Sometimes it may not seem like it, but I do love my girlfriend. She’s a strong-willed, intense, and occasionally erratic person, but we have this sort of intangible connection that’s kept us together for almost four years.

My name is Justin Kinsley, and I’m a 25-year old administrative assistant for an asset management company. In other words, I organize financial documents for a living.

How I got with Bridget in the first place is something I’ll never quite understand. She was this smart, stunning, and popular sorority girl at Northwestern, where we both attended college. I was a bookish, introverted mess of a guy in a low-tier fraternity. We met during our senior year at a mutual friend’s improv show and... bam! We just clicked. Three years out of school and we’re still happily– well, uh, we’re still dating.

“Well I don’t think 8 is so crazy to start a New Years Eve Party,” I stated, probably only adding fuel to the fire. “This way you’ll have ample time to get drunk first.”

Bridget rolled her eyes. She was in one of her moods.

At times, it’s been beneficial for her to have an abrasive, alpha personality. Bridget was a consultant at Deloitte, a major consulting firm. For those looking to grow quickly in the business or finance world, it was totally the place to be. But the job is just as intense as she is — which is probably why she’s a perfect fit. She travels most weeks, works long hours, and makes a ton of money.

Our apartment is in a River North high-rise: the peak of luxury, and especially impressive at our age. I, of course, would never be able to afford this kind of place if it weren’t for her. Dating a consultant certainly has its perks!

“Do you need to push back on every point I make? Jesus, Justin…”

“I’m just saying that if you’re complaining about the party starting too early, why are you trying to get there in half the time?”

Bridget let out a loud grunt. She was done with this conversation.

========

The party host was another mutual friend of ours from college named Matt. He too was a consultant, so had an equally nice apartment — perfect for a big NYE bash. The luxury 2-bed / 2-bath comfortably fit the 40-50 guests.

“Guys! Welcome!” Matt came up to us, already a little tipsy. “Good to see you!”

I smiled. “Happy New Year!”

“Thanks for hosting,” Bridget added. She handed him the bottle of champagne we brought as a gift.

“Oh, sweet! Add it to the table. Drinking games starting in like an hour. Mingle away!”

We were only a few years out of college, so most parties we attended naturally pulled from the same pool of Northwestern folks. But as we were getting older, the groups got more diverse. That’s one of the cooler things about getting older. It’s not weird to talk with someone who’s 29 or 30 anymore when you’re 25. Four years ago it might be, but not now.

Plenty were friends and acquaintances I saw often, but I also got the chance to mingle and meet people from completely different walks of life. Sure, it was a lot of consultants, but I talked to this guy who was an author, this girl who was a painter, and even a podcast host.

I spent a lot of time chatting with Matt too. He’s the kind of hyper-friendly, always-positive person everyone needs in their lives.

“How’s everything been, man?” he asked.

“Good! Great in fact.” I replied. The other side of having a super positive friend is you never want to burden them with your troubles.

Sometimes it’s just safer to lie. “You know, they keep telling me they’re gonna promote me at work. Should be any day now.”

“Awesome, man. I’m so happy for you. Any resolutions?” Matt asked, then playfully punched my chest. “Maybe a haircut, eh?”

I laughed. “You and everyone else keep saying that.”

He was of course referencing my platinum-blonde, shoulder-length hair. Everyone always gives me shit for my hair. I started growing it out after college and sort of never stopped. I like it long. It’s kind of a fun project to maintain and look nice. Not that I ever do anything with it, but it gives me powerful, strong vibes.

“You gonna join a gym?” Matt added. “I feel like mine’s done wonders for me.”

“Hah!” I laughed immediately. “I could certainly use it, right? But nah, I don’t have the discipline.”

My entire life I’ve been thin and scrawny. For some reason, I’ve just never been an athletic guy, not to mention utterly incapable of building muscle mass. Maybe that’s why I like the powerful feeling of my long hair. What I lack in muscles, I make up for in locks.

I checked my phone and it was still only 10 PM. I’d barely talked to Bridget the entire night. She too was off mingling with new people, but mostly talking to this one guy I’d never seen before. I figured I’d butt in.

“Hey baby,” I said, kissing Bridget on the back of the head from behind. “How’s everything?”

“Hi,” she said sweetly. “I’m good.”

The guy nodded at her, and stepped away. Apparently finished with their conversation. Just before I got to introduce myself.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“Some guy. I dunno. I didn’t get his name. Seemed super funny and cool though.”

I thought very little of what she said over the next hour. It’d become time for drinking games.

A classic, of course, was Flip Cup. Were we all adults with careers and incomes? Yes. Did that mean we were too old to play a drinking game with solo cups around a collapsible table? Absolutely not.

The party was actually getting pretty hype. As the night got closer and closer to midnight, the energy level rose. People were getting wild. Shots were poured and consumed, beers were shotgunned, and everyone was either playing a drinking game, dancing, or in a shouting conversation trying to hear each other over the music.

I stuck around for Flip Cup, but noticed Bridget left a while ago. At a different table, I noticed she had paired up with that same guy from before for Beer Pong. And man, did she look like she was having a lot of fun… I chose not to intrude this time since I was in my own game. But I noticed the two had been hanging out for a while.

Once it hit 11:50, everyone wrapped up their games and conversations to settle in front of the TV. Matt turned off the music and blasted the Ball Drop broadcast. I finally caught up with Bridget.

“Hey… you doing okay? Having a good time?” I asked, a little concerned, but more so curious.

“I am!” she exclaimed with tipsy jubilance. “It was like I couldn’t lose in BP!”

I chuckled the tiniest bit. “Yeah… I saw you made a few cups from afar.” Looking across the room I spotted the guy from earlier. “You were… uh… playing with that guy.”

“Yes! I was! That’s Anthony. He’s fucking unreal at BP. You shoulda watched more.”

So Anthony’s his name… is this a guy I should be concerned about? Bridget was certainly having a good time with him, but it’s not like either he or she made a move. Nothing like that. And he looked nothing like me. I was around 5’8” and thin with long hair. He was over 6 feet, muscular, had a light beard, and short hair styled with a bit of product. And I was the one Bridget chose to date.

The ball drop was imminent, so the group loudly shouted at the TV as the countdown began from 30.

“…29! …28! …27!” the group shouted as we all scrambled for our significant others or romantic interests of the night. Bridget and I looked at each other. I gave her a full smile.

“…3! …2! …1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!” The room exploded with cheers, noisemakers, and party poppers. Champagne was raised and clinked. And of course, the New Year’s kiss.

I leaned in for a kiss with Bridget. She reciprocated, but only briefly. More than a peck, but less than desirable. Really? I couldn’t even woo her into a romantic kiss on freaking New Year’s Eve? Ugh…

Unbothered by my romantic woes, the room sang:

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?”

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne?”

A few people drunkenly stumbled through the lyrics, but everyone got the gist right. It was a classic, traditional start to the new year.

By now, most people were drunk, tired, and ready to get to bed, dreading the nursing of hangovers in the morning. I, however, had agreed to drive home and stayed relatively sober throughout the night (outside of a few beers during the games and a toast of champagne).

I finished my conversation with another friend and looked for Bridget, who’d once again managed to scoot away. And as expected, she was talking to that Anthony guy again. I was too tired to wait her out.

“Hey babe, let’s get going,” I told her, not caring if I interrupted anything with Anthony.

She whipped around. “Babe, I haven’t properly introduced you to Anthony.”

The tall man slowly turned to me and offered up an inviting smile. “Nice to meet you, Justin,” he said, practically oozing charm.

“Nice to meet you too,” I replied somewhat coldly. “I hate to break up the party, but we’re a little tired. Okay if we get going, Bridg?”

“Okay,” Bridget responded emotionless, then turning to Anthony. “Perks of having a DD, right??”

He gave a polite laugh. “We’ll keep in touch.” The two of them hugged. I held Bridget’s hand as we quickly made our way around for goodbyes.

Look, Bridget can talk to whoever she wants. I’m not the jealous type. But seeing her bright blue eyes shimmer while talking to this man, flipping her bouncy, blonde curls… smiling like I haven’t seen in at least a year. I must admit… it was refreshing to see that level of happiness in my girl. Even if I wasn’t the one supplying it.

She fell asleep on the car ride home — a rare, tranquil ride. But amongst the silence, I thought about Anthony’s parting words to her: “We’ll keep in touch.”

Why? And for what reason?

========

The remainder of this 18-chapter, ~40,000 word novel is available on Kindle. Link below. I hope you enjoy! It's my favorite one I've written so far :)

Please note, only the first few chapters will be posted here on BCTS.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1PPK25S

AI FINAL COVER 1.jpg

Anthony's Influence: A Steamy, Gender-Bending Romance (Chapter Two)

Author:

Mysterious Stranger

Audience Rating:

Restricted Audience (r)

Publication:

17,500 < Novella < 40,000 words

Genre:

Crossdressing

Character Age:

College / Twenties

TG Themes:

TG Elements:

Other Keywords:

Permission:

Posted by author(s)

CHAPTER TWO

All things considered, I was having a nice start to the new year. I had the entire week off of work… even if Bridget wasn’t so lucky. That was one of my bones to pick with company — you can’t even give her a couple days off of travel the first week of the New Year?

But she put up with the hectic schedule remarkably well. Way better than I ever could. It’s funny, with my 100% work-from-home schedule, I felt like a stay-at-home spouse. I always did all the cooking, and because I had the lighter responsibility load, I cleaned and shopped for the two of us. Nor did I mind it. After all, I’d gotten quite good.

I’d mostly left the New Year’s party and Bridget’s conversations with Anthony out of my mind, but as they say, idle hands are the devil’s playthings. Or in my case, an idle mind.

I knew absolutely nothing about this man beyond his name. Did he and Bridget ‘keep in touch’ like he said? Maybe it was a career opportunity. Or hell, maybe it was just one of those bullshit things you say to someone you’re never gonna talk to again. He could have just been being polite.

But no. I had to know. I felt too uncomfortable going straight to Bridget with any inquiries, lest I give off ‘crazy jealous boyfriend’ vibes. So I hit up Matt, the host of the party. If there’s anyone who would know something about this man, it’d be the guy who actually invited him. I texted Matt and we set a time for brunch over the weekend.

=======

“I think I’m still hungover,” Matt joked, sipping on orange juice. “Even a week out.”

We met at a brunch spot near his place. I was happy to make the drive over his way. It minimized any chance he flakes and I’m unable to get an answer. But I tried my best to be casual about the whole thing.

“I think everyone had a good time though,” I said. “People really dig your parties. Ended up being a solid group.”

“You think so?” he said, a tad unsure of himself. “I’m always afraid of mixing friends. You never know how a bunch of random people with only myself in common are gonna vibe.”

“Seriously, you did great. I mingled, Bridget mingled… Everyone was meeting and connecting.”

Matt took another sip of orange juice, happy with my analysis.

“That reminds me…” I continued. “Bridget was chatting a ton with this one guy…” I pretended to think of his name. “Alan? Antonio, was it?”

“Oh, Anthony?” Matt finished my thought. “Cool dude. Super mysterious.”

That’s a hell of an adjective to use. “Mysterious?” I asked. “How so?”

“I dunno. He’s crazy charming, and everyone loves him. But he’s so… unassuming, ya know?”

Yeah, I knew. That’s what I was trying to figure out. “How did you meet him?”

“A friend of a friend, initially. Some guy I don’t really talk to anymore. But I run into him at the gym and we talked there. I’ve invited him to a few things in the past but this is the first time he actually showed.”

“Did he come with anybody? Or was he alone?”

“I think alone…” Matt started to feel uneasy. “Is something going on?”

“No! Totally not. I’m just, like, curious about your friends is all.”

Matt kind of bought my answer, but quickly moved on. “Yo! You know what I actually heard about him through my other buddy?”

Matt looked side to side, making sure nobody was listening in. “He’s a swinger.”

I raised an eyebrow. “A swinger? Like… he sleeps with a lot of people?”

Matt threw up his hands. “Hey, I dunno man! I just talk to the dude at the gym.” He lowered his voice again. “But that’s the second hand news.”

A swinger? Well that settles it. Anthony is absolutely trying to slide in on Bridget. And he’s probably trying to reel her into his perverted little circle…

========

The new knowledge bugged me all week. I wasn’t sure who to be angry at, or even if I should be angry at all. Honestly, I knew very little about this whole situation. I definitely saw Bridget have a good time talking with this mysterious Anthony, and I definitely heard him insist that they keep in touch. Now Matt’s confirmed he’s a swinger. Or, at least second-hand that he’s a swinger. So maybe I don’t know that for sure.

Regardless, my suspicion was enough to confront Bridget. I waited until she got home from one of her work trips and wasn’t in an abrasive mood. Getting ready for bed felt like the right time.

“Hey, babe, can I ask you something?” I muttered, still a little afraid to officially pull the trigger.

“What’s up?” Bridget was brushing her hair in the mirror, ready to get into bed.

I let out a big sigh. “What I’m about to ask you isn’t accusatory by any means. I just want the truth.”

That certainly caught her attention. “What do you mean… Justin, what are you talking about?”

“That guy, Anthony…. from the party. Are you… are you cheating on me?”

She stared at me silently for a moment. She let out a big sigh.

“No. I’m not cheating.”

Her answer felt honest, but the tone was strange.

“However,” she continued. “We’ve been talking.”

I let my head down. “Bridget… I told you, I’m working on things in the bedroom.”

“I know you are, but—“

I was starting to get pissed. “But to start talking to another guy? Like, seriously?”

“No, listen, Justin. I’ve been talking to him about… something else.”

I almost laughed in her face. “Something else? Oh, do tell!” I was dripping with sarcasm. “Do tell what other, ‘non-sexual’ stuff you’ve been discussing with the guy you were totally interested in at the party. I’d love to hear it!”

“Will you just fucking listen for a sec!?” she screamed. I calmed down to let her talk.

“Anthony approached me at the party. That’s true. But he didn’t try to have sex with me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really?”

“He wanted to have sex with us.”

I froze. “Wait… what?”

Bridget was dead serious. “He wants to join.”

I fully suspected that this guy was a swinger. And yes, I knew what that meant. But never did I think that I'd be part of this nonsense. I thought he was exclusively going for Bridget.

I started to laugh — partly at my misreading of the situation, but mostly at the absurdity of his request.

But Bridget wasn’t messing around. “Why are you laughing?”

“Are you kidding me? Because the guy wants to have a three-way! With us! That’s fucking crazy!”

“Why is it so crazy?” she asked. “People have three-ways.”

“Ha, yeah… but like, not us.” I kept laughing, but she kept staring. “…not us, right?”

“Why not?”

This was no longer funny. Bridget, somehow, had it planted in her head that this was a real possibility.

“You can’t be serious, Bridg… You’re actually considering this?”

“Justin, it’s not like things have been going well in the bedroom. I mean… maybe we need to shake things up.”

“But… another man? Why can’t it be a chick or something?” I proposed.

“I’m sorry, but do you see any chicks lining up and offering three-ways?”

She had a point. “Okay, sure… but, who says I’m not gonna veto having another dude in my bed?”

“Our bed. And honestly, are you so insecure in your sexuality that another guy would ruin things?”

“I mean, I’m straight… So you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t want another naked man in my bed.”

Bridget was getting a little frustrated — perhaps because she knew I had a point. She scooted closer to me on the bed, and held both of my hands.

“Justin, I love you. I… I may not have shown it well recently, and maybe that’s my fault. But I want this to last. I want us to last. And God knows we’ve been teetering on the edge of trouble for a while now.”

I looked deep into her eyes. This was the Bridget I knew. This was the old Bridget.

“I’m sorry for not being transparent with you. I was going to bring this up. Honestly. I think part of me needed to be convinced it’s not crazy too.” Bridget let out another big sigh. “But fuck… I have a good feeling about this. I really feel like a spice of passion can be good. I can remember what it’s like to feel good again, and maybe you can learn a few tips. This will fix us. I know it will.”

Maybe I was losing my mind, or maybe I just missed this Bridget too much and wanted her back.

“I love you. And I love you enough to trust your instincts. If you really, truly believe this can be the spark to save us… then we can try.”

She smiled warmly back. “I love you, Justin.” She leaned in to kiss me. It was our first in many days — maybe even since the party. But this one was so much more passionate… so much more real.

“But I reserve the right to call it off after the first try,” I added. “We need to be on the same page at all times.”

“Agreed. This isn’t about Anthony. It’s about us.” I fully believed Bridget wanted our relationship to be saved just as much as I did.

“I’ll set something up for next weekend,” Bridget said, rolling onto her side of the bed. “I’ll make sure everything’s in order. All you gotta do is show up.”

We turned off the lights and went to sleep. It was another sexless night — one of so, so many. But the prospect of intimately re-connecting with Bridget was thrilling… even if it meant there’d be another man in our bed, sharing some of those thrills.

========

The remainder of this 18-chapter, ~40,000 word novel is available on Kindle. Link below. I hope you enjoy! It's my favorite one I've written so far :)

-Jennifer

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1PPK25S

AI FINAL COVER 1.jpg