Body Switches

by Barbara G. Tarn

  They smiled fondly at each other before kissing.

  ***

  Johnny and Sebastian finished their lonely dinner in the posh living room.

  "Can we go out?" Johnny asked, hopeful.

  "What shift do you have tomorrow?"

  "Afternoon."

  "OK, then."

  Johnny screamed with delight, hugged Sebastian, and rushed to the bedroom. One hour later he was singing karaoke with Doris, wearing a platinum-blond wig, makeup, high-heels and a sequin dress.

  Sebastian, always casual, stared at his show from their table. Johnny drank in the applause after his little show, then went back to his table and sat on Sebastian's lap.

  "Were your wife's tits as big as Doris's?" he asked, putting his arms around Sebastian's neck.

  "No, and I'm not discussing her," Sebastian replied flatly.

  Johnny batted his fake eyelashes. "How about drag queens? Do you like us?"

  "I'd rather take you home and wash your pretty face."

  "Mmm, tough guy..." Johnny allowed his lover to suck away all his lipstick.

  ***

  Samantha sat in the lotus position, candles burning all around her. Her eyes were closed and she was deep in meditation. She could hear the voices again.

  "Still, sometimes I wish I was born a man," Marian told Valery, unaware Samantha was close enough to hear her.

  "I want breasts. Like Doris," Johnny said.

  "And I'd be gay, of course," Marian added.

  "I'd do the full sex switch if I had the money," Johnny said.

  It made sense.

  Samantha took a deep breath.

  "So. Be. It."

  A thunderstorm hit.

  2.

  Marian slowly emerged from sleep. Everything was quiet, so it must be very early. She considered opening her eyes to check the time, but decided against it. If nobody was moving in the condo, it must be earlier than her wake-up call. She should try to get back to sleep.

  Her leg itched, and she scratched it. Her hand went back up her naked body – she could feel Chris's warm body next to her – and encountered unexpected flesh.

  Her eyes popped open as she gasped. It wasn't her body!

  She sat up and stared at her naked flat torso while the unusual mound kept the bed sheet away from her lower body.

  Her jaw dropped as a trembling hand that didn't look hers grabbed the bed sheet and pulled it up.

  She almost screamed at the sight of her penis and she muffled it with her other hand, looking around in the unknown room, her heart beating so fast she was afraid it would explode.

  Not her bedroom, a much bigger one. The alarm clock on the other side of the bed said it was 7.30am – her usual wake-up time. Probably it was a much bigger house, maybe even a mansion, which explained the silence – no neighbors.

  She closed her eyes and took her hand off her mouth, panting. Don't panic. She inhaled slowly. Don't panic. You're still sleeping. She exhaled. It's only a dream. I'm not a man. Breathe in. Breathe out. Her heartbeat slowed down. Her body still felt... different.

  She slowly reopened her eyes. Looked around again. Unknown room. Unknown man by her side. No, wait, maybe she had seen him before, but where? And what was she doing in his bed with a man's body?

  Her shoulders slumped.

  "Oh. My. God," she mouthed, panicking again.

  She rushed out of bed and into the next room she supposed to be a bathroom. She was right.

  She locked the door behind her and warily approached the sink and the big mirror over it. She gasped again at the sight of the boyish face staring back at her from the mirror, aghast.

  "Oh my God, I'm a young man," she whispered.

  She glanced downward, but quickly averted her eyes from her newly found manhood. "Yuk." How could she have wished for that?

  She stared at her new face again, breathing slowly to control the panic. "OK, focus." Even the voice wasn't hers. "You're in this guy's body. What now?"

  She needed to cover that new body part of hers. She went back to the bedroom and saw discarded clothes on the floor – a sequin dress, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She went for the jeans and was surprised to discover they didn't really fit – too large.

  Holding the jeans up with one hand, she tiptoed out of the room, the T-shirt on her shoulder.

  ***

  Johnny was sleeping when a voice called him. "Mar, do you need the bathroom?"

  Someone was shaking him, probably Sebastian.

  "Let me sleep, I have afternoon shift," he moaned.

  "What? Marian, wake up, you're still dreaming!"

  "Please, call me Marilyn..." Then he realized it wasn't Sebastian's voice and nobody had ever called him Marian.

  His eyes popped open and he found himself in a small bedroom – much similar to the one he had before moving in with Sebastian. His jaw dropped as he took in the new surroundings and his body. Small tits. He cupped them with unmanicured hands.

  "Oh, my God, I'm a woman!" Even the voice was female, and he hid a squeal of delight behind both hands.

  He looked frantically around. Don't they have a mirror here?

  A handsome young man came out of the bathroom, all dressed.

  Johnny yelped in surprise, hiding behind the bed sheet.

  "Are you all right?" the hunk asked, puzzled.

  "Yes... can I use the bathroom?"

  "Sure."

  Johnny rushed to the small bathroom and closed the door.

  "Tonight be ready for eight!" The hunk said through the bathroom door.

  "Sure," he replied. He waited, listening to the noise from the rest of the room, his eyes darting back and forth from the door to the mirror.

  "I'm leaving!" Handsome Man said.

  "OK, bye!"

  He heard a door bang somewhere. He exhaled with relief and went to the mirror, to observe his new body more carefully and critically. A brunette. Small tits... but definitely a woman! He smiled, delighted, at his reflection.

  He checked the cabinets and found only a very small and half-empty beauty case. "Doesn't she have any makeup?" he wondered.

  He smelled Handsome Man's aftershave. "Mmm... her boyfriend has good tastes!" He pondered. "And is darn good looking too! I wonder where he's taking me tonight at eight!"

  He stopped rummaging the cabinets and grabbed a dressing gown hanging on the door. He went back to the bedroom and started opening drawers.

  "With all the sexy, silken underwear, she wears cotton!" he grumbled, finding slips and tank tops and a couple of very simple bras.

  ***

  Marian wandered through the posh house feeling more and more lost. In the living room she saw some car keys. She grabbed them and headed for the front door. She found a sports car parked outside and the keys opened it.

  She sat at the wheel, staring at the unfamiliar dashboard.

  "Damn, how do I drive this?" she grumbled. "OK, don't panic, just do it!"

  She managed to start the car but she felt as if she had to pass her driving test again. Damn sports car. Why did men like them so much?

  ***

  Johnny was disgusted at the sight of the contents of his new body's closet. The woman had awful taste in clothing.

  Then the doorbell rang, startling him. He hesitantly went to the main room, staring warily at the front door.

  The doorbell rang again.

  He took a deep breath and marched to open the door.

  His own body stood there, with Sebastian's clothes.

  Both screamed, staring at each other in disbelief.

  His body recovered first and pushed him through the door. "Let's go inside, we don't want the whole condo on us, do we?"

  Johnny swallowed and nodded, still too shocked to talk. Body switch!

  "You're wearing Sebastian's clothes," he said as his body closed the front door.

  "Am I?" His face scoffed back at him. "The other option was a sequin dress."

  "Yeah, that's mine. It's what I was wearing last nig
ht."

  "Do you always sleep naked?"

  "Yeah, you?" It was weird staring at his own face looking uncomfortable.

  "No. Yesterday I... Oh, Jesus." The other took a deep breath to calm down. "My name is Marian, by the way."

  "Marian, of course, that's what he called me," he said, thoughtful.

  "Who?"

  "Your boyfriend, what's his name?"

  "Husband," she snapped. "His name is Chris, as in Christian. What are you called?"

  "I'm Johnny, sometimes Marilyn."

  "The sequin sensation."

  "Yeah! That's Marilyn!"

  "Nice meeting you. Except you're in my body."

  "I know, isn't it great?" Johnny beamed. "I always wanted to be a woman!"

  "I dreamed of being a man, but I'm not sure I like the switch!"

  "You met Sebastian?"

  "I woke up in his bed, didn't I? Anyway, I saw him at my husband's office before, so I know who he is."

  "Oh. So you already knew him. Well, he doesn't take me to his office." He sulked.

  "Marriage perks." She scoffed. "Listen, maybe we should call in sick and figure out what happened."

  "I have afternoon shift..."

  "I work nine to five, which means you're already late. C'mon, where do you work, who do I call?"

  ***

  Sebastian switched off the alarm clock with a sigh and turned to look at the other half of the bed.

  Empty.

  Strange. Johnny never got out of bed early, especially if they had gone out the night before.

  Sebastian got out of bed and checked the bathroom. Empty.

  Puzzled, he put on a bathrobe and went downstairs, but Johnny was nowhere to be found.

  Rosa came in from the front door and looked surprised to see him. "I thought you were gone, señor!"

  "Why, it's early, isn't it?" Sebastian looked around, scratching his head. He better get ready if he didn't want to be late, though.

  "I didn't see the car, so I assumed you were gone earlier," Rosa said.

  "My... car?"

  Sebastian's eyes checked the place where he put the keys. Gone.

  He rushed to the window and glanced outside. No car. Johnny had taken the car.

  "Damn him!" he grumbled.

  He looked around again and saw Johnny's cell phone.

  "And he didn't even take his phone!" Now he was worried. Had Johnny gone crazy?

  "You should get rid of him, señor, the boy is loco." Rosa's concern mirrored his.

  "Please, Rosa, I can deal with him," he snapped.

  Rosa shrugged and headed for the kitchen.

  Sebastian looked around one last time. No car, no way to go to work. Not until he figured out what Johnny was up to.

  He slumped on the couch with a moan, torn between anger and worry.

  ***

  Marian sat nervously on her own couch in Johnny's body. Her own body, now possessed by Johnny, finally emerged from the bedroom, wearing a miniskirt and a tight-fitting top.

  "I haven't worn that skirt since high school!" she blurted out, shocked, noticing how it made her look like a slut.

  Johnny looked at himself, satisfied. "I thought you bought it in a vintage shop."

  "No, I just couldn't throw it away when I stopped wearing it."

  "Good, because it's the only fashionable thing I found in that closet."

  "Gee, did I have to switch with a fashion-obsessed gay man?" She snorted, rising from the couch.

  "Sebastian will love you even more if you wear only men's clothes," he said with a chuckle.

  "Except you should tell me his from yours," she frowned.

  "I'll do that. How did you get here?"

  "I took the car. Not the easiest to drive and not easy finding my way from there, but..."

  "You took Sebastian's car? Oh my! He'll kill you for that!" Still, he couldn't refrain from laughing. "We better take it back now!"

  "I was waiting for you," she retorted. "Let's go."

  She kept the car keys and refused to let Johnny drive. Seeing her own face brood was unsettling, so she concentrated on the driving.

  "Any idea how the switch happened?" she asked as they stopped at a red streetlight.

  "Well, I've always wished to be a woman, even if I did want bigger tits," he answered.

  "I might have wished to be a man, but never expected it to happen!" she retorted.

  "So what? We're under a spell." He shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow we'll go back to our own bodies. Let's have fun!"

  "What about Sebastian and Chris? They didn't ask for anything!" she protested.

  "We don't tell them! Trust me, we'll be fine."

  "What if we don't switch back tomorrow?"

  "Well, I freaked out at first, but I think I could live with it."

  "I don't know, I don't want to step uninvited into someone else's life." She didn't want to lose Chris either, but she couldn't tell that to the stranger in her body.

  "You have my permission! And we'll help each other, so nobody will notice!"

  She sighed. "OK. Tonight Chris has this huge party for his job. There's a black dress in the closet."

  "I've seen it. And you have dinner with Seb, my best friend Luke, and his boyfriend, Gabe."

  "Oh God." She wasn't ready for that. More new people, more socializing in a life that wasn't even her own.

  "What?" he snapped. "It's just a casual dinner."

  "With your best friend," she replied, sarcastic. "Who knows you very well."

  "Yeah, well, just be your usual self, you'll be all right. I'm often told I behave like a woman, so..."

  She scoffed. "If you say so. I really hope we switch back tomorrow..."

  3.

  Marian entered Sebastian's house with caution. Sebastian was waiting for her – well, him, as she was in Johnny's body – and jumped to his feet with a frown.

  "Where have you been?" Sebastian demanded. "If something happened to the car..."

  Marian offered the car keys with the most innocent smile. "No dents," she said meekly. "Sorry you'll be late for work, but it was an emergency."

  Sebastian grabbed the keys, fuming. "We'll talk about it tonight."

  "Sure, I'll be here." God, he was pissed off! But he was gorgeous even in his anger. Marian watched him storm out. She'd make up to him, poor guy. He had no idea of what was going on, and she'd do her best to keep it from him.

  The front door banged closed and she looked around again.

  "Rosa?" she called tentatively.

  The maid appeared in the kitchen door with a stern look on her face.

  "I'll finish here for today. You can go." Marian tried to be firm and gentle.

  "If you upset Señor Sebastian ever again..." the maid threatened. She didn't seem to like Johnny much.

  "I won't," she said, trying to look angelic. "Can you leave, please?"

  Rosa glared at her/him, but grabbed her purse and left.

  Marian sighed with relief and let in Johnny-in-her-body.

  "Wow, you're good with people!" Johnny sounded admired.

  "Please, give me a break," she snorted. "Show me the house instead."

  Johnny complied, explaining which clothes were Sebastian's and which were Johnny's, how the kitchen worked and everything else she needed to know.

  Eventually she put him in a taxi and sat on the couch, waiting for Sebastian's return and biting her nails. Thank God Johnny had removed his fake painted nails before going to bed the night before.

  Sebastian came in with the same frown he had when he had gone out and threw the car keys where she had found them this morning without looking at her.

  "Still mad at me?" she asked. She had changed clothes and wore the proper ones now – Johnny's jeans and a polo shirt.

  "I really hate you when you behave like a spoiled kid," Sebastian grumbled. "I thought I had made the rules clear in this house."

  "I'm sorry, I panicked," she apologized. "It was an emergency. A friend threatened suicide. I had to
go." She hoped he hadn't noticed the forgotten cell phone and that she had been wearing his clothes that morning.

  Sebastian finally looked at her and sighed. "The car is like new... I guess I can forgive you."

  He must love Johnny very much, she thought, relieved.

  She smiled, stood up and bowed like a Tibetan monk. "Thank you."

  "Is that all?" Sebastian was trying hard not to smile back. "No kissing?"

  "Aren't we supposed to go out soon?" she objected, embarrassed at the thought of kissing a stranger. Handsome, with absolutely kissable lips, but still a stranger.

  "There's always time for a kiss," Sebastian said, and boy!, was he inviting!

  She cleared her throat, hesitated, and then gave him a quick, superficial kiss.

  Sebastian grabbed her, shaking his head with a smile. He embraced her and gave her a long, passionate kiss that took her breath away. He tasted different from Chris, but it was a very pleasant surprise.

  She gasped for breath as Sebastian released her. God, she could fall for him. But with her own body he wouldn't even look at her. What a shame.

  Sebastian smiled fondly at her. "Yes, I definitely forgive you. Let's go."

  ***

  Chris came back home and noticed the bed was still unmade and the bathroom door closed. Sighing, he started changing clothes for the Big Party. It was unusual that Marian wasn't ready, but she had been strange in the morning, so he really hoped she'd be fine in the evening.

  "Mar, are you ready?" he called. "We're late!"

  He knocked on the bathroom door. "Marian!"

  "I'm almost done!" she answered quickly, shuffling things around in haste.

  He shook his head in wonder and finished his own preparations. He was about to call again when Marian emerged from the bathroom wearing her black evening gown and makeup. She stopped on the door in a sexy pose and batted her eyelids as he stared at her in disbelief.

  "You're wearing makeup?" he blurted out.

  "I thought tonight was important," she answered with a sexy tone. She walked to him on high heels, swaying her hips like a consummate top model.

  "It is, but..." He was too puzzled by the transformation to continue.

  She adjusted his tie. "Are we ready, then?"

  "Sure." He shrugged away his surprise.

  "Let's go, then."

  Chris thought he had a new wife that night. Even Valery seemed to approve of her friend's new look. Marian was also unbelievably sociable – she must have spent the day rehearsing for the "bright wife" part.