[bane22]

Sunday, 11:01 AM

My eyes flutter open. At first I don’t recognize the ceiling I’m looking up at. I look around, and see I’m locked in Sarah’s arms and she’s intertwined in mine. Her hair is bit more tangled than it looked last night, but she’s no less beautiful. I roll onto my side and face her. Her own eyes blink open a moment later, and she smiles. “Hey,” she says softly.

“Hi there,” I say in matching tone.

We lie there, just staring at each other and basking in our mutual embrace. Finally, she props her head up on her hand, and coyly asks, “So, was it good for you?”

We giggle at the joke. “I think I just experienced my first sex coma.”

She gives me a serious look. “I really am glad. I wanted this to work so much.”

I snuggle a little closer to her. “For my money, I think it worked. Worked just fine.”

She smiles wider than I’ve ever seen her smile before. “I’m so happy. I really am.” She pauses, then adds, “So, how’s that little crush you’ve had on me going?”

I feel completely helpless in her gaze. “I think I might be falling for you even harder now.”

“Well oh darn,” she says humorously, squeezing a little tighter. “I guess we’ll just have to feed the addiction.”

We spent the next several hours cuddling in bed, exchanging pillow talk, with some light make-out session interspersed for good measure. We reveled in each other’s touch, and romped like naughty teenagers. It was the most pleasurable and romantic interaction I’ve ever had with a woman, and while I can’t exactly speak for Sarah, I can honestly say I’ve never seen her glow the way she did this day.

Of course, all good things come to an end. It was around 3:00 and we were still curled up in bed, watching videos on an old CRT TV Sarah had in her bedroom. Suddenly my stomach made the loudest grumble I’ve ever heard in my life. We looked at each other, then laughed it off. That would have been the end of it, but then ten minutes later it happened again.

“You sure you’re alright?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah, doesn’t even hurt. It’s weird, it’s like the sound an empty stomach makes, but I don’t feel anything.”

She looks concerned, but clearly doesn’t want to make a big deal of this. “OK.”

Five minutes later we hear a double groan, two in a row. “Uh, Sarah?”

Sarah’s eyes go wide. “I know what this is. Quick, get up!”

I throw the sheets off, and jump up, still naked. Sarah tosses the sheet to me. “Here, wrap yourself in this but not too tightly. And hang on.”

I wrap the sheet around me, starting to feel nervous. “What exactly-“
Before I can finish the sentence, there’s a very loud gurgle, then the room seems to explode with light. I feel off-balance, the parts of the room I can see seem to contort and expand before my eyes. I get the butterflies in my stomach, and it feels like ants are marching on my skin. I hold onto the bed sheet as best I can, but I can’t tell if I’m holding to my body or not.

The sensation subsides, and I find myself looking around. The room seems smaller, and the ground seem further away than I remember. I look down at Sarah; she’s covering her breasts with her hands, and her legs are clamped to the side to cover her privates. It takes me a moment to realize I don’t feel my hair dangling down my back anymore. And my hands are pressing the bedsheet flat to my chest. My flat chest. I look down. My arms are fuzzy with body hair. My breasts have receded to ordinary pecs. My hands chunky, the fingers shorter and thicker.

“Sarah?” I ask, and realize my old voice is back.

She looks at me with wonder, but I can also detect a little disappointment. “Looks like the spell wore off.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I look around, and spot the cocktail dress, heels, bra and panties I’d been wearing last night lying on the ground. The reality of the situation suddenly hits me. “I don’t have anything I can wear, do I?”

Sarah suddenly comes to the same conclusion. “Oops,” she says sheepishly. “Hang on,” she says, as she gets out of bed. I turn my head out of respect. I recognize this is kind of odd, seeing as just moment ago we’d been cuddling after some very impressive sex. Still, I have to acknowledge that I’m not the me that was there before.

She returns to the room wearing the plaid bathrobe she wore yesterday. “Alright, I’ll scout the hallway. If it’s clear, you make a break for your place and go get dressed. I’ll meet you there later.”

I nod in acknowledgement, and follow her to the front door. She cracks it open, and looks both ways. She waves me forward. “Now!” she whispers.

I shuffle out, the wrapped bed sheet trailing behind me. I quickly make my way to my neighboring apartment, and am relieved when the door swings open without incident. I’m even more relieved when I find everything in my place is undisturbed.

I stop in the bathroom one last time to look in the mirror. My old self stares back. My brown hair has returned, disheveled and a bit shaggy, but nowhere near as long as it had been only a minute ago. I’ve got a light stubble on my face, and my eyes, though still blue, now have the piercing look of a man in his prime. I drop the bedsheet, and can confirm that all of what I once had been has been returned.

I scoot over to my bedroom and get dressed in boxers, khakis and a t-shirt. Sitting on top of the bureau is the bag with my girl outfits Sarah had bought on Friday, as well as my old sneakers and the clothes I’d been wearing when this whole crazy affair had started. I find myself feeling oddly wistful about the experience, maybe even nostalgic. It really hadn’t been that bad of an experience. In fact, I wouldn’t mind it lasting longer.

I return to the bathroom and fold the bedsheet into something more compact. Just as I finish, there’s a knock on the door. I return to the entrance, and open it to find Sarah waiting. She’s dressed in sweats again. “Hey,” she says quietly.

I hand her the bedsheet. “Thanks for, well, you know.”

“Yeah,” she says as she takes the sheet back. She looks down to the ground awkwardly, then finally looks up and asks, “Can I come in for a moment?”

“Of course.” I step back and gesture for her to enter.
She walks in, and stops in the kitchen, leaning back against the counter. “So, that weekend just happened.”

I smile, trying to put on a brave face. “Yeah.” I pause, then add, “I meant what I said you know. I really did have a good time with you.”

She smiles now. “I’m glad, I really am. Thanks for doing this with me Madi-“ she catches herself mid-sentence. “I mean, John.”

“It’s OK,” I reassure her. Another awkward silence, then I ask, “Do you regret what happened?”

She looks at me, and it’s not exactly a sad look on her face, but she’s definitely not happy. “No, I really don’t. I mean, I admit I kinda miss seeing you all sexy and hot like you were. But I’m thankful for the time we had together. It was a magical dream, and it might be over, but you know, it’s better to have loved and lost and all that.”

I nodded, and looked away. Personally I never believed that old cliché, but I wasn’t about to bring that up now. “You want to hang around, maybe get some gaming time in?”

Sarah stands up. “No, I should get back. I have to clean up after last night’s…you know.”

I nod. “I understand. Maybe later this week?”

“You got it.” And with that, Sarah leaves my apartment. I wander over to the couch and collapse onto the old worn fabric. It definitely feels normal again, but now the sensation almost feels muted by comparison. I try to play some games, but my heart just isn’t in it. I try to catch up on some reading and schoolwork, but I couldn’t concentrate. My mind kept returning to the magical night I had.

Eventually, the day ran out, and I went to bed. I spent most of the night tossing and turning, going over every event of this past weekend. After some interminable hours of restlessness, I drifted into a dreamless sleep.