A charming tale of magical self-discovery.

Part 4 of 8

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Admin Note: Originally published on BigCloset Classic on Sunday, 05-04-2003 - 12:02:46 am and migrated to BigCloset TopShelf, this retro classic was pulled out of the closet, and re-presented for our newer readers. ~Sephrena
 
Image Credit: Divider licensed for use in publishing from Photoshopgraphics.com ~Sephrena.
 
Author's Message: I am sorry this is so long in coming. I have been forced into working longer hours at work due to a layoff that occurred in March which left a heavier than normal work load for the remaining people. It took getting sick and being able to have time off recovering from it to get this finished. But here it is, late as it may be. Hopefully, the next part is not so long in getting done. The story is now half way through and the remaining parts are all in various states of completion. I want to thank Aardvark (Doug B) for his help in polishing this part. Without it, I would have been doing a lot of rambling that I did not catch until he pointed it out to me. Thank you Doug. Without your wisdom, the story would have been less than it is.

Now, on to the story--I give you...
 

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Part 4 – Life of Pleasure?

As the swirling died, I was once again back in my old familiar body. As Michael, I looked around the bedroom, wondering about the upcoming challenge. What did it mean: personal pleasure? What pleasure could I get as Jennifer? I had an idea, and I was half scared to death. I had a very strong feeling that I had no experiences to help me through this time.

The new charm looked ordinary, belying the power I knew it had; its one distinguishing feature was its shape: a number '7'. There was no use delaying it. I removed the necklace and clipped on the charm. I took a deep breath and put it back on. The now familiar spinning took over and I knew I was Jennifer again.

When the spinning stopped, I was assailed by several sensations. A very rough hand groped my breasts and pinched my nipples very hard. I nearly screamed in pain. If this was supposed to be pleasurable, I wanted to go back to my own body right now! I tried to move away, but he was too strong. The hands continued with their rude ministrations briefly before moving down to my crotch. Dry fingers entered me and I realized that Jennifer had also been unprepared for this before I arrived. It was extremely painful! Whoever he was, he must have felt that he was pleasuring me immensely by the way I was squirming to get away from his hands.

He moved his hands away only to move his mouth into place. Using his teeth, he started nipping my tender nether region. His actions became rougher and more painful to me as he began to bite. Some of the bites seemed quite hard enough to leave bruises. I moaned in pain, but that only spurred him on to greater efforts. The way I was moving, he had to think that I was at the peak of desire and wanted more of what he was giving me. It couldn't have been farther from the truth.

Nearly as quickly as he started, he stopped and lifted his head. The next thing I knew, his entered me dry, rubbing me raw. The friction caused my insides to get wet, but only as an involuntary act of selfprotection. The pain lessened somewhat, but it was not pleasurable. I put up with the humiliation of this forced sex -- no rape, since I was not a willing participant. I couldn't get him off me. Eventually, I felt him come. He slowly lifted his sweating body.

I saw the outline of his face dimly in the low light before he kissed me. I closed my eyes firmly. I reeled in disgust as his lips met mine. When I opened my eyes, I could make out exhaustion on his face. Obviously, he had had a workout.

He rolled off me and lay there. Within seconds, he was asleep. I took the time to study his face. This wasn't Dan. His face was strongly masculine with a square jaw. He had five o'clock shadow. The dirty blonde hair on his head was short and tousled, like it was naturally unruly. That was all I could see without risking waking him up; his arm lay over my waist.

I suddenly realized that I had just had unprotected sex! Oh, God, I could become pregnant if I didn't do anything about it. I wriggled free from his arm and sat up. This was not the bedroom that I had gotten used to over my past visits. This room was larger, larger even than the combined bedroom areas in my house. I needed to find the bathroom. I could see a couple of closed doors in the room. I went to the closest door. It was the closet. At least I knew this was Jennifer's place; it had nothing but women's clothes in it. Oh well. It was a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right. I went to the other door, the bathroom this time, and closed it quietly behind me, avoiding the risk of waking the sleeping man. I looked for a robe or gown to cover my nakedness, but none were to be found.

I searched through the medicine cabinet and found a disposable douche. Following the instructions on the box, I crouched over the toilet, inserted it inside me, and squeezed the bulb, flushing out any possibility of getting pregnant. While I was in the cabinet I had caught a glimpse of something that looked like birth control pills. I needed to check it out.

As I approached the cabinet, I studied myself in the mirror. Jennifer was still young looking, but several years older. Fine lines were forming around her mouth; the elasticity of youth was disappearing slowly. The violet eyes still sparkled, but I think it would not be long before they dimmed. I brought my left hand up to feel the slight wrinkles around the mouth. At least there was no ring indicating a marriage. I was happy about that. But who was the man in my bed?

I had to find out one way or another. Glancing at the old familiar watch on my wrist, the time was 11:30, too late to call anyone. Who could I call anyway? I decided to wait until morning. Looking in the cabinet, I found a circular bubble case with Jennifer's name on it. Inside were places for 28 green and pink pills. Fourteen pills were green and seven were pink. Were there supposed to be seven more pink or seven more green? From my limited knowledge of women, I had to assume these were birth control pills. With the seven missing, did that mean that Jennifer has already taken one for today? I had to assume so. The instructions said to take once per day at dinnertime, so Jennifer had to have taken one earlier.

I didn't know who he was, or his relationship with Jennifer, but I doubted any woman would want sex like that. I didn't want to share a bed with that jerk, but I didn't have much of a choice. Before I carefully crawled under the covers, I had a good look. He was a large man, at least 6'5", about 250 pounds and had a beer belly. I laid down, only to find a sticky wet spot under my butt. I looked at the ceiling, fuming. Why do women always get the wet spot? It was a long time before I fell asleep.

First light of morning woke me with the surety of an alarm clock. I could not get over the fact that Jennifer could wake at the drop of a hat and be wide-awake. I got up and went to the bathroom. Washing my hands, my crotch was grabbed from behind. Reacting quickly, I whirled around and laid a resounding 'SMACK!' on the first thing I encountered, his left arm.

"Hey!" he yelled at me. "What was that for?"

"It's for grabbing my crotch. I don't like you grabbing me when I'm not expecting it."

"Well, aren't you all high and mighty this morning. What's got your tit in a wringer? You PMS'ing already? You can be a real bitch during that time."

"It would be none of your business if I was. Now let me go. I have to get ready."

"Ready for what? It's Sunday morning, you dizzy bitch." That last angered me to no end. Who is this prick?

"I'm going to church with my mother."

"Church? When did you start going back to church? It's been two years since you last went. And when did you start speaking to your mother? You haven't spoken to her for a year."

I winced. God, what has Jennifer been doing? I was going to have to patch a few fences. "That's my business. Don't you have somewhere to go?"

He grinned nastily. "Now that you mention it, yes there is. Come on back to bed. I need my morning wake up. Roger is up and ready to be jollied."

"Roger can start without me. I have better things to do this morning." I had to get away from this jerk. Why did Jennifer put up with him? I left the bathroom and went into the closet to get something to wear. While there, I took a whiff of myself and decided that I could not get away without a shower. I couldn't bear the thought of him in the shower with me, so after I gathered up the clothes I wanted to wear, I made sure the door was locked.

Several minutes later, I stepped out refreshed, no longer soiled by the contact with the jerk. I dressed quickly and applied my makeup, easy after a month of experience. Back in the bedroom, I found a pair of shoes that would go with the dress I was wearing.

Earlier, while I was searching Jennifer's clothing drawers, I came across Jennifer's diary. It had looked well used. On curiosity, I brought it out and read a few entries. Glimpsing a few near the back of the book, I read how Jennifer met Dirk and what a suave character he was. The date was from four months before. Reading further, I read how Jennifer had lost her debit card and had requested a new one from the bank. She was getting frustrated about not getting a new one after six requests. A few pages later, she mentioned that she wished that she had never met Dirk or broke up with Dan. Her words were, "He has been the only decent man in my life and I treated him with contempt after going out with him for a while. I wonder where he is now?" I glanced at my watch. It was late. I put the diary away and finished getting ready to go. I stepped out of the bedroom into the living room.

Sure enough, Mr. Macho was lying on the couch - a typical couch potato on Sunday morning.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? You still haven't fixed my breakfast." He noticed my lack of movement and frowned. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get your fat ass in the kitchen and fix me something to eat!"

"You want breakfast? Then eat out."

He looked at me suspiciously. "You certainly got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. What's gotten into you?"

"You did. Now, don't you have any place that you should be? I would prefer that you were not here while I am gone."

He rose off the couch. He was big. I hoped I could handle him. His face was flush with anger. "What is it with you, bitch? You didn't get off last night and now you're taking it out on me? If you didn't, then that's your fault. You are nothing but a frigid bitch, anyway. My father warned me about bitches like you. You just need to be shown who is the boss." With that, as counterpoint to his words, he moved towards me. I had never had anyone act this way towards me before and my heart started racing in fright.

I suddenly found that I had to protect myself. I had a desperate thought; I had spiked heels! My chance would come as he came closer.

He reached up with his hands to grab my arms. Things happened fast. He had no shoes on to keep the heel from entering his foot. He hollered out in pain and grabbed for his foot. While he was off balance, I brought up my knee as fast as I could and nailed his un-jolly Roger. He folded in extreme agony and I backed out of his reach quickly. I needed to find a weapon.

I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife from a kitchen drawer, going back into the living room with it in my hand. His foot was bleeding heavily and he was having a hard time breathing. It would end soon, but he was going to hurt for a while. I looked around to see if I could find some identification for this jerk. I found his wallet on the kitchen table. His name on the driver's license was Dirk Bishoff. Well, Mr. Bishoff, I hope you've learned a lesson about trying to play the big man. I went back into the living room.

I regarded him. "Well, Dirk, are you prepared to be a good boy now?"

"You know, you are one crazy bitch."

"Well, I think you are right on that count. I was crazy to ever let you into my apartment and my life. At least I've become sane and won't have to worry about that anymore. I do expect that as soon as you are able, you will leave here as fast as you can hobble. Do you understand me?"

"I have no place to go. I gave up my apartment to move in here with you."

"Then I'm sure that you will find one pretty darned fast. Because you will not be here any longer, I expect that you will leave your key, take all your junk with you and vacate immediately. While I'm at it, I'll make sure that you have a reputation as a woman beater. However, I am not totally vindictive, I'll make sure that nobody finds out that you lost a little argument with little old me. How does that sound?"

"If you say one word about this to anyone," he warned me, "I'll come back and you will pay for it. You can bet your life on it."

Somehow, he didn't seem so tough to me now. He did attack me, though, and I couldn't forget it. "You know Dirk, if I give you my word, you can bet your life that I will keep it. I am a woman of my word. Honesty and integrity is my motto. I did say that you will get a reputation as a woman beater and I will keep my word. I can make your life miserable and you no inkling what I can do to you! If I hear of you even raising your hand to another woman, it'll be the last thing you do! Now, how about I take a look at that foot of yours. It looks like it just has to hurt and it needs to be taken care of. Want Mommy to kiss and make it better?" I made kissing sounds to him.

Apparently he hadn't seen this side of me before. He seemed unusually upset. "Get away from me you crazy bitch! Don't you even think about touching me!" He was nearly verging on hysteria as he said that. "I'll take care of myself."

"Good." I went to the bathroom and retrieved some large gauze pads and an ace bandage. I tossed them at his feet. "I expect you out of my apartment in five minutes." I went to the kitchen and had a glass of orange juice. It tasted especially good.

He mumbled under his breath something that I couldn't quite make out. I had no doubt that he was still calling me an insane bitch, or words to that effect. The way I looked at it, last night was nearly a rape since I was not a willing partner in it. If I could have stopped it, I would have, but the whole reappearance as Jennifer in the midst of her having sex was unexpected and I was overwhelmed.

Out of curiosity, I looked inside his wallet again. I couldn't help but wonder what else I would find. He had about $200, but what really shocked me was finding Jennifer's debit card. I quickly checked Jennifer's purse. Her card was nowhere to be found. I emptied his wallet onto the table and verified what I had feared. Dirk had used the debit card to remove money from Jennifer's account. The fool had actually kept the receipts. I added them up quickly – they came to almost $4,000, dating back about three months.

I had to confront Dirk with the evidence. I found him in the bathroom bandaging his foot. "I found my debit card, Dirk. You stole almost $4,000 from me." I laughed. "You can be assured that I will be filing a report with the police for the theft of the money as well as the card. You are a lowlife scum that does not deserve to be free." I smiled. "Time to go, asshole."

"I'll go, but be advised, you had better watch your back." He was furious with me, but I wasn't going to back down.

I shook my head. This was becoming tiresome. "Dirk, it's time to get your gear and go."

I waved his wallet at him. "Here you go, stud. I made sure that you're leaving here with nothing more than you came with. Now give me my key."

Growling at me, he dug into his pocket for it. He threw it at me, but missed wide. Knowing that it might be a ploy, I let it be and made sure I kept my eyes on him until he left the apartment. He wasn't moving fast, but he was moving. He slammed the door behind him, causing several items on the wall to fall down. A picture fell to the floor, breaking its glass frame. I would have to clean it up later. It was worth it.

I followed him to the door to make sure he didn't do anything else but leave. I watched as he hobbled down the stairs to the lower level and climbed into a pickup on the back side of the parking lot. Once he started it, he revved the engine up and peeled out, leaving streaks of rubber on the asphalt. A couple of people popped their heads out of their doors to see what was happening. The heads disappeared as Dirk's pickup rounded the corner.

I looked at my watch. I still had an hour to go before mom would be going to church. I wasn't surprised that it seemed much later than it was; a lot had already happened this morning. I went back inside, making sure nothing was missing or broken in the bedroom. A quick inspection showed nothing obvious was gone, but I couldn't be sure; Jennifer had lived there, not me.

Before much could be done, I was startled by a knock on the door. Very scared that it might be Dirk coming back, I took care to look out the peephole. To my surprise, it was Heather! I quickly opened the door. She took one look at my face and the terror that still showed.

"As if I need to ask, what happened, Jennifer?"

I tried to say something, but in the shock of seeing my friend so quickly after kicking out Dirk, all I could do was grab her in a hug and burst out crying. It was several minutes before I was able to control my emotions enough to talk to her.

After I told Heather that I was the other Jennifer, I told her everything that had happened since I became Jennifer the previous night. She was shocked, but very happy that I had kicked Dirk out and laughed when I told her the legal problems he was about to have.

"Jennifer always mentioned that she didn't like being used as a sex object anytime he felt like it." Heather just had a thought. "Oh, my God! Michael, was that your first time as a woman?" I nodded. "How did you take it during the first moments?"

"I wasn't too thrilled with it. He was rough as hell and left several bruises from biting. It was not something that I care to repeat. This morning he wanted to do it again. That's when I decided to get rid of him."

"You certainly are brave. Jennifer would never do anything like that."

"I don't know why. She doesn't seem to be a strong person. When I'm Jennifer, people keep telling me that I am not acting like I normally do - that I'm more decisive."

"That's certainly true. Sometimes I wish that you could stay as Jennifer. For the most part, you are an overall stronger individual and you have a greater sense of self than Jennifer does."

"Thank you, but I don't feel that it would be good for me to stay here. As much as I love everyone here, my life is back in my old body."

"Well, it's your loss. Now how about getting together with the rest of the group today? It would help to get you caught up to speed with what's been going on lately with her."

"Right now, I just need some basic information, then I'm going to go visit Jennifer's mom and see if I can get things smoothed out with her."

"That's good to hear. Dirk really caused problems between Jennifer and her mother. Besides, she would be really happy to see you. I talk to her all the time about you since Dirk would not let Jennifer see her. So, what is it that you need to know?"

"The basic things are: date, my age now, what Jennifer is doing now and what happened to Dan?"

"Starting at the top, today is April 16, 2009. You, as Jennifer, are twenty-one years old. Her twenty-second birthday is on the 25th of this month, in eleven days. Jennifer is about to end her Junior year in College where she is studying Psychology. Dan and Jennifer stayed together until she went to college and he went to study drama out of state. By the way, he's back in town again. Is there anything else you need to know for now?"

"Not at the moment. I do have to go see mom and talk to her. If I can, I'll call you after I'm done with her. We can get together then, is that ok?"

"Sure. Have a good time and I will talk to you later. The rest of the girls and I are going to go have brunch anyway."

"Fine. See you later then. Oh, before you leave, would you be willing to keep an eye out in case Mr. Dick, er... I mean Dirk shows back up? If he does, call the police. Then call me on my cell."

"Sure, but I think that after what you said and did to him, you'll be back before he is. He will have to take care of his foot first, or he will wind up with an infection. You go and enjoy your morning with your mom. We'll watch for you. Oh, by the way, Jennifer's mom knows about you. Jennifer still doesn't."

"How would Mira find out?"

"Because I had to tell her." She paused briefly. "Jennifer was near to having a nervous breakdown because of her month long memory loss the last time you were here. Mira confronted me to find out why. She wants to meet you as yourself and not pretend like you were Jennifer."

"Why would you do this to me Heather?"

"Michael, Mira needed to be aware of what was going on in her daughter's life. You have been here so rarely that it seemed like Jennifer had a split personality. With the incidents being so few and far between, no one had any idea what was going on. Her mother was about to send her to doctor after doctor, who would, of course, find nothing, or even worse, set her up with a series of psychiatrists who would probably give her a lot of drugs to make her feel better. How could I put Jennifer and her mom through that? This was the only way I could stop her mother from worrying. If you don't believe me, you'll have to talk to her yourself about it."

"I'm not sure that I care to do that right now, but I still need to go see her, anyway. I hope that I can pull it off and not let her know that it's Michael that's wearing her daughter's body and not Jennifer."

"Believe me, she'll know. Give her some slack. She's really not a bad person. She cares for her daughter more than her daughter cares for her. Please, take my advice. Talk to her. I have to run now. Come next door when you are back and we will talk some more."

"Alright, I'll come over when I'm done. Thank you for being my friend." I gave her a hug before leaving.

I found Jennifer's car, a very nice Dodge Intrepid II. The drive over to the house was fairly quick. Jennifer must not have wanted to be too far away from her mother, regardless of what Dirk had said.

As I pulled up in front of the house, I spotted Jennifer's mom open the curtains in the front window. I saw her surprise when she saw me pulling up in front of the house. Before I was out of the car, she was out the door and assisting me out of the car. She gave me a hug. I returned it as well.

"Jennifer, I know we've had our differences, but I am so glad to see you."

"I know, mom. I hope that we can settle the differences."

"So, where is Dirk today? Is he out getting drunk again?"

"Can we go inside to talk? It's too public to talk about out here."

"Sure. Come on in. It still is your home, even though you have moved out."

We went inside and sat down on the couch. The living room had certainly changed since the last time I was here. It had completely different furniture and wall coverings.

"So, Jennifer, what's gone on that you felt you had to come and see me? The last time we talked, you made it plain and clear how you felt about... how did you call it now... oh yes, my bitchy attitude towards you."

"Mom, I wanted to apologize for everything I have said and done in the past. I have no excuses and I really miss you."

She smiled quizzically. "Really? Now Michael, why don't you just come clean and say what you really mean."

She called me by my REAL name! Heather was right; Mira could tell the difference between me and Jennifer! I had to pause for a moment to collect my thoughts. When she smiled, I felt better. She seemed to be taking this in stride. I had new respect for Jennifer's mother.

I suppose my shocked expression showed. "How did you know that it was me and not Jennifer?"

"That's easy. You carry yourself so much more confidently than Jennifer does. Something in your walk stands out. While it is not male, it's not really female either. I noticed it when you first started dating Dan all those years ago, but I just thought it was the dating that was doing it. Now I know differently."

"Are you angry with me for doing it?"

"Absolutely not! I like how you present Jennifer to the world. She should take lessons from you. You have more depth and confidence."

"I wish that I could meet her. She seems to need someone like me in her life. But I'm afraid that I'm too old for her. Dan would be much better for her than me. May I ask you a question?"

"Sure. You just did," she said, with a twinkle in her eye. "Seriously, feel free to ask any question you want."

"Now that you know about me, what do I call you? You're not really my mother and I'd feel uncomfortable calling you mom without permission. Yet, it would seem strange for other people that know you and Jennifer to hear me call you 'Mira'."

"For the moment, or however long it will be, you are in my daughter's body and I agree, it would be unseemly for you to call me 'Mira'. If you're willing to call me mom, momma, mother or anything like that, I will accept it. Is that what you need to know?"

"Yes, thank you, Mom."

"You are welcome, sweetheart."

We talked about inconsequential things for a couple more hours. Then I told her about the morning incidents with Dirk and about kicking him out of Jennifer's life. She was tickled pink and told me again that she wished Jennifer were more like me.

"So, Jennifer, what are you going to do for the rest of the day? Would you care to join me for lunch, or should I say brunch? It's still early yet and we have time to catch a buffet. What do you say?"

"Actually, there is someone that I need to go see. I have to get going."

"That's fine. Can we get together again another day soon? I really would like to get to know you a bit better."

"Sure mom. We can do that. I'll give you a call about when I'm able to go. As you know, Jennifer has her classes to go to and I have to take care of them for her. It might not be until this weekend."

"That will be fine, just as long as you can. Take care, and I'll talk to you later."

"Ok. Bye, mom. I promise I will call you later."

With that I got up and left the house. I still had a man to see and hopefully, he would want to see me. As I drove over to his house, my anticipation and anxiety grew. Would he still be in love with me, as I was still very much in love with him? This meeting would tell.

Several minutes later I pulled in front of his house. I took a deep breath to prepare myself. Smoothing out imaginary wrinkles from my dress, I rang the doorbell.

Mr. Sparks opened the door a moment later. He had an instant smile. "Yes, may I... Jennifer! How good it is to see you! What brings you around here?"

"Hi, Mr. Sparks. It's good to see you too. I'm here to see Dan, if he's around."

"Yes, he is but he's still being lazy today. He had a long night last night with the drama troop's final show. He didn't get home until after 5:00 this morning. Would you like me to wake him up, or would you like the pleasure?"

Oh, yes. I wouldn't turn this opportunity down! I think I even blushed. "I would like the pleasure. I've missed him and I'd like to be the one to greet him, if you don't mind."

"Hey! I offered, didn't I?" He paused and held up a finger. "Could you wait here for a moment, Jennifer?"

"Sure." I was suddenly eager to see Dan and was already thinking of ways to wake him when Mr. Sparks returned with his wife.

"See, what did I tell you? Jennifer came back." He was obviously happy that I was here to see Dan.

I remembered my previous meetings with Mrs. Sparks. They hadn't gone well, to say the least. I had even lectured her once. "Hello, Mrs. Sparks. It's a pleasure to see you again."

She was cool. "Hello, Jennifer. It's good to see you again, too. What are you here for?"

It seemed to me that she was still holding a grudge. I could only hope for the best. "Well, Mrs. Sparks, I'm here to talk to Dan for a while. I hope that's ok."

"Certainly. Far be it for me to stop you from doing anything you want to do. Before you do, I need to talk to you for a moment." She turned to her husband, "Honey, will you leave the room for a bit? I need to talk to her in private."

"You just take it easy on her," he cautioned.

"Don't worry about anything. I just need to talk to her. Now shoo."

He left the room with a couple of worried looks over his shoulder. She gave him a stern look to hurry him along.

"Now dear, let us go sit on the couch and get comfortable." We did so. She waited a minute before continuing on with what she had to say. "I know we have never been able to get along well, but you know I was just trying to protect my family." I opened my mouth to say something. "No, do not say anything. Hear me out first. Now as I was saying, I have always tried to protect my family as best as I could. Several years ago, I made the assumption that you were one of the girls that had been making Dan's life pure hell. I apologize for that. For the short time you went out with him, I'd never seen Dan happier. You were good for him and I was sorry to see you two break up. I was wrong and I want to try to make it up to you. Yet, I do not know how to do it. For the last three years, I've watched Dan throw himself into his acting career, and while he is enjoying it, I see the lack of something in him. Jennifer, he really missed you. I know he loves you very much. I hope you two get back together."

That was a surprise! I had to meet her half-way. "Mrs. Sparks, I'm truly sorry for our differences. I certainly can't fault you for trying to protect Dan. And Mrs. Sparks, I really hope Dan and I get back together. That's why I'm here."

She did something I had never seen her do, smile. "Wonderful. Welcome back, Jennifer. It really is good to see you again."

I smiled back. The way was clear! "Mrs. Sparks, if you'll excuse me, I need to go wake someone up."

"Certainly, dear. Go right ahead."

I was almost too embarrassed to ask, but I had a sudden thought that seemed too good to resist. "Um, I am not sure how to ask this, but is there a chance that I could get an ice cube? I want him to wake up with a surprise and this is seems like a great way to do it."

She laughed. "I like what you're planning. I'll be back in a minute."

In exactly a minute she was back with an ice cube in her hand. "Here you go, dear."

"Thank you, Mrs. Sparks." I went up the stairs slowly, as not too make too much noise, and then carefully opened the door to his room, peeking around the corner. Dan was still dead to the world. The ice was already melting in my hand, so I had to be quick. I crept slowly across the floor as quietly as my heels would let me. I noticed that his room was immaculate, one of the things I loved about Dan. Dirk was a total slob.

As I approached the bed, I noticed that his chest was uncovered and made a perfect target for the ice. I carefully set it down, gently putting my hand over it. It took a minute to penetrate his sleep. With a shout, he reached to grab the ice and encountered my hand. His eyes popped open. The first thing out of his mouth was "What the he... Jennifer? What in the world are you doing here?"

I had to smile at him. He looked so cute when he was at a disadvantage. "I'm here to see you, Dan. I heard you were back in town." I could not help smiling even more at his discomfort as the ice cube slid out of my hand and down his chest before he managed to grab it.

I also had to give him points for recovering quickly. His smile was beautiful. Jennifer, how could you have left him? "You know Jennifer, there is a word you should consider: payback." His eyebrow lifted skeptically at my feigned horror. "Would you mind stepping out of the room for a minute while I get up and get dressed?"

"Sure, but don't take too long or I might decide to leave." I said it with a flash of a smile. He caught that and smiled back. I left the room in a good mood. I did not go very far. I lurked just outside the door, hoping to catch him off-guard again.

I didn't have to wait long, as he came out of the room within 3 minutes of my exit. He was expecting me to be in the living room and I caught him unawares, as planned. I grabbed his arm and pulled him, giving him a hug.

"Damn, I have missed you so much, Je...," he started to say, but was silenced by my lips as I kissed him deeply. He settled into it quickly and returned it with a passion that set my nipples to tingling.

We finally broke the kiss and I could tell that the kiss had effected him, too; there was a tell-tale bulge in his pants. I was in the same shape on my chest; my nipples were rock hard.

"Dan, I made a big mistake in the past and if you're willing, I'd like to make up for it."

The tender way he ran his fingers through my hair sure felt like a 'yes' to me. Still, I was very happy to hear the words. "You don't have to make up for it at all. You're here and that's all I need to know. Come on, let's go downstairs."

We went down to the living room where his parents were sitting. Mrs. Sparks looked at me with a sly smile; she knew the ice would get him up in a hurry.

"Dan, dear, I thought you were going to be sleeping until 2:00," she said.

He frowned suddenly. "As you can see, I have a visitor who was completely uninvited. I'm in the process of kicking her out of the house for pulling a dirty trick on me. Now if you will excuse me," he looked at me sternly and shouted, "OUT she goes!" With that, he grabbed my legs and picked me up in a fireman's carry. In about a second, my rear end was pointed towards the ceiling and I was upside down, looking at his back. I shrieked. He put me down, laughing.

"NOW, we're even, Jennifer." He left me to arrange my dress briefly and flip my hair back. When I looked up, he had a wonderful smile plastered all over his face. "Damn, is it ever good to see you again."

"I feel the same way about you, Dan. I've missed you for quite a while."

"Jennifer, can we go outside and talk? I need to ask you some questions."

"Sure."

We led me by the hand to a two-seat lounge swing in the back yard, under the shade of a large oak tree. He had a real serious look when we sat down.

"Jennifer, I hope you don't get angry with me, but I have to ask you something. Last week, I saw Heather and asked her about you. She told me that you were in a bad relationship that was turning violent and wouldn't be able to see me. What happened?"

I was quiet for a moment. "I was in a bad situation with someone, but it's over. It ended this morning rather dramatically when I found out that he had been stealing from me, among other things. Besides, I've been thinking about you a lot lately and it only took a small incident to make up my mind."

"Can you tell me about it? You don't have to, but I would like to hear how things changed so quickly." His concern was etched into his face. He was worried about me.

I took his hand and filled him in on the events of the morning with Dirk. By the time I was done, he had an incredulous look on his face.

He made the sign of the cross at me. "Please remind me to NEVER get you upset or angry with me! You'd be too dangerous to have around."

I laughed. "Dan, there is no way I could get that angry with you. You're too kind and don't have the mean nature that Dirk has. I know that he's furious with me. He knows I'm filing theft charges and slap a restraining order on him tomorrow. But I'm not really afraid of him and I certainly don't have any feelings for him."

"What are your plans now? Is this visit to get someone between you and him as a protector?"

"Dan!" I was hurt a little, until I remembered how other women had treated him. "No. This visit is to get us back together. If I needed a protector, I'd go buy myself a gun and get a license to carry it concealed. He's not worth anything more than that. Once I'm done with him, he won't have any spare time to do anything."

"That is all I need to know. I don't like the idea of being used as a shield or cannon-fodder for a feud between two people."

I sighed heavily. "Dan, I'm not one of those girls from school that used you for a target of their jokes. I think we went out long enough to really discover our feelings for each other."

"I'm not so sure about that. You certainly changed after the first month of going out with me. Not bad, but you were so flaky that it made it hard to go out for a while."

Jennifer, what have you been doing! "I'm sorry about that. Something came up that nearly caused me to have a nervous breakdown. I got over it and don't want to ever have that come between us." I smiled as sweetly as I could. "Can we let that be a bygone and not talk about it?"

He smiled back – he knew what I was doing. "If you feel that strongly about it, I'll let it go," he said sincerely.

"Thank you. Now, may I ask you a question?"

"If you must."

"Are you hungry? I'm starving and would like to get something to eat. How about joining me for lunch?"

"You'd have to give me time to get a shower and get dressed in better clothes."

"Certainly. Do you think half an hour is sufficient?"

"Yes. Let's go back inside and you can talk with my parents while you wait." We both got up with that and went back inside the house. His parents were still sitting in the living room talking.

"Mom, dad, Jennifer and I are going to go out and get a bite to eat. I'm going to take a shower, so would you be so good as to entertain her while I'm getting ready? Thanks." Without waiting for an answer from them, he bounded back up the stairs, entered his room, and dashed back out into the bathroom. Within a minute, I could hear the shower running and his happy singing while he washed.

In the meantime, I chatted with his parents and got to know them a bit better. I discovered they were both wonderful people and Mr. Sparks, I found, had a fantastic sense of humor. I laughed so hard at some of his jokes. Some were kind of dumb, but the way he told them and the expressiveness of his face was hilarious. Finally, Dan came back downstairs. He looked so handsome.

My heart nearly burst through my skin with an increased beat. My loins tingled with desire for him. My body was telling me that this was the man, to go for it and let nothing stand in the way. Shortly thereafter we left the house to go eat. I tried to remember what buffet Heather said she was going to go to, but I couldn't remember. I realized that I really didn't care. Being with Dan was all that was important. I asked Dan to choose. He drove us to a nice Chinese buffet, the Shanghai Garden. The prices were quite reasonable and I managed to eat two plates of food before my tummy told me to stop. Of course the portions were small but very tasty. I'd never had much of an appetite for Chinese, but I did enjoy the meal. It was with Dan.

When we were finished the waitress cleaned the plates away and left us the fortune cookies. Dan was a big traditionalist when it came to fortune cookies. He explained that his parents believed that we had to open them together and read what it said to the other person for it to come true. He told me to read mine first.

"From the past comes one thought lost, to the future both shall go," I read. "Your turn, Dan."

His read, "Former love's return tolls the bell of matrimony."

Both of us were shook by the predictions. If it were true, we would be getting married. When, was impossible to say, but it would happen.

We didn't talk about it afterwards, but I knew I was thinking about it and I'll bet Dan was, too. I caught him looking at me oddly, almost an appraisal. I felt I was being measured for a wedding dress. We left, but not before making sure that we each had the fortunes safe in a wallet or purse.

Afterwards we drove around the town for a while and wound up out at a recreational area at the outer edge of town, walking a path by a river hand in hand, getting to know each other again. We talked about everything and about nothing. The afternoon passed slowly for us, but it also went too fast.

My feelings for Dan were so much more intense than they were so long ago, yet such a short time before. As it was nearing sunset, we made our way back to the car. Not really wanting to let him go, I offered to make him dinner, to which he gladly accepted. I certainly had other plans for him tonight, but if they didn't go through, I wouldn't be hurt by it. Just to be with him was all I cared about. I knew I was madly in love with him and the thought of separating from him for any amount of time was painful.

We didn't get back to Jennifer's apartment until after dark, which suited me fine. I gave Heather a ring to let her know I was home. I had just started fixing dinner when she rang the doorbell. She was startled when Dan answered it.

"Dan, what in the world are you doing here?" were the first words I heard from the kitchen.

"Hi, Heather. Jennifer is fixing me dinner tonight," Dan casually replied. "Hey, Jennifer, Heather is here. Would you like me to send her in to help you?"

"Hi, Heather. No, Dan, if you don't mind, would you talk to her while I finish dinner?"

Heather decided she needed to chime in after being volunteered and then rejected for kitchen duty. She spoke loud enough for Dan and me to hear, "You'd better watch out Dan. Jennifer is the Tuna Fish Sandwich Queen around these parts. She can eat them five meals a day. Why don't you come over to my place and I'll fix you a REAL dinner."

I snorted. "Heather, you lying twit! I can fix more than tuna fish sandwiches. You watch. It'll only take me 45 minutes and I'll have a great meal prepared that even YOU would like." I had remembered that Jennifer had a steak in the refrigerator and there were other ingredients that turned up when I was looking through the cupboards and the pantry. I had a meal of beef stroganoff in 40 minutes.

"Dinner's ready!" I hollered out. "Heather, have you eaten yet?"

"No, Jen, and I'm not sure that I care to try your concoction." Both of them came into the kitchen to see what I had made. Dan immediately started drooling over the smells emanating from the 'concoction' and I could tell Heather was nearing the same point.

"What ever did you make Jennifer? It smells so good! I never knew you had it in you to fix something that smells so good."

"Heather, if you think it smells good, it tastes even better. Here, try a taste." I gave her a spoonful of the beef and gravy mixture to try.

"Oh, my God, Jennifer! This is fantastic! How did you learn to cook this stuff? You've always been the sandwich queen. I changed my mind. I'm staying for dinner. Thank you for the offer." Following her words, she sat down to the table. I'd already set it for three, figuring that she would still be here after she had a taste. I put the serving dishes on the table and prepared myself to sit down when Dan held the chair for me and eased it up to the table for me. That made me feel rather odd but nice. It was a kind of respect I had never expected or received as Michael. Heather, at least, had manners enough to wait until Dan sat down before she took a plate full of noodles and piled the beef/gravy mix on top.

Dan waited for me to take my portions before filling his plate. He was trying not to look like he was in a hurry, but I could tell the scent of the food was getting to him. When he was finished, he asked, "Jennifer, if you don't mind, I'd like to say a quick prayer for dinner."

"No, Dan. Please, feel free."

He said a very short prayer for the food and the companionship to share it with and we dug in immediately afterward. When I went go make some iced tea I could hear the appreciative sounds of two people eating a very good meal. I ate with the enjoyment of having others enjoying a meal that I had prepared. The meal was over before I was really ready and both Dan and Heather were looking rather uncomfortable with the sensation of having eaten more than their normal amount of food.

I already knew what it tasted like and I knew that it wouldn't do Jennifer or I any good to overeat while I was in Jennifer's body. I could always make a pig out of myself later when I was back being Michael, but for now, I was satisfied to let the other two do it for me.

In an attempt at levity, I announced, "Hey! I've got an idea. Let's have seconds! There's still more left." I was answered by two groans, which I took to mean no. "Ok, how about dessert? I think I have a nice strawberry/rhubarb pie in the freezer. It will take an hour to get it ready. I can start now."

Dan turned a bit green around the edge. "Jennifer, I guarantee that won't be necessary. I don't think that I could eat anything in an hour let alone eight."

Heather begged off from the after dinner chat with the excuse of having visited long enough. Personally, I didn't mind at all; it left Dan with me alone. After Heather shut the apartment door behind her, I locked it with all the locks the door held. I turned back to Dan.

"I hope you don't mind staying a while longer? If you don't have other pressing things that you need to do, that is."

His look was happy, full and contented. "The only thing I have going right now is spending some time with a very lovely lady. So, what would you like to do?"

"I just want to spend time looking at you. It's been so long since I've seen you. I'd just like to get used to being with you after too long away."

Making what I said come true, I walked to the couch and stretched out length-wise with my head in his lap, so I could look up at him. In his eyes, I beheld the look of love.

"God, Jennifer, it's been so long since I last saw you. This a dream come true for me." He bent down as far as he could before lifting my head up and kissing me. I returned it with as much gusto as I had in me, holding it for several minutes.

I had to make my move now before he even thought of leaving. "Dan," I breathed, "are you in any hurry to go home? Will you spend the night with me?"

His answering smile was everything I had hoped for. "I've dreamed of you saying those words for a very long time. It's not every day that a man has the woman of his dreams ask him to spend the night with her. Hell, yes, I'll spend the night with you."

He called his parents to advise them that he wouldn't be home until morning, then returned to me on the couch. We cuddled for quite some time after that. The TV was on, but we were only paying attention to each other. No words were really exchanged between us, as it seemed that we were reading each other's minds. He caressed me, ran his fingers through my hair, and touched my cheek. I explored his face, arms and chest. Finally, around 10:00, I made a move to get up, knowing that I would have to go to school tomorrow morning for Jennifer. Dan was right there assisting me up off the couch.

As I stood up I reached my arms around his neck and looked silently up into his beautiful blue eyes. I couldn't get over how wonderful he smelled. "Come, let's go to bed," was my nearly whispered statement. In near deafening silence, we moved, arm in arm, to the bedroom. I slipped briefly out of his arms to go into the large closet to prepare myself. "Dan, please feel free to do whatever you need to do. I'll be ready in just a moment."

I could hear some rustling around in the room, then the bathroom door closed. I continued searching for the outfit that I was going to be wearing tonight; nothing simple but nothing complex. I wouldn't be in it for very long, anyway. I put on my choice of nightwear and slipped a satin robe over it. Before I left the closet, I considered what I was doing. I certainly hadn't enjoyed what I went through last night with Dirk and I was rather hesitant doing anything with Dan. One thing I certainly noticed was that my body, or rather Jennifer's body was so ready for him. Jennifer's skin felt so sensitive and it virtually ached for his embrace. It could tell how much I wanted Dan and was preparing itself for what was surely to come.

I thought of something that needed to be done. I pulled out Jennifer's diary and wrote a brief entry into it. I wrote about the fight in the morning with Dirk, about kicking him out, the reconciliation with mom and the magical day with Dan. I explained that I was no longer able to keep my mind off him and that I felt it was better to be with him than someone like Dirk. From the entries she had written before, I was sure she would understand. I looked closely at the entry I had just put in the book; it matched her writing completely. It had no resemblance to my writing as Michael, but I could only ponder it for a moment. There was a man waiting for me. I closed the book and set it back in the spot she kept it. I took a deep breath and left the closet.

As I entered the bedroom again, Dan was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting expectantly. I motioned with a finger that I needed to use the restroom. I was quick at it, making sure that I was clean for what might come up shortly, no pun intended.

When I came back I stood looking at Dan for a moment, feeling alive, the body tingling, sensitive and sexy. I allowed the anticipation of his embrace to sweep through me until I couldn't stand it any more. I walked forward, my needs and desires, intimately tied up with my love for Dan, making it the most natural thing in the world. He took me in his arms and my body trembled with pleasure and sudden purpose. He picked me up gently, saving me from weakening knees. After laying me on the bed, he slowly drew my nighty over my head, and I felt every inch of the silky fabric brush across my body, instantly bringing my nipples to greater hardness.

My panties were next and then it was just the two of us, discovering each other for the first time, enveloped in love and our need. He moved slowly, taking his time to explore and excite, moving me to one passionate moment, only to proceed to another. He started with my lips, pressing his harder body against my soft and willing skin. His hands did what they wanted, and I felt his pleasure, turning it into my own. His lips found their way to my breasts and the pleasure built and migrated south, making me wet and so available. He seemed to know this body so well, and I found time between passion and wonderful surprises to look at his face in appreciative awe.

Eventually, the feelings built to a point where I had to have him. I wanted him so much. My heart was already his, and the body was his for the taking. He took it, but not in lust. He took me in love. His movements started my own in unconscious reply and we moved together in our own intimate, private completeness. When I came again and again it was the culmination of everything; Dan, me and us. When I felt him come inside me, I held him close, amazed with the sudden knowledge that this would only be the first time of many. I knew that THIS was my true first time; the scene with Dirk was finally erased. I wept with happiness. This was Jennifer and Dan's future!

Sleeping that night was so peaceful, I didn't wake at the crack of dawn as I had the previous morning. I slowly woke in ecstasy from the night's activities. I felt Dan's arms around me with him spooned to my back. I wriggled a bit to turn to face him. My movements woke him. As he opened his eyes, his smile was beautiful to behold. The love he had in his eyes matched what was beating in my heart.

He kissed me to welcome in the morning. "Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept better than I have in months," I told him honestly.

"Jennifer, I know this isn't the most romantic thing to say, but I have to go. Can we get up? My arm is falling asleep." He had this silly grin on his face.

"Sure." We both sat up. "Who gets the bathroom first?" I asked him.

"You go ahead. This is your place and I can be patient," he replied.

I completed the morning ritual with little fuss. I no longer had any nightclothes on, but it didn't matter. Dan was polite enough to remain out of the bathroom until I was done.

At breakfast we sat down to the table together and just looked at each other. The glow from last night was still with us.

He looked like he was contemplating something. After several minutes, he finally made up his mind. "Jennifer, last night was the best night of my life. To have the morning come so quickly was depressing. I want to remain with you day and night from now on. I'm not the best with words, but will you marry me? I love you with all my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are all that I've thought about for the last several years and my life has been a hollow shell ever since we broke up. When you came to me yesterday, it was my greatest dream come true. Will you remain with me and be my wife, my partner, my eternal love?"

I started to cry. I couldn't help it. I loved him so much. Oh, Jennifer, you are so lucky! He was waiting for my answer. I took his hand and smiled through tears. "Dan, since we broke up, my life has been one series of failed relationships. You were the high point of my life. Last night was the best thing, with the best guy I've ever known. I've loved you for so long, Dan. Of course, I'll marry you. I'll share my life with you and bear your children one day. But can you wait a year until I've finished school? If you wait, we'll be married soon after graduation."

The look of joy and relief was all over him. "Jennifer," he laughed in delight, "I agree to your terms. Now if I'm correct, you need to get going to school or you'll be late." He knelt down on one knee and took my hand. "I love you with all my heart, Jennifer. You will never have to worry about anything. Your life will be filled with joy and will never want for anything that I can give you." He rose to wrap his strong arms around me and drew me in for a kiss. It was several minutes before I could break away; my arms didn't want to let him go.

"Oh, Dan, I don't want to leave, but I have to take a shower now. Once I'm out, you can take one if you'd like."

"Well, if you insist, but it can wait until I get back home. Besides, you don't have time. I need to get a ride home from you."

"Of course! It wouldn't be right to strand your fiancé!" I kissed him quickly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I will get ready." I went into the bedroom and headed for the closet. Adhered to the door was an unexpected letter. With trembling hands, I took it down. How had I found the answer so quickly? I expected to be weeks finding out the answer. I went into the closet before opening it. I took out Jennifer's diary and wrote a brief entry into it describing the proposal, my acceptance and a little bit about last night. This was definitely something Jennifer had to know. Then I opened the letter.

"Jennifer, you are getting very lucky. It must have been your lucky number that came up." It showed the figure of the '7', then continued, "You were to find the answer to intimacy or personal pleasure. You found that the wrong person could cause pain and that the right person could give you most exquisite pleasure. From the heart comes love as well as the ability to give and take pleasure. Women are the most passionate creatures in the world, as well as the most frail to fear others may invoke.

"The next step of your journey will test your strength against pain. It will be a hard road to travel. The personal pain you MUST experience can be the most rewarding as well. Good luck in your journey. You will know when it will end."

I overturned the envelope to remove the expected charm. The all too familiar spinning took hold, to return me back to where I would begin the road to pain. I closed my eyes, as the dizziness became too strong to bear. As quickly as it started, it was over.

A sharp pain tore through my abdomen, causing me to gasp in pain. Things were not what I expected them to be. I quickly placed one hand to the place that hurt so badly. I was astonished to discover a large bulge where my stomach should have been. What now?
 
To Be Continued...
 
Note: TG magic transformation deals/gifts age regression Adult-to-under-13 rated-g
Posted by: Admin on Sunday, May 04, 2003 - 12:02 AM.