Tales Of The Wand
#13 – Cousins
by JMD

Anne was sitting alone on the couch in Chris and Lisa's living room when there was a knock on the door.  With a sigh, she set her wineglass on the coffee table.  Who could that be at this hour?, she wondered to herself.  Getting up, she headed for the door.

As soon as she turned the knob, the door was pushed open violently.  For a moment, she panicked, cursing herself for not checking the peephole.  But then a rapid speaking voice eased her nerves.

"Hey, Lisa," the familiar voice said.  "Sorry for stopping by so late.  I hope you and Chris don't mind, but I could use a place to stay..."  The voice cut off as the young girl with the two-toned hair turned and looked back.  She was in her early twenties and a couple of inches shorter than Anne.  A black sweater that reached her upper legs hung off the girl's right shoulder.  Tight leopard-spotted leggings clung to her legs, tapering into a pair of black leather booties.  "Uh," she stammered, setting down the small canvas bag she was carrying, "you're not Lisa."

Anne smiled as she closed the door.  "No, I'm not...."  Remembering that she wasn't supposed to know the girl, she stopped herself just short of using her name.  Instead, she held out her hand.  "I'm Anne.  Lisa's cousin."

"Me, too," the girl said, taking her hand.  "Well, not Anne.  But cousin.  Though not Lisa's.  Chris's."  She stopped to take a breath.  "I'm Rachel."

Anne continued to smile.  "A pleasure.  You said something about needing a place to stay?"

"Yeah," the girl said, dropping her hand.  "I've decided to take a semester off from school.  It was starting to be a drag.  I really just need to get away from that for a while and live a little.  You know what I mean?"

Anne took a second before answering.  "Yeah," she said.  "Believe me, I do."

Rachel eyed her carefully.  "Did I say something wrong?"

Anne recovered quickly.  "No," she assured the younger girl.  "Just a bit moody tonight."  She indicated the couch.  "I was having a little wine," she said.  "Like to join me?"

"Sure," the girl said.  "Though, if you've got some scotch..."  She winked at Anne.

Anne's smile returned.  "I think that can be arranged.  Have a seat and I'll get you fixed up."  She headed over to Chris's little bar.

Rachel stared after her.  "Really?" she questioned.  "You don't want to see my ID or nothing?"

"You're old enough," Anne said over her shoulder, wincing as she realized that she'd let her tongue slip again.

Rachel huffed out a breath.  "Yeah, tell that to my mother," she griped.  Going over to the couch, she noted from Anne's wineglass which corner Anne had been using.  Plopping down in the opposite corner, she asked, "So, where are Chris and Lisa?"

Anne hesitated slightly before answering.  "They're, um, spending a little time out together," she hedged.  "But I expect them back sometime in the morning."  She took a glass out of the cabinet.  "On the rocks?" she asked.

"Neat, please."  She looked around the room a bit, then her eyes were drawn to the coffee table before her.  

On it was a two piece sculpture of smooth porcelain.  One piece was pure white, the other jet black.  The white piece was an abstract image of a woman lying on her back.  One arm rested behind her head, while the other was pulled across her chest.  The legs of the woman were spread and wrapped around the waist of the black piece, which was obviously supposed to be male.  It stretched over the female figure with its back arched, supported by arms that came down on either side.  The two sculptures met at each one's pelvic area.  "Wow," Rachel commented.  "That's a pretty... interesting piece of artwork there."

Anne couldn't help but smile as she came over with Rachel's drink.  "Thanks," she said, handing the glass to her.

Rachel's eyes shot open.  "You're kidding," she said, taking the glass.  "You made this?"

"Well..." Anne hedged some more.  "Yeah, I guess I did."

"Well, it's really good," Rachel told her.  As she spoke, she reached out and used her fingers to push the male figure forward a bit.  It slid up through the wrapped legs of the female, producing an obvious image.  "And really erotic," Rachel said, giving it another push.

Anne winced at the sound of the porcelain grinding together.  "Careful," she cautioned.  "It's pretty fragile."

"Sorry," Rachel said, pulling her hand away.  "I didn't mean to..."  She sat back on the couch and sipped her scotch.  "Ooh, smooth," she breathed.

Anne sat down beside her and picked up her wineglass.  Taking a sip, she sat back into the corner of the couch.  "I didn't mean to snap," she apologized.  "But they mean a lot to me.  I'd hate to see anything happen to them."

"It's cool," Rachel replied, taking a longer draw on her drink.  "It's a really nice piece of work.  You have every reason to be proud of it."  Anne just gave her a half smile in reply, sipping more of her wine.  "So, you're Lisa's cousin?" Rachel asked.

"Hard to believe, huh?"

Rachel shook her head.  "Not really.  There's a resemblance.  Especially around the eyes.  And you're staying here with Chris and Lisa?"

"Yup," Anne replied.  "Have been for a little while now.  I was... um... new in town and they were nice enough to help me out while I learned my way around."

Rachel smiled.  "Yeah.  They are great that way.  I'm a bit of a wild child.  Always running off on some new adventure or another.  Sometimes, I get myself into trouble.  But when I do, I know that all I have to do is pick up the phone and call Chris, and he'll be there for me."  She tossed back the rest of her scotch.  "He's great."

"Yeah," Anne agreed, looking away.  "He is."
 
Rachel watched her carefully.  "Something wrong?"

Anne looked back at her and sighed.  "Don't mind me," she told the girl.  "I had a date tonight.  It didn't go the way I wanted it to."

Rachel nodded.  "Ah," she nodded.  "Been there, done that.  Guys can be so clueless sometimes, can't they?"  

Anne sipped more wine.  "They're not the only ones," she commented, more to herself than the other woman.

Rachel watched her a bit longer.  Finally, she jumped up from the couch.  "Well, I need a refill," she announced.  "Can I get you anything?"

Anne picked up the wine bottle from the table beside her.  "I'm good.  But help yourself."

Rachel shot her a thumbs up and headed for the bar.  "Look, Anne," she said as she crossed the room.  "Don't sweat it.  So, this guy didn't work out.  I'm sure you'll find someone to give you what you..."

"What I what?" Anne asked, turning to see why the girl's voice had trail off.  She saw her staring behind the bar, her eyes opened wide in surprise..  A moment later, Anne's eyes shot open as well as she realized what had grabbed Rachel's attention.

"Oh... my... god!" Rachel shouted, practically dropping her glass to the top of the bar.  "I can't believe it."  She reached down and snatched up whatever had her attention.  "I wondered what happened to this thing."

"What thing?" Anne asked, hoping that her panic wasn't evident in her voice.

"This!" Rachel told her, holding it out for Anne to see.  "It's Grandpa's wand!"

"Wand?" Anne repeated, trying to remain calm.  "Really?  I thought Chris used that to stir drinks."

"No," Rachel corrected, coming around the bar.  "He wouldn't do that.  Not with this."  She moved around to the other side of the coffee table.  "This was our Grandpa's.  He died last year.  I should have known he'd give it to Chris.  It's magic."

"Magic?" Anne said, casually pouring herself some more wine.  "Yeah, right."

Rachel's frustration was evident.  "I know it wasn't real," she spat out.  "I know it was some kind of trick.  But it was still cool."  As she talked, she was waving the wand back and forth in front of her.  "He would take an apple and he'd touch it with the wand and..."  

Before Anne realized what she was doing, Rachel brought the tip of the wand down and touched it to the head of the black male portion of the sculpture on the table.  With a flash, the little statue was gone, replaced by an orange.  The fruit rolled down the female portion of the sculpture, coming to rest in the pocket created by its uplifted legs.  The shifting in weight caused it to rock slightly before it again settled back against the surface of the table.

For several moments, both women just stared at the orange cradled in the legs of the statue.  Anne set her wineglass down next to the bottle on the table beside her and sat forward on the couch.  Rachel just stood stiffly where she was, looking back and forth between the orange and the wand.  Finally, they both spoke at once.

"Aw, crap," Anne said under her breath.

"Holy Shit!" Rachel shouted to the top of her lungs.

"Now, Rachel..." Anne started.

"Did you see that?" Rachel exclaimed.  "Did you freaking see that?"

"Yeah," Anne sighed.  "I saw that."

"It works!" Rachel said.  "It freaking works!"  And before Anne could stop her, she touched the wand to the head of the other statue.  The orange dropped to the table, as the female figure became an apple.  

Anne shot up from the couch.  "Will you cut that out?  Give me that!" she screamed, snatching the wand out of Rachel's hand.

Anger flashed in Rachel's eyes.  "Hey, what's the big i..."  She never got the chance to finish her question, as Anne reached out and bopped her on the head with the wand.  With a flash, the girl was frozen in place, her skin taking on a shiny plastic tone.  

For a moment, Anne stared defiantly into the angry eyes of the mannequin she had created.  A moment later, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  "Shit," she said softly, flopping back down onto the couch.  Opening her eyes, she looked at the two pieces of fruit that had taken the place of the sculpture on the coffee table.  "Shit," she said again, plopping her head against the back of the couch.  

She stayed that way for a couple of minutes before sighing heavily.  "Oh well," she said to herself.  "Time to face the music."  She sat up and moved to the front edge of the couch.  Looking to the side, she saw her half-empty wineglass.  Grabbing it up, she finished it off in a single gulp before setting it down next to the fruit on the coffee table.  

With another sigh, she slipped the wand into the pocket of her robe.  Taking the apple in one hand, she picked up the orange with the other.  Standing up, she looked over Rachel's inanimate form for a second.  "You hang tight," she said to the frozen girl.  "We'll get back to you in a bit."  With that, she turned and left.

Going into Chris and Lisa's bedroom, she set the fruit on the end of their bed.  Going over to their closet, she took out each of their robes.  Folding them over her arm, she went back over to the bed and pulled the wand out of her pocket.  Taking a second to make sure she was ready, she reached out and tapped the orange with the tip.

One flash later and a naked Chris appeared in the orange's place on the bed.  He looked around in confusion for a second before seeing Anne.  She held out his robe to him.  Taking it, he stood and turned his back to her and put it on.  Once dressed, he turned back to her.  "Wha..."

He stopped as Anne held up her hand to him.  "Hold that thought," she told him.  Then, she turned and tapped the apple with the wand.

Another flash and a naked Lisa was sitting on the bed.  Taking the robe that Anne offered, she calmly slipped it on.  "Okay," she said, tying the sash.  "Explain."

"I'm not sure I can," Anne told them.

"Give it a try," Chris insisted.

Anne swallowed before she said anything.  "Uh... I was having a bad night."

"It's not getting any better," Lisa commented.

Anne sighed heavily, dropping her eyes.  "No," she admitted.  "It's not.  In fact, it's probably gotten a lot worse."  She looked back up at them.  "I'm sorry, guys.  I really don't know why I did that to you."  She paused, then shook her head.  "That's not true.  I do know why.  But I shouldn't have done it."

"So, why did you?" Chris asked.

Anne started to answer, but stopped herself.  "I'd rather not say," she conceded.

Chris frowned at her.  "Well, that's not good en..."

Lisa cut him off.  "This has something to do with your date tonight, doesn't it?"  Anne looked at her for a moment, then nodded.  "You were really looking forward to it," Lisa went on.  "So, what happened?"

Anne didn't answer at first.  "It just didn't work out," she said, turning away.

Lisa put her hand on Anne's shoulder.  "I'm sorry, Anne," she said.  "I'm sure you'll find someone."

Anne shook her head.  "You don't get it," she stated, looking back at her cousin.  "I wasn't looking for a relationship."

"You weren't?" Lisa asked.

"No, I wasn't."

Lisa shared a look with Chris.  "Then, what..."

"I wanted to get laid!" Anne exploded.  "There!  Are you happy now?"

Lisa's mouth dropped open.  She started to say something, but stopped.  She turned to Chris for help, but could see that he was even more uncomfortable than she was.  Finally, she turned back to Anne.  "I don't understand," she admitted.

"Of course you don't!" Anne fired back.  "You've got Chris!  You get it whenever you want it!  Do you know how long it's been since I've had sex?"  At Lisa's uneasy shrug, she shouted, "Eight months!  That's how long!"

Lisa did the math in her head.  "The night we got the wand," she breathed.  "And you were..."

Anne nodded.  "That's the one, yeah," she confirmed quietly.

Lisa swallowed.  She started to say something, but Chris beat her to it.  "But don't you have...  I mean, I've heard..."  He turned to Lisa for help, but she just cocked her eye at him.  Looking back at Anne, he tried again.  "You know..." he said helplessly.

"It's called a vibrator, Chris," Anne told him with a sigh.  "And, as Lisa can tell you, it's not the same."

"Oh.  Uh... okay."

Lisa decided to save her husband.  "And this guy wasn't... interested?"

Anne hesitated before answering.  "No," she finally said, though she didn't meet Lisa's eyes.  "He wasn't."  She sighed, then looked back up.  "Anyway, then I come in and hear you two going at it... with the door open.  And I lost it.  I saw the wand on the coffee table and..."  She shrugged.

Chris and Lisa just stood there for a second.  "Um, Anne..." Lisa started.

"Look," Anne said, cutting her off.  "As much as I'd love to stand here and discuss my pathetic sex life, we've got bigger issues right now."  She turned and headed for the door.  "Come with me," she said over her shoulder.  They followed her into the living room.  "So," Anne asked, pointing to the figure by the coffee table, "what do we do about her?"

Chris's eyes grew wide as he recognized the mannequin.  "Is that Rachel?"

Anne looked confused.  "You didn't realize she was here?" she asked.

Chris hesitated, so Lisa answered for him.  "Uh, we were kind of... preoccupied."  At Anne's cocked eyebrow, she tried again.  "I'm not sure how to explain it.  We were still... in the moment.  Even though you'd changed us, it still felt like we were... you know."  

"I don't get it," Anne said.  

"Neither do I actually," Lisa admitted.

"But didn't you say it felt good when Chris used you as a doll?" Anne asked.

"I did," Lisa said, smiling at the memory.  "Better than good, actually.  But this was different."

"Different how?"

"Like you said," Lisa told her, "as a doll, I felt it when I was used.  Otherwise, nothing.  Nothing sexual, anyway.  But this...  Not only was it much more intense, but it just kept... going."  

Anne's eyes shot open.  "Really?"  Lisa nodded with a smile.  "Why..."

Lisa shrugged.  "I don't know.  Maybe because you changed you us while we were..."  Another shrug.  "...doing it."

Anne just shook her head.  "Figures," she said under her breath.  Louder, she asked, "So, you didn't know anything that happened until I changed you back?"

"Not exactly," Lisa answered.  "A little before that, the... uh, feelings... just stopped."

Anne nodded.  "That would probably have been when Rachel used the wand on you."

Lisa just nodded.  "I thought I heard her for a second, but then it got so quiet."  She turned to look at her husband checking out his plastic cousin.  "I guess now I know why."

Anne looked embarrassed.  "I may have panicked."

Chris looked up at her.  "You think?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Anne countered defensively.  "She found the wand.  And she'd already turned you and Lisa into fruit.  Who knows what she'd have used it on next."

"So, you turned her to plastic?" he asked.

Anne started to shout back, but stopped herself.  "I panicked," she said again.

"Okay," Lisa stepped in.  "Let's all calm down.  Shouting at each other isn't going to solve anything."

Chris sighed.  "You're right," he said.  He held his hand out to Anne.  "Give me the wand."

She pulled it from the pocket of her robe and held it out.  "What are you going to do?" she asked nervously, as he took it.

"I'm going to bring her back so we can talk," he said, turning to his cousin.

"Wouldn't it be simpler to just let her change back on her own?" Lisa asked.  "I mean, if you bring her back, we're just going to have to turn her into something else again."

"True," Chris admitted.  "But she's going to have questions.  She should be able to ask them.  Besides, she's not the only one that will have to be changed in order to get back to normal."  He reached out with the wand.  "Here goes."

With a flash, the mannequin came back to life.  "Holy shit!" Rachel shouted, staggering backwards.

Chris caught her and helped her get her footing.  "Are you okay?"

"Okay?" she repeated.  "I was a mannequin!  A real plastic mannequin!"  She took a breath before going on.  "It was amazing!"

"You liked it?" Anne asked.

"Well, at first it was a bit scary," Rachel admitted.  "But then, I remembered what Grandpa always said about the wand's magic."  At the confused looks, she explained.  "It was only temporary.  The orange would always turn back into an apple.  Why would it be any different for me?"

Chris cleared his throat.  "Actually," he told her, "it's a little more complicated than that."

Rachel looked at him.  "It is?"  He nodded.  "Am I in trouble?"

"A little," Chris answered, "but not seriously.  Have a seat and I'll tell you everything."

Rachel sat back down in her spot on the couch.  Chris took the chair across the table from her, while Lisa perched on the arm.  Anne settled back into her corner of the couch, and poured herself some more wine.  Over the next fifteen minutes, Chris told Rachel about the wand, including how he came to own it and the rules their grandfather had explained to him in his letter.

After he finished, Rachel took a couple of minutes to absorb what she'd heard.  "So," she finally said, "if I've got this right, I'm not really me right now.  I'm actually a mannequin turned into me."

"Well," Chris agreed, "that's one way to look at it.  Yeah."

She pointed between him and Lisa.  "And you two are a couple of fruits," she smiled.

"Thanks to you," Chris smirked, "yes, we are."

"Yeah," Rachel said with a slight frown.  "Sorry about that."  She turned to Anne.  "So, are you really you?"

Anne took a sip of her wine before answering.  "Yeah," she said slowly.  "This is my natural state."

"Good," Rachel said, sitting back into her corner of the couch.  "One of us should be normal."  She turned back to her cousin, missing Anne's half smile at the comment.  "So, now we all just need to spend twelve hours as something to get us all back to normal, right?"

"Right," Chris confirmed.

"You don't seem too bothered by any of this," Lisa noted.  

"How long have you known me, Lisa?" Rachel asked with an arched eyebrow.

The other woman smiled.  "Point taken."

"Well," Chris put in, sitting forward, "I guess we should do this."  He held the wand out to Anne.  "You're the only one that doesn't need to change, so..."

Anne just looked back at him for a moment before sitting her glass down.  "I guess you're right," she said, taking the wand.  "Okay, who's first?"

"If you don't mind," Rachel said, "I'd like to go last."  At the others' look, she explained.  "I just want to see it work.  Is that okay?"

Chris and Lisa shared a look.  "It's fine with me," Chris said.  Lisa nodded her agreement.  

"So, what's it going to be," Anne asked, getting up.

After another shared look, Lisa spoke up.  "Actually, I was hoping to spend some more time as that sculpture.  Chris?"

"Sounds good to me," he said, his excitement obvious.

"Why am I not surprised?" Anne commented.  She motioned for Rachel to get up.  As the girl moved, she waved to the couple.  "Over here, you two.  It'll be safer if you're both sitting when we do this."

Chris and Lisa moved over to sit as instructed.  Lisa took Anne's end of the couch, while Chris sat in Rachel's place.  They shared a quick kiss before turning to look at Anne.  "Ready," Lisa announced, taking Chris's hand in hers.

Anne rolled her eyes at her cousin.  "Okay," she said.  "Ladies first."  She reached out and touched the wand to the top of Lisa's head.  With a flash, Lisa vanished, her robe dropping to the couch.

"Whoa," Rachel said from behind Anne.

Chris was flexing his suddenly empty fingers, when Anne turned the wand to him.  "Your turn," she told him.  A second later, his robe joined Lisa's on the couch.

"That is so hot!" Rachel said.

Anne gave her a slight smile as she sat the wand down by her wineglass.  Carefully shifting through Lisa's robe, she brought out the white female sculpture from before and sat it on the coffee table.  Turning back to the couch, she pulled the black male piece out of Chris's robe.  Carefully, she slipped it through the legs of the white section and positioned it properly.  

"Do you think they're..."  Rachel stumbled for the right phrase before settling on the best way to put her thoughts.  "...feeling it again?"

"Who knows?" Anne answered.  "Maybe."  She casually reached out and gave Chris's part of the sculpture a little push like Rachel had done earlier.  She smiled at the image it produced.  Then, she turned back to Rachel.  "So, have you..."

She stopped at the sight of Rachel holding the wand.  The girl was looking down at it with a dreamy expression.  "Uh," Anne said cautiously, "you're not planning on using that on me, are you?"

Rachel looked up in surprise.  "Oh, no," she said embarrassed.  "I was just..."  She didn't finish the statement.  "Here," she said, holding the wand out to Anne.

Anne took it from her, though she was careful not to touch the tip.  Once it was safely in her hands, she asked again, "So, have you decided how you want to spend the next twelve hours?"

Rachel bit her lip before answering.  "Well," she said slowly, "I've got an idea or two, but I need to check something first."

"Okay," Anne said, reaching for her wineglass.  "Just don't take too..."  

Her instructions were cut off by Rachel moving forward and giving her a kiss.  She tried to pull away, but the younger woman's hand went behind her head to keep their lips together.  After fighting for another second, Anne decided it was easier to go with the flow and returned the kiss.

After about a minute, Rachel dropped her hand and pulled away.  She ran her finger around her lips before sticking it into her mouth.  With a smack she pulled it back out.  "Umm, strawberry."

"I'm assuming there was a reason for that," Anne said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There was."

"I'm listening," Anne told her.

"Well, it's just..."  Rachel blew out a sigh before going on.  "Eight months is a long time."

Anne's stern expression fell into one of embarrassment.  "You..." she stammered.  "You heard all that?"

"Not all of it," Rachel admitted.  "Just the loud parts."

Anne's cheeks grew redder as she tried to remember what she had said in the bedroom.  "Look, Rach..."

"No," Rachel cut her off.  "Hear me out."  She waited to see if Anne would stop her.  When she didn't she went on.  "I know we just met, but I like you."  Anne just nodded.  "And it's pretty obvious that you're hurting," Rachel added, glancing at the wine bottle on the side table.  "So, please, let me help you."

"Look," Anne told her.  "I appreciate what you're trying to do.  But things are a bit more complicated than they seem."

"Of course they are," Rachel agreed, taking a cautious step forward.  "And I'm not saying I'm going to fix all your problems.  But maybe, just for a while, I can push them away."  With that, she moved in slowly for another kiss.  

This time, Anne returned the kiss without being forced.  As they separated, she licked her lips.  "Uh, I don't know," she said.  She glanced at the sculpture on the coffee table.  Her eyes narrowed slightly at it.  "Oh, why not?"

"There we go!" Rachel shouted.  She threw her arms around Anne's neck and kissed her harder this time.  As they pulled apart, she blew out a long breath.  "Whoa.  I think you've done this before."

"Maybe," Anne admitted.  "But I need to be clear.  I'm not looking for anything long term here."

"Oh, god!" Rachel exclaimed.  "Neither am I."  She tapped her temple.  "I don't think I'm got the equipment for it up here."

Anne smiled.  "Well, it's not the only equipment you're missing."  Rachel gave her a confused look.  "For what I was after anyway."  She glanced down the younger girl's body.

"Ah," Rachel nodded.  "Well, it's a good thing you've got something that can fix that."

It was Anne's turn to look confused.  Rachel reached out and lifted up Anne's hand holding the wand.  Anne's eyes grew wide.  "You mean..."

"I'm game if you are," Rachel told her.

Anne considered it for a bit, reaching down for her wineglass.  Draining it, she looked back into the eager eyes of the young woman before her.  "Oh, what the hell," she said mostly to herself.  And she reached out with the wand.

Two hours later, Anne laid on her back in the bed as the man with the two-toned hair rolled off of her.  They laid side by side as both came down from the sexual high both were feeling.  After a couple of minutes, Anne said, "Whoa.  I think you've done this before."

"Nope," Rachel said from beside her.  After a second, he corrected himself.  "Well, parts of it, maybe.  But not the important parts.  Equipment, remember?"

Anne turned to look at him.  "So, how..."

Rachel rolled up onto his side.  "Ever heard of the Golden Rule?" he asked, running his fingers across her stomach.

"Do unto others..." Anne recited with a smile.

"Yup," Rachel smiled back.  "I hope you were taking notes."

"One or two things stood out," Anne said with a nod.

"Good," he said, laying back again.  "And I must say, you taught me a thing or two as well.  You ask me, that guy that rejected you tonight doesn't know what he's missing."  Anne's body stiffened at the comment, and  Rachel couldn't help but notice.  "Are you okay?"

Anne took a moment to answer.  "Can you keep a secret?"

Rachel rolled back up and looked her in the eye.  "If you need me to."

Anne hesitated, but then plunged on.  "He didn't reject me," she said.  "In fact, he was responding to my signals so much, I thought he might take me right there at the restaurant."  She paused before going on.  "No.  I was the one that backed out."

Rachel looked confused.  "You?"

"Yeah," Anne admitted.

"But  I thought it was what you wanted?"

Anne hedged.  "Uh, it's complicated."

Rachel flopped back onto his back.  "God, I hate that expression.  It's so overused."

"I agree," Anne told him.  "But sometimes, it applies."

"Okay," Rachel said.  "So, why is it... complicated?"

Anne thought about it.  "I'm not sure I can explain it.  Have you ever been in a relationship that was really serious?"

"Sorry," he said, tapping his temple.  "Equipment."

"Right," Anne smiled.  "Well, I was," she went on, turning serious again.  "But it ended... suddenly.  And now it's over."

"Forever?"

"Forever," Anne confirmed.

"So, what does that have to do with tonight?" Rachel asked.

"I realized about half way through dinner that this guy was..."  She looked for the right words.  "Well, he was just like the guy I'd been involved with.  The way he talked.  The way he moved.  They even kind of looked alike."

"And that was a bad thing?"

"Bad?" Anne repeated.  "Maybe not.  Healthy?  Definitely not."

"I don't understand," Rachel admitted.

"To be perfectly honest," Anne confessed, "neither do I.  I just know that, for whatever deep neurotic reason, I couldn't go through with it.  And because of that, I turned your cousin and mine into an erotic piece of artwork and dived into a wine bottle."  

"Well, it wasn't all bad," Rachel told her.  "Chris and Lisa seemed to have actually liked what you did to them.  And if you'd ended up with this guy, we might have never gotten together."

"That's true," Anne agreed, rolling up to give him a kiss.  "Speaking of which," she breathed, glancing down between them, "I don't suppose you're up to 'getting together' again."

Rachel grinned back.  "Certainly," he said.  But he slipped off the bed instead of taking her into his arms.  "I just have to go take care of something first."

Anne watched as he rushed out of her bedroom.  Then she smiled.  "Just remember to put the seat back down when you're done!" she shouted after him.  She laid back, smiling as she enjoyed the afterglow.  

A couple of minutes later, she heard someone clear his throat to get her attention.  Rising up onto her elbows, she saw Rachel leaning against the door frame of her room.  "What?" she asked with a smile.  "They don't flush toilets at that fancy college of yours?"

Rachel returned the grin.  "Didn't go to the bathroom," he smirked.  "I went to get this."  He pulled out his hand that had been hidden behind the wall, showing Anne the wand.

Anne sat all the way up, eyeing him cautiously.  "And what do you plan to do with that?" she asked slowly.

"Nothing," he answered, tossing the wand onto the bed beside her.  "I got it for you," he added, coming into the room.

Anne picked up the wand, turning back to her approaching lover.  "And what am I going to do with it?" she asked.

"Whatever you want," he told her, sitting on the bed and kissing her lightly on the forehead.

"I see," Anne said with a nod.  "You do realize that if I use this on you again, you could end up stuck as a guy."

"Maybe," he acknowledged.  "But honestly, I'm hoping to get stuck as something way more interesting than that."  He gave her a playful wink.

Anne couldn't help but smile.  "You're so bad," she said.

"Sweetie," Rachel responded, "you ain't seen nothing yet."  He gave her another kiss, this time on the lips.  "So," he said, pulling away, "ready to play?"

"I am," Anne said, giving the wand a wave.  

"Cool," he said, bouncing up onto his knees.  "Because I'm really curious about that whole 'changed while doing it' idea."

Anne pulled her legs around to sit up beside him.  "Well then," she said with a smile, "we'd better get started.  We've only got about nine hours or so before Chris and Lisa are back."

Rachel grinned.  "Or not," he said mischievously.

Anne narrowed her eyes at him.  "What did you do?"

His grin widened. "You should see the two bobble-heads I left in the living room," he said.  "They're really cute."

"Rach..."

Rachel waved her off.  "Oh, take it easy," he told her.  "They'll be fine.  We'll get them back to themselves... eventually."  He reached out and rubbed her arm.  "But the way I see it, they've been enjoying themselves as much as they've wanted for the last eight months while you've done without.  Seems to me that the least they could do is give you a few hours... or days... to make up for lost time."

Anne gave it some thought, then smiled.  "Okay," she agreed.  "But you need to be prepared.  Lisa will get even."  She held up the wand.  "And she can get really creative with this thing."

"Really?" he said, eyes going wide.  "Well, let's hope that's a trait that runs in the family.  Hmmm?"

In reply, Anne tapped him with the wand.  "Sweetie," she said, grinning down at what Rachel had become, "you ain't seen nothing yet."