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.”