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The alarm blared from the tiny phone's speakers beside my head. I fumbled around until I felt the cold plastic of the case and swiped the screen. Immediately, the sound of the alarm stopped and I contemplated returning to my peaceful slumber. That idea was dashed rather quickly, however, for I knew I had to get myself on a regular schedule if I was ever going to get a job. Lazily I slipped from the bed, practically rolling out, and grabbed my glasses from the bedside table and put them on. Funny, my vision seemed more blurry with my glasses on than it should have been for the morning. Whatever, I thought, I probably just need to get them adjusted again. As I walked to the bathroom, I noticed my sense of balance seemed rather off. I felt more sway in my lower body, too. I must be putting on some weight, what with all the lazing on the couch and looking for jobs. That, and playing too many video games. There's a gym right there in the courtyard, I told myself, just go and hit the elliptical. Being the wee hours of the morning the sun had yet to rise, so I took to my business in the dark. It was much better than being assaulted by the fluorescent rays of the cheap apartment lighting. Sitting down to drain the snake was so much easier than trying to stand and aim it in the bowl. No mess, and no arguments with my girlfriend about bathroom cleanliness. I felt the wonderful sensation of relieving my bladder and went to pull up my boxers, though strangely they felt somewhat loose in the crotch area. Oh well, the damn thing must be playing turtle this morning. I declined to wash my hands, I never do unless I'm in public, and sauntered down the hall to the kitchen. While I was a decent cook, having made some delicious meals for my girlfriend and her family in the past, nothing to me beat a bowl of Lucky Charms and cold milk in the morning. I took to the bowl with a ravenous hunger and sat down on the couch in the living room to watch some morning television. By this point in my morning the blurriness should have abated, yet I had trouble making out the screen. In taking them off, however, I could see perfectly fine, with no difficulty reading the bottom text crawl of the news. Strange, I thought, my eyesight hasn't been that good since I was in seventh grade. And was it me, or did my hands look different somehow. They seemed smaller, with longer slimmer fingers, and not as knobby. That had to be a trick of the light, but I had the feeling that it would be wise to check them out. I set the bowl of cereal down on the coffee table and rose from the couch, making my way back to the bathroom to check myself out in the mirror. At nearly 6'3", I was a big man, but not overly muscular; more in between an ectomorph and mesomorph. That said, I still had some soft padding on me so I wasn't just skin and bones. My girlfriend had called me handsome, and others would describe my face as boyishly cute, especially my mother. Deep brown hair cut conservatively framed my soft, but angular face, and my dark forest green eyes were consistently ranked as my best feature; those, and my slightly chubby lips which my girlfriend's friends said were sexy. The light switch eluded me for a second, but I finally felt it against the wall and braced my eyes. I wish I hadn't flipped the light on, for the image that stared back at me from the mirror was not my own. Rather, it was the face of my girlfriend. At first, I thought she might have come up behind me and gotten in front of me while I was fumbling for the switch, but I quickly realized that to not be the case. It took just one wave of my hand, which was perfectly reflected back to me, for me to drop to the ground and emit a feminine wail. I was a girl, and not just any girl. Soft red curls bounced about my diminished head and shoulders and my lips, which had been slightly pouty before, were now overtly pouty and kissable. My straight, angular jaw and nose had become subdued and curvy, and my eyes had changed. Only, the strangest thing was that just one of my eyes had changed color from green to an icy blue color, while the other had seemingly become more vibrant like an emerald. I stood up straight and checked that the rest of my body had been altered to become the near twin of my girlfriend. Being only 5'2", she always had to reach up on her tiptoes, and I had to bend down to kiss me, though now we'd be standing eye to eye. Add to that her generous bosom and her flaring hips, and she was a knockout. It had perplexed me, even bothered me, for a while to think how I had gotten her to go steady with me, though now I matched her body in every way, shape, and form. My knees nearly buckled again, but I managed to grip the doorpost tightly enough to keep from falling. How could I have become her? How was something even remotely like that possible, and in a single night? Rachel, my girlfriend, practically fell over as she came barreling out of the bedroom towards me. Bonzo, our black cat, was hot on her heels. It must have taken her a moment to realize what had happened, because she didn't react at first. I wish that moment would have lasted forever, because she suddenly screamed and hit me over the head with one of her clawed fists and spun around to get away. She didn't see Bonzo, however, and tripped over him. Luckily, our flooring is carpeted, because otherwise she would have broken her nose as she landed face first into it with her feet flying up into the air. I half expected her to look at me and scream again, but when she turned around to face me she instead looked curious. The reason for that, I realized, was Bonzo rubbing up against my side and nudging my hand to pet him. She must have understood that he only does that with the two of us, so instead of running, she began to study me. "Rachel," I said, noting how I distinctly sounded like her, "it's me, Logan, your boyfriend. I don't know what happened, but somehow I've become you." The shock of it all reached me in that moment, and I began to cry sloppy wet tears on my nightshirt, which fit like a tent. I wouldn't have blamed her if she just left the apartment in that moment, but instead she gave me one more long look and reached out to embrace me. I gave her no resistance, instead just burying my face into her own nightshirt and continued to sob. She must have held me for thirty minutes or so, because the sun was rising and steeping the apartment in a subdued light. Finally, I broke away and looked up into those same chilly blue eyes that one of mine had become. "You believe me?" "Yes, I do believe it's you, Logan," she replied, taking a moment to push some loose strands of hair out of my face. "This is all too strange, but I believe you." I could do nothing but hug her tightly again and thank her for not running away and calling the cops on me. Rachel returned my hug and asked me, "How did you end up like this? You were normal last night." She appraised me again and noted my heterochromia. "Come on, honey. You go into the bedroom and lay down for a while. I'll email my teachers and tell them I'm feeling sick and then we can figure something out." We both rose to our feet and walked slowly to the bed we shared where I slipped under the covers once again. She left me there and headed out to the living room to get her computer while I tried to get into a comfortable position with my new breasts in the way. I stayed in bed for a while, hoping to fall asleep and wake up again in my own body, but I found myself unable to do so. I just wasn't tired, so I got up and nervously paced out to the living room. There, writing an email on the computer placed in her lap, Rachel sat with Bonzo next to her. I needed her touch, her warmth, so I nervously approached her and scooted the furry black cat aside. "Can I sit here?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't say no. She looked up and smiled. "Of course you can." My cushy bottom hit the cold leather couch and I folded my shorter legs up under me. This body was slight, but large where it counted. I turned to take her in my arms, as I usually did when we sat together, yet she pulled away from me. "I don't think that's a good idea," she said, returning to her email. "It's kind of weird with you being my twin and all." "Ok," I said, dejected, and slumped against the couch to watch the news. It turned out to be a good distraction, because when the program was over Rachel came out with clothes and makeup on. I hadn't even noticed her get up. "I think we should tell my parents about this," she said while coming over to me. "If this turns out to be permanent in any way they'll become involved, eventually. We might as well tell them now." Rachel guided me back to the bedroom where she had laid out an outfit of jeans and a black tank top on the bed. One of her bra and panty sets had been set beside the outfit and a pair of purple converse were sitting on the carpet by it. "Am I supposed to wear this?" I asked, hoping she would say no and let me wear my clothes, which I remembered were horribly oversized now. "Yes, this is all for you," she replied, tossing the bra and panties at me and motioning for me to strip. "Put the clothes on and then we'll put your hair up and go to my parents'." Rachel pushed by me and stopped. "Oh, come to the bathroom and we'll put a little makeup on you for color." I was in no mood to argue with her so I did as she commanded and slipped the black bra and panties on. The straps were too difficult to access normally, but I found that clipping the bra around the front and then twisting it back worked fine. The panties felt snug against my smooth crotch and generous backside. It wasn't wholly unpleasant, I thought while I donned the jeans and tank top. The socks and converse came next and then I was ready to see Rachel for the dreaded final touches. "Sit down on the toilet and pull your hair back," she commanded. Rachel was holding a glass bottle of foundation and a brush. "Please don't do much," I pleaded while I sat down. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm only going to do some foundation, blush, and a little mascara. It'll be over soon." Quickly she set about her task and brushed the creamy mixture over my skin, making sure to get every nook and cranny of my face evenly and she smoothed it out to avoid cakiness. Next, she opened her blush compact and dabbed a little on each cheek for that rosy complexion. Lastly, she lightly applied some mascara while I blinked several times. "Now look in the mirror and tell me what you think." She stepped back for me to stand up and take a look. I would have been astonished if I had turned out any other way, but the fact that I looked nearly identical to Rachel diminished the impact somewhat. Still, I was impressed with her work, and impressed that I could look so beautiful as well. "We could be sisters," I said while not looking away. Rachel's look turned gloomy. "I know," she replied. "That's what I'm afraid of." "What do you mean?" I asked, already having some notion of what she was going to say. "I mean," she said, and took my hands in hers, "I love you, but I don't think I can love you the same way anymore. If anything, you're now my twin and the most normal thing for me to do right now is to treat you that way." A tear slid down her cheek. "I'm sorry." I felt the tears returning to my eyes, but I held them back so as not to ruin her work. It was true, we were ostensibly twin sisters now and might be that way forever. I couldn't love her like I wanted to anymore, but I could still support her and be her sister. "I understand. If it's alright with you, for the time I'm like this I'd like to be your twin." We hugged and left the apartment, walking to my car and getting in. I instinctively selected our emo playlist on my phone and connected it to the car's sound system. With the tunes playing we headed out of the complex and off in the direction of her parent's house. I was already mentally preparing myself to start referring to them as 'mom and dad'. # Other than a few hungry looks we received from some guys at a red light, the drive to Rachel's parents was pretty uneventful. Mostly we just sang along to the over ten year old songs to pass the time between our apartment and the dreary Arizona landscape. After thirty minutes we arrived outside a terracotta colored two story house in a gated community called Adora Falls. It had been built just ten years ago, when Rachel's family moved from Connecticut, so it was fairly new and modern. A man who was watering his garden across the street gave us a confused look and I knew it to be because he knew Rachel's family and had never seen her identical twin before. That, or maybe he just thought he was seeing double and would forget about it soon, I hoped. We opened the garage door and stopped inside. The Ford truck that her dad drove was gone so we knew he had to be at work. That just left Rachel's mom who worked remotely for a consulting firm. Rachel turned to me and said, "Let me talk to my mom first. She'd probably have a heart attack if she saw us enter at the same time. Wait here until I call for you." I just nodded and planted myself down to wait, though I dreaded the thought of walking in and actually causing her to have a heart attack. Inside I could hear the muffled voices of Rachel, her mother, and her older brother Nicky. He hated to be called that, but we thought it was fun. The discussion appeared to be going well, at least I thought, which bode well for the big reveal. Nicky had moved back in after graduating college three years before. Despite having a job as an administrative assistant in some insurance company he had neglected to move out. He said he preferred to save money until he could live comfortably in his own place while he went to get a Masters. He was a reasonably good looking fellow, with his patch of red hair and bright amber colored eyes. It was a shame he didn't have a girlfriend, because then he could move out sooner. Suddenly, I heard my name being called. My nerves were firing off so much that I was visibly shaking as I opened the door and stepped into the mud room. They were just around the corner in the kitchen, waiting for me to scare them like nothing else. I briefly contemplated turning around and running out the way I came, but that would just be putting off the inevitable. They would have to see me at some point, and what would people say if they found out I was some freak and wanted to study me. At least if they knew we could craft a narrative like I stayed in Connecticut and just moved out for college or something like that. I told myself this as I stepped around the corner and waved nervously at Rachel's mom and Nicky. The two of them kept it together for as long as they could, which was all of three seconds before their jaws hit the floor. I couldn't blame them because that would probably be my reaction to if my sister came home with her boyfriend suddenly being her identical twin. That being said, I took the opportunity to hide behind Rachel in case they flipped their lids and came at me with fists, but luckily that didn't occur. Rather, after gathering his composure Nicky asked, "Is that really you, Logan?" "Yeah, it's me, Nicky. Hi, Mrs. Rivers." I tried to smile at her, though it was clear she was still in complete shock. "How did this happen?" Nicky asked as he came over to get a better look at Rachel and me. "If it wasn't for your green eye I would have trouble telling the two of you apart. This is absolutely mental." "I don't know," Rachel and I said in unison with our hands on our hips. We looked at each other in stunned silence before Nicky burst out laughing. "Oh man, you guys are already twinning. I guess I have two little sisters now instead of just the one." With that he gave each of us a hug before grabbing a banana and walking out the door. "See you all later." Now it was just Rachel, myself, and her mother standing in the kitchen. Rachel and her brother had inherited their bright red hair from their mother, Cynthia, though through her age it had darkened to a more cinnamon color. She had a stern visage, with more than a few wrinkles for a woman of her age, but was reasonably personable when you got to know her. While not tall for a woman, she was still taller than Rachel at 5'5", so now she looked down on me rather than up. The time ticked by while we three stood in complete silence. I briefly contemplated pouring a bowl of cereal since I hadn't finished mine, but I thought better of it since I was a guest in Rachel's house. She must have been tired of waiting for her mother to speak up because she suddenly walked over to her and shook her. "Mom, get a hold of yourself," Rachel scowled, giving her mother another shake. "Stop it," Cynthia said as she threw her daughter's arms off of her. "I'm quite in control of myself. I just needed some time to process all this." She motioned for me to come to her, which I did dutifully, and took my face in her hands. They were wrinkled and aged, but the warmth that emanated from them was hard to deny. She studied me closely, probably looking for any disparities between myself and Rachel. Save for my eyes she found none, noting we were identical in every other aspect. "What are we going to do about your identity, though?" "I can't exactly be your daughter now, can I?" I said jokingly. "Actually," Cynthia said, pulling away to look at her phone, "Some people I've helped consult for owe me a favor or two. They could get you a new identity as Rachel's twin." Rachel came up and hugged me around the waist. "What should we call her now, mom? Taylor? Brittany? I could go on." She was definitely getting a strange sort of pleasure out of this whole incident. "No, no," Cynthia countered, "it should be something close to Logan so that you're more likely to respond to it." She browsed her phone, looking through the lists of names until she stopped on one. "How about Lauren?" "Lauren Rivers sounds nice," Rachel said. "Meet my twin, Lauren. Rachel and Lauren. Lauren and Rachel." The name obviously pleased her because she gave a thumbs up and joined her mom at the table. "Wait," I said, taking a seat beside Rachel, "we don't even know if this transformation is permanent. Maybe I'll switch back tomorrow or something like that." I was silently praying I was right. "That could be true," Cynthia countered, "but we don't know that for sure. If anything it would be safest if we had an identity and story in place for you if anybody asks. And people will be curious as to how Rachel suddenly became an identical twin." I could see her point. People who knew them would be flabbergasted by my appearance, and would ask why they had never seen nor heard of me before now. Having a solid backstory in place would be the best method of mitigating questions and suspicion. "How about we say I didn't want to move so you let me stay with your family in Connecticut and now I'm moving out here because I transferred to ASU." It might be flimsy, but it was the only thing I could think of on the spot. "That's a good place to start," Cynthia said. "I'll call those guys and see if they can get some paperwork for you started." Quickly she dialed a number on her phone and left the table to step into her office. Next to me Rachel was grinning from ear to ear. Clearly she was enjoying the situation, strange as it was. I returned her smile with a middle finger and got up to go into the backyard. The sun was out so I knew I would their dog, Luna, running around. As soon as I crossed the threshold into the morning air I was set upon by a sleek black and grey spotted Italian greyhound. While usually slim, Luna was quite hearty due to her normal greyhound blood, being roughly fifty pounds or so. Needless to say, in my new body I wasn't prepared for her to pounce on me. She knocked me against the back of the house and covered me in slobbery kisses. I don't even think she was fooled for a second when Rachel stepped out and stood next to me. "Down, Luna," I stammered between fits of feminine giggling. Usually she would continue to lick me because she never responded to anyone other than Nicky, but to my surprise she listened. With a swift movement she was sitting on the pavement and looking up at us expectantly. I knew now to give Luna a treat for obeying, as Nicky would do, though I didn't have one on me. Thankfully, I was saved by Rachel who produced one in her hand and tossed it high into the air for Luna to catch. After she caught it and greedily devoured it Luna ran off to the far corner of the yard to bark at the neighbor's dog. We played with Luna for a bit before heading back inside and heading up to Rachel's room. Before we would have probably ended up in bed making out and cuddling, though now that would no longer be possible. We settled for talking and watching reruns of an old tv show on her computer while lying on either side of the bed. "We can convert the guest bedroom into your room," she said over the sound of the show. "That is, unless you want to share a room and wear matching outfits and do everything together." I responded to her humor by trying to hit her with her one of her pillows. "Twins have pillow fights, right? Here's our first," I said while repeatedly swinging the case at her, though she was blocking most of them with her arms. If I was in my original body I could keep swinging for ages, but now I tired much more quickly. After just a few more swings my arms gave out and I dropped the pillow onto the bed. "How do you get anything done with these weak arms?" I asked Rachel. "I'll show you," she replied and whipped the pillow she was leaning on out from behind her and smacked me right in the face. "You just have to wait for the right opportunity." And then she sprung on top of me and brought it down some more with big, exaggerated motions like she was battling her mortal foe. When she tired I took the opportunity to roll her off me and grabbed the pillow I had dropped. Then we launched into an all out war, jumping and swinging and running all around the room. We were laughing and having fun as sisters for the first time, and I thought at that moment that being this way might not be so bad. Rachel and her family had treated me like a son when I started dating her, and now I guess, I was their daughter. But what about my own family back in Colorado? I hadn't even thought of them since the whole thing began that morning. What was I supposed to tell them when they called me next? "Sorry, I somehow woke up as Rachel's twin and now I'm part of their family. Bye." Should I call them and say that Logan disappeared and never speak to them again? No, being honest seemed like the best option. I resolved that the next moment I was given I would video call them and explain everything. Cynthia picked that moment to save me from my thoughts when she knocked twice on the door and came in. "Everything is proceeding smoothly with the guys." Looking straight at me, she said, "in approximately twenty days you will be our daughter, Lauren Sophia Rivers. I guess I should say welcome to the family." # The ringing tone on the computer sounded like a siren in my ears, making me want to get as far away from it as possible. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case. Rather, with Rachel and Cyn-I mean mom-at my side, I was going to call my biological mother and tell her the news. I only hoped my father wouldn't be on the call, either, for I don't think I could face him in my state. After two more rings my mother, Judy, came into view on the screen. Behind her I could make out her office and our cat, Macadamia, sleeping on the chair. It was a cute picture, and one I was familiar with, but now I just felt sick to my stomach. I might never see my house in person again, I thought, though I was committed to keeping a relationship with my family if I could. Mostly, I was just afraid they'd label me and Rachel's parents crazy and never have anything to do with them again. "Hi Rachel," she said before seeing my sister sitting next to me. "There must be something wrong with the connection. Hold on." With that, she tried clicking a few keys and checking her screen thinking the two of us together was a simple technical error, but after a few moments I think she realized her error. "How are there two of you?" "Mrs. Mills. Judy," my new mom began saying, "something happened to your son and we have to let you know." Suddenly, her confused look became one of worry. "What's happened to Logan? Where is he?" I took that opportunity to introduce myself to her. "Hi mom, it's me Logan." She balked at that. I knew this would happen, because my mother was an incredibly analytical person. She owned and managed a small law firm that did work for small to mid-level companies. There would be now way she would actually believe something like this could happen. But I had to try to convince her, anyway. "It really is me, mom," I said, searching my brain for some fact that only she and Logan would know. Just then, I came up with the memory to tell her. "When I was seven, I dropped your succulent out my window and told you it was Matt that did it." That would get to her, I thought. There was a hint of recognition in her face at my comment, but she hid it quickly. "Matt could have told you that, himself. That explains nothing." Now she was going to end the call and I'd probably never see or talk to her again. "When I was six you caught me looking in your closet for clothes to wear. You told me never to act on that impulse again, which I listened to." Something like that had remained between me and her, and she couldn't deny it. I just hoped she'd finally understand. "That really is you, Logan," she sat back in her chair and Macadamia meowed. "When did this happen? How did it happen?" Those were questions we didn't have the answers to, but I tried my best to reassure her nothing was wrong. "We don't know. I woke up this way this morning. It seems I'm now Rachel's biological twin." The tears were coming to my eyes again. I knew it had nothing to do with my actions or thoughts, but I couldn't shake the thought that I had brought this on myself. "Oh, honey. We'll find a way to fix this. There has to be a way." She was problem solving again. When she didn't know what to say she would start spouting out false reassurances and solutions. It usually never helped, though I suspected it made her feel better. "There might not be a way to fix this," Cynthia cut in. "For that reason, I went ahead and called in a favor to some people I know. They're making her a new identity-Lauren Sophia Rivers." Then, she looked rather hesitant to continue speaking. "Are you saying my son is now your daughter? What am I supposed to tell my husband and Logan's brother? The rest of his family?" I thought she would start screaming, but then she just stopped. "My son is gone." I couldn't stand to lose her. "Mom, tell dad and Matt. Have them call me and I'll tell them everything. It's still me inside, personality and all, but I can't be Logan Mills anymore. At least, not in name." That seemed to calm her somewhat. "What do we do about Logan?" she asked Cynthia. "People can't just disappear without a trail of questions." She was absolutely right. There was probably no way of wrapping the identity situation up smoothly, especially as Logan had effectively vanished. That almost made pronouncing him deceased more problematic than just ignoring it altogether. Strange, I thought of Logan and Lauren as two separate people just then. It might have been that whatever magic that was responsible for my change was also slowly altering my perception. I just hoped I would never forget my family back home. "I suggest," Cynthia said, "we table talk of this for now and I'll contact the guys and see what can be done." Like my mother, Cynthia was also thinking logically. "Yes. That would probably be best." Just then a banging sound came from my mother's end and her face returned to showing concern and worry. "That must be your father," she said while getting up from her chair. "I'm not ready to let him know yet, so this is goodbye. Call me tomorrow, though when you can." And just like that, the call ended and the screen went black. I could understand her not wanting my father to know yet. I didn't even want him to know yet. The impulse to call my brother flashed through me like a bolt of lightning, there and then gone. "How's about the two of you help me whip up some dinner for when your father gets home?" Cynthia, mom, said. She rose from the table and reached into a cupboard and produced a large skillet. Though awkward at first, I think having us help her with dinner was her way of bonding us as sisters and her bonding with us as a mother. Rachel had told me before that she had grown somewhat distant with her parents over the years, in no small part due to her rebelliousness. I think, in gaining another daughter mom could grow closer to Rachel as well. It was a long process, but we finally managed to put together a meal of chicken alfredo and roasted vegetables and get it on the table just as Nicky and Mr. Rivers, I guess dad now, walked through the garage door. "The men have returned from the fields," Nicky said with a huge grin as he came into the kitchen. "And the women have prepared a fabulous meal." Mr. Rivers, Nathaniel or dad, playfully slapped him on the back of the head as he followed behind Nicky. He was a tall, burly man who worked for a construction company in Phoenix. His full head of salt and pepper hair, the original color chocolate brown, marked his age, but his blue eyes were youthful and bright. To say he was surprised to see another girl resembling his daughter in the kitchen was an understatement, because he when he did he dropped his thermos and favorite mug, which shattered on the floor. Nicky's grin grew wider. "Dear," mom began, grabbing a towel and dropping it at his feet, "there's someone we'd like you to meet." While rubbing the spilled coffee with her foot she motioned for me to come over and introduce myself. I did as I was told, bashfully introducing myself as Lauren Sophia Rivers, formerly Logan Mills. Mom gripped me about the shoulders and hugged me to her. It was comforting, as I already thought of her as a second mother, but now she was so much more. Mr. Rivers, dad, was clearly at a loss for words. He made no move to hug me or even acknowledge me, which I admit hurt, and instead headed to the table. "This dinner looks great, honey." Within seconds he was digging into the chicken alfredo. The rest of us followed suit and joined him at the table. Mom sat opposite him at the other end, Nicky sat to his right, Rachel to his left and I sat next to her. We ate in silence, which was unusual since Nicky would normally go on about his day or tell a humorous story to get us all laughing. My brother was just that kind of guy, I thought as I picked at the food which mom had served me. Dad ate quickly and was gone from the table just as fast. The sound of the TV came from the living room, so we knew he was in his favorite recliner for the night. I couldn't blame him for processing the way he did. He would come around, eventually. With dad gone we began to talk over our food. Nicky launched into a story about one of his friends, complete with impressions and irreverent dialogue, and we laughed. It felt like a weight had been lifted to laugh as I did then, without fear or worry of the future. What mattered was the food before me and the family I was sharing it with. When we had eaten and were done Nicky and I cleaned the table and put away the leftovers while Rachel went outside with mom to talk while she smoked a cigarette. "Hey," he stopped me from joining them, "I know this whole thing has been pretty crazy for you. I can't even begin to understand it, but I just want you to know I'm here if you need to talk." "Thanks, Nicky," I responded. "You know, I might like having you as a brother after all." "Oh, is that it?" he joked and pulled me into a mock noogie before giving me a gentle hug. "Since this had to happen, I'm glad it was you." With nothing else to say the two of us joined Rachel and mom in the backyard where we chatted some more. Luna lay sound asleep under the table. Before I would join mom in smoking, having started myself when I was 18, though now with a clean body I resolved myself to quitting. Or, in this case, not even starting. Eventually, we called it a night and went back inside to watch some tv. As he did at dinner dad didn't move a muscle, but rather kept his gaze glued to the screen and the crime drama on it. None of us wanted to argue with him over changing the channel so we sat through it with him until it ended. "I think it's time we got back to the apartment. Bonzo hasn't eaten since this morning," Rachel said. She fed our cat in the morning and I fed him at night. With that, she gave mom a long hug and tried to do the same with dad, though he was still unresponsive. I followed suit and gave mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek, but didn't approach dad. He needed time to himself. Nicky got up with us and gave us quick embraces before heading for his room upstairs. Bonzo was meowing at the door when he heard us coming. I quickly pulled a can of wet food from the cabinet and fed him half. With him happily munching away I collapsed into the couch next to Rachel and watched more TV with her. I began reaching for her again to pull her into me, but I stopped myself because she wouldn't feel comfortable with it anymore. It was so frustrating I had to get away. I left Rachel and went to my computer in the bedroom. With all that had happened earlier I had forgotten about my job search. I went to apply to a posting only to realize I could now no longer prove my identity as Logan Mills. That, and my degree from ASU was now worthless. Would the people mom contacted provide me with a degree and transcripts? I hoped so, but I didn't exactly know what she had asked of them all, so I tried to put it out of my mind. With nothing to do other than surf the web and watch videos I decided to go to bed. Getting ready as a girl was a new, albeit, not wholly different experience for me. Everything from brushing my teeth to changing into night clothes were the same except for remembering to take off my makeup with a wipe and trying to loose my breasts from their confinement. I was determined to do it the proper way by reaching around my back, though I was not yet acclimated to my new body. Someone walking in then would find a funny sight of a girl looking like a chicken while trying to reach behind herself to unhook a bra that by that point had lost control of the breasts it was meant to contain. Finally, however, I managed it and threw it into my drawer of boxers and plain shirts. Then, I turned off the lights and slid into bed. Again, the thought of it all being one long and strange dream entered my mind, and I entertained it for as long as it took me to drift off to sleep. # My normal alarm came ringing from the speakers of my phone a short distance away. I fumbled around for the device near my head while it kept ringing and could not find it. Then it dawned on me that I had left it in the back pocket of my jeans when I took them off the night before. With that I rolled out of bed and practically crawled along the carpet like a snake until I came to the pants and the terrible ringing. It only occurred to me after I had done all that that Rachel wasn't sleeping beside me. I guess I had expected her to even though we were now no longer dating, but I knew that wasn't the case. Where I found her was on the couch in the main room, curled up with a blanket over her and Bonzo laying between her legs. She must have slept on the couch when she saw I had taken the bed. I felt bad that she had done that, and I understood that it was her decision to do so. We'd have to talk about sleeping arrangements later. I poured my bowl of cereal and fed Bonzo so he wouldn't bother Rachel later on, and went to my computer. Despite not being able to legally get work I still browsed the job boards in the hopes of finding some postings to save for later after my paperwork had come in. I interspersed the search with random videos on Youtube. Slowly the hours ticked by until the blazing heat of Summer in Arizona had me begging to turn the air conditioning up. Rachel woke up and went to the bathroom before coming in, sleepy-eyed, to change and go to her last week of classes. When she did, however, she froze, clearly thinking it imprudent to undress in front of me. Rather, she went to gather her clothes and take them into the bathroom, but I stopped her. "You know, it would be fine to change in front of me. We are biologically identical now." To emphasize my point I began to pull my shirt up, though she was quick to avert her eyes. "Please, I'm not comfortable yet with the idea of you seeing me like this. If you're going to be my sister then give me some privacy." I had to admit she had a point. Though our relationship was unique, sisters usually didn't expose themselves to one another. So I rose from my chair and exited the room, giving her the moment to change and prepare for the day. The blanket that Rachel had slept with was still splayed out on the couch, waiting for me to curl up and play some games. Rachel emerged from the room dressed in a tank top, a pair of short denim cutoffs, and a silver crescent necklace. She had applied light moisturizing foundation and some mascara to complete her look for the day. "I'm off," she said and grabbed her book bag. "Maybe go to the gym and get out some today. It doesn't suit you to remain inside." "Maybe I should accompany you to school and tour the campus," I responded. I had a feeling I'd be going back to school to get a degree in my name if I wanted a job and career. "That, actually, might be a good idea," Rachel said, dropping her bag next to the door. "Go and get in some clothes and we can do your makeup. But be quick about it. I have class in an hour." I was quick to rush into the bedroom and begin throwing off my night shirt. "We can take my car and be there in five minutes." The clothes from yesterday were still gathered together in a pile near the bed so I donned them along with the bra and a pair of panties I took from Rachel's drawer. "I'm ready," I said when I had dressed. Rachel came in and baulked. "It's much too hot for jeans. Here," and she threw a pair of black cutoffs at me, "these will be much better. I'll be in the bathroom." The jeans came off and the shorts came on. Then I joined Rachel in the bathroom to repeat the process we had done yesterday. She applied the foundation and mascara, and then to my surprise, applied a daring red lipstick to my lips. After she applied some dark red eye shadow to my mismatched eyes and had me look in the mirror. "Why the lipstick? And the smoky eyes" I asked, feeling the quickly drying substance with my tongue. "Because," she began, "I have to set you apart from me somehow. It wouldn't seem natural if we were too much alike." "So you made me a goth?" I responded dryly, tempted to smudge lipstick and eye shadow. "Just humor me for today, and we can change your look if you want later. Who knows, you might come to like this." I wasn't in the mood to argue with her this early in the morning, or at all for that matter. In actuality, the look was growing on me the more I studied myself in the mirror. And the more I looked at it the more I thought it looked grungy rather than gothic, which served to waylay some of my concern. "Alright, let's get going." The two of us walked out and jumped into my waiting car. A quick drive followed and we found a convenient spot out of the sun about a block from the main bulk of the campus. People were already staring at us as we emerged from the vehicle with our bags in hand, and most of them were college boys with longing gazes. I instinctively tried to clutch Rachel in my anxiety, but my sister shrugged me off. "I can't do this. I can't have all these people looking at me without going into a panic attack." There had been a brief bit of leering from men the day before, though I could handle that being in the car. "You're a pretty young girl," Rachel responded rather casually. "Plus we're twins walking together. Of course men would be staring at you. Music helps, right?" She pulled a pair of earbuds from her pocket and handed them to me. "Just listen to your emo playlist and go get some coffee at the commons." Music had always been calming to me. From more contemporary music to classic rock my interests were rather eclectic. Above all genres, though, was mid 2000s emo music like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and others. It was whiny and melodramatic, but just so catchy that I fell in love the first time I listened. "Do you want anything?" "Just an iced coffee, please. I'll be done with class in a few hours, so wait until then." She pulled me along with her and we walked through the main drag of campus in the blistering sun. While many buildings were fairly modern, their natural earthy colors robbed them of their spectacle and gave the whole campus a washed out, bland feel. I was glad when I graduated and could get away, and now I found myself back there. More than a few times someone whistled at us or tried to proposition us, and as disgusted with myself as I felt I couldn't bring myself to speak up. Luckily, Rachel handled them fairly well, turning them down with a demure smile and flip of her hair, and kept us on the most straightforward path to her building. One man wouldn't take no for an answer, however, and followed us for a full block before giving up and calling us bitches. While I was nearly shaking from the incident Rachel showed no change in her appearance. Women are amazing, I thought to myself as we continued walking. Had I been like that piece of crap when I was still a boy? Not since I had begun dating Rachel, but I realized I had pursued women to a degree like that before. Maybe this is my punishment, I mused. The building, one of the older ones that had yet to be remodeled after decades of use, came into view and we strode up to it swiftly. I made motion to follow my sister into the building, but she stopped me from doing so. "No farther, Lauren. I'm not yet ready to have my class friends meet my newly appearing twin so go amuse yourself and I'll meet you at the commons later." She turned and walked through the entrance, then, without me even speaking a word. What could I do other than as she asked? I briefly entertained the notion of meeting with my old professors, though I realized none would recognize me. So much for that. Another idea of walking north to A Mountain came over me, and I had to admit getting some exercise would do me well, but I wasn't yet prepared for walking the streets by myself yet. I decided the best course of action would be to just head back the way I came. With so many classes in session at the moment the walkways were much less crowded, which I found major relief in. Less people than before paid attention to me as I passed, and the boys who tried anything gave up rather quickly. The first few times were awkward, with me acting almost like a deer caught in headlights, though the next few were better. That being said, the attention I received stirred something in me which I had never thought would happen in my life -- arousal. Was I becoming gay? No, I was a girl now so I was remaining straight, but the object of that attention was now a man rather than a woman. But was I still attracted to women, too? I had to give myself a test to find out. As I passed people I focused on their bodies and let my mind wander. What I found was at least somewhat relieving -- both men and women caught my fancy, with dirty thoughts abound, though I noticed my mind wandered towards males more. Even more shocking to me were the sensations of dampness in my crotch and hardening of my nipples against my bra. Eventually, I made it to a bathroom and ducked inside to have a moment to catch my breath and calm my aroused state. It was empty save for a single girl in the farthest stall, so I took the one closest to the door and hunkered down. Minutes passed before I felt the assaulting sensations subside enough to head back out. By that time the lone girl had left and I was alone in the bathroom. It was such a strange feeling to be in a women's restroom when just months before I had been using the men's restroom next door. I took another moment to carefully check myself in the mirror, and was tempted to just wash all the makeup off and go back home. That would be rude to Rachel, however, and I knew I'd have to get used to my new body eventually. So with all the courage of a drunken idiot I marched out of the bathroom. The sun beat down mercilessly on my pale flesh, making me picture a grape slowly turning to a raisin. I wanted to reach the commons soon and get a cold drink. Luckily for me, it was just another block ahead of my current location. As I went by the fitness complex I began to wonder what I would look like in athletic wear. Certainly I already had a good picture of my appearance from seeing Rachel donning the look occasionally when we tried exercising to lose some weight. It was incredibly flattering to her figure, so I knew I would look the same way. Of course, I found myself no longer attracted to Rachel physically as I now possessed the same body, and that made me somewhat sad, but I loved her just as much as I ever had. My thoughts carried me to the commons and the cool respite of air conditioning. Directly in front of me the Starbucks was calling like a siren, so I slipped in and entered the line. A grande iced coffee sounded heavenly to me, though I considered the frappuccino due to not wanting to be too much like Rachel. I was so unaware of things that I barely noticed the finger lightly my shoulder. "What are you doing here, Rachel? I thought you had class now." The voice was high and sweet, unmistakably feminine, and unmistakably thinking me her friend. I turned to face her and take in her features. She was cute, in a girl- next-door type of way, with long honey blonde hair, crystalline blue eyes, and high cheekbones. Even as I was I felt a faint stirring inside me for this girl. In that moment I stared into her eyes she came to the realization I wasn't who I appeared to be, evidenced by the look of confusion on her pretty features. "Wait, you're not Rachel. I must have been mistaken." As she was beginning to turn away I felt compelled to stop her. "No, I'm her twin sister, Lauren. You must be a friend of hers." "Twin?" she said, baffled. "Rachel's never talked about having a sister before, let alone an identical twin. My name's Anna, by the way." I was going to like this Anna. I could already tell. "Nice to meet you. I just moved here from Connecticut where I lived with our grandma since Rachel left. Next semester I'm going to start here, so I thought I'd tour the campus a bit early." Anna's slightly befuddled look slowly turned to one of joy. "Well, then, how about I show you around while Rachel is in class. I know some interesting places to hang around here." She pointed me around to show me that we had reached the front of the line. I took the opportunity to order one grande iced coffee and asked if they could make another in two hours for Rachel. With a little charm the cashier was happy to fulfill my request. Then I waited for my drink while Anna got hers. "Do you do that often?" she asked me once we had our drinks in hand. "Do what?" I responded, already having an idea of what she meant. But I couldn't bear to say it. "Flirting with boys to get things," she cooed mockingly. "I'd say you're giving girls a bad name." Her tone, though, indicated she was just joking. "Believe it or not, but that was the first time." I deigned to let her know that up until the day before I had been a man. "Sure," she said, completely unconvinced. "Let's go. I want to show you the commons before we head back outside into that oppressive heat." Anna began walking down the hall towards the nearest study area. I did my best to take it all in as if it were the first time I had seen it. Anna seemed so enthusiastic as an unofficial tour guide that I felt it best to match her level. The best thing was the conversation we had as we walked up and down hallways, peeked into meeting rooms, and crossed the small pathway to the library. A bastion of learning, the library was remarkable in that it was partly subterranean, with a large grassy courtyard over top. In the center of the courtyard there was an oddly shaped skylight that the student body had dubbed the 'Nipple of Knowledge', which also served as a meeting area for events. "I'd take you in, but it's just a boring old library. There's really nothing to see." Anna moved on to another building and pulled me along. "Where are we going next?" I inquired, knowing already that we were heading for the design corridor. I spent a good deal of time there in my studies, so I knew the buildings inside and out. For some reason, I had a feeling that we weren't going to be touring the campus for much longer. "There's a place I want to take you," she responded with a sly wink. She led me down a walkway that appeared to be going into one of the building basements, but going through it took us out into a quaint little grassy area. This place, snuggled on the inside of one of the photo labs, was called the 'Secret Garden', and it was a place of undisguised secrecy. Everyone knew about it and used it for events, including many fraternities and sororities in their initiation rituals. At the moment, no one was there so we had the fireplace area all to ourselves. "Lauren," Anna said softly and looked into my eyes. "There's something I've been thinking about since we started talking a little while ago." Her hands were shifting on her lap and she looked anxious and wiry, like she was going to run at any moment. "What is it, Anna?" I asked. My brain knew what was coming and it told me to stop and push her away before anything occurred, but my body spoke volumes about how much it wanted her in that moment. Pouncing like a lion on its prey, she pressed into my body with hers and smothered my lips with her perfectly shaped mouth. Our tongues intertwined and fought for supremacy in a dance, our chests heaved against each other and sent waves of pleasure through my nipples, and our hands explored the other person's body. Luckily, no one was coming up to study or use the space because I nearly screamed when Anna's hand slipped into my shorts and her fingers pressed into my clitoris through my underwear. It was fantastic, but all so wrong. I shouldn't have been doing that with Rachel's friend, let alone someone I had only just met. So summoning my courage, against my base instincts, I pushed her away and held her at arm's length. "I shouldn't have done that. We shouldn't have done that." I was quickly becoming frantic and scared that Rachel would find out and have reason to hate me. My breathing became heavy and labored, and the heat that was already baking me became unbearable. "Hey," Anna soothed, taking me in her arms and rubbing a delicate hand through my rosy ringlets. "It's ok. No one was around to see us if that's what you're worried about. Plus, it's a college campus so people are pretty liberal." My anxiety turned to irritation and outright anger. "That isn't the case at all." I had a feeling that what I was about to say would lose me the friend that I had just made. "You only kissed me because I look like Rachel, right? You used me to feel what it would be like with her because she rebuffed your advances." I didn't even consider in that moment that I also felt like I was cheating on Rachel. Anna appeared stricken, but merely nodded her head in shame. "It's true. I've lusted after your sister since I first met her and harbored my feelings in secret until last year." Tears were coming to her eyes and I almost immediately felt bad for snapping at her. "When I told her I was full of hope, but then she turned me down, politely of course, and I fell into despair. I still hung out with her as a friend, but things couldn't and wouldn't ever be the same between us. That's why with you I was hoping to avoid that and feel her embrace, if it wasn't actually her. I'm sorry for my actions." She rose to her feet and begin to leave me there, ashamed at her deceitful actions, and I was almost prepared to let her go. But part of me liked it, and more importantly I liked her in the short time we spent together. I would have been fine with it if she hadn't used me, and that hurt immensely, but like my new beginning as Lauren, maybe I could grace her with a second chance. "Anna," I called her, "stay." "What is it?" She said woefully. "I should be mad at you for deceiving me, and I am, but I'd like to give you a second chance. Maybe we could start as friends and go from there." I joined her on the lawn and took her hands in mine. "That'd be nice," she said, giving my fingers a slight squeeze. "How about I give you the rest of the tour and we can meet up with your sister after?" "I'd like that." I surprised myself by giving her a slight peck on the cheek and keeping hold of her soft hands. "Let's go." We left the secret garden with our fingers intertwined. The rest of the tour was insignificant, for my interests were almost totally centered on Anna. To my credit it appeared that she was focused on me as well. I had neglected to confirm it, but I also was somewhat nervous about being in a same-sex relationship in Arizona. I wouldn't think it weird or different at all in a state like California, but here most of the state was deeply red and even being in a liberal enclave like we were I was still scared. I couldn't stay cooped up for long with Rachel, and now Anna, helping me out. Both were vivacious and more outgoing than was reasonable, so I knew I was in good hands. Anna led me along and we talked some more. She even stopped and introduced me to some of her friends in the Art building. They were Scott, Naomi, and Charlie and they were pleasant and engaging. I would be glad to know them when I started next school with Rachel, and maybe I could count on them as future friends. They certainly seemed open to the idea of adding another to their artsy group, not that I was the kind of person who could hold up a conversation on the Arts, but that would change. After saying goodbye to them we walked back to the commons and picked up Rachel's iced coffee just as the barista called out my name. It was the same boy I had ordered them from earlier. "Thanks," I said and gave him a sly wink. "No problem," he managed to get out as we walked out of the store. "I don't know if you noticed it, but you had his little member going," Anna laughed once we were on our way to Rachel. "I was afraid the kid would lose it right there if you said anything else." My cheeks were flushed red. I knew I was doing it, and I liked it. Was I turning into an attention whore, I wondered to myself while we walked to intercept Rachel. I still held Anna's hand with my free one, caressing it and savoring the contact. Brief glances at her lovely face showed the pure bliss radiating from her, which in turn had an effect on me. Halfway up Palm walk we saw Rachel coming toward us, so I disengaged from Anna and raced up ahead to meet her. "Hey, sis. Got your coffee." She graciously accepted the chilled beverage and took a long drink from it before speaking. "I see you've met Anna." She waved at her friend who joined us under the shade of a towering palm tree. "Your sister is pretty cool," Anna almost gushed. "I was just giving her the nickel and dime tour of our bland little campus." "Thanks," Rachel said through a mouthful of cold coffee. "Want to go get some lunch on Mill? We could try that new sandwich shop that just opened." The one she was talking about had become a favorite of mine since it had opened three months prior, but I played into the act and nodded my approval. On the way over, I could tell Rachel knew something was up between Anna and I, but she was dutifully holding it back and acting as if we were two newly introduced acquaintances. Bless her heart. Though I knew she'd be pressing me for information once Anna had left us. The sandwich was a delectable combination of pastrami, melted provolone, pesto, and the works. The three of us sat in the little corner shop on Mill and devoured our meals with barely any conversation. When the sandwiches had been consumed and we were working on the last bits of our sodas, we left the store to wander up towards A Mountain. "I was thinking of having a little party at my apartment this weekend," Anna said with a mischievous little grin directed at me. "I would love it if you two could come. It would be great exposure for Lauren before she starts here in the Fall." "Yeah, that sounds good," Rachel responded, completely missing the eye play between Anna and I. "Lauren?" "Sure. That sounds like a lot of fun. Will the friends you introduced me to today be there?" I made a mental note to bone up on my art knowledge before then. "Yes, I plan to invite them. So all in all, you'll already know more than half the people there," she said giddily. I could tell that what Anna would be looking forward to was me showing up in some skimpy little thing. She was already undressing me with her eyes and I had to admit it was a major turn on. That being said, I did my best to control myself while Rachel was with us, lest she have some less than kind words for the two of us. "Great," Anna said, giving the two of us quick hugs. "Saturday at 6:30. Wear something appropriate." And with that she turned the corner and headed off in the direction of campus. "What does she mean by 'appropriate'?" I asked in mock confusion. "It means we have some shopping to do, sis," Rachel said with a raised eyebrow. "Let's get back to your car and hit the mall." # Several hours of shopping had led me to purchasing a hot number for Anna's party. It was on the conservative side of skimpy, but it did wonders for my figure. A deep maroon color skirt that hugged my thighs and matching three inch heels complimented an onyx colored sleeveless crop top. Light makeup and hoop earrings completed the look of a respectably trampy college girl. Rachel wore the same thing, only in green to complement my outfit. It was a twin thing, I came to understand. The door opened to reveal a random guy who looked to be in his mid twenties with sandy brown hair and equally light brown eyes. "Twins," he grinned sleazily, his eyes running up and down our bodies with barely disguised lust. He made no motion to step aside and let us in until Anna came to the door and punched him in the arm. "Don't mind my cousin, Bryce," she said, and pushed him aside. "Come on in. There's drinks and snacks and plenty of people to mingle with." She ushered us inside like a welcoming hostess. Rachel immediately went off to join a small group of coeds in a lively conversation, so that left me alone with Anna and her cousin. "You want to give me another tour?" I asked. "I'd love to," Anna replied with beaming eyes. "Bryce, be a good boy and keep answering the door for guests. I will be preoccupied for a while." Together we walked over to the drink table and Anna poured me a tantalizing gin and tonic with lime. I took one sip and then she began showing me the kitchen. I learned she and Bryce shared the apartment by the will of their mothers, who were sisters. She was tough on the guy, but loved him even if he was a literal sleazebag. Her words. The living room was filled with people dancing and mingling, and drinking on top of it while the television streamed a techno playlist. While my taste in music was varied, techno had never been one of those genres. A quick look in the shared bathroom showed a sink littered with styling products and makeup, bottles of cologne and aftershave, and multi colored towels spread about the tiled floor. It was reassuring to know they weren't the types to clean unnecessarily for guests. We peeked into Bryce's room before he came up and slammed the door shut, so I couldn't get a very good look. All throughout that time I had been eagerly sipping at my drink, and I was ashamed to say I was already feeling a bit tipsy by the end of it. Before we went to her room I had her refill my cup and practically downed that in two big gulps. I was definitely drunk at that point, and I knew just what I wanted. Anna's room was surprisingly tame upon first inspection. Posters and prints of classical art adorned the walls, and the bed was a standard twin with a navy blue bedspread. There were plenty of clothes scattered about the floor and her computer desk, however, which I found rather cute. To my surprise she had a large desktop computer and monitor, which had me thinking she might be a gamer. If that was the case then we'd get along famously. "I love your room," I gushed while throwing my empty cup at her trash can and missing. Even though I was the one to say we should go slowly, I couldn't help myself from caressing her shoulders. "Do you have girls in here often?" "Only one, babe," she replied and nuzzled into my neck. Her ministrations were tender, her soft lips covered my skin with electrifying little kisses, and her hands explored my jutting breasts. I was practically moaning already. She was a sensational lover with how she was handling me. As much as I was enjoying feeling her supple lips on my skin, I knew good sex would require giving as well as taking. So I guided her back to the bed and pushed her on it. It was my turn to get her wet and wanting. My equally luscious lips met hers and our tongues resumed their dance from the middle of the week. Slowly I shifted my hands behind her to find the zipper on her back and work it down to her plush bottom. All the while our tongues fought each other for supremacy in our intertwined mouths. Suddenly I broke the connection of our lips and began to work my down her neck, peppering it with soft kisses, until I reached the stiff peaks that were her nipples. I caressed each one in my mouth, noting the sensual moans escaping from Anna's mouth, before continuing my descent towards her waiting sex. The body was one whole erogenous zone to be handled and manipulated, I thought with satisfaction as my lover contorted with each kiss placed on her body. As I reached her vagina I briefly felt the instinctive motion to grip my waiting erection only to realize I was in the body of a woman as well. I had never been averse to performing oral sex on Rachel, so it wasn't a stretch to lean in and stroke her hungry sex with my tongue. Rhythmically I worked it to her obvious pleasure while my fingers reached up to play with her erect nipples. She was moaning and contorting with every pinch and sweep until I thought she would begin screaming in ecstasy and climax, but she kept on holding out and made me work her more. Her fingers found their way into my tight ringlets and began running through them. I had the briefest of thoughts that I was a woman pleasuring a man and he was holding my head down on him before he came. Though I tried to banish it from my mind I was unable to maintain my concentration on Anna. With a startling disconnect I fell back off the bed and landed on the floor. "Why did you stop?" Anna whined, clearly not happy to have had our session cut short. "You were so good. And I was so close to cumming." "I can't do it," I lied. "It still feels like you're imagining me as Rachel and I just can't do it that way. We need to move slower and get to know each other first. Then we can try again." I could finish her off right then and there, but it was true that I wanted to get to know her better first. "Come on," she said and spread her legs more. "You had me so close. We're perfect together. Slide on up and get nasty with that magnificent tongue of yours." Anna was a hard girl to pass up, with her creamy skin and tight physique, but I held firm. "I'm sorry, but I can't do this yet. However, I like you and want this to continue, so just humor me a little." I rose from the floor and got back on the bed and laid down next to her. Gently I placed a kiss on her lips and snuggled into her. The look of anger at being left unfulfilled flashed across Anna's face, as I could understand, and I thought she might take it out on me. But then her frustration subsided and her arms wrapped around me tightly and pulled me into her. "I forgive you. But you better dress this sexy for our date next weekend," she winked at me. "We'll just have to cuddle until you're ready, then." "I would love that," I cooed and kissed her. "Shouldn't we get back out there, now? You're the host after all." "Bryce is also hosting, so just leave it to him for a bit. I'm not done with you yet," she said while her hands roamed over my body. We kissed and cuddled for the next thirty minutes, just enjoying the closeness and warmth of each other's bodies. I could have let our session go on for hours, though as the hostess of the party Anna shouldn't have been away for long. Regretfully, we separated and my lover donned her dress, slowly for my benefit, and we reintegrated into the festivities. Immediately, I was set upon by my sister and a few of her friends. "You two were gone for an awfully long time," Rachel said with a wicked little grin. "So how was it? Being with a woman for the first time. Or anyone for the first time." Her friends all gasped and giggled amongst themselves like little schoolgirls. Even though I had a feeling she was just trying to engage in sisterly ribbing, I couldn't help but feel embarrassed and offended by her remark. That she would call me out in her group of friends when she could have waited until we were back in our apartment to mention it had me fuming. So I did what came to me on an impulse; I slapped her across the face. I instantly regretted my actions, and I hoped she would forgive me, but the eyes that descended upon me in that moment were too much to bear. Faster than anyone could react, I ran past the girls, past Anna and Bryce, and out the door. My purse, which had my keys and my phone was still at the party, so I was without the means to drive back to the apartment or call someone for a ride. I didn't care, though, I just wanted to be away from Rachel then. Not because I was angry at her for her comments, but for my unwarranted response. It sickened me that I would hit her like some fragile-minded bitch for such a comment. I hated myself and I wouldn't put it past her to hate me for it, too. It was still hot out despite being nearly midnight, which was fortuitous as I wasn't made to shiver in my skirt and heels. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to get home from Anna's and without my phone I couldn't look up a map. So I did what seemed the most feasible in that moment; I picked a direction and began walking that way. With little to no sense of knowledge of my whereabouts, as Rachel had done the driving since my change, I relied on my sense of intuition to keep me moving. Three blocks passed by before I emerged out onto a major North/South. I knew at least that we had gone south from the apartment so I could walk that way, but another idea came to me. Just a bit farther south, at least I hoped, was Rachel's family's home, and by extension my family now. Even though I felt terrible for slapping my sister I was in no mood to see her, and thought it best to separate for the night, so I turned left and continued heading south down the road. Streetlights were sparse down the stretch of pavement, making me rely on the lights of passing cars to see what lay ahead of me. Luckily, there was no person for as far as I could see, which must have been all the way to the freeway entrance, and that kept my anxiety low. However, I had the displeasure of being honked and leered at by more than a few passing males as I walked. None stopped to give me any further trouble after they passed me by, which I could deal with. I had to have been walking for miles before the familiar entrance of my family's gated community greeted me. My feet had started getting tired and sore earlier that night before I had started walking, and they were positively swollen and blistered by the time I reached the house. Not to mention my stockings had become ripped and faded from the harsh gravel I ground them against. I felt bad about possibly waking Nicky and my mother up at the hour it was, but I was fatigued and sweating and just wanted to sleep. So I knocked on the door as lightly as I could, hoping it wasn't enough to wake up my father and his ire. Thankfully, Nicky was the one to answer the door and pull me inside. "Rachel," he drawled in a tired stupor. "What are you doing here? And at this hour." Then he got a good look at my eyes and realized it was me. "Oh, Lauren. Sorry I mixed you up." "That's ok," I reassured him and plopped down on the couch. "Sorry I made you come to the door. I did something terrible." My hands shook with fear and trepidation as I said those words, but I figured if anyone would listen to me without judgment, it would be Nicky. "What did you do?" he asked as he sat down next to me. "And where's Rachel for that matter?" "That's the thing," I said with a tear in my eye. "I did something terrible to Rachel, and I don't know if she will ever forgive me." By now the tears were coming on strong, rolling down my cheeks and smearing my carefully applied mascara. "I slapped her." "You slapped her?" Nicky asked incredulously. "Why would you do that? I can't believe you wouldn't have a good reason for doing something like that, so there must be something you're not telling me." "It was a teasing thing on her part," I told him, not wanting to say I had almost had sex with a girl. "Her friends were giggling at me like I was some stunted weirdo, and it hurt. Next thing I knew, my hand was up and I slapped her. Then I ran out the door without looking back." Nicky may have been a joker, but he could be incredibly caring when he wanted to be. He took me in his arms and pulled me towards himself. "I'm sorry, sis. Rachel was just trying to ride you like a sister would, but she obviously took it too far. That being said, slapping her was uncalled for. I think we need to have a sibling sit down tomorrow and talk this whole thing out." Damn him and being right. "I agree," I said and pulled out of his embrace. "Can I sleep here for the night? I kind of forgot my phone and keys when I ran, so I have nowhere to go." "Of course, sis. You're part of the family after all." He stood up and motioned for me to follow after him. "Mom is actually in the process of clearing out the closet in the guest room so it can become yours." Clearing out the closet for me? I had been a girl for about a week and she was already busying herself to include a place for me in the house. I loved that woman more and more like a mother in hearing that. "Thanks. I think I'll be moving in pretty soon." "What have you been doing for sleeping arrangements with Rachel this week?" Nicky queried once we reached my new room. He opened the door carefully, so as not to wake our parents, and ushered me inside. "We've been switching off who gets the bed every other night. The one who doesn't takes the couch," I replied, noting the peach colored walls and thinking they could be a different color like a navy blue or something similar. "Though now, I think she'll be able to have the bed, permanently." Just then, Luna came bounding through the door and practically knocked me over with kisses. I had a feeling she'd be sleeping with me once I moved in. Nicky took my heels which I had dropped when Luna barreled in and set them down in the closet. "I'll text Rachel to come over tomorrow so we can sit down and straighten this whole thing out." He went to the door and bid me goodnight, then left. I sat down on the admittedly dusty bed and looked about my new room. In terms of decoration it was fairly spartan, with just an old oak dresser for clothing besides the closet. I'd have to add a desk and my computer, along with some posters, and probably a vanity. Luna jumped up and lay down beside me with her head in my lap. I suddenly realized I had no clothing to sleep in, and wasn't feeling too keen to sleep in the skirt and crop top. "Let's go see if Nicky will let me borrow a shirt for the night." Knocking gently on his door I popped my head in to ask. It was pitch black. "Hey, can I borrow a shirt or something to sleep in? This skirt wouldn't be too comfortable as pajamas." I heard some rustling, then an oversized shirt flew into view and hit me in the face. That would have to do. "Thanks. Night night." I slipped my clothing off, but kept my bra and panties on, and pulled the shirt over me. Looking down I saw it was an old Led Zeppelin shirt from their 1973 North American tour. It was large enough to almost hang down to my knees. Must have been dad's or something, I thought to myself as I carefully hung my other clothing up in the closet with some old hangars I found. Once in bed, Luna curled up right next to me in the empty space and went to sleep. "I hope Rachel doesn't hate me for this," I said softly to no one. I closed my eyes, and before I knew it, I was asleep. # I woke to the sound of someone knocking on the bedroom door. From the light streaming in through the partially closed blinds, it had to have been 8 or 9. Luna responded to the sound and pranced over to the door to see who it was. Just then, it opened and my new mother was standing there in a fuschia colored robe and matching slippers. "Good morning, sweetie. Nicky told me you showed up pretty late last night. And that you had a fight with Rachel." She crossed the distance, sat down on the bed, and regarded me with a motherly look. "Want to talk about it?" "Can I eat breakfast, first?" I asked, noting the rumbling coming from my stomach. "I didn't really eat anything last night." She smiled and reached out to stroke the hair on my forehead. "Of course you can. Dad's making waffles downstairs, and Nicky should be getting the bacon and eggs going." She rose and walked back to the door. "Just come down when you're ready." Luna followed her as she left. I took a moment to stretch and go to the bathroom down the hall before heading downstairs and into the kitchen. The comforting image of a family getting together and making Sunday breakfast warmed my heart. "Good morning," I said while opening the fridge. "Can I get drinks for everyone?" Nicky, who was flipping eggs at the moment, regarded me with a warm smile. "OJ for me, sis. Can you get coffee started for mom and dad?" The bacon he was preparing smelled heavenly as I passed by him to get the coffee going. I was preparing for it when the strangest sound crossed my ears. "Honey," the voice said, male, "can you get me some plates for these waffles?" It couldn't have been Nicky, because the voice sounded far too gruff, and my father was the only other man there. I looked up, excited, and saw that he was looking at me. "I most certainly can, dad." He didn't recoil at me addressing him that way, and in fact appeared quite content. I guess he must have acclimated to the change. The plates were placed next to him and he scooped a waffle onto each one. Then Nicky placed a heaping helping of bacon and eggs down and we moved them all to the table close by. I got mugs for the coffee and filled them up, poured two glasses of orange juice for me and Nicky, and brought them all over to the table. Cream and sugar, along with butter and syrup, were retrieved and placed next. Just as we were sitting down, mom came in from the backyard with Luna trailing close behind. She placed a bowl of wet food down near the kitchen island, then sat down next to me and smiled. "Sitting down to a Sunday breakfast with my husband and children. I love it." I almost teared up when she said that. These people truly had become my new family, in every way. In response, I leaned over and hugged her. She gripped the back of my head with one of her hands and sighed contentedly. When we separated I noticed my dad had a happy look in his eyes, so I rose and gave him a hug, too. He returned it, eagerly. The food was delicious. Nothing about bacon, eggs, and waffles could be bad, especially since the waffles had chocolate chips in them. It also helped that the people I was sharing the food with were wonderful as well. We ate and talked, and my mom asked me about possibly starting school again in the fall. "You can't exactly use your old degree now, can you? The guys are sending everything from a birth certificate to a Driver's license, but I figured you'd might like to go through school again and get used to interacting with people as a girl before jumping into the workforce." She took a long sip of coffee and motioned to me with her eyes. I couldn't disagree with her statements. "I think that's a good idea. It might give me a chance to redo my degree. No offense to my bio parents, but my original degree didn't interest me much." My mind was already awash with majors to explore and classes to take. "I'm glad you agree," she beamed at me. "Hey, we could go clothes shopping today. I don't think you want to be wearing Rachel's clothes forever." From the look on her face, I could tell it would mean a lot to her if I agreed. "Of course I'd like to go shopping with you, mom," I responded, though I had never been keen to go shopping much before. "But Rachel's coming over later." I hoped Nicky had texted her and that she had agreed to do it. My statement didn't appear to stymie her desire to engage in some feminine bonding with me. "That's no problem. We could wait for her, or we could go in the next hour and hit the store's early before all the foot traffic comes." She was definitely leaning towards sooner rather than later. And to my chagrin, I had to agree it would be better to get in early. Though the thought of having people look me over when I stepped out in whatever I picked was strangely enthralling. "Let's go early, then." One thing was wrong with that, however. I had no clothes other than my racy outfit from the party. My mother seemed to sense my problem, and quickly countered. "Don't worry. We can pull some of Rachel's clothing out for you to wear. Most of the stuff in her drawers is only a few years old or less." She took my plate and hers to the sink. As much as I didn't want to wear any of my sister's articles, I knew there was no other option until I picked some things out for myself. Whatever that ended up being. My brain said conservative, but my body screamed flashy, flirty, and sexy. "I'll find something quickly and then we can go." "Great, sweetie. After you get dressed meet me in the bathroom and we'll do something about your hair." A quick rinse of the syrup and she was off to get herself ready. Nicky just smirked and disappeared to another part of the house. If I was right, he would be booting up a game in the living room and mentally checking out for the day. Well, all power to him. And me. I was going to go shopping with my new mother just a week after turning into the exact biological replica of her original daughter. The laws of the universe must have become mixed up. But at the same time the warmth and love they extended to me made me convinced they thought of me as part of their family. And truth be told, I got that warm feeling in my stomach when thinking about them. Something must have been making me adjust quickly to my new state. Luna followed me upstairs and into Rachel's room. There were so many things scattered about her dresser and closet that I hadn't the foggiest idea of what to wear. Should I have gone for something casual and low- key? Or chic and trendy and high maintenance? The options were seemingly endless, so I did the one thing I knew would always work--I flipped a coin to make my decisions for me. Even numbers were represented by heads, and the odds by tails. I counted out ten items of the same type, flipped the coin, discarded the odds or evens based on the outcome, then moved onto the next set of ten. Eventually, I had narrowed down my choices to six shirts and four pairs of pants. Two more flips and I had weeded out enough to make a final decision. My outfit consisted of a plain baby blue button down shirt and white jeans. The pants were a little loose on my hips so I found a thick brown belt to keep them up. All in all, it was a nice outfit to go shopping with one's mom in. On my way to my mother's bathroom I stopped by Nicky's room and threw his shirt onto his bed. He'd probably let me keep it, but I planned on buying some pajamas that fit a little better. "Oh, that looks wonderful on you, dear," my mother said as I walked into her room. She gestured to her bathroom and we went to her sink. "Now, let's do your hair and makeup." "It's 9:30 in the morning, mom," I whined. "Nobody will care what I look like at the mall." Truth be told, I was subconsciously looking forward to having my hair done and putting on some makeup, but I couldn't let her know I had completely surrendered to my femininity just yet. "Nonsense, dear," she countered and pulled a spray bottle out of a cupboard. Then she began spraying water into my hair and I had to close my eyes. "It pays to look good when you're out in the world." When it was thoroughly drenched she produced a bottle of gel and squeezed some into her palms. Then she ran her hands through my hair, making sure to coat the entirety of it with product. Afterwards, she pulled out her hair dryer and snapped a bowl like attachment called a diffuser onto it, and proceeded to dry my hair with it. She used the diffuser to cup portions of my soaked hair in it and held the dryer to my head in 45 second intervals. By the time she was finished my auburn ringlets were extremely curly, and I noticed were much shorter than they had been previously. They looked great, but I was shocked. "Big surprise, huh?" my mother said in response to my look of surprise. "Rachel usually wears her curls loose, so I'd be surprised if you knew they could get like this. But I must say they look fantastic on you." She scrunched them some more in her palms with another product of some kind, then rubbed my roots. It had the effect of making my hair even larger and poofier. "I love it," was all I could say. My hand reached out and took one of my curls and pulled it out so it was at its full length just under my shoulders. I let it go and it sprung back to its shape much closer to my skull. "Ready to go?" she asked with a smirk. "Yeah," I responded. "Oh, I don't have a purse or anything. How am I going to pay for clothes?" I hoped Rachel would bring it with her when she came. "That's alright, my sweet daughter. I'll be buying your clothes. And we can get you a second purse as well." she moved to go, but then stopped and turned around. "I almost forgot about makeup." The drive to the mall was not bad. My mother let me use her phone to play classic rock on the stereo and we both sang along. I had to admit she had a good voice, and she took the opportunity to tell me about some of her risque adventures from her youth when certain songs came on. It felt nice to be bonding with her that way. When I was a guy I never did much with my biological mother other than go to the occasional movie together. And our conversations were limited to surface level topics like work and school. Nothing prevented me from believing she was incapable of having deep contributions, but I think she just didn't know how to relate to me. My dad wasn't much of a talker either, so no one in my family shared much with each other. In that way, it was pleasant to have a parent who cared enough and trusted me enough to share those more intimate details of their lives. Even if some of those I could do without knowing. And in a way, her sharing presented me with the opportunity to share myself if I wanted to, which I was rapidly becoming more inclined to do. We pulled her car, a fairly recent red Honda Accord, into a spot outside the large Nordstrom's and entered the store. Rack upon rack of clothing of all cuts and colors were spread out, and unlucky for me, my mother was already eyeing several items. She pulled me along as she picked out several tops and pants and placed them into my hands. In less than ten minutes I was holding multiples pounds of clothing. It's a good thing she would be paying for it all. "Now, honey," she said while examining a black and white vertical striped button down, "go try those on and see what you like. I'll keep looking." I turned and located the fitting rooms tucked away in a corner. Piece by piece I ran through the pile I had been given, which included everything from skirts to dresses to a few bikinis even. I twisted and turned and appraised myself with a critical eye. In the end I kept just over a third of the mound, placing those in a separate stack from the discards, and hauled them both out of the fitting rooms. My mother was at the entrance with another serving of clothes in hand. "More cute clothes for you, honey. Which pile are you keeping?" I held up my right hand so she could take them from me. The other hand's bounty I placed onto the discard rack. Then I returned to the fitting rooms with more clothing to try on. I ended up liking more of what she had brought me that time. Especially this cute little black dress that I couldn't wait to show Anna sometime. Once I had my phone back I'd call her and apologize for everything. "I think that's enough for today. Don't you think?" my mother asked as I returned. "How about we pay for these and then go and get some lunch?" Lunch sounded good, but I didn't want to go to the food court and get something greasy and generic. "Sure. Can we go somewhere else for lunch, though? I've never much cared for mall food." "Of course, honey," she said and gathered the first pile in her hands. "We could go to that chic little Italian place we ate at when Nicky graduated." "Ooh, that place has the best stuffed rigatoni," I said while trying not to salivate too much. "And their garlic bread is to die for." My mother chuckled and headed to the cash register close by where a pleasant looking woman was folding jeans. "All of this, please," she said and laid out her bundle along with mine on the counter. Hundreds of dollars later we were walking out of the store with many bags in hand. We loaded them into the trunk and headed for the Italian place, Trentino's. The restaurant was not that crowded, so we were seated fairly quickly and our waters were on the table in no time at all. Decadent and rich, the ricotta stuffed rigatoni called to me from the menu, but I had a feeling I should try a salad to watch my figure. About five minutes later our waiter, a cute brunette haired boy with not so subtle muscles named Danny, came to take our orders. "I'll have the house salad with dressing on the side," I said with no enthusiasm in my voice. "Oh no you don't honey," my mother countered. "I'll have the chicken alfredo and she will have the stuffed rigatoni. And can we get an order of your cheesy garlic bread, please?" Looking rather pleased with herself she closed her menu and handed it to the boy. The boy looked somewhat flabbergasted and turned back to me. "Then I'll have the rigatoni, please." When he left us my mother used that opportunity to chide me on my choices. "You know, you don't have to fall for all that 'watching your figure' garbage. Eat what you want and don't think twice about it." If that's the way it was going to be then I was damn well going to enjoy those rigatoni. And the garlic bread. Our garlic bread came out first, with a dipping bowl of olive oil and one of marinara sauce, and we dug in. My stomach had shrunk considerably, though, because I was feeling quite full after eating about half of it. It didn't bother me, however, because I'd have the delicious leftovers for dinner. The boy, whom I couldn't help but sneak some peaks at his well toned muscles, brought out our pasta dishes, and blushed when he set mine down in front of me. It didn't help that I was smiling somewhat flirtatiously at him as he did so. "Parmesan, ladies?" he asked, gathering a big wedge of it and a grater off the serving platter. "I'd never pass it up," my mother responded, and proceeded to have him grate a good chunk of it onto her plate. "I'm alright, thank you," I said, knowing I'd never even be able to finish one of the delectable looking pastas if anything more was added to it. "Enjoy your meal," he said, and was off to another table. We ate and talked, though I stopped eating after finishing just one of the rigatoni. My stomach really had shrunk quite a bit. My mother, however, proceeded to put away nearly two-thirds of her meal before stopping. And that was on top of the hearty breakfast we had that morning. I had a feeling she could win an eating contest if she wanted to. "That was so good," she said as she put her fork down. "Want to order dessert and some garlic bread for the guys?" I shook my head. How could she be hungry for dessert? "You can get something. I'm stuffed more than these rigatoni right now." Our waiter came back and my mother ordered their triple chocolate cheesecake along with more garlic bread to take home. He handed me a to go box and I packaged almost the entirety of my meal. When the waiter came back he presented my mother with one of the most sinfully decadent looking pieces of cheesecake I've ever seen. Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate was piled high atop a dainty little plate that was entirely too small for the dessert. The aromas coming from it were heavenly to my nostrils, and almost enticed me to put some in my stomach. But then I'd probably be heaving it up later. My mother took one loving look at it and downed it all by herself. I think the waiter was more shocked than I was when he returned with the check and the to go order of garlic bread. He hid it well, however, and wished us a good day before taking his leave. "He was a sweet boy, don't you think?" my mother said as she licked her lips of any residual chocolate. "Let's give him a good tip." She produced her wallet and placed her credit card in the booklet. "Twenty percent, mom," I said. It was something I learned from my days as a waiter at a burger joint in high school. The waiter came back and took the check, then brought it back about a minute later. "How about you leave him your number?" she joked while finishing up with her signature. "I'm sure he'd give you a call soon." "Don't even joke about that, mom," I said, though the image of him shirtless came into my head at that moment and I blushed hard. "I don't even like boys like that." Obviously, I didn't fool her because she just winked at me and wiggled her eyebrows. "Sure you don't, dear." We left the restaurant shortly thereafter with our food in hand. As we were walking out I saw Danny give me a small smile, and I couldn't help but return it with one of my own. Hopefully he'd be working over the summer so I could come and chat with him sometime. # The bags that contained my new wardrobe lay scattered about my room. A cat would be having a field day with all of them if we owned one. I could just picture the furry little thing pouncing on all the bags and rolling around inside them. Once I was done putting everything away in the closet and dresser I left my room and joined Nicky in the game room. He had switched over to an online game and was busily conversing with his friends, so I eased myself into the couch and watched him play. "Hey," I said after a while, "when is Rachel coming?" I was eager to patch things up with her and get my phone back. "She said sometime around 2 or 3," Nicky responded without looking away from the screen. "Sorry, just talking to my sister. Rachel? No, Lauren." Just then, Nicky looked at me like he had said something wrong and was expecting me to fix it. He hesitated before handing me his headset and motioned to put it on. "They want to talk to you." "Hello?" I tentatively said into the microphone. I had met one of Nicky's friends before, but he was not someone who played that many video games, so these people were complete strangers. "It's Rachel," one of the voices said emphatically. "She sounds exactly the same." "Sorry, that's my twin. I'm Lauren," I responded nervously. "I just moved here from Connecticut to start school in the Fall." Another voice, this one differentiated by it being more nasal sounding, jumped in. "How come Nicky has never talked about you before? I searched for something to say that would sound informal enough for them to believe me. "Because my brother is an asshat. Now it would be nice if you introduced yourselves since you already know my name." "Send us a picture. Then we'll tell you," the first voice responded. "Wait," another voice, this one much huskier than the other two, interrupted, "couldn't Rachel just send us a picture of herself and claim she's this 'Lauren'?" "Don't worry, boys. You'll spot the difference between us," I said. "It's not hard to miss." I took the headset off and leaned over so I was close to Nicky. "Do you have your phone on you?" Sure enough, he slipped it out of a pocket on his sweatpants and proceeded to open the camera. "Say cheese, sis," he smiled as he popped a photo of us. Then he attached the photo to three different recipients, two of whom I caught the names of, and hit send. "Check your phones," he said into the microphone. "May I have that again?" I asked my brother for the headset. "So, notice anything significant, Tim, Duncan, and mystery boy?" I giggled as I said their names aloud. "Your eyes," the husky voice said, "are different colors. Rachel's are just blue." "Yep, boys," I smirked. "One green and the other blue. So you believe me now?" Why it mattered to me so much that I didn't know, but I think my brain processed it as wanting to assert its new identity. "Wicked," the first voice exclaimed. "Yeah," the nasal voice added. "I'm Tim. The guy who is probably lusting after you right now is Reade, and our shy little mystery man is Duncan. Pleased to meet you." "Charmed," I smirked. "Well you boys have fun with your game. Bye bye." And with that I handed the headset back to Nicky and walked out to the kitchen where Luna was busy gnawing away at a bone. "Hey, girl," I said and knelt on the floor to give her a good petting. "Want to go and get some fresh air? How about a walk?" I had her rolling on the ground and wagging her tail with unrestrained excitement. I put her on a leash and we exited through the front door. Our destination was the grassy field/playground area near the entrance to the community. It was far enough to give us a good bit of exercise, but wouldn't take too long for us to go to and come back from. Especially since I'd be throwing a tennis ball for her. Children and parents were busy playing on the structure in the sand pit when we arrived. I whipped out the tennis ball I'd brought and took Luna off her leash in the wide open field just next to it. She was jumpy and giddy, though she waited patiently for me to throw the ball for her. Multiple times throughout our play time the kids would waddle over with their parents in tow and ask to pet her. Most didn't know me, but I was surprised when an adult would say hi to me thinking I was Rachel. That is, until they saw my eyes. Then I had to tell them my rehearsed story and hope they would buy it. Luckily, once I'd explained the adults were fine and the kids were eager to introduce themselves to me. "Hi, Auntie Lauren," one girl I assumed was about five or six, said to me. "Momma, can Auntie Rachel and Auntie Lauren come over and play with me?" The girl was a cute little bundle of honey blond hair and vivid amber eyes. Her name was Kelly. "Could you two watch her tonight?" her mother, Maria, who possessed nearly the same hair and eye color, gave me her number and said, "Rachel has my number and everything, so just have her call. We have to go to a school fundraiser for our older son around seven." My Sunday was going to be spent playing babysitter. Maria and Kelly hurried off, but not before Luna got a few more pets from the little girl. I threw the ball for Luna and ran around with her for a little longer, then put her back on her leash to take her home. My car was parked in the spacious driveway when I arrived back at the house. That meant Rachel was inside and probably thinking me a coward for not being there. "Come on, Luna," I said and brought her around back and let her off the leash. She went straight to the door and whimpered to be let inside. Unsurprisingly, Rachel was the one who came to the door. "Hey, girl," she said warmly. "I wondered where you were." Her painted nails glided over Luna's mottled fur in broad strokes while the dog rolled around on the ground for her. Only after petting her for a minute did she look up to spy on me standing in the middle of the yard waiting for her. She stood up and walked over to me, looking none too pleased to see me. "Lauren," she said cooly. "Rachel," I responded, trying my best not to sound nervous. I don't know if she caught it, but I tried to mimic her posture to add weight to my tone. My hands dropped to my hips and my face shifted in expression until it became stoic and unmoving. Did I want her to apologize to me? Yes, but I knew I owed her one as well for my actions. That being said I was determined to suss one out of her before I offered mine. "You're wearing my clothes." She looked me up and down, none too pleased with my dress. "You just thought it was ok to go into my room and take my stuff?" "Mom said I could," I said dryly. "Besides, you can't expect me to still be wearing the slutty outfit you forced me into last night." Shit, what was I saying? Just make up with her already, I repeated over and over in my head even as those words crossed the threshold of my mouth. "Now you're calling her mom," Rachel said with undisguised malice. "What, are you trying to move in on my life and replace me? What's your game, bitch?" Then she reached out and shoved me and I went tumbling backwards. But not before grabbing her by her shirt and taking her with me. We rolled and fought and screamed at each other in the grass and mud. There was hair pulling, slapping, and even a punch or two was thrown. Luna bit and pulled at each of us to stop, but we shoved her away and went back it. Finally, she ran to the back door and scratched at it until our father and Nicky came running outside. "Stop it, girls," our father yelled as he grabbed at Rachel and yanked her away from me and threw her over his shoulder. Rachel struggled to break free, though it was useless to go against our father in strength. Nicky had less strength than our father, but still much more than me in my current body, so he just held me back until I stopped kicking and trying to wrench myself from his grasp. "Calm down, Lauren," he said with such forcefulness that I was compelled to listen. My hands dropped in resignation and I slumped back against him. Rachel was still kicking and yelling at me as our father brought her into the house and out of sight. His hands wrapped around me, Nicky held me close while I bawled my eyes out and slumped to the ground. He was such a good big brother to stay with me while I sobbed, comforting me with gentle words and his attention. Luna, bless her heart, offered me herself to hug and cry against until my emotions came under control. By that point, my makeup had been smudged and part of it I had left on the lithe little greyhound. She lay in my lap and let me stroke her soft fur. Inside, there was shouting and then our mother came outside. "Nicky, go inside," she said with authority. Once he did, she looked at me with such fury that I wilted like a dying flower. "What the hell got into the two of you? I expected an argument, but not literal fighting." "I don't know. She pushed me and pulled her down with me, and before I knew it, we were grabbing at each other and screaming at the top of our lungs." Truthfully, I had a feeling Rachel felt threatened by my moving in on her family. I would probably feel that way, too, if my partner suddenly became my identical twin and was immediately welcomed into my family like they had always been their child. Maybe she was just grieving the loss of her partner and friend. I didn't know, but I felt like an absolute ass. My mother softened a bit, offering me her hand to help me up. "Take some time to center yourself out here. Then, I want you to come inside and talk things out with Rachel, sister to sister, and make up. I won't have my daughters bickering and hating each other. Don't worry, she knows she's responsible, too, and will have some explaining to do." She stroked my cheek and gave me a peck on the forehead before going inside. There was a small fan set up on the table by the door, so I turned it on and just let the cool air flow over me for some time. It blocked the heat from the Arizona sun like a protective barrier, and afforded me enough composure to organize my thoughts and feelings into something coherent for when I faced Rachel again. There was no delaying it any longer. I lapped up a burst of cool air from the fan and went inside. My mother was in the kitchen working on dinner, a delicious looking salmon, and Rachel was sitting at the dining room table. Busy as she was browsing her phone she didn't notice me as I eased into a chair across from her. "Hey," I said furtively, hoping she was calm enough to listen. Rachel looked up from her phone and I flinched, ready for her to get physical again. But when I saw her, she just seemed sad. "Hi." "Listen," I said directly, "I want to apologize for my actions last night. What I did was uncalled for. I can understand why you were so mad at me just a little while ago. I would be, too. But what you said before that hurt me deeply, and it made me angry. Angrier than I've felt in a long time. And I took it out on you in the worst way possible. So for that, I'm sorry." I reached out to take her hand in mine, feeling the supple flesh of her palm, and hoped she would forgive me. To my relief she didn't pull away. Rather, she gripped my hand tightly and met my gaze with her crystalline blue eyes. "I'm sorry, too, Lauren. I should have never teased you like that in front of all those people. And Anna, especially. I'm also sorry for starting the fight. I was just so frustrated with you because it seemed like you were becoming a better version of me and I couldn't stand it. It felt like I was being erased by you. Can you forgive me?" "Of course I can, sis," I said, standing up from the table and coming around to her. "If you'll forgive me." She responded by wrapping me up in a close hug, which I eagerly returned. With our dispute behind us we helped prepare dinner and set the table, with five places instead of four. The salmon was served, along with a lemon rice that Rachel and I worked on, and we all sat down to enjoy the food as a family. Just my two parents, my brother, my sister, and me. "Hey, sis, I ran into a Maria and her daughter Kelly while I was out walking Luna earlier. She wants us to babysit tonight. Want to do it?" I asked through a mouthful of rice. Some dribbled down my chin and landed on my plate before being scooped up again. "Sure," she replied while cutting into her salmon. "I'll text Maria and let her know we'll be over in a bit." Faster than light she whipped out her phone and was typing out a message to Maria, presumably. "No phones at the dinner table," my father drawled. I don't think he cared that Rachel was on her phone, but he had to maintain house rules. "Don't worry, dad, I'm off," Rachel said and put her phone back in her pocket. "Lauren, we need to be over there in about twenty minutes, so eat fast." Neither of us said a word as we hurriedly finished our meals and bussed them to the dishwasher. I went to the door to put my shoes on, but Rachel grabbed my wrist and pulled me up the stairs into her room. "We need to get you into something a little more daring," she said, holding up a slinky dress. "Why?" I asked while my outstretched hand took the garment from her. "We're going to be watching a five year old, not clubbing." Instinctively, I located the floor length mirror and studied myself in it with the dress held in front of me. I already knew what it would look like on me from seeing Rachel in it once or twice, and the occasion for which she donned it. "I'm watching Kelly. You've got a date with Anna. Now put that on and I'll do your makeup." From her vanity she produced a large eyeshadow palette, eyeliner, mascara, blush and deep crimson lipstick. "Hurry up." I was quick to obliger her and unbuttoned the shirt and pants I had been wearing. Spotted with mud, I tossed them in the hamper before trying to get into the dress. It slid up my smooth thighs with minimal effort and settled nicely over my womanly form. The cups of the dress clashed with my bra, so I discarded the undergarment and felt the chill air wash over my nipples. Afraid of them becoming stiff right then and there, I slipped them into the dress and zipped up the back. "Done." "Get over here," Rachel said as she brushed her cheekbones with rose colored blush. "I'm going to make you irresistible." I wondered what she meant by that, but it became evident when she pulled away and I saw my reflection in the vanity. Smoky violet eyeshadow made my different colored eyes pop; thick winged eyeliner extended the line of my eyelashes; thick matte lips gave me a naturally pouty look; all-in-all I was a knockout. Anna was going to be picking her jaw up off the floor when she saw me. "My work never ceases to amaze," Rachel said victoriously. I had to agree with her. If I were still a man I would be all over me in a second. "But what about Maria? She's expecting both of us to show up, not just you." I played with my still exceptionally curly locks, noting their bounce. She searched her closet for a jacket and changed into a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt. "I told her mom needed your help on a project, so it would just be me. And I told Anna, as you, that you want to meet up and move past the events of last night." From her back pocket she produced my phone and handed it to me. "I'm not ready for this," I said, my hands shaking as they tried to secure the phone. "She probably hates me after last night." Rachel knelt down beside me and took one of my hands in hers. "Just go and talk to her like you have been and everything will be fine. I promise." It didn't assuage my anxiety completely, but it certainly helped some. Once I had shook out more of my worry I was ready to go. I took the offered jacket and put it on and donned a pair of heels Rachel provided. They were intimidating four inch black heels, but they made my legs look long and sleek. Carefully, I tiptoed down the stairs behind my sister, going slow to avoid too much noise from my click clacking heels. Then she handed me my purse and keys and we walked out the front door. "Alright, go have some fun, sis," Rachel winked. "I want to hear all the nitty gritty details of your escapades." I playfully shoved her and got into the car. "If anything happens between us, I'm sure you'll find out, somehow." I checked my phone to see where we were supposed to meet up and turned on a rock playlist. Then I pulled out of the driveway, waved goodbye to my sister, and was off to meet Anna. # I was nervous. Tiny beads of sweat were running down my forehead, threatening to undo my carefully applied makeup. The place where I was to meet Anna was a little park not too far from the main campus. A little grove of trees next to the playground acted as a spot of privacy for many couples looking to become more intimate. The fact that she wanted to meet there meant she had something like that in mind. Or she wanted to tell me to stop hanging out with her. Either way, we would need the space. I used the drive and my tunes to psyche myself up for my meeting with Anna. The last message said 8:00, so I was nearly thirty minutes early when I rolled into a tucked away spot far from the road. Instead of getting out, I left the car running and just lost myself in the sounds. The constant bass of the drums acted like a metronome to lull me into a deep meditative trance, the distorted strumming of the guitar acting like a highway for me to travel down. Time passed by while my head was gone, the seconds and minutes held no meaning other than to signify the changing of songs. Eventually, however, my meditation was broken by the sharp rapping of knuckles against the passenger side window. I looked up to see Anna waiting expectantly, so I waved her in. She popped the door open and nestled into the seat beside me. "Hey Lauren," she said, her eyes trailing down my body and the tight dress I wore. "Fancy getup for just meeting up." By comparison, she was in jeans and a light sweater. Internally, I cursed Rachel for her interference. "You look nice," was all I could say without feeling too stupid. I'd get her back someday. "I guess," she joked. Her hand, however, went to my thigh and began stroking it. "I was a little sad after you left last night. You didn't answer when I tried calling you until this morning. Why?" Her fingers slipped under the hem of my dress and continued to knead my flesh. "I was embarrassed." I tried to hold in a moan that was threatening to escape my lips as her fingers worked. "Embarrassed? Why?" "Because we were in the middle of having sex and I pulled away. I felt ashamed that I led you on and left you unfulfilled." "Is that why you ran out of the party afterwards? No judgment, because I really like you." The kneading was becoming unbearable to ignore. My hands reached down and interlocked with hers and brought them up to my face. I kissed the back of her hands and wove my fingers through hers. "I wanted to apologize and ask for a do-over. Because I like you, too." She leaned in and took me in a slow, passionate kiss. Along my breasts her fingers danced and prodded. Little bolts of pleasure arced down my back like electricity, threatening to send me into the throes of passion. I had just enough sense to pull away before I gave myself to her completely. "How about we take a walk first? Then maybe we can continue this, discreetly." I wanted her so badly, but I needed it to be on my terms. That, and I needed to clear my head if I was going to be a good conversationalist. "How about instead of a walk we get some froyo and talk a little more." She gave my arm an affectionate squeeze. "Yeah, I'd like that." With the car still idling I shifted it into reverse and pulled out of the spot. I managed to drive with one hand while the other held Anna's, though it was just a three minute drive to the nearest froyo place. Overdressed as I was in comparison to Anna, and everyone else, we garnered much attention as we casually strolled into the shop and made our selections. I think I heard one boy utter to his friend, "look at her ass," while I was bent over putting toppings on my dessert. Similarly, the cashier ogled me when we paid We took our loaded creations outside and sat on one of the benches close by. Neither of us went for the fruit and nuts, instead filling them with different candies and butterscotch. If Rachel found out, she'd have me running five miles a day every day for the next month to work off the calories from it. That being said, each bite tasted absolutely delicious. "You know, I don't think I know why you decided to move out here," Anna said through a mouthful of froyo. "Why didn't you just stay in Connecticut?" I had practiced my story a million times in my head, so I calmly responded. "My best friend, Sabrina, whom I met in my first year of high school, and whom I was rooming with at the time passed away about six months ago. I just couldn't handle the environment anymore, and my grades suffered as a result. I dropped out and became a near shut-in. That's when my nana suggested I rejoin my family and try to finish up my schooling with Rachel. You know, sisterly support. So I packed my bags and moved out here a few weeks ago." While the details were altered, I did have a good friend who passed away in high school that affected me deeply. "I'm so sorry to hear that," she reassured me, giving my hand a comforting squeeze. "You two must have been really close." "Like sisters. More so than Rachel and I, at least." His name was Danny, and I loved him like a brother. The next bite didn't taste quite as sweet. We ate in silence for a little while longer until we were nearly finished. I felt a pang of guilt for putting a sour mood on the night, so I scooted closer and leaned my head against her shoulder. "Hold me." She did just that, wrapping her thin arms around me and holding me close. To everyone we looked just like a couple, which I suppose we were. It felt nice to be in her embrace. From her smell to the bits of her blonde hair tickling the back of my neck, everything about her made me feel safe and content. I didn't want the moment to end, but like all things we couldn't stay on that bench forever. So, taking the lead, I looked up into her luminous blue eyes and leaned in for another kiss. Those little jolts of pleasure returned, I felt my crotch moistening, and my nipples hardened in anticipation. "How about we go back to your apartment?" I breathed into Anna's ear, knowing full well that my actions were entirely my own. "We can do that," she replied calmly. To her credit, she remained composed despite probably being as aroused as I was. Back at the car, I let her take the keys and then slid into the passenger seat. Anna could get us back to her apartment, and I would do the rest. She handled the car well, applying just enough caution to warrant my continued trust of her operating it. About five minutes later, Anna parked the car in a covered space in her complex. I waved her off as she ran around the side to help me out, telling her I wasn't drunk or anything of the like, and the two of us entered her unit. Quickly, we crossed the space into her bedroom, barely stopping to take our shoes off before diving into the pleasures of each others' bodies. Our clothes came off in a flurry of successive tugs, though I made sure the dress Rachel lent me didn't rip, and I pushed her onto her bed. Anna yielded control to me, at least for the time being, so I did my best to send her into a frenzy. I started with an alluring dance, swinging my hips back and forth and pushing out my breasts in time to inaudible tune. Those precious eyes of hers followed my every movement with rapt attention. Slowly, deliberately, I advanced until I was crawling on top of Anna. Then my lips were on hers again, and my tongue pushed its way in to intermingle with hers. I ran one hand down until it rested on her nipple and tweaked it ever so slightly. Our kissing was interrupted by a low moan from Anna, which she followed up with more when my head dropped down and I took her other nipple in my mouth. With both of Anna's areolas being played with, she could only moan and grind her crotch up into mine. The sudden sensation of that broke my mouth's hold, so I decided to move in for the main attraction. But not before lavishing her stomach with kisses. I slid her panties down her thighs with my free hand, savoring the pungent smell of her dripping crotch. Slowly, carefully, my tongue lapped at the folds of Anna's sex while my hands continued to play with her stiff nipples. Gradually, I intensified the speed of my probing until it had become a maddening dance of motion. All the while Anna bucked and moaned and gripped feverishly at my head. "Oh, I'm so close," she whimpered, her eyes closed in intense sexual pleasure. Just as Anna said those words her hips bucked and she rode a wave of convulsions, crying out until she calmed and softened into the sheets. I savored the glow emanating from her and crawled back up beside her to nestle in to her pulsing body. "Did you like it?" I whispered into Anna's ear, nibbling on her lobe as I withdrew. I never realized the size difference we shared until we lay together just then, for I was the smaller of us by a good three inches. Unexpectedly, Anna was on top of me in an instant. Her lips were on mine and we were locked in another passionate display of tongue twisting. "Now it's my turn to make you feel good," she purred, practically ripping my panties off me in swift tug. "And I have just the thing to get you quivering." She dismounted me, crossed the bedroom to her dresser, and from the top shelf produced a purple dildo of considerable length and girth. I squirmed, feeling a sense of dread at being penetrated by such an instrument and what it represented. But part of me almost looked forward to it as I trusted Anna and wanted to be with her. As if on autopilot I rolled onto my stomach and propped myself up on my hands and knees. "I want you, Anna." Positioning herself behind me Anna gripped my hips with one hand while the other stroked my sex with the tip of the dildo. I nearly folded from the sensation, it was so much more extraordinary than anything I had ever felt as a man. More and more I wanted to feel it enter me, to feel that positively earth-shattering force deep inside my very being, and to connect with the woman I loved. "Yes, I want you to go so deep," I moaned and gripped the sheets. "Gladly," was all I heard before the dildo plunged deep inside my crotch. I immediately buckled and dropped to my elbows, though my legs were still high in the air. Before I had time to reposition myself the dildo moved out and then slammed back in, sending an unreal feeling of pleasure through my body like a bomb. Another slick in-out movement had me practically crying out. On and on it went, the pleasure mounting and mounting, my senses going haywire, until I thought I was going to pass out. Then, without warning, it stopped. I felt the dildo being pulled out, but it didn't enter me again. I waited, expectantly, for nearly a minute without anything. Frustrated, I spun around only to be met with both of Anna's hands grabbing my breasts. "Why'd you stop?" I whined, though her massaging kept me in a slight state of stimulation. "I want to see your face when I make you cum," Anna responded, and then I knew why she had stopped. Protruding from her pelvis was the purple dildo, and wrapping around her was a black band. She had donned a strap on to bring me to orgasm. "Ready?" What else could I do but nod? I wanted Anna so badly, and she had brought me to the gates of sexual satisfaction. How could I not let her lead me through? She took hold of my hips as I offered them to her, and looking me in the eye, plunged the dildo into me once again. Even having come down somewhat from the delay, the act of Anna put her full body weight into it pushed me over the edge. I cried out, shrill and heavy, arched my back, and rode multiple convulsions of burning, euphoric fulfillment until I collapsed against the pillow. Anna, still inside me, bent down and planted gentle, tender kisses on my forehead and lips. "That was amazing, Lauren. You came from just one thrust." Anna jokingly flexed her scrawny arms and pulled the dildo out of me. Then she lay down and draped her arm over my tired body. "I must be that good." "My Adonis," I said and ground my bottom against her crotch. My body had already recovered from that amazing orgasm, but I didn't want to ruin the tender moment we were sharing. "Ooh, are you ready for round two?" Anna said, stroking at her pert breasts. "Maybe you'd like to try the strap-on this time. That is, if you want." I turned to face her and drew her into another kiss. "You'll find that I know my way around one of those quite well." # I woke to the early morning chirping of birds that must have been nestled into the trees outside Anna's window. She was asleep on her back with a thin sheet covering her, and I was using her chest as a pillow. With a fair amount of caution, I slipped from the bed and grabbed my dress and put it on. I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye, I just thought it would be nice if I made breakfast for us. But first I took the liberty of going to the bathroom and to check my appearance in the mirror. Disheveled hair and smeared makeup greeted me as I gave myself the once over, and the chill breeze of the air conditioning reminded me I was without underwear. Still, I looked fairly decent for having just woken up, and enough so to crack a few eggs and whip up a simple breakfast. Working my way around their kitchen, which was fairly small, I managed to make a large omelet with peppers, potatoes, and cheese, and served part of it up on a plate with a side of ketchup. The rest of it I covered and left on the stove for Anna's cousin when he woke up. I hope she likes it, I thought as I returned to her room and sat down on the bed with the plate in my hands. "Wakey, wakey," I said and placed the omelet by her nose so the scents emanating from it could reach her. Anna stirred and slowly opened her eyes. "Hey, gorgeous. What are you doing up so early?" She must have been too foggy to notice me holding her breakfast out to her. "Just thought I'd whip you up something simple. It's the least I can do for last night," I winked at her and cut a piece off the omelet. "Now open wide." She did just that, allowing me to feed her the piece of omelet. After chewing and swallowing, her face lit up with glee. "This is really good. Did you just make it?" Her hands eagerly accepted the plate and began to dig in. "You had so many ingredients sitting in your refrigerator that I couldn't help but put them all together. Cooking is a little hobby of mine." "I'll say," she said, dipping a large slice of the omelet in the ketchup. "Drop out of school and be my wife. Then I'll get to come home to your cooking every night." "Oh, are you saying I'm marriage material?" I asked her with a sly little grin. "I'm not saying you aren't," she replied with a wink. Anna's phone vibrated and played a pop song on the bedside table. "Shit, I have class in an hour." Setting the plate down, she rolled out of bed and stumbled over to her closet. Her pink, pert breasts bounced and swayed with her movement. "Do you need me to go?" I asked, admiring the view that was her body. I was tempted to ask her for a quickie, but thought better of it. Without looking over shoulder Anna continued to rummage through her clothes for an outfit to wear. "No, in fact I want you to stay. That way," she said and twirled around to reveal a short denim dress, "you can help me pick my clothes for the day." "I could think of nothing better," I replied, eager to offer my assistance. "Good, because I'm going to need some hands-on help," Anna said, beckoning me over with a scintillating gesture. We went through the majority of her closet, modeling pieces for each other when not making out. After thirty minutes of fooling around, Anna finally settled on a short sleeve shirt and dark blue denim overall dress with a pair of white Doc Martens. It was cute, but highlighted her figure in all the right places. Which made it hard for me to not want to undress her and go back to bed. I was pretty sure she wouldn't mind missing her classes for the day to go another few rounds with me. "Just let me get some makeup on and do my hair and then we can go," Anna said before rushing to the bathroom. The sound of the door closing gave me a few seconds to check my phone. There were multiple messages from Rachel from the previous night asking everything from where I was to details of the date. I pulled up her number and gave her a call. The dial tone rang three times before I heard her groggy voice greeting me. "Lauren, it's too early for me to be getting up. What do you want?" "Good morning to you, too, sis. I assume you got home alright by yourself. Right?" I felt somewhat guilty for not coming back to give her a ride home. "Yeah, Nicky gave me a lift. I have class in a few hours and need to get more sleep, so bye." I was about to hang up when her voice came on the line again. "Tell me all the details later tonight." Just as I hung up Anna came in. She combed her blonde waves out and applied light makeup for the day. Again, I had the idea to just rip her out of her clothes and spend the day having more sex. She came over to me and kissed me, and I eagerly returned it. "I'm ready to go," Anna said, pulling away and checking that her lipstick hadn't smudged at all. She then grabbed her book bag and shoved a few pieces of paper in it. "I wish I could spend the entire day with you, and just forget about school. But Finals are next week, so we have all Summer." "I can't wait," I replied, just imagining her in a bikini lounging by the pool. And then I imagined myself sitting next to her, also in a bikini. It occurred to me that I really had become the girl I appeared to be, and Logan probably wasn't ever going to come back. But I didn't mind it. My life was shaping up to be just as meaningful as my previous life, if not more so. Plus, I couldn't picture the thought of losing Anna because I returned to a male body that I most likely would feel alien in, or my new family. Lauren Rivers was here to stay, for good or bad. We left Anna's apartment and walked out to my car. I let her take control of the music for the drive, and she didn't disappoint. A few contemporary pop songs were snuck in among a playlist that was largely 90s alternative music. Anna and I sang our lungs out to every song, receiving more than a few stares at red lights and stop signs, but we didn't mind. In fact, the pseudo audiences made us sing even louder. I pulled up to the southwest entrance to campus and let Anna out. "Have a good day at school, honey. I'll be here to pick you up at the end of the day," I joked, doing my best mom impression. "Love you too, bitch," Anna said and kissed me on the lips before getting out of the car. "Call me?" "Of course," I said, holding up my phone. I left her there and drove home while working on an excuse to tell my parents if I couldn't sneak past them. Both my father's car and Nicky's were gone when I pulled into the driveway. Most likely my mother would be having her morning coffee, or if I was lucky, she would already be in her office working for the day. I banked on the former, so I progressed to the front door and opened it as lightly as I possibly could, though there was still the audible click as I pushed the handle down. Slowly, I crept inside and shut the door behind me. With the same amount of caution I went to the stairs and got halfway up before my mother's voice came from the kitchen. "Come here, Lauren," she said coolly. I could tell she was not going to be happy with me. I turned the corner and walked into the kitchen where my mom was sitting and reading the morning paper. "What is it, mom," I asked innocently. There was no way my act would work on her, but I had to try. "Where were you last night? You didn't call or text, and I waited up until 2 in the morning before going to bed. And your outfit. What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" She was giving me the act she reserved for Rachel, and it was terrifying. "I gave Rachel a ride home after babysitting and we had some sisterly fun together. You know, trying on clothes and doing different makeup looks. I lost track of time, so I decided to spend the night." Internally, I was a bundle of nerves just waiting to explode. My mother didn't buy it for a second. "Don't lie to me. What were you doing last night that you couldn't tell me about beforehand?" She was such a good mother. I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down across from her. "Rachel arranged a date for me with one of her friends that I met last week. I didn't think you would approve of me going on a date this early, so neither of us told you. Long story short, I ended up spending the night at her apartment." "At her apartment? You went on a date with a girl?" From her tone she didn't seem concerned or disapproving, just curious. "Did you have sex with this girl?" It was my turn to look ashamed. I hung my head and nodded meekly. "Yeah, we had sex. But it wasn't with a guy or anything, so I don't have to worry about getting pregnant." I hoped she would end it there, but sadly, she didn't. "No, but there's plenty of other things concerning sex and feminine hygiene that we need to talk about. Just let me grab my computer first." She stood up and turned around to take her laptop off the counter and sit down next to me. "Mooooom," I whined. "I don't need a lecture in feminine hygiene right now. I need breakfast." I pushed my chair back to get up and grab a bowl of cereal. "You haven't had your period yet. Do you know what to do when you wake up bleeding from your vagina and your insides feel like they're being continuously run over? Or which way to wipe when you go to the bathroom so you don't end up with a UTI? Anything else I should mention right now?" "Fine," I acquiesced, sitting down and taking a big bite of the Lucky Charms in my bowl. "I see your point. Please proceed." An incredibly awkward class in sex education followed, complete with poorly drawn diagrams on my mother's part. At one point she ran into her bathroom to grab tampons to show me how to use them, so I took the opportunity to slip away and run up to my room. I knew how to use them well enough from seeing Rachel put them in almost every month. Now that I was her twin I realized I'd be having a pretty rough time based on how Rachel felt during her period. I was already looking forward to it. Without a computer I had little to do in my room. There was organizing my clothes and lying on my bed and browsing on my phone. So I chose a third option -- going downstairs and playing video games for hours. My mother had given up on trying to educate me, or had thought that what she imparted was enough for the moment, so when I passed by the kitchen she didn't bother to stop me. I grabbed a controller, plopped down in the comfy recliner, and turned the console on. Hours went by while I sat there playing games, until I had thoroughly tired of them and longed to do something else. Luna had spent that time laying on the couch next to me, patiently waiting for me to lavish her with attention. Which, having become bored, I did. Next, I switched over to watching a movie while lying on the couch with Luna. She licked my face at random intervals, which I didn't mind so much. But I wasn't much into the movie, so before long, I turned it off and took Luna out into the backyard where we played for a while longer. Being at home all day was quickly becoming tedious. I wondered why I never noticed it before that moment. I couldn't stand just sitting around and playing games or watching movies by myself. "C'mon, girl," I motioned to Luna and took her out to my car, herded her into the passenger seat, and took off in the direction of the local lake. At that time of day, the lake was largely deserted, save for older couples. Luna was attentive and well behaved while walking around the water, save for a few instances in which she wanted to run after the herds of geese loitering on the grass. As I passed a mousy looking woman and her, presumably, son taking a stroll, I thought about what it would be like to become a mother. A gravid belly hanging out in front of me for multiple months, and the labor. "Swollen and screaming in pain for hours for a little bundle of joy. And having sex with a man to make it happen. I'm in no rush." The day was becoming progressively hotter, and I was becoming progressively more sweaty, so I directed Luna back into the car and went off in search of a beverage. The local Starbucks served my needs for an iced coffee, which I had become accustomed to in the last few days, and the server even gave me a little cup of whipped cream for Luna to jam her face into. After cleaning up the mess my spunky little greyhound made of her face, we got back in the car and just drove for a while. With nowhere to go in particular, my mind drifted to memories of the previous night. My fingers traced the outline of my genitalia through my pants, and I imagined them to be the phallus Anna inserted into me. Could I have a man inside me? Would I want it? The thought of a man driving his member into me didn't seem to bother me, but all I could picture when I tried to form a face was Anna's. Slowly, the nondescript male in my visions changed until I was staring into Anna's deep blue eyes, and appreciating the curves of her body. It dawned on me I was truly falling for Anna. All my thoughts ventured towards her, and though I tried to steer them away, to her they returned. No longer could I go without Anna being with me in some form, so I quickly dialed her on my cell phone and prayed she would pick up. Luna's incessant whimpering in the passenger seat nearly drowned out the dial tone as I waited to hear her lovely voice. "Calm down, girl." I pulled into the left turn lane and waited for Anna to pick up. Cars whizzed by in the other lane without stopping, and Luna began yapping at something happening on the street. The call went to voicemail, unanswered. Even as I thought she must still be in class I tried to reach her again. Noise from the cars and my dog's yapping made it hard to hear anything happening on the other end, so I wasn't entirely sure that Anna had picked up, but I began talking anyway. "Anna, it's Lauren. I can't stop thinking about last night. I'm not sure how to tell you, but it was transformative for me." Why I thought to tell her about my transformation, I don't know, but the impulse to do it was there. "Hold on, I'll try calling again," I said and hung up. The cars began slowing down, though Luna still barked and pawed at the window. "Shut up, Luna." I felt half tempted to smack her on her behind in the hopes she would calm down. She didn't stop. Again, I dialed Anna's number and waited for her to answer. A honk from the car behind me just then made me step on the gas and I began turning. Suddenly, I heard Anna on the other end. A surge of happiness rushed through me. "Lauren?" she asked. Just then, Luna emitted a sharp, high pitched whine and clamored into the back seat. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the oncoming grill of a large truck and realized why the dog had yipped. Shards of glass flew at me from the passenger side window even as my body slammed against my own window. It broke under the force of me colliding with it and shattered, and I briefly felt the pain of many tiny little shards sinking into my exposed flesh. Just then the car, insignificant against the truck's speed, flipped and landed on the roof right where my head was. An audible crack and flare of excruciating pain brought me the realization that my neck had just been broken; snapped like a twig. Behind me Luna howled in anguish, unprotected from the impact by the use of a seatbelt. The car skidded along the road, still being pushed by the large truck, until it came to a sudden stop and lurched over until it had righted itself again. Time slipped away from me then, for all I felt and heard was unrelenting agony in my body and the terrible screams of Luna behind me. Faintly, I could make out the shapes of people running to help me, but they all seemed so distant. The heavy shape of the truck that hit me zoomed by, running away from the scene of the crime. I tried to lift my arms, feeling the sting of glass in them and their weight becoming doubled, and promptly gave up. "It's going to be ok, girl," I whispered to Luna, doing my best to ease her of her pained whimpering. At least she was still alive. Would she recover, though? I asked myself the same question as the door on my left was pried open by a number of hands and I was extracted from the ruined vehicle. Gently, I was placed on the gravel and a kind looking elderly woman held my head up. I smiled at her, or what I thought was the approximation of a smile. I couldn't make out what she was saying, but her warm expression made me feel like she was trying to comfort me. Faintly, I could make out the image of a burly looking man rooting about inside the car. A second later, he placed Luna's shrunken form on my lap and dropped my purse and phone beside me on the gravel. I tried to give him my thanks, but I'm not sure any words came out. He smiled, nonetheless, and stepped away, probably back to his car to continue on with his day. "Baby girl," I mouthed and held Luna close to me as she whimpered and whined. "It's going to be ok." The last thing I heard before drifting off was the sound of sirens. # The doctor, a hearty man with graying hair named Dr. Jacobs, informed me that I had been unconscious for the better part of three days. During that time, he had performed emergency surgery on my neck to stabilize the pressure on my spinal cord by inserting a titanium plate to fuse two vertebrae. I also had three broken ribs and a collapsed lung, which explained the tube sticking out of my chest. "Given the severity of your cervical fracture, I feared you might be paralyzed in your lower extremities, but preliminary tests of your nervous system have proved positive. You are one lucky lady," the doctor informed me and pantomimed wiping the sweat from his brow. "Can I see my family?" I asked, my voice hoarse and raspy and my lips dry. "Are they here?" I struggled to get the sentence out, as a second later I convulsed in a fit of coughing. My neck erupted in pain and I let out a wheezing cry. Dr. Jacobs was quick to come to my ease me back against my pillows and call a nurse to give me a sedative. "You may see one at a time when you wake up. For now, though, I want you to rest more." He produced a stethoscope to measure my breathing, keeping eye contact with me all the while until I drifted off to sleep again. When I came to, the nurse, a wiry balding man named Cal, supplied me with a cup of water and a straw to drink from. "How long has it been?" I asked him when my mouth had been properly wetted. "A few hours or so," he replied, holding a cup of disgusting green jello up to my face. "Fancy a bite to eat? It's nothing to write home about, but it's better than nothing." I relented, letting him spoon some of the unpleasing substance into my mouth and immediately noted its grimy texture and stale flavor. Spitting it out was my first instinct, but I hadn't eaten anything for multiple days and that was likely the only food I'd be getting for a while. "Is my family here? Can I see them now?" The only thing I truly wanted at that moment was for Rachel, Nicky, mom, and dad to walk in and see their faces. Luna came to mind, and I began to cry. She had been whimpering in agony when I held her in my arms before passing out, and I couldn't help but feel responsible for it. "It's all my fault," I sobbed. They probably hated me for what I did to that precious dog. "What's your fault?" Cal asked as he grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and dabbed my eyes with it. "Luna! She got hurt because I wasn't paying attention. Because of my carelessness. She might even be dead." I couldn't bear the thought of my sweet little greyhound being gone, so the tears, which were already flowing like a river, turned into a flood. Pretty much nothing could calm me down at that point. At least, that's what I told myself. The nurse brought me out of my foul mood, however, with probably the greatest news I'd ever heard in my life. "Your dog is alive and in stable condition at that hospital over on Indian School Road. I heard your sister and mother talking about it yesterday." He smiled to let me know Luna was alright. "Now that you're fully conscious, how about we let some family in to see you? But only two at a time." The tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy. Luna would live! I had to know more. "Yes, please. Thank you so much." "Should I bring your parents around first? Or maybe your brother and sister?" he asked, standing by the door to my room. "And while I'm at it, can I get you something from one of the vending machines? I think you'd enjoy that more than the jello they have for you." As much as I wanted to see everyone at once, I gravitated towards Rachel and mother and let Cal know. "And if they have Skittles, maybe a pack or two. I should have some change in my wallet." I twisted and immediately regretted my decision. "Woah, don't worry, now. They will be on me. Back in a second," he winked, and stepped out to retrieve my sister and mother. A few minutes later Rachel came bursting into the room with tears in her eyes. "Oh Lauren, I'm so sorry," she wept and took me in a hug, which elicited a yelp of pain from me. Quickly, she released me and stepped back. "Sorry. I'm just so glad you're ok." She hugged herself tightly, probably overcome with a mixture of anxiety and relief. My mother was less anxious, yet equally overcome with a sense of solace upon seeing me awake and responsive. "How are you feeling, dear?" she said, kissing my brow gently before stepping away to stand beside Rachel. Cal came in behind them and placed the Skittles on the table at the foot of my bed before ducking out again. "Tired and sore," I wheezed, placing a hand on my chest and fingering the tube running into it. "I'm so sorry about the car. And Luna. And everything else." "Honey," my mother said in a soothing voice and took my hand in hers. "Nothing is your fault. We're all just glad you're ok." In that moment, the care and concern she showed me truly made me think of her as my mother. "How did you get notified?" I asked them. "I've never been to a hospital in Arizona before." That was a lie, as I had gone regularly to a different part of the same hospital for over a year for therapy sessions. The only thing I could think was that the friends of my mother had doctored some medical records for me. "You have your girlfriend to thank for that. She was on the line when the car hit you and heard the whole thing. Anna described the whole event to Rachel and called every hospital in the greater Phoenix area looking for you. The news also broadcast the scene, so that's how your father and Nicky saw it." My mother reached into her purse and produced a large manila envelope with my name on it. "Good thing I had a copy of your medical records with me, or it would have taken the hospital hours to get them for your chart." I caught the slight wink she sent my way. "She's crazy for you, sis," Rachel laughed, popping a red skittle into my mouth and taking a yellow one for herself. "She was up half the first night just sitting by the phone waiting for us to tell her what was happening." "Is she here now?" I asked, hoping to God to see her shining face come through my door. I'm pretty sure I would be cured if she gave me but a single kiss. "Anna is coming as soon as she is able, but is in class right now," Rachel interjected, continuing to nibble on the bag of Skittles. "I'll go pick her up soon." "Thanks, sis," I replied and took her hand in mine, giving it a comforting squeeze. To think that less than two weeks before Rachel was merely my girlfriend, and her family just friends. Now, though, they were just as much my family as my biological one had been, if not more so. I couldn't imagine getting through a day without hearing from any of them in some form, be it a call, a text, or face-to-face. Maybe what had happened to me, my transformation, had been a blessing in disguise. Before the last week, I was a listless college graduate with hardly any prospects and little in the way of socialization or friends. All I did was surf the internet and play video games in my apartment, not even searching seriously for a job. Even my relationship with Rachel had become somewhat strained, and if things had continued, might not have lasted much longer. Though it had not entered my mind frequently, I was on a downward spiral of depression and suicidal thinking. And, I guess, if things hadn't changed I might be in the hospital for different reasons now. But now, I had a chance to start over. To go back to school and study something that truly interested me. Something that I would not only be good at, but passionate about and excited everyday. My relationship with Rachel took on a whole new meaning by becoming her sister, one that was stronger than anything else. "The doctor cleared you to eat solid food now, so do you want anything from the In N' Out? Your dad is going to leave right after he gets our orders." My mother pulled her phone out of her back pocket and began texting an order to my father. I was hungry, certainly, but the thought of meat just didn't interest me then. "Just a grilled cheese, please," I answered weakly. I probably wouldn't even finish that to be honest. "What about fries and a drink? I, for one, want a strawberry shake and animal style fries." Rachel licked her lips like an apex predator waiting to pounce on its prey. There was nothing in the world she adored more than In N' Out. "Can I just pick some fries off of everyone? And I'll stick with water." Soda would be too caustic for my sensitive system at the moment. "Sure, dear," my mother responded as she finished sending my father the order. "He should be back soon with some delicious food. No offence to the kitchen staff." "I don't think they mind," Nicky said from the doorway. He squirmed his way past Rachel and my mother to give me a gentle hug. "Little sis, you look terrible. What's the damage?" "Three broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a cervical fracture," my mother answered for me. "Good thing they identified the man who hit you and brought him in, because this would cost a fortune, otherwise." I felt guilty at hearing her words. The last thing I wanted to be was a burden for them, especially after they extended everything to me and took me in like I had always been one of their own. "I'll pay you back," I stated as strongly as I could muster, which admittedly, was not much. "Whatever it costs, I'll earn the money." "Oh, honey," my mother cooed, taking my hand in hers. "We would never ask that of you. Our insurance and the greaseball that hit you are covering most of it, and we love you. Of course we want to take care of you and see you back to full health." She squeezed my hand and I felt reassured hearing her. She stroked my matted hair out of my face and flashed me the warmest smile, a smile that only a mother and her child could understand. "I love you," I cried as I embraced her. "And you Rachel and Nicky. And dad, too. I love you all so much." Tears flowed from my eyes, but they were tears of joy and comfort. Even though the pain in my neck and chest was increasing by the second, the love I felt for them allowed me to ignore it. We hugged and chatted until my father came back with the large food order. "One grilled cheese and a small fry," he said, placing the food in my lap before giving me a lovingly little peck on my forehead. He squeezed my shoulder, looking deep in my eyes, his own looking swollen and irritated. I reached up and stroked his cheek, smiling. "I love you, dad." "I love you, too, sweetie," he responded, giving me another peck on the forehead and a light hug. "Alright, I'm hungry." With that, he sat down by my bed, pulled out a double-double, and begin chowing down. The conversation turned to more pleasant topics as we all ate our food, including school, friends, renovations to the house, and even a trip back to Connecticut to introduce me properly to the extended family. "You're a Rivers now, and that means you have a large connected family that you're part of." Each of my parents four other siblings, them being the youngest, respectively. I didn't know for sure where the number of cousins stopped, but it had to be somewhere in the ballpark of twenty or more. I almost had a headache just thinking about trying to meet all of them. Later in the night, Cal came by to let us know visiting hours were over and that it was time to leave. Everyone except my mother gave me a hug and left the room, saying they'd be back tomorrow when they could. My mother produced a bag from under my bed and sat down in a reclining chair next to me. "Can I get you anything, sweetie?" "More water would be nice," I said, feeling quickly parched after going without some fluids for more than ten minutes. "And could you put some ice in it?" "Sure thing," she said, picking up my cup and exiting the room, presumably in search of a machine. I looked up at the ceiling and felt truly blessed. Despite the situation I was in, the fact that I had the love and support of my new family made it entirely bearable. I felt more at peace with myself and my life than I had in quite a long while. Even thinking about the man that had crashed into me and driven away after didn't bother me or send me into a rage. I just wanted to recover and return to the life that I had settled into, with everyone that had become a part of it. "You look happy," my mother said, holding the cup of icy water out to me to sip from the straw. "You'd almost think you weren't in a hospital bed with a brace around your neck and a tube sticking out of your side." "Must be the pain meds they have me on," I returned, giving her a little wink while greedily draining the liquid until I was sucking down air. "I was just thinking about my life and how it's changed so drastically." "Oh yeah?" she said, returning to her recliner. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" "A good thing." I could have messed with her, but it didn't seem right to me to do so. "I'm glad." She pulled a long sleeve pullover, red with ASU printed in gold across the front, out and slipped it over her head. "Now, get some rest, sweetie. The doctors said they have a long day of tests planned for you tomorrow." She didn't have to tell me twice. While my mother was occupied by a book she had brought, I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. Probably due to the lingering pain meds in my system, I was out before I knew it. After many days of little activity and numerous tests, I was finally released from the hospital. It was about midday, as evidenced by the blazing sun shining through the windows, and Nicky had taken control of my wheelchair as we exited. To celebrate being released, my mother dressed me in a white sundress, which she rationalized was symbolic of my being reborn. Lucky for me, its flowy, airy design kept me cool from the scorching weather. Anna and Rachel would have been there, but they were currently both taking their finals on campus, so they promised to visit me at home when they were done for the day. I insisted on walking into our house, but my dad said he didn't want me to accidentally aggravate anything, so he scooped me into his arms and carried me up to my room. While I was away they had moved everything over, including my computer and a small television set that had been placed on the dresser. The sheets on my bed had been changed to that of cute, childish forest animals from Target. Giving me a light peck on the head, my father used one arm to pull the covers aside and then laid me down. "Do you need anything?" he asked. "I'm fine, dad. In fact, I feel better than I have in ages." # My recovery was slow and laborious, with many days spent watching television and playing video games by myself, with Nicky, and on occasion, Rachel. With so little to do, I was tempted to eat, but thankfully my mother managed my diet to avoid unnecessary weight gain. She also took time away from work to clean me, giving me regular sponge baths, and dress me, as I was unable to do it myself. I felt bad that she was devoting so much of her time to caring for me, and periodically entertained thoughts of her hating me. However, my mother assured me every time I questioned her that she truly thought of me as her daughter and would do anything for me. Anna stopped by regularly to relieve my mother of her duties, often times bringing dinner with her for the family. Were it not for my broken neck, we would probably spend our time together engaging in intercourse, though we settled for cuddling and watching television. With her continuous love and support, I was able to weather the days where I was honestly entertaining the thought of suicide. There was no mistake in my mind that I made the wrong decision in loving her. Luna returned to us with a cast around her front right leg and a nasty scar across her side. However, that didn't stop her from loving us just as fiercely as she had before. Seven days after I arrived home I awoke to a new experience--my first period. My sleep shorts were wet and sticky with blood and uterine lining, and my body was racked with pain from the cramps. Even though I knew to expect it sometime in the first few weeks following my unexplained metamorphosis, the shock of it actually happening was too great to contain. A shrill scream echoed throughout the house, waking everyone within earshot. That included Anna, who awoke with a violent jerk before falling out of the bed. "What the hell?" Anna cried as she rose to her feet. She spied the blood surrounding me, thick and viscous, and looked at my fear-stricken face. "It's just your period, Lauren. Why are you shouting?" I couldn't help but begin to cry. To her credit, she disregarded my bodily fluids and took me in her arms, stroking my back with one hand while the other cradled my neck. "I'm sorry," I wailed, hugging her tightly. "Shh. Just calm down and tell me what's going through your head." I had to think of something. She couldn't know that I had never experienced a period before. "When I saw the blood, I thought I was back in the car. I thought I was going to die." It wasn't exactly a lie. In that moment my father and Nicky burst into the room. "What's the matter?" Nicky said, visibly alert. Upon seeing the blood coming from me, he winced. "Lauren had a nightmare," Anna replied calmly. "Could you get Mrs. Rivers to help me clean this blood up?" "Of course," my father replied, clearly paling away from the sight before him. "Why don't you get her in the shower? I'll get some towels and put them in the bathroom." He was already backing away while speaking. "Thank you, Mr. Rivers. That would be extremely helpful of you." The water was warm and soothing to my shaken state. I must have spent a while just standing under the stream, because I was surprised by the soft knocking of Anna on the shower door. "You ok in there? I don't have to call your mother here, do I?" The concern was evident in her tone. Then she pulled the door open a crack and peeked her head in. "Have you been standing there the whole time?" "Yes," I replied softly. The shock of the period had worn off, though I had just come to the realization that I was fully female now. Never again would I be Logan Mills, son of Judy and Robert Mills. Now, and for the rest of my life, I would be Lauren Sophia Rivers. I would have more periods and possibly experience childbirth someday. My thoughts were interrupted when Anna tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, honey, stop spacing out. Let's get you cleaned up and out of the shower." I turned around and was greeted with the pleasing view of Anna's firm breasts pressing into my own. The water trickled down the perfect slopes and I couldn't help but reach up and caress one. "Mhmm, keep it up, lover, and we may never get out of here." She took me by the waist and pulled me into her. Her lips pressed into mine and reciprocated my action, cupping my right breast and rolling the plump nipple between her fingers. "I can't stand this. I need to feel you against me." Closer she pulled me against her such that our moist lower folds were nearly touching. "What will my parents think?" I honestly didn't care, but I had to ask. "They won't have any reason to suspect us of anything other cleaning up. Plus, they seem accepting of youthful pursuits." Our tongues intertwined once more before she pushed me against the back wall. With one look I parted my legs for her lithe fingers to enter. The sheer euphoria I felt when she entered me caused me to nearly orgasm. Anna had a way with her fingers that I could only dream of possessing, but I wouldn't let that stop me from making her feel as much pleasure as I could give when it was my turn. Another jolt of blissful electricity shot through me as her finger traced my clitoris and I let out a long moan. "You naughty girl," Anna purred. "Do you want your parents to hear us making love in their shower?" She brought one of her fingers to her mouth and licked it from knuckle to tip, savoring my juices. Quickly, though, she resumed sending me into a fit by rubbing my clitoris. "I love you," I cried as a magnificent orgasm tore through me, my legs turning to jelly. Wave after wave crashed against me and I fell into Anna's arms, breathing hard. I hungrily brought my lips to hers and kissed her. "Hold me like this for a while." "Whatever you say, princess," Anna replied, cradling my body against hers as the water streamed over us. We did finally manage to leave the shower, albeit after two more bouts of intercourse. Cleaned up, I inserted a pad into a new pair of panties and slid them up my legs, taking a second to adjust the absorbing device. After putting on a pair of comfortable jeans and a violet short-sleeved crop top, Anna and I joined my family in the kitchen for breakfast. Eggs and bacon had been prepared by my father while my mother had prepared a large stack of belgian waffles for everyone to eat. Feeling cranky and bloated, Ionly ate one strip of bacon and picked at my eggs before I pushed them away and grabbed my keys and purse from the counter. Anna quickly followed me and I threw her the keys. "Where are you going?" my mother asked, mildly concerned. "To the library," I replied, not stopping to give any further explanation. My mother didn't even try to stop me. "You want to go to the library?" Anna asked as she sat down behind the wheel of my brand new Honda Civic. The insurance of the man that hit me had paid for the new car, plus my hospital bills. "Not really. Start driving and I'll tell you where to go." Anna backed out of the driveway and left the community following my directions. For hours we drove on the highway, her listening intently to every word I said, and listened to my emo playlist. Finally, we pulled into a gas station and refilled the tank and bought some chips and sodas. "We've been driving for hours. Where are you leading me?' "You haven't figured it out by now?" I asked coyly, dodging her question with one of my own. "No, I haven't. And I would appreciate it if you would fill me in. Please." Anna's hands were on her hips, and she was tapping her foot impatiently. "Alright, fine. We're going to meet my family." "I've already met them. They're hours south of us right now. What do you mean by 'meet your family'?" She was not amused by my cryptic responses and demanded a clear answer. "What I'm saying is, I want you to meet my real family; my biological one. Because," and I paused to figure out how I would phrase it," I haven't always been Lauren Sophia Rivers. I haven't always been Rachel's twin and am not from Connecticut. In fact, I've never even been there." Try as I might, tears began to form at the corner of my eyes. "Hey, honey, come here," Anna cooed, taking me into her arms once again. "What is this about not being Lauren?" "I used to be a man; a man named Logan Mills, and I was from Colorado. I had brown hair and was quite tall and both my eyes were green. I was pudgy, but I was happy and in love with Rachel. Then one morning, the day before I actually met you, I woke up in this body. I didn't know who I was or what to do, but through meeting you I have become happier than ever. I want to be with you, and that means I can't lie to you." Anna looked stricken. She let me go and stumbled back to the car and got in. I thought of following her, but decided to give her some space. We could, hopefully, talk it out later when we had calmed down. The sun was setting before Anna approached. I was sitting across the street outside a 7-Eleven waiting for the stars to come out. "Hey," she greeted me sheepishly while twiddling her thumbs. "I've thought about what you said, and there's something I haven't told you." I thought she would say she couldn't be with me and that she never wanted to see me again, but she surprised me. "I believe you." I was flabbergasted. "You do?" "Yes. In fact, I know the reason why you changed." Anna turned away, clearly weighing something in her mind. "I made a wish that Rachel would love me, but because she didn't, the wish had no effect on her. Rather, I think it changed you into the image of her so that you would love me, instead." What was I supposed to say to that? That my body and possibly my love for Anna were the result of a wish. Did I really love her at all? So many questions raced through my mind that I began to feel lightheaded. I couldn't believe it. But a part of me realized that Anna had fallen in love with more than just my body since we started going out. "Would you love me even if I were a man?" Anna looked surprised by my question. Bending down to meet me at eye level she took my hands in hers. "At first, I was attracted to you because of your likeness to Rachel. But the more time I spent with you and took care of you after your accident, the more I came to regard the qualities that made you unique from her. There is so much that I love about you that has nothing to do with your body that I can't bear the thought of losing you." She squeezed my hand. "I honestly felt like giving up sometimes after the accident," I began, looking deep into Anna's eyes. "There were days when I thought me being dead would be better than what I was experiencing. But when you would come by and hold me close, I felt like I could pull through. I felt that with you by my side I could make the life I was dropped into worthwhile. When I was in the shower this morning, I fully accepted that I would be Lauren Sophia Rivers until the day I die, and that Logan Mills was gone." "Does that life include me?" Anna asked meekly, looking at me with longing. "Stand up," I replied and beckoned her onto her feet. "Anna Erin Polchak, will you marry me?" I leaned forward to bend on one knee and looked up at her. I didn't have a ring, but the gesture was something I meant with all my heart. "You're asking me to marry you?" she gushed through tears. "You would make me the happiest woman in all of Arizona if you said yes." She pulled me to my feet and took me in a deep kiss. "Of course I'll marry you," she said when we pulled apart. "I wouldn't dream of being apart from you, wish or not." We kissed again and headed back to the car holding hands. "So are we still going to Denver to meet your biological family?" "No, I don't think that will be necessary. I'll introduce you to them some other time. For now, let's just head back and maybe spend the night at your place." I winked at her and bit my bottom lip. "Oh you are such a naughty girl," Anna said, starting the car and pulling out of the station. "I can't help it when I'm around you." # "He's crying again. Who's turn is it this time?" "I'm sure he needs a feeding." I rolled out of bed and placed my feet in my fuzzy slippers, pulled on my robe, and walked to the nursery. "And how is little Andrew doing this evening?" I cooed to the crying baby in the crib. "Momma's going to get you all cleaned up and fed." I lifted the little mass into my arms and cradled him against me. Then I put him on his changing table and proceeded to get him a new diaper and kiss his little forehead. He stopped crying when I lifted an engorged breast from my nightgown and placed his mouth against it. Instinctually, he latched on and began sucking. "You're being such a good boy for momma," I whispered, rocking him back and forth with gentle swaying motions. Little Andrew suckled from one breast until his mouth popped off and he squirmed against me. I lifted him over my shoulder and gently patted his back until he let out a little belch. "Is that better my sweet, precious boy?" I cooed. "You look so natural caring for him," Anna said from the doorway. "Maternity comes easily to you." "Well he did come from me," I replied, setting the sleeping infant back in his crib and covering my breasts. "And you're not so bad at it yourself, I might add." "Well, our next child will be from me. But I don't think I'll take to it like you have." Anna pulled me close and kissed my neck softly. Her hands traced the slight curve of my stomach, still protruding somewhat from my pregnancy, and tweaked a nipple through the fabric of my nightgown. "I wish we could get started on Andrew's sibling right now." "Me, too. We have Christmas with the family in the morning, though, so let's get some sleep." "You're no fun," Anna pouted. She gave my breast another fondle and then led me to our bedroom. "Have I told you I love you?" "Only a thousand times in the last week," I replied as we slipped under the covers and I nestled into her. "I love you, too." "Do you ever regret me making that wish?" Anna whispered into my ear. "Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you were still Logan?" I answered truthfully. "I haven't thought about my life being different since the day I proposed to you. I am your wife and Andrew's mother until the day I die." The warmth of Anna's body lulled me into a deep and restful sleep.