But Who Am I Really?

Part 1 of 2

by RH Music

On his last day of vacation in Ireland, Hugh picks up a beautiful local hitchhiker, Erin. That night, an ancient Irish lullaby has unexpected side-effects and the couple is thrust into a new life which they find strangely wonderful... (a body swap story)

Chapter 1

"Hey there, where ya headed?" Hugh asked, rolling down the window.

"To Dublin, where are you headed?" her voice had a light Irish lilt, musical, like a gavotte.

"I'm not headed to Dublin until tomorrow. But I'll take you as far as Limerick, where I'll be spending the night."

"Thank ya, tha'd be very kind." She opened the door and stepped in. "And, by the way, my name is Erin O'Neil."

Erin was tall and thin, had pert breasts in a thin linen shirt, jeans, and long, wavy, bright red hair tied in a ponytail. Her features were classic - right out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting - and her eyes danced with pleasure. She dropped her backpack in the back seat and closed the door.

Hugh caught himself staring. "Oh... and I'm Hugh."

"Well goodness, just like my ancestor, The Great Hugh O'Neill."

"Except it's just Hugh Johnson. Who was 'The Great' Hugh O'Neill?"

"Only the last Gaelic Chieftain of Ireland. But, alas, defeated by the English in 1600."

"Wow, that's some pedigree."

"Ohhh, just one of many exotic secrets in the O'Neil family tree."

"Well then, tell me all about all about it!"

Hugh drove on, completely taken with Erin and her lively talk. Her wild and free spirit maintained a deep sense of history and a fierce pride in her native Ireland. It didn't take long to discover that she was setting out from her remote home on the Dingle Peninsula, hitchhiking to Dublin as the first stop on her trip to the United States. Hugh also found out that Erin belonged to a family of farmers, that she helped her parents manage the herd, that her family tree had been traced back over 700 years, and that she was headed to Dublin as the first stop on a long vacation trip to the United States. She smelled strongly of wool, which Hugh found to be strangely intoxicating.

"So now tell me, mysterious Hugh, what are you all about?"

Hugh sighed. "Oh, I'm so dull compared to you. I live in Boston, I'm a manager, and I hate my life."

"Oh, Hugh!" Erin exclaimed, "how could ya hate your life when there are so many nice surprises left!" And with that, she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Hugh looked at her, eyes wide, feeling the moist kiss on his skin.

"I... uh... um..." he tried, but just couldn't get any words out.

Erin smiled. "Well... aren't ya goin' to thank me?"

"Thank you? Oh! Thank you! That was so, incredibly, sweet of you..."

Hugh blushed deeply.

"You're so cute. So, why do ya claim to hate this life so much?"

Hugh embarked on his life story. He and some friends from college had started their own company 5 years ago, which after just a couple of years had been bought out by a large Telecom.

But after the purchase, things just stagnated. The new company was too bureaucratic, miserly, and insisted they do nothing but service the existing customers. What had been a fun job with friends, turned into something boring and tedious. And just before vacation, he had been informed that his parent company planned to disband his group and fold them into another department. Hugh would be out of a job.

That had been two weeks ago. Now that vacation was over, all he could think about was having to go back to work where he would have to fire half his staff, including himself.

"And so, 5 years of my life," Hugh sighed, "all those 12 hour days, weekends, everything, working on this product, and now it's nowhere. I hate it. And for what? I'm just wondering what in this world is important. Who am I? I've had no time for family, I have no other interests, and my life's work has gone down the drain."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Erin was mocking him. "Poor, poor, Hugh. Let me ask you this, what did ya get when you merged your company. Stock perhaps?"

"Well, yeah, I got some of stock."

"And what is that stock worth today, hmmmm?"

"Well, yeah, it's worth something."

"Well there you go. Now you 'ave the freedom to discover what is really important to you. Most people I know would jump for the same opportunity. Most people I know don't 'ave such choices. You're just a lost soul who needs guidance."

"And I suppose you're the one to help guide me?"

Erin smiled broadly. "My mother always said that I 'ad the very spirit of her ancestors - poets, charmers, enchantresses, and harpists."

"I believe it," but Hugh still sighed heavily - work was on his mind. He looked up at Erin, hopeful, "Would you like to join me for dinner? My treat?"

---

They arrived in Limerick, a clumsy industrial town and had dinner in a local pub. Throughout the evening, Erin had been sparkling and thoughtful. She succeeded in lifting Hugh's spirits somewhat, but as they stepped out of the pub he felt this ephemeral mood escape.

Hugh looked up at Erin. "Listen," he sighed, "why don't you just spend the night with me. I got a suite for my last night's stay, and I can sleep on the couch and you can have the bed. And the way I am tonight, you have nothing to fear."

"Well, I was just going to find a hostel somewhere..."

"Please, I owe you something for being so nice over dinner."

Erin turned towards Hugh and with a light touch under his chin, tilted his head up. She looked into his eyes, searching and thinking. For a second, Hugh forgot everything else, and just looked at her, realizing for a second that this was someone he would miss after tomorrow. The full moon, blood red in the industrial sky, peeked out over her left shoulder.

Erin stood up on tiptoe and kissed him on the forehead. "Alright, I accept your offer. But you sleep in the bed. You need it. I've slept in the fields with my sheep, so a couch will be more than enough."

"You sleep with the sheep outside?"

"Well, it only 'appened twice. Once on a dare, and once when I came home late and forgot me key."

"What's it like?"

"When you wake up, all you want is a good hot shower."

Chapter 2

Hugh woke to darkness and warm moist lips on his forehead. He looked up at Erin as her long hair cascaded over them both, lightly brushing against his face and chest.

"Uh..." he struggled to remember where and who he was.

Erin brushed her cheek lightly against his, kissed his ear, and then did the same to the other side.

Hugh looked up at her, He had been dreaming of work and his shoulders had pulled inward with the weight of his concerns.

"Oh, Erin, why are you being so nice to me?" Hugh curled up into a ball, turning away from her. Tears formed and wetly dropped onto the pillows.

"Shushhh" Erin hugged him from behind. After a second she started humming in his ear. The tune was exotic and haunting. Hugh gradually calmed down and he turned towards her with wet eyes.

Erin brushed her fingers over his face, wiping away the tears. "This is a very special Gaelic song, very old." She began it again, no words, just notes. After a second, Hugh felt the song work its way in, and soon he found himself singing it too, following her lead. Although he had just heard it, it came so naturally - like he had known it since birth.

Erin leaned forward and brushed her lips against his and Hugh responded, as they both continued to sing. Hugh was enraptured by the song and her eyes. He looked up and cradled her face in his hands and she did the same with his. Their motions were in synch, like their singing, as he explored her face and she explored his.

Hugh felt more content and trusting than he had ever felt in his entire life. The song they were singing and their synchronized motions made him hyper-aware of what she was doing to him. He saw through her eyes. He felt with her fingers. As she stroked his chest, Hugh felt what her hands would feel with the light wisps of hairs that grew there. His chest felt what hers would feel, covered with a gauzy linen night shirt, feelings of palms over generous bosoms, lightly stroking a stiff nipple, causing jolts to run through his body.

The two of them hugged tightly, breasts compressed against chest, Hugh felt large hands run down over buttocks, pulling the nightshirt from underneath and then stroking bare flesh and teasing the crevice between. He vividly felt what her hands would feel, as they smoothly traced down a naked back causing goose bumps in its owner, then traced over and under the waistband of the briefs. He felt so clearly the waistband trapping his hand inside and the briefs hugging his hand to a pair of muscular buns that shivered and clenched, trapping the fingers between them.

Hugh and Erin parted slightly, removing fingers which had been stroking in the nooks and crannies and looking deep into each other's eyes. Hugh wondered if Erin wanted to go further. Did she intend to do more than merely comfort a mentally sick and distressed soul?

He looked at her and saw himself from the outside. Fingers worked their way around hips, he felt a hard penis, but was it his hands or hers? The hand stroked, and he enjoying the gasps and sensations he saw flitting across his partner's face. Erin worked her fingers around, and Hugh felt what she was feeling spiritually as well as physically. Somehow, he felt strong fingers work their way between his legs and trace through his pubic hair. He felt a pussy become wet and slick with an intense and growing desire.

The song had brought them to one being. It was now just barely whispered, but whispered together, and yet it still filled his mind so he could do nothing but follow the song, wherever it would take him, his guide. So complete was this dreamlike state that Hugh lost track of where he was, whose fingers was whose, who owned the penis, who owned the vagina, whose labia was being stroked, whose balls were massaged, and who felt it.

Hugh registered the sensations coming from his fingers. Fingers trapped inside of elastic briefs, fingers stroking a silky penis, a hard and straining penis. These fingers gradually pushed down the briefs, no longer trapped now, fingers and penis in the open air, but fingers still holding, caressing, tracing the veins, tracing the ridge around the glans, causing the owner of the penis to jerk in pleasure, with small gasps.

Hugh watched as strong fingers moved underneath the linen nightshirt, stroking up and down pussy lips, lubricating them, causing his body to tremble. A finger entered, parted the lips, and pushed in deeply. He felt the finger caress vaginal walls, work its way deep inside, and touch places he had never felt before. The thumb on the outside gathered some of the slippery fluids and then worked its way between the folds at the top of the pussy. What had previously been tremors now became convulsions, as his entire body pulled taught and he lost his breath. Hugh watched from outside as he saw himself smile at the manipulations which were wrought, manipulations which Hugh felt (in sympathy?) as if they were coursing through his own body.

Hugh was desperate for more. He got to his knees and worked his way over Erin's body. Only it was Erin who actually rose, and it was Erin who straddled Hugh's body, the nightshirt flowing over them both. It was Erin's body that pushed Hugh onto his back, then reached down, grasped Hugh's penis, lubricated it, and thrust it in deeply, so that the head of the penis hit against her cervix and the clitoris was mashed against his pubic hair. Her body leaned over, hair cascading over them both, and then kissed him deeply, her tongue tasting his saliva, as the two, overcome with single-minded urgency, gradually increased in tempo and pressure, until they pressed frantically together and finally climaxed, first him, and then her.

And it was Erin's body which felt satisfaction and pleasure washing over it, and felt the penis throbbing deep inside as her vagina involuntarily contracted and grasped, squeezing the last drops of semen out, full of sperm that worked its way deep into the unprotected womb.

It was Erin's body, but it was Hugh who felt it.

---

Hugh woke with his eyes covered and with gentle kisses being planted on his lips. He woke gradually, enjoying the feelings, and then tried to speak.

"Shhh," Hugh heard a whispered voice. He realized that it must be Erin, although her voice was so soft. The whispers continued, "I have a surprise for you. D' ya want to see it?"

Hugh held still and nodded his head.

"OK. Now I want you to take things slowly." The voice was very light, and right next to Hugh's ear. "I don't know exactly how this 'appened, but it's amazing, and I hope you like it." There was a pause. "Ready?"

Hugh nodded again. "OK, now when I remove my hands, don't panic. Just take your time and go slowly." The hand was removed from his eyes.

And Hugh saw himself.

He looked around... where was the mirror?

But there was no mirror. Hugh took a few deep breaths and reached out a hand and stroked the face before him. He felt stubble. He felt masculine features. He felt short, thick hair.

There was a man, who looked just like Hugh, right there in Hugh's bedroom.

Hugh jerked back, scared. "But... but..." Hugh stuttered, "who are you? And why do you look like me? This is impossible..."

"I know, but somehow it happened! When I woke up and saw me lying next to me... I nearly fainted!"

"I... I don't get it... yourself next to you? Who was next to you? Who are you?"

The body, which looked like Hugh, breathed a long sigh. "Hugh," it said, "look at your hands."

Hugh held up his hands. They were smooth, thin, and covered with freckles.

"Now here," Hugh flinched as his look alike reached out towards his head. "Please, hold still! I promise I won't hurt you." Hugh shivered a bit but held still. The hand reached out, grabbed some of Hugh's hair, and pulled it in front for his inspection.

The hair was long, wavy and red.

It was Erin's hair.

Hugh looked up, tears in his eyes, frightened and confused. "Please stop!" he cried. "What have you done? I... I... Who are you?"

"Hugh," the man said, "please relax. Before anything else, ya must put your faith in me. I'm your spiritual guide, remember? Now, 'old my hand..." The man held out his hand, palm up.

Hugh, now shaking with fright, looked up into the man's face. "What?" He asked, his voice quavering.

"Take my hand," the man said, simply.

Hugh looked into the man's eyes one more time, then reached out and put his delicate, freckled hand into the man's upturned palm. The man closed his hand, and squeezed gently.

"Now, let us get up slowly, and walk to the bathroom mirror." The man helped Hugh out of the bed, and the two of them walked into the bathroom.

When Hugh saw Erin and himself, standing together, holding hands, his first thought was one of relief, since the picture was the way it should be.

"Oh, thank goodness, I... but..." as Hugh looked closer he gradually saw that something was not right. The wrong person was moving, the wrong lips were talking, and he was looking at himself from the wrong angle.

Hugh looked towards Erin - and saw himself. Then looked back at the mirror, then reached up and touched his face... he saw the image of Erin touch her face.

"But, what has happened? Who am I? Who are you?"

"Hugh, I am Erin! Somehow, I ended up in your body. Somehow, through some cosmic confusion, you ended up in my body! I dunna understand, but it must have 'appened last night when we were together. You are Hugh. I am Erin. We have swapped bodies."

"Oh... Oh..." Hugh said as he felt the world slip away.

---

And then he woke up in bed.

"Hi sleepy head. Didn't get enough sleep earlier? Had to faint on me? You're just lucky I was able to catch ya before ya butt hit the floor!"

Hugh looked up and saw himself, again. Erin smiled at him: "No, it wasn't a dream. It was real. Hi!"

"Hi..." Hugh's voice was uncertain. He looked up at Erin, but saw himself.

"Do I really sound like that?" he asked. It was like he was watching a home video. It looked like him, he knew it was his body, but still it seemed like someone else - and of course, this time, it was.

Hugh reached out and touched Erin's upper arm. He had never felt a man's body so intimately before. Of course, he had felt all parts of his own body, but this was approaching it from the third person, a very different sensation. He reached up and touched her face, the stubble was so coarse, is this what women feel? How can they stand it? He ran his fingers through her short, black hair, then around the ears, over the shoulders and upper arms, and then through the chest hair.

Erin submitted to all of the stroking without moving a muscle. She knew that it would be required in order for Hugh to deeply understand what had happened. But when Hugh tweaked her male nipples, she couldn't help but draw in a breath. "Hold on there lassie, that's sensitive."

"Oh, sorry," Hugh stammered and pulled back.

"It's OK. But here, feel this," Erin took hold of Hugh's feminine hands and then put them on his own feminine face...

...and it was so smooth. Hugh had never felt such smooth skin before. Hugh stroked his face in wonder, no beard, no stray hairs, just completely smooth! And so sensitive... he wondered if constant shaving had desensitized his own face. 'Is this what women feel?' he thought to himself, curiously, 'but then, they're probably used to it and don't notice.'

Hugh couldn't stop. He stroked the length of his hair, and marveled at how long it was. How he could run the hair through his fingers for two feet or more before he reached the ends. He discovered some tangles, and then felt a compulsion to work out the tangles until his hair was completely smooth. He lost himself for a while simply enjoying the luxury of long and well-kept hair. It even smelled good.

Hugh smiled shyly at Erin as he realized how absorbed he had become.

Erin smiled back, "It's OK. I was up an hour before you, and I did all the same things. But here, there's more."

Erin reached out and started to unbutton the top button of Hugh's nightshirt.

Hugh jerked back, pulling the nightshirt closed. "Hey, stop that!"

Erin couldn't resist chuckling. "What? Do ya think I 'aven't seen it all a million times?" Erin reached out her masculine hand and gently stroked Hugh's feminine cheek. "Hugh, my love, please let me help."

Hugh felt his heart jump a bit when he heard Erin call him 'my love'. He looked into Erin's eyes, breathing deeply. He could feel that he was at a threshold, and that if they went further then it would become harder and harder to turn back.

Hugh thought for a second. Before he had started his own company, he had been more sexually curious. Of course, he had never thought about switching places with a woman, for that was impossible! And he had never had sex with a man, because when he was growing up, AIDS had just been discovered, and so he had (gently) turned down the one gay friend who had tried to seduce him. And besides which, Hugh had always loved women. They were always like an exotic foreign culture that was endlessly fascinating to him.

Erin stroked his knee gently. "Why not explore a bit? Why not see what it's like to be me?"

"Umm... Sure.... Why not?"

"Exactly." Erin reached out and unbuttoned the top button of Hugh's nightshirt.

Hugh felt the top of his breasts exposed, as the button was undone. Erin reached down to the next button and undid it too. With each button he felt his body become gradually unwrapped, as if Erin was opening a book and that book was Hugh - in Erin's body.

Erin undid the button at his navel, and then gradually pulled apart the nightshirt. Hugh watched as his breasts were revealed to the open air. He marveled at their perfect curve, the freckles, the largish nipples. Next, Erin grasped each of Hugh's hands, and then gently guided them so that an open palm cupped each breast.

Hugh took a sharp breath. They were so sensitive! He hefted them, felt the weight, then gently squeezed and stroked them. He felt muscles and skin that he had never felt before - nerve endings that came from new parts of his new body. He lifted each one and felt the warm crevice underneath. It felt good to stretch the skin in different directions. It felt good to massage them deeply. A pleasurable and relaxing warmth spread through his whole body.

As he squeezed, he could make the bosoms plump in different directions. Hugh pushed them together and created some very pleasing deep cleavage. Then he pushed them up high and gave them a kiss.

Erin joined Hugh as her hands replaced his and she massaged his breasts in circles. She was rougher than Hugh was, knowing how her breasts had felt when she was the woman, and knowing what felt good. Hugh sighed as they were kneaded. She pinched the nipples lightly, causing Hugh to take little sharp breaths, and then pulled them away from his body, stretching them into cones.

"When I grew up to puberty, my breasts were so fascinating," Erin confided, "I spent hours stroking them and pinching them." With that, she pinched a nipple hard, and twisted.

"Unh!" Hugh grunted.

But then, when Erin released it, the afterglow was entirely delicious as the nipple continued to tingle delightfully. Hugh responded with a satisfied murmur. His awareness of his new body increased dramatically.

Hugh felt something traveling slowly up his leg. He looked down and saw Erin slowly pulling up his nightshirt. He looked into Erin's eyes and saw that she was watching him, looking for signs of desire and compliance. Hugh felt his stomach knot up. "What am I doing?" he wondered. Butterflies in his stomach caused a moment of nausea as he struggled to control his emotions and think clearly.

But clear thinking was clearly impossible. The attention paid to his nipples clouded his mind. With a shock he detected a wet slipperiness in his crotch.

Seeing his eyes widen suddenly, Erin stopped, not wanting to rush things. But Hugh quickly reached a hand down to hers, and gently guided her hand forward. She continued her slow uncovering of his inner thighs.

Unexpectedly, Erin quickly reached out and grasped both nipples. She pinched them hard, pulled out, shook them back and forth, and then released.

"Ow, hey!" Hugh cried out. He tried to cover his brutalized breasts, but Erin grasped his hands and held them firmly at his sides. She then leaned forward, gently licked each nipple, and then blew cold air on them.

This time Hugh's whole body responded. His arms pushed out, his hips arched up, his toes curled, and his legs squeezed tightly together. He cried out silently as he was gripped by a consuming sexual desire.

Erin smiled wickedly at her power over him. As Hugh relaxed somewhat, she continued pulling up the nightdress, until it just covered Hugh's new pussy.

Hugh couldn't stand it anymore. He reached down to take his nightdress completely off...

But as he did, Erin grasped his hands again. This time she roughly held his wrists together with one hand, pulled them over his head, reached behind his head with her free hand, and then pulled him close into a deep kiss.

Hugh whimpered and tried to pull away. He had never, ever, kissed a man before, and, like facing some exotic and disgusting foreign food, he was sure that he would hate it. But Erin gripped his hands tightly, and held the struggling Hugh close. Her new male body was so strong, there was nothing that Hugh could do but squirm and submit.

After such a rough start, Erin surprised Hugh by making her second kiss a gentle one. She pressed her mouth to his, gently worked her lips, and encouraged Hugh to open his mouth and kiss back.

Hugh felt gentle, but insistent kisses. As his emotions took over his body, he parted his lips and started kissing the man before him. The beard stubble on Erin's face was scratchy, her lips had a savory taste. Hugh's mouth gradually opened as Erin probed with her tongue in a deep French kiss.

As Hugh began to lean into Erin instead of pulling away, Erin guided Hugh's hands to her masculine shoulders. The two then hugged tight and continued kissing and exploring. One thing led to another, and it wasn't long before Hugh felt Erin's hard cock penetrate his vagina, as it had been the night before.

As they bucked with hips pressed tightly together, Erin just then remembered that she had stopped taking birth control pills three months earlier, after her confessional with the priest back home. But by then it was too late, and so, while fully realizing the consequences of her actions, she pushed her penis as deep into Hugh as possible, causing him to gasp and climax. The baby making sperm that ejaculated from her penis was added to the emissions from the night before as it worked its way deep into Hugh's unprotected womb.

Erin pressed her weight down on Hugh, pinning him to the bed. She held him there for several minutes, with her penis deeply embedded into his fertile vagina, pressed against the cervix, as the last few drops of active semen were squeezed out.

Hugh, unaware of what had transpired, simply enjoyed his submissive position and the raw sexual contact that was forcibly pressed into him. He had been seduced and subdued as a woman by a strong, virile man.

And he loved it.

Chapter 3

Hugh sat uncomfortably in the departure lounge. "How do you stand it?"

"How do I stand what?" Erin looked up. She was going through Hugh's wallet, minutely examining every credit card, ID, and slip of paper.

"This!" Hugh gestured towards his chest. "These clothes are so uncomfortable!" Hugh looked left and right, leaned in towards Erin and whispered "it's like a pair of hands are constant cupping and holding my tits. And the panties are constantly riding up into my crotch. I'm getting horny just sitting here!"

"Oh that. You'll get used to it. Or not... you could be sexually stimulated all day long! Wouldn't you be the lucky one!" Erin giggled. It was strange seeing such a cute giggle come from Hugh's mouth.

Hugh sat back and crossed his arms. It had been a strange, surreal morning.

First, after they had slept all morning, he automatically put on his own shirt and pants when he got out of bed. Of course, the clothes were much too large, and so he tripped and fell flat on his face, which caused Erin to nearly die laughing.

"Shit, I can't wear this!"

"Tch, tch. A proper young lass should watch her language!" Erin shook her finger at Hugh. "I think it would be best if you wore my clothes, at least for now. At least we know they'll fit."

And so he had. But the result was a host of strange new feelings that caused his mind to be constantly diverted. Erin had to help him shower, showing him where to scrub and where not to, and how to wash and dry his new long hair.

Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about makeup or any of that. After his hair was dry (which took forever, even with the Hotel's blow dryer), Erin braided it, gently pulled his head to and fro, which Hugh quite enjoyed. He felt so close and comfortable with Erin, and he thanked her for her capable help.

"Why, you're quite welcome!" Erin had replied. "I'm enjoying this too. It's like being with my baby sister."

Hugh had blushed at the comparison. But when he looked into the mirror, the braids did make him look like an awfully young woman. Erin was 28, but right now, in Erin's body, Hugh looked no more than 20. Hugh's body was 32.

Erin's realization about age made her think twice, "I've lost 4 years of my life!" she said, seriously.

"Worse than that," Hugh replied, "given the life expectancy of men, you will die 8 years sooner, so you've really lost 12 years."

"Well, aren't you the cheerful one." Erin wrinkled her nose at him. It was a very un-Hugh like expression, and Hugh couldn't help laughing at how incongruous it looked. "Well," Erin continued, "at least I'll still be able to father children when I'm 90."

"Well, hopefully we'll never have to test that out."

All in all, Hugh could barely think straight, and was glad that Erin seemed less affected by her transformation. She took the lead and drove them both to the airport. Predictably, Erin had no trouble whatever driving on the left side of the road. Driving in the passenger seat for the first time, Hugh had nearly panicked when she took sharp turns at 50 miles per hour and brushed against the bushes on the side of the road.

And there was another thing. Erin had not bought her tickets yet. In fact, she didn't even have enough money to purchase them. "My plan was to stay in Dublin with a friend, do a bit of work, and then wait for a cheap flight."

But Hugh's ticket was for that evening and he knew that he wouldn't be able to pass customs in his condition. So what to do? In the end, Hugh had paid a full-coach fare for Erin to join him. Erin apologized for the expense and promised to pay him back.

"You will not! Besides, the money is least of my worries right now," Hugh had replied. Mostly he was worried about what would happen if they couldn't switch back. He tried to control his anxiety, but it was difficult, and he constantly had to rely on Erin to calm his fears.

"Aren't you worried, Erin?" Hugh asked.

"Well..." she thought for a second, "I guess I planned this trip so I could experience strange new things, and I couldn't have wished for anything more strange or more new than this! And besides, my job is more flexible than yours. All I do is manage my father's business affairs."

"That sounds like a pretty big responsibility to me."

"Well, it can be - especially at auction. But I've always had a good head for accounting and business, so most of the time it's pretty easy."

There were all kinds of little difficulties to overcome. Erin had to distract the lady at the ticket counter so Hugh could sign for the tickets. The pen had felt strange so the signature came out really bad anyway. Probably Erin could have done just as well. Hugh's new proportions made everything feel different and strange, from going down stairs, opening the car door, putting on shoes, to the most basic functions, like sitting down and eating.

"Speaking of basic functions," Hugh muttered to himself. He had recognized at least one of the reasons why he was so uncomfortable.

Hugh leaned over to Erin and whispered into her ear, "Erin, I have to go to the bathroom."

Erin looked back, amused. "Well go on then! The WC is right over there," she pointed.

"But you have to go with me!"

"Oh, don't be silly. You're a grown up young lady now, I'm sure you can manage."

Hugh blushed at being called a 'grown up young lady'. He stuck out his tongue at her, and Erin stuck out her tongue in reply. After a moment to gather his courage, Hugh got up on wobbly legs and headed to the ladies room.

Hugh had only been in a ladies restroom once in his life, on a dare in middle school. Now, he had to consciously force himself to go against years of training and step into the wrong bathroom.

It was like stepping into a strange foreign land.

All of the fixtures were the same, except no urinals and there was a little foyer with a countertop and a bench. But it was the atmosphere that was totally different. First, it was crowded. All of the sinks were in use, and he had to wait in line for the toilet. Second, the smell was nice - of perfume, baby powder, and hairspray. And third, the noise. Pairs of women were chatting with each other, about work, flight arrangements, babies, or men.

Hugh felt like a covert operative, undercover, trying to fit in and look like he belonged. "But of course I do belong," Hugh realized, "because I am a woman. I should fit in perfectly." But he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being scrutinized by the others.

Eventually, a stall opened up and Hugh was able to do his business. The relief was palpable, and Hugh made a mental note to use the bathroom more frequently. Even though he had gone just that morning, the feeling of pissing from a place deep within his abdomen was still freaky strange and disorienting. Different parts of his body were being stimulated and it just went to emphasize how foreign his new body was.

Hugh cleaned up, relinquished the stall to the next woman in line, and then went to wash his hands.

"Erin?" Hugh completely missed the voice behind him. He reached for a towel.

"Erin, it is you!"

A hand tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around, panicked!

"Uh... uh..."

"Oh sorry! Did I frighten you?" A friendly Irish face presented itself. "Don't you remember me? Your very best friend from grade school?"

Hugh could do nothing but look frightened, like a deer caught in headlights.

"It's Margaret! Margaret O'Conner!"

"Oh, of course!" Hugh felt relief wash over him now that he knew her name. Hugh reached out a hand.

"Is that all I mean to you? Come here." Margaret reached forward kissed Hugh on the cheek, and then pulled him into a warm embrace. For a second, Hugh didn't know what to do, so he tentatively hugged her back.

Despite himself, Hugh couldn't help but think how nice it was to be spontaneously hugged by a lovely Irish lass.

"Margaret," Hugh exclaimed, "It's been so long! I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, it's just being so far away from home. I didn't expect to run into anyone I know."

"What do you mean?" Margaret looked puzzled. "You know that I work in the airport. You were supposed to call me when you got into Dublin! What happened?"

"Uh..." Hugh stammered, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry, I..." He looked into her quizzical eyes and then understood that he needed help. "Well... I, uh, met someone."

"Oh now, did you?" Margaret's smile was radiant. "And now who would this be?"

"Well... his name is... ah... Hugh." This was not going at all well. "Listen, would you like to meet him? He's right outside." Hugh looked at her, hopefully.

"Well, of course!"

As they walked out of the WC, Erin's face lit up in instant recognition. "Margaret!" Erin rushed forward and gave Margaret a big hug and kiss.

This time, it was Margaret's turn to be flustered. She hugged tentatively, kissed back, and then coughed nervously.

Erin realized her mistake. "Uh, Margaret!" She said gruffly while looked at Hugh, who looked back, amused that someone else was embarrassed for a change. "Hugh... I mean I've... I mean, Erin... has told me so much about you. I feel like we've been old friends."

"Well, certainly pleased to meet you. I see that Erin has found a very... um... friendly... boyfriend."

Hugh caught his breath. Someone had just called Erin his boyfriend! For some, inexplicable, reason, this seemed to cause Hugh's heart beat faster. He suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach.

"So, what part of Ireland are you from... Hugh?"

Erin looked confused. "I'm not from Ireland. I'm from America." She looked at Hugh's driver's license, which she had been studying. "Boston, apparently."

Margaret laughed. "Well, your ancestors must 'a been Irish, because your accent is county Galway all the way!"

Hugh and Erin looked at each other, astonished. Margaret's comment made them realize that they were still speaking with their original accents!

"Oh, that's great!" Hugh blurted out with a surge of joy. Hugh was relieved that he maintained this one small outward sign of his original identity. The other two looked at him.

Erin tried to cover. "He means, that we've been together now for a week, and look at how much we've rubbed off on each other! Why, I feel like I've known Erin all my life."

'Me too,' Hugh thought ruefully to himself. 'In fact, I've learned more about Erin in 8 hours than I know about any other person on the planet.'

---

*Breeeep* *Breeeeep* The alarm clock had a whining tone which insisted that Hugh wake up. Wearily, he rolled over and turned it off. After a second, he sat up, brushed his hair aside, pushed out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

He looked in the mirror. "Oh shit!" He ran back, banging his shins on the bed frame, reached over to Erin.

"Wake up, damn it, wake up!"

"What, what?" Erin looked up. "Hey, don't you look nice. What's the matter?"

"Dummy! I'm still me, you're still you! And it's morning!"

"Of course I'm still me," Erin grumbled, but then her eyes opened wide as she understood. "Oh! Oh!" They ran to the bathroom together and looked in the mirror, side by side.

"What happened?" Hugh whimpered. "I was sure that we did everything last night just like we had the first time. Where did we go wrong?"

"I don't know! I've never had this happen before, so I have no clue. Maybe it's something else, like the wrong time of night,"

"I checked the clock, we were within a half an hour of the previous time - unless the time zone makes a difference."

"...or maybe it needs to be a certain time of month, or a certain day of the year."

"NO!" Hugh wailed. "It can't be a month or a year! I've got to go back to work. What will I do???"

"You mean, go back to work to get fired?" Erin replied calmly. She reached over and pulled Hugh into an embrace.

Hugh thought over this, and realized that Erin was right. It probably didn't matter if he never went back to work at all. "You're right. Screw 'em. I'm free now."

"Well," Hugh continued, after he had settled down somewhat, "I guess I'll have to call my boss and tell him I'm sick. The bastard can fire me over the phone if he likes."

"You could..." Erin hesitated. Obviously, she had been planning for this moment, "or I could go in for you."

"Yeah, right. Wouldn't that be a hoot?"

But Erin was serious. She felt that they might be switched for a long time, and if so, they might as well try to make the best of it. Besides, she was having fun as a man, and wanted to see what it was like in America. And further, if Hugh's fears were correct, all she would have to do is go in to work, get fired, tell the staff, and head home.

The wickedness of the plan appealed to Hugh. It would be a great joke to play on a stupid company that had ignored all of his great software. But half of him thought that maybe they should wait. Apparently, something had gone wrong when they had re-enacted the ritual and the song the previous night. Perhaps they would get it right tonight?

Eventually Erin won out. They agreed that she would carry his cell phone with her all day long and would call him every half-hour.

As Erin showered and dressed, Hugh found a picture of a recent company picnic. He clipped out all of the faces, taped them to a sheet of paper, each face identified by name. He ran through the most important faces with Erin before she headed out.

Erin headed for the door. "Wait," Hugh called, "I'm coming with you. I'll need to drive you."

"You need to stay by the phone. I'll be fine. I've driven in France many a time."

"But, you don't know how to get there!"

"I'll call for directions."

"Wait!" Hugh rushed up to Erin, whose hand was on the doorknob. "Good luck." Hugh kissed Erin, on the lips. "Have a good day at work, dear!"

"I will, honey!"

Chapter 4

At first, Erin and Hugh were on the phone constantly. Erin drove to Hugh's office, and marveled at how large and fancy it was. Erin made it safely to Hugh's desk without seeing anyone by going in the back entrance and taking the stairs eight stories to his office.

Wondering what to do next, Hugh suggested that they go through his E-mail. As they went through each E-mail message, Hugh dictated to Erin what to write. This turned out to be a useful technique for Erin to learn about Hugh's office environment, including the politics, customers, and personalities. Unbeknownst to Hugh, she had found a pad of paper and was furiously taking notes.

Next, a tour of the offices. Erin walked around, saying 'Hi' to everyone, and with a combination of picture flash cards and Hugh on the phone, she was able to identify most everyone and mostly avoid embarrassment. Almost everyone asked about Hugh's vacation to Ireland, and Erin was so convincing about how wonderful it was - mentioning all kinds of places that Hugh had never seen, that several of the staff started, right then, to plan their next vacation.

"What now?" Erin asked.

It was now 1:30 PM. Erin had just finished a tuna fish sandwich from the local deli.

"Well," replied Hugh, "I guess we better get it over with."

'It,' of course, was the meeting with his boss. The boss had left a voice mail asking for a meeting as soon as Hugh had come back to the office.

Erin called and arranged the meeting with the boss's secretary. "She says he's available right now." Erin gathered up all her notes.

"Good luck. I'm sorry you have to go through this."

"Hey, I'm not the one getting fired. This will be easy for me. I'm just sorry that this is happening to you. But cheer up! At least you have your stock, right?"

"Right," but Hugh was depressed, all the same.

"OK, see you later."

"Bye."

Erin hung up the phone with a click, and Hugh waited.

---

Three hours later, the phone finally rang.

Hugh rushed to pick it up. "Where have you been!! What have you been doing? I've been dying here!!"

"Sorry, sorry, I've been busy!"

"BUSY?? Busy doing what? What's going on for God's sake?"

"Hugh," Erin's voice could barely contain her glee, "sit down, you won't believe this."

"Uh, oh, I don't like the sound of this," Hugh sat down.

"I bought the company."

"YOU WHAT?"

"Well, not bought it, exactly, and it was really John's idea, but we convinced your boss that he should spin off your group into a separate company. The Telco will own 25%, and the remaining 75% will be split amongst the new employees. Everyone from your group has signed up! You have 26%, and John has 25%."

"I don't believe this."

"Believe it. I ran into John on the way to your boss's office. He mentioned the idea, I thought - hey you're about to be fired so there's nothing to loose - and then we went ahead and did it. John was very impressed with my negotiating skills."

"And they did it?" After first feeling hurt and angry, the beauty of what had been accomplished began to dawn on him.

"Well, John and I were very persuasive. Also, the fact that we gave back half our stock probably helped..."

Chapter 5

Hugh woke up at 5AM the next morning, the unwilling victim of jet lag. He looked over at Erin, sleeping soundly. "How can he sleep so soundly?" he wondered. With a start, Hugh realized that he had just referred to Erin as 'he'.

Unable to get back to sleep as the morning light began to filter in, Hugh decided to get dressed and walk to the local bagel shop to fetch some breakfast.

After slipping into some old jeans, Hugh looked at Erin's bra on the chair. He had not worn it since they had got home from the airport. When dressing for the trip, Erin had insisted that he wear a bra in public. "I'm a proper catholic girl," she stated, matter-of-factly. Hugh wondered if that meant he also shouldn't polish his black leather pumps. As if he had any.

In the spirit of cooperation, Hugh decided to wear the bra. He threaded his arms through the straps, leaned over, reached back, and after a bit of gasping, was able to join the two hooks. "There must be a better way," he muttered.

Regardless, he had to admit that it felt good. The nipples on Erin's female body were so incredibly sensitive, at least to Hugh, and the intimate contact of the bra just caused his mind to focus entirely on his boobs. In public he had felt that everyone was staring at them. Certainly they were ample, but not outrageously so. Not so large that they should attract much undue attention. Hugh squeezed and stroked his breasts for a second before putting on a loose shirt.

Finally, he pulled his hair together with a scrunchy (his very own, Erin had bought it for him at the airport), grabbed the keys, and headed out.

The feeling that he was impersonating someone was hard to shake. And of course he was, but with an impersonation so fantastically good that it would stand up to the closest scrutiny. Still, he was acutely aware of his surroundings, of cars passing by, of early joggers running down the beach (Hugh lived in a small condo north of Boston, two blocks from the ocean, in Swampscott). The whole world seemed so alive and his body seemed so new and exciting. Somehow, his whole outlook on life had been rejuvenated.

After Erin had got home the night before, they stayed up talking about the new company until 2AM. Hugh couldn't get over how brash she had been. It made Hugh recognize how much fire and energy he had lost over the last 5 years.

In the end, John's proposal was something the parent company could not turn down. The stock they gave up was worth more than the original price of Hugh's company. And, the parent would now have an investment on the books and they could also get rid of the entire group of employees without a loss. In fact, the only real concession was to become a guaranteed customer for two years with a large initial payment. It would be enough to run the new company for 8 months, after which they would have to find new customers or investments.

There were now thousands of details to work out. Hugh planned to rent a second car and do some shopping for new offices today. Erin would work with John on the contractual and legal issues - Hugh had been surprised to discover that she had recently received her MBA from the community college in Waterford. It didn't take long for Hugh to realize that she was much better at accounting and tax issues than he ever cared to be.

Hugh entered 'Kaegel's Bagels' and stepped up to the counter. "Hi Rick!" he called out. "I'll have double the usual."

Rick Kaegel, the owner, looked up. "Well, hello! And what's your name?"

"I'm Hugh!" Hugh paused, "...'s new girlfriend! Uh, yeah, that's right, Hugh's new girlfriend. My name is Erin. Pleased to meet you. He and I met in Ireland."

Rick shook the proffered hand. "Well, pleased to meet you! Of course, this means I lost 10 bucks in the pool."

Hugh laughed, nervously. "What pool?"

"Oh," Rick looked embarrassed. "Can you keep a secret?"

Curious, Hugh nodded.

"Well, we had a running bet about whether or not Hugh was gay. I mean, he's a handsome man, and I've never seen him date in the 8 years he's been living here. I had bet that the next person he was going to sleep with was a man."

'My god,' Hugh thought to himself, 'in a way, you did win. But I'll never tell.'

"Anyway," Rick continued, "my coworker Janice had him pegged. She said he was a lady's man all the way, and liked the 'female mystique' too much to go after men. I guess she was right!"

Rick, paused for a second. "Say, you wouldn't know if Hugh and Janice..."

"Hugh and Janice...?" Hugh asked.

"You know... It was against the rules for Janice to... well, approach Hugh, if you know what I mean. After all, he was a customer. She sure wanted to! Well, never mind, doesn't matter now. You're a lucky girl to have him! He's rich, good looking, tall! Hell, I'd take him myself if I was you."

"Well, thank you. I guess I am a lucky... uh... a lucky girl."

Hugh stopped to think. Had he really never noticed that Janice was coming on to him? How dense could he have been? He marveled at how wonderful Erin had been to so easily charm him out of his shell.

---

Erin was in the shower when Hugh got back with the bagels. Hugh put on a pot of coffee, toasted the bagels, set everything out, and sat down to read the paper.

"Well, aren't you the sweetest thing, making me breakfast!"

Hugh looked up and smiled. "Don't know if they eat bagels in Ireland, but here you go."

"Well, not really, mostly it's eggs and ham. But this looks great. You know, my mother made breakfast for my father the first day after they got married. It's funny, because my Grandmother told her not to. 'If you make breakfast for that man on your first day together, he's going to expect it every day for the rest of your life,' she said. But mother did it anyway. That's true love."

"Yup, sure is. Just don't get any ideas."

"Hey, a lad can wish." Erin walked over behind Hugh and put her arms around him.

"Mmmmm, you smell nice," Hugh commented.

"And you stink! Get your shower! We've got a company to start!"

Hugh jumped up. "Yes, sir!" He bounded to the bathroom.

"And..."

Hugh stopped, mid-bound, and turned slowly around. "Yes?"

"Well, you're not going to wear that, are you?"

"Ah... I guess. Is something wrong with it?"

"It's just..." Erin coughed, "no self-respecting woman would go shopping for office real-estate in jeans and a shirt. A man's shirt, for heaven's sake."

"Well what do you recommend I do? All you have are jeans!" Hugh's whine was plaintive.

"I was talking to Amy yesterday..."

"My secretary??"

"Yes, our secretary. She's going to join our new company, by the way. Anyway, Amy told me about this really great store in the mall, which has fantastic fashions."

Hugh was incredulous. "You were discussing women's fashions with my secretary?"

"*Our* secretary. Yes, that's right. It's called Nordstrom's, and wouldn't you know, they have this service called a 'personal shopper' who will help you with all of your purchases. And best of all, it's free!"

"Of course it's free, their prices are outrageous! I'd never shop there. I'll just go to K-mart, or Sears, or something."

"You will not! I shall not have you parading around my body in some cheep nylon outfit. You are going to look smart. After all, when we switch back, what will all your friends think of me? If we were still in Ireland, I'd have all kinds of proper traditional clothes to wear. But here, I think this is the best solution. And besides, have you seen how much money is in your bank account?"

"Uh... I don't know, something, I guess."

"Over a hundred and eighty thousand dollars! My goodness, Hugh! Don't you ever do anything for yourself?"

"Not recently..."

"Well, it's about time you learned to treat yourself, and you can treat me at the same time."

Chapter 6

Hugh stood outside Nordstrom's. He looked at it. It was big... and full of women's clothing.

"OK, let's go." He bravely started towards the door, but stopped and turned around, pretending to whistle. "This is ridiculous, let's just do it," he told himself. It was worse than the time he had tried bungee jumping. At least there, it was pretty much out of your hands - just strap yourself in and jump.

"So here goes," he thought again, "I'll just strap myself in..." a curious metaphor considering what he was about to be strapped into, "... and jump!" He pushed open the door and headed towards the information counter, which directed him to shopper services.

"Hi, my name's Francis N. Way, but everyone just calls me Fenway. My goodness, it looks like you've come to the right place. And what's your name?"

"Hi, uh, Fenway. I'm Erin. Actually, I've just come for a business suit..."

"Nonsense Erin, anyone with a figure like yours who comes to this store with jeans and a loose shirt should realize that it is a crime against nature and art to be dressed like that. Let's get started."

After a quick measurement, Fenway took Hugh on a complete tour of the store. As they went through each department, Fenway kept up a constant running interview, asking Hugh questions about his likes and dislikes, colors, fashions, where he was from, what he had worn in the past, how he had got to this awful state of dress.

Hugh did his best, running after Fenway, he tried to answer as many questions using Erin's past as he could, but inevitably wove in a good deal of his own background. He explained that he had found a new boyfriend, and that this boyfriend was paying for the shopping spree. She showed her a blank check that he had signed ahead of time, and some credit cards for verification.

"Oh, don't worry about that, dear. We get wayward darlings here all the time. My recommendation is that you take a deep breath and enjoy it." Fenway snatched a blouse from the rack and held it against Hugh.

"Definitely cream with that red hair."

At this point, Fenway was snatching clothes off racks left and right and soon they both were holding armfuls of clothing. Hugh had seen every single department: casual, suits, sports, eveningwear, formal wear, coordinates, business wear, sleepwear, and lingerie. It was exhausting!

Fenway stopped one last time. "I hate to ask. I notice you're wearing a man's shirt. Are you wearing men's underwear, too?"

Hugh blushed beet red, and looked down at the floor.

"Oh my goodness." Fenway couldn't help but smile. "Well, these are on the house. And we'll also be needing these, these... and these, and your bra size?"

Hugh knew this. He had looked it up on Erin's bra. "34C"

"... and a pair of these, and let's try these on, just for fun, OK?"

They arrived at the dressing rooms where Fenway hung everything up. "Now dear, we need to get serious. What is your upper limit? Should I try and maintain a budget?"

Hugh thought about it. It's my money, he realized, I can spend it however I want. And it's not like I'm doing this solely for myself, it's really a present to Erin, for when we switch back. Hugh thought back to Fenway's comment about it being "a crime against Nature and Art." He couldn't have agreed more, since Erin's body, of which he was the current custodian, was a masterpiece and he was sure it would look exquisite in the right clothes.

Hugh came to a decision. He looked up at Fenway and grinned. "Sky's the limit."

"Good girl!"

And so Hugh tried on every single piece of clothing they picked out, for over four hours. Each time, Fenway would analyze, using subtle suggestions to teach Hugh about color coordination, patterns, figures, and fashions. He discovered that absolutely anything could be fashionable and look good, as long as it was worn at the right time with the right accessories. Hugh had always fancied himself a connoisseur of the fine arts and art history, and he found concepts from art interwoven with fashion in ways that he had never before imagined. For example, the way that a look has a goal, or an emotion, or an atmosphere, and the way that all components contribute to the look, and how things that he would have never worn in a million years could look just right together.

Each time he came out with a new ensemble, Fenway would come back with more to try on.

"How do you do it, Fenway? I'm exhausted just watching you!"

"Comfortable shoes."

Each time Hugh stepped out of the dressing room, Erin's body, his body, at least temporarily, looked better and better. Fenway was getting closer and closer to finding Erin's ideal colors, fit, and styles.

"I can sure tell that you grew up on the farm. Look at this skin!" Hugh looked down. He was dressed in just a silk bra and panties. He had gotten over his embarrassment of being naked in front of Fenway hours ago. "It's radiant. And you really don't know how to do your hair up? Too busy shearing sheep?"

Fenway spent a second showing Hugh how he could pull his hair into a business-like bun. "It can look prudish, or it can look sharp. It all depends on how you finish it off. Here, let me show you." As she worked Hugh's hair, she continued, "and some go all the way with a pair of non-prescription glasses, just for the looks. Normally, I would consider it a sin to hide those stunning green eyes, but your face is so arresting that it might be a good idea."

Hugh was in heaven. Janice from the Bagel place had been absolutely correct, Hugh liked feminine things. His delight, which increased beyond measure as he tried on each ensemble, proved it beyond a doubt. Unlike shopping as a man, he found he wasn't tired at all, but fantastically energized. And Fenway was wonderful, with just the right combination of critical eye, honest suggestion, gentle cajoling, and appreciation of beauty.

And as Hugh watched his reflection in the mirror, he saw aspects of Erin's body revealed that, at times, nearly took his breath away, and at other times, caused him to dissolve into giggles of delight. Like the curve of a bare neck or shoulder, an ear highlighted with just the right earring, a pair of pert eyebrows peaking up over her business glasses, an incredible waist, and astonishingly long legs. But he saw something else which he couldn't quite place a finger on. Something about Erin that he noticed as he tried on each ensemble, starting with casual knits, sweaters, light skirts, cool summer dresses, shocking halter tops with bare midriffs, one-piece dresses for casual affairs, sharp business suits, other, more casual, business clothes, more formal dresses, and finally a stunning and expensive evening gown for a formal night out.

Near the end of the day, Fenway pulled out a dress and gave it to Hugh, who nearly fainted when he saw the price tag: $1,800 dollars.

Fenway looked down at her gasping customer. "It's a lot, I know. But this is it. This is the dress that goes beyond just displaying your best assets - of which there are many, I might add. This is the dress which defines you as a woman."

Hugh had to agree. He didn't know exactly when he (or Erin) would be able to wear it, but he had to have it.

And last came the bill: $7,200 dollars. And that didn't include the $400 he spent on shoes.

---

The bedroom looked like it had been worked over by the FBI. Clothes were everywhere, draped over everything. Erin walked in and just stood there, dumbstruck.

"What's happened here?"

Hugh jumped up, surprised. "Oh! Hi Erin... Ummm, how was your day?"

Hugh had been trying on different combinations of skirts and blouses trying to decide what went with what. He had made a whole cross-reference chart.

Erin just stood there, agape. "Hugh?"

"Well, I guess I went a little overboard. I had such a good time! You wouldn't believe it! Oh, Erin, I wish you had been there! Here, let me show you..."

Hugh went though each and every sweater, blouse, jacket, skirt, suit, and accessory. He actually tried on most of the outfits and modeled them, runway style, for Erin, who applauded and praised Hugh as much as she could.

Erin was astonished. "Hugh, when I suggested that you go and shop for some clothes, I never thought...."

"Oh I know, but Fen was so incredibly helpful..."

"Fen?"

"Oh, my personal shopper! But wait until you see this formal gown I bought, it's out being tailored, but when you see it you'll just die!"

Hugh stopped and saw Erin looking away.

"Erin? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine."

Hugh sat down on the bed next to Erin and hugged her. She was crying.

"Shhhhh, baby. What's the matter?"

"Oh Hugh!" Erin sobbed, "I want to shop for clothes! I want to have my own personal shopper!"

"Oh, sweetie, you can! She assists men too! Just set up an appointment and get a spiffy new suit, or a new tuxedo, or something."

Erin sniffed, "It's not the same."

Hugh hugged her, "I know. But maybe it will be close enough. Have you enjoyed being a man?"

Erin looked at him, through her sniffles. "I guess so, I mean, everyone treats me so well, I like working on contracts and stuff, and everyone seems interested in my opinion..."

Hugh reached down. "And do you like this?" he started manipulating Erin's penis, gently squeezing it.

"Oh, I really like that."

"Really? Better than when you were a female?"

"It's different. They're both good, but in different ways."

"How about this?" Hugh unzipped the pants and reached in to stroke more seriously, through the cotton briefs.

"Mmmmm," Erin's tears had stopped and she reached forward and started to unbutton Hugh's new silk blouse.

Hugh pushed away Erin's hands. "Not this time. You just lay back and let me take care of you.

As Hugh continued manipulating Erin's penis, he gradually opened up and worked her suit pants down and off her legs, and then, with a deep breath, reached into her briefs and grasped the bare penis.

The intimate contact caused Erin to moan. She lay back just enjoying the sensations.

Hugh had never been this close to a man's penis before. Of course, he and Erin had had sex the last two nights, but it was always Erin who had controlled things, as they had been trying to recreate the night where they had switched, in a hope that they would switch back. So, this was the first time that Hugh had held Erin's cock in his hand, and the first time that his face had been so close to it.

Of course, Hugh had played and masturbated with his own cock, when he had one, for days on end. So, he knew it intimately, and he knew exactly what felt good and what didn't. But facing in the third person was completely different. It felt alive in his hand as it grew, it throbbed a bit as Erin flexed her abdominal muscles. As it grew harder, it somehow felt more fragile, as if Erin could be easily hurt if he squeezed too hard. Of course, Hugh knew better than anyone that the frailty was just an illusion, and he knew that rough and heavy treatment was better.

Hugh reached down and cupped Erin's scrotal sac. First, he ran his fingernails very lightly across the surface. This caused Erin to take in a sharp breath of pleasure. He did this for a few seconds more, knowing how the ultra-light teasing caused the entire surface to tingle and come alive.

Next, he grasped the balls, moderately hard, manipulating and rolling them through his fingers, and squeezing each one until it slipped out of his grasp.

"Oh Hugh! Oh my god..." Erin couldn't believe it. She had never had testicles before, and had no idea that they were so incredibly pressure-sensitive, or that such rough manipulation could be such an intense turn on.

Hugh knew what Erin was waiting for next. It was time for direct stimulation.

Hugh looked at the penis he held in his hand. 'I'm not sure I can do this,' he thought, hesitating. There were just some things that had never seemed appealing. Like eating raw squid, for example.

Or kissing another man's cock.

Hugh leaned in for a second, opened his mouth, but then stopped and pulled back. Finally, Hugh took a few deep breaths, swallowed hard, and leaned forward and kissed the glans.

It was soft and silky. This isn't so bad, he thought. It's just like kissing anything. Hugh gradually covered the entire penis with kisses, from the head, all the way down the shaft, then all the way back up again, and then around the top. He smelled the musky sent of male genitalia, especially as he kissed the base of the cock and buried his nose in pubic hair. Hugh had, of course, smelled it plenty of times before, and it was not an unpleasant smell. In fact, it caused his own excitement to build, and Hugh felt the beginnings of some wet slipperiness between his legs.

Hesitating again, but this time not as long, Hugh reached out tentatively and licked the underside.

It tasted just a little bit salty, from Erin's long day at work. Hugh continued licking, light licks on the underside, just beneath the glans.

All this time, Hugh had kept one hand glued to Erin's testicles, and another stroking and squeezing the base of her cock. All of this foreplay was driving Erin crazy. Her legs were stretched out, toes curled up, and hands clenched tight.

Hugh knew it was time to get serious. He couldn't keep teasing Erin forever, or she'd attack and fuck him, or worse, loose her erection. Hugh looked at the cock head, screwing up his courage one more time.

But then he saw a drop of pre-cum squeeze from the tip and glisten there.

My god, he though, she must really be horny. Hugh knew that he better start sucking soon, or it would be all over. But seeing the cum there, he just couldn't! First, he wiped his finger across the tip of the penis, causing Erin to gasp. He held up his finger and sniffed it. The cum smelled warm and wet - like jasmine. Tentatively, he reached out a tongue and tasted it.

'Well, that's not so bad,' he thought. It had tasted salty, of course, but really not that salty. In fact, there was not that much taste at all, just warm and organic.

"Hugh! What are you doing down there?" Erin cried out, desperate.

"Just this!" Hugh called back, and then, with a deep breath, he sucked her penis deep into his mouth.

Hugh was working hard, trying not to gag, trying not to scrape the cock with his teeth, and trying to suck as hard as he could and as deeply as he could. But after a few seconds it hit him, 'Hey!' he thought, 'I'm enjoying this!' Hugh then began sucking in earnest. The sensation of the penis in his mouth, sliding in and out, rolling over his tongue, bumping against the back of his throat, was delicious.

Hugh loved it. Of course, it helped that Erin was appreciating it so much. She was gasping, pounding the bed, and whimpering. Hugh loved that he could give someone else so much pleasure, he enjoyed how his mouth could bring out such sexual excitement.

Just as he felt Erin's hands on his head, pushing down urgently, Hugh sucked and then felt her penis ejaculating. It throbbed uncontrollably, as she screamed a high pitched and un-masculine wail. The semen shot out, filling Hugh's mouth and flowing down the shaft, over his hands, and into her pubic hair.

Hugh gagged. His mouth was full of cum and cock and saliva. He held very still for a second, made up his mind, and then swallowed.

It was slimy and disgusting as it oozed down his throat.

But somehow, the whole scene made Hugh fantastically horny. Erin was now wasted, she was laying on her back in bed, eyes closed, whimpering and jerking slightly as he continued to manipulate and lick her sensitive cock.

So, Hugh would have to take care of himself. He reached down, pulled up his skirt, slipped a hand into his panties, and then put a finger into his sopping wet pussy.

This was the first time that Hugh had actually touched his crotch other than to clean it. It didn't take long to find out what to do, however, his finger found his clitoris and started stroking it.

"Oh!" Hugh looked surprised. He hadn't realized that he was so close to cumming. "Oh!" his hand worked faster inside his panties as Erin's cock slipped out of his mouth. Hugh rested his head on Erin's upper thigh, her cock laying on his face. He looked at the cock, thought of how it felt in his mouth, and smelled the semen as his hand moved faster and faster.

"Oh Jeez!" Hugh came.

Erin looked down and smiled. She had felt guilty about taking all of the pleasure, and so was glad that Hugh had been able to take care of himself.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Hugh gasped, as the orgasm flowed through his body, peaking multiple times, and eventually subsiding.

Hugh was a mess. One hand was covered in semen and saliva. A second was covered in pussy juice. His face was slick with cum, and his hair was matted with sweat. He leaned forward and kissed Erin's penis one last time, and then rested for a second, his face in her wet and matted pubic hair.

He looked up at Erin who smiled down at him. "I'm going to have a shower!"

Erin sat up, completely sated, "and I'm going to join you!"

---

That night, Hugh was alone in bed as Erin worked on the details of the contract and went through the general ledger in order to set up a budget.

Hugh thought about the amazing day. He had discovered that he liked sucking on another man's penis and that it actually turned him on. He wondered why this was, and had come up with several theories: he could give pleasure to someone else - so he had that power, it seemed that he was good at it since Erin had told him it was the most fantastic orgasm she had ever had - male or female (a thought which caused Hugh to blush), he enjoyed the very raw physical feeling of being so close to someone else's sex as to have it actually inside your mouth, and finally, he realized, he enjoyed the new feeling of serving someone else's pleasure.

This last feeling was very strong, but it was so new to Hugh that he couldn't fully grapple with it. Apparently he liked serving Erin, helping her get over her sadness at not being female anymore and not being able to shop for pretty clothes.

Oh, and the clothes! That was something new entirely. Even as he thought about it in bed, he had to giggle and squirm in delight. He grinned and pushed his face into the pillow, in a silent scream of happiness.

Trying on clothes had been the most fun of all. Of course, Fenway had had a lot to do with it. She was so great! He enjoyed it when someone knowledgeable, an artist, really, was able to teach him and show him everything he needed to know.

And the clothes were wonderful. They felt great, they looked great, and he couldn't wait to try them out in public.

All in all a fantastic day, thought Hugh. And I owe it all to Erin. He sighed contentedly.

As he drifted off to sleep, Hugh realized what it was that he had seen in his reflection of Erin's body in the mirror at the department store. At the time, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but now it came to him.

He had seen himself in the mirror. He was no longer a stranger to his own reflection. Somehow, in those pretty features from the Irish countryside, Hugh had come through and the two had blended together, beautifully.

Chapter 7

Hugh got up at 6 AM the next morning, wide-awake and completely refreshed. He looked over at Erin and saw her dead asleep. She had been working on the contract and company books till two in the morning.

It must be jetlag, Hugh thought. He was not normally a morning person.

Hugh glanced at himself as he walked past the bedroom mirror. My god, he thought, I have an incredible body. He was wearing a knit cotton nightshirt that went down just to his upper thighs. His pert breasts and slender waist caused it to tent out a bit in front, and he experimented with leaning over. Yes, he saw his panties peek out from underneath as he did so.

Gradually, Hugh leant down further and further, until he could touch the floor. Then further until he could put is palms flat on the floor. As a man, he could barely touch the floor at all. But now, with Erin's body he could actually lean over, grasp his legs, and hug them close to his chest. She was so limber. He realized that he should learn how to take better care of the body so that she wouldn't notice any problems when they were finally able to switch back. Whenever that would be. Maybe he should sign up for Yoga? Or Pilates?

With nothing better to do, Hugh went and had a shower and cleaned up for the day. When he got out, an hour later, Erin was still fast asleep. Hugh thought he might be able to wake her up with the smell of coffee and breakfast, so he pulled on a pair of new silk panties (a gift from Fenway), covered up the rest of the way with a snuggly warm terry cloth robe of his own, and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

Again, his nipples and breasts were so sensitive in the robe. Every time he moved, they would rub across the terry cloth, making him intimately aware of how naked he was inside the robe, and causing his mind to wander to sexual thoughts, like the blow job he gave to Erin yesterday evening.

His plan worked. As coffee dripped into the pot and as he pulled hot bacon from the microwave, Hugh heard Erin in the shower. And as he put out plates of scrambled eggs, coffee, bacon, and toast (he had done some emergency grocery shopping the day before), Erin walked in dressed in a thin silk robe, blurry eyed, gave Hugh a warm hug with a deep good morning kiss, and sat down to eat.

As he sat down too, Hugh wondered about Erin's comment the day before, about how Erin's mother intended to only make breakfast for her husband, just that one time, but somehow had ended up doing it every day, and was still doing it to this day, out of love. 'Naah,' he thought, 'I'm just being a proper host, that's all. Besides, Erin was up so late last night, she deserves to be pampered a bit.'

So they ate and chatted about what was going to happen today. After breakfast and cleanup, they both went to get dressed.

Hugh had the distinct pleasure of dressing for the first time with one of his new outfits. Plain white nylon bra, pantyhose, short half-slip, lacy camisole, cream blouse, fitted business suit with a wool skirt, and black high-heeled pumps. Erin looked at Hugh, and whistled.

"Wow, that Fenway of yours does incredible work. I've never looked so sophisticated in my entire life!"

Hugh blushed at the praise, fidgeting a little in the clasp of the intimate clothing. The slip and skirt slid smoothly over his thighs, as did the blouse and camisole over his hard nipples. Somehow, with the short skirt, heels, and gauzy top, he felt so much more exposed and conscious of his body than he had before.

"Now, with just a little makeup, you'll be perfect!"

"Makeup?"

Erin took Hugh by the hand and led him over to the bathroom mirror. She pulled out a small makeup kit from her knapsack.

"Let's see," she hummed, "a little powder, there. And some lipstick, here let me do it." She held Hugh's face and gently stroked his lips with some light red lipstick. "Not enough so anyone will really notice, but enough to brighten up that pale face a little. How about perfume?"

Hugh's eyes went wide. "Ah... Um..." he sputtered. What he wanted to say was 'NO!', but he couldn't get the words out, wondering what was appropriate.

"Well, why not? You'll drive those real-estate agents mad! They'll be so captivated that they'll be putty in your hands." She held up Hugh's wrist and before he could stop her, she had sprayed it.

"Now, rub your wrists together." He did. "Now here," a quick spray behind the left ear, "here," the right ear, "and here," on his chest, just below his neckline.

The strong sent was overpowering. "That's too much!" Hugh cried. "It's way too much! Everyone will think I'm a harlot!"

"Shush! Most of it will evaporate away. After a few minutes you won't even notice."

Hugh checked his image in the mirror one last time. After all this preparation, he was still shocked by the image that he saw. It was a sexy, stylish, businesslike female. So beautiful and classy with just a hint of vulnerability. As he stared at the mirror, he thought about heading out for the day and suddenly it hit him.

"I can't do this."

"What?" Erin asked, pulling on her jacket.

"I can't leave the house like this."

"Why not?"

"Look at me! I'm a woman! I mean, I'm a man, not a woman! This is some kind of perverse charade, I can't do this, it's crazy."

"Oh Hugh, I'm just as scared as you are. And I have to interact with people who I'm supposed to know. They all think that my vacation has changed you dramatically."

"It has!! Will I ever get my body back?" Hugh looked at Erin, frantically. "What are we doing? This is stupid! It's all your fault for getting us into this. How could you have done this to me?"

"What??" Erin was incredulous. "My fault? It was an accident! I had no idea this would happen. Do you think I switch places with people every day?"

"Well how should I know? Maybe you're some kind of sicko witch who enjoys separating men unwillingly from their bodies for kicks."

Erin narrowed her eyes and spoke very softly. "Is that what you think I am? I thought I had earned your trust. I thought you would appreciate some kindness."

Hugh looked at Erin and dissolved into tears. "Oh please, I don't know what's come over me," he sat on the bed, "I think I was in denial before, but now... all this..." Hugh gestured to the mirror, "it's all too much, too fast! I..." Hugh gulped the air between sobs.

Erin walked over, picked some tissues from the box, and handed them to Hugh.

"Thank you," Hugh mumbled, wiping his eyes. He looked up at Erin, "I'm sorry."

Erin looked down, sternly, but with compassion. "I will forgive you. But there is never any excuse for meanness."

Hugh hung his head. "Yes, I know," he mumbled submissively. "I'm sorry."

Erin had had enough. "We'll talk more about this tonight. Now let's go, there's a long day ahead us."

Erin reached down, grasped Hugh by the arm, pulled him up, and marched him to the door. He had just enough presence of mind to grab his purse (which he had stocked the night before with money, keys, and all of Erin's identification) as he stumbled out the door.

"I think the only way to get over this fear of yours is to get out there. So, let's go." She walked him to his car, which was parked on the street.

"See? Cars going by, people walking, and do you know what they see? A well dressed business couple, ready to start the day. Nothing more, nothing less. Hugh, you are a woman, at least until we can figure out how to switch back. You are not a man. You are not pretending. For now, I am Hugh, and you are Erin, and we need to do the best to help each other through this. Are you with me?"

Hugh looked around, feeling laid bare to the world, small, and afraid.

"I'm with you," he said, with a slight tremor in his voice. "I'm sorry for what I said."

"We'll talk about that tonight. Now go out there and find us some groovy office space."

"Yes sir!"

"Dismissed."

---

Hugh knew he had fucked up with Erin that morning. The things he had said were horrible, and he kept wishing he could take them back. He hadn't realized how much anxiety he had suppressed until it burst out.

His fearfulness at being out in the world, alone, continued throughout the day. 'How does Erin do it?' he wondered. With his bare legs, short skirt, and revealing blouse he couldn't shake the feeling that eyes, like searchlights, were scanning over his body. He knew he looked good, which just made it worse. 'Why can I just dress in sweats?' he said to himself over and over.

It was also a difficult day for Erin, which meant that she and Hugh were constantly communicating via cell phone. He would discuss the options for office space, and she would ask him questions about personnel, American business practice, the needs of a software company, and negotiating points. The company was taking shape.

As he walked up to the first appointment, Hugh would have lost his nerve if it had not been for words of encouragement from Erin, delivered through the cell phone: "Stand tall, be proud, look them in the eye, be confident. You know how to be confident, don't you? Pretend that you know you are a woman, you like being a woman, you revel in being a women, you were born to be a woman, you are a woman through and through down to your very soul..."

"Yes, yes, enough! I got it."

"...and that you are proud of being a woman. Carry your deception *all* the way. But most of all..."

"What?"

"Have fun!"

"Okay, if you say so..."

Fortunately, the first appointment was with a female commercial real-estate agent, Liz. Hugh managed it better than expected. When Liz commented Hugh on his suit, Hugh returned the compliment, and they spent a few moments comparing shopping experiences. Hugh was able to relate his experience at Nordstrom's with delight, and so he developed an instant bond with the agent. They visited four buildings all managed by her company, one of which was very close to home.

The afternoon meeting was much less comfortable. This time the agent was a man, and he had a sleazy half-bravado half-obsequious attitude made worse by his touchy-feely body language. For example, he would put his hand on Hugh's back to guide Hugh in the room, he would stand too close when talking, he would touch Hugh's arm when he wanted to make a point, and he talked down to Hugh, both literally (he was 3 inches taller) and in his choice of words. In fact, it wasn't until Hugh delivered his analysis on the strengths and weaknesses of the Red Sox bullpen that Hugh started getting more than just obligatory respect.

'Tip of the day,' thought Hugh, 'mention sports sooner when talking to men.'

But he had survived. And, surprisingly, he gradually found himself thinking more and more about the task at hand, and less and less about being on stage. By the end of the day, Hugh almost forgot that he was just pretending to be this incredibly beautiful Irish lady.

Chapter 8

Hugh was determined to do everything he could to make up for his hateful remarks earlier. And the best way to a man's heart is through...

And so, accordingly, he had purchased all of the ingredients for traditional Irish lamb stew and it was bubbling on the stove as he got dressed.

Dressing for this evening was difficult. He wanted to be casual, but stylish. Sexy, but not overt. He almost called Fenway to get her opinion. 'But no,' Hugh thought, 'I can do this on my own.'

In the end, he chose a cotton button down shirt with a linen skirt and open-toed sandals. After dressing, Hugh looked down he saw his toes were just out in the open where they looked so plain! The sandals were OK, but he painted his toenails to make them look sexier.

For earrings he chose simple gold studs. Now that was strange. Finding a hole in his earlobe, and pushing this post through it, and then securing it to his ear with the fastener. Somehow it felt like his earlobe was being restrained or bound. Such a small thing, and yet it felt almost like an act of obedience.

Finally, Hugh put on a gold chain necklace with a simple gold Claddagh ring as a pendant. The sales lady at the department store had told him it was an Irish tradition.

So, when Erin got home at 7:30 that night, Hugh was ready. He ran to the door, took her briefcase away and gave Hugh a big hug and a long kiss.

"Oh, how I missed that!" Erin exclaimed. "And what do we have here?"

She held Hugh at arm's length. "You've dressed up?"

"No, not really. I just thought a skirt might be more comfortable for tonight," Hugh lied.

Erin reached out and held Hugh's Claddagh pendant in his hand. She gave Hugh a puzzled look for a second, but then noticed the smells wafting from the kitchen. "And what's that?" Erin disentangled herself from Hugh and briskly walked to the kitchen. "Lamb Stew! Hugh, you shouldn't have! It smells wonderful!"

Hugh was beside himself, grinning impishly. "Well, it's my way of saying sorry for this morning," Hugh pouted for a bit. "Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Erin smiled a broad smile and walked over and gave Hugh another big hug. "Of course, Hugh. But now it's my turn to apologize, and after all you've done to make this night a special one! I've invited John over here to work. We were going to do employment contracts, so I thought you might want to listen in - since we'll be writing your future job description. Anyway, he's on his way over and he'll be here in just a couple of minutes. He's anxious to meet you."

Hugh's face fell. It was hard to be enthusiastic. "Oh, no, that's fine. We have plenty of food. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"Well, I was planning on giving you a backrub and a foot massage... Because, you know, you had such a hard day."

"Well, I don't see why we can't..." and just then the doorbell rang.

Erin looked frantic for a second. "There he is. Please, please remember this one thing:"

"Anything!"

"Call me Hugh! Don't forget! And I'll have to call you Erin."

And then Hugh met John again, but had to pretend like it was the first time. Trying to act like the girls he had met in Ireland, Hugh leaned forward and lightly kissed John on the cheek. John was surprised, and held a hand to his cheek for a second, staring.

"Ahem, ah, Irish custom," Hugh explained. Erin just grinned.

Conversation over dinner was lively, the stew turned out just right, and John was amazed at how much Hugh (disguised as Erin) knew about the company, the people in it, and the contracts.

Hugh explained "Oh, Hugh," he said, indicating Erin, "tells me everything. He just goes on and on about the company. It quite boring, frankly. And his jokes about network protocols are just dreadful."

John laughed. "Yes, it does seem to consume our lives, especially these days."

Erin looked at Hugh with an amused and curious expression. Was Hugh teasing Erin? Or was he teasing himself? Or teasing Erin pretending to be himself? Or teasing himself, as expressed by Erin? Things were definitely becoming way too weird.

Eventually, everyone finished dinner, and while Hugh was cleaning dishes, the two 'men' withdrew to the living room and started to go over each point in the contracts, one by one.

Hugh finished cleaning up and then went to join them.

Hugh was conflicted. He wanted to participate in the discussion, but he didn't want John to become suspicious. How could he provide his input without appearing to be too knowledgeable?

Finally, he decided on a plan. Hugh slid over the couch until he was right next to Erin, then he reached out, hugged her, and then leaned close to her ear. Hugh then whispered in Erin's ear, "tie the non-compete to the payments", then he lightly bit on Erin's ear, and giggled.

Now, if Hugh had been in a meeting with a beautiful girl nibbling on his ear, he would have been absolutely embarrassed, and after turning beet red, he would have pushed her (gently) away.

But it was Erin (in Hugh's body) who was receiving the attention, not Hugh. And she was used to public affection, since that is part of Irish culture, which has always included hugging and kissing as a form of greeting. So Erin thought it was nice, enjoyed the attention, and especially enjoyed that it was coming from Hugh.

And for Hugh, being in Erin's body gave him a freedom to be more forward and open, and less uptight about public affection. Also, he enjoyed teasing Erin since she had ruined their evening alone together.

"So I was thinking," Erin said to John, "shouldn't we tie the non-compete clause to the payments, somehow? I mean, if we are being prevented from competing with them for a period of five years, shouldn't they continue payments for five years?"

Naturally, this caused another wave of discussions about the feasibility of the plan, and would the company go for it.

Meanwhile, Hugh continued to hug and be affectionate to Erin. After a second, Erin looked back and said: "Erin, you promised me that backrub. How about now? My right shoulder is killing me."

"Um..." Hugh replied. He was embarrassed. It was one thing to hug your boyfriend in front of someone else. It was quite another to do a backrub in public. 'What was I thinking?' He thought, 'I shouldn't have started it.' And there was Erin, completely oblivious to the turmoil going on inside Hugh, thinking it was perfectly normal in America for men to ask (command?) their strong-willed, independent, female partner to give them a backrub in public.

Hugh knew that he was crossing a threshold. If he did this, he would be showing John that he was an obedient woman, complying with Erin's request that way. John would put her in the role of the infatuated girlfriend. If only he hadn't made dinner for them! That made it ten times worse.

Erin looked back at Hugh, questioningly.

Hugh looked into eyes that had been his eyes just last week. But he didn't see himself anymore. He saw another person entirely. He saw Erin staring at him through those male eyes and with that male face.

And he realized that it was true, what John would think of her. He was infatuated with Erin. And right then, he would have done anything for her.

Hugh gulped, and then reached out tentatively. "Of course," he said, "now tell me where it hurts." Hugh started rubbing Erin's back, and she responded gratefully, with satisfied sighs. "You know," Hugh continued, "you should really try carrying that laptop on the other shoulder."

After about 15 minutes of alternating gentle and hard massage (all the while talking about contracts and negotiations), John couldn't stand it anymore. "Hugh, you are one lucky bastard," he said. "I wish I had someone to rub my sore muscles. Erin, you are one special lady."

Erin looked back at Hugh for a second, and Hugh saw her eyes shift towards John.

No, you can't be serious, Hugh thought. She wants me to rub John's back?

Hugh's heart skipped a beat and then thumped really hard in his throat.

Trying to affect a breezy and careless air, Hugh stood up, "Well, John, that's easily rectified." He walked over to John and put her arms on his shoulders and started to knead them.

"Oh, that's fantastic," John sighed. "But hey, I was just kidding. You don't have to do that."

"Really, I don't mind," Hugh lied, "anything for company! But just don't get any ideas."

"Of course not!" John tried hard not to let 'ideas' invade his mind, and mostly succeeded.

After a couple of minutes, Erin finally called a stop to it. "OK, ok, that's enough you two. We have work to do! Erin, it would be fantastic if you could brew us some coffee..."

"Of course." Hugh walked into the other room and started the automatic drip coffee maker. It was a good thing he was in the other room, since his face had flushed at the undisguised command from Erin.

---

After four hours of work, they were all exhausted. Erin and Hugh had worked out a better method of communicating. Under the guise of taking notes (which he did), Hugh would write comments and questions on a notepad. Erin would then occasionally "examine" the notes, and then come up with additional questions or comments. They both delighted in their surreptitious communications, and occasionally had to suppress a grin or chuckle.

Erin was lying down on the sofa, her feet (still in shoes) on Hugh's lap. John was lying flat on the floor with his eyes closed. At this point they were just gossiping about markets, customers, products, and staff.

Erin looked up at Hugh and wriggled her feet in his lap. Hugh looked back at Erin and saw her raise her eyebrows and nod towards her feet.

Hugh shook his head. He was not going to rub her feet in front of someone else! What would John think of her then? Of course, Hugh knew exactly what he would think. John would think that Hugh's new girlfriend was starry eyed and lovesick, and would do anything that her man asked her to do.

Erin pouted, looked down for a second, and then looked up with a pleading expression.

Hugh looked down at the shoes, then back up at Erin. Erin sniffled, pretending to be sad.

Hugh looked down at the shoes again. I can't be doing this, he thought.

I am not doing this.

But he was, Hugh grasped a shoelace and undid the bow, slowly. Then he did the same to the other shoe. Then he loosened the laces and slipped off each shoe.

Erin's expression turned from sad to blissful. Hugh reach down and started rubbing the first foot through the sweaty nylon socks, feeling each muscle and bone, and all the time smelling the rich sent of shoe leather, heavy sweat, and socks.

Hugh was feeling submissive and obedient. As he kneaded each of Erin's toes, and then the ball of each foot, Hugh realized that he enjoyed giving Erin pleasure. She was so appreciative, and it showed that she needed him as much as he needed her, and so Hugh felt a kind of peacefulness and belonging.

It was also making him intensely horny. His pussy inside the nylon panties was becoming increasingly damp as he had been asked to take care of more and more of Erin's needs.

'I'm getting off on this,' Hugh realized, in shock. 'It turns me on to follow her orders and be her submissive, obedient girlfriend.'

John looked up and saw what was going on. Hugh blushed a deep, deep red, but continued his ministrations.

John started gathering his papers. "Well, listen, I should be going. I'll just leave you two lovebirds. See ya later, Hugh. Erin," John leaned over and gave Hugh a light kiss on the cheek, "dinner was wonderful. You are a fantastic cook."

"Thank you, John. It was nice to... ah... meet you. I had heard so much about you from Hugh."

Erin looked up. "Goodbye, John."

John let himself out.

---

Later that night, Hugh found himself in another submissive position, as he lay trapped underneath Erin. She was pounding her hard cock deep into his sopping cunt. Hugh pulled her towards him, holding her male body tight to his female one, as she climaxed and shot her sperm deep into his vagina.

Erin moved to pull out, but Hugh hadn't climaxed yet, so he roughly pulled her down on top of him, and thrust his pelvis back up at her. The stimulation of her pubic hair on his clitoris was just enough, and he came, hard, this time with small shrieks, which he had never done before.

Erin moved to pull out again, but Hugh instinctively stopped her a second time, and pulled her full weight down on top of him, burying her still hard penis deeply into his pussy. Hugh realized that he really loved the sensation of being trapped, with a cock deep in his most intimate orifice, with the full weight of a man lying on top of him. Hugh's vagina clenched some more, squeezing the last of Erin's sperm out of her cock, which traveled down past his cervix, and into his unprotected uterus.

And Erin realized something too. This evening had shown her something very clearly. Hugh had been a lost soul. And now she knew exactly where this lost soul should be lead.

Only there was a complication. In order to lead Hugh to his proper place in the universe, she would have to embark on her own spiritual journey as well. A journey from which there would be no turning back.

[End of Part 1]