as if a light just went on in her head. “That’s right! I’m twenty-one now.” She stood up. “Do you want anything?”

“Just a soda, I’m the DD tonight.”

I watched Sydney go up to the bar. She turned around and waved at me with a smile. I waved back.

Just as she turned to talk to the bartender, a guy our age, sat down right next to me in her seat. Great. The last thing I needed was to get hit on while I’m out with my sister and girlfriend. At least he wasn’t one of those older men.

“Hey, Kay,” he said to me. His voice was confident, but his face betrayed his nervousness.

“Hey,” I replied to this stranger who apparently knew me.

“I haven’t seen you around much.”

“I moved closer to the university.”

“Do you go to school there?”

“No.”

He put his hand on top of mine as I flinched at the unwanted contact. “Listen, about the way we left things—”

I pulled my hand away. This must be the infamous Nick. “Nick, there’s nothing left to say.”

“I thought…” he trailed off, sounding hurt. “I just wanted to make sure you’re OK.”

“I’m fine,” I replied. “I’ve got my friends, a job, my own place. And I’m seeing someone.”

That last part caught him off guard and he froze while considering his next move. “Oh, well, good luck with everything,” he said as he got up to sit elsewhere.

I turned to Alyssa, only to see a quizzical expression on her face.

She leaned into me so I could hear her over the loud music. “What’s going on with you and Nick?” 

“Nothing,” I replied. “Why?”

“You should totally get back together with him.”

“Yeah, right,” I replied. “I have no interest.”

“Why not? He’s cute. He’s got a job. He’s a nice guy. Dad likes him. And you two have history. Remember prom?”

“I’m trying to forget.” What happened at prom?

“You had a good time! I thought you two were good together.”

I shrugged.

“I’m sorry about graduation.”

What happened at graduation? “What do you mean?”

“You know…” she said as if we’d had this conversation before. “We were both drunk. We all were.”

“It’s over and in the past,” I said, waving dismissively.

“Is it? I feel like you’re still holding it against me. And Nick.”

Wait, what? I turned to her.

“It was just a kiss. He mistook me for you.”

Oh. That sounds innocent enough for twins. There must be more. “Just a kiss?” I challenged her.

“You’re right,” she admitted, looking down. “I-I was jealous of you so I let him make out with me. It was a mistake,” she continued. “And I’ve regretted it ever since. I’ve been trying to apologize ever since too.”

I wish this conversation wasn’t happening in a loud nightclub. I also wished K was in this body to have this conversation. I looked back to Sydney who was still talking to the bartender. Is this why K and Alyssa have been fighting? I turned back to my twin. “Aly, you both really hurt me.”

“And I’m trying to make it up to you. You can have Nick. I have Dan now.”

He goes by Dan? Heh. Wait, focus. We’re talking about Nick. “Eh. I’m still not interested.”

Alyssa shrugged and turned away from me to talk to someone else.

Sydney returned from the bar with our drinks, this time taking the seat across from me. She slid a soda my way.

I leaned in and whispered to her. “I just met Nick.”

“Nick is here?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit. See? This is another reason why I didn’t want to come to Dockside. This is his hangout. What did he say?”

“He wanted to apologize, but I shooed him away.”

“Good.”

I glanced to see if Alyssa was listening, but she was still talking with Erin. “Alyssa told me what happened.”

“Oh, did she?” Sydney responded, shaking her head in disgust. “Hey, since I’m in a different body, I should go mess with him.”

I frowned. “Who, Nick? What do you mean?”

“I can go flirt with him and then leave his ass high and dry.”

“I don’t know, K. That’s not really why we swapped places.”

Sydney sighed. “I know.” She took a swig of her drink.

“Are there any friends you want to go talk to?”

“No,” she said dejectedly. “It’s just that I don’t really like this place. It’s loud and uncomfortable." She stood up. “I need some air.”

“Do you want me to join you?” I asked.

She nodded.

I followed her outside and away from the smokers congregating near the door.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“The whole Nick and Alyssa thing,” she replied, her warm breath visible in the chilly air.

“What happened there?” I rubbed my bare arms for warmth. “Something about your graduation party?”

“He cheated on me. With her.”

“She said it was a simple mistake. I mean you are identical twins.”

“He knew. She knew. I was there. But did she stop him? No! She leaned into the kiss because she was jealous of me.”

“And when he realized he had the wrong twin?”

She paused for a moment. I could feel the anger radiating off of her. “You know what he said, D?”

I was taken back by her anger. “What?”

“That fucker said, ‘I’m kissing the better twin.’”

I wasn’t there. I wasn’t Kaylee then. But I could feel the betrayal as if I was. All of Kaylee’s insecurity about being the invisible twin packed into one powerful punch by who she thought was her boyfriend.

“So you see,” she continued. “I don’t want to buddy up with Alyssa. Yes, it’s been, what… three years? I’m still not over it.”

“Do… do you want to go home?”

“Yes. I don’t like this bar. It's too loud. It's too awkward to carry on a conversation when the other person doesn’t know you.”

“OK,” I said, placing my hands on her arms. “Let’s go home.”

As we returned to our table, Alyssa was the first person to confront me. “Is everything OK?”

“Yeah,” I replied, searching for things to say. Clearly Alyssa wants to help. She wants Kaylee’s forgiveness. But it’s not my forgiveness to give. “I think we’re ready to go home.”

“Oh,” she looked disappointed. “I’m going to stay here and catch up with our friends.”

“What?” I asked. “But I drove us.”

“I’ll get Chrissy to drive me home.”

“But-”

“This always happens with you, Kay. You go someplace, then want to leave early. This time you’re using your friend as an excuse."

Sydney grabbed my arm. “Kaylee, let's just go.”

We said our goodbyes to our friends and apologized for not staying long, then we left without my sister.

* * *

The only word said during our drive home was Sydney repeating, “I’m sorry I’m like this.” I tried to comfort her and tell her she’s not at fault, but she wasn’t listening. Eventually, I just focused on driving. A part of me wondered if I should just drive back to the university and not return to Kaylee’s parent’s house. When we got home, Sydney undressed and went straight to bed.

I crawled into bed with her and draped my arm around her. She nuzzled into me.

As I lay there awake, I felt guilty. K warned me about her home drama. She didn’t want to come here. We should’ve been back at campus spending time together. Instead, I was excited to meet her family. Was I the one being selfish?

There was a light knock at the bedroom door.

I got out of bed to answer it. 

Alyssa was standing there still wearing tonight’s clothes. “How is Sydney?”

“She’s fine.”

“I’m sorry she didn’t have a good time.”

I shrugged.

“Goodnight, Kaylee,” she said, turning towards her room.

“Goodnight,” I replied as I stood in the doorway.

Just wonderful. This weekend isn’t going to plan. I wanted an exciting weekend where I met my girlfriend's parents. Instead, I’m her, she’s upset, and I’m in the middle of sibling drama and a pair of overbearing parents. And I’m not allowed to do anything about it.

Part of me is upset at the drama. This isn’t what I signed up for. The other part of me… the one that keeps staring at my reflection in mirrors… is thrilled that I finally have drama to be upset at. This is what I signed up for. What does that mean?

Chapter 29 - Kaylee Part 3

Reaching over, I woke up to find myself alone in an empty bed. A frown crept its way onto my face, as I had hoped to talk with K before starting the day.

I could hear the murmurs of conversation, and so I willed myself out from underneath the warm covers and mentally prepared myself for breakfast. 

Before heading to the kitchen, I made a stop in the bathroom. Sleep hadn't come easy after last night’s drama and my reflection showed it. A splash of cold water and a few brushstrokes through my hair did enough to make me not completely dread showing my face. Sadly, my hair was straight again. I should remember to curl my hair later, as I’d really liked that look on me. 

Mom had clearly already started the prep for dinner, as small bowls filled with spices and chopped vegetables were scattered about the countertops. K had warned me that Thanksgiving was more of a big lunch than a big dinner in this family, so I wasn't too surprised. 

Sydney and Alyssa were already at the breakfast table. Sydney was reading a book and Alyssa was busy playing on her phone.

Mom turned away from the stove and placed a plate of eggs in front of Sydney.

"Morning, honey. Did you sleep well?" Mom greeted me.

Pulling out a seat, I sat down next to Sydney "Eh, I've had better." I looked to Sydney who just closed her book and brought her eggs closer. "You were out like a light last night. I take it you slept well?"

Sydney nodded before swallowing her first bite of eggs. "Yup. Felt like I was sleeping in my own bed back home." She smirked at me, and I hope nobody noticed.

My mind drifted back to last night. I didn't want to perpetuate any perceived problems with Alyssa, so I turned to her. She was eating a piece of toast and a small bowl of oatmeal, and didn't look much better than what I had seen in the mirror moments earlier.

"And how did you fare last night, Aly? Good dreams, I hope?"

Alyssa looked up from her food with a bit of apprehension. "OK, I guess."

"Kaylee, aren't you going to eat something?" Mom asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Sure, I'll take some eggs as well. Thanks, Mom."

"Honey, I made eggs for Sydney because she is our guest. Why don't you use some of that independence you crave and make something for yourself?"

Ouch. The realization that I would have to navigate an unfamiliar kitchen to make something for myself then hit me. I noticed Owen was eating a bowl of some super-sugary cereal and took a gamble that there would be other cereals in the house.

"Sorry, you are right." I picked up the open cereal box next to Owen. "Mom, would I be in your way if I put this away and got myself some more grown-up cereal?"

"Not at all, sweetie,” Mom replied. “I think your cereal is still in the pantry from your last visit.”

After a quick glance, I spotted an open pantry next to the fridge. Closing up Owen's box, I returned it to the gap on the shelf and I selected a box for myself. I took an educated guess on where the bowls and spoons were and got lucky on my first try.

Returning to the table with my meager meal, I began to eat in relative silence with everyone else at the table. 

The silence was broken when Owen took his bowl to the sink.

"Owen, be a gentleman and wait for our guest to take a shower before you take yours," Mom instructed him.

"What? But I'm ready now," Owen whined.

"I'm sure Sydney would like some hot water," Alyssa teased with a hint of frustration and anger.

"Oh my God!” Owen complained. “I leave the two of you without hot water one time and you never let me forget it."

I decided to join in the teasing. "It's adorable that you think it was only one time." I giggled to sell it.

"Ugh! Fine! Whatever!" Owen stormed off. “Gotta save hot water for the girls!” he said from a different room. “What about me?”

Sydney called out in that sweet-as-honey voice, “Thank you, Owen,” and the commotion stopped. 

I rolled my eyes at the childish demonstration. As I did, my eyes met with Alyssa's. She was rolling her eyes as well. We both smiled and then broke out into laughter.

"I'm glad to see you both in a better mood,” Mom commented, “but please don't pick on your brother. It would be nice to have a civil Thanksgiving for once."

"Sorry Mom," Alyssa mumbled.

"We'll do our best," I said, and made a little salute.

Mom rolled her eyes and all four of us broke out into laughter.

* * *

After my shower, I decided I wanted to curl my hair again. I found a curling iron under the bathroom vanity and got to work repeating what I learned yesterday morning.

When I was done, I fluffed my bouncy hair. I loved it. It was so me.

I went downstairs to look for Sydney, and found her in the living room watching the Thanksgiving Day parade while frowning at her phone.

“Hey, so I got more messages from the Guild,” Sydney murmured to me.

“Oh?” I whispered back. “Nothing bad, right?”

“No. Good. Apparently, Jasmine’s mom had a change of heart.”

“No shit?” I said in surprise.

“Jasmine said she’s not perfect, but she’s trying and desperate not to lose her daughter.”

“Wow. I did not see that coming.” I remembered my brief interactions with Jasmine’s mom. On the surface she claimed to care about Jasmine and Willow, but her homophobia was ever present. I remembered when I offered to bring a girl home. Her heated anger was felt through the phone. In some ways Jasmine’s mom was similar to Jared - Dad. Their idea of success for their daughters was getting them married off to a guy.

Sensing what I was thinking about, Sydney cracked a smile and replied, “It gives me a little bit of hope for this family.”

I took a breath. If Jasmine’s mom can change, then Dad can change. “Wanna test the waters?”

"Do you think Dad would come around like that?"

"Well, first you'd have to come out to him." 

Sydney paused reflectively. "It's weird. I was really afraid of coming out to him, but now... now I feel like it’s a moment that has to happen in Kaylee's life. I feel... I dunno... disconnected from it? More an observer than a participant."

“Wow, you’ve only been Sydney for 24 hours and you’re already speedrunning the Guild experience.”

“I know, right?” she chuckled.

"But, it's more than that. I think I'm starting to understand the difference between Kaylee and K. It's kinda freeing, actually. Like I can finally let go of years of turmoil I had been bottling up.”

“It took me weeks to understand the difference between D and Daniel. So, when do you want me to do it?”

“Wait, you want to do this now? Here? At Thanksgiving?” Sydney’s shrinking body language gave away her opinion.

“No time like the present,” I said with a playful chuckle. 

“I-I dunno, D. I’m just afraid. Even though I’m the observer. I don’t want to watch anything bad happen to you.”

I nodded.

“I’ll think about it. Please don’t do anything without me, though.”

“I won’t. The Guild has rules. You obey the rules the body’s owner sets down. If you need to make major life decisions, you have to ask them first.”

“I’ll think about it,” she reiterated. “I want to. I’m just… afraid of the fallout.”

“What are you two conspiring about?” Alyssa teased as she walked by. “Fallout from what?”

“Oh,” I said, trying to cover up for our private conversation. “Um, Sydney is thinking about changing majors.”

“Wow,” Alyssa exclaimed. “Aren’t you close to graduation?”

“I am,” Sydney responded. “But there aren’t a lot of opportunities for music majors.

“Good luck then,” Alyssa encouraged. “I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

I looked at Sydney and tried to keep from giggling.

There was some rattling of plates coming from the kitchen.

Sydney turned. “Tiffany, do you need help?”

“I’d love some help with side dishes if you girls aren’t doing anything,” Mom replied.

“This channel isn’t even showing the parade anyway,” I lamented. Just anchors endlessly talking and an aerial view of the parade.

The three of us went into the kitchen where Mom gave us tasks to choose from. Sydney volunteered to do the stuffing, Alyssa volunteered to make the green bean casserole, and I was put in charge of the mac and cheese.

We all settled into a groove. There was laughter and giggling as we helped mom in the kitchen. In the moment, I had forgotten all of the family drama.

Mom hovered over Sydney and tasted some of the stuffing. “This is perfect, Sydney. Gosh, if I didn't know any better I'd swear you've made my stuffing before, but ask anyone in this family and they'll confirm that I keep all my recipes a close secret.”

Sydney blushed. “Just trying to follow your instructions. I'm glad I didn't ruin it. Is there anything else I can do?”

“Well, there isn't much left to do… maybe you'd like to start whipping the cream for the pie topping?”

“Wait,” Alyssa panicked. “I was hoping to make the whipped cream after this." 

“You still have plenty left to work on. Besides, it will be nice to not have you and your sister fight over the beaters for once.”

Alyssa opened her mouth but no words came out. She looked at me momentarily like she was blaming me for past beater fights, before giving up and returning to her casserole.

After another ten minutes, Sydney presented the mixing bowl of cream to Mom. “Are these peaks stiff enough?”

“It looks delicious,” Mom praised as she sampled a finger full of topping. “Put the bowl on the lower shelf of the fridge. Everything else is done,” she said, surveying the kitchen. “Could you give me your apron, so I can wash it?”

Sydney did as she was asked. 

I finished up the mac and cheese with one final stir of the crockpot.

Alyssa finished sprinkling the dried onions on the green bean casserole she’d been assembling and slid it into the oven.

Mom looked at the clock. “Wow, with all three of you helping I might actually have time to relax for a few minutes before the turkey needs to come out. You know what? I can finish up everything here. Why don't you girls go get cleaned up for dinner?”

Alyssa seemed happy to be free, but her expression was somewhat sour. She didn't waste any time excusing herself to her bedroom.

Sydney was close to cleaning up her workspace so I stayed in the kitchen a minute longer before making my retreat. 

Sydney handed me one of the beaters, full of whipped cream. She looked around to verify we were alone. “For my wonderful girlfriend.”

“Thank you, K.”

We smiled at each other and she skipped away.

I looked at the beater on my hand. It looked delicious, but I knew someone who wanted this more than me. I walked upstairs and found Alyssa in her room playing on her phone.

I handed her the beater. A metaphorical olive branch.

Her eyes opened wide at the tasty treat.

“Sorry about last night,” I said.

She took a few licks of the whipped cream. “I’m sorry I was a bitch.”

I smiled at her enjoyment and walked out of her room.

* * *

Everyone gathered around the dining room table and took our seats in the same places as last night. We all held hands as Dad offered a blessing on our Thanksgiving feast. 

“Bless us, oh Lord, and this wonderful food which we are about to receive. On this Thanksgiving, we give You thanks for all You've done and everything You’ve given us. Bless this loving family. Bless our new friend Sydney. Look over us. Maybe see that Kaylee finds her way home—”

“Dad,” I hissed.

“...in the name of Christ, our Heavenly Father. Amen.”

“Amen,” the rest of us repeated, but I was angry.

I wanted to say something, but I felt Sydney’s hand upon my own. I looked at her and huffed out of frustration.

“Thank you girls for helping with the feast today,” Mom said.

The three of us replied in unison, “You’re welcome.”

As Dad began to carve the turkey, Mom told us to start passing the side dishes we had prepared. I stared at the plate of jellied cranberry sauce in front of me. How it held the shape of the can even after being released, jiggling with every vibration of the table. I saw myself in that shape, trapped and unable to express my true self due to invisible pressure to fit into the mold of Kaylee everyone expects me to be. 

“Are you just gonna stare at the cranberries all day?” Alyssa suddenly chastised me. “Some of us would like a slice.”

My reverie broken, I picked up the dish and passed it on. I started filling my plate with other foods, but my appetite was fading. I looked at Sydney, who was staring at me with a quizzical expression on her face.

“You OK?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I lied.

Mom smiled and then turned her attention towards me and Sydney. “Did you girls have fun last night?”

I hoped that my smile didn’t appear too forced. “It was good to see everyone again, but we ended up leaving a bit early.”

“Oh? Were you feeling OK? Did the sushi not agree with you?”

I cringed at the reminder of my embarrassing moment.

“We were fine,” Sydney answered for me. “There just wasn’t an easy way to have a conversation there.”

Alyssa looked down at her plate to try to hide her look of guilt. Or was it annoyance?

Sydney continued, “But everyone I met was cool. And even if they weren’t, it was great to meet so many of Kaylee's friends.”

Mom smiled and replied, “And it's been our pleasure to meet one of Kaylee’s new friends. When Kaylee started living in that apartment all by herself we were worried that she might end up feeling alone.”

“I haven't become a hermit or recluse, Mom,” I pouted. “I’m a hostess in a restaurant. It’s literally in my job description to meet people. Besides, I could always reach out to Chrissy, Erin, Simone, or Alex. I don't live that far away, and my schedule is flexible enough that I can visit people easily.”

Mom had a thoughtful look on her face. “I don't remember an Alex. Was he friends with that one boy?”

Did she mean Nick? Thinking about that situation brought everything I've been trying to process to the forefront. I could see things taking a bad turn if I wasn't careful.

“No, mom. You remember my friend Lexie? Well, Lexie is going by Alex now and is using they-them pronouns. They told us last night.”

Dad huffed loudly. “I never did like her. Always dying her hair crazy colors and wearing garish makeup. It looked like she was applying for clown college. I’m glad she never influenced either of you to act so rebellious.”

Something in me snapped. “They,” I seethed.

“They who?” Dad asked innocently.

“I just told you that Alex is using they-them pronouns. Even if you don’t like our friends, that doesn't make it okay to misgender them.”

Dad rolled his eyes. “What's the problem? She’s not here. It's not like I am going to hurt her feelings.”

“They're not here! Going to hurt their feelings!” My voice was louder than it should have been. “It does matter.”

Dad was flustered and let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay. No more of that queer stuff at the table. I won't mention Lexie or Alex or whatever name she, I mean they, want to go by again. Can we just get back to eating?”

He was lucky he caught himself. I felt like I was ready to explode. I was no longer questioning if I was feeling these feelings as K or as me. This strong-willed resistance was all mine.

I looked at Sydney. She was frozen, staring at Dad. I could sense she was deep in thought.

“You don't want anything queer at the table?” Sydney asked, putting her fork down. “Then I should leave.”

Dad slowly turned his gaze towards Sydney. He was not used to having a guest question him. 

Everyone else was confused why Sydney would want to get up and leave.

“I’m a lesbian,” she growled, her chair screeching as she stood up.

The table went quiet as all eyes turned towards Sydney. Owen’s jaw dropped.

There was an awkward moment before Mom asked, “Do your parents know?”

“Not yet,” she replied. She looked back and forth between Mom and Dad. “Do you think I should tell them?”

“They’re your parents,” Mom said. “You should tell them everything.”

Dad was still flustered. He clearly wanted this conversation to end.

I looked at Alyssa, who was staring at me with a suspicious expression.

Sydney put her hand on my shoulder. I put my adjacent hand over it and squeezed it. “Do it,” she whispered.

I took a deep breath. “I should leave the table too.” I pushed my chair back and stood up.

“What the hell are you going on about?” Dad asked.

“I’m bi.” It felt like a heavy weight had suddenly been lifted from my shoulders. I slowly exhaled.

The table remained quiet. This time all eyes now turned towards me.

“What was that?” Dad asked as if he didn't hear me. But he heard.

“Bisexual,” I confirmed. “I’m bisexual. Sydney is my girlfriend.”

“You're not some queer girl. Sure, things didn't work out with boys during high school, but you'll find another guy—”

I cut him off before he could finish that thought. “I already found someone. She’s been here the whole time. Sydney isn’t just a friend; she's my girlfriend.”

Alyssa gasped. Owen leaned back, taking in all of the drama.

“I have had enough of this!” Dad was practically screaming. “No daughter of mine is going to ruin our family dinner with this nonsense!”

“The only one ruining anything is you!” Alyssa suddenly cried. “Kaylee just came out to us and your response is to yell at her? Accuse her of trying to sabotage a stupid holiday? Try to strong-arm her into conforming to your narrow-minded worldview?”

“Now hold on,” Mom said, trying to bring order to chaos, “Your father wasn't—”

"You're not helping anything by defending him or trying to excuse his terrible behavior. You enabling him has always done more harm than good." Alyssa scowled at Mom before she turned to me. “Kaylee, I love you. I will always love you. That is never going to change. I am so proud of you.”

I smiled. I wanted to tell her that I loved her too. I wanted to thank her for accepting me. I wanted to say so many things. But no words came out. Only tears.

Sydney got up from her seat too and gave me a hug.

Despite getting support from my sister and girlfriend, I felt like an emotional wreck. I’ve made a mess of Kaylee’s life and ruined Thanksgiving dinner. “I need to go lay down,” I announced. I didn’t really, but I just wanted to be anywhere but this dining room.

Sydney escorted me back to my room. I was too weak to protest.

I curled up on my bed. 

Sydney laid down next to me and wrapped her arm around me. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered.

It wasn't long before sleep took me, but before it did we could both hear the fight lingering at the dinner table.

* * *

When I woke up, I found that Sydney had fallen asleep too. I decided that it wasn't going to do us any good staying in my room, so I prepared myself and opened my door.

I could hear the TV. The football game was still on, and I was sure that was where I would find Dad. My parent's bedroom door was closed. Mom was probably in there. I hope she wasn’t feeling too bad. I wondered if she did the dishes by herself. I was suddenly guilty that I left them all without helping clean up.

Maybe it was too early to test the waters with Dad, but if he was uncomfortable with me, that was his problem.

I walked into the living room and saw Dad in his recliner and Owen scrolling through his phone on the far end of the couch. Rather than sit next to Owen, I sat on the end of the couch nearest Dad. I still wanted to get to know my little brother better, but now didn’t feel like the right time.

Dad didn't acknowledge my presence. 

Playing on the TV was the game between the Bears and Lions. I was never much of a football fan, but I guess my time spent as Gabriel had given me a new appreciation for the sport. Like I did when I was actually playing, I started analyzing the plays and the strategies. “Oh, my God, third and short and they decide to pull a trick play!” I commented. 

Dad didn’t say anything.

“They lost so many yards now they’re out of field goal range. What a bonehead decision.” 

Now that got my dad’s attention.

Dad stared at me for a good ten seconds before speaking. “Since when did you take an interest in football?”

This was my chance to find some common ground. “Well, Sydney and her classmates play flag football after classes, and she invited me to join in,” I lied. “It’s supposed to be for fun, but the games can get pretty intense.” I noticed his hands fidget at my mention of Sydney.

“Kay, a fun game with your friends is nothing like a professional football game,” he scoffed.

“I know Dad,” I admitted. “But I’ve also been to a few of their college games. Sydney and I are also friends with one of the running backs. And he likes to talk football with us.”

The game was back on, and we both turned to watch. 

“OK, I know it’s another third and short situation,” I said, describing the play. “But this time the Bears only have single coverage on number 14. Betcha the QB goes deep to him.”

“I doubt it, Kay,” Dad disagreed. “The backs are lined up to just punch it through for the first down.”

“If I was the running back, I’d want that too, but they’re keying on him. They expect a rushing play.”

“You mean to tell me that after playing flag football with friends you can read a defense?”

Just then the play began. The quarterback stepped back and faked a handoff to the running back. He immediately took up a blocking position to protect the quarterback. Meanwhile, the wide receiver took off downfield. He started to go to the outside, forcing his lone defender to commit. He suddenly shifted his path to the center of the field and turned to haul in the football and resumed running. He was headed for the end zone, but a diving tackle from the Bears’ safety stopped him at the two-yard line.

Dad turned to me dumbfounded. “How’d you- You were right. I’ll be damned,” he quietly said to me. “And I… was wrong,” he finally admitted, though I wasn’t entirely sure he was talking about the play call. 

We didn’t say anything during the commercial break. He looked lost in thought. Before the game came back on he looked at me and confessed, “Maybe I was wrong about other things too.”

I searched his face. His eyes showed sadness and guilt. I remained quiet.

“I’m sorry about earlier, Kay. I regret much of what I said. I was out of line. I should have supported you.”

“Thank you,” I choked, tears sliding down my cheeks. “Does this mean you approve of me and Sydney?”

“Yes, I do,” he said with sincerity. ”Sydney seems like a nice young woman, and if she makes you happy, that’s all that matters.” 

Just then the Lions scored and the crowd erupted in cheers. They might as well have been cheering for me. I had broken through Dad’s defenses and won him over. 

“You know, Owen, I think the Lions could go all the way this year,” Dad said, getting back into his comfort zone.

“Yeah, sure Dad, whatever,” was Owen’s reply as he continued to play games on his phone.

Dad turned back to me. “It wasn't because of me, was it?” he asked meekly.

In the brief time I’ve known him, I had never heard this tone from him. He has been so confident in himself, even when he shouldn't. But that confidence was missing. But I honestly didn't know what he was asking.

“What do you mean?”

“The reason you left. It wasn’t because you needed to get away from me, I hope.”

“I didn't need to get away from you. I needed to find myself. My whole life I never really knew who I was. Now I feel like I am finally starting to understand who I am as well as who I want to be.”

It dawned on me that I spoke those words from the heart. The line between D and Kaylee was blurring.

There was another moment of silence between us.

“You know I'm proud of you, right? I hope I haven't failed you that much…” his voice didn't rise at the end like a question, but it was clear that he was searching for an answer. 

"You don't always make it easy. But I know that, in your own way, you only want what is best for us."

“You’re so much more independent than your sister,” he said. “I forget that sometimes. You don’t need your mother and I anymore. And that makes us feel… useless.”

“I need you. I need Mom too. But I also need to be independent.” I thought of something and smirked. “If you want to feel useful, why don’t you come over to my apartment and fix the heater.”

“It isn’t working?”

“It's awful, Dad. It’s loud and barely works. And winter will be here before you know it.” 

“I can come over next week and fix it.”

“I’d like that,” I smiled.

I didn't know which one of us smiled first, but we both did. I was happy to have successfully built a new bridge to connect to my father. If I had to guess, I would have guessed that he was happy to not have lost his daughter.

He looked up and over my shoulder. “Sydney, I didn’t see you standing there.”

I turned to see Sydney behind me with tears in her eyes.

“Sydney, I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier,” Dad said. “Like I was telling your… girlfriend—”

She wasted no time running over and giving him a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Dad awkwardly put his arms around this girl he thought was a stranger.

He snuffed his nose softly. "Say, while these silly commercials play out, why don't you girls and I go raid the leftovers and make some turkey sandwiches? You can tell me all about this football friend of yours while we do."

He got up from his recliner. I wiped a tear from my eye and followed him.

“Have you watched any of my university’s games?” Sydney asked.

“I’m not really into college ball,” Dad replied.

“So, Sydney’s university has a star player that everyone calls ‘Turbo’...” I started to tell the story of Gabriel. Maybe I’d thrown in some of my own highlights.

Chapter 30 - Kaylee Part 4

After dessert, most of the family had fallen into a food coma on the couch watching a movie. Sydney’s head was nestled on my shoulder. It felt as if a weight had been lifted now that we had both come out to the family and could stop pretending.

Of course, that didn’t change the fact that in these bodies, K still saw me as her sister. I imagine next time I come back I’ll be Sydney and K will be herself again. And… and… I suppose we can be more intimate. There was a knot in my stomach at the thought. Despite everything, if we currently had the stone in our possession, I wouldn’t want to swap with K yet.

I looked around the living room and noticed Alyssa wasn’t with us.

I carefully moved Sydney’s head off my shoulder and got up from the couch. I went upstairs to look for my sister and found her in her bedroom playing on her phone.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she answered.

I sat down on the bed. “Thank you for standing up for me. It really means a lot.”

“It’s the least I could do. I’m your sister. I wish you would’ve told me, though.”

“I couldn’t risk you telling Mom and Dad before I was ready.”

“I would never do that to you.”

I felt a pang of guilt that I had judged Alyssa to be untrustworthy up until now. I wish I could’ve trusted her sooner. “I know Sydney really appreciates your support, too.”

“She’s a nice girl, Kay.”

“She is. I’m so glad I met her.”

She put her phone down and looked up at me. “What’s your plans for the rest of the weekend?”

I hadn’t thought that far. “I dunno. Thanksgiving is over. I know I don’t care for Black Friday shopping, so I was thinking Sydney and I would just head home.”

“Well, I was hoping you could stick around for another day.”

“Really? And do what?”

Alyssa shrugged and gave a knowing smile. “We could go to Howie’s tomorrow night.”

“Really? You want to go to Howie’s?”

“Yeah, really. I know you wanted to go. And it’d be a shame to not show Sydney how well you sing. Besides… Alex and Chrissy already said yes. It’d be a shame to cancel now.”

She’s doing this for me. I couldn’t help but smile - even if karaoke wasn’t my first choice. I could feel the warmth from her. As if she’s chipping away at the wall between us. “Thank you for organizing that.”

“Also, Mom wants a girls’ day in the morning. Maybe a mani-pedi?”

A mani-pedi? I chuckled. I’ve never had a mani-pedi before. And to get to do it with my mom, sister, and girlfriend? “I’d love to.” Another chip out of that wall.

Alyssa beamed.

“Thank you. Again,” I said. I feel on the verge of tears, so I should go before she thinks I'm weird.

As I was about to get up she whispered, “Are we cool now?”

I sat back down, and looked into my sister’s eyes. I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding in. “I want to be.” Tears welled up in my eyes.

“Then why drag it out? You’ve held this grudge for three years. Nick's been out of the picture for a long time. You have a wonderful girlfriend now. Why are you still punishing me?”

I tried to choose my words carefully - especially since I wasn’t the real Kaylee. But being Kaylee for two days has given me enough insight. “It wasn’t all about Nick. But what happened between you and him at graduation was just the final straw.”

She looked at me for clarification.

“I’ve always been seen as the invisible twin. The shadow. The imperfect copy. Always ‘Alyssa’s sister.’ It was easy to ignore when we were younger, but as we got older the frustration and envy kept building. I never had my opinions respected. You always took the lead.”

“I’m older,” she said, forcing a sheepish smile.

I didn’t know that. “Only by like…” I hoped she’d complete that sentence.

“Twelve minutes.”

“Right. But that’s what I’ve had to deal with. We never did what I wanted to do. I was always the shadow. And when Nick happened, all of that was thrown right in my face. Even with Mom and Dad. Up until today, I could do nothing right. You could do nothing wrong. Hell - you’re the one that gets to go to college. I wanted to go to college too. I had to leave. I needed to find out who I was. I needed to be someone - not just Alyssa’s sister. I needed to understand who I am. I needed space.” I stopped talking to let all that sink in.

Alyssa looked down and wiped a tear. “I didn’t know. I mean- I knew what I did with Nick hurt you. But I didn’t know how bad. I didn’t know you felt that way about me. That you needed space. It was hard for me to do all of this without you. I had taken you for granted. I always assumed my twin sister would be in my corner. Instead we were strangers. I had to do this college thing by myself. To find friends who loved me like you did. Even my grades slipped without you supporting me. I eventually did it. I’m proud of that, but I had nobody to celebrate with. I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.” A tear rolled down my cheek.

“You know I’m jealous of you, right?”

“So you’ve said. I don’t get it, though. Jealous of what?”

“Mom and Dad let you get away with whatever you want. You’re the rebel. You’re the independent one. I wanted to move out and get my own apartment too. They refused and told me after college.”

“That doesn’t come without its own struggles.”

“You’re also better at talking to guys… and girls, so it seems.”

“But you’ve got Daniel.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not that serious. And I don’t think he really likes me that much. He hasn’t told me he loves me yet.”

“I’m sorry, Aly.”

“So we’re both jealous of each other,” she said. “We’re sisters. We’re twins. It comes with the territory. Remember that time we swapped places?”

I cocked my head in curiosity, but didn’t say anything.

“We had just seen that old movie, The Parent Trap, and you had this crazy idea that we should pretend to be each other.”

“Oh, yeah.” That sounded like a nice memory. I wish I had it.

“Mom and Dad immediately saw right through it.”

I laughed. “That was fun.”

“You’ve always wanted to be someone else,” Alyssa mused. “But I love you just as you are.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. That’s something I’m going to want to talk to K about. I glanced behind me to see if anyone was in the hall. Nobody. It was just me and Alyssa. I turned back to my twin sister and she placed her hand on top of mine. 

“Kay,” Alyssa was tearing up now. “I would do anything - anything - for you.”

I wiped away more of my tears. “You have no idea how much what you did for me today means to me. Standing up for me to Mom and Dad. Planning a Howie’s night.”

“Something’s been different with you these past two days.”

“It has?” I froze.

“I’m not sure if it’s the time away. Or that you've grown as a person. Or maybe it’s Sydney. But… it feels like I have my sister back.” 

I was speechless. Rationally, that made no sense. I’m not her sister. Her real sister is downstairs napping. But I felt it. I felt like her sister at that moment.

She must’ve noticed my quivering lip, because she got up from the bed and hugged me tightly. “I love you, Kay.”

I hugged her back. “I love you, too, Aly.” 

For the first time in my life, I felt like I had a sister. 

* * *

The next morning, all the women were up bright and early. Nobody mentioned the drama from the previous day. 

Mom asked Owen if he wanted to join us for mani-pedis and he scoffed at us. “Dad wants me to help him today anyway.”

I was oddly anxious about my first mani-pedi. I even told K about it. “This is my first time, what if I don’t know what to do?”

“Don’t be nervous, all you’ll need to do is sit back and let them pamper you.”

Dad was up early too, hauling storage bins from the attic. He was in a gruff mood. “It’s too early for this,” he complained to Mom.

“Thanksgiving is over,” she reminded him. “It’s Christmas time, now.”

“It’s not even December yet!”

“It will be December on Sunday, Dad,” Alyssa reminded him.

He scoffed again. “Then I’ll wait until Sunday to put them up.”

Mom stared at Dad with that ‘don’t mess with me’ look, and he quickly backed down. “Fine,” he muttered, knowing any further resistance was futile.

I peeked in the storage bin to find neatly bundled strands of Christmas lights. I giggled. Not because of the seemingly normal argument of when it’s appropriate to put Christmas lights up, but because if I had gone to Daniel’s instead of here, I would be doing the same thing Owen is doing. I wonder how R is handling my former home.

I turned to my brother. “Don’t forget to hold the ladder for Dad.”

“I know the drill,” he replied, rolling his eyes at me.

As we left the house, Mom called back, “Have fun, boys!”

When we got to the spa, we waited in the lobby first next to a wall of nail polish bottles. Mom, Alyssa, and Sydney, each knew the routine and picked their own bottle. I turned to Sydney, “What color do you want me to get?”

She looked at me quizzically. ‘What color do you want?”

“It’s your body,” I whispered.

“No, it’s still yours for the weekend,” she whispered back. “Plus, it's your first time. I have to imagine this is a rite of passage for a trans woman. Indulge yourself.”

I rolled my eyes. I don’t know what color to get. Are there colors for seasons? Are there colors to match my complexion? Could I get more than one color? I was tempted to ask Alyssa or Mom what to get, but K was right. I should pick it myself.

I scanned the wall and was drawn to the reds, oranges, and pinks. I scanned the reds. There was every shade possible. From the dark blood reds,to the reds that could pass as pink. There was one that was drawing my attention. It was a candy apple red. Bright and vibrant and calling my name. I hoped getting red wasn’t too clichéd.

I glanced over at Sydney, and saw her give me an approving smile. “You can get a second bottle if you want a different color for your hands.”

Another color? “Nah, I’ll stick with one color this time.”

The four of us were led to a dark and cozy room, filled with soothing music and four comfy massage chairs.

I put my feet in the bubbling hot water. “Oh, that’s nice,” I purred. 

Warm towels were draped around our necks, and we sat there in silence, listening to the music as the chairs massaged us.

Eventually the nail technicians came into the room and turned on their work lamps. 

The technician filed down my toenails, and scraped the bottom of my feet. I flinched because it tickled at first. Then they scrubbed my feet and calves with some scrubbing salts and oils. 

I watched as my toenails were painted with the candy apple polish I picked out. I loved the color against my toes. When the technician was done, I couldn’t stop staring at them. They were so cute.

Next we were brought to another area of the spa that was brightly lit and filled with more people and conversation.

There the technicians did the same things to our hands.

“So, Sydney,” Alyssa began.

“Yeah?” Sydney hesitated.

“You’re dating my sister.”

“I am,” she giggled.

“I want the full details.”

“Aly!” I exclaimed. “It’s none of your business.”

“Hey, I’m not talking to you,” Alyssa smirked. “I’m talking to my sister’s girlfriend. How long have you two been a couple?”

“Offically? Exactly two weeks,” Sydney replied.

Alyssa’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wow, you two move quickly! Where’d you meet?”

“We met in a coffee shop almost a month ago and found we liked the same books and drinks. Kaylee asked me if I wanted to read a book together.”

“Cute. Are you two living together?”

“You better not be,” Mom chimed in.

“No,” Sydney giggled.

“When’s the date?” Alyssa continued.

“The date?” Sydney questioned.

I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t sure who was more embarrassed. Me or Sydney. But honestly - I was enjoying every moment of being embarrassed by my sister.

“If I’m going to be the maid of honor,” Alyssa said slyly, “I want to make sure I have the date open.”

“As if,” I chimed in.

Alyssa leaned over to Sydney, and whispered intentionally loudly. “Between you and me, I think you have her wrapped around your finger.”

“Do I?” Sydney replied rhetorically.

“Yeah. She never brings anyone home. The fact that she brought you home is a big deal.”

“We are so happy to have met you, Sydney,” Mom added.

The rest of the day was uneventful. We let Sydney pick where we went for lunch. She picked a small organic cafe. After lunch we returned home to find Dad and Owen still hanging Christmas lights. Dad was yelling obscenities at one string that apparently refused to light. Mom set the mood inside by playing some Christmas music. 

This was the most I’ve seen Alyssa happy and engaged with us. Obviously our talk last night helped our relationship, but it also had an effect on how she treated Sydney, too. I noticed Alyssa hanging out more with Sydney. Deep in conversation and sharing giggles. I’m glad K opened up to her. All it took was for her to be someone else.

Dinner tonight was much more chill, and Sydney was treated like a member of the family.

* * *

After dinner, it was time to get ready to go out to Howie’s. I got the feeling Howie’s was different from Dockside, so it would require a different style of outfit. Thankfully, Sydney was willing to help me pick it out.

Apparently Howie’s Hideaway was a country bar, so for me she chose cowgirl boots and skinny jeans and paired them with a cream button-up blouse. The blouse was not opaque enough to hide the lacy black bra underneath. As I had learned from my time as Jasmine, that was certainly a style choice.

Sydney wore an outfit very similar to the one K wore during our Sunday afternoon together. Jeans with an unbuttoned flannel shirt over a crop top. I didn’t pack any sort of boots, so she wore sneakers.

As we were about to get changed, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Alyssa poked her head in. “Hey, Kay, can I borrow something?”

“Sure, come in,” I replied.

“There’s a cute floral dress I want to wear tonight,” she said, pointing at my closet.

“Sure,” I said with a smile.

Alyssa scanned my closet and pulled out the dress in question.

She took it, dropped it on my bed, then pulled her T-shirt off.

That’s when Sydney took her top off too.

Not to be left out, I also started changing.

When I looked up, my twin sister was topless. Wow. We really are twins. I quickly looked away. I pulled off my own bra so I could put on the lacy black one I picked out.

I remembered the first time I changed with K. We were shopping for bras. I remembered her reminiscing about Alyssa. What did she call themselves? “Look! It’s the Fantastic Four!” I giggled.

Alyssa looked at me like I was crazy.

I glanced at Sydney, who was on the verge of laughing. “The Fantastic Four. I get it.”

“We…” Alyssa said with a confused smile. “We haven’t called them that since middle school.” 

I need to remind myself to thank Sydney for the out-of-date joke.

“If I had a twin,” Sydney said, trying to smooth that over, “I’d totally still call them that, though.”

All three of us laughed.

There was a pounding on the door. “Keep it down!” Owen yelled.

If anything, that only made us laugh even harder.

When the three of us were finally dressed I looked my twin sister up and down. “That’s such a cute dress on you.” 

She smiled. “Thanks Kay. I like your outfit too. It’s very country.”

“We’re going to a country bar right?”

“Yeah, but there’s no dress code.”

“Well, I’m prepared in case line-dancing breaks out.” I did a quick shuffle of my boots.

That elicited more laughs from both Sydney and Alyssa.

* * *

We arrived at Howie’s Hideaway. An old bluegrass song was spilling out through the windows. When we opened the door, we were assaulted by the volume of the music and the off-key screeching of the drunken amateur singer. The place itself was a dimly-lit country bar full of neon beer signs, arcade games, and digital poker machines. The scent of fried food filled the air. Peanut shells crunched under my boots.

The person on stage was singing “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks, and really butchering it.

Alex was already at a table with the rest of our friends and waving us over.

I went over to Alex first. “Alex!” I shouted before embracing them in a big hug.

“Kaylee! Good to see you again.”

I motioned to Sydney, “Hey - you remember my girlfriend, Sydney?”

“Yeah! Wait - your girlfriend?” Alex repeated with a smirk.

“Yup,” I replied. “We officially told my parents last night.”

“OMG!” they squealed. “Hey girl,” they said, hugging Sydney. “That’s so awesome.” After the hug they looked at me. “So when did you figure it out?”

I knew what she was asking. When did I figure out I liked girls? I’m not sure how to answer that as Kaylee. I remember what happened during our book club date. She was in denial then, but I didn’t want to share that detail. “I dunno,” I shrugged.

“A few weeks ago,” Sydney said, nudging me.

“Seriously?” Alex replied. “I thought you were going to come out senior year.”

Sydney looked at them in confusion.

“Nah-uh,” I pretended to deny it.

“Yeah-uh,” Alex countered. “Remember that list you made? The girls at school you had a girl crush on?”

I glanced at Sydney for a hint on how to handle this. I saw no hint. “Yeah.”

“Especially that one girl, Shelby. You followed her around like a puppy dog. You complained when she took that guy Jason to prom.”

“He was so wrong for her,” I joked.

“Well, they’re married now. But you were totally obsessed with her back then.”

“Oh.” I glanced over at Sydney who seemed shocked that her friend knew she was bisexual three years before she did.

When we took our seats I leaned into Sydney and whispered. “So who is Shelby?”

Sydney giggled. “Well because I was the shadow twin, I was always jealous of people who were much more visible than I. She was the drum major and extremely popular. And we sat next to each other in Chemistry. She knew my name.”

“And attractive?”

“Very.” Sydney turned red. “I remember telling Alex. ‘I’m not a lesbian, but damn would I love to kiss her.’”

I nodded with a smile. “That’s what every straight girl says,” I giggled.

“I was in denial, OK?” She playfully nudged me. “Besides, you shouldn’t judge.”

“I know,” I grinned.

Alex sat in the vacant seat next to me. “Kay, are you going to sing something?”

“I uh…”

“Yes!” Alyssa urged. “You should!” She gave me that stare that silently reminded me “We came here for you.”

“Here,” Alex said, dropping a binder of karaoke songs in front of me.

I looked at the thick, daunting binder. “I have no idea what to sing,” I admitted.

“Have you ever karaoke’d?” Sydney whispered.

“Sort of,” I replied. “At home. Growing up my parents had a karaoke game for PS4.”

“What did you sing?”

“I don’t remember. I wasn’t particularly good at it. They made me sing oldies. Stuff from the ‘80s and ‘90s.”

“When I would sing,” Sydney explained, “I would sing something fun from Taylor Swift or Britney Spears.”

I wanted to remind her that up until two months ago, I was a guy and admitting that I enjoyed female vocalists would be social suicide. “I like Taylor Swift,” I admitted. That felt good.

“Then I’d start there with a song you recognize. Can I go first?” 

“Absolutely,” I said, pushing the binder to my girlfriend.

Sydney grabbed the binder and started flipping through it. After a minute or two she wrote a song on a sheet of paper and sent it up to the Karaoke DJ.

“What did you pick?” I asked.

“‘Running Up That Hill,’” she replied with a smile.

“The song from Stranger Things?” Alyssa asked.

“Yeah,” she replied. She glanced at me. “It’s about swapping places with the one you love. To hope they understand your perspective.”

Our eyes met. She winked at me and smiled.

“That was an awesome season,” Alyssa said, interrupting our silent conversation. “I wonder when the next season will come out?”

The current singer finished up to a lackluster, but polite, round of applause. 

“Next up,” The DJ announced, “Is Sydney!”

My friends at the table cheered as Sydney made her way up to the karaoke machine.

The familiar new-wave synth music started as she waited for the words to come on the screen.

“It doesn't hurt me,” she sang, trying to find the right notes. After all, she was in a different body. K knew how to sing. Sydney was a music major and could play musical instruments. But could she sing? “Do you wanna feel how it feels?” That sounded better.

Alyssa hollered, “Yay, Sydney!”

Sydney smiled. “Do you wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me? Do you wanna hear about the deal that I'm making?” Wow, she could sing.

I stood up and cheered.

She pointed at me and sang, “You. It's you and me.”

More cheers.

She pulled the microphone off the stand and I broke into the chorus, “And if I only could. I'd make a deal with God. And I'd get Him to swap our places. Be runnin' up that road. Be runnin' up that hill. Be runnin' up that building. Say, if I only could…”

“Your girlfriend is awesome!” Alyssa leaned into me with pride.

“She is.”

After the song, Sydney was met with cheers. She took a bow like the many times she’s done that as Kaylee.

Upon returning to the table she was met with lots of fawning by Alex, Chrissy, and Alyssa. 

She whispered into my ear, “Thank you for this. This has been an amazing weekend.”

“Same,” I replied.

“Wow, Sydney, you can sing just as good as Kaylee!” Alex remarked.

That’s when everyone started looking at me.

“Kaylee, when are you going to sing?” people at the table started asking.

“You don’t have to,” Sydney whispered. “I understand.”

I have to. Not just because Alyssa organized this whole outing for me. Not because Sydney just sang. Not because I’m Kaylee and everyone is expecting me to sing, but because it feels right. I feel safe with these girls. “I feel like I was just put on the spot,” I joked, looking around at my friends. My heart starting beating quicker

“Sorry about that.” Sydney gave me an innocent smile.

“No - it’s OK. Karaoke should be fun. I’ll do it! I want to do it.”

She slid the binder in front of me.

I took a deep breath. OK, let’s find a song.

“That was so weird,” Sydney commented on her experience. “It took me longer to find the right notes than it normally does.”

“Muscle memory,” I replied, flipping through the binder. “Sydney must not sing as much as Kaylee does. So it was like you were trying to play an instrument that isn’t yours.”

She nodded. “Facisinating.”

As I flipped through that binder I kept hearing my dad’s - Daniel’s dad’s voice in my head. “You can’t sing a girl’s song.” And it didn’t matter if it was a boy band. There were girls' songs and boys' songs. While I didn’t think I had any gender dysphoria back then, I took his word for it, and always skipped over any pop music. One of those artists I enjoyed, but denied publicly, was indeed, Taylor Swift.

The binder sat there open to Taylor Swift songs. There was a song I wanted to sing right now. Sure - the song was twelve years old, but it took me back to a time when I was a kid and I’d dream of having a love that only Taylor could sing about. A love from a fairy tale. I pulled out my phone and turned my camera to selfie mode. Kaylee's beautiful face - my beautiful face - reflected back at me and I was filled with a momentary shot of euphoria. I’m living that fairy tale.

I wrote the song on the paper, got up, and handed it to the DJ. I returned to the table a nervous wreck. Sydney recognized that look on my face and didn't disturb me.

After two singers, it was my turn.

“Next up is Kaylee!” the DJ announced.

I walked behind the karaoke monitor and stood there, nervously holding the microphone.

The music started playing as the strum from the guitar filled the bar. The first lyrics from Taylor Swift’s “Everything Has Changed” came up on the monitor.

I softly sang, “All I knew - This morning when I woke - Is I know something now - Know something now I didn't before.” I closed my eyes. Musical memory kicked it and I found myself tuning my vocal chords. I mean - I’m not Taylor Swift - but I’m not the screeching cats who sang earlier. And maybe if K was in control of this body it would be a little better, but all I knew is this was much better than anything I could do as Daniel.

The ambient noise of the bar silenced. I opened my eyes to see the whole bar giving me their undivided attention.

“And all I've seen - Since eighteen hours ago - Is green eyes and freckles and your smile - 

In the back of my mind making me feel like-”

I locked eyes with Sydney as I sang the next bar of music. “I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now.” She was very much a part of my fairy tale. I locked eyes on my twin sister who stood there with a smile and tears. I continued singing. Standing on the stage under the spot lights, throwing passion into the chorus. I saw Alex singing with me. 

“All I know since yesterday - Is everything has changed.” 

The bar all stood up and cheered. I was welcomed back to my table with praise. A lot of the friends at the table told me they missed me and my Karaoke singing and that I always had the best voice of the group.

The rest of the night was a blur. More songs. More friendly banter from friends reminiscing about a past that I didn’t live but wished I had.

Out of the corner of my eye, I found Alyssa and Sydney telling jokes like old friends. Taylor Swift was right. “Everything has changed.”

* * *

My vision began to refocus. I looked down at my massive green hands. That’s right - I was an Orc. I was participating in the cleansing ceremony similar to what Lenaria had undergone. The glow of the intricate patterns that had formed on my skin during the cleansing had started to fade.

Through the steam, I could barely make out the figure of the priestess. She appeared to be wiping down a large object. I couldn’t see her face. Was she Toriji?

I shifted my weight. The movement was more than I had intended and I ended up knocking over a nearby bowl.

The commotion caught the attention of the priestess. She swiftly closed the distance, crouched behind me, and helped guide me up from the small pool. 

"It is not uncommon to be a little disoriented after your first cleansing." Her voice was no longer echoing through my head. It would probably sound melodic if it weren't for her consistently even cadence and disinterested tone.

"Sorry." My voice boomed with a strength it had not had before. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Sorry about the bowl. I hope I didn't break anything."

Once I found my new balance I noticed that the priestess seemed shorter. "Were you taller before?"

"Many aspects of our bodies change as they are drained. Your body was drained considerably. After the restoration you are able to stand at your full height again."

"So... I am no longer... drained?" I hated speaking so plainly, but cleansings were so foreign to me - even though I remember reading this scene several times in my previous life as a human. I can barely even remember that life. 

The priestess regarded me. She appeared to ponder for a moment before answering. "Your condition was unusual. The connections between your physical and spiritual forms were disjointed... disrupted... almost dissimilar. I am an expert with these connections and still I struggled. After realigning your two halves I was able to channel energies into and through you, but your capacity for holding energy has been reduced. Over time, you will continue to restore naturally. Are you not able to feel the difference between your current state and your normal state?"

I wasn’t sure what she was telling me, but it oddly made sense. I remember hopping from body to body. Somehow ending up in this Orc. I considered how best to phrase my response. "I can't recall the last time I felt this... connected."

The priestess' gaze lingered for a moment. She returned to the large object she had been focused on when I woke up. "I had this brought here for you."

I made my way over to the object. Each step felt more natural and fluid than it had since this whole ordeal had begun. Through the steam I noticed the outline and frame of a mirror. 

“Are you ready to see your true form?” the priestess asked.

“My true form,” I echoed. I wiped away the condensation and stepped back in shock, not prepared for what I saw.

Standing in the mirror. My reflection was Kaylee.

* * *

My eyes opened and I realized I was still in Kaylee’s bedroom. It was still dark and the only light emanated from various LED devices around the room. Sydney was soundly sleeping next to me.

The knot in my stomach was back, and my breathing was labored. I felt trapped. But unlike during Thanksgiving, it wasn’t because I wasn’t allowed to be myself. This time I realized what had been bothering me all along. I liked being Kaylee. This whole weekend I let the line between D and Kaylee blur so that I considered myself Kaylee. 

I realized I wasn’t role-playing anymore. When had I stopped? At Thanksgiving? At Karaoke? Was I ever? 

Kaylee wasn’t a character I was pretending to be. 

Kaylee, at least this version, is who I am.

Chapter 31

I could feel the sun warming the blankets. The dream last night was still fresh in my subconscious. When I opened my eyes, Sydney was laying there staring at me with a big smile.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” she sang to me.

“Good morning,” I smiled back.

She touched her forehead to mine - our version of a morning kiss in these bodies. “Ready to go home and swap back?” she asked me.

My body language must’ve given away my trepidation because she backed her head away. “What’s wrong?”

I haven’t had any waking moment to really interpret that dream and what it meant for us moving forward. “Nothing,” I lied. I stretched my limbs. “It’s just that I’m not looking forward to swapping back. It’s like my vacation is over.”

“Vacation from what?” she giggled. “From your super awesome group where you can be someone new each week?”

“Well, I had such a great time as you, and with your family. I’m just sad that it has to end.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. But look at the bright side. The sooner we swap, the sooner we can resume our original weekend plans.” She gently brushed her fingers against my bare arms. “You remember? I recall something about spending the rest of the weekend wearing nothing.”

I could feel the goose bumps pop up, and a tingling between my legs. “Hmm,” I cooed. “That does sound nice.” I tried to hide my reluctance. Yes, I wanted to have sex. But, I wasn’t ready to swap back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have both unless K somehow stopped seeing me as her sister. “Let’s go home, then.”

“Then you take the first shower,” she said, pulling back the blankets and swinging her legs off the bed. “While I start packing.”

“OK,” I said as I slowly got out of bed too and made my way to the bathroom and a shower. 

During the shower, I finally found a few quiet minutes to think about last night’s dream. During my swaps with the other five Guild members, I’d never felt this way. Sure, I felt at home in Jasmine and Morgan. But that was fun. This body - Kaylee - it just felt…right. More importantly, I felt comfortable. A favorite pair of comfy jeans that you’d rather wear more than anything else.

The hard part is, how do I explain that to Kaylee? What would she think? Would she think that I want to steal her life? Do I? S, R, G, and J all decided to permanently swap. It's a decision I never thought I’d have to consider. How would it feel to have Kaylee’s mom and dad as parents instead of Daniel’s parents? How would it feel to never be male again? Or maybe I'm worried about the fact I’m not worried about any of that.

I pushed those thoughts out of my head. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m mistaken. Hell, I haven’t even talked to G about being trans. I might not be. Another part of me feels like an imposter every time K accepts me as being trans. As if I’m not worthy of it.

When I returned after a nice warm shower, Sydney already had our clothes folded on the bed and the suitcase opened.

“I set aside an outfit for you,” she said to me. Folded nearly was a burgundy dress and black leggings.

“Thank you,” I replied, eyeing the outfit, excited to put it on.

“You’re very welcome. My turn for the shower!” Sydney squealed excitedly.

When she was gone, I shed my bath towel and got dressed. The dress was soft and warm. A perfect fall dress. I ran my hands down the sides. Oh, wow, it has pockets in it!

I hadn’t once looked in the mirror. I knew who was there. Like someone stalking me. She wanted me to turn around and look. What if I looked? What if I liked what I saw again? What if I didn’t?

The temptation won and I looked in the mirror.

This is me. I was cute. No. I was beautiful. Even if I had wet hair. I spun for my reflection and the dress flared out. I knew Kaylee was beautiful from the first time I laid my eyes on her. But this felt different. I was beautiful. It wasn't lust. I didn’t have a need to kiss my reflection. I just wanted to… be. I want to stay her. With my cute red hair. Those freckles. Those dimples when I smile. Did I just make up my mind? No. I must push those thoughts away again. At least until I can have a real conversation with G and K.

I then realized a tear was rolling down my cheek. I wiped that away and started to pack the clothes back into the suitcase. Sydney will be done with her shower soon. This way we can eat breakfast and get on the road.

After breakfast we packed up and said goodbye to Mom, Dad, Alyssa, and Owen. Mom made sure I was coming home for Christmas. Dad promised to visit in the coming weeks to either look at my heater or tell me what I need to tell the landlord. Alyssa gave me the strongest hug and asked me to keep in touch and perhaps invite her over one weekend. Owen did the typical teenage boy thing and pretended he wouldn't miss us.

They felt like my family now, and I was looking forward to seeing them again. Perhaps we’ll do this again for Christmas.

During the drive back home, Sydney and I were mostly quiet. I felt like I should be D again, and stop being Kaylee. Mentally prepare for the inevitable swap. The longer I stayed as Kaylee, the harder it would be to leave. I wonder if K was having a similar thought since we hadn’t addressed ourselves as K or D since before Thanksgiving dinner.

“So, how were your three days as Sydney?” I asked her. “You were a guest in your own home.”

“Oh, it was wonderful,” she replied with a wide smile.

“Even though you had to sit through your own family drama?”

“Totally. I was worried at first that it would be too much for you. But you handled it great. And I kinda enjoyed being the girlfriend in that situation. I saw a side of Mom and Dad I had never seen as their daughter. Same with Alyssa and Owen. Once they learned I was your girlfriend I was elevated to family status. But not like a daughter. Like a special family status. They wanted to talk to me and include me. I was the center of attention for what seemed like the first time in my life.”

“That’s awesome. I’m happy you got to see that side of them.”

“Oh - and the look on Dad’s face when I stood up and said I was a lesbian. That was incredible. And then when you stood up and said you were bi and I was your girlfriend. It was scary. But I keep reliving that moment in my mind.”

“I was scared too. But wow that felt good!”

“Oh, and I had no idea you could disarm Dad with football. Hell, if I knew that, maybe I would’ve watched more of it growing up.”

“I didn’t know either. I figured I’d give it a shot. What was the worst that could happen? It was a total Hail Mary.”

“I don’t know what that is, so I’ll just trust you,” she giggled. “Also, I was just teasing you this morning. I know what you meant by a vacation ending. I feel the same way.”

“Oh, good. I thought I was going crazy. I was worried you had a bad time as Sydney.”

“No. Quite the opposite. In fact, I was thinking of asking you something.”

“What? Anything.” Does she know I want to stay as Kaylee? I tensed up in anticipation.

“Can I… um… join the Guild?”

I sputtered at the unexpected question. “You want to join the Guild?” I repeated. This wasn’t a surprise from what I’ve learned about her this weekend. Her desire to be someone else. I just had no idea what the others would think.

“Yeah. This was so much fun. I want to try someone else next. Maybe Morgan. She’s hot. Or hell - I’d love to try being a guy. That would be so surreal.”

“I can ask,” I said hesitantly. “Our next meeting is tomorrow. I think they prefer a group of six, so I’m not sure if there’s an opening. So, no promises.” I had no idea if that was true, and a bigger group would certainly give more variety and flexibility. But a part of me was being selfish. If K joined the Guild, then Rule Five would apply. We wouldn't be able to date each other. I mean - It’s not like we’re intimate at the moment. I imagine it would be the same if K was a guy.

She looked disappointed at my answer. “I understand.”

* * *

When we got back to Sydney’s apartment, we parked the car, unloaded our luggage, then wasted no time walking over to Jasmine and Morgan’s apartment. At this point I didn’t care if Morgan or anyone else saw me as Kaylee.

I knocked on the door and was surprised it took longer than usual for anyone to answer.

“Are they not back yet?” Sydney asked.

“I remember them telling me that they'd be getting back this morning. Earlier if things didn’t go well with Jasmine’s mom.” 

Just then, Morgan opened the door. She looked distraught. “Hey,” she said to both of us, but was mostly looking at Sydney. “Come in.”

She let us in and we walked into the apartment. Jasmine was sitting on the floor with her legs pulled up against her chest. She didn’t even look up to see who her visitors were. Something wasn’t right.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Jasmine, what’s wrong?”

Morgan gave me a blank stare - I had forgotten for a brief moment that Morgan was A and A had never met Kaylee. “Jasmine was attacked outside the apartment,” she said.

“Are you OK?” I asked, sitting down on the other side of Jasmine.

“I’m just shaken,” she replied. “I’m fine.”

“Who was it?” Sydney asked.

“Aiden.” Jasmine breathed.

I put my hand on her shoulder. “What happened?”

“Lauren had just dropped me off,” she recalled. “I had my suitcase and too much stuff in my hands. I dropped my keys.” She swallowed. “When I stood back up, Aiden was there and was in my face. He wanted to swap back now. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about. He got angry. He shoved me against the door. I froze.”

Hearing Jasmine’s account made me feel sick. I’ve been between Aiden and a wall before. Hearing that Jasmine had the same experience made me angry. I was afraid to ask my follow-up question. “Did… did he do anything to you?”

“No. He pounded the door a few times. I thought he was going to hit me. But he just stormed off.” She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “I’ve never been so afraid in my life.”

“It’s OK. He’s gone now.”

“I had the pepper spray in my purse, but I froze."

“It’s OK.”

“But I used to be a guy. I was a football player. I should’ve kicked his ass- but I felt so powerless.”

“Honey, gender doesn’t matter when someone dangerous is threatening you,” Morgan reminded her.

“But…” Jasmine tried, but couldn’t get the words out. She looked completely overwhelmed by her emotions.

I held her hand. “Jasmine. It’s OK. It wasn’t your fault.” 

She then hugged me and sobbed into my chest. 

I rubbed her back. “It’s OK,” I quietly repeated. “You’re OK. You’re safe. You’re here with your friends.”

“What do we do?” Sydney asked Morgan.

“I'm going to call an emergency meeting,” Morgan replied as she stood up and started tapping her cellphone.

“What about the police?” Sydney asked.

“Jaz asked me not to,” Morgan replied with a frown. She turned to me and Jasmine. “But I should.”

Jasmine lifted her head up and turned to Morgan and Sydney. “That was E right? If the police are involved, swapping them back might be harder.”

Morgan closed her eyes and exhaled in defeat. She knew Jasmine was right. “I hate letting him - or her - walk free. He assaulted you, Jaz.”

“Swapping them back has to take precedence,” Jasmine replied hoarsely.

“I don’t understand why he did it,” Sydney said, shaking her head. “Aiden was eager to swap back during his last email. Why so suddenly impatient?” 

“Maybe that was E using Aiden’s email address,” I suggested. “Or A2. I never really asked for them to identify themselves. I had the impression they were working together to reply to me.”

Morgan shrugged. “I don’t know.” As soon as she hit send, Sydney’s and Jasmine’s phone buzzed with the QuikChat message she just sent.

Jasmine let go of her embrace, glancing down at the wet spot her tears had left on my dress. “I’m sorry for making a mess on your shoulder," she said with a wan smile.

“It’s OK to show emotion,” I replied. “Especially with what just happened to you.”

Jasmine looked ready to choke up again. “Thank you D, I needed to be reminded of that.”

Morgan gave me a quizzical look and cocked her head. “D?”

I gave a guilty shrug and smiled. “Yeah.”

Morgan then looked at Sydney. “Then you must be Kaylee.”

“That’s me,” Sydney replied.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.” Morgan said. “I wish we could’ve met under…” she gestured her hands out to the complicated situation. “...better circumstances.”

“Same,” Sydney concurred.

I stood and helped Jasmine up. “Is everything accounted for in here? Did he break in? Is the stone still here?”

Morgan walked into her bedroom, then returned holding the stone, “It’s still here.”

We all let out a sigh of relief.

“I wonder what he would’ve done if I wasn’t here,” Jasmine posited. “He was pretty angry.”

“Break in?” Morgan shrugged?

“That could have been worse,” I said.

“I know,” Jasmine agreed. She forced another smile, content for the moment that her assault episode prevented something worse from happening.

“The emergency meeting,” I said to Morgan. “Can K come?”

Morgan looked at Sydney then back at me. “Since K already knows everything that’s going on, I don't see why not.” She went over to Jasmine who was staring off into nothing. “Jaz, let’s sit down in the living room. I’m going to text everyone and tell them to come here immediately.” She led Jasmine to the couch.

Sydney turned to me. “You want me at your meeting?”

“Well, since I’m still in your body, and you’re still Sydney…”

“We could swap back now if you want.”

“I don’t see a rush.” I replied with a smile. “Consider it a trial run for when you join.”

“OK, Kaylee,” she replied with a large smile.

We rejoined Morgan and Jasmine in the living room to wait for everyone else to show up.

* * *

Gabriel came over first. He immediately rushed to Jasmine and pulled her into a bear hug, his massive arms wrapping around her petite frame. When he let go he looked at her with concern. “Are you OK? Is there anything I can do?”

“I’m fine,” she replied. “Just shaken.”

“I’m going to kick his ass!” he proclaimed.

Jasmine reached out and held his hand. “Come, sit with me,” and pulled him to sit down. 

Gabriel sat down and wrapped his former body with one of his big arms. Jasmine closed her eyes, her face serene as she nuzzled into him.

“Tell me about Thanksgiving,” he softly urged.

“Mom was pissed about me bringing home Lauren,” she began. “At first. We left. We took Willow with us. Mom broke down crying that she finally realized she was losing her family by being a bigot.”

“Then what happened?” asked Gabriel.

“She called and begged us to come back,” Jasmine continued. “So we stopped at a diner for coffee and discussed our options.” She paused. “We all agreed to go back, but we were not going to put up with any of mom’s insults and bigotry. Then we left and went back a second time.”

“Did she behave the rest of the time?”

“She did. She was respectful to Lauren. I could tell she wanted to make hurtful comments, but she stayed quiet.”

“Baby steps, I suppose,” Gabriel replied. “It’s hard to erase a lifetime of hatred.”

“How was yours?”

“Wonderful. I love your brothers and sisters. I had a blast.”

Minutes later, Antonio and Daniel arrived. 

I wondered how Daniel’s Thanksgiving went. But I decided I’d save that question for when we were not dealing with an emergency.

Antonio stood up in the middle of the living room. “I didn’t bring my gavel,” Antonio said, looking at everyone. “Do we want to just get started?”

There were nods.

“Before we get into the meeting” Antonio said, “We do have a guest. Kaylee, who I believe is currently Sydney.”

“She’s brought up to speed with the situation,” I announced.

"Hello," Sydney said shyly. "I think I know most of you."

"OK," Antonio picked up, "let's get to the reason for this meeting. Aside from Jasmine’s encounter this morning, where did we leave off with Aiden and Ella?”

“Aiden texted me on Wednesday,” Sydney said. “He wanted to swap back that day, but we were already out of town. D suggested I tell him we can swap them back after Thanksgiving break. He seemed OK with that.”

“It’s still only Saturday,” Daniel stated. “The weekend isn’t over. Why today?”

Sydney shrugged.

“Assault is certainly an escalation of the situation,” Gabriel stated, still fuming.

“I mean, this is what we’ve been talking about for a month now,” Antonio said with frustration in his voice. “Leaving them in those bodies was cruel.”

“We had no choice,” Daniel retorted.

“Stop,” Morgan interrupted. “That’s all in the past. Let’s worry about the present. Jasmine was assaulted and it appears Aiden and Ella are eager to get swapped back. So much so, one of them has resorted to violence.”

“You’re right, we can’t put this off any longer,” Antonio advised.

As if the universe heard Morgan, I noticed Sydney looking down at her phone. She leaned over and showed me the message

The message said, “Are you Jasmine?”

They must’ve assumed I was Jasmine this whole time they’ve been emailing me, which explains why they came here looking for Jasmine to swap them back.

“Hey everyone,” I called out. “They’re texting us.”

“The message asked if I’m Jasmine,” Sydney added.

“Do they think they’ve been emailing me the whole time?” Jasmine asked.

“Fuck ‘em,” Gabe said.

“No, no - we said that last week,” Antonio objected. “We have to see this through. Now.” 

“What should I tell them?” Sydney asked.

“Just tell them ‘No,’” I replied. “Keep it simple.”

“Tell them if they threaten violence again the deal is off,” Daniel added.

“No, if we acknowledge we know what happened to Jasmine, we’d out ourselves,” Morgan replied.

Sydney looked to me for my verdict. 

“Just ‘No,’” I repeated. “We don’t need to offer up any other explanation that would make them ask more questions or change our plans on swapping them back.”

Sydney typed that and hit send.

The room was quiet as we awaited the next message.

Sydney’s phone pinged. She read the message out loud, “We want to swap today.”

Sydney read out loud what she was typing. “We just got home from Thanksgiving. Where do you want to meet?”

There was an uneasy silence amongst my friends as we waited for the response. 

“What if we swap into strangers to hide our identity?” Daniel suggested.

“Who? How?” Morgan asked.

“I can think of a few people I’d like to be for a few hours,” Gabriel chuckled.

“No, absolutely not,” Antonio replied. “Swapping with strangers is what got us into this mess.”

“How about, we all go in there and I pretend to be the supernatural swapper they think I am,” Jasmine suggested.

“I dunno,” Gabriel objected. “That would still out you, though.”

“But it would keep everyone else safe,” Jasmine replied.

“Can you swap them in the middle of the night?” Sydney asked. “Body swap stories tend to swap their characters while they’re sleeping.”

“We’d need to get them in the same room,” Daniel said, “so they can both touch the stone together.”

“Haven’t they been fucking?” Gabriel asked bluntly. “Getting them in the same room during the middle of the night might not be that hard.”

“Sure, but still, they’d have to agree to that arrangement,” Morgan replied. “They clearly don’t trust us.”

“I’m stumped then,” Daniel said, shaking his head.

The group settled into silence as everyone ran out of ideas.

I felt awful. This was all my fault. I was the one who swapped Aiden and Ella. I was the one in Jasmine’s body that night. I was the one who emailed them. I was the one who told them we could swap them back this weekend. Then they attacked Jasmine this morning thinking she was me. This was all because of me. Did I take responsibility? Sure, to the Guild. But never to the people I actually hurt. Even if A2 technically deserved it.

Finally, I asked, “What if you use me?”

“D?” Morgan cocked her head. “Use you how?”

“Me as in Kaylee. Kaylee doesn’t go to school here,” I explained. “She lives and works twenty minutes away. Aside from dating Sydney, she doesn't have any ties to the Guild.”

“And what will you say to them?” Daniel asked.

“If they think I’m some magic being. I could lean into that misconception—”

“That would be the same plan with you instead of Jasmine,” interrupted Gabriel. “It’s too risky. Even if Kaylee doesn’t go to school here. That puts your girlfriend at risk.”

Sydney reached out and squeezed my hand. “I was OK with your plan.”

“What other ideas do we have?” Antonio asked.

Sydney’s phone pinged again. We all looked in her direction in anticipation as she looked at it.

“Kappa Nu office in the Student Union at five,” she narrated.

Gabriel groaned. “I can’t do that. I have to be at the stadium by four.”

“We all shouldn’t go anyway,” Antonio chimed in.

“What if I sent the entire football team to go and kick their ass?” Gabriel proposed. “Right now. Before the game. They’d do it for me.”

“I understand your feelings, Gabe, but that will likely make things worse,” Antonio replied.

“But we have under four hours to come up with a plan then,” Morgan informed everyone.

“Then just me,” I persisted.

“And the football team?” Jasmine added, hopeful.

“No. Just me,” I insisted.

“We just went through this,” Morgan countered. “I’d hate putting you in danger. I know you’re D, but you’d be putting Kaylee’s body in harm's way.”

“I completely trust her,” Sydney replied, giving me her support.

“Either way, you can’t go alone,” Morgan cautioned. “It’s much too dangerous for one person to take the stone in that situation.”

“What if we created a fake device?” Sydney asked. “They think it’s supernatural. What if we made it technical. Create something fake so they don’t notice the stone. Got any suction cups and wires?”

“The only problem with that is there was nothing like that at Halloween when they originally swapped,” I said.

“Then I can go as backup,” Morgan said. “I’ll hold onto the stone until they’re ready.”

“But then you’d be outing Morgan,” Jasmine said.

“What if I was someone else?” Morgan asked. 

“Who else?” Daniel asked.

“We have one other person that knows of the Guild but isn’t in the Guild.” Antonio suggested, “James. He’d say yes in a heartbeat.”

Daniel nodded. “He would. Anything to help you and our friends.”

Morgan was shaking her head. “We can’t involve James.”

Everyone’s bickering was turning into noise. The solution flashed inside my head. It was obvious, but everyone seemed to be avoiding it. “Stop!” I said above the voices.

Everyone stopped talking and gave me their attention.

“We’ve been having this discussion for a month. We keep spinning our wheels thinking of new ways to disguise our identities. We might not have any choice. What if…” I looked around at my fellow Guild members and K. “What if I tell them the truth?”

“The truth?” Jasmine asked. “Are you crazy?”

“Like, the truth about the Guild?” Antonio asked.

“I won’t mention the Guild directly,” I replied. “I’ll tell them what happened on Halloween. I’ll tell them I swapped too. I was Jasmine that night. I tell them I’m in a group that does this often. Halloween was a mistake and we are prepared to swap them back assuring us they don’t out us and they leave Jasmine alone.”

There was silence as everyone let my plan sink in.

“Even if they said ‘yes,’” Jasmine started. “How could we believe them?”

“Because who would believe them?” I countered. “They’ve been keeping their own body swap secret for a month, likely because they figured out nobody would believe them.”

“I dunno, D,” Morgan fretted.

“Remember,” I said to the group. “They don’t trust me. If they did, they wouldn’t have attacked Jasmine. They would’ve waited until I was ready. I have to earn their trust back. I do that by telling the truth.”

“What if they don't believe the truth?” Daniel asked.

“We have to try,” I countered. “I don’t see any other way.”

“I think D’s right,” Sydney said. “You all avoided this for a month. Deception and avoidance didn’t work. You should try her plan.”

There was silence before Gabriel spoke up. “Alright, D. Walk us through your plan.”

“Well, my plan is still forming in my head,” I admitted. I took a deep breath before continuing. “I go to the Student Union at 4.”

“I can trail at a safe distance with the stone,” Morgan added. “If you earn their trust and they agree to keep the secret it doesn’t matter if I come as Morgan.”

“Sure. Then I will meet Aiden and Ella first. I apologize to them. If, no - when - I’ve earned their trust,” I looked at Morgan. “You will come in with the stone. I swap them back. Return home. Simple. Straightforward.”

“Assuming there’s no complications," Morgan added.

“I don’t like giving away our existence,” Antonio said, “but it’s the only concrete plan we have. And… and I trust you, D.”

“So, I’m thinking how you can do this safely,” Daniel joined in. “There will be four of you. Their original bodies are present, yours are not. Therefore it’ll be a reset for them. How do you want to hide the stone?”

“During halloween, the stone stayed in my clutch, while I held it. They didn’t see it.”

“They didn’t touch it?” Daniel asked. He turned to Jasmine. “Then was our assumptions on how it worked wrong?”

Jasmine shrugged. “You’ve been here the longest.”

“And we did tons of experiments. I guess we never tried not holding it.” Daniel then turned back to me. “That’s perfect then. That would allow you to keep the stone in one of your possessions and not let it be seen.”

“What do the rest of us do?” Jasmine asked.

“Sit tight,” Morgan said. “This has been my and D’s mistake to fix.”

“I want to help,” Daniel stated.

“We can’t risk involving more people,” Morgan countered. “We’re already taking a big risk with this plan. I’d like to avoid any potential complications.”

“D’s got my support,” Jasmine affirmed.

“Mine too,” Gabriel added.

“All for going with D’s plan, say ‘aye,’” Antonio announced.

The group raised a chorus of ‘ayes’.

“Opposed?”

Silence.

“Ayes have it. “Looks like this is your show, D.”

I nodded. I just put the safety of Jasmine, of Kaylee’s body, of the whole Guild, and responsibility of Aiden and Ella all on my shoulders. I hope I can do what I just confidently said I could do.

* * *

I paced around the apartment for hours as I counted down the time until I had to meet Aiden and Ella. My nerves had wound up my stomach into a knot.

Sydney had tried her best to calm me down by attempting to take my mind off the impending mission. Promises of a quiet night together sounded nice, but weren’t calming my nerves.

Even Morgan was getting antsy. She constantly checked her empty wrist, then checked her phone. 

Finally, with a half hour to go, Morgan finally stood up. “OK,” she said. “Let’s go.”

“OK” I eagerly said, following her to the door.

“Good luck,” echoed the voices of our friends as we walked out of the apartment.

With no shuttles running on a Saturday, it would be a twenty minute walk from Jasmine and Morgan’s apartment to the Student Union. We’d have to cross a major highway, then walk through the dorms, towards the center of campus.

This part of campus was eerily quiet. Students were either still on Thanksgiving break, or heading to the football game. A muffled murmur could be felt from the stadium area as people were tailgating.

“So,” Morgan began. “You and Kaylee.”

I cringed as I expected a lecture. Was she upset that I had swapped with a non-Guild member? “Yeah, we’ve been getting serious this past week,” I confessed. “I met her family.”

“She seems nice, D. She seems like she compliments you well.”

I sighed contentedly. “She really does.”

“I bet you had a fun time,” Morgan winked and nudged me.

I blushed. “Not that much fun,” I grumbled. “We weren’t the least bit intimate the whole time we were there.”

“Why not? Was it her family?”

“No, because of this whole twin thing.”

“Kaylee is a twin?”

“Yeah. So because I’m Kaylee this weekend, I look like K’s sister. And she’s not into the whole ‘being intimate with her sister’ thing.”

“I guess I could see how that would be awkward. Being intimate with your original body is awkward enough. But doing it with a twin takes it to another level.”

“Yeah, we didn’t even kiss each other the whole time we’ve been swapped.”

Morgan made a concerned hum. “But I’m glad you found someone. You’ve come a long way these past months.”

“Even if it’s hard to maintain that relationship?” I asked, expecting that’s where she was heading with this conversation.

She gave me a confused frown. “No. That’s not what I meant.”

“But if this relationship conflicts with the Guild, don’t I have to quit?”

“D, being in the Guild is temporary. For all of us. There’s an end date. Only we know when that is. We’re not going to kick you out because you fell in love.”

“Oh.”

“How was Thanksgiving?”

“Her family was nice. We kinda came out of the closet to them. That was a tense moment. But it's good now.”

“Wow,” she said. “That’s great. I remember when I came out to my mom as gay. It was touch and go for a little bit, but it didn’t take her long to come around. She wants what’s best for her boys.”

“Even if you’re currently a girl?”

Morgan laughed. “Well, she doesn't know that part. I remember worrying about introducing James to my family. I was floored at how accepting all of them were. My mom loves James, and so do my brothers.”

“Yeah, after the initial drama, Mom and Dad treated K better than they treated her when she was their daughter.” I chuckled.

Morgan looked at me quizzically.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she chuckled.

We walked for another couple of minutes as I let that conversation sink in. When will I quit the Guild? The allure of body swapping has already lost its shine. Morgan is implying I’ll know when the time is right to quit and resume my life as… I wonder if Morgan knows I don’t want to go back to Daniel?.

“Kaylee, let’s exchange numbers,” Morgan suggested to me. “Then call me, so I can listen in.”

“Good idea.” We exchanged numbers, and I called her. Her phone rang and she picked up. I slid the phone into my dress pocket and then asked, “Can you still hear me?”

“Yes,” she said, listening to her phone.

As we neared the door to the Kappa Nu office, Morgan stayed behind. 

I took a deep breath to steady myself. I was ready. Then I entered the office.

Upon entering, I saw both Aiden and Ella standing there. Aiden, dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks - way more formal than one would expect for a holiday break. Ella was much more casual, wearing a sweater and leggings.

Aiden slowly eyed me up and down, taking in my small stature. “You’re the one we’ve been emailing?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I’m D.”

“Then what about Jasmine?” Aiden asked, confused.

“I was Jasmine,” I calmly said to Aiden. “Much in the same way you were Ella.” I looked to Ella. “And you were Aiden.”

“You did this to us?” Ella asked.

I stood silently for a moment as I considered my answer. I was prepared to tell the truth. “I did. And I was ready to fix everything this weekend. Why did you attack Jasmine this morning?”

“I don’t want this anymore!” Aiden lashed out. “This isn’t me.”

“I tried to stop her,” Ella added. “Told her to be patient.”

“Fuck patience!” Aiden swore. “All patience got us was a month of living lives that weren’t our own. Forcing us to be people we aren’t.”

I stood there and crossed my arms, hoping Aiden wouldn’t turn violent again. Maybe I should’ve accepted more backup from the Guild.

AIden looked at my defensive posture and backed away. “I didn't mean to scare Jasmine. I- I’m still not used to how intimidating this body can be.

I nodded.

“Why?” Aiden asked me. “Why did you do this to us in the first place?”

I could easily point the blame at someone else. I could blame A2 for attempting to rape me. Or blame E for not doing anything to stop him. But that’s not why I came here. “Can I tell you about that night first?”

Aiden nodded.

“I’m in a group. We swap often. We learn by seeing things from another person’s point of view. We literally walk a mile in another member’s pair of shoes. On Halloween I was Jasmine when I ran into you two. You were both drunk, but I’m sure you remember Aiden sexually assaulting me.”

“I did no such thing!” Ella spoke up, finally showing some emotion.

“You kinda did,” Aiden said, looking derisively at Ella. “Yeah, I remember that part.”

“And you didn't stop him,” I said, pointing at Aiden. “You’re an accomplice. I had no choice but to find a way to escape.”

“What did you want me to do?” Aiden tried to defend her then-inactions. “I was a girl. Aiden was a strong guy. The… the look in Jasmine’s… your eyes that night was the same look she gave me this morning. I had become the monster.”

“I am not a monster,” Ella retorted.

A pregnant silence filled the Kappa Nu office. I think it was time to swap them back.

“So you know the truth now," I said. “I’m assuming you both want to swap back. I can call up my friend, and we can forget about this whole thing and all go our separate ways.”

“What about me?” Ella asked. “Did you ask if I want to go back?”

I sighed. Of course. “Do you want to go back to your old body?”

“No. You heard her. I’m a monster. But when I’m Ella, I’m not a monster. People treat me differently. Girls come up and say hi to me instead of actively avoiding me.”

“But you want to swap back?” I asked AIden.

Aiden slowly nodded his approval.

“We have a rule,” I explained. “The body’s owner gets the final say. Sorry, Ella, you’re not the owner of that body.”

“Fine,” Ella hissed.

“Are you ready?” I asked, looking from one to the other.

They both nodded in acceptance.

“Morgan?” I said out loud.

A few seconds later, Morgan came into the office.

“Wait, I recognize you,” Aiden spat in disgust. “You’re Jasmine’s lesbo roommate. You were hitting on my sorority sisters.”

“Well, never mind then,” Morgan sang in a mocking tone, as she turned around and reached for the door.

“Wait!” Ella called out. “She didn’t mean it.”

Morgan stopped and faced Aiden waiting for him to apologize.

Aiden sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re lucky I'm in a forgiving mood.” Morgan turned to me. “Are we ready to do this?”

I turned my focus to Aiden and Ella. “OK, I need Aiden and Ella to hold hands with me and Morgan.”

I held Ella’s hand and Morgan’s hand. I could feel the stone in Morgan's palm pressing up against my own.

I silently started counting to five.

All of a sudden, Aiden’s eyes popped open and his facial expression shifted from resignation to resistance. Then he pulled his hand away from the stone.

“Wait, no!” I shouted as I felt the familiar vertigo shift around me. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

When the world stopped spinning, I saw Aiden running out of the office. I looked around and saw Morgan and Kaylee standing there. The realization stunned me that I wasn’t Kaylee anymore.

I looked down at my body. I was Ella.