Just put your hand on the past

“Where are they?”

Mary drummed her fingers impatiently on the counter, puffing up her cheeks in irritation.

“It’s time for cooking class, and they’re all late! I know Rose has her date with Nick, so that’s fine, but what about the others?! Why did I spend so much time prepping?”

Holly twiddled her thumbs on the sideline with an amused look on her face. It was rare that Mary got mad nowadays.

“Are you really mad that the others aren’t here?” Holly asked. “Or are you just upset that Rose isn’t here?”

She sauntered over to her friend and patted her on the back.

“Or, more specifically, upset about where she is, and who she’s with?”

Mary’s expression darkened. She glared at her friend.

“I don’t have a problem with Rose anymore,” she said, crossing her arms over her large chest. “She’s been very nice recently!”

“But?” Holly urged her. She knew Mary well, and could tell when the other girl wasn’t giving her the full story.

Mary sighed.

“But… thinking about her and Nick together…”

“Nick’s been with other women before,” Holly pointed out, rubbing her thighs together as she imagined it. The cold kiss of her chastity belt was a pleasant reminder of how restricted she was.

“I know that!” Mary whined. “But this is different… it’s not the same when it’s just about having sex with them, or making them happy, that stuff I’m fine with, but…”

Her expression took a downcast turn.

“…He’s going on a romantic date with her. For a full 24 hours. That means something, right? Something like that…” Mary knew even as the words left her lips that it was the wrong thing to feel. But she couldn’t help herself, and she refused to lie to herself- or to her best friend.

Holly, thankfully, could see exactly how Mary felt in the moment, and was there for her.

“Hey,” she said, placing her hand on Mary’s shoulder, “didn’t you say that you were fine with this? That you were okay with Nick being in love with an even marrying other girls?”

“I was… I am…” Mary wiped the tears from her eyes. She knew that this was something she’d consented to. That it was selfish of her to expect Nick to only love her and nobody else, especially when the other girls’ feelings for him were just as real as hers were.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t jealous. It didn’t mean that Nick being with other women didn’t tear her up inside, even though she knew it was for the best.

She was only human, after all.

Holly looked at the turmoil flickering across Mary’s face with a practiced detachment. Then she let out a sigh.

“Mary… you remember the first transformation I got on this show?” She asked quietly.

Mary nodded and sniffled a little. “Yeah… the one that made you turned on by the thought of Nick sleeping with other women.”

“I’ve been thinking about that one a lot, recently… you know, I still get those dreams? The ones where I’m subservient to the women in Nick’s harem?”

“You do?” Mary asked, her eyes widening in surprise. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Holly shrugged. “It just wasn’t relevant. But it seems that whichever girl whose night it is with Nick, she’s the one I feel that tug of subservience to now. Last night, I had a scintillatingly sexy dream about Rose and Nick together… holding each other… groping each other’s bodies…”

Holly’s voice trailed off as her eyes glazed over. The scene played out before her like a play, as vivid as it had been last night.

Mary frowned. This wasn’t making her feel better.

She cleared her throat.

“…What!? Oh, sorry about that,” Holly said, returning back to reality with a sheepish expression on her face. “But that’s kind of the thing, you know? My transformations are still a part of me, even though I’ve been eliminated from the competition. And that’s the whole reason why I’m so turned on by the thought of Nick and other women sleeping together. But… what if I wasn’t? What if I’d never gotten that transformation? Would I still be happy about it, the way I am now? Or… would I have ended up feeling like you are, now?”

“Don’t say that,” Mary said, touching her friend’s hand. “You’re better than that, Holly.”

Holly shook her head and gave Mary a lopsided grin. “No… I’m really not,” she admitted. “Like… look. It’s like this, okay? I like the idea of Nick having sex with multiple women. Hell, forget the girls in his harem, just the thought of him sleeping with anyone besides me turns me on something fierce! But… I know that’s the transformation talking. But not all of it.”

Mary’s eyes widened. “Wait… it’s not?”

“…The liking it part is,” Holly admitted, her face turning red. “But actually… um… promise you won’t get mad?”

Mary narrowed her eyes. “…No.”

“Come on, Mary!” Holly whined.

“If you’re trying to get me to promise that, then that means you’re going to tell me something you think is going to make me mad!” Mary replied. “And I don’t want to make a promise I’m not going to be able to keep!”

“Okay, fair enough,” Holly relented, wincing slightly. “Look… it’s like this, see? Remember, back in my senior year, before you and Nick had that fallout, but when I was still on the outs with him?”

Mary frowned. “…Yeah,” she said, picturing that painful time vividly. “I was so confused. You two had always been so close, and then you weren’t. And then he and I started to get closer together… then when you told me what happened, it all kind of made sense to me. Like I was waking up from a dream and seeing Nick for who he really was…”

Both girls had miserable expressions as they remembered their mistakes from university.

“But I got it wrong… and I messed it all up…” Mary whispered, shaking her head.

“I got it wrong, too,” Holly reminded her, placing her hand over Mary’s. “I was so caught up in my own doubts and distrust, and so full of self-loathing that I made up a narrative in my mind that I could latch onto. And that was wrong of me. You weren’t the one who messed up, Mary, you were just the gullible sap who believed my bullshit.”

“I still think that counts as messing it up,” Mary adamantly rebuffed her, shaking her head. “I should have known he wasn’t that kind of guy… but I didn’t.”

The two girls shared a depressed sigh.

It was Holly who finally broke the awkward silence. “…Look, the reason I brought this up is because… I was still fantasizing about Nick, even back then. I just… I didn’t want anyone to know.”

Mary’s eyes widened like saucers. “You were?!” She gasped.

“…Yeah,” Holly said, her cheeks turning red. It was a rare display of shame on her part, probably because she was with Mary right now and that made things easy for her to regress back to how she used to be. “And… it gets worse. I used to fantasize about… about you and him, well… doing it.”

Mary nearly fell off her stool.

“I know! I know! That’s really weird and kind of creepy!” Holly wailed.

“Yeah, kind of!” Mary exclaimed. “So wait, you were fantasizing about the two of us making love, while you were…”

Holly nodded weakly.

Mary felt like she was going to be sick for a moment.

“Even… even though you hated him?” She asked instead, trying to understand her best friend a little bit better.

“It was so frustrating,” Holly sighed, shaking her head. “You two were so close, and whenever I saw you talking on campus it was like a spark shot through me. I just kept imagining it, even though it upset me so badly… but the point is, I still HAD those thoughts, even back then. My transformation just made me change from self-loathing and disgust to being turned on by it. Now when I think about the two of you together-”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Mary said quickly, holding up her hands in surrender. “I don’t need to hear any more.”

Her sex life with Nick wasn’t exactly a secret at this point, considering how public their first time had been. But that didn’t mean Mary wanted to discuss stuff like this with her best friend, either!

“Are you mad?” Holly asked.

“No, Holly, I’m not mad,” Mary said with a long sigh.

“But you’re disappointed, right?”

“Huh?” Mary tilted her head to the side in confusion.

Holly shrugged. “I mean, that’s the line, right? ‘I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed’? You better start practicing if you’re going to be a mom.”

Mary blushed. “No, Holly, I’m not disappointed either,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m just… it’s a lot to take in, you know?”

She also wasn’t sure why Holly was telling her all this.

“Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that these transformations can help you,” Holly said. “I’ve fantasized about Nick with other girls plenty of times before I came onto this show. So maybe… I don’t know, maybe you could get a transformation that made you okay with it.”

Mary frowned. That might be for the best. But…

“I thought I had one,” she said glumly. “Remember my new transformation?”

• A Taste of the Good Life: Mary would like nothing more than to see the other girls in Nick’s harem join her in wedded bliss with her husband. She just needs to make sure that they’re open to it. To facilitate that, her breast milk takes on special qualities. The taste changes to suit the tastes of whoever is drinking it, and the more a person consumes, the more their body and mind change to reflect what they think would make Nick happiest. Mary will get aroused by other people drinking her milk, and feel compelled to feed it to them. [NOTE: The more milk someone drinks, the longer the changes last.] (Corruption)

“Shouldn’t that make me happy that Rose and Nick are spending time together?” She asked. “I thought it would mean I wouldn’t be jealous.”

“Hmm… that’s quite the thought,” Holly said, stroking her chin. “Let’s take a closer look at it. You’re fine with Nick having sex with the other girls, right? It doesn’t bother you at all?”

“It bothers me a little,” Mary admitted. “But I’m fine with it. I knew going into this whole thing that he would never be mine and mine alone.”

Holly nodded thoughtfully. “But when it comes to sincere love, going on a romantic date together, like with Rose, that’s where you have a problem?”

“I-I guess so,” she nodded, clutching her chest. “It just makes me wish I was there instead, you know? That he could be with me.”

“Instead of with Rose?” Holly leaned in closer, trying to study the complex web of emotions flickering across Mary’s face.

“I don’t know…” The redhead admitted with a sigh. She absentmindedly played with the ring wrapped tightly around her finger. “I never thought that this was how my marriage was going to end up, you know?”

“I feel that,” Holly said with a laugh. “I’ve always had fantasies about being some guy’s pleasure ****, and eventually that guy turned into Nick. But after burning those bridges with him I expected I’d never be able to live out that dream… I’d settle down with some guy I got along with okay, and Nick would always be the one who got away… he’d be the key to my sexuality, but other than that, I’d never see him again…”

Her face was hot with joy. She held her hands to her cheeks and shivered.

“I never would have thought that I’d actually be able to be with him like this!” She cooed. “That he would actually agree to be my master… and treat me like a ****! Oh, Mary, you just don’t understand how hot that is!”

Mary stared at Holly and shook her head. No, she really wouldn’t.

“So what do you think the problem is, then?” She asked finally. “I should be wanting Rose to come join Nick’s harem of future sister-wives because of this transformation, but right now all I feel is upset and sad.”

Mary didn’t like those feelings. Being okay with Rose would definitely be better than what she felt right now.

Holly frowned. She wished she could say something for her friend, but she didn’t have the faintest idea what could soothe her worries.

Finally, she decided there was no other choice but to push it forward.

“Okay, Mary, I want you to do something for me,” she said. “Close your eyes, and picture yourself somewhere else. Where’s your favorite place to be?”

Mary closed her eyes and went to her happy place immediately. “A bookstore. I’m in the mystery section.”

“…Oh.” Holly was 70% sure that Mary was going to say “church” and 30% sure she was going to say “in Nick’s bed getting plowed” (though maybe not in those exact words).

…Or maybe it was closer to 50-50. The point was that she’d been caught off-guard slightly.

“…Okay then, you’re in the bookstore, and then you see Nick and Rose walking past, arm in arm,” Holly said. “What do you feel, seeing that?”

“Upset,” Mary responded automatically.

“Why?”

Mary opened her mouth, but whatever she was going to say never left her lips. Then she shook her head. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just feel upset.”

“Okay… when you say ‘upset’ what does that mean?” Holly decided that she should pivot from this line of thinking and dig into what Mary meant when she said she was upset. Knowing her friend, that could be for a million reasons.

“I don’t know, I just… I don’t like the idea of them being together, of them having fun… oh gosh, this is so awful!” She wailed.

“Keep your eyes closed,” Holly urged her. “Keep thinking about them. Okay? What else are you seeing? What are you feeling?”

“They’re… talking…” Mary said slowly, watching the scene play out in her head. Rose was practically glued onto Nick by this point. “She’s laughing, and he’s smiling… they’re touching each other playfully, but not in a way that would be inappropriate for being out in public…”

Holly frowned. Mary’s fantasies were pretty boring.

“And that makes you upset?” She pressed.

“I… I want to join them,” Mary admitted.

“Join?” That was an interesting choice of words, Holly thought. “Not replace?”

“N-no, replace is the right word,” Mary corrected herself. “But it’s like… I still want Rose there, for some reason… is that weird?”

A smile began to creep up Holly’s lips. Now this was a train of thought that she’d like to ride all the way into the station and then take for another lap.

“So you want to replace her on Nick’s arm… but it isn’t because you’re jealous? Upset, maybe, about Rose having his attention, and not you?”

“That’s it!” Mary’s eyes snapped open. “I’m jealous because he should be focusing on me, not her!”

The joy of that realization faded as quickly as it manifested. That wasn’t something to be happy about. It just meant that Mary was still being jealous and possessive.

Yet, for some reason, Holly was still smiling.

“What is it?” Mary asked weakly. “Why are you smiling?”

“Because I think I know what the problem is,” Holly giggled. “Mary… you’re not jealous of Rose. Or at least, I don’t think jealousy is the right word. You’re frustrated by her.”

Mary blinked.

“Frustrated?” She asked, confused. “Why would that be?”

“Because Rose has your husband’s attention, and all she’s done to earn it is be a tease who flaunts her body,” Holly explained. “And that might be something you’d want for a seductress, or even a sex **** like Gina, but as a wife? You’re upset that she’s not doing better as a prospective bride for your husband.”

Mary’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened. “Wait, that’s…”

“Am I wrong?” Holly pressed, fairly confident that she was on the right track. “That’s what your transformation is all about, right? You want to make the other girls into the perfect brides for your husband, and in your eyes, Rose, who only has her looks, just isn’t up to snuff. That’s why you wish it was you on Nick’s arm instead of her… so you can show her how it’s done!”

It was all making sense now. Like the veil had been pulled back and Mary was seeing everything for the first time.

“I… I never thought of it that way,” she admitted, shaking her head. “But… you’re right! It’s not fair that Rose gets to go on a romantic date like this, if she’s not prepared for some real romance! To give Nick the experience he deserves!”

She was saying this while knowing nothing about the nature of the date between the two of them. Their date didn’t involve Rose just throwing herself at Nick at all.

“Exactly,” Holly nodded. “It’s not that you don’t want Rose and Nick to be together, it’s just the opposite! You’re upset and jealous that she gets to spend all this time with him when you don’t think she’s proven herself worthy yet!”

“Right, just because she’s good at cooking and baking, that isn’t enough!” Mary agreed, fully caught up in Holly’s pace now. “And sure she’s attractive, but so am I! If Rose wants to be with Nick, then she needs to prove that she can be the perfect bride for him! Otherwise, she’s just wasting his time, and mine as well!”

Mary felt relieved knowing that she wasn’t some jealous, controlling witch of a woman. Oh, she was still controlling, no doubt about that, but that was for Nick’s sake! So he could get with the kind of woman he deserved!

Maybe that woman was Rose. Maybe she was the perfect second wife for him, and Mary just didn’t know it yet.

But she was determined to find out.

“Once Rose comes back, we’re going to put her to the test!” Mary decided. “It’s only fitting!”

“Definitely,” Holly nodded in agreement. She licked her lips, already imagining what some of the methods of that test would be.

“But in the meantime, we have some other issues that need addressing,” Mary said, putting her hands on her hips and scowling.

“…Where IS everybody!?”

Cooking class could wait. She and Holly walked out the door, heading for the elevators. They were going to see just what was going on with the other girls, and why they were all so late to a class that THEY had asked her to hold!