Date Night Part 1

Hailey

Hailey tried desperately to keep it together. She didn't know if it was a quirk of the magic that had birthed her, or the specific nature of the two fuck-ups involved, but all her senses and feelings were screaming at her. Colors were saturated, sensations were rich, and her arousal was constant. She might have been able to control it if the target of her affection weren't right here being so ... him.

His presence loomed so large in her patchwork psyche that it seemed everything else was pulled into his gravitational field. She allowed herself to ease into his shoulder and tremble slightly in relief. Better that than start humping him again like her body ached to do. Internally, she blamed Lily and Hank for cursing her with a body so hungry for one man but an attitude and personality that seemed to repel him.

There's only one thing to do, she thought to herself, stealing her considerable will. Hide the crazy. Pretend to be a normal woman, a *real* woman.

"So what did you have in mind?" She asked, trying to keep her voice level. She didn't dare look up yet, she was still composing herself and knew another fearful look in his eyes would shatter her.

"I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hot. I think I saw an ice cream shop on the boardwalk ..." Craig cautiously offered.

"Ice cream sounds perfect," Hailey replied, while inwardly, she thought to herself, anything to get us away from this beach. Away from his memories of them and my failure.

After Craig gathered the things he and Lily had brought into their beach bag, they strolled to the boardwalk, side-by-side but in silence. Hailey felt the breeze as Craig's hand swung by hers, almost touching. She longed to be holding his hand. Internally she had chided Lily for being satisfied with that but in this moment she wished for nothing more. As her mind lingered on Craig, she couldn't keep her hips from swaying to some unheard music. Her long, powerful legs glided past each other, muscles flexing under the skin before quivering with each footfall.

Hailey kept a tight rein on her smoldering desire but knew she couldn't keep it up forever. Her body seemed built for sin and she knew it was a tightening spring, preparing to pounce on Craig again. She decided to relax into it. Instead of focusing on Craig and fighting her body, she focused on the sensations it was sending her. She straightened her back and pushed out her chest. Not to titillate this time, but to revel in her own power. She wanted to explore the limits of her new body, and if not under the passionate hands of a lover, she would have to find a substitute.

"Race you there!" She yelled before taking off down the beach. She watched Craig to make sure he had started running too before looking to her destination and letting loose. Her vision narrowed to a point as she pushed her body forward. Her arms pumped in perfect rhythm with her legs, exploding forward with each step. She planted a foot and changed directions on a dime to avoid a pedestrian. She executed a spin move around a stationary couple and let out a whoop of delight. Hailey threw up her arms in triumph as she crossed an imaginary finish line.

Hailey casually balanced on one leg, stretching a quad, as Craig struggled to jog to the storefront. "How the hell did you do that?" Craig asked, his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. "Did you know you could run that fast?"

"I didn't," Hailey admitted. "I can remember Hank being strong and fast. But it's different to *feel* strong and fast. I guess I still have a lot to learn about myself."

Hailey's heart fluttered in her chest as she caught his eyes on her briefly before looking away embarrassed. She had come on too strong the first time. Too much Hank, he doesn't want Hank, she thought to herself. At least I have his attention, that's something.

"It was a photo finish," Craig joked, "But I think you won. So what's your prize?"

Hailey chuckled and led the way inside. "I'll let you pay," she proposed. "Get me a mint chocolate chip cone, you always get ... Vanilla, right?"

Craig looked surprised. "Huh, Lily always got chocolate," he responded.

"Yeah," Hailey said. "But I'm vibing mint chocolate chip right now. It's symbolic, you know: two flavors coming together."

"Okay," Craig said, nodding in appreciation. "I get it. One mint chocolate chip cone it is."

Hailey watched him as he walked to the counter to order. She sighed to herself again. It always goes back to Lily, doesn't it? She thought wryly to herself. I guess it's better than reminding him of Hank. As much as she fumbled the ball, I can't stop him from seeing her in me. Am I going to have to learn to love that part of myself for him to love me? She bit her lip, stewing on that question as she turned to look outside.

"CRAIG!"

He jumped at the scream and rushed back to her, a cone in each hand. He found her in stunned silence facing the floor-to-ceiling storefront windows.

"What happened Hailey? What is it?" He watched as she silently pointed at the window. The bright lights in the shop had turned them into mirrors and she was pointing agape at her own reflection. "What's wrong? It's just you."

"I'm fucking hot!" Hailey whipped her face to Craig with wide eyed incredulity. "Holy shit, Craig! Why didn't you tell me I look like this?"

Craig searched ineffectively for appropriate words but was interrupted as Hailey continued ranting. "Fucking hell, dude! How did you turn this down?" She was inspecting her face and hair up close now. "I'm not even mad any more, I'm impressed. If *this* girl wanted me, I'd forget my own name. I mean, I've got muscles, but I'm clearly not as strong as you."

"And abs?" Craig jumped as Hailey turned back to him, pointing at her core with both hands and flexing. "How do I have abs? This is impossible, I mean ... am I even allowed to eat ice cream if I have abs?" Her breath was coming faster now as she marveled at her reflection.

"Calm down." Craig gestured as though calming a spooked horse. "You're a ... very lovely lady. Yes, it's crazy but only one of the crazy things that's happened already today. Take the ice cream. Eat." He offered her a cone.

Hailey grabbed it absent-mindedly and took a bite. Her words continued to flow, but now harder to understand with a mouth full of ice cream. "Thanks! You don't get it though. I remember wanting hot girls, and wanting to be a hot girl. But I have no idea how to actually *be* a hot girl." She turned back to see Craig desperately trying to hold back laughter.

"Hey, what's so ... Aw son-of-a-bitch!" Hailey grabbed her head as the brain freeze hit. "Motherfucker!" When the pain had passed she saw Craig now giggling openly and pointing to her cone. The scoop had a large bite taken out of it, she could even see her teeth marks.

"I thought for sure you were going to make a show of licking it, all slow and suggestive like before. But who *bites* an ice cream cone?" Craig smiled at her. There it was. The warm, easy smile she remembered. Best not to overthink it this time.

"I do!" Hailey declared defiantly and boldly took another big bite. The two watched each other as they started to tremble, desperately holding back laughter. Craig grabbed a counter to keep from dropping his cone. Hailey desperately covered her mouth, trying to keep from spitting out the ice cream she was holding inside.

"Why in the world would you do it again?" Craig finally asks, shaking his head incredulously. Hailey tries to answer but with her mouth closed but all that comes out is a jumbled mess of vowels. "Oh, so you're a goofball, I see now." After finally swallowing, but still with a mouthful of chocolate chips, Hailey retorted by sticking her tongue out at him.

"Displays of dominance over dessert foods are perfectly natural, I'll have you know." Hailey emphasized this by pointing a threatening finger at her ice cream. "You know what you did!" She smiled as she sauntered over Craig, leaning against the counter next to him. She let the moment pass as they snuck sly glances at each other.

How does he do it? She wondered. How does he get people so comfortable? Why is it so easy to open up to him? She caught herself staring and turned away, blushing. Just being here, next to him is so nice. Am I selfish to want more of him? To want all of him?

"I saw a bench outside, wanna sit with me?" Craig offered, derailing her train of thought. She followed him outside and took a seat next to him, taking a deep breath to savor the salty air. She savored the closeness, the faint heat of his body.

"At the expense of my mysterious allure, can I be real with you?" Hailey asked hesitantly.

"I actually prefer real, it's kinda my thing."

"I'm starting to believe you." Hailey said, her smile fading. "I want to say I'm sorry ... about how I treated you on the beach. I came on too strong, it's just ... I have all these conflicting memories and feelings inside. And just seeing you makes all of them rush out."

"Wow, that's wild." Craig replied, mulling over her words. "That actually explains a lot about you."

"Just 10 pounds of crazy in a 5 pound bag." Hailey joked, putting on a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"You don't have to do that." Craig said as he turned to her, an intense expression on his face. "You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not because you think I'll like it."

"You don't understand. I need you so much. My heart aches just to look at you." Hailey looked away, blinking the tears out of her eyes. "The moment I was born, 'those two' were fighting, fighting over you. I feel like I was made for you. To be hot and cool and everything a guy would want in a girl."

Craig mulled this over before responding. "Being yourself is cool. Acting on love is hot. I wish I could have told Lily that." He recoiled slightly, realizing how cringe that was, but she knew he meant it.

"So you're Yoda now, spitting wisdom?" She asked sarcastically to lighten the mood. Internally, she could only think wistfully, What am I thinking, I don't deserve this man.

"You were right, you know," Hailey continued. "If I had thought of it I would have been so suggestive licking that cone."

"I'm glad you didn't. I feel like I saw the *real* you. I could never see Lily doing that"

"No," she cut off the rest of her response, not wanting to criticize Lily in front of Craig. "And Hank! He would never be seen with a food so phallic, it would damage his image."

"I know, right?" Craig said, getting more comfortable. "Even in the showers after gym, he'd be flexed the whole time. Who was he trying to impress?"

"You'll never believe *why* he was overcompensating," Hailey teased. "He was secretly always ..." She trailed off as her train of thought derailed. There had been a memory there in her mind that she couldn't seem to access anymore. It was as though a shroud had been pulled down. She could barely make out the shape of it, a dark secret Hank hadn't even realized himself. But now it was hidden to her, somehow. The gem around her neck glowed faintly as a fear grew within her that she was not alone in her own mind. Now she had to deflect, she couldn't' let Craig know she was broken inside.

"Always had the hots for you!" She said jokingly, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Could you imagine?" Craig chuckled, getting in on the joke. "Let's just say you have a better chance with me than he did."

"Oh you flatterer!" Hailey continued, trying to stretch out the moment. "You're saying I pull off abs better?"

Craig risked a glance at her, not being as discreet about it as he wanted. "You've seen yourself, you know you're unbelievably hot."

"It makes me feel better to hear you say it," She said softly. "If you see me, it means I'm real. Not just some Frankenstein's monster. An amalgamation of parts."

"When you're not trying to be something else, something I'm supposed to want, that's when I see you. And I do like what I've seen. The excited you. The goofy you." Without realizing it, Craig had been drifting close to her as he spoke.

Hailey's breath caught. At this distance she could smell him. Some part of her internalized his words as her body started warming up again. She could feel her nipples pressing insistently against her bikini top, aching for his hands.

"You're not too bad yourself," she whispered throatily. She started leaning in herself, but slowly, holding herself back. She couldn't take a repeat of his rejection on the beach. She flushed as she felt his breath on her lips.

At the last moment Craig turned away. He was flushed and breathing rapidly. He bore a confused, conflicted look on his face. He's probably thinking of her. She's cock-blocking me again, Hailey thought frustrated. Her arousal was still building with their proximity and now threatening to burst without an outlet.

"I have to use the bathroom!" Hailey exclaimed as she excused herself, heading back inside the ice cream parlor. She barely noticed Craig following her as she reached her target, a pair of unisex bathrooms. She rushed inside one and quickly closed the door behind her, locking it. The room was softly lit. Her eyes glanced around quickly: toilet, sink, mirror, clean enough.

Hailey let out a low moan she hadn't realized she was holding back. Her hands immediately went to her chest, feeling the delicious weight of her breasts as she squeezed them. She pulled her top up, letting her tits fall free. Her fingers found her thick nipples and squeezed hard. Hailey gasped, overwhelmed by pain and pleasure simultaneously. She realized she had been acting on Hank's experience and rushed ahead too aggressively. She started again, caressing the nipples gently, working in circles. Her mind conjured an image of Craig sucking on them and she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning again. She felt her juices start to marinate her pussy, being held in by her bikini bottom.

A hand worked its way down her body, savoring the feel of her skin as it sought her pussy. The contact was so smooth it felt frictionless. Lily had shaved this morning but this felt like she didn't have any hair at all. A touch on her clit sent a jolt through her body. Hailey stumbled to the toilet as her legs failed her.

Hailey slouched backwards, pulling her left foot up on the seat to splay her legs out further. She tenderly traced around her clit as she could already feel her pleasure starting to crest. She imagined Craig with his gentle hands exploring her body. She thought back to the moment on the bench, his lips so close to hers. She placed her fingers at her entrance as she pictured his cock there. "Do it," she begged in her mind. "Fuck me and make me yours. Make me real," she pleaded. She hesitated a moment more, her body a coiled spring, before plunging two fingers in.

"Fuuuck!" Hailey moaned at the sensation of being filled she had been craving all night. She bit down on the collar of her jacket to stifle her voice but even that couldn't suppress her grunts as she plunged her fingers ever faster. Her mind was overwhelmed with different desires. A Craig to hold her gently as they tenderly made love. A Craig to plow her and make her feel soft and small. She imagined him thrusting madly into her, his climax approaching in time with hers. The thought of his ass clenching, his balls squeezing, as he fired his cum deep inside her sent her over the edge. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as her back arched in extasy.

Hailey's arm flopped bonelessly to her side. After she had recovered, she walked unsteadily on quivering legs to the mirror. The woman in it looked radiant. Her hair was wild and her exposed body glistened with sweat. She gave herself a satisfied grin. Good job not jumping on his dick, Hailey. I've been having to hold back, but where did some of those fantasies come from? Wild, she thought to herself. She noticed incidental contact making a nipple stiffen again. Damn, this body's like a motorcycle. A little too much throttle or not enough control and she'll take off on her own. She looked at her reflection with a growing sense of pride. Not an ideal on a pedestal, not an object of sexual desire, just something she increasingly identified as herself. She addressed the mirror as she arranged her hair and fixed her clothes. He's still stuck on Lily, but that's ok. I just have to show him that she's still here, in me. I'm the version that Lily wished she could be. She just passed the baton and I'm here to finish the race. If I play my cards right, he won't want her back and I can stay me, stay real. A glimmer of light from the necklace reflected an unheard retort in the back of her mind.

Hailey felt all eyes on her as she left the bathroom. She suddenly realized she hadn't done much of a job stifling her moans. Every one of them must know exactly what she was doing in there. In that moment, she realized she didn't care. That she had no reason to be ashamed. She tossed her hair back and thrust out her chest, daring someone to say something. Eyes glanced away as her confident gaze swept across the room. She had just noticed that Craig wasn't waiting for her when she heard the lock of the other bathroom door behind her.

Craig was adjusting his pants, his hands still moist from washing. Hailey narrowed her eyes at him as his eyes darted at her, then away. His face was flushed, he wasn't making eye contact, and was he walking a little more stiffly? He must have heard her too. He must have been thinking about me, if they heard me out here he definitely did through the wall. She spared him the embarrassment of talking about it but smiled contentedly to herself. I did that, she mused before leading him outside.

"Can we, uh, head back to the beach? I have something I want to check," Craig said, stammering slightly. "I was thinking more about the necklace."

Hailey grabbed it instinctively and took a step back. "But the date's not over, you said ..."

"No, I'm sorry, not about that. I was just trying to figure out how it worked. It didn't just change your body, it also made new clothes for you."

Hailey looked at her yellow, flower-patterned jacket and realized he was right.

Craig continued, "Do you remember if Hank had his phone on him, when he was ... merged?"

"Yeah, I had it in my ... pocket." Hailey accessed her memory from Hank and patted her new jean shorts with purely aesthetic pockets. "But now it's gone."

"I was thinking their clothes got combined, but what happened to the phone? Could it have been combined with Lily's phone in her purse? Or does it only affect things nearby?"

"You don't have my purse? I put it in the beach bag I packed. Wait, where'd you put the bag?"

Hailey didn’t realize she had started interpreting Lily's memories as her own. "Well, Someone started an impromptu footrace and I had to drop it to keep up."

"Damn, that's my bad." Hailey said, cringing.

When they reached the bag, Hailey pulled out a phone out of the purse. "Looks like the magic got to this, too. This isn't Lily's model ... and it unlocks with my face. Not just that, I have my own driver's license now," she said, pulling it out of her phone case and handing it to Craig.

"Hailey Sue Richardson," Craig read out loud. "Was this created after you chose your name, or did you choose this name because it had already ..."

Hailey knew Craig was about to go off on some tangent about parallel universes and free will. She was about to get him back on track when she saw something on her phone that struck her silent. She didn't remember taking this picture, it was clearly another product of the magic that created her. It was a photo of a young couple, clearly in love. She didn't know them, but she did recognize them. It was her and Craig.

Even before her mind could race, her heart melted at the image. She was taking the selfie while sitting in his lap, one arm around him and giving him a kiss. He was wearing that grin of his and holding her around the waist. Her first instinct was to show him the picture, show him that they were meant to be together. He couldn't deny something so natural.

But something made her reconsider. As much as she wanted him now, she couldn't help but feel that they had just started building something together. She wanted to be real for him, as herself, not as an obligation.

"Hey, 'Hailey Sue,' what did you find there?"

Shit, she thought to herself, swiping frantically to find something else to show him. Huh, this'll do.

"Check this out, if I could give the necklace some feedback, I'd say this is a bit on the nose." She showed him a family photo with a slightly younger Hailey standing in front of her "parents." The man and woman were unmistakably middle-aged versions of Hank and Lily.

"Wait, so are those real people now, conjured into being? Are they ..."

Hailey cut him off this time. "I know this is a lot for you to take in right now, and as long as we have the necklace you'll have plenty of time to do it later. Right now you need a distraction.”

She cocked a hip and jingled a pair of keys. “You promised me one night and I'm holding you to your word.”