Mystery Lake

[2] Exposure & Consequences

“I feel so weird…” Barry’s voice retained his soft-spoken, often muttered cadence. This made the girl he became sound reserved, but with a breathy soprano.

She lifted up her soaked Hawaiian top up for just a moment before Layla stopped her. It was enough for Joel and Duncan to see that her breasts were even greater than the clingy cloth suggested. Joel needed a moment to draw his attention away and will down the sudden rush of blood between his legs. He already knew that Jess would be angry about everything else but understood that if she saw him sporting wood for the transformed Barry, then her wrath would be on him like that of an avenging angel.

Even automatically analyzing what cup size they had to be yanked more precious blood flow away from his brain. It wasn’t a rigorous assessment, but he judged that they had to be at least double D’s from the shape, the clear, swollen hang, and the sheer expanse. Some uncertainty in his mind lingered with that brief reveal and whether it meant adding another D or slipping further into the alphabet. That understated, quiet, geeky Barry was hiding this sort of potential to be unlocked by this freaky lake really burned through Joel’s neurons.

Layla led Barry by the hand over to the car, and the awkward silence remained until Alyssa broke it sharply with the venomous words, “You asshole.”

The fact she had even spoken rippled through the group with surprise until Joel registered the words and realized everyone was looking at him. He scowled and retorted, “Me? I’m not the one who got a bunch of people to come to a lake, saying it was some sort of fountain of magical experience, and it turns out it’s just a pond of dick swapping.”

Duncan folded his arms and shook his head vigorously. “I didn’t make anyone come here, and I certainly didn’t throw someone into a lake just to try to prove a point.” Jess wouldn’t even look at Joel. She scurried over to the car to help Layla with Barry. Brushing his long, manly locks back, Joel plopped down in front of the biggest of the tents he put together and scanned the group.

Okay, maybe he might’ve screwed up. But he certainly wasn’t going to admit it like this, with everyone laying into him. It wasn’t long before Layla guided Barry back over to the group. Somehow, they had found, likely in Jess’s clothes, a peach, triangular bikini top that barely managed to contain Barry’s salacious new shape. If she moved too vigorously, it seemed like she might flash all of them.

Even with a pair of drawstring pants and a windbreaker to cloak the bikini top, Joel marveled at the new girl’s shapely waist-to-hip ratio. She was shorter than the other girls but made up for it with a tight package. Joel moistened his lips and genuinely struggled not to stare. However, his body felt no qualms about the visceral, biological magnetism pulling him towards girl Barry.

She was hot, and, if not for the myriad of ways that Jess would murder him, he was ever so slightly tempted to flirt. Would this version of Barry respond gullibly to every compliment he could pay her? It wasn’t like he would have to gussy up or fake them since she was genuinely gorgeous.

“When do I turn back?” The new Barry quietly asked. “I thought, maybe when I got dry. But it’s gotta be a time thing, right?” Her green eyes seemed sharper with her new form.

Duncan curled his fingers across his mouth and blew a loud breath. “Folklore and legends tend to be open to a myriad of interpretations, with word-of-mouth acting like a telephone game and details often getting muddled. It’s impossible to really pin down some of…”

Barry’s voice pushed into a high-pitched, hysterical feminine tone as she begged, “How long?!?” In the back of his head, Joel wanted to imagine she was begging for something else. He wished his libido and dumb sense of humor would just quit it for five seconds.

Nervously shifting his feet, Duncan fussed and soon blurted out, “It’s permanent. From what I read, the native ritual involved volunteers who had lost their way in their society and needed a change. Some just wanted to fulfill their spirit and commune with the spirits of nature. But it was clear in the language and what Miss Clifton said as well… It’s a one-way trip for anyone taking the plunge. Men become goddesses, and women become powerful, manly warriors. I’m sorry…”

Barry’s pretty eyes widened even further, and her curved, fair pink lower lip dipped and began to quiver. Joel‘s imagination could do a lot with that, but he was trying to keep things under control. It didn’t help that she dropped to her knees on the ground, and a furious shockwave of jiggling boob threatened to unleash everything from inside her top.

It was bad enough that Jess had been winding him up last night and in the car, and then he was surrounded by two other girls. Although Layla seemed way too perky for him, and Alyssa was too much of a downer. He stretched up to walk away and give himself some privacy, but all that blood decided now was go time.

As he stood and faced the new girl on her knees, the full bracing contours of his stiffy looked like it was about to split his pants. In addition, with the position of his clothes, his pants drooped, making the shape even more obvious. At least his pants didn’t come off.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

He had about two solid seconds, he figured, where he might be able to drop to his knees in agony and pretend he’d been bitten by some erection-inducing poisonous snake or spider. He was sure he read about those somewhere online and was also pretty sure that they were only in Asia or South America, not the Midwest. Falling over and jumping into the tent seemed like a better idea than sticking around. Unfortunately, he only managed to do the first part.

“WHAT THE HELL?!?” Barry let out a textbook girly scream to Joel‘s pained ears. The sentiment was echoed by a furious-sounding Jess, joined by Layla for a quick “Woah, dude!”, and Alyssa‘s disgusted, “Oh my God!” Duncan just sounded suddenly confused, as though he had missed the big moment.

It took Joel a moment to right himself into a sitting position, by which time Jess was right there with her hands balled into fists on her hips and enough venom in her blood to burn his face off. “I can’t fucking believe you!” At least his hard-on now decided it was time to take a nap.

Jess tried to hoist him to his feet, but he slipped out and held up his hands. He looked to Barry, who had a bright blush but left the jacket she was wearing open. He could’ve called out what the new girl was wearing and asked why she didn’t put on one of Jess’s sports bras or a big sweater or top to cover up all that business. It was almost like they wanted him to be turned on. But he didn't go for that.

Of course, at this point, Alyssa handed one of her sweaters to Barry, and she slipped it on. It didn’t do a whole lot to hide her breasts. Joel stood up, as basically everyone hated him. Duncan was off to the side, stretching his mouth between several grimaces.

”I say we toss him in.” Alyssa pointed a blue-painted nail at him. Joel lowered his head and gazed through the group. Despite those big words, no one made a play for him. Jess stood her ground and frowned at Alyssa‘s statement. Duncan certainly wasn’t going to do anything. Layla appeared more like she wanted to protect Barry than anything else. Alyssa definitely wasn’t going to do it alone.

Joel countered, “Why don’t you just calm down? I made some mistakes. Barry… I’m sorry, man...woman? You know what I mean. This is not the way I wanted it to go, sincerely. And so far as how things look, what the man said. It makes goddesses. Dude, you’re gorgeous, and while I have the greatest goddess of all… I’m still gonna appreciate breathtaking beauty.” It was his best effort.

Alyssa immediately rolled her eyes. Layla cocked her head and looked inscrutable. But Jess let slip a quick smirk before returning to her frown. Barry dipped her head down, squirmed slightly, and hid a blush with her hair. He didn’t even have to turn on the full charm.

A prickly kind of peace settled over the camp as the girls attended to a very nervous Barry as Joel was left alone with Duncan. Time passed with snippets of a fashion show on the other side of the car. Eventually, Barry came out wearing an outfit with a snug, colorful top that looked to be borrowed from Layla, with Alyssa's relaxed jeans, and that bikini from Jess still on underneath. Joel held up his hands in contrition and made sure, without being lurid, everyone knew he was keeping his amigo in line.

“Hey!” Alyssa yelled from his right. Joel looked up to see a wave of water flying towards him through the air. Alyssa had taken the bucket from their gear used to put out the eventual fire and filled it with water. Joel had a sneaking suspicion about where that water came from. No matter how fast he could juke, the splash wave was too big. It got him good.

“Joel!” He could tell that Jess was screaming his name. The water utterly soaked him and started tingling as soon as it touched his flesh. The changes were rapid.

His muscular arms melted first, as though made from something less substantial than wax. He could feel his broad chest muscles shrinking next as his hips flared out. Even though the water plastered his clothes to his flesh, his pants quickly gave up the ghost and plunged to the ground. Fortunately, his top just barely kept his changing body from being exposed.

Through his top, looking down, Joel could see his chest soften and spread out into womanly breasts. To his indignation, though, they were nowhere in the ballpark of what Barry had acquired and barely even passed Alyssa. They were evenly tanned, alluringly dark, and obvious. Between his legs, his compadre rose one last time to the occasion of having breasts so close before melting into a sensitive beacon somewhere between his thighs. The air played with that point and a faint gap, which sank inside him with a rush of feelings.

He was a lot smaller looking at everyone else—even freaking shorter than Duncan. The only odd thing was that his long hair actually felt shorter, just brushing his shoulder instead of cloaking his arm as it usually did. Spitting water out of his mouth, Joel scowled at Alyssa, holding the empty bucket.

Alyssa looked to Duncan and declared, “Looks like the water works, even if you take it with you. Myth confirmed.”