Chapter 14 - Try Everything

Nicole

Today was a big day. It was imperative we swap back soon. 

Before I went to bed last night, I had gotten a text message from Stephanie telling me she was looking forward to tonight’s date and wondered what time she should come over. I hadn’t given two thoughts to what I was going to do with her tonight; I was originally planning on having swapped well before the date, so I could leave date night in Victor’s capable hands. When I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I told her 5 PM.

The realization that I was now on the hook for taking this girl on a date was starting to sink in. I never had to plan a date before.  Previous boyfriends had done all of the planning for me. Like Tyler who did it for our dates.  It was actually a source of contention between us.  “Nicole, why don’t you plan the next day.”  “I will.” And then I don’t, because he gets fed up and does it anyway.

Regardless, today’s objective is to swap back. Either before the date, or by tomorrow morning. Swap or bust, I kept telling myself.

I managed to sneak into my building when someone else was leaving to go to their Friday morning class. To my surprise my apartment door was unlocked so I walked right in on Victor eating a bowl of cereal.

“Good morning.” Victor said smiling.

“I’m surprised you’re up.” I said. “I expected I would’ve had to have to be the one to wake you up.”

“Today’s our swap-back day.” he said.  “I know how important it is to you.”

I smiled and opened the fridge and got myself one of my breakfast yogurts.

“So last night...” Victor began swallowing his food. “I took that list of body swap movies I made and compiled a list of things we should try.”

“Thank you, Vic.” I said. Finally, he’s taking this seriously. “Oh - we need to run to the bookstore to get our semester’s books. I figured we could do that while we’re out.”

“Good idea.” he said. He got up and I noticed he was wearing my yellow sundress. I also noticed he was wearing hints of makeup. Not too much, but enough to see a hint of teal eyeshadow and mascara.

“Vic, you did your own makeup today.”

“I did.” he said. “How did I do?”

“It looks good.” I said. “Personally, I would have used some more foundation to hide the blemishes on my face.”

“Nicole, this face - your face - is pretty without the foundation. I decided to do without it today.”

“No it’s not, Vic.” I said. “I can see every imperfection when I look in the mirror.” Saying that made me actually miss looking at my old face. At this point, I’d gladly trade in my foundation usage to get back my old face, imperfections and all. It’s not that Vic’s face is ugly. It's just... not me, and confuses me every time I look in a mirror.

“Well, I don’t see it.” he said. “But anyway, listen. I’m sorry. About yesterday afternoon.”

“It’s OK.” I said. “I’m fine.”

“I encouraged you to come out and have fun, and that’s the opposite of what happened. That’s on me.”

“I said it's OK. It’s over. Let’s just focus on the future.”

Victor put his bowl in the sink, while I sat and ate my yogurt. He walked around the apartment getting ready, and finally came out of my room with my wristlet and a piece of paper he was folding into it. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Great.” I said, getting up and throwing away my trash from my breakfast. “To the bookstore!” I said.

* * *

When we got to the bookstore, we each grabbed a basket and went our separate ways. I got all of my business textbooks fairly quickly. It took me a while to find where my theatre’s play books were; I had to buy 3 books for that class. I added in a package of paper too for my binder.

I found Victor holding his basket of books checking out the school spirit section.

“Looking for something?” I asked.

“I’m just browsing.” he replied. He picked up a bottle of face paint, looked at the price tag, then put it back.

I saw a t-shirt hanging up. It was a tie-dyed t-shirt in our school colors, with our mascot done up in sequins. I pulled it off the rack and looked at it.

“Oh, that’s really cool.” Victor said.

“I wish I could wear it.” I said. Typically, I’d hold it up to me to see how it would look, but I learned my lesson from the other day at the market. I put it back on the rack.

“You will.” Victor said, holding my hand and squeezing it.  I noticed he was still awkwardly standing there, still fixated at the shirt I hung back up.  “Umm, What size are… we?”

“Medium.” I replied.

Victor looked at the rack, then looked around us.  Then he quickly pulled a medium off and held it up to himself. “Like this?”

“Yes. That would’ve been perfect.”

“Great.” he said and put it in his basket and hid it behind a book. “When we swap back, it’ll be hanging in your closet.”

“Vic, you don’t have to do that.”

“Just in case it takes a few more days to swap back - it means I’m kinda buying it for me too.” he chuckled awkwardly.

I chuckled too. “Well then, thank you. You’re actually enjoying this.”

“I am.” he said, his voice trailing. “I don’t understand it. It’s confusing to me. I was denying it the other day, but I am enjoying it.”

“Well, don’t get too comfortable.  We’re swapping back today.”  I took a deep breath and let what he said sink in.  “I’m confused too. Why are we having opposite reactions to this situation?”

“I noticed and the truth is I don’t know.  I do know however, I’m concerned about you Nicole.”

“Me?”  I said.  He’s concerned about me?  I thought he’d be concerned that he’s about to make an impulse buy of a clearly feminine shirt.  I guess I have been showing my displeasure of this situation much more than I normally am.  “Thank you for your concern. I’m just pushing through it, hoping to get through to the other side of this.” I could feel a tear well up. Hold it together, Nicole.

“I remember what you told me in the shower a few days ago.” he said. “That you need your friends. Please don’t push us away. Don’t make my mistake.”

“Us?” I wiped a tear away from my eye. “I’m glad you’re calling me a friend now.” I chuckled. “I’m proud of you. Look who’s dispensing advice about not pushing people away.”

“Yeah.” he laughed too. “You and your friends are growing on me. You’ve all been the nicest people to me that I’ve met in years.”

I put my basket of books down and put my arms out. Vic did the same and we both hugged each other.

“Are you done with your books?” I asked. “Ready to check out?”

“Yes, I am.”

While we were in line, I considered the logistics of this afternoon. “Do you have a car?” I asked. “We could take the bus around town.”

“I do, but it’s a piece of shit. I’d rather take the bus.” he replied.

“Fair enough.”

“Where to first?” I asked.

“The History Museum, downtown.” he replied.

We returned to my apartment, dropped off our bookstore purchases and walked to the nearest campus bus stop.

* * *

Victor

When we were on the bus heading to the museum, I decided to confess what was on my mind, - namely that kiss with Tyler. “Nic.” I said.

“Yeah?” she replied.

“About Wednesday night.”

“What about it?”

“I kissed Tyler. I mean he kissed me first, but I kinda kissed him back. But for only a second.”

She was silent for a moment, then sighed. “You’re pretending to be me. He thinks you’re me. Am I jealous and a little angry? Yeah. I shouldn’t be; you’re doing what I asked and keeping my relationship going. But it still hurts to see you both together. It hurts to see him with someone who isn’t me.”

“I’m so sorry. I’m not trying to make a move on your boyfriend.”

She looked at me with a confused look. “Make a move? Vic, listen to yourself. Why would you make a move on him? You’re a guy. Unless you’re gay.”

“I’m not gay.” I said. “I mean… I wasn’t a week ago.”

“Vic?”

“I’m…” I started. I couldn’t get the words out. She was looking at me. I needed a little more courage. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I’m…. attracted to him. And I’ve noticed some attraction to other guys as well…”

She was listening and wasn’t immediately appalled.

“I mean, I’m also still attracted to Madison as well...”

“You’re attracted to Madison?” she asked, her eyebrows raised. I feel like that might have been a little too much information for Nicole as she seemed to suddenly get a little territorial about her friend.

“Yeah, I’m worried about it all.” I continued. “I feel like your body is making me attracted to Tyler. But I’m afraid it isn't. I mean, is it the body doing this or is it some latent desires I had buried. I’m not going to lie, this type of self reflection is scary. Have you found that you’re attracted to women now?”

“No” she was quick to reply. “I mean… I guess since I’m in your body, that would be OK, but I’m not a lesbian. No.”

“Just the other night, you were telling me my body was always horny.”

“Yes. Your body is making me attracted to girls. It’s embarrassing.”

“I just wanted to confirm it was our bodies doing this and not something else.”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“OK, fine.” I wondered if Nicole was hiding something from me or was she slipping back into her depression from yesterday. I felt kinda hurt, because I just confessed to her that I was attracted to men now. I opened up to her which took every ounce of effort I had. Maybe she’ll tell me when she’s ready. “So what do we do about me and Tyler? Do you want me to break up with him?”

“No, don’t break up with him. When we swap back today or tomorrow, I don’t want to have to un-breakup.” she said. “Just… be careful. Please don’t have sex with him. Or Madison. For all of our sakes.”

“OK.” I replied. We rode the rest of the way in silence. The bus pulled up to the museum and we got off.

* * *

We walked into the museum and I paid for two student passes. We both walked into the first exhibit hall.

“So what are we looking for?” she asked.

“Anything that looks old and mystical.” I replied.

We walked around the museum for about twenty minutes until I found it - a statue. “Here.” I said to Nicole. She was busy admiring Native American jewelry, when I interrupted her.

She came over to me and read the description of the statue. “This is a stone carving of Chaac, the Mayan Rain God.”

“In one movie, the swap was caused by a Aztec statue.” I explained.

“Vic, Mayans and Aztecs are different people.”

“I know that.” I replied. “Remember, I said art imitates life. Maybe the details are a little off.”

“So you think the rain god is going to swap us back?”  

“Nic, I’m trying here.”

“I know, I know. OK, so what do we do?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen that movie and the plot synopsis didn’t say.”

“Vic!”

“Here.” I said, grabbing her hand. “I have an idea. Let's wish to return to our bodies. Repeat after me. I wish to return to my own body.”

“I wish to return to my own body.” we both said.

“Should we look each other in the eyes?” she asked.

“Sure. We can try that.” I replied. I took her other hand so we were facing each other holding both hands.

We made eye contact. “I wish to return to my own body.” 

“Let’s try again with our eyes closed. Let’s really mean it.” she said.

We closed our eyes. “I wish to return to my own body.” 

We opened our eyes and saw an employee watching us. When we noticed him, he turned away and continued working.

“So in that movie.” I said. “They don’t swap back until the big football game.”

“Umm…” she said, confused where I was going with that.

“So I was thinking that maybe we’ll swap back after our dates tonight.”

“Oh OK.” she said. “I was kinda hoping to swap back before the date, but OK… wait - you said dates - plural.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you seeing Tyler tonight?”

“He asked me after you disappeared at the pool.”

She sighed. “Remember what I said on the bus.”

“Yeah, I’ll be careful.” I reiterated.

“Where to next?” she asked. “Should we look for another statue? A different God?”

“Nah, let’s move on. You’re not going to like this next one.”

* * *

Tyler

As I was walking home from my Friday morning class, I was brainstorming what I wanted to do with Nicole this evening. Maybe I could make a reservation for a fancy restaurant. She’d like that. I was also contemplating some test questions to see if my wish did really change her into a new person.

I can quiz her about her likes and dislikes. She hated my cosplay, maybe I could suggest it. I could bring up Halloween costume ideas, that’s the only time she thinks it's acceptable. I could also talk about other video games.

When I got back to my apartment, I searched my phone and found a classy French restaurant maybe 25 minutes away from campus. Sweet, they take online reservations. I booked a dinner reservation for 2 at 5:30. I then texted her to tell her we have a reservation and to meet at my place at 5.

I resumed my focus on what to do with this wish. What if she was a different person? What if the old Nicole was gone? What if I hated the new Nicole? What if I liked her? What if this wasn’t my wish and she purposely changed for me? How could I live with myself if any of these were true?

This line of thinking tied my stomach in knots. Let’s just push forward and hope that this is all in my head.

I had all afternoon to kill, so I decided to kill time with some video games. 

I turned on my game, and saw Nicole’s player in the list of available players to select. My heart skipped a beat remembering how much fun I had playing with her.

I selected my character, PurpleMage, and started playing against strangers. Maybe I can play again with Nicole later tonight.

* * *

Nicole

Victor was right. I didn’t like the next one on the list. I watched him walk into the arcade and I trailed behind him. Like the museum, he walked around the arcade aimlessly looking for something. Did he really think a video game would swap us? Which movie was this from? 

He stopped to look at his phone. “Tyler just confirmed tonight. Meet him at 5. Dress up for a fancy restaurant.” He turned to me. “I have to dress up again?”

I wanted to give him some pointers on what to wear, but my jealousy was getting in the way, so I shrugged. He did this to himself. A fancy restaurant? Now I’m even more jealous. If we swapped back before the dates, I have a few ideas on what I would wear for Tyler tonight.

We continued walking through the arcade. I’m not sure what he was looking for, but stopped in front of a pair of skeeball machines.

“Shall we?” he asked.

“Is this going to swap us back?” I said, putting my hands on my hips.

“No.” he said. “This is purely for fun.”

I rolled my eyes as he got some change from the change machine. He put several quarters into both our machines and the balls came down the ramp.

“OK.” he said. “We know you’re into hula hooping and we know you don’t like to lose at pool games. How are you at skeeball?”

“I haven’t played since I was in middle school,” I told him. “But I was good at it then.”

“OK.” he said. “Want to place a wager on this?”

I smirked at him. He’s trying so hard for me to have fun. “What are the terms?”

“Loser buys lunch?”

“You’re on.” I replied.

“And go!” he said as we both picked up the skee balls and started rolling them up the lanes. 

My first roll, I got the top hole. “Yes!” I cheered under my breath.

I missed a few shots and noticed him get a high-value corner hole. I focused harder and started getting higher value holes to catch up.

After we rolled all our balls, I looked at the score, where I edged him out by 20 points. “I win.” I said, smiling.

“No, I win.” he said. “I got you to smile and have a minute of fun. Well worth the cost of lunch.” He smiled and continued walking through the arcade.

I stood there and pouted as I didn’t want to admit he was right. 

I looked down and realized the skeeball machines spit out several prize tickets. I ripped them off and ran to catch up with him. “Fine. I had fun. Why are we here anyway?”

“That.” he said pointing to a Fortune telling machine. Zoltar.

I laughed out loud at how ridiculous this was. When I was able to regain my composure, I looked at him. He wasn’t amused. “OK. Same wish as before?”

“Yup.” He put the money in and motioned to me to make the wish.

I said out loud, “We wish to be back in our own bodies.” I pushed the button. The animatronic fortune teller made some cheesy sounds and motions before spitting a fortune card out of its slot.

I read the card. “The winds of change start from within. One cannot set on an adventure without first raising your sails.” I turned to Vic. “What does that mean?”

He shrugged.

“You know, in that movie, the machine was unplugged.” I said.

“I doubt the machine will work if we unplug it.”

“Well, we’re here.” I said. “Can’t let no one say that we didn’t try. Let’s see.” I turned my head and scanned for people near us. When I saw nobody around us, I reached behind the machine and pulled the plug. The lights of the machine went dark. “I guess it was worth a try.”

Vic pulled some more quarters out of his pocket and put them into the dark machine. Nothing. He pushed the buttons. Still nothing. “Oh well. Lunch?”

I nodded in agreement. “But first.” I held up the skeeball tickets.

We walked to the prize counter. 

“What do you want to get?” Vic asked me.

“We can get candy.” I suggested. “Share a pack of M&Ms?”

“Or we can get that.” Vic said pointing at a toy plastic skull behind the glass prize case.

“A toy skull?” I asked. “What are we going to do with that?”.

“One of our movies had a magical skull.”

We handed our tickets to the prize counter worker and got our prize.

“Do you want to do our wish here in the open?” Vic asked.

I looked around and found a photo booth. “There. We can do it in private.”

We both crowded into the photo booth and our hands on the plastic skull. “We want to return to our bodies.” We said, together.

Nothing.

“We should’ve got the M&Ms.” I said.

“Well,” Vic said. “Since we’re here.” He put a dollar into the photo booth. “Say Cheese.”

We smiled and said “Cheese” for the first one. We stuck our tongues out for the second one. I pretended to strangle Vic for the third one. Then we both kissed the toy skull for the fourth. 

The machine printed out two copies of our photos. We examined our photos and laughed at them; my favorite was me strangling Vic. We both had genuine smiles in it.

* * *

We walked downtown looking for a place to eat. The first place was a Chinese restaurant. I didn’t feel like eating Chinese food.

“But fortune cookies are on my list.” he said. He ordered an egg roll just to get a single fortune cookie to-go. He cracked the cookie and read the note.

“What does it say?” I asked.

He looked at it and brought it closer to his eyes. “I’m trapped in a fortune cookie factory. Send help.”

I chuckled. “It does not!” I took the paper and read it out loud. “Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time.”

“In bed.” Victor said, chuckling.  When he realized I wasn’t laughing at his immaturity, he stopped.

“Well, that was a bust.” I said.

We continued walking the downtown strip and came to a nice outdoor cafe. It was a gorgeous afternoon, so we sat down at a sidewalk table. The waiter came and took our orders. I ordered a water and a fried vegetable wrap and Vic got a soda and a chef salad.

I noticed Vic was sitting with his legs wide open.

“Vic, remember you’re wearing a dress.”

“Oh right.” he said, fixing his sundress and crossing his legs.

“What else do we have on your list?” I asked.

“We can run and bump our heads.”

“Um, let’s not.”

Vic pulled out his list from the wristlet and unfolded it. “A car crash.”

“What? No. Pass.”

“A comet impact.”

“Hard pass.  What’s with these?”

“I don’t know. It’s like trauma is a prerequisite for a good body swap story.”

“Well, I think the trauma is covering up for something that eventually leads to self-reflection.” We looked at each other for a moment. I wasn’t ready to self-reflect, and I doubt neither was he.  “What’s next?”

“We can text each other. Say that the other gender has it better.” he said.

“OK, well at least that doesn’t result in death and destruction.” I said. We pulled out our respective phones.

“How does it go?” I asked.

“Well, you’re supposed to say, “guys have it better,” but we want to swap back, so say that “girls have it easier.”” he said.

I texted him; “Girls have it so much easier.” 

His response; “Guys have it easier.”

“I have an idea.” I said. I texted; “You wouldn’t last 2 seconds in my shoes.” and hit send.

He saw my message. “I like it” he said and he started his response. His message came through; “Na-uh, you wouldn't last 2 seconds in mine!”

I laughed. “So was this supposed to be instantaneous?”

“Yeah” he said, chuckling. “Oh well.”

Just then our lunch came and we put our phones and the list away.

After a few bites of my lunch, I realized the thought about self-reflection was gnawing at me.  Maybe I should dive into some of Victor’s demons. “Vic.” I said. “Tell me about your freshman year.”

“What do you want to know?”

“You told Lexi and Mads about it, but not me.”

“Well, my freshman year roommate, Brandon. A real “big-man-on-campus” type. At first, we were cordial. But he realized I had a car and kept using me to take him places. Which was fine at first, because I really wanted a friend after the Alan fallout. We would go to parties on and off campus and he would quickly ignore me as if he wanted nothing to do with me. I caught him making fun of me behind my back once. When I stopped being his private chauffeur, I noticed he was stealing from me. A few dollars at first. Then larger bills later. Then my whole wallet. When I cancelled my credit cards, I saw that they were used to buy alcohol and gift cards.” 

“What a shitty roommate.”

“Oh, it gets worse. When I confronted him about it, he denied it. Called me forgetful and paranoid and got violent. He didn’t hurt me, but I stormed out of the room because I thought he might. When I came back, he had destroyed some of my stuff. Threw my bedsheets into the hallway, smashed my computer monitor. Then, I don’t know how he did it, but he managed to turn our mutual friends against me, claiming I did all of that for attention. Now granted, these mutual friends weren’t that great to begin with, but when I finally transferred rooms, I was alone.”

“Vic, that sucks.”

“Speaking of Brandon. He recognized me yesterday.”

“You saw him yesterday?” Then it occured to me... Brandon. “Oh no Vic. Is your former roommate the same “Brandon” Lexi is dating?”

“Yup. That’s him.”

“Oh my God, Did you tell her?”

“Not yet. This was 2 and half years ago. I thought maybe I should give him another chance. Maybe he’s gotten help and has turned over a new leaf. Maybe I should practice forgiveness.”

“Lexi still deserves to know what he did to you though. Especially if he has violent tendencies.  Do you think he’s still violent?”

“I don’t know. She seems into him, so I’m assuming he treats her better than he treated me. So how do you know him? He recognized me as you.”

“I don’t know a “Brandon.”” I replied. “Are you sure he recognized you?”

“He even said we’ve met.”

“I don’t know. I’d have to see him. Unless - and this is going to sound crazy - unless he saw through my face and saw you as Victor and not as me...”

“That would imply that he might be responsible for the wish.”

“I don’t know. Maybe that’s an avenue we need to explore.”

“Maybe.” he said.

“So how about dating? You said you haven’t dated since then either.”

“Oh yeah.” he said. “This one is simple. I was dating a girl around the same time as my “roommate situation” was blowing up. We went on 3 dates. On the 3rd date, she ghosted me.”

“After the 3rd date?”

“No, on the 3rd date. She ordered an expensive meal, ate it, got up to use the bathroom and never returned. She left me with the tab.”

“Did you ever find out why she left?”

“At first I thought it was something I said or did. But she did finally text back telling me to chill that it just wasn’t working out, and just wanted the free meal. No hard feelings.”

“Bitch.”

“My thoughts exactly. So I just gave up. Between Lindsay, Alan, Brandon, that girl, my social life caved in on itself quickly in such a short amount of time. I turned inward. I couldn’t trust anyone. I focused on my art. I got my social interactions from online games so I didn’t have to see these awful people around me. I didn’t make new friendships so I wasn’t disappointed when people eventually let me down.”

“I’m so sorry Vic.”

“Thanks. I’m still worried I’m going to wake up from this dream, and my newfound friendships with you and Alexis are going to disappear.”

The waiter came and gave the check to me. Victor reached over and took it from me. The waiter noticed and apologized. “My apologies, Miss.”

When the waiter was gone, Vic chuckled. “Always assuming the guy gets the tab.”

“But you are the guy.” I laughed.

“Na-uh” he said playfully. “I’m a cute college girl having lunch with my equally cute guy friend.”

I laughed at his playfulness. I’m glad that we’re finally being open with each other. I can see us being good friends. I decided to ask him some more personal questions. “Vic, what is your biggest fear?”

“My biggest fear?” He was lost in thought for a moment. “Losing my identity. My uniqueness.  My parents insisted on me to conform. To go to college for… something more down to earth... anything but art. I suppose that’s why I was worried that we were turning into each other. I didn’t want to lose myself. I didn’t want to lose what makes me Victor.”

I nodded.  “I can see that.”

“You know what scares the living shit out of me?  In Star Trek there is this species called the Borg.  They take you and strip everything about you away and make you into a drone. I can’t watch those episodes. Scares the shit out of me.”

I was quiet.

“I know, I’m not turning into you and you into me. But I am getting more comfortable being you. I just hope I don’t lose any of what makes me, me” 

He paid the tab and we got up just as a salsa band started performing across the street.  I saw a smiling form on his face. “With that being said.” he added. “I am totally open to new experiences.”

“Oh?” I said.

“Let’s dance.” he said, pointing at the salsa band.

“Do you know how to dance?”

“Not at all. I just felt like dancing. I’m happy and I’m having a great time with my new friend.”

I smiled at that. “Do you want me to lead?”

“Yes, please.” he said, smiling.

I took his hand and twirled him around. I chuckled softly and smiled at him. “Fine. Make the guy lead.”

He laughed. 

“What body swap movie has them swapping during a dance?” I asked.

“None that I’m aware of. I just wanted to dance. If this is a dream, or if we do swap back later or tomorrow and I’m alone again, I want to take every advantage of what I have now.”

I realized then that while we’re reacting differently to our situation, in some ways it was the same. I was depressed that I was in a different body. He was realizing how much of his college life he wasted being alone, and now might be regretting it. I looked at his face. My face. It had a great big smile on it. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I saw that face with a smile so big.

Maybe this isn’t the worst thing in the world.  These past 4 days looked to be having a positive impact on Victor.  Maybe I just haven’t given into possibilities of being someone else for a little bit.  And maybe that’s what will help us swap back.  He’s letting a feminine side bring him out of his funk.  Maybe I need to give into my masculine side for a little bit. Do I have a masculine side?

After the dance, we continued walking down the street. What does “being a man” entail? Being in charge? Being a protector? With that thought, I looked down and saw his hand there at his side.  I felt the urge to hold his hand, so I decided maybe I should give into that urge. Maybe it was the vulnerability he shared with me. Maybe I was finally having fun. Was this what's expected of me? So I reached out and held it. He didn’t recoil from it, and walked closer to me, our arms interlocked.  Victor leaning into me actually gave me a rush of feelings I couldn’t quite describe.

“There!” he said, pointing to a water fountain. 

“What am I looking at?” I responded.

“A water fountain!”

“So?”

“That’s next on my list. We have to pee in a water fountain.”

“What? No! There’s too many people here.”

Victor pulled me and started walking up to it. 

“No you can’t. Vic no.”

He let go of my hand and hopped up and stood on the wall of the fountain looking at the water. He turned to me. “This should be easy for you. I’m the one who is going to need to squat.”

“You’re not seriously going to do this? There are people around. What if we get caught?”

“This is better than a comet or a car crash. Live a little.” He put his hand out. I grabbed it, but he underestimated how light he was and how heavy I was so I wound up just pulling him back down. He giggled, “Sorry. Forgot for a moment I’m not as big as I used to be.”

So I hopped up on the wall and put my hand out. He took it and I pulled him up. “Are we seriously going to do this? This is so illegal.”

“You unplugged the fortune telling machine earlier. I’m just following your lead on being a delinquent.”

I sighed. He suddenly turned around and squatted down, sliding his panties down enough so nobody would notice. I turned bright red. OK, I guess we’re doing this. I faced the fountain, unzipped my shorts and pulled out my penis to pee. 

“I wish to be back in my body.” he said.

“I wish to be back in my body.” I echoed.

I heard the faint tinkle of Victor beside me. “How are you doing?” he asked.

“Um,” I said. “I’m having a little stage fright here. Wait, here it comes.” Just as I started peeing, I heard someone from behind us.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Shit!” Vic said, standing up and pulling up his panties and jumping down off the wall. “Let’s go.”

I quickly finished peeing, re-zipped and jumped off the wall to follow up. We both ran down the street laughing.

When we got a block down the street, and we were assured no one was chasing us, we both stopped and caught our breaths. Actually, it was more like I was catching my breath. Vic was fine.

“I’m sorry.” Vic said. “I thought for sure that would work.” He sat down on a park bench and I joined him.

“What’s next on your list?” I asked.

He unfolded his paper. “There’s only one thing left. Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry today was a bust.” He folded the paper back up.

“Nah, today was fun. What was it? What’s the last thing?”

“A kiss.” he said. “I know. It’s stupid.”

“OK” I said. “Let’s kiss, then.”

“You don’t have to.” he said. “I’m out of your league. You’re popular and have friends, I’m just a loner you met a few days ago. Besides, you have a boyfriend, and I’m emotionally damaged.”

“We’re each other at the moment. This will be no different than kissing a mirror.”

“But I've never kissed a mirror.”

“Maybe this is why you’re single. A girl just asked you to kiss her, and you’re being timid.”

“But you’re not a girl right now.”

“So you want me to make the first move?” I raised my eyebrows.

“I didn’t say that.” he said, biting his lip nervously. “It’s just been a while, and I’m getting cold feet.”

“Vic?” I said.

“Yeah?” he said.

“Just shut up and kiss me.” I scooted over on the bench so I was closer to him.

We each looked into each other’s eyes. It was just like looking in a mirror. Except I could feel Vic’s presence behind the face I’ve known so well. He was nervous. He glanced down at my lips. He was timid too. Was it because he was the girl in this situation, or was it because of his past?  Would it help him if I treated him like the girl in this situation?

I reached up and brushed some of his hair behind his ear and leaned in. We both closed our eyes as our lips touched. He was stiff at first, but I felt him relax and kiss me back. 

This felt good. He smelled like my body wash, and his lips tasted like… that coconut lip gloss I keep in my makeup kit.  I never in a million years thought what it would be like to kiss myself.  Now I know.

I was getting turned on by kissing him, and I gently used my tongue and touched his. I expected him to pull away, but he continued to kiss me back.  Now, he’s getting into it, but he slowed down and we both opened our eyes.

He was the first to pull away. We sat there in silence. 

I crossed my legs to hide the boner I just got. What was that? I expected a quick peck from both of us. We both leaned into that. Vic has been so good to me today, what started out as just a day full of chores actually became something more. And his insistence that I start to enjoy myself actually got through to me. Today kinda reminded me of… a date.  “Vic.” I asked.

“Yeah Nic.”

“What was today?”

“What do you mean?”

“Was this a date?”

He laughed. “Yes and no. Kinda. It’s stupid. We’ve shared so much, and I know you’ve been having a rough time, and I haven’t been on a date in years, and I was pretending, and I was wondering what it would be like to date you, and I dunno, maybe when we swap back… I know. It’s stupid. You have a boyfriend, and I have nothing to offer you. ”

We sat in silence for several seconds.

“Nic?” he asked.

“Yeah Vic?”

“That kiss. Was it to swap back or did you.. or we... really mean it?”

“I…” I started. “At first it was to just swap back, but I may have gotten carried away. I haven’t been on a date like this in a long time. With Tyler… our relationship has gotten more routine as of lately. We did a lot today, and I enjoyed every part of it. I’m sorry.”

“We should go.” he said, abruptly getting up. “It’s getting late and we both have things to do this evening.”

“Wait Vic.” I said

He turned and faced me. I could see tears in his eyes. He tried so hard today. I bet this isn’t how he expected it ending.

I embraced him and kissed him again, then looked into his eyes. “Thank you for the date. I had a great time. If things were different, I’d want to do it again.”

“And if things go back to normal?”

“Make no mistakes. I want my body back, but I don’t want you out of my life. So no, I don't want “normal.” I want us to continue to be friends.”

He smiled and nodded. “I feel the same way Nic.”

I hugged him again. “Thank you again for today.”