Part 7 (cont.)

I watched her, wondering why. A bad dream? Something I had said? I wanted to wipe them away but I also didn’t want to wake her. Looking down at her slight hand resting on her thigh, I wrapped my hand around it protectively. She didn’t make a sound. Slowly, after swelling slightly, her flowing tears faded to nothing and her little snore deepened.

Time passed, the movie actually ended with a curious moment where the hero was forced to make a decision between returning to the woman who loved him and venturing out into places unknown with his new companions. The resolution was a bit obvious but still enjoyable.

Even with the credits rolling, Allison slept.

I carefully turned on the lights so as not to disturb her. Not even a flutter of her broad eyes. Shifting slightly, I had a random notion. I could probably pick her up and tuck her into her bed.

I plotted it out a little. I snuck my hands underneath her and then gingerly lifted…

…Tried to lift.

…Pushed myself to lift.

….Groaned to lift.

Either she was heavier than I expected or I’d gotten a lot weaker. I wasn’t about to give up. But the next lift was a bit too much because I stumbled when Allison shifted and I tumbled onto her.

My face in her face, her eyes finally fluttered open. She got in a smirk and the quiet words, “As cute as this is…I’d like to breathe.”

I staggered away from her and she cleared her throat before pouting at the finishing credits on the TV. I watched as she brushed at her eyes but the tears were long gone. She glanced at me and then to the empty bowl on the floor before asking if I liked the popcorn. I told her, “You made it, so naturally yes.”

That delighted her as she got to her feet. She inquired about the movie and she pouted more as I filled her in about the plot. Chuckling, she remarked, “I guess I was more worn out than I expected.” She gave a theatrical yawn and noted, “I should get ready for bed. Which means sexy shower time.” She winked and stepped into the hallway.

I let out a long breath and wondered if it was still early enough to call my uncle. I would probably get his machine unless he was up experimenting with flavors or hosting a late get-together. I tried it anyway and only got his machine.

After apologizing for calling him late, I said, “I feel like today I really lived what you always tell me. A lot of new in ways I never expected. Still not sure what to do with it though and I don’t feel any wiser than I was when the day started. There’s an email coming with a lot of stuff. I can talk after class tomorrow.” And then I wished him a goodnight and that was it.

I lingered on the phone and scrolled up to Lissa’s number. I highlighted it but shut off my phone and leaned back in the couch. I could hear the water running in the bathroom. My device and its controller were on the table to the side. I picked them up and took them to my room.

I also took the clothes Lissa had loaned me. I found a drawer in my dresser which wasn’t as full and found a side for everything together. With certain clothes on top, they didn’t look so out of place. Still, I felt like a secret crossdresser.

I booted up my computer and noticed Allison was still going at it in the shower. But then our shower head was detachable with multiple settings. I glanced back at the device and controller but let them sit there as I started up my writing program.

The small, black cursor blinked at me from the top of a blank page. I wasn’t in any hurry to write but after this sort of day, I should’ve been overflowing with things to say after so many firsts. But the cursor just stood there. Blinking.

I leaned forward and started a few words but then quickly tapped on backspace to snatch them out of existence. I scratched at my regular, scruffy hair. I cracked my neck one way and then the other, followed by my back. I scratched my nose. I did everything I could possibly conceive of aside from trying to put a few words on the screen.

Clenching my eyes tight didn’t help any either. Finally, I decided that I just needed to jot down the things to remember. I made a note for Allison’s surprise kisses and mine in return. I mentioned masks. I tried to put my first experience in the bathroom into a few words to flesh out later. I paused at a mention of Lissa and then Michael. I had too much to say.

I massaged my temple and realized I couldn’t hear the sounds of the shower anymore. The door creaked open and I leaned to look. Allison stepped out clad only in a large enough bath towel to reach from chest to thigh. The leftover water droplets clung to her like glitter. More than her chest, which I could tell she wanted to show off with the position of her towel, I noticed her face with her hair slicked against her neck and her rose-tinted cheeks. And I especially noticed her smile as she wrapped a smaller towel around her head.

And she noticed me. She gave a turn of her head and laid a hand on her broad hip before saying, “That was so much fun. Feel free to give it a whirl as Corlie. And, for your information, the pulsate settings were the best.” Then she blew a kiss and told me, “See you in the morning…or sooner if you like” before picking up the controller and walking to her bedroom.

Malcolm’s door opened more than a crack as she left. He puffed out a long breath and gave me a look. I was left with the device and the controller. The delay was on my mind but I knew rationally that it was unlikely to happen again, especially with just a short usage. But it would be in the shower. Allison’s was fine but if there was something wrong with mine…

Before I could debate it further, I’d slipped the device around my leg and I was accessing the saved information. A quick tap and I was Kinrae Corlie with her hair all neatly braided. That was sure to be a waste.

I scampered into the bathroom before Malcolm could look out again. Fortunately, Allison had left several spare towels on the rack. I’d need to undress. Eventually. And there was plenty to remove. I looked at the shower and down at…the Kinrae I’d loaned. I fussed with my top enough that it was soon unbuttoned. Sliding the skirt off made me stagger. I clenched my eyes closed a little.

Sure, I could tell myself this was just another person. But I was operating them. I had control of them. And it was me. I knew that, I felt that from those first moments. But it was another matter to see my body…this body…in the most private way. It was my flesh but not my flesh. Not even human colors. Unreal colors. Unreal shapes. But….human shapes.

I stopped trembling for a moment and managed to see her underwear without feeling too weird. Okay. I told myself this was just one way I could’ve gone as well. If I had genetics much sharper than the ones I did. And been born in a universe where everyone looked like art. It was me but that was easier to comprehend with all my clothes on. And then there was the mighty problem that just glimpsing myself in the mirror felt as good as all the slight imaginings of Lissa and Allison close to me. And then my body’s reaction to it all…like accelerant on a fire with every new sensation.

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Whimpering faintly, I slid the underpants down, undid the bra, and cast the last of the clothes away. I felt cold standing there, which didn’t help in the least.

With a steadying breath, I sniffled and opened my eyes. What I saw was not what I expected. I expected something like blinding divine light, the end of the Raiders of the Lost Ark, only melting my brain. But I thought of Aubrey and Hannah as I gazed at my reflection, bracing for a shock that never came. I was bigger and smaller in certain areas than either of them. I looked polished all over. I was a work of art, even without my clothes.

It was still hard, easier to look with glimpses and jarring when things moved without the shielding mask of clothing. I felt raw, like more than just one mask had come off. But as the moments piled up, the shock dwindled. I moved closer and posed as I did when I first changed, with all the same sense of discovery as then.

Eventually, the chill of the room forced me into the shower where the curtain mottled and muted my flesh tones. The shower was easy to start but gave me a skin-tingling blast of cold, misty water before I managed to get it under control.

Allison had left her products to the side. I squeezed out a gob of body soap and began to spread it around. I avoided the vastly different areas until a turn of the shower head found the settings Allison had mentioned. I shivered.

Before long, the borders seemed to recede. It was like Allison on the couch, only this time I didn’t hold back. I knew a little of what Hannah liked and it went pretty far. The rest I soon learned on my own.

I pushed myself. I embraced the sensations. I hoped to heck the running water was loud enough to blot out my voice.

Time ebbed away as I finally sunk beneath the flow. I wanted to stay longer. I wanted to find more but I also didn’t want to pay for a massive water bill. Next time would be a long, warm soak.

I stepped out and peered at my reflection in the mirror. I wrapped myself up in the other big towel Allison had left behind. I dipped the front as much as she had as well. I smiled at myself, placed the smaller towel around my drenched, heavy locks as a small, futile measure, and stepped out of the bathroom.

Malcolm’s door was slightly open and I caught him before he could close it. With a smirk to rival Allison’s, I nudged him to wear the device himself if he was “so interested in watching.” With a heavy groan, he finally accepted “just once and at a time of my choice” and only so Allison and I would leave him alone. And he added, “Never tell my girlfriend.”

As a consolation, I posed slightly for him but didn’t let him take a picture. After retrieving the controller, I took an extra towel from my closet and wrapped it so I wouldn’t drip everywhere.

With a smile, I wrote on my computer. I wrote about everything. I didn’t censor myself. I knew just about everything I wrote would have to be pared down to save me from embarrassment but I relayed every feeling I had until I heard a faint knock on my door.

I heard Allison’s soft, girlish voice call through the door, “I have something to shaaare.”

I welcomed her in. But to my surprise, Allison was back as a boy. Giggling, he said in the same high voice he’d had as a Kinrae, “Surprise!”

He soon explained, “I decided to turn off the device for a little while before bed and then I noticed my voice. I can make it sound more like usual…”

He gave an example of something closer to his usual voice, though it still sounded higher than normal. “…And I can make it sound really high…”

His voice became higher and squeakier than any Kinrae and most girls I’d ever heard. “…Or just really seexaaaay…”

And indeed it did, which made me blush. With a high giggle, Allison asked me, “Is this like a side-effect or something?”

I wasn’t sure what to tell him. I shrugged and said I would ask in class. I’d have to ask about the ‘side-effect’ I’d had as well. At least Allison seemed happy with it and was already devising “nefarious ways to confuse and arouse random people”.

When he’d scampered off while testing his high, lovely singing voice, I turned off my device with the controller. The delay was still there. I counted using the clock at the bottom of my screen. I was still damp with heavy hair and a colorful figure. Still Corlie the Kinrae.

I ticked off the seconds. After twelve, my regular body blinked back into being, fully-clothed but wrapped in damp towels. Thinking back, it could’ve been a longer delay this time or the first time. It was too close to know.

I tested again. On for a minute then off. The delay seemed shorter, closer to ten seconds, but still there. I wasn’t sure what that meant. I could just have a temperamental device with some quirks. But what to make of Allison’s situation? And had Lissa changed any after her time? I couldn’t remember.

I’d never heard of behavior quite like this and I’d read much of what was published about the devices. I flipped back through the reams of paperwork we had to go over for class. As I already knew, there were mentions made of “side-effects” and “oddities” and “trace effects”. But this seemed bigger than that.

If Allison’s voice went back to normal tomorrow and my device stopped having a delay then I would know it was nothing. If it all stayed the same, then I didn’t know what to think.

Although, I was reminded of all the conspiracy web sites which got far more press on sensationalist news programs than they deserved. They had theories about how the Kinrae were taking over the government with mind control and slowly converting missing persons to grow an army to conquer the world. I didn’t believe a single bit of it.

But I had to wonder what was going on with our devices. I considered an email to my professor but deleted the opening before I’d put any serious thought into it. It was getting late. I was tired. I’d be able to think better in the morning.

Sadly, I slipped the device off and set it on my table with the controller. I went to bed as Sean, wrapped up in my covers. I stared at the bright, smiling anime girls on my walls.

Eventually, I slept.