More scheming on the way to the bar.

As they climbed into Jennifer's Jeep, Mark remembered some of the questions he had from earlier. He was definitely feeling a lot sharper now.

"You said something about how you're still transforming, and we should talk about it later. It's later. What did you mean by that?"

She started the car and put it in gear. "I think we've been thinking about this wrong. We're assuming the 'ideal partner' is a fixed image in our minds, yeah? Like you have this exact specification for what you want in a woman and it'll never change?"

He hadn't thought about that. "Obviously not. But the changes happen over time, usually. I may have different tastes than I did in undergrad, but I want the same kind of partner today as I did yesterday."

She put on a pair of sunglasses that were clipped to the visor and pulled out of the parking lot. "Do you? How much of what we want is trial and error? I've learned a lot about my taste in men from the men I've dated. My first boyfriend made me realize how important a sense of humor was to me, and my third boyfriend taught me that I hate loud chewers. And before you ask, that was old Jen's preferences - I've only got eyes for you, baby."

"So, what, it's like a process of refinement? We're going to keep changing each other?"

"It's more than that. Think of the Matrix. Remember how, when they needed to fly a helicopter, they downloaded the knowledge into her brain immediately?"

Mark picked up on her train of thought. "So if I need you to know something or be good at something, you'll learn it or be good at it?"

"Bingo. And I really need you to be good at teasing out subtleties like this with me. We might want each other to be good chemists when we get ahold of those pills, too. And here you thought you'd be doing anatomy flashcards today."

He had to admit it was exciting. Plus new Jen was great. She was exactly what he wanted - sexy when it was appropriate, but smart, funny, and down to earth. Not dedicated to pleasing him like some kind of sex doll, but someone he could hang out with and feel comfortable around. "Jen, I really like you like this."

She punched his arm playfully. "No shit, you dweeb. Now ask me about the plan for Grink."

Oh, right. "What's the plan for Grink?"

She pulled into the parking lot of a shitty little faux-Irish pub. "We need to get those pills from him. I'd like to test my theories while we do it, so here's what I wanna do. One of us is gonna go in there and get stoned with him. If I'm right, it won't take long before we're his ideal girl, or maybe boy. My guess is he wants a Phish poster with tits. We'll get him to reveal where he keeps the stash. The other one of us will be outside listening in, and will raid the stash while he's... distracted."

Mark coughed. "Wait, you're actually gonna fuck him?"

She got out of the car and headed towards the front of the bar. "I never said I was gonna fuck him. We can can flip a coin." Mark looked horrified. "Anyway, we'll see what happens when we get there, but why not? It's not like we'll be ourselves at the time. I'm also curious about what happens when you transform back and forth. Obviously, you keep your memory, but will things like your intent to get the location of his stash stay in place? It's a good, safe experiment. If worst comes to worst, the one of us who stays outside runs in and does a smash-and-grab."

It didn't sound as safe as she claimed to Mark, but he wouldn't question it just yet. She opened the door for him and they walked into the bar.