Red Wine Supernova

Fade to black. Wake up in a strange new reality. Get up to speed on its rules. Sometimes he got to remember the cascade of strange experiences, sometimes it all felt natural. Regardless, the whiplash was getting disorienting.

At least this time, as he rolled out of bed, Jake knew where he was, and what he was. He was fully himself, back on the Island, recreated down to the ominous storm clouds bearing down on it. They were getting alarmingly close now. But then again, what did he have? Three dreams left? 12 hours of content, assuming all of the remaining contestants used all their time.

As he walked toward the living room of the Master's Suite, he began to run through the possibilities as to who this might be. But the question answered itself when he stepped into the living room. On the balcony, he could see a pair of legs propped up from a deck chair, a barbed wire tattoo wrapped around one and a long white rose on the other.

When he sat down to join AJ, she handed him a cold beer by way of greeting. He popped the cap, and the two clinked bottles. After a long swallow, she smiled at him, and for a moment, they sat in a silent, contended comfort together.

“I must have been pretty late in the order. I been sitting here for hours,” AJ said.

“Surprised you’re not tanked,” Jake quipped.

AJ waved him off.

“Doesn’t appear to be an option,” She said. “At least not till you got here. Now I’m starting to feel it a bit.”

Jake wanted to smile at that, but he thought he saw where this dream was going, and he didn’t like it.

“AJ, I appreciate that you wanted to give me a reprieve and all. It’s really, really nice of you," he said. “But…you’ve gotta start looking out for yourself here. I’d love to just sit back and have a nice, normal couple hours with you, but the audience is gonna kill you for it, and…”

AJ interrupted him with a barking laugh.

“That’s what you think we’re doing here? Hanging out?” She asked. “Nah, man, don’t you worry. If you wanna sit here and tie one on for four hours, I’m game. But I gotta plan.”

Jake breathed a sigh of relief.

“Glad to hear it,” He said. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what I’d do if you got knocked off this show.”

AJ placed her hand in his.

“You’d get by. Figure it out. You always do,” She said.

Jake squeezed it, returning her smile, then took one long, last swallow of beer. AJ nodded at the bottle.

“Save a little of that. You’re gonna need it.”

She bent to her left, withdrawing a matchbox. When she pushed it open, it revealed four pills, two blue, two pink. One of each was solid, while the other translucent. Jake arched an eyebrow.

“Very Matrix,” He said.

“Seemed appropriate, given the whole sim pod thing,” AJ said.

She said it with a shrug, but Jake caught a stiffness that told on her casual front. She was nervous.

“So there’s four of them,” He said. “What do they do?”

AJ sighed, and sat up straight.

“Look…this whole thing...Maybe Megan can make it if she doesn’t ever touch you. She’s off to a damn good start. But I won’t,” She said seriously. “There’s an obvious….gap we need to cross if I’m gonna hang in here, and I wanna use this as an opportunity to test the waters.”

Jake studied her, then the pills.

“Let me guess,” He said. “The blue pills make you straight, the pink ones make me a woman?”

AJ looked impressed.

“Damn…you nailed it. But that’s only half the choice,” She said. “One way or the other, we’re headed to a scenario I cooked up. If you pick a clear one, we go in with all our memories. If you pick a solid one, it’ll feel like we were always like that.”

“Alternative reality versus exploration,” Jake said. “Your really thought this through.”

AJ let out a long sigh.

“When it comes to me and you, this show is gonna do whatever it’s gonna do,” She said. “But if there’s anything that could possibly exist between us, I’d like to find it on our own terms before they force it on us.”

“Yeah,” He agreed quietly. “But what if there’s not? Anything between us, I mean.”

“Then you’re still my best fuckin’ friend,” AJ said. “Now quit dicking around and pick something.”

Jake reached out with a smile. He followed AJ’s eyes as he picked up the two blue pills, examining them in the setting sun. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he pitched them over the balcony.

AJ grinned.

“I knew you were gonna do that.”

Jake cocked his head.

“Then why’d you offer them?”

“Consent’s important. I had to at least give you a choice,” She explained. “Besides, it don’t feel right forcing you to give something up for me instead of at least offering to do the same.”

Jake nodded.

“And you'd have gone along with it if I’d picked the other one?”

AJ looked almost offended.

“Course I would. You know me better than that.”

He did, and he thought he loved her more in that moment than he ever had before. Everyone else had shuffled him into whatever reality they needed. He didn’t hold it against them; it’s what they’d been told they had to do. Not AJ. He almost hoped they did find a spark in this experiment. She was a damn fine partner.

She must have been sharing some similar thoughts about him, because when she finally spoke up again, there was a slight quaver in her voice.

“You’re a pretty fucking good guy for throwing those out. You know that, right?”

Jake grinned.

“My whole white knight thing aside, you know this is a pretty big opportunity, right? How many guys get a chance to see things from the other side?”

He held up the pink pills, mulling over which to take. Part of him was captivated by the idea of going into whatever came next with his eyes wide open, being able to appreciate his new self with complete awareness. Another part of him knew that doing that would mean going out on a limb with AJ. She wouldn’t be a hot stranger, or his girlfriend, or whatever she had planned for him. She’d be…AJ.

He weighed the two choices for a moment longer, then finally grabbed his beer. With the last dregs, he popped a pill into his mouth and swallowed.

*****

That discombobulating feeling struck Jake once again, displacing him. Then, even more than usual, everything felt wrong.

Jake wasn’t sure of where he was anymore. He wasn’t in the suite, he knew that much. Nor did he think he was even on the island. Wherever he was, it was loud, with music, noise and a lot of people. But more alarming than any of that, everything around him was too damn big. Jake was a tall guy, and whatever else had happened, that wasn’t true anymore.

One look down confirmed why. She had breasts now; modest, but perky ones that pressed against a tight, blue shirt. It was a baseball v-neck, she could see, with red sleeves she’d rolled up to reveal slender arms and delicate wrists, and she was uncomfortably aware that she wasn’t wearing a bra beneath it. She felt the strange, unfamiliar sensation of a miniskirt hugging hips that felt too wide for a small frame, and legs that seemed shapely. She circled around herself, trying to get a better look at her own ass, and didn’t realize how ridiculous she must have looked until a door nearby opened.

A strange girl stared at her from an open bathroom. Jake could hear a toilet running from inside. For a moment, she and the girl just stared at one another before Jake straightened herself out.

“There was a sticker. On my skirt,” She said. “I was uh…trying to see if I got it.”

The girl looked at Jake for a moment longer. She looked like a college student in her early 20s. Finally, with a shrug, she hooked her thumb over her shoulder.

“Whatever. Bathroom’s yours if you want it,” The stranger said.

Jake nodded and rushed in. Her whole center of gravity was off now, but she didn’t seem to mind. Whatever had turned her into this seemed to equip her with everything she needed to move and act like a woman, and she couldn’t help but notice the change to her own gait and posture. That she was clicking away on heels, and wasn’t falling over while doing it, made it obvious that at least part of her transformation had been more than skin deep.

Locking herself in the bathroom, Jake moved to the floor length mirror in the back corner, and her jaw dropped at what she saw.

The girl staring back at her wasn’t just shapely. She was beautiful. She had a tight body with a shapely ass, long, pretty legs she showed off in a denim miniskirt and leggings with runs that were clearly more decorative than decrepit. She pouted a little when she realized that part of the height she did have came from a pair of stylish, chunky boots. Without them, she was probably only about 5’2. They did marvelous things for posture, though, emphasizing her legs and making her ass pop.

She had modest but perky breasts (which Jake spent longer than she cared to admit “examining”), but her real standout feature was her face. Full lips, painted a striking, rosy pink, high cheekbones and a pair of large, pretty blue eyes that reminded her of her sister’s. She had dimples like Megan too, and her button nose. Her hair was a lovely auburn, thick, full and combed out into gentle waves that fell down over her shoulder and across her forehead.

“Holy shit,” Jake whispered, “I am really pretty.”

And yet, nothing about her look was implausible. Jake had the suspicion that, rather than being done up as some fantasy girl, AJ had kept her fairly close to what a hypothetical, female self would have looked like. It made some sense, even. Jake had been a handsome man. Now he made a pretty woman.

She was also, Jake realized, a good deal younger. She looked like she was in her early 20s, and a quick inventory of her belongings indicated an Iphone 5 with a picture of her new self and an equally young looking Lacy as its wallpaper, leaning in for a cute, joint selfie.

She was back in college alright.

There was a knock at the bathroom door. Jake whirled, ready to be screamed at to hurry up. But the voice that spoke was a familiar one.

“Jacky? You in there?” Lacy called out.

The name rang some bells. She wasn’t Jake anymore. She was Jaquelyn. Jacky to her friends. Jacky bit her lip. She wanted to explore her new body some more, but she had a dream to see first, and she’d already wasted some time chatting with AJ on the shore. Replacing her shirt back over her breasts, she straightened up.

“Yeah, Lace. Just wrapping up,” She said.

“Oh good. I been looking all over for you,” Lacy said. “AJ and Hannah are out back.”

Lacy, Hannah, and AJ. Somehow it always came back to the three of them, and the thought of just spending some time with them like the good old days, in the good old days caused a wave of nostalgia that hit her like a physical force.

Even if shit was really, really different.

“Yeah,” She forced herself to say, “Let’s go!”

Lacy took her by the wrist and led her back through the party, weaving around drunk people dancing in the living room, a spirited game of beer pong, and several people crowded an old, shitty kitchen. The whole place looked weirdly familiar, but Jacky couldn’t quite place why.

Jacky couldn’t help but admire her friend as she followed her. Long, toned olive legs extending from a pleated, army green skirt and a bright, tight red t-shirt for that Japanese surf band she liked that rode up above her midriff. Apparently, becoming a woman had done nothing to curb Jacky’s sexuality. It wasn’t Lacy’s dream, but Jacky still had to fight off an urge to kiss her; to coax her into wrapping those gorgeous thighs around slender new body, and….

“C’mon!” Lacy said, yanking her along again. “What are you looking at me like that for?”

Lacy blushed slightly though, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear.

“Sorry,” Jacky forced a smile. “Just a head rush.”

It was not a lie.

The pair emerged onto a beautiful evening, and as soon as they were outside, he saw his other friends. Lacy had been Ryan back when this happened, but he remembered that dress on Hannah; a front button red number with short sleeves and a polka dot pattern. He remembered AJ’s combat boots, her tight fitting, sleeveless white shirt, and the cutoff short shorts that showed off her long, powerful legs.

At the sight of them, in those outfits, a years old, untouched memory jostled out of the obscure depths of recollection. They were at Steve Castle’s place; a frat boy’s frat boy, destined to be a finance bro.She’d shared a class with him as Jake. He’d dragged them all to a party, and they’d almost all retreated to a corner of his yard; the only place where they had some breathing room and they could hear each other of the cacophony of the party. She knew what would come later, too.

As she and Lacy walked into the clearing, AJ’s gaze snapped to Jacky. She couldn’t see her friend’s eyes behind the aviators she wore, but AJ’s mouth dropped open. Jacky shifted in spite of herself, pulling her skirt down. It was all the proof she needed that AJ was seeing it for the first time.

“Uhm, hey,” Hannah cut in, “Destination Venus. Earth is calling.”

Just like that, AJ was back in character.

“Right, yeah,” AJ said, waving her and Lacy over. “The fuck did you invite us to this place again?”

She held up an opened beer. Jacky plucked it from her fingers, meeting AJ’s eye as she took a swig.

“Thank you for saving me one,” She tried to sound as confident as she could.

AJ was tall for a woman. Jacky had always been aware of that on some intellectual level. But knowing it, and looking up at her from half a foot down, and in heels at that, really drove the point home. She forced a smile, and the one AJ returned was totally natural.

“So, are you two gonna fuck or something?” Lacy asked, with her typical discretion.

Jacky froze for a moment. But AJ flipped Lacy the bird, they all laughed and the tension evaporated.

The four friends collapsed on the grass in a semi circle, staring up at the tall buildings that ringed the crowded lawn. Unable to stop herself, Jacky thought about what a place like this would be worth in the present. Millions, probably. Hell, it was probably millions then.

The sun was going down, and the golden string lights hung against the fence and over the back yard were filling it with a magical summer glow. The fuzzy warmth of a pre-drunk buzz was creeping over Jacky, and between it, the lights, and the weather, the night was taking on that magic quality of a New York City summer.

Still, the energy was flagging. Luckily, Jacky knew what had to come next.

“C’mon,” She said, grabbing AJ’s wrist. “There’s a karaoke machine in the living room that’s getting woefully unused. Come help me liberate it.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Hannah asked. “You’re just gonna go in and take it?”

“I am,” Jacky said with a grin. “C’mon. I need an extra pair of hands.”

For once, Lacy demurred. In her memories of this, it had been AJ who’d pushed them into this. She nodded as the two met eyes, clearly in on the joke.

The two headed inside. As soon as they were past the door, Jacky pulled her aside.

“God, we were shitty guests when we did this,” Jacky said as she led the way inside.

“They invited us to a party, we had a good time,” AJ said, dismissively. “‘Sides, people had more fun outside with us than watching those bros play Guitar Hero anyway.”

She grinned over her shoulder at Jacky.

“So…the clear pill, huh?”

Jacky smiled.

“Our relationship’s always been built on honesty.”

AJ gave her an approving nod, and, already feeling her first beer going to her head, Jacky posed for her.

“How’d I turn out?”

“Fishing for compliments, Cooper,” AJ said, appraising her over the bridge of her sunglasses, “Bad habit.”

The look on her face was all the answer Jacky needed, though.

“C’mon. We gotta party to hijack,” AJ said, nodding forward.

The two pushed through the crowd in the living room, to the place where a large, dust covered speaker and mic had been shunted to a back corner.

“You get that side,” AJ said, directing her. “I’ll…”

But at that point, they’d both become aware that someone was approaching.

“The hell you two doing with that?” A voice came from behind them.

Jacky turned to find the host himself standing over her. In her memories, Steve wasn’t this big, and not for the first time, she reflected on how small she felt. From the corner of her eye, she could sense AJ shifting, ready to square up with him. But Jacky reached out and gave her wrist a light brush, and when their eyes met, the briefest shake of her head.

Jacky slipped back on her heels, and tossed a tumble of hair over her shoulder. Straightening her back and sticking her chest out, she looked up to meet Steve’s gaze.

“Heya Steve. Remember me?” Jacky asked. “I’m the new girl at Mellon?”

If memory served, Steve was a nepo baby; the son of a partner at the firm who was handed a job Jake had to spend almost two years slaving in a boiler room to earn. In life, Jake had earned his respect by working circles around him, which is how he’d ended up invited here in the first place. As his eyes roamed over Jacky’s body now, it didn’t take long to see why he’d done it in this reality.

“Yeah, I remember. Thanks for coming,” Steve said, the aggressive tone he’d started with melting into something else.

“Sorry for moving this without asking,” Jacky said, standing beside the machine, “We just thought it’d be fun to bust it out, y’know?”

He looked troubled; stuck between what he wanted, and some instinct of self preservation.

“I uh…well, Dad said if we got another noise complaint…”

“Blame it on me,” Jacky said, taking care to push her breasts together. “I’d take the fall for you…”

From the corner of her eye she caught AJ rolling her own. Still, Steve had visibly softened.

“Please? It’ll be so fun.”

“Alright, alright,” Steve said, though he was smiling, “You gotta give me a song though.”

Oh, very smooth, Jacky thought. Still, she forced a giggle and leaned toward him.

“You know which one?”

Idly, she toyed with a strand of hair. Steve put one of his muscled arms on the wall above her head, boxing her in.

“Dunno yet. Maybe I need to see a bit more of you first.”

Almost catlike, she settled against the wall, giving him a look she hoped was playful.

“In that case, you better help my friend here get this set up,” She said, “I’m thinking the deck?”

Jacky watched the two of them, marvelling that a few words could have a few people doing hard work on her behalf. When she was Jake, she’d have rolled up his sleeves and done it with them.

“The hell was all that about?” AJ approached after they finished, her tone more curious than hostile.

“Steve?” Jacky asked, shrugging a feminine shoulder, “A little bit of sport. I’ve never had feminine wiles before. It’s kinda fun using them.”

“Little mean to him, no?”

She was grinning as she said it, though. Jacky gave her a theatrical roll of her eyes.

“I’m sure he’ll be devastated before he stops existing,” She said. “C’mon. You know none of this matters as much as I do.”

Jacky nodded toward Lacy and Hannah, who were sitting on the grass talking while ignoring them utterly.

“If this were real, they’d be up all up in our business. Instead, they’re background noise.”

AJ leaned back against the deck railing, her toned, tanned, tattooed body spreading out as she did. Already at this point in the timeline, AJ was taking construction jobs to make ends meet, and she was a few years away from the foreman duties she’d eventually graduate into. It was as lean and tightly muscled as she’d ever get.

Jacky found herself admiring her old friend in a way she never had before, and for reasons she’d never admired anyone. She imagined those hands wrapping around her small waist, those arms lifting her off the ground. Those legs enveloping her. The thought sent a flush of heat through her body, alien in the way it manifested. Before, AJ’s more mannish qualities had made her easy to think of as another one of the guys. Now, they were downright alluring.

“Fair enough. God it’s hard to think of you as Jake right now.”

Jacky looked around to see if anyone was listening, before remembering that it didn’t matter. Even having just made a point of it, old habits of propriety were hard to break.

“I don’t feel like Jake right now. It’s like I’m this whole other person. I’m doing things I normally wouldn’t. Into things I normally wouldn’t be.”

“Chekin’ out girls you normally wouldn’t?” AJ asked with a coy grin.

“Fishing for compliments, Brandt” Jacky stuck her tongue out, “Bad habit.”

AJ snorted at that, then stood with a nod toward the machine.

“C’mon. We didn’t lug that fuckin’ thing out here for nothin. Let’s get to the fun part.”

Jacky put on a mocking pout.

“I thought that was me.”

AJ grinned, popping one arm beneath another to toss her the microphone. Jacky caught it, albeit clumsily, and for a moment, had no idea what to do. AJ had gone through all this effort, even brought up an old memory of some nice day they’d spent together. She had to pick some perfect song for the moment. To impress her.

And then the answer came.

“Roll it. You know what I sang.”

AJ smiled.

A muted, Karaoke-fied version of the opening keyboard began to play. The crowd milling around the deck began to form an impromptu stage, quieting for the new signer. In the dream, just as she had in life, Jacky sang.

“Comin out of my cage, and I been doin’ just fine. Gotta gotta be down, because I want it all…”

AJ leaned back and watched her sing, and Jacky took special care to sing to her. As sweeping romantic anthems went, Mr. Brightside left a lot to be desired. Yet as she sang, and she watched AJ nod and then bounce along, she knew she’d made the right choice.

This wasn’t some mystery date. It was AJ. All she had to do to impress her was be herself.

Which is not to say she didn’t insert some new flourishes. Jacky crooned the song, rather than belting it. She let her hips sway, her body lowering as the chorus built to its crescendo. And When it hit, she bounced on her toes, throwing her whole body into the performance, and she proclaimed the title, she did with a toss of her hair.

Jacky was aware that Steve was watching her, his eyes on every sway of her hips. Nor was he alone. But it was AJ she sang for, watching every movement of her body in the reflection of those mirror shades. They came off about halfway through, and their gaze locked. Even Steve, galoot that he was, seemed to understand what was happening, as his attention turned away from her even before she’d finished.

As the song wound down, the crowd grew quiet. There was no reaction to her, only the nervous hush of expectation; of a crowd that new someone had to step up, even if nobody wanted to.

Then it was broken. AJ put two fingers in her mouth and blew the sort of loud, piercing whistle she used to summon construction workers. She slammed her hands together in applause, and it was infectious enough that others started joining her. Jacky had no idea if she’d actually been good. Everything still felt so strange that she wasn’t sure if she’d been sexy or absurd. AJ could have been cheering out of genuine enthusiasm, or just to be supportive.

Jacky beamed. It didn’t make a difference, she realized. That was who her friend was. Though she made her true feelings known a few seconds later when she stepped up to take the mic from her.

“Fantastic,” She said, kissing her on the cheek as she passed.

Jacky felt another flush, less at the kiss and more at the easy way she pushed her aside so she could do her own performance. AJ looked down at her, winking, and Jacky couldn’t help but bite her lip.

Just as she had back then, AJ launched into a jaunty version of the Animals’ Baby Can I Take You Home. Her singing voice had a gravelly quality that suited the song perfectly. She’d sung it for someone specific, Jacky remembered, but she couldn’t quite recall who.

AJ was singing it for her, now. And she was so transfixed that she didn’t even notice that someone had sidled in next to her.

“So…you and her, huh?”

Jacky turned to find Hannah, her green eyes made bright by her dress, staring into hers. Involuntarily, she realized she was biting her lip. That was Emily’s tick, and she’d apparently adopted it.

“I dunno,” She answered truthfully. “Is it that obvious?”

The look Hannah gave her was a familiar one.

“It always is with you. And her, for that matter.”

Jacky wasn’t sure what the rules in this reality were, or what her friends’ expectations would be.

“Something’s setting off some sparks,” She admitted.

Hannah smiled, in a familiar, supportive way.

“You’d be a cute couple,” She said, “Not sure I see it, but you’d look damn good together.”

Jacky felt a pang in her heart at that smile. It was the smile of the woman her old self had loved most of her adult life; the one who’d been her friend, and her rock, as much as her lover. Still, she wondered how much of it was some nascent jealousy, or just the doubting Thomas that Hannah had always represented.

It was she who took the mic next. Hannah was a beautiful singer, and she delivered a soulful, oddly sexy rendition of Pumped Up Kicks. Lacy followed with a bouncy, enthusiastic version of Should I Stay, Or Should I Go that was more enthusiastic than good. They each sang one more song, Hannah crooning out Royals and Lacy practically screeching Joan Jett’s I Love Rock & Roll.

As that last took place, Jacky found herself leaning on the deck railing next to AJ, almost, but not quite touching.

“Hey, AJ?” She asked, finally grasping the question that had been on the tip of her tongue since she’d gotten her bearings here, “Why are we here?”

AJ’s answer was a quizzical look.

“I mean…this night, specifically. I barely remember this, and I dragged you all here. Why this, of all things?”

AJ took a long swallow of beer. She was quiet for long enough that Jacky was about to apologize for asking when she finally spoke up to answer.

“Because. I was with you, and Hannah and Ryan…” She said, “I dunno. It was like…one of purest memories I have of us.”

She shook her head.

“It was such a pretty fucking night, and we has so much fun even though the rest of it was all so lame. I dunno….” AJ was looking up now, concentrating on the middle distance, “I’m not good at this, but…I just remember this…moment. It’s one of the clearest I’ve ever had. I was laughing at all of you between songs, thinking how much fun we were having, and I thought ‘God, these are the people I want to spend the rest of my life with.’”

Jacky took her hand.

“That’s beautiful,” She said, giving it a squeeze, “I didn’t feel it here, but I’ve lost track of how many times I have when it comes to you guys.”

The look AJ returned made Jacky’s heart swell. Jacky gave her hand a squeeze back, and smiled.

“I guess if you look at it that way, we’re kind of getting our wish.”

“To spend our lives together?” AJ chuckled, “You ain’t wrong…”

She let the question “but how much will be left of us?” hang in the air unsaid. Steve had been belting out New York by Frank Sinatra (an act which Jacky had long opined warranted public caning). As the music died off, AJ gave her a gentle push forward.

“It’s your song, babe.”

Jacky nodded. Now it was time to impress her. To step up and let her know what she was feeling for this friend, this pillar, this wonder of a woman who’d been a bedrock of her life for so long.

“Yeah, it is,” She agreed, moving toward the mic.

Jacky couldn’t remember what she’d actually sung at this point. The song she’d had in mind didn’t exist back in 2014, when this was all actually happening. But it was the right song. One that expressed all the shyness and above all, this feeling that she was getting to know one of her oldest friends all over again, in a brand new light.

Sure enough, by dream logic, it appeared just where she needed it to. She belted it out as best she could. The song was only for AJ, and as she sang it, everyone else, even Hannah and Lacy, faded away as though they were the only two people in the world.

And then, they were.

As the song ended, she let the mic drop to the deck’s floor. It was empty now, but for the two of them, and the mic itself vanished as it would have landed. For a moment, they stood staring at one another before AJ grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into a kiss.

“You want this?” She asked, belatedly.

Jacky, who’d never been manhandled by a man or a woman, nodded enthusiastically. She felt dizzy. AJ pushed her against the railing. Her hands explored Jacky’s thighs, wrapped around her waist, cupped her breasts. Jacky turned her head up to the tapestry of city lights that surrounded them, losing herself in the pleasure.

“Here?” Jacky breathed.

AJ responded with a kiss, her fingers deftly peeling Jacky’s shirt away. The city around was fake, she had to remind herself. They weren’t really outdoors at all. She surrendered to the moment, sloughing off her shirt, and reaching back to unclasp her bra.

Jacky let out a gasp as AJ’s lips found her neck.. She ran her hands through her hair, that pretty, but wild red hair that had never been this long in life, but suited her perfectly. AJ was practically kneeling in front of her now, and as her hands explored her strong shoulders and back, Jacky let out a real moan of excitement.

AJ’s eyes turned up to meet hers.

“If it’s too much, just say so, okay?” She said.

Jacky swallowed, but gave her a nervous nod. Then AJ’s hands were around her waist, lifting from the deck to place her on the railing. Jacky fumbled at the buttons of her skirt, and the stupid elastic belt she wore on it. She got it loose just in time for AJ to yank to her knees.

She was breathing hard now, her heart racing. AJ was strong, but gentle, almost tender despite how easily Jacky gave way to her.

Jacky shimmied out of her pink cotton panties, and soon they’d joined the skirt on the ground. She sat before AJ, naked from the thighs up, with only the two stockings, and boots to make a mockery of her modesty. AJ had pulled back to admire her, and Jacky sat straight for, posing such that her perky breasts, her flat waist, and shapely curves were on display for her.

“You are so beautiful,” AJ breathed.

Despite herself, the picture of confidence she’d meant to present, Jacky blushed and melted at the compliment.

“So what happens now?” She asked, nervously fingering one of the holes in her stockings.

With an excited shiver, she watched AJ’s face break, a grin that was both hungry and warm stretching across it. She planted a soft kiss on her lips, then leaned in toward her ear.

“Now,” She said, “I blow your mind.”

Placing hands on knees, she pulled Jacky forward into a kiss. AJ’s lips broke a steady pilgrimage, from neck to collarbone, to the swell of breasts, and the pink firmness of her nipples. They traced down her flat, feminine waist, until finally, she felt them lightly brush her own lower ones.

Jacky gasped as AJ’s tongue entered her. Her hand, which was not buried in AJ’s hair, squeezed her own breast. It was as if she meant to hold her pleasure in; to stop it from escaping so she could savor the moment. When her pleasure came, it was a full body experience; a wave that crashed over her whole being, and did so again, and again, and again.

She had been with her new collection of lovers on a beach, against a window overlooking a city, shrunken beneath a bed, and on a tower overlooking all Europe like some sort of minor God. And somehow, none of it felt as foreign as this, nor any of it as good.

Eventually the two had moved inside, where a clean bed had replaced one of the filthy couches. The two made good use of it, and afterward, she found herself laying AJ’s strong arms.

“Thank you for this,” AJ said, “Giving it a shot and all.”

It woke Jacky, who’d started to doze.

“Uhm…Thank me? I ought to be thanking you. Not every day a guy gets this kind of experience.”

AJ gave her a squeeze, stroking her hair.

“What’d you think of it?”

She thought that over. It wasn’t an easy question to answer.

“It felt incredible. And being with you was amazing. And I’m glad I got a chance to try this.”

AJ ran a finger down her spine.

“Sensin’ a ‘but’ there…”

Jacky looked up at her hesitating.

“It’s alright,” AJ said gently.

But Jacky owed her more explanation than that.

“It’s nothing you did. You said you’d blow my mind, and you did.” She answered, honestly, “But…you told me at the start of this that you wanted to give us a test drive, right? To give the idea of me and you as more than just friends a chance.”

AJ nodded.

“You aren’t feeling it either, huh?”

“No,” Jacky frowned, “I hate it, but it’s true.”

AJ took her chin, bringing her gaze back up to her face. She kissed her, but gently this time. Something more sisterly.

“Don’t hate it. If that’s what it is…then, that’s what it is.”

But Jacky shook her head.

“No. This’d all be easier if we did catch something. You’d be such a fucking amazing partner. And if we’re stuck together anyway…”

“Then it’s better to do it honestly,” AJ said, ‘Besides, we are partners. Maybe not in the way that you mean, but you and me are hand-in-hand on this thing.”

Jacky smiled.

“That’s true,” she said, taking AJ’s hand in hers. She rolled onto her back, drawing herself up slightly. “And let’s be real, babe…even as a woman, I’m not your type.”

AJ rolled to her side.

“Whatcha mean?” She asked, “You’re hot. Girly…”

Jacky leaned forward, planting a kiss on her lips; one last flirty gesture while she still had the wiles to do one.

“But not insane.” She said with a giggle.

The two laughed together. And it was that moment, laughing with his best friend as though nothing else in the world were wrong, that Jake kept after the dream had faded away.