Someone more tempting appears

Floating behind her long-term friend, Jess was unable to bring herself possess Helen. As she stalled and wrestled with her conscience, Helen turned around from the kitchen counter jumped.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Helen yelped. Jess opened her mouth to speak but no words would come out. Helen had seen her? How could that be possible? Before Jess could say anything in response, she realised that Helen had not been speaking to her at all.

Helen's gaze was going straight through Jess's astral projection and to someone who had entered the kitchen from the hallway. Jess floated to the side of the room to see that it was in fact Susannah, Helen's mother. Jess had not seen Susannah for several years, not since she had separated from Helen's father. Susannah had apparently revamped her image completely. The woman in her late forties now sported multiple tattoos over her body with her hair cut shorter to her shoulders. Her outfit was reminiscent of a biker chick; dark tank top, denim skirt and boots.

"I just came in to check how lunch was coming along," Susannah said with her hands held up in apology for making her daughter jump.

"I'm almost finished," Helen huffed. She turned back to her chopping, finishing off the salad she was making to go with the pasta that was already done.

"I'll leave you to it then." Susannah rolled her eyes as she made to leave the room. Before she could cross the threshold into the hallway, her body juddered to a stop.

Jess had made up her mind. Whilst Helen's body was very enticing, the thought of being a sexy, mature woman was too good of an opportunity to pass up. The moment she dived into Susannah's body, Jess's senses went blank.

An instant later they returned but were not quite the same as before. She was seeing the world from Susannah's eyes. Jess steadied her new body against the wall, conscious of how different it felt. She felt a little shorter, but quite a bit lighter. More powerful too. Jess looked down at her new legs and marvelled at how toned they were.

"I could get used to this," Jess said quietly to herself as she used her new hands to feel her new form.

'What the fuck is happening?' The panicked words came hurtling to the front of Jess's mind. She stopped her exploration to look back towards Helen who was still busy with preparing lunch.

'I can't move? Why won't my body listen to me?' These words came again, more urgently than before. This time she realised they were coming from inside her head.

'Susannah? Is that you?' Jess thought the words out clearly in her mind.

'Who are you?' came the panicked response almost immediately. 'What have you done to me?'

'I'm sorry Susannah, I didn't know you'd still be aware,' Jess thought sheepishly. She shuffled away from the kitchen, conscious that Helen might see her apparently standing there doing nothing.

'What do you mean? Who the fuck are you?'

'I'm Jess, Helen's friend. Do you remember me? I went to school and college with her.'

'Jessica? Yes, of course I remember you. But why the hell are you in my body?' Jess noticed that Susannah's thoughts had calmed down a little now, but were still urgent and demanding attention.

'It's a little bit complicated,' Jess conceded. She had taken herself to stand in front of a mirror in the hallway and was checking herself out.

'I don't care how bloody complicated it is! Why are you in control of my body? And why are you pulling that face? You're making me look ridiculous.'

'I'm trying to look sexy,' Jess thought as she smouldered at herself in the mirror. It wasn't quite working however, and instead it looked like she was trying to hold in a particularly dangerous fart.

'Please just tell me what's going on!'

As Jess continued to admire and check out her stolen face in the mirror, she did her best to explain to Susannah how her body was no longer her own. No new thoughts of Susannah's bubbled to the surface as Jess described the spellbook and its magic until she added that Helen was the one that had found the book and brought it over.

'That bitch!' came the surprising thoughts of Susannah. 'She found a working spellbook and didn't even think to let me know.'

'She doesn't actually know it works,' Jess thought, trying not to reveal her amusement at hearing Helen being called a bitch by her own mother. 'She left it with me and I happened to find a spell that worked.'

'And you used this magic to steal my body? Lucky me!' Susannah's thoughts were now tinged with sarcasm rather than the initial anger and shock.

'You should take it as a compliment really. You are stunning for a woman of your age.'

'A woman of my age?'

"Mum?" came Helen's voice, saving Jess from having to reply to Susannah's last question. "Why are you just staring at yourself in the mirror?"

"Oh!" Jess said in a wide eyed panic. "I was just getting an eyelash out that was caught in my eye."

"Ok then," Helen replied with a raised eyebrow. "Anyway, lunch is pretty much ready now. Could you help me carry it into the dining room, please?"

"Sure!" Jess almost squealed. She followed Helen into the kitchen who shot her a perplexed glance. They carried in the food and bowls, placing them in the centre of the dining table. It was at this point that Jess realised that Helen's boyfriend was already sitting at the table. She gave him a faint smile as her heart rate began to increase rapidly.

'He's a pretty handsome chap, isn't he?' came Susannah's thoughts as Jess continued to stare at Adam.

"Yes he is," Jess said out loud. She quickly realised her mistake and stumbled into her seat.

"What was that?" said Helen with a confused chuckle.

"I said... Lunch is here!" Jess declared, scooping some pasta onto her plate. She felt her cheeks going bright red and tried not to look at Adam.

'You're making me look like a total birk!' came Susannah's angry words as Jess clumsily spooned some salad next to her pasta. 'Please let me have my body back.'

Jess considered Susannah's request as she chomped on a mouthful of lettuce. Perhaps it would be best to leave Susannah to it. She was making a mess of things and hated that she was embarrassing the poor woman after stealing her body. Maybe if she relinquished control she could observe Susannah as a passenger? That way she could learn how to act as the older woman.