[https://i.imgur.com/yEQYowO.jpg]

Part 9 - Finite

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Looking down, nothing blocked my view. This doesn't just happen! Tits don't just suddenly disappear.

As I tried to wrap my head around this, I felt a shooting pain in my groin. It was pressing, pulling, and bulging unnaturally. Geez, that felt freaking weird. 

My hair was still long but now it seemed crinkly, curly, and much denser than usual. It was also receding and the color was fading. Instead of the full ginger I knew, it was a tinted, rusty-brown.

I heard a quick knock on the front door. 

"Is everything okay? Are you there?" Lina's soft voice barely reached me. 

Get up! Get up now! But my body didn't move how it was supposed to. It felt vividly raw in some places and numb in others, like I'd scorched all my nerves.

Stumble out of bed! Figure out these legs later! The room whirled and tipped. Push!

I should've been running but I was barely moving from the side of the bed. It was so strange not to feel my tits moving and tugging ever-presently on my collarbone. And then swelling between my legs. 

The rug clung to my feet like Velcro. I had to pull them free with each step. Too much to drink. The doorway felt like a looming gatekeeper. I staggered back but braced myself. I was getting to the door, even if it killed me! 

I made it around the blockades of furniture but the knocks stopped. Slamming hands-first, I unlocked the deadbolt and wedged it open. It kept sliding back but I saw through the opening to the walkway.

"LINA!" My voice circled four feet in front of me, trapped. 

Lina walked away, her head turned. I called as loudly as I could, but my throat was dry and worn. She had to hear me! Please, Lina! Come back.

She receded around a bush, her bright, pink scrubs vanishing into the morning mists. 

"COME BACK!"

Gaah! I plopped on the bed, falling like my legs had collapsed from under me. But I'd just tensed and jerked them. 

What...on Earth? This was not my bed. It was Babs' bed. 

I sat up from the sheets. A throbbing tenderness prodded my left eyebrow. Lina, I'd dreamed about Lina.

But she wasn't here. Nor was Babs. I touched the pillows behind me. Wet but warm. I'd been crying. No, Babs was crying. 

My clothes. A normal, blue top and long, gray pants I usually wore to bed. But not in this soft and slightly-scattered bed. Getting up, I wandered around the room. My work clothes were not here but my shoes, keys, and wallet were. I slipped the shoes on and grabbed the rest.

Looking over Babs' living room, my mind reeled. I was here. I pinched my arm hard. It hurt and nothing changed. 

I was John Bellmore but, if I trusted a heaping gob of thoughts sitting in my head, I had been Barbara Finnacker. Totally, utterly her in every single way.

Like the wildest, most visceral, consuming dream I'd ever felt. Every moment existed and still persisted in my head. Babs flirting with Greg. Greg waking up as Lina. Going shopping, talking, eating, and hanging out. Working day after day. Lina's pink scrubs. That bum Babs was sure was me. A video game competition. Noontime at the pool. Drinks and tears. A life I felt and knew utterly and totally but had no control over. Like a first-person movie telling someone else's story. I wasn't even a hidden watcher. I was just Babs and now I was me. But I remembered that....all that. Geez...

I had to sit down. No. I had to get out of here. There was another Babs, the real Babs, and this was her home. How could I explain this? I checked to make sure nothing else of mine was somehow left for me and peeked out the door. 

Calm, clear morning. Still early. Checking a clock, this still would've been breakfast time for Babs. I set the deadbolt and shut the door behind me. There was no one on the walkway. 

Looking around the bushes, I caught sight of my ancient, green sedan parked in a guest spot. How did it get here? The tender spot grew sore thinking about it. 

But inside I found my flip phone and every ounce of crap I left inside, like my sleeved tennis racket from college.

I scrolled the black-and-white menu. It was the last Friday of the month. Or someone had set my phone seven days ahead. Checking further soon wiped out that possibility. There were six days I hadn't been a part of. Not even my phone showed any calls during that time. Deep breath...

Nah, forget that. Freak out! I made a bet with Greg that I wouldn't let go of my...drinks and I lost. So I became a...copy of Barbara? Then Greg lost trying to resist a redhead like Babs. Like I...was. 

But she did that. She did all that. Right? Geez. This thing. This whole thing. I could easily see her point about bets and who/whatever took charge of them.

But Greg. Had he been returned too or was that Lina still out there? I didn't have to wait long as a cab pulled into a guest spot on the other side of the lot and a familiar blond stepped out.

I slipped out of my car and crept around the pathway. She went up to Babs' door and knocked. No answer, obviously. Although, I wouldn't put it past reality to just materialize or teleport a Babs to greet her.

Rubbing my scruffy chin, I stepped lightly towards her. She turned when I was a few feet away. She was gorgeous. So petite but with a chest I found hard to avoid, even in scrubs. A lean figure, luscious hair, and amazing blue eyes. All that did nothing for Babs physically, so it was nice to know I got my feelings back. 

At the same time, I had to remind myself this was my buddy, Greg, under the same bet consequences I felt. Maybe. 

I raised a hand as a peace offering and tried a simple, "Hi, Lina."

Her mouth dangled for a moment before she blinked, gave a half-smile, and responded, "My gosh! John!...Uhh, what are you doing here?"

At least my sleeping clothes were close enough to something normal people might wear outside not to invite comparisons to a certain space-traveling, towel-carrying Brit. Although Babs, the once numb-legged book-reader, would probably be more likely to notice. But the point was I had no good answer to her question. I had to say something though.

"I'm not entirely sure...of a lot of stuff. Some things happened."

She fiddled with the bracelets on her wrists and looked away before glancing back. "Well, as far as I know, you seemed to be missing this last week. So...people were concerned about where you were."

"Yeah. I've...uhh...gathered that much. So far as I know, I had a really unusual couple of days. I've learned a lot and had some unique experiences. Some good. Some...not. But I got through it...Lina, I've been a complete and total bum." I nearly held back each word. I weighed them, measured them, and spoke them carefully. 

Lina's eyes widened as she said softly, "My gosh. Babs concluded that but I wasn't sure. Are you okay?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not. I screwed up, Lina, long before this past week. I've hurt you and I was afraid to tell you why because I was terrified what you might think of me."

She frowned with a bewildered look. "I...scare you? What?"

I swallowed. "Lina, you are the sexiest girl I have ever met in my life. Everything about you is sexy, especially the fact you have to go to the bathroom a lot..." My face felt so hot and my body felt so woozy I was afraid I might pass out right there.

I had to look away, if only for an instant. I wanted to swallow those words. I wanted to bury them and turn back the moment. But, darn it, there it was.

When I finally looked at Lina, her mouth hung open and her whole face was redder than I had ever seen it. Softly, she responded, "You...like that I...pee? Umm..."

No point stopping now. "I love it. It's the biggest turn-on for me. Not the pee itself but that you have to go. Holding it back and folding your legs. Fighting against the urge. I remember every time I've seen you have to go. It is...and you are...the hottest thing I can imagine..." I stopped short of saying more because my returned bits were starting to wake up just by talking about it.

As for Lina, her bright cheeks didn't fade as she managed, "You think I'm the sexiest...hottest...that that...all that is sexy?"

I nodded vigorously. "You're adorable for all that too. Even bringing it up is really...something for me. I wanted you to know that. Even if you still hate me for hiding it or if you hate me for being perverted with a gross fetish, it's okay. I don't want you to hurt because I was afraid to explain."

I stretched my arms at my sides with the palms open. Everything out there. It didn't even matter to me this Lina was a copy, an identical twin made from her cousin's dumb bet. This was still Lina. She deserved to know how I felt, no matter how weird, no matter if she ran away, no matter what came next.

As I held my breath in anticipation, she pressed her lips together, gazed down at her hands, and said, "Well...umm...wow. That does explain...stuff. And it's funny but being around you makes me so nervous. Usually. Such that I feel like I really have to go. Heh, feedback loop..."

My heart still pounded and certain parts were benefiting from that blood flow. At least she wasn't running away. "I really wanted to go to dinner with you. But it was a sit-down place which really topped off the water glasses. I realized that and thought about it and the fear of ruining things made me ruin them anyway. I'm so sorry I didn't come clean about my reasons but it felt better just to forget I ever asked you out."

She frowned and swallowed. "I didn't forget though....It hurt, a lot. In high school, I faced so much trouble and torment about...my weaknesses and I thought and felt the worst about it."

With my hands together, I begged, "I will make it up to you. All of it, in whatever ways I can. I will not cause you even an iota of pain or fear ever again, I swear it on my life!"

Her frown softened. "You don't owe me a debt. I just hoped we might be friends...a-and maybe more. But understanding now is a huge relief and...it's really weird to think that anyone could think of me like that but it's a nice kind of weird. Heh..."

She took a step towards me. "I mean...I thought only Babs had that sort of sway over...that sort of thing but..." Her face flashed with a smirk. "But if...oh gosh, I really need to go pee. It just struck me...gosh..." She added a squirm with her knees together.

For a moment, I was worried she was actually in a bad spot but I'd seen enough of her to know when she really had to go. Not that my bits could tell the difference. They were about to put me in a bad spot.

"Uhh, Lina. You..."

"I just had a full water bottle on the way over...ooooh. I dunno if I can hold it." She did an anxious prance and trapped her hands between her knees. Oh, I was screwed.

She hopped closer. Despite her feint, she still wore the bright blush. "I have such a small bladder. I need to pee sooo baaa...ack!" Her hopping while clinging to her scrub-clad legs set her off-balance. She staggered towards me with her hand darting straight out. Her grip was low, reaching for my hip. She missed.

I was able to steady her by the shoulder, but I could feel her soft, delicate fingers graze my tent on the way to my thigh. She pulled her hand away promptly, but not as quickly as I thought she might. Looking away with a gulp, her blush bloomed again.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. I...shouldn't have done that. I...oh gosh. Now I may really have to go..." She gave a gallows chuckle and took a deep breath. There were no restrooms nearby with Babs' door deadlocked, but I knew of a liquor market down the road a short ways. 

Fortunately, she gathered her composure and assured me she was alright before burying me with apologies and finishing, "That was totally inappropriate of me. Even if it was an accident, I shouldn't have started...all that."

"A beautiful girl wanted to turn me on. No harm done." Not even both hands clutching her face could hide the redness.

I heard a little squeak as she mouthed the word 'beautiful' to herself. She cleared her throat. "My goodness. What would Babs say about all this? She sho...err, she really encouraged me to break out of my fears and stresses this past week. Wow, if she were here right now...but her apartment seems empty." She peeked around and gave one last, half-hearted knock on the door.

Deep breath. I made a promise. Careful words. "Last I can say I know, wasn't Babs headed upstate this week for her mom's wedding? Greg gave her Monday through Friday off."

With a little nod, Lina pressed a finger to her lip. "She told me that but she changed her plans because you and Greg went missing. She filled in at the OWL and left you a voicemail. And I filled in too! See my scrubs? It's been great! But we kinda had a fight last night, although I dunno what I did. And when I tried her phone today it said that whole jazz with 'this line is no longer in service'. I'm so confused. But you're back at least!"