Two Blocks Down Lover's Lane

"Amanda!" Jill's new masculine voice called out as she rang the bell, "It's me, Jill!"

She knew she should have just waited for Amanda to open the door, but Jill was so excited by her success that she couldn't wait. Keeping secrets had always been easy for Jill. For eighteen years she had been able to perform magic and had easily been able to keep her son, Alan, from even a hint of it. Now that she'd pulled of her master plan, swapped bodies with her son, she couldn't contain her elation. Maybe it was the testosterone pumping through her body, maybe it was the endorphins coursing through her veins, but Jill was positively vibrating. She couldn't wait for Amanda to see her.

Another secret she had kept very well was Amanda. Amanda Black lived only two blocks away from Jill and Alan, worked at Jill's office, and volunteered at a local community theatre. Oh, and also was Jill's lover.

Jill's relationship with Alan's father had happened when they were very young, and Jill hadn't come to terms with her own sexuality yet. When he had gotten wind of Jill's attraction to women, he had left that very night, leaving Jill to raise Alan alone. It had been hard at first, but after a while she grew to realize that it was for the best. Without her husband around, Jill was able to explore new and exciting facets of herself. If he had stuck around, she would have never met Amanda.

For three years, Amanda and Jill had been lovers. That was the term they preferred. Not partners. Partners implied that they were out in the open. They were far from it. Neither Jill nor Amanda had come out of the closet to their families, nor their coworkers. To the rest of the world, they were just friends from work. They went to movies together, ate meals together, gossiped. What everyone didn't realize was that behind closed doors, Amanda and Jill's relationship had grown far past that of a friendship.

And it wasn't just the sex. They were intimate in many different ways. Jill found that she could share things about herself that she couldn't with anyone else. Amanda was the only one who know of her magical abilities. She had, in fact, told her of her plan to perform the body swap. Amanda had been excited at the idea. When they spoke about it, how the spell would work, how it would adjust their lives so that things fit, Amanda realized that it would probably make them a straight couple. They would still be in love, but would be able to live out in the open, without having to "come out".

This hadn't been the motivator for Jill, of course. She just wanted Alan's youth. Jill was much further along in accepting who she was. Had Amanda felt more comfortable, she would have come out years earlier, feeling no shame, no guilt. But if Amanda wanted to try life on the other side, and Jill was going to get her youth back, who was she to complain?

The door cracked open, revealing the beautiful Amanda. The beautiful brunette was wearing the blue dress she had been wearing at the office earlier that day. Jill loved the way it hugged her lover's curves, showed off just enough leg, but still looked professional. She stared at the woman in the doorway, admiring how youthful she looked. And youthful she should look. Ten years Jill's junior, she had often marvelled that Jill had been able to land such a young and beautiful catch.

Formerly ten years her junior, Jill corrected herself.

Amanda's face was sad as she took in the image of her lover.

"Oh," Amanda said, sighing, "It didn't work. Well, come in I guess."

Jill was confused. She had told Amanda that she would be performing the final spell that day, that she should expect her to be able to swap bodies, to show up youthful and male. She followed Amanda into the house and closed the door behind her.

"What do you mean it didn't work?" Jill questioned, "Look at me!"

"I know," Amanda responded, walking into the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of white wine, "Still male, still young."

"Still?"

"I was hoping that it was true. Even though your stories were so far fetched, I was really starting to believe that you could do magic," Amanda said, then paused to take a swig, "but I guess I should accept reality and stop living in a fantasy world."

"Fantasy world?" Jill was more and more confused.

"You and me!" Amanda said, emotion heavy in her voice, "We'll never work! Jill, I love you dearly. You're my closest friend, but I'm just not into guys! We've been over this time and time again! Why do you think I was so excited when you told me you were going to swap bodies with your son? He's exactly what I'd look for in a lover! With your personality and his body, I'd fall for you in an instant."

Jill felt the floor fall away from under her feet. She knew there would be unexpected changes after the spell, but to lose Amanda? This was too much! She had been so sure that their relationship would survive, that it would be a simple redefinition of their orientations. Jill was still aroused by Amanda; she could feel her new penis stirring as she stared at the woman. Amanda, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with that penis.

"I can fix this," Jill said resolutely.

"No," Amanda replied emphatically, placing the wine glass down on the kitchen counter, "this is enough, Jill. I need to move on with my life and find a woman to be with. Enough living in a fantasy land. I need reality."

"But, Amanda! I love you!"

"I love you too," Amanda said, tears forming in her eyes, "but it's over. I think it's best that you leave."

Jill stood, mouth agape, shocked at what had just happened. Her scheme, her beautiful scheme, had backfired. She was young, but she was alone. She had to fix this. She didn't know how, but she was sure that the answer would lie in her book of magic.

Turning on her heeled shoe, she left the house without saying goodbye. She knew if she acknowledged what had just happened, it would feel real to her, and she would break down. No. This was a fixable problem. She just needed to get home.