The Other Side of Me – Chapter 13
by Limbo’s Mistress

On the ride home from the mall, Katie repeatedly attempted to talk to me about my sudden foul mood. Each time, I refused to even look in her direction. Instead, I merely stared straight ahead at the road and mumbled, “I don’t want to discuss it.”

What was there to discuss really? Apparently, my sexual attraction to members of the male persuasion continued to increase the longer I remained trapped in this feminine body. Which might not be a complete and total disaster if I didn’t have to keep hearing that little voice in the back of my head whispering that it was rather likely I would return to my own universe as an ultra-feminine homosexual.

Maybe it would just be better to stay here. At the rate things were progressing, it wouldn’t be that much longer until I actually was more Charlene than Charles. All that I’d be missing was her memories.

As soon as I pulled the Jeep to a stop in the driveway, Katie sighed loudly.

“Please tell me why you’re so mad,” she said looking over at me. Her eyes were brimming with tears. “Is it because you suddenly realized you liked guys? Or because I pointed it out?”

As I’d done on the ride, I refused to look at her. Or even speak to her. Mostly because I knew I was a giant ball of vibrant emotions, and I couldn’t be sure what would come out of my mouth if I started speaking. Would it be a furious tirade? A depressing introspective monologue? Or merely a maniacal rambling indicative of a fractured psyche?

Probably all of the above.

So, keeping my trap shut, I shook my head, climbed out of the Jeep, and grabbed the bags from the back seat. Before Katie could even open her door to follow me, I stomped my way up the front walk to the house, threw open the door, and disappeared inside, using my foot to shut the door behind me.

It slammed closed a bit harder than I intended, drawing the attention of the man sitting in the living room from the phone in his hand.

“Charlie?” he asked, the concerned expression on his face intensifying when he realized I’d entered alone. “Where’s Katie? Wasn’t she with you?”

“Of course she was,” I said in a huff.

A second later, the front door behind me opened, and a bewildered sixteen-year-old, still looking put out, stepped inside.

“Charlie,” she said, cutting her eyes over at our father for a moment before looking back at me. “I’m sorry, okay? I just wasn’t thinking clearly when I said those things.”

I waved my hand dismissively at her before pulling my new cardigan out of the Darling Diva’s bag. Then I thrust it, and the other two bags, at her.

“Here you go. Enjoy!”

“Charlene,” the man behind me said with a note of disappointment in his voice.

Katie’s eyes, still wide and wet, stared up at me. As if I had slapped her.

Balling my hands into fists, I clutched the garment to my chest and fled the living room, ascending the steps two at a time. I practically ran down the hall, into my bedroom, where I slammed that door shut as well.

What in the hell was wrong with me? My emotions had flipped around back and forth from one end of the goddamned spectrum to the other all day long with absolutely no rhyme or reason. However, I thought I’d done fairly well weathering the storm. Until I interacted with Mr. Mike “I’m So Hot” North.

I dropped my purse on the desk, put the cardigan on top of it, and threw myself face down on the bed.

I didn’t want to go to this stupid mixer. I really didn’t want to have to take a bath and get all dolled up to attend as a prospective member of Kappa Omega. I had absolutely no desire to prance around the Sigma Chi House as I smiled and pretended that I had any feelings whatsoever for a bunch of shallow-ass people I hadn’t known existed forty-eight hours ago.

And I really, really, really did not want to have to deal with an intoxicated Danny Morris. Whose comments at lunch really set of warning bells in my head.

Of course, that’s exactly when the phone in my purse started buzzing.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I groaned, forcing myself to get up and see which disaster needed my urgent attention now.

As I crossed the room, I began to wonder if perhaps I shouldn’t have eaten more than my share of the fries. The damned things seemed as if they were just sitting there on my stomach like a glob of potato hell. Just my luck it was the beginning stages of food poisoning or something, and I’d end this evening in the Sigma’s backyard puking my head off.

Simply Lovely.

I pulled the phone out of the purse and looked at the screen. I rolled my eyes, sighed, then strong-armed a smile on to my face. One that hopefully would seep into my voice and provide enthusiasm I sure as hell didn’t feel. I swiped my thumb across the front of the device and tapped on the speaker button.

“Hey, Rachel. What’s up?”

Okay, did that sound cheerful? Upbeat? Maybe a little?

“What’s up, Charlene” the Queen of Kappa Omega said, “Is that Trina seems to have inferred, from a conversation the two of you apparently had earlier today, that you are not particularly excited about tonight festivities.”

The forced smile disappeared faster than a hooker seeing flashing blue lights.

“Oh, is that what she inferred?” I asked, unable and unwilling to prevent the gallons of venom that automatically drained into my voice. I wasn’t sure if the hatred I felt belonged solely to me or Charlene. “I would conversely infer, Rachel, that Trina doesn’t know me anywhere well enough to guess what does or does not make me excited.”

“That is what I attempted to explain to her,” Rachel replied. I could hear the proudness in her tone. “I informed her that I didn’t know anyone more determined to be a Kappa than Charlene Miller.”

“I want to be a Kappa more than anything,” I said. “I will prove it to you and to Miss Thing.”

Oh well, in for a penny and all that. Looks like my planned evening of moping and brooding had just been put on hold.

“Excellent. I will see you at ten sharp.”

“With bells on,” I said.

The connection ended without either of us saying goodbye.

“Well … shit,” I mumbled, tossing the phone on the bed. “Guess I have to go to the damned thing now.” Then I made a face that might have been terrifying if I’d been looking into a mirror. “Besides, I need to show that Trina bitch a thing or two. For Charlene’s benefit.”

I departed my room, hearing Katie and Dad talking downstairs though I couldn’t exactly make out what they were saying. Given the way I’d behaved on the ride home from the mall and the manner in which I’d returned to the house, I would lay even money the topic of the conversation was moi.

While I would have preferred the luxury of floating in a nice, hot bath, I knew I didn’t have time for it. Instead, I climbed into a scalding shower and proceeded to loofa every bit of dirt, sweat, and grime from my body. Then I washed my hair with a delicious-smelling strawberry shampoo, rinsed, and applied a thick layer of conditioner. As I let it go to work on my frizzed hair, I lathered up my legs and quickly removed the stubble that was beginning to accumulate.

It wasn’t until I was rinsing the conditioner out that I realized that I’d not nicked myself a single time, despite the speed at which I’d tackled my legs. Climbing out of the shower, I wrapped my body and head in a pair of fluffy towels and returned to my room.

Along the way, I didn’t hear any voices coming up the stairs from the living room, and I noticed Katie’s bedroom door was closed. I almost knocked, but knew I simply did not have the time right then to talk to her properly. Not with the maddening time crunch I was under.

I made a quick mental note to apologize properly tomorrow.

Back in my own room, the first thing I did was make a bee-line to the closet. Standing there slowly surveying its contents, I tried to let my mind go blank in the hopes that the perfect outfit would somehow materialize out of thin air. When that didn’t happen, I sighed and tried again. This time putting a little of my own effort into it.

The party would probably be mostly held inside, but the Sigma house had a back yard big enough to serve as an overflow. Which meant I’d need to make sure the chilly air wouldn’t be an issue. It was not as cold as it usually was this time of year, but anything without sleeves was immediately discounted.

After a few minutes, I stood in front of the bed, tapping my lips with one finger as I attempted to decide between the two potential finalists.

The first was a black skater skirt paired with a light gray turtleneck sweater, with matching gray tights and the black leather calf-length boots. The second was a houndstooth miniskirt and an ivory turtleneck with thigh-high suede boots with a two-inch heel. Both of which I was positive would totally look boss on me.

I paced back and forth before the bed a few times before finally deciding on the houndstooth.

Wardrobe selected, I went over to the desk and sat down to put on my makeup. My skill with the brushes and creams seemed to have improved since that morning, leading me to be able to achieve the sultry look I was going for in only two attempts. I turned to the left and right a couple of times, making sure everything was applied evenly, then I blew my reflection a kiss and stood up.

From the dresser, I dug around until I found the thickly padded peach bra I’d noticed the other day and a matching thong. I tossed the body towel onto the floor and slipped into the underwear, immediately noticing the way the extra support exaggerated my bust line. I felt like I had a couple of balloons strapped to my chest.

I pulled on the skirt and zipped up the side. The hem of the garment fell to halfway down my thighs and clung to my ass like a second skin. The waistband seemed a little tighter than I expected. Though, I chalked that up to having gorged myself at dinner.

The sweater was a bit trickier to get into. Mostly because I needed to make sure the neck opening was wide enough to keep from brushing up against my face. Once I had it safely around my neck, I slipped my arms into the sleeves and pulled it down over my tummy and tucked it into the top of the skirt.

“Ugh, that’s tight,” I groaned, patting my belly. “Tomorrow, extra crunches for you.”

I walked over to the mirror and admired myself. The skirt really showcased my rear, but it was the tightness of the sweater, combined with the extra lift of the bra, that made my chest really noticeable. While Charlene wasn’t flat-chested in any sense of the word, the effect made it seem like I’d jumped up a whole cup size.

I was just finishing doing my hair when someone knocked on the door, and Shells came into the room.

“Hey,” she said, closing the door behind her. “Your dad said it was okay if I just came on … holy shit!”

I unwound a chunk of my hair from the curling iron to look at her in the mirror, arching a brow.

“What? Did I do it wrong?”

Her expression shifted from shock to curiously relieved. “Just making sure Charles was still in there.”

I nodded with a shrug before turning my attention back to the mirror so I could put a bit of wave into another section. “Yeah. Charlene’s still AWOL in another universe.”

“You look … I mean … wow.” She shook her head as she walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, still staring at me. “Did Katie do that? I mean your makeup. Or was it all you?”

“All me. Consider it just more dimensional leakage,” I said with a bit of snark. “This morning, I struggled to tame this mess into a simple ponytail. Now I have a feeling I could throw it into a French twist without too much trouble. I also didn’t know the difference between eyeliner and eye shadow, but now …” I pointed at my cosmetic-enhanced features.

“That’s … amazing.” Then a bit of blush appeared on her cheeks. “Although, probably not from your point of view, I guess.”

I shrugged. “True. But it sure beats having to constantly bother Katie to help me get ready to leave the house.”

Shelly tilted her head to the side, looking at me.

“What now?” I asked, putting the curling iron down again.

She gave me a pained, worried expression. “Uh, didn’t Jackson say this, uh, whole leakage thing might be permanent?”

I nodded. “Yeah … and?”

She pointed at me, then at the makeup box. “So, what does that mean for Charlie when you guys swap back for good? Is she going to have to relearn it all?”

“I don’t know.” I answered, turning around to face her. “I don’t think it’s a zero-sum event. I mean, I’m getting these skills at the expense of her losing them.”

“How can you be sure?”

I shrugged again. “Because I still know how to do all the things I could back in my own universe.” I turned back to the mirror and sectioned off another clump of hair, winding it slowly around the rod of the curling iron. “It’s the subconscious quirks that I think we’re both going to have to deal with when we’re back where we belong.”

“Subconscious? Like how you walk and stand. And the way you’ve taken to gesturing with your hands every time you start talking?”

I sighed. “Yeah. That and other … stuff.”

“What ‘other stuff’?” She moved to perch on the edge of my mattress. “Talk to me, Chuck.”

I unwound my hair, examined the curling iron’s work, then put the tool down on the desk before turning back around to look at her.
“It seems I’ve adopted Charlene’s, uh, sexual orientation.”

“You’re saying you’ve become attracted to guys?” She asked with a bit of wry amusement in her voice.

I nodded. “So it would seem.”

I recounted the incident at the mall with the North brothers. I also told her about running into Mike the day before and getting a weirdly pleasant tingle all over the interaction gave me.

“Just staring at him was making me so fucking horny,” I said, shaking my head. “I couldn’t even think straight.”

Shelly giggled and mumbled under her breath. “Straight.”

“What’s so funny?” I asked crossing my arms over my chest. “You know this is going to be a serious issue back home, right?”

She gave me a shake of her head. “I don’t think you understand as much as you think you do, Charles. Let me ask you this, were you, or were you not, ogling my ass while we were practicing cheer routines today?”

I swallowed the lump that appeared in my throat. I would have sworn I was more discreet about my visual appreciation. “Well, uh … I mean …”

While I stammered for an excuse, Shelly stood up to walk slowly over to me, swinging her hips from side to side in an extremely provocatively. I tried to not notice the way her bottom swayed or the expanse of cleavage peeking up through the deep “V” of her top bounced up and down with her motions. Bringing my gaze up to her eyes, I saw they were smoldering with desire.

My heartrate seemed to double with each step that brought her closer to me.

“Did you think I couldn’t see the way you were looking at me when we were practicing alone,” she said in a saucy purr that made my skin tingle. “That same look I get from guys when they want to get into my pants.” She stopped right in front of me and lowered herself to her knees, peering up at me while showcasing the exposed parts of her breasts.

“Oh, uh … I didn’t think you, uh, saw that.” Jesus, I was behaving exactly as I’d done when drooling over that stupidly gorgeous basketball player. Was my doppelgänger really just an over-sexed slut?

For that matter, was I?

“Oh, I saw it alright,” she said reaching out to put both of her hands on my bare knees, right below the hem of the skirt, her thumbnails stroking the tender flesh on the insides. “Do you want to get into my pants, Charles?”

Now my pulse was really racing. There was the new sensation forming in my panties, the warm dampness of arousal.

“I don’t think, uh, I mean … Charlene …”

Shelly looked down at my lap, then back up to my face, lightly licking her lips. Then the seductress kneeling before me vanished, replaced by a highly amused best friend. She laughed, stood up, and planted her hands on her hips.

“I’m sorry about that, Chuck,” she said, reaching out to pat me on the head. “That was just plain mean. However, I think it proved my theory.”
I stared, slack-jawed, as she returned to the bed.

“What theory is that?” I asked, swallowing a few times to soothe the dryness of my throat. “That you can fuck around with my confused, half-hetero, brain?”

She shook her head. “No, to test your ‘zero sum’ idea. When you were ogling me earlier, I almost told you to cut it out. Then I reminded myself it was Charles, not Charlene, who was doing that.”

I rolled my eyes and snorted. “Right. Because Charlene leers at your boobs on a regular basis?”

She shrugged, head bobbing up and down. “Not as much anymore.”

“Huh?”

Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened. “Oh, shit. You didn’t know, did you? Because that’s something that’s different between you.”

I grabbed one of my boots and pulled it up over my knee. “Know what?”

“Chuck, Charlie’s bisexual. I mean, she doesn’t go around announcing it from the rooftops, and she’s way more into guys than chicks. But the sexual attraction is there.”

I froze in the process of picking up the other boot. “Wait. Does that mean you two …?”

She shook her head. “Negative. She and I had this discussion a couple of months ago. While I do think some other girls are total hotties, the only va-jay-jay I have any interest in playing with is my own.”

“Oh. Well, I guess that sort of explains things.”

Shelly laughed, putting one hand on my shoulder. “Charles, this attraction to guys you seem to have, uh, discovered? I don’t think it’s because you’re in a girl’s body. I think it’s possible that being in Charlene’s body has merely made it more … noticeable.”

I stared up at her, the wheels in my mind spinning at a rate that would have started a fire. I shook my head, freshly formed curls waving.

“Are you saying that Charlene and I are both bi? Like, we’ve both always been this way. Even before the swap?”

She shrugged again.

“I can’t answer that, Chuck. I mean, I didn’t know you before you ended up inside my best friend.” She winced at her phrasing, but continued on. “However, considering everything I’ve seen and heard recently, I bet even money it’s likely. You just didn’t want to acknowledge it before.”
“Oh, but now I do?” I tried to sound bold, but knew I failed miserably.

“I think being in a female body has allowed you to let that anti-homo guard down. Now that it’s down, you can’t unsee what you’ve discovered.”

I slumped down in the chair and shook my head.

“I really didn’t need this tonight, Shelly. Not tonight.”

She put her arm around my shoulder. “I know, Chuck. I’m sure you think this whole deal just got a lot more complicated.”