Scene 10

Sunday morning, Jackson lay curled up in a ball on the couch, clutching the blanket to himself as he slept. Completely unaware of his sister and Callie standing over him. “It is almost noon, do you think we should wake her?” Callie asked, thinking how Jacqueline didn’t look very comfortable sleeping like that.

Madison wasn’t sure why Jackie was sleeping out here on the couch and it didn’t much matter to her at the moment. “No leave her be, we don’t need her to go have brunch and I don’t want to wait around for her to get ready and end up missing unlimited mimosas.” Callie tilted her head to the side moving some hair behind her ear as she looked over at the pretty brunette.

“I think I will go with bellinis today, I’m feeling more in the mood for peach than orange. You sure we shouldn’t invite her?” Madison waved her hand in the air at the question.

“No, she can figure out her own food with her boyfriend.” Callie looked over to the open bedroom door and the empty bed that was in sight.

“Where is your roommate anyhow?” Maddison gave a shrug before walking around the couch to grab her purse.

“I haven’t seen him, but he mentioned something about setting up a gym schedule where he goes every day except Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.” Callie nodded following her.

“Good for him, I haven’t been to the gym in what feels like ages. I need to get back there and work on my glutes.” Madison let her female friend walk past her, reaching out to give her rear a smack. “Oooh!”

“Your glutes look great to me!” She tried to give a charming smile to makeup for the physical ****. Callie fully turned around, taking a step into Maddison’s personal space.

“You are so bad.” She said before giving her a kiss. “Now behave, we are about to be out in public. Today is Sunday, if you make a scene those good church folk are going to have a heart attack when they realize they have a lesbian couple dining with them.”

The closing of the heavy front door made a loud enough sound that Jackson awoke with a snort. Sitting up, he looked around the living room. Unsure of his surroundings for a few seconds, his mind once again reminding him of his bad life decisions as it throbbed. He remembered waking up last night and going to the bathroom and deciding he had enough of things. Enough of drinking, enough of this girl bullshit, but he couldn’t really remember much of what happened before that when he was out with his sister. The start of the evening was crystal clear, with Callie looking like something from a wet dream and then the drinks, he had several… to many drinks. He wasn’t new to time traveling as he liked to think of being blackout drunk. He had never been good with holding his liquor and not shy about drinking it when he wanted to party. Or celebrate, or forget something. He wasn’t an alcoholic though, he could quit anytime he wanted and right now that was at the top of his priorities. The light from the room stung his eyes, his stomach was queasy and his head was killing him. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the day before, but two days in a row of this… or three days. No shit he had time traveled and suffered the consequences four days in a row. “Get your shit together.” He told himself shifting on the couch to a sitting position.

Jackson glanced around for his phone before remembering or partially remembering it being in his purse. A thought he didn’t enjoy having at all. Wrapping the blanket around himself he stood up, listening to the apartment, hearing no one around. He moved over to the half wall between the living room and the kitchen where a pseudo bar had been set up to pick up his purse. He considered fishing through it to get his phone, but he also needed a shower. Jackson held up one of his arms taking a whiff. ‘Yeah, I need a shower…’ Moving back to Linc’s room that he shared he tossed the blanket back on the bed before sitting down with the purse next to him.

Sitting there for a few seconds without moving, Jackson reached up with both hands, placing them on either side of his head. Giving a squeeze to try and hold back the pounding. ‘God I know I took… I think I took something for my head before going out to the couch. What do I have a new super headache that is resistant to ****?’ He sat like that for another minute before removing his hands so he could use them to look through the purse with little leather tassels. Seeing its contents just made him more sure this had to be over, but he pushed those to the side to grab his phone. It was a reminder that his cell phone carrier had already changed his name, something else he would have to fix.

Jackie: Hey Maddy, where are you at?

Maddy: Just about to get out of the car to have brunch with Callie

Jackie: Oh

Jackie: If you haven’t gone in yet could you come back home?

Jackie: or just tell me where the solvent is for these stupid fake tits

Maddy: Not a chance to the first and still no to the second

Jackie: They NEED to come off!

Maddy: I put the solvent with some personal things aside so it didn’t get lost

Maddy: And I don’t want you go through my stuff, stay out of my room

Jackie: That is my room, you are just staying there

Maddy: I already gave your boyfriend my part of the rent, it is mine now little sis.

Maddy: Stay out!

Throwing the phone on the bed it bounced once before coming to rest atop the blanket Jackson had pilfered the night before while he groaned. “Madison Hart, always willing to lend a hand so long as she can reach her controlling tentacles around. I should just go in there and find it anyway.” Jackson considered doing just that before making the decision it would be for the worst. He didn’t actually know how to use it correctly and really didn’t want to lose the skin on his pecs trying to remove the heavy globes from his chest. So instead he went about his morning routine, after getting the ever tight corset off of his waist.

After finishing his workout Lincoln rubbed each of his thighs with his palms. The gym at the apartment complex wasn’t large, one treadmill, two exercise bikes, a rowing machine, a combination all in one type machine with adjustable weight plates, a bench press and some dumbbells lined up along one wall with a bench. He had taken the time to write out what his routine was going to be, Mondays and Fridays off and each day in the gym would start with a single rep for an overall workout and then the rest of the time he would do every other day focusing the rest of his time on either lower body or upper body. Today had been a leg day and his muscles were complaining about his current life choices. Rubbing his sore legs one last time Lincoln tossed his short towel around his neck and made his way back to the apartment. Coming inside the apartment the kitchen was almost immediately to the right of the door and standing there was friend Jackson looking oddly dressed.

Not long ago seeing Jackson wearing a skirt would have been odd, but today his feminine friend stood barefoot in the kitchen wearing one of his shirts. Lincoln looked his friend and girlfriend or pretend girlfriend over, he wasn’t sure where they were exactly. Golden hair like sunshine, a drastic difference from their normal much longer brunette hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail. No makeup, no earrings… no jewelry at all he noticed. They had on one of his button up navy blue shirts with black buttons, that was at least two sizes too big for their frame and a pair of tight fitting lycra black gym shorts. “Good morning! Is that coffee I smell?” Lincoln asked, smelling the wonderful aroma coming up from the mug his friend was holding.

“Yeah, morning. Umm yeah, want me to make you a cup?” Jackson glanced back at the coffee pot, he hadn’t made a fresh cup it was just reheated from the other day, but the pot had maybe enough for another mug.

“That would be great.” Lincoln took a single step into the kitchen, giving the pretty blonde a kiss on the check before walking away, heading towards his, now their bedroom. “Let me just grab a quick shower.” Jackson lifted his shoulder to wipe at his cheek, frowning at not just the act, but at the casualness of it.

“Sorry about borrowing your shirt, but I just couldn’t wear…” Jackson pressed his lips together as Lincoln disappeared into his room. Every shirt he had was made to be tight or revealing or tight and revealing to show off his impressive, but fake assets. When Maddy got home they would be gone and the good lord allowing, forgotten.

“Don’t worry about it, you look cute in my shirt!” Jackson glared at the doorway. ‘So he could hear me…’ He sighed. He didn’t want to wear the shorts either or for that matter the panties, but he couldn’t exactly borrow Linc’s boxers. They would be loose and he didn’t have many options for clothes of his own stuff that wasn’t a dress or a skirt. He really needed Maddy to come home so he could get her to take his things out of storage, he thought as he took a sip of coffee. The shower, some medicine and time had done a lot to improve the way he felt after so much drinking, but he really needed a day to just recharge. After another sip of his coffee he made a second mug adding in a splash of the hazelnut creamer that Maddy had in the fridge, giving it a few stirs with a spoon before bringing it into the bedroom and placing it on the dresser. The sound of the shower could be heard through the thin bathroom door. “I should really join him.” Jackson said flexing one skinny arm, it would certainly make me feel like a man again.” He thought feeling the fabric from the panties between his ass cheeks and the sway of the fake breasts, free of a bra as he moved back to the living room to turn on Sports Center.

“Thanks for this.” Lincoln said coming into the living room to see Jacqueline’s long legs propped up on the coffee table as they watched people, retired ball players he guessed, talk about current players and how they were performing.

“Oh. Yeah no problem.” Jackson put his feet back on the floor, raising the remote to turn the volume down. “Hey listen, I wanted to talk.”

“We need to talk. Never a great thing to hear from someone you are dating.” Lincoln said making his way to see on the couch, moving his leg so he could sit facing his friend instead of the tv.

“We aren’t really dating Linc.” Jackson said in a flat voice.

“True enough, it has only been one date, but we have had some fun. So what do you want to talk about?”

“I’m done Linc.” Jackson shook his head. “I can’t keep doing this.” Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck, twisting it enough to get a single pop. He had read about dysphoria in people transitioning and how it could lead to depression. With Jackson becoming Jacqueline, having the ability and money to work on becoming who they wanted to be and a supportive environment he hoped his friend wouldn’t go through that. He… she he corrected himself not for the first or even third time. Even without makeup the person in front of him looked more like a Jacqueline than a Jackson, but habits and how you saw someone were not always easy to change. He just hoped he hadn’t misgendered Jacqueline out loud, or it could be playing into the dysphoria.

“I’m here to help with whatever you need.” Lincoln reached out to put his hand on her own, but she pulled it away.

Jackson groaned, pulling his hand away from his roommate. He wasn’t used to people trying to be so nice to him. When a guy says he has a problem most people just say that is tough and wish them good luck. Having offers of help would be a nice change, but doing so because of the way he was dressed just made him feel even more helpless. He was not some submissive girl looking for someone to save her. “I know you are and I appreciate your help.” Jackson briefly remembered what he had to do to buy the continued assistance, but pushed that thought down. “I just… I’m not helpless and I like being in control.” Jackson thought of the little things he did, like tossing paper airplanes at Lincoln across their old double cubicle. It helped stave off boredom, but it and his pranks were his way of trying to grab hold of life and have control. It seemed like they annoyed Linc at times, but the guy was always willing to bend over for Mega Corp. Working late when asked, stressing him out because they were asking him to complete other peoples work that would have been forty eight hours worth and get it down in less than twenty four. So the pranks and messing with him helped break that up. This… what was happening to him now wasn’t some prank, it was like having puppet strings attached to him forcing him to… a piece of the dream he had last night that had been almost all but forgotten bubbled up in his mind.

“I don’t mind you being in control.” Lincoln thought of Jacqueline pulling him along into the supply room, demanding to suck his dick. Even the memory of it was enough to start waking the member in his pants. “We can try things you like. You liked what we were doing with your feet the other night before you passed out right.” Jackson went to shrug, but stopped. He really did enjoy getting the foot and leg massages, and had even considered signing up from a membership to one of those places with his higher wage. He thought he could afford it, but that wouldn’t be something he could afford anymore, not when he was ending the farce his life had become.

“Yeah, that was nice.” Lincoln smiled, mirroring the small one he saw on her face. Getting a footjob like that felt odd, not that he ever had one before, but it was something Jacqueline wanted to try, but seemed too tired and drunk to fully enjoy it. So hearing her say she enjoyed it turned the worry in the back of his mind into joy.

“Sorry I ruined your pantyhose though, that hadn’t been intended.” Jackson shook his head, waving his hand, not caring about the new information that Linc had put runs in a pair of pantyhose when giving him a massage. He hadn’t noticed them missing and it wouldn’t matter anymore anyways. “Not a big deal, but I bet you liked it better with me wearing them. Didn’t you? You big perv.” Jackson teased, it was a bit at his own expense, but joking about it… joking about anything in life always made him feel better. If he could joke about it, then it was something he could get past and if he couldn’t. Like with his Mom leaving, then he mostly tried to ignore it.

“I did. Pfffff” Lincoln admitted before blowing some air out, thinking about their last sexual act after the other was really getting him going, but this didn’t feel like the time to try and make a move. Doubly so after telling Jacqueline he would let her be more in control, but then he thought more about her falling asleep and how she had been the last few nights. Happy, but drunk, very drunk. He thought Jackson was always a lightweight when it came to drinking and seemed to have a problem turning down a drink, especially if it was free. Before the limiting factor was him, well the both of them being broke or close enough to it that they didn’t drink often, but lately it had been every night. It could be just Jackson being happy and having the ability to afford to drink now that he was living how he… she wanted. “Do you think part of what is bothering you is how much you have been drinking?”

Touching two fingers to his temple, Jackson nodded. The mornings as of late had been killer and he didn’t much care for not having full or even a good recollection of his evenings. It had never been this bad before, but **** had seemed to be hitting him so much harder lately.

“Yeah?” Lincoln asked seeing her nod her head. “You mentioned something about seeing a therapist through work. Maybe they could help.” Jackson looked up and into his friends brown eyes as he bit his bottom lip, unsure and being a bit annoyed that Lincoln seemed to almost always have a beard or five o clock shadow. The man complained about having to shave twice a day if he really wanted to have a clean face, but his ability to just configure a beard was something he never had. It was only a tiny thing of jealousy before, but now he envied him a lot more for it.

“I don’t need a doctor to help me not drink I can stop. I AM stopping, but they could help I guess, but it doesn’t matter. I’m quitting, like I said. I just can’t do this anymore.” Jackson did not like how his friend was looking at him, like he had two heads or something.

“Why are you quitting? Isn’t this what you wanted?” Jackson blinked at him a few times, moving his hands to the side, shaking them a few times, just wanting to smack the guy. Had he lost the thread on what they had been talking about?

“The money, sure. Linc, I wear heels to work everyday, I put lipstick on my lips, I look at my face in a mirror or my phone practically every twenty minutes to make sure I don’t need to fix something. I’m wearing fake tits! This isn’t just happening, but…” Jackson paused for a second so frustrated with his life. “The speed this is happening is maddening!” Lincoln nodded his head listening, finally understanding the crux of the issue. Jackson had never been a patient person and now that the flood gates had opened things weren’t going fast enough. Less of a flood gate and more of a trickle gate, or at least he that was how his friend was feeling. Sure they were able to do the things they liked as she just said. Wearing heels to work, getting to freshen up their makeup as often as they wanted without anyone making judgments, but she was upset that she had to wear forms to look more like a woman instead of just being that woman.

“Okay, I understand.” He tried to give his friend a reassuring smile.

“Good because it shouldn’t be hard to grasp!” Jackson threw his hands up in the air. “So you understand, I have to quit and that means I’m going to have trouble with rent, but we have Maddy here…”

“You are not going to quit.” Lincoln scooted closer on the couch, his eyes meeting Jacqueline’s soft brown eyes.

“I’m not?”

“No, you have access to everything you need at Mega Corp and have a chance to grow you wouldn’t have anywhere else. Things are hard now, but… everything will get better. You know I had that meeting with Dunn?” Jackson pressed his lips together, giving his friend a hard look.

“Yeah, I was there, sitting at that tiny desk, remember? You left without saying much and we haven’t talked about it. Shit are they letting you go? Oh that isn’t good he threatened me before too. We both can’t be unemployed…”

“Hey, hey. Calm down.” Lincoln closer now put his hand atop hers. “I’m not being fired, in fact I’m getting a promotion, a big one. Well it is all just potential at this point, some things have to happen first.”

“Yeah!? You jerk! You made me worried!”

“I didn’t make you jump to conclusions, but yeah. I might, possibly, maybe taking over for Dunn when and if he gets a promotion that is almost definitely going to happen. When that happens I would be in charge. Just think of the fun you could have working under me.” Lincoln pressed his shoulder into his friend, thinking about having her as his own secretary and some of the fantasies he could make into a reality. The wheels inside Jackson’s head started to turn. With Dunn gone he wouldn’t have to pretend to be his diversity hire and he could go work in the sales department under Abe or even replace Abe once he showed how talented he was with his sales numbers. The only problem would be he would still have to stick it out in his current role for his first ninety days so that HR would approve the transfer that Lincoln signed off on. In half a year he could be making a hundred thousand a year with the bonuses he could pull in or more… he wasn’t really sure what the base pay of a salesman, that was something he could talk to Abe about and he could use his friendship with Linc to make sure he got the best starting salary he could.

“That might be the best news you could have told me! This is amazing! We should go out and celebrate!” Jackson said jumping to his feet.

“Go out and celebrate, I’m guessing you mean a sports bar so you can drink and watch a game.” Jackson smiled, giving a small shrug.

“It would be us drinking, not me and games not game if I can help it.” Lincoln shook his head, letting out a long sigh. Thinking that it hadn’t taken long before the no more drinking changed to lets go drink.

“I really think you should make an appointment with that therapist tomorrow, that no drinking thing didn’t last long.” Jackson looked away from his friend, his eyes moving to his toes. His pink painted toes that he wiggled. Thinking about them and how they would be staying around, his plans changing thanks to the news and him trying to avoid thinking about almost breaking his pledge. If he was going to stay at Mega Corp at least he would have access to a therapist, he couldn’t tell them that no he wasn’t really transitioning without getting back to HR, but he could get help for his drinking. His father had a problem drinking, he didn’t have one. Not now, but he also could admit that he didn’t want to get to be like his father who was a kind man, but ever since his Mom left had spent at least even time being drunk as he was sober. He did not want to be like that man, not in that way at least.

“Yeah, yeah, I will. We should still celebrate, maybe tonight. Just go out and get a cake… you don’t like cakes. Go out for ice cream tonight with Maddy, maybe?” Feeling self conscious Jackson twisted one of his feet to the side, raising the heel of the foot up. Focusing his attention on the light from the window glistening off the polish, while his reached across his stomach to hold his forearm.

“A night out for ice cream sounds good, but if we are talking about things. There is something I should be bringing up. We were going to wait to tell you, or at least do it together, but I don’t want you to think I’m hiding something from you.” Moving his attention away from his toes that just looked way to girly, he looked to his friends stupid face with its hair that he couldn’t really grow.

“When I said things have to happen for me to get the job, well Dunn says I need to look stable. A girlfriend.” Stood up, feeling awkward sitting down while she stood. “Having a girlfriend isn’t stable enough, he said I need to be engaged and making plans to get married at the least.” Jackson found himself leaning forward, his eyes felt like they would fall out of his head with how they bugged out.

“Married!”

“Yeah, yeah, umm. So I was thinking, well talking with Madison… Maddy about all this because it was a lot and well.” He coughed into his hand, telling his friend he was going to marry their sister and the sister that he had been told to stay away from or that she would eat him alive wasn’t an easy topic. She is willing to marry me for a cut of my salary.”

“You… you are going to marry Maddy!?” Jackson accused.

“Umm, yeah. Unless…” Lincoln squinted slightly looking at his friend standing there in his shirt. “You have a better idea?”

“Maddy can be the biggest brat, she always wants to be in charge. She would eat you alive.”

“You have said that before, but to get the promotion.” Lincoln wasn’t done talking when Jackson talked over him.

“That is because you aren’t listening when I tell you, but hell. She is a computer programmer, the girl got better grades than me in some classes that she slept through. She can do better than you, hell she is dating Callie. That girl is hot with a capital H.” Lincoln swallowed hard, hearing Madison the girl he had a crush on for a while talked up like that, pointing out that she was actually out of his league didn’t feel good. She was only doing it because of the money, it wouldn’t be anything real, but she did promise some physical things. He was dating Jacqueline, but right now he didn’t feel like there was anything romantic there either. It was just her exploring who she wanted to be and he was there, he was available.

“I thought about asking you, but…” Again Lincoln found his friend talking over him. A sign she must be feeling a little better taking control of the conversation he thought.

“Me? I’m not getting married to you!” The facial expression on Linc’s face made Jackson feel like he just kicked a puppy, he was being real hard on the guy. He never thought of him as having real ambition, he was shy at times, at least shy enough that he didn’t do great with girls, being broke all the time made that harder he was sure, but right now he had just told him he wasn’t worthy enough for his sister, no man was and Linc should know that, but he wasn’t asking for love he was asking for a union to get a job. He had heard of two guys getting married so they would qualify for student loans before, he knew he was being too harsh on him. “Look, I’m not ready to get married to anyone, but you can’t marry my sister.”

“I get it.” Lincoln rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t think Jacqueline would be ready for something like that, she was more interested in figuring out who she was and not many people their age wanted to even get married, at least not yet. “I get it, I do, but I need this to get the job and it isn’t romantic or anything like that, but I need help. She said she would, and that is all I have to work with right now. So again, if you have a better idea, I’m all ears.” Jackson found it hard to believe his sister would go along with a marriage proposal for money, unless she was just yanking his chain, but still it irked him on another level. If he had to still go to work in a dress Lincoln would have to pretend to be his boyfriend to keep Dunn away and so many more. He couldn’t do both that and tell people he was engaged to someone else.

“What about me!?” Lincoln blinked a few times, confused. She had just said she didn’t want to get married.

“What about you?” He asked with a gentle voice.

“I mean us! I gave you a blow job! What do you want? Another one!? Do you want me on my knees begging to suck your cock everyday or something!?” Lincoln couldn’t help the smile come to his face as he imagined that.

“You would do that?” God he loved that idea, it was so encompassing he forgot about the talks of marriage momentarily. Jackson found his muscles trembling, bringing his forearms up almost in a boxer’s pose before stomping one of his feet.

“You, you… god you act like every other man! What is even the point!” Jackson turned on the ball of one foot, storming off into the shared bedroom, slamming the door closed behind him. He was so filled with rage at that second. ‘We just talked about how things would change when he was in charge! For that thought I have to stay on… like, like this! But for that to happen he has to get married or engaged or whatever, but he had promised to keep pretending to be his boyfriend so every man eyeing him up like a piece of meat would stay away, but… but… That wouldn’t happen if he was known to be engaged to someone else. That stupid grin on his face!” Jackson jumped on the bed, landing on his stomach and his large chest.

“AARRRRRRR!” Jackson pressed his face into a pillow screaming. ‘What am I going to do!?’