by Gal Horne
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
ALSO BY GAL HORNE
COPYRIGHT
MIDNIGHT GENDER SWAP
Gal Horne
This book may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the copyright holder. This story contains explicit content that is intended for adult audiences only. All characters involved in sexual situations are 18 years of age or older. Copyright © 2018 Gal Horne. All rights reserved. Cover Image © Actionsports Megapixl
CHAPTER ONE
‘You seriously throw like a girl!’ My voice sounded out loud and clear over the incessant circus music. Other sounds of a late summer night reverberated around us: cicadas; the soft, murmuring laughter of happy families; distant sounds from the highway.
The small, hard rubber ball bounced softly off the brightly-colored backboard. The carnival stand was clown-themed: everything on it was covered in the grim, fake-smiling lips of countless clowns. The targets were clowns. The balls had little clown noses on. It was clowns, as far as the eye could see. Jared looked dejected. He’d missed another target, and I wasn’t going to let him live it down.
‘You trying to get in the spirit of things?’ I asked.
‘What do you mean?’ Jared turned round to look at me. His heavily-muscled arms hung at his sides like two hog-legs, dangling by string.
‘Acting like a clown.’ I said, pleased with my little joke. Jared didn’t seem too pleased.
‘Fucking hell, Ryder. I’m trying to think of the last time you made a funny joke.’ He paused for effect. ‘Nope, my memory doesn’t go that far.’
The carnival attendant at the side of the stall plucked the ball from the gully at the end of the sloped stand. She was in her early twenties and looked seriously fine. I gotta admit, I was acting up a little to impress her. I wasn’t convinced it was working, but it was always worth a try. You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take, after all.
‘Would you like another go?’ She approached Jared with a slinky-hipped gait. Was she flirting with him? It was hard to tell.
Jared nodded in reply. Man, I couldn’t wait to see this.
I gave Jared a cheeky look. ‘You know the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the results to be different?’ I said.
The carnival attendant butted in before Jared had a chance to reply.
‘Funny,’ she said, ‘because my mother always told me that the definition of madness is hanging out with jerks.’
‘Don’t call Jared a jerk,’ I said, trying desperately to let her know that I was a fun-loving, easy-going guy just out for a great time. The attendant gave me a slow, withering look. The kind of look that said, ‘nice one, loser.’ Why did the pretty ones always have to be such a hard work? And this one was seriously pretty. She was one of those exotic-looking girls. It was hard to tell where she was from - she had beautiful, full, almond shaped eyes - hazel-colored and warm, with a twinkle in their corners. Her body was lithe and full - slim, toned, brown arms and full, curvaceous breasts. The kind of figure that, if you woke up next to, you wouldn’t feel worthy of. I tried to think of something more intelligent to say to her, but got caught in the expectant gaze of those bright, brown eyes. Nothing.
I’d always found it hard to talk to women. I don’t know why. All the guides I read on the web say that the most important thing to women when they look for a partner — even more than looks, if you can believe — was a sense of humor. So I worked at it. I tried to make a joke whenever I could. I studied great comedians. I even — and this is gonna make me sound so much like a dork — planned out conversations in advance.
Like what would happen if I was chatting up a girl and she said something like, ‘Oh, this is too much.’
I might reply with something like, ‘If this is too much, just wait ‘til you see my cock.’
OK so that wasn’t like, one of my best comebacks. But I swear usually I came up with something pretty funny. Or if not funny then at least smart. But I gotta admit, on that day I was struggling.
‘Come on Jared,’ I finally said, after a period of too-long awkwardness. ‘Could you at least win us one thing? I’m not saying I even want the most expensive prize.’ I motioned at the huge targets at the front of the gaming area. ‘Even one of these would be fine - anything really.’
It was getting late now. We’d been at the throwing stall for around half an hour now. For some reason, Jared was obsessed with the game. Actually, no, I knew exactly why he was so into it - he desperately wanted to win one specific prize - an iPhone. Well, it wasn’t exactly an iPhone - it was a voucher entitling the barer to an iPhone. The target for the phone was tiny, and was far back against the wall, at least fifteen feet away. The chances of hitting it were astronomically low. And probably, even if you did manage to hit it, it’d be stuck on or something, meaning that there would be no way you could ever win it.
‘Right Ryder,’ he said, tossing the tiny ball up and down in the palm of his hand, trying to give me as much of a serious look as he could, ‘I’m gonna shut you up once and for all.’
I’d been best friends with Jared for as long as I could remember. In fact, technically I’d been friends with him for longer than I could remember. We’d grown up in the same neighborhood, and from a young age we’d hung out together. I’d always been very physical, and Jared had been more cerebral - so we’d played imaginary games together until we were old enough to chase girls. Jared had gone to college and I’d stayed in town to become a personal trainer. Then, when Jared came back from studying, I’d taken one look at his emaciated, student-food destroyed body and had offered him my services for free. Under my careful tutelage, he’d become an Adonis in no time. Of course, that didn’t stop him throwing like a girl.
He took a few steps back.
‘I don’t think a run-up is going to help you,’ I called out, putting my hands up to my mouth.
He stumbled a little, stepped up to the plate and threw the ball. His arm swung in an ungainly loop, and his hand released the ball at the absolute worst point in the arc. It was a weak throw. The ball flew threw the air reluctantly, as though it would have rather rolled across the floor. But somehow, miraculously, the ball hit a fucking target.
‘Yes!’ he shouted out.
‘Well I’ll be damned,’ I said. I looked at the attendant who now had a broad grin on her face. ‘What did he win?’ I asked her.
‘Let’s take a look.’ She walked up to the target that had been knocked off the wall. You won’t be surprised to hear that I watched very carefully as she bent over. Her ass made a perfect apple shape as she reached further down — her long legs and shapely body making a stirring impact on my heart. She grabbed the ball and flipped back up, turning round, catching me staring at her incredible body. She gave me a disapproving look.
‘Oh! Lucky boys. You’ve won the most interesting prize available.’ She held up the ticket and smiled. ‘It’s a free tour of the hall of mirrors right here at the carnival.’
God damn. What a crappy prize.
‘Awesome!’ shouted Jared. He fricking punched the air with delight, as though he’d won the top prize of the entire game. He stopped and looked at me, as though he’d remembered who he was with and that he was actually sane. ‘I love halls of mirrors,’ he said. He looked as though he’d been caught doing something shameful.
‘I had no idea that you were so into mirrors,’ I said. I did my best not to laugh a
t Jared. It was so funny to see my big, buff best friend as excited as a little kid to get a tour of a fricking hall of mirrors exhibition.
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Don’t you remember?’
‘Remember what?’ What was he talking about? I cast my mind back to our childhood friendship. We’d been to plenty of funfairs and carnivals in our time. But I’d never really noticed that anything particularly memorable had happened.
‘The hall of mirrors in Hammyville. We were like, ten or something.’ He looked at me with such emotion. This was obviously an important memory to him. I felt so sad that I couldn’t remember it. ‘We went to the hall of mirrors last thing in the day. I felt like I’d never laughed so much in my whole life. Don’t you remember? It was like, painful - my jaw was hurting at the end of it. One of the mirrors in that hall made you look just like a woman. Don’t you remember?’
It was vague, but there was definitely something there. Deep in my memory banks, somewhere far back in the mists of childhood. But honestly, I couldn’t remember anything specific at all.
I pulled my lips up into an apologetic grimace.
‘I’m sorry bro, I don’t remember it.’
His face dropped. He’d been looking so hopeful and excited and now…it felt like I’d kicked a puppy. ‘Let’s just go home,’ he said. He looked at the attendant. She’d been listening in and she was looking at me like I was a piece of shit. ‘Listen darling, we’ll just call it a night I think - just give the prize to whoever comes along next. Maybe a kid would enjoy the hall of mirrors more than my friend and I.’
Secretly, I was delighted. I didn’t exactly want to go round a hall of mirrors. I had no interest in having a giggle at some funny-looking reflections of myself and my friend. But something was niggling away at me. That look on Jared’s face. I treated him so badly normally. I always teased him whenever I could, and I could be mean sometimes. Now, the way he’d looked when I’d forgotten a cherished childhood memory — it was more than I could take.
Plus, I wanted to impress the sexy attendant. OK, it was basically entirely because I wanted to impress the attendant. Maybe if I spent like ten minutes of time in the hall of mirrors with Jared I could scoot back out and grab her number.
‘No Jared,’ I said, ‘come on bro, we’ve got to head to the hall of mirrors. I’ve gotta make up for forgetting about Hammyville. I feel so bad. Come on, let’s make some new memories.’
Jared’s face slowly lit up. It was great to see him looking happier than before. But the attendant had other ideas.
‘I’m afraid,’ she said, ‘that the guy who runs the hall of mirrors might not be so happy with you guys coming in now. Are you around tomorrow?’ She handed the ticket to Jared who was standing, looking like a kid on his birthday.
‘We’re not coming back to the Carnival tomorrow,’ I said.
‘It’s just that it’s quite late now, and I know that for sure that at least one part of the hall of mirrors is gonna be locked off. It might be better to come back tomorrow. Then you’d get the full experience.’
‘We’ll think about it,’ I said. I clapped my hand on Jared’s back. ‘So bro, let’s at least go have a look.’
‘I’ll show you the way,’ said the carnival attendant, ‘but you’ve got to promise me something.’ She looked me in the eye with an intensity that I’d never seen in anyone before. ‘You’ve got to promise me that you don’t break any of his rules. There’s something unusual about the hall of mirrors. You’ll be safe, so long as you go where he tells you and do what he says. And whatever you do: Don’t go into the moon room after midnight.’ Her eyes gleamed in the light of the moon. She took my hand and squeezed it.
CHAPTER TWO
It almost felt as though we were being taken on a trip through a magic forest. I don’t know whether it was the beers I’d been drinking all evening, or whether there was just something bewitching in the air that night, but I felt intoxicated as we tripped over the tangled mass of tree roots underfoot.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked. The attendant, who’d since introduced herself to me as Cynthie, still had hold of my hand. She tugged me forward and looked back at me with glee.
‘Oh don’t worry,’ she said, ‘we’ll be there soon. The location is secret, it’s only really for the winners of the target range. We can’t have just anyone looking at these magic mirrors. They’re too special for the general public.’
Too special? What was she talking about.
I was started to get a little worried. We’d been walking for half an hour or so, and the carnival seemed a long way in the distance. We were in the woods now and the trees seemed to be crowding in closer with every step forward we took. I couldn’t even think of a thick forest like this near to the carnival. There were strange smells in the air - woodsmoke, spice and sweet, thick vanilla. I caught glances of dancing fireflies between the trees, flying along with us, curious about the three strangers in their domain.
Cynthie was setting a demanding pace, especially in this challenging terrain. Jared was following behind. I had to be careful not to trip, and Jared was struggling too. Occasionally he’d call something out, asking us to slow down, or something else vague and strangled-sounding. But I didn’t let worries slow me down - I felt swept up in something magical, and I wanted to feel every strange twist of this weird trail.
Eventually, after what seemed like hours, we arrived in a cozy little clearing that must have been the heart of the forest. It was dark here - gloomy. I looked up and saw the stars above us, gently twinkling. When I brought my gaze back to normal, I saw a small caravan - an old fashioned, gypsy-style thing. It was brightly painted in yellows and reds, but I could hardly see the colors through the dim light of the late night. There were two small candles set in holders on each side of the front door of the caravan. Their light flickered against the old lacquered wood of the trailer. Above the front door was an intricately hand-painted sign read: Hall Of Mirrors.
This was the hall of mirrors? The whole hall was inside one tiny caravan? Maybe I would only be looking at it for five minutes, let alone ten. Then I could get down and dirty with Cynthie. She’d seemed to warm up to me on the way over here. Maybe she’d be down for some fun after all.
I looked around to ask her what was going on here, and I saw that she wasn’t holding my hand any more. Instead, Jared was there, awkwardly looking at our clasped fingers. How did I end up holding his hand? With an awkward laugh, we pulled apart from each other. That’s pretty fucking weird. I glanced around, but Cynthie was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where’d she go?’ I asked. My voice sounded loud in the silence of the forest.
‘I dunno,’ said Jared. His eyes looked bright white in the dim light. ‘She didn’t say anything to you? We don’t even know how to get back. Do you know where we are?’
It was so strange to see big strong Jared looking so timid. He was a sweetheart though, I’d always kinda known that.
‘I’m sure that whoever is in that caravan will help us get back to the carnival. Don’t worry - we haven’t come that far at all. Let’s go have some fun at the hall of mirrors.’ I looked down at my watch. It was a quarter to twelve. It was so weird to think that the carnival was still open for business. Was this still the carnival any more? It didn’t even feel like we were in America anymore - it felt more like we were in some kinda Eastern European forest.
‘Do you think it’s safe?’ said Jared.
‘Let’s go find out,’ I replied. I stepped down towards the caravan, and Jared followed timidly behind me. As we got closer, the scent that I’d smelled before seemed to intensify. It was as though I was following my nose to the very center of the wood. I knocked my knuckles on the front door three times and waited. I could hear music coming from inside. A strong, complex tune, played on a guitar - bright and twinkling.
I waited for just a few seconds, then a high, soft voice came from inside.
‘You may enter.’
As I crossed the threshold, something strange happened to me. It was like I stepped into a dream. There was smoke everywhere - not thick black smoke from a fire, but a sort of light gray mist, hanging in the air like fog. It was incense smoke, I was sure of it - the rich scent of vanilla was intoxicating. As I breathed in big lungfuls of the warm, scented air, I felt light-headed, a woozy, pleasant, floaty feeling took over my head. I felt calm, happy, at peace.
‘Welcome.’ A figure moved close to me and planted a kiss on my left cheek, then a kiss on my right. She smelled incredible. So different from the vanilla on the air - she was shrouded in a sharp, floral aroma - like roses and nightshade. It took a moment for her appearance to sink in - she was beautiful, that’s for sure. But aside from that, I was shocked by her looks. It was her eyes. They were sharp, acid green - so pure and beautiful, but dangerous, too. Like two drops of poison in the middle of her face. The rest of her features were dark. She reminded me a little of Cynthie in some ways, but the sharp green of her eyes marked her out as someone truly special. Her hair was jet black and tied back behind a red band across her forehead. The obsidian hair fell in loose ringlets on her bare shoulders. She wore what looked to be a corset around her waist - a tight piece of ribbed, crimson fabric, pulling inward. It pushed her impressive breasts up and out. Man, she looked good enough to eat.
I watched jealously as she moved toward Jared and gave him a squeeze, followed by a kiss on each cheek. She wore a tight pair of black pants that showed of an incredibly tight, toned ass. I was so full of lust I could barely control myself. I had images of this mysterious woman straddling me, her breasts bouncing up and down as she rode me, her hair spread across her chest and her ruby-red lips moist with saliva from her twisting, pleasure-giving tongue.
The vision kinda took me by surprise. There must have been something in the air — an aphrodisiac or something — because I didn’t normally just accidentally start fantasizing about the women I meet, honest. She pulled away from the two of us and put her hands on her hips, before sizing us up for a moment.
