"It's time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we cannot put it off any longer."

"But we just did it last week?"

"And it is time to do it again...you know what the neighbors are saying."

"Could I get out of it if I said that I don't care what they think?"

She shakes her head slowly, "The HOA board are the ones complaining."

With a heavy sigh, he starts walking to the garage. Ian, a rather short, brown haired young man, looks like he is headed to his doom with his shoulders slumped. He slowly puts on rough looking shoes. He grabs a hat that looks rather beat-up, and he trudges (yes, people still trudge today) to the back door.

Kristine, while not overly excited about what they are about to do, seems less upset. Her red hair is pulled back in a ponytail, as it falls mostly down her back. She is rather tall, surpassing Ian by a few inches. Her pale skin begs for sunscreen as she moves to the back door that leads out to a very bright, sunshine day. She ignores her instincts and keeps going, although her outfit seems rather formal. Her sun dress and heels make it seem she is headed out on a date, while his outfit seems to fit someone doing yard work.

She opens the back door to the heat of the day, ignoring the brightness, she leaves her sunglasses inside next to the sunscreen. She walks out to their unattached garage to open the automatic door. As it rises, she sees one car inside the two-car garage, along with lots of boxes where the other car should be. As she stares at the mound of full boxes, she hears her husband walking up. He is sipping from a water bottle and has a strange looking playing card in his hand.

The playing card appears to be oversized with the traditional red printed pattern on the back. She looks in his hand and asks, "What about the rest?" He snaps his fingers and makes a face, "Oh, forgot them...I'll just go back in and..." She reaches out and grabs his arm, "Nice try, but I can get them when we switch."

"You know, it is not like you do that much work here. It comes down to me, you know." She waves her hands around as she begins to slowly lose her patience with his resistance. "You are the one who made it easier for us to do the yard work. It was your magic that made this so much better. I go along with this because you..."

Kristine disappears as he hits her with the front of the playing card. In her place on the garage floor is a red push mower. It has four wheels, a small engine, a black metal handle, and a name-brand logo on the front. He sighs with a smile then looks at the playing card in his hand. On the front is a picture of his wife, Kristine, in the same dress and shoes she just had on while standing there. She looks in 2D just as she did in 3D, her mouth open talking with her hands out to her sides.

He puts the playing card on the shelf and pushes the mower to one side. He bends down to get the gas can. Twisting open the cap, he pours in the gas, spilling some on the lawn mower. Huh, he says to himself, got to remember to clean that up when I'm done. Putting the cap back on, he pushes the lawn mower out into the Sunlight.

Oh, I love being a lawn mower. I'm not sure why though. Is it the way my wheels turn over the concrete driveway? Is it the way he grips my handle? Or is it...oh yes, he's grabbing the starting cord...pull it, baby, pull it!

Ian yanks on the starting cord and the mower rumbles to life. Turning to the front yard, he lines the mower up with the spinning blades under the metal mowing deck. He then engages the self-propelled motor, and he follows the mower into the tall grass. As he walks slowly behind it in pace with the rolling wheels of the mower, the height of the grass becomes much shorter and all the same height.

Mmm, I love it when my blades are spinning, and my motor is going. This feels so good cutting grass to just the right height. Cutting grass...yes, I'm cutting grass. I'm a lawn mower. My little wheels turn, my sharp blade spins, and my engine motors running. I love being a lawn mower!

Quicker than he would like to admit, Ian finishes up the yard. This has got to be the best mower in the world, and I didn't even have to buy it. As he turns the mower off, he pushes it back into the garage. All I had to do was take a picture of it with my magic camera, then print the photo from the same camera, which kind of looks like an oversized playing card when it comes out. And then, he grins, you just whack the face card onto whatever you want and poof! They switch places.

Back in the garage, he drinks his water slowly. Wow, he thinks, it is hot out here. He checks his watch as he finishes off his water bottle. If I want to meet the guys tonight, I better get going. Kristine still needs to trim and blow off the grass clippings. Reaching for the card, he whacks the picture of his wife against the lawnmower. In an instant, the mower is gone, it's picture now on the card instead, and Kristine stands in front of him. Even though he knows she plays it down, he is convinced she loves mowing the yard. Sick woman, he thinks with a grin, but I love her.

She turns to face him, but her smile turns to a frown. "Didn't you brush me off?" Before he can answer, she shakes her head and grass clippings fall out of her hair. "Oh, uh, I guess I..." but then she says, "And that smell? Did you spill gas on me?" And with that, he notices the stain on her sleeveless dress. Oh no, he chastises himself, I forgot to clean her up. Then her eyes go wide, as she feels around to her backside, noting a slight bump in her underwear, "And please tell me you got the clump of wet grass out of the mower deck before..."

She disappears again, returning to the card, leaving the mower sitting on the garage floor as he whacked her again with the oversized playing card. He turns the card over and says, "Sorry, I'll fix it," to the picture of his cross-looking wife. He should know better, that her essence is not in the card, but in the mower. She can feel vibrations as someone is moving around her. Then she feels water splashing on her, rinsing her off. She feels herself tipped over to one side, as her deck gets a firm splashing of water. Ian notes all of the grass on the garage floor, telling himself he should have pushed the mower outside first.

Content with his cleaning, he hits the mower with the card. It disappears back into the card, looking the same as it did before, and now his wife stands in front of him...soaking wet. "Oh, uh..." Her sundress sticks to her body, as he can clearly see her wet bra and panties showing through the wet, thin dress. He figures a flattering comment would just get him in more trouble, so he says nothing as she storms off to change clothes. To be fair, he thinks as she walks past him, she had to change anyway for her turn at the yard work.

Many minutes later, she is outside using the weed eater to trim the grass around the mailbox. Her short shorts, tank top, and tennis shoes look much nicer than her husband's work clothes. Her skin is even more pale, as she applied sunscreen before coming back out. Her sunglasses protect her eyes from the sunlight, as well as any flying bits of grass.

I cannot believe she likes doing this, the weedeater thinks, I know I should enjoy cutting the small blades of grass, but I don't. Yes, it feels good when she starts me up, but after that, my job is rather dull. Although, the weedeater says happily, I do like the way she grips my handles. Mmm, now that is something to get excited about...

Later that afternoon, they are both inside having a drink as they cool down. He is still sweating from before, and she just finished her work in the hot Sun. On the kitchen table between them, there is a stack of oversized playing cards. The lawnmower, weedeater, and blower are all face up on the table. The rest of the stack is face down. They have made that mistake before by leaving them all face up on a table top. If you touch the face card part, it switches no matter what. Kristine spent an almost entire day as a couch on their bed when she was arranging the cards one weekend. Ian came home from running a few errands to find the couch halfway on the bed and halfway on the bedroom floor. It took him a while to get the couch moved so that he could carefully find his wife's card on the floor.

"Are you still going out with the guys tonight?" Kristine asks casually.

"Yep, if that is alright," he replies between sips, "Gerry is in town for work, so we wanted to get the frat brothers together to hang out for a while." She nods her head as she begins looking through the playing cards carefully. She eventually finds what she wants and turns it over on the table. "Do you have to drive me?"

He looks at the silver Porsche sportscar and says with a grin, "Definitely! They all believe I got the hottest sports car in town, to match the hottest wife," he says with a wink. "You gotta let me drive you, please."

"And they have no idea that you just took a picture of it with your 'special' camera?" He shakes his head, "No one knows about the camera but you and me, and that is how it should be. This was some incredibly powerful magic, and it cannot fall into the wrong hands."

She nods in agreement, turning the card back over. "Speaking of magic, are you recovered yet?" He frowns at that, surprised by the toll his last spell took on him. Of course, he had no idea that would be his last spell for a long time. "No," he says sadly, "I have not been able to do anything for several months now, ever since I enchanted that camera. It must have been very magic-stressful. I have not been able to do anything with magic," he lets his head drop slightly, "Anything at all."

She can hear the sadness in his voice, and she knows he took great risk in making their life better. Moving to a new town for work has thrown their finances off, and with the cost of living going up, they had to sell or leave behind many things. Fortunately, he was able to save them lots of money by making a camera that lets you take a picture of an object that can then be swapped with another 3D shape. You cannot use the camera too often, as it has to "recharge", although he said that is not exactly right. But, she says to herself, when he describes what is happening in magic words, it sounds like recharging a smartphone. And if she understands it right, that is why he cannot do magic at the moment, as he strained himself too much over the camera.

Standing up, she grabs his hand, "Come on. Let 's get cleaned up." He rises with her, noting her facial expression, "Really? Even after I messed up your dress?" She smiles over her shoulder, "Sure...you did such a good job blowing off the drive, that I figure I can do the same for you while you wash my hair." With a big smile on his face, they head to the shower to get cleaned up.

Who knew washing someone else's hair could feel so good? He says to himself as he works the fruit-smelling shampoo into his wife's hair. Her hair is rather long, so he has to work at pulling it up to where he can reach it without moving too much. She's making him feel very, very good right now, and he does not want to mess that up. On a more practical side, he needs to finish her hair before she finishes me off.

As she continues to bob her head below his waist, he stands in the shower stream, the hot water bounces off his chest onto her kneeling body. He kneads her hair quickly, as he feels a familiar feeling growing in him. As that pressure starts to mount, he can feel his feet starting to stiffen. Ugh, he tells himself, still no magic to hide my true nature, which makes it even more amazing she stays with me. The pressure continues to build as his legs become completely immobile now. He tries to balance himself so that he does not fall over again after...mmm...after...oh, yeah, that feels...

The sound of the shower changes, as the water seems to be hitting a much harder surface. Resting her hand on the still erect shaft of her husband, she stands up. She looks on the completely black form of her frozen husband. His smile and slightly parted mouth and closed eyes tell her all she needs to know. At first, this seemed freaky, she recalls, like a freaky weird that meant run away, Kristine...but she also found it appealing at the same time. To be fair, she tells herself while stroking his rock hard hair on his head, I did not know you could do magic when we started dating, and I certainly didn't know this would happen when you used up all your magic for our camera. And seriously, she thinks with a stifled giggle, who's husband turns their wife into a lawn mower and pushes her around the yard every week?

The black erotic statue seems to be carved out of the darkest stone possible. It is shiny and indestructible, as far as she knows. Normally, he can enjoy sex like anyone else, using magic to stay human throughout the climax part, which is linked to his ability to recharge magically. I don't know if it is true or not, she thinks with a grin, but he has me believing that he needs lots of sex to recharge magically. "Unfortunately, you got nothing to recharge at the moment," she says softly, "But maybe one day soon."

She turns around and finishes rinsing her hair. Unbeknownst to him, she slides closely into his rock hard body. As she rinses the shampoo out of her hair, she backs onto him, aligning herself right on him. Sliding onto him since she is taller than him, she can feel his "indestructible" shaft slide into her waiting hole. "Oh", she exclaims, "You always seem a bit bigger this way." While she hums a tune, she finishes her shower as he stands rigidly behind her. She moans with loud contentment, just before she turns off the water.

Stepping out of the shower, she grabs a towel. "Not sure if you can hear me, but I really enjoy taking a shower with you." She closes the curtain, leaving the "statue" dripping in there. As she dries off, she thinks that it is not all perfect though. Yes, there is no load for her to swallow as he stiffens up, but that means there's no prospect of children until he "recharges". Not that I'm ready, she tells herself, but it would be nice to have him human throughout the whole process, even if it will be messy again.

She eats dinner early, knowing she won't get any later. She is wearing her pajamas, as she figures he will not be home until late. If he drives her like he did last time, she is going to be tired when they get back. She can hear movement in the other room, so he must have come back to the living. She can hear a heavy sigh and towel thrown roughly into the clothes hamper, which means he did not recharge properly again. Putting her dishes in the sink, she decides to get the sports car card ready when he comes out.

A few minutes later, he comes out in jeans and t-shirt. He feels much better after the shower, and even if he does not like being "frozen", it does feel good when he reanimates. No magical powers yet, he tells himself, but that is not uncommon, according to the stuff he has read on the subject. He turns off the kitchen lights and starts to call her name, when he sees movement out by the garage.

Their other car rolls back out of the garage, as his wife pulls it up to the patio out back. Technically, the patio should have furniture and a grill on it, but for now, it is a place to park their car temporarily. Hmm, he thinks, maybe she will grill some burgers on me this weekend? He walks out as she gets out of the car. "Ready to go?" she asks. He replies while taking her hand in his, "Yep, just texted them and we will be at Charlie's tonight for darts and beers." As they walk to the garage, she asks, "Please park me in a good spot. I still have a scratch on my arm from where someone dinged my door last week when you went to the bowling alley with your new co-workers."

He nods his head, as he thinks how strange they must look with her outfit next to his, "Yeah, sorry about that. I will definitely park in a more secluded spot." She smiles and gives him a kiss. They close the garage door as she hands him the card. "Let me get in the right spot." She walks over to the empty spot where her car was. She positions herself about in the middle. "Wait," he exclaims, "you need the card, or I'll get knocked back when you switch."

She nods her head, remembering that happened the first time we tried this. She became a car when he whacked her with the card and sent him flying across the garage since she took up more space as a car than a person. He hands her the card and says, "Thanks for remembering, and thanks for making me look good tonight!" She winks, blows him a kiss, then hits the card on her head.

Instantly, a silver, two-door sports car sits in the garage. He already smells the new car smell. He made sure to take a picture of a brand-new, still-on-the-lot Porsche. He runs his hand along the fender, admiring the curves of his new car. Bending down, he picks up the card of his wife. He sets it on the shelf in the garage then opens the car door. "Ah," he exclaims, "I love the smell of a new car."

Turn me on, the sports car screams, turn me on. Drive me! Drive me! Drive me! I am a sports car...drive me...drive me hard. Yes yes, close the door. Yes, push the brake and then push the start...OOOOHHHH YESSSS!!! From now until he arrives at the bar, she is in heaven as he drives her like a sports car should be driven. She cannot see, but only feel the way her tires grip the road, the way she takes the turns tightly, and accelerates ever so quickly. And since she has no visual perception, she does not notice that he parks near the front, so that everyone can see him get out of the car. He does not take note of the big truck on his left or the junker car to his right. She beeps at him when he locks it up, and if a car could sleep, she does, blissfully enjoying the feeling that her driver is where he wants to be and her doors are locked.

Ian and his buddies have a great time. They laugh about the old times, throw darts until they can't see straight anymore, and drink themselves into a frenzy. Eventually, they have to go home, but none of them are physically capable of driving. The cute bartender picks each of their pockets for their drivers licenses and credit cards. She calls Uber and gets each of them a lift. After paying the driver with each of their credit cards individually, she gets the bouncer to help her get them in the minivan. "Tourists," the bouncer says with disgust as he closes the sliding door. She waves at the driver as he pulls out. "Don't worry, I gave the driver an extra big tip from all of them, so we just helped our friend Ahmed make his house payment this month." The big man who almost fills the double doors as they walk back in replies, "Well, I guess that is something."

As they close up for the night and leave, the parking lot empties save for the rental car towards the back, and the silver shiny sports car near the front. They both look like any regular inanimate car, so no one pays any special attention to them as they leave.

Ian wakes up on the bathroom floor in the hallway. "Wha?" he mumbles while holding his head with both hands, "How did I get out here?" He stumbles to his feet and says, "Honey? Could you get me some Tylenol?" He rinses his face off, uses the toilet, and then shuffles into the short hallway. The house is really quiet, or maybe I've lost my hearing, not sure which. Judging by the light coming in, it has to be late in the morning. "Honey?" he says again just above a whisper, every word paining him.

Moving into the kitchen, he goes to find some pain medicine. He takes two with water and then notices the car still on the patio. Well, he reasons, she must still be home. He wanders into the bedroom, noting the bed looks unslept in. Huh, he thinks as he painfully scratches his head, wonder where she is? He walks throughout the small house, and does not get worried until he sees her phone on the counter. He looks at it to see she has several missed texts from friends. He cannot unlock the phone, but something feels off based on the fact that none of them have been read or answered.

Hmm, he moans, something is wrong. Deciding he should unlock her phone first before continuing his search, he goes to their playing cards on the top shelf of the kitchen. Cycling through them, he finds "his wife". He decided they should have a back-up card, in case something happened to the other one during a transformation. The pic is a few months old, but it should work. The outfit does not match the season, but in reality, he only needs the right thumb print or face.

With a flick, he hits the card against his head. In an instant, he stands uncomfortably on high heels. Looking down, the tight sleeveless shirt shows off her chest and narrowing waist, her short black leather jacket feels good on her arms, and then the black leather pants that cover her feet, except for the exposed toes of her high-heels. I remember when she tried this on in the store, he recalls, I really wanted to buy this for her, but we could not afford it. I had been wanting a back-up card, so that seemed like the perfect time.

Walking with a wobble, she picks up Kristine's phone. "Actually," she says out loud, "Is it my phone now?" Shaking her head, "No, I'm still Ian. I just look like my wife." Unlocking the phone, Ian checks the messages, realizing that his wife has not replied to anything since becoming his car. The car! Where is it? Wait, how did I get home?

Sitting down in the chair, he starts to rub her temples. How did I get here? As the evening comes back in pieces, he feels Kristine's phone buzz again. He looks at it and says out loud, "Coming over?" He stands up quickly, but then falls down from poor balance on her heels. As he climbs back up with the help of the living room couch, he hears a knock at the door. Checking the phone again, he sees that it was their neighbor who sent that message.

I cannot let her see me as my wife, he tells himself, I got to change back. Hopefully, she won't realize I'm here. As he stumbles to his feet, the front door opens slowly. "Krissy? Are you here?" Ian bumps the coffee table and almost knocks over the lamp, causing their neighbor to turn her head to face him.

"Hey, girl, what are you doing?" Beth says with a chuckle. "More importantly, what are you wearing?"

Ian knows he cannot escape now, so he says, "Oh, hey there Beth...Beth, you are Beth, and yes, I'm Kristine, your female neighbor." Beth chuckles as she walks in and hugs Ian. Ian decides he should return the hug, which is really weird. He is in a woman's body while hugging another woman. The leather outfit is not helping him at the moment, as he can clearly feel her body heat.

"You headed out or just getting in?" Beth says with another squeeze. She is quite short, maybe not much taller than 5 foot, so Kristine's body towers over her with the heels. She is not heavy, and the word "stocky" would be an insult to her, but that is how Ian would describe her. She is attractive with her blonde hair, tight shorts, and midriff showing top, but she probably should order it in a size bigger.

"Ha, ha, well, actually," Ian thinking not as clear as he would like, "I was just trying on an outfit I ordered, but I don't know, you know." How lame does that sound?

Beth whistles and steps back while holding Kristine's hands, "Oh, you have to keep it. You look hot in it." Ian giggles at that. I should giggle at that, right? Or maybe I should have chuckled? Beth then says, "But, I thought we were headed to get our nails done this morning. You didn't answer any of my texts, so I was getting a little worried."

"Uh, yeah, well, I, uh, I mean Ian was out last night...and he left the car...the rental car...and took an Uber. He's...not here." Sheesh, he thinks, how lame does that sound, and why am I liking the fact she is still holding my hands?

"Oh, you need a ride? I could drop you off on our way." Beth steps into the kitchen, not noticing the card on the floor. Ian turns to reply when he is suddenly face to face with himself. "Oh no, not good." Beth turns around and exclaims in Ian's voice, "Woah, what in the world was...aaaahhhhhh!" Ian feels like he is having an out-of-body experience, literally. He is watching his body jump up and down and scream in terror. He watches his hands touch his face, but he cannot feel it. He watches his body check its reflection, but he cannot see through those eyes.

"Calm down, calm down, it is okay...you are still you." Beth turns and replies, "What do you mean I am me? I look and sound like your husband!" Ian stretches out his hands to take his own, which ironically feel rather nice. "Shhhh, easy there, it is okay...it is okay. Let me explain as best as I can." Sitting himself down, Ian explains that her husband has a special camera from work that can alter the outward appearance of people. Telling her that Kristine is really Ian seemed like too much, and that it was all magic seemed like even more of a stretch. Let 's keep it simple, right?

"Here, let me show you how it works," Ian says while picking up the card of Beth's. "See? Here your body is, safe and sound. All we have to do is hit it against you, and you turn back to you." Ian watches his own hand come out and take the card. "This is so weird. Do I really look like that? I mean, I just never seen such a detailed photo of myself." Ian chuckles, or should I have giggled, at that. "I, uh, my husband says that all the time. But go ahead, try it."

Taking the card tentatively, she hits it against her head, but nothing happens. "No, you have to hit the face side of it against the object." Ian turns to face Kristine, and with a grin hits the card on her head. In an instant, Ian is now sitting in the kitchen chair looking like Beth while staring at himself, grinning. "What do you know? It works!" Ian, in Beth's body, lets out a heavy sigh, "Yep, it does, and now I'm you." Ian watches himself turn to look at the card, which is now showing his wife on there, as if she was sitting down in a chair.

Seeing that look, Ian says, "Wait..." And then poof, he is sitting at the kitchen table with his wife. "Now this, I could get used to," she says while looking down at herself.  Ian says weakly, "Look, Beth, we really need to..." But Beth is standing up in Kristine's body, walking around the kitchen. She is clearly comfortable in heels, and is enjoying the feeling of the leather outfit. "Oh, this feels so good on my body." Ian chimes in with, "Uh no, my wife's body...uh, I mean, my body...that is not yours to keep." Beth grins slyly, "Tell you what. I'll help you get your rental back, but only if we go like this."

Ian sighs heavily, noting that he never noticed how big Beth's chest really is. Normally, I could probably use some magic on her, but I do not have any to use at the moment. And, I'm not in my own body, so I'm not sure if I could use it anyway. I have another card of me, so I could get that one and maybe have the upper hand. As he looks to the kitchen table, Beth sees where he is looking, and quickly snatches up the other cards. "Come on now. You have my car keys in your pocket, and you know where we are going. I say we hop to it if we are going to make our appointment."

Ian knows a struggle over the cards could end up with them both becoming furniture or clothes or a lawnmower. That is the problem with the camera and cards that he has been working on. There is no safety net. You have to have a person do the switching, and permanent can be just one switch away. He sighs heavily, which feels off in this body as his chest takes a while to go up and back down, and replies, "Is your truck still parked in your driveway?"

Beth and her husband both drive trucks. His is some kind of giant, black truck that you can hear coming a block away. Her truck is much smaller, and a "cute shade of light blue". Walking over is not too bad, as she was in flip flops anyway, so that is easier than those cursed heels. As he gets in the truck, he wants to adjust the seat and mirror, but it is set just for him, or rather, just for the body he is in. As they pull out, Beth keeps checking herself in the mirror, running her hands on her thighs, and blowing kisses at anyone she sees. Ian wants to tell her to stop, but then, what's the point? It is not like he can do anything about it. I just want to get my wife back.

Arriving at Charlie's, he sees that his wife is still there. She is looking so fine in her silver metal curves and black convertible soft-top. The Sun almost makes her shine in the morning light. "Wow, he rented a Corvette? Those are so nice!" "Uh, actually, it is a..." But Beth cuts in, "I'm driving that one," as she points to his wife. He wants to say no, but then he realizes, she is holding all the cards, literally.

Pulling up next to Kristine, he wonders if she knows she has been left in a parking lot all night. Ironically, his wife's body, being run by Beth, is now hopping into the Porsche that is inhabited by his wife. Ow, he says while rubbing Beth's temples, my head hurts just thinking about it. To make matters worse, Beth peels out of the parking lot doing 80 at least, and takes the long way home. Ian already has Beth's truck parked in the driveway and he has eaten some breakfast and finished off a second cup of coffee when he hears her screech into the driveway. He sighs heavily in Beth's body, and tells himself he has got to stop that or he is going to do something to Beth's body that he has avoided doing so far.  He then steps outside to meet her in the open garage.

Beth pulls in too fast, but is able to stop without hitting anything. Kristine steps out of the car, but says something very uncharacteristic of her, "That was better than sex. Not gonna lie. I think I had two orgasms on the highway when I was passing people doing a hundred." Ian can feel Beth's stomach flip over as he hears his wife's body speak about how his wife was treated as a car. "Look, that is great, and I'm glad you had fun, and I'm so so glad everyone is back safely, but can we switch everything back please?"

Kristine's mouth cracks into a smile as she puts her purse in the front seat. She has one card in her hand as she walks around the car. "Sure, and don't get me wrong, y'all are great neighbors, but this was way too much fun to let it be a one-time thing. I feel like if you want to keep this secret away from your husband or anyone else knowing, I get to use it sometimes, okay?"

Ian knows this is a bad idea, and he cannot go through with it. "Beth, we have to be real careful here. This can get dangerous." Beth nods Kristine's head, "Indeed it can, because I hear my man's truck coming. He didn't get his morning pick-me-up, since I was going to be gone to the nail salon. It would be a real shame if it was you that walked next door, rather than me."

Ian widens Beth's eyes so much, that she was amazed her body could do that. Ian pictures Beth's large husband pinning him against the bed and thrusting him into unconsciousness. He shivers uncontrollably and replies, "Okay, okay, okay, whatever you want, just please, let's switch back." Ian has never seen his wife grin like that before, but then he has not seen anyone in his wife's body before. Beth quickly slaps the card in her hand between her and Ian until she is in her regular body, and Ian is back in his wife's body.

Beth puts the card of Ian on top of the car. Ian can hear a deep voice yelling, "Beth?" She grins at Ian, and says loudly with a wink, "I'm over here, you big hairy beast...keep your shirt on, momma's coming." And with another blown kiss, she turns to walk out of the garage and back over to her house. Ian just stands there. mouth wide open, wondering what just happened and how is he going to explain all this to Kristine. Looking down at the sports car that does not look as exciting as it did last night, he curses, "Wands and wizards, I'm so dead."

Kristine takes her time washing the dishes. Getting soap in the rag in her hand, she carefully washes each dish and cup by hand. After each piece of silverware, she wrings the rag out and starts over. She whistles a happy tune as she spends nearly an hour washing all of the dishes. She wrings the rag out one final time and drapes it over the sink.

She turns to the kitchen table to get a card. Holding it up, she hits the facecard to the rag and it turns into a towel. Putting the picture of a card back on the table, she then picks up the towel and dries each of the dishes before putting them away. The tune in her head comes out of her mouth in a bright hum that would feel contagious if anyone else was in the room.

Once complete, she looks around the kitchen with a sense of accomplishment. Going back to the table, she hits another card to the towel, and her husband is now standing beside her. "Did you have to wring me out after every...single...spoon, fork, knife?!" She can tell he is slightly upset, but then she smiles slyly at him, "Well, no, I didn't, but it was fun though." He starts to say more, but then she reaches for another card that he cannot see, so he decides to not dig the hole any deeper.

He has been "grounded" for the past week, after what happened to his wife. He knows it could have been so much worse, and he also knows that it was his fault she was left in a bar's parking lot overnight as a silver, shiny sports car. Being a rag or towel or whatever object they have in the stack has been his "punishment". The biggest blow was that she took the sports car out of the stack and hidden it somewhere: he will not be driving her for a long time.

So, at the moment, they only have the one car. They leave for work together, where he drops her off on the way to his job which is almost an hour from the house. Their schedules are pretty close, so she is earlier than she needs to be, but then he gets off earlier than her, so by the time he drives back to her work, she is almost done. It is not pretty, but it works.

The one that has them worried is Beth, their neighbor. She is now the only person in the world who knows of their camera that can turn 3D objects into 2D oversized playing cards that can be swapped out with other 3D objects. It has been a game of spies, as they have tried to sneak into the house quickly before she might come out. Whenever they see her truck in the driveway, there is always that fear of her saying something. Kristine has her number in her cellphone, and to be honest, Beth has been very quiet this week. And that is the other thing, Beth thinks Kristine is the one who knows what she knows, but in reality, it is Ian, who had used a playing card for his disguise. So, Kristine will have to play along that she was the one, not Ian, who knows that Beth knows.

Like the situation that brought this whole mess on him, Ian's head starts to hurt all over again. I knew we could not keep it a secret forever, but we couldn't even make it for more than a few months? He frowns as he looks out the window to the grass that seems to have grown too-tall overnight. The transformation camera has not brought them financial peace like he was hoping it would.

Finally, the day they had been dreading came two weeks later. It was a Friday afternoon, and Ian and Kristine had just gotten home from work. They were putting away some groceries they had picked up at the store, when they see Beth at their backdoor. Kristine waves her in, and says, "Hey, Beth, haven't seen you in a while...how are you?"

Beth comes in slowly and asks, "Listen, something has come up and I really need some credit CARD help." She emphasized the word 'card', so Kristine replies, "Oh, sure, we can talk in the back room, while Ian finishes putting up the groceries." Beth walks past them, as Ian smiles weakly. Great, he says to himself, I was wondering how long it would take. He turns to face Kristine when she hits him with a card. Instantly, he becomes his wife, wearing tight leggings and an oversized t-shirt, not much different than she would wear after coming home from work.

He looks at his twin and says, "Oh no, why me? It should be you, because she thinks it is you." She shakes her head, "Nope, you know what happened that day better than me, and you know the way it works better than me, so go be me." As he starts to protest, she hits herself with his card, so now he is standing in the kitchen with himself...sort of. With a heavy sigh, noting the added weight to his chest, he turns to walk back to their bedroom.

Beth is sitting on the bed, looking sad or maybe concerned. Ian closes the door and says, "So, uh, what is this all about?" Beth, not even looking up, starts her story, "So, I got this cousin who needs my help from time to time. She gets into trouble with the law and our extended family, and I end up bailing her out...literally. Well, Big Mike says I cannot help anymore or there will be hell to pay. I have been good to his word and not helping, but now," she says while looking up at Ian, "I really gotta go help her this weekend, but Big Mike cannot find out."

Ian nods his wife's head and replies, "So you need my wife...uh, I mean, me to be you until you get back?" As Beth nods, Ian keeps going, "I don't think I can. There is no way I could pretend to be you that long." Beth looks up again, "But it won't be all weekend. If I leave now, I'm sure I can be back by late tonight or even early tomorrow. I just need a few hours, please."

Ian does not consider himself a pushover, but he is finding it hard to say no at the moment. Beth looks genuinely broken and distraught. Maybe he could convince Kristine to do this afterall. Reaching out his hand to hold Beth's, Ian says, "Sure, let me get Krist...uh, I mean, Ian in here and we can talk about it."

Beth shakes her head violently, "Oh no, he can't know this is happening. You didn't tell him, did you? This whole thing has to be our secret!" Ian had not mentioned he told Kristine about it, so he could keep it a "secret" perhaps, but should he?

"How can I not tell her, uh him?" Beth looks around and says, "Just say you and me gotta go shopping for a few hours then maybe text him we are gonna be late hanging out and then he can go to bed. I'll make sure I'm back before he wakes up in the morning." Ian is really not too sure about this, but maybe this could be their one time help and get her off their back.

"Okay, but just this one time," Ian says, as he reaches for the camera that sits in his closet. It looks very similar to an old-fashioned camera, with the black and white coloring, the box-like shape, the long lens in the front, and the slot on the bottom for the card to be printed out. She gets up and hugs him tightly. He grunts and says, "Okay, okay, let's hurry up before I change my mind."

She steps back and he puts her in the viewscreen of the camera. It highlights her whole body and clothes then he clicks the button. In seconds, an oversized playing card prints out the bottom of the camera. Ian takes it carefully to show Beth. "Incredible, it looks just like me," she exclaims. Ian chuckles, "Yep, just like you, so be careful not to..."

And then there were two Beth's standing in the room. Ian, still holding the camera, says gloomily, "Hit me with it yet. I still have to tell Kri, uh I mean, Ian." Beth smiles and hits herself with the card, becoming Kristine. "I got that figured out," she says quickly, "I can lie better than you. You get over next door. Dinner is about ready, so all you have to do is take it out of the oven and off the stove."

Ian looks at her with surprise, "Wait, I gotta eat dinner with your husband?" Beth gets the camera out of his hands and onto the bed. She opens the door and walks out quickly with a wink, "I think that is just what you need to feel better, Beth." Ian feels Beth's arm being pulled by the much bigger arm of his wife. Before he can even get his bearings, he is thrust out the door while Beth, in Kristine's body, talks to Kristine, who is in my body. Ugh, Ian says to himself while he rubs Beth's temples. this bodyswap thing is going to blow my mind one day.

Ian is not sure if Kristine realizes they have swapped bodies, but then he hears the distinctive roar of their neighbor's truck. Oh no, he thinks, I gotta get Beth's body back over there before he shows up. Walking quickly, he crosses their backyard and gets into their neighbor's back yard easily. The HOA has strict rules on fences, so neither one of them have installed one yet.

Ian gets up the back door stairs and into the kitchen, just as she sees the big truck pull into the driveway. Mmm, something sure smells good in here, he thinks, as he dodges the piles of clothes and bags that seem to be around the house. Compared to his house, this place is an absolute wreck. There is stuff everywhere.

Hearing the truck door slam, he decides he has no time for critiquing their house. With the house layout being about the same as his, he is in the kitchen and checking the pot on the stove and the pan in the oven instantly. Okay, he observes, looks like we have chicken in the oven, beans on the stove, and bread in the toaster oven.

Seeing that the kitchen table is cluttered, he quickly moves to clear it. He stacks stuff higher on the counters, then he finds a couple of clean plates in the dishwasher that had not been unloaded. As the heavy footsteps come up the front sidewalk, he finishes setting the table. When the front door opens, he does another check of the food. "Oh yeah, that smells so good," he hears a booming voice say.

He gulps loudly and turns around to see Big Mike in the kitchen doorway. He is well over 6 feet tall, which makes Beth's body seem even smaller. His jet black hair is curly and it comes below his shoulders. His beard is full and bushy. His work clothes are ones that you might wear at an auto store or car repair shop. Huh, Ian recalls, I've not asked what he does for a living.

Before he can say anything, two big arms lift him up in a giant bearhug. He's never been lifted off his feet like this, so when Beth's body squeals loudly, Big Mike grins broader and kisses her lips. Ian knew this could happen, and he told himself it is all an act, and he cannot find out who he really is. However, Beth's body must enjoy his touch in some way, because the brisly kiss actually sends tingles down Beth's body. Not sure if I should be grossed out or thankful, Ian tells himself.

"That's how every day should be," Big Mike says loudly, "Coming home to a beautiful wife with a home cooked meal." He sits Beth's body down roughly then moves to the bathroom. "Hope it is ready." Ian realized that he did not say that as a question, but rather as a statement...an ultimatum?

"Uh, sure," Ian says as he starts to look around for spoons and oven mitts to handle the hot pots and pans. Big Mike is gone a while, which is good for Ian to find what he needs in the messy kitchen. I don't see how I'm gonna fool this guy into believing I'm his wife. I may look like her, but there is no way I'm gonna act like her.

Surprisingly though, Big Mike does all the talking. Ian sits across the table from him, as Big Mike tells the problems of his day. When he indicates he wants more food, he moves Beth's body as fast as he can to get it for him. Ian felt like there was enough food for 4 people, yet Big Mike must eat for three. He is not fat, Ian would say, as he wears his weight well. Big Mike is, well, big. With a full mouth mostly, Ian sits there while eating the food he supposedly cooked, listening to a day in the life of a car technician. Admittedly, the food is actually pretty good, so other than the company he has to keep tonight, this is not a bad way to spend dinner.

With Big Mike's hunger finally sated, he moves to the living room to watch the game on their big screen TV. They have some nice things in the house, like the TV and some of the kitchen appliances, but they do not keep a clean house at all. As Ian clears the table, he tries to text the real Beth to see what he is supposed to do, but then he realizes that he rushed out the house without his cellphone. Great, he says to himself with a frown, how am I gonna get back over there?

"Hey, babe," Big Mike calls out, "Beer!" Ian knows what that means, even if he does not live here. He rummages through the fridge to find many bottles of beer. He opens it up and takes it into Big Mike. He takes it from Beth's hand, without even acknowledging her presence. Hmm, Ian reasons, this might be easier than I thought. I just have to keep him happy until he goes to bed, then I should be in the clear.

As he thought, the rest of the evening goes without a hitch. Big Mike watches the game until bedtime, then he grunts, belches, and stands up leaving another set of empty bottles with the ones already on the floor. Ian, even without his phone, had been able to get the laptop working so he could at least check his email while sitting on the bed and get a message to Kristine about what he is doing. Unfortunately, her reply was really odd, like she did not believe it was me. That's odd, he tells himself, I mean, who else could I be?

As he starts to surf some more, he sees Big Mike come in the bedroom, "No more buying from Amazon this month, okay? Can't afford you buying all new clothes all the time." As he moves into their bathroom, Ian responds with, "Oh uh, sure thing, I was just looking, that's all." Big Mike comes back out only wearing his underwear, and Ian now knows why Beth calls him the "hairy beast." Wow, he exclaims to himself, I've never so much hair on a man. Ian cannot help but stare at the thick black hair all over the man's body, which he must have noticed. "I see you looking, babe, don't worry, you'll get your fill real soon."

Ian then makes eye contact with, "Get my fill?" Big Mike replies, "Well, if you insist, I'm always ready to do that." And then, he pulls off his underwear, and Ian audibly gasps at what is no longer hidden. To say the man was "well hung" would be an understatement, and he tears his eyes away to look back at Big Mike's face. Oh no, Ian groans, I know that look, and I did not sign up for this.

He stands up and moves towards the door, "Uh, listen, I'm not really in the..." But he finds Beth's arm caught by Big Mike's hand, and like a flash, he is smothered in his body. "Now, babe, weren't you just asking me to fill you? Don't you worry, your faithful husband will always be ready and willing to fill you." Ian is panicking now, wondering how he can get out of here, but he cannot move...literally. Big Mike has him wrapped up and she can feel the soft bulge pressed against her stomach getting harder.

Ian tries to turn away as Big Mike repositions himself. He kisses Beth's neck, then while holding her body with one hand, he deftly removes her shirt. Sheesh, Ian thinks, I can't even get my own shirt off that quickly. He tries to grab the shirt from him, as he feels Beth's breasts drop a bit from their support being removed. He got the bra unclasped, too? Ian knows he's got no time now, and he has to tell Big Mike the truth.

He turns back around in the "bear hug" and opens Beth's mouth to tell him the truth. However, he pulls her up and kisses her lips, her feet off the ground now. Ian feels that tingling again, realizing that Beth's body actually likes this and though Ian does not, he cannot seem to win this fight. As he moves to break free, he feels Beth's shorts and underwear peeled off in one motion as he holds her body up and then lays it down on the bed as he lays on top of his wife's body.

Ian realizes he is drowning in hair and skin as what feels like a 2 ton weight rests on him. Beth's body voices weak protests, but Big Mike seems to not hear them. As he rises up, Ian looks down and sees what is attempting to enter Beth's body. Oh my, he thinks, there is no way that is going to fit in me. Again, he futilely squirms hoping to get away, but soon feels an increased pressure then a penetration that pins him against the bed. Beth's mouth screams as Big Mike moans, "ooo, that's my baby doll."

Ian wants to be disgusted with each thrust, but then he feels something he has not felt in a really long time: magic. Wait, he thinks with each pump, I can feel the edge of magic at my fingertips. As Beth's body is driven deep into the bed, Ian's magical body is pushed closer to the well of magic that he has so longed to dip from. Yes, Ian thinks. "Yes," Beth says. "Yes," Big Mike mumbles. Not realizing he had not fully opened up, Ian gets Beth's body to be more accepting, and then Ian can feel the magic returning to him slowly.

Just as he starts to grasp hold of it, he feels another sensation. What in the world is...oh...oh...he wasn't kidding when he said he would fill me. Should I be able to feel that? And then just like that, it is over. Ian is panting, yearning for more, as he did not quite find his hold on the magic strong enough to maintain. Beth's body feels the same, as if it was cheated in some way. "Uh, are you done?" Ian asks weakly.

The only response given to him: snoring. Great, Ian thinks as he truly cannot move, I'm stuck under a sleeping giant. Ugh, he thinks with some disgust, I can't tell if I'm sweating from exertion or if this is from him. It is like I'm wrapped in a warm wet towel. I should feel completely violated at the moment, as I just did it with a guy, but feeling magic for the first time in so many months has made the experience worth it. Of course, he thinks with an eye roll, I could do without the "cuddle" time with the sweaty 2-ton teddy bear.

Ian must have eventually fallen asleep, as he wakes up to the bed moving. He is over on his side facing the bathroom, as he feels the heavy arm that was on him come off as Big Mike rolls over to the other side of the bed. Ian decides this is his chance to get out of here. He sneaks out of bed slowly, letting his feminine bare feet touch the worn carpet. He looks for his clothes as he stands up in the near-dark room, but then he feels something moving inside him. Oh no, he realizes, I'm about to spill Big Mike all over the place.

Bent over and her knees together, Ian shuffles Beth's body into the bathroom. He just gets her body seated when he empties herself of Big Mike. I guess it makes sense, Ian reasons, that the size of it would make a difference to how much your load would be. Huh, he notes, never peed as a woman before. As he nods his head, he then whispers, "Not sure I like it, but then not much I can do about it." Wiping and flushing the toilet, he stands Beth's body up to get a view of it in the bathroom mirror. Washing her hands, he notes that she has feminine curves like his wife, just with a bit more "meat on her bones". Of course, he thinks while staring at the impressive chest that she is holding up, that would be nice to wake up to every morning.

With that thought, Ian is reminded of the "pick-me-up" that Beth had mentioned weeks ago. Yikes, today is Saturday, which means he probably won't go into work, so he'll be wanting my wifely duties again. Magic or no magic, he is not ready for another round with Big Mike. Tiptoeing out of the bathroom, he starts to look for his clothes so that he can get out of here. I'll go home, and then Beth can just show up and hop into bed in my place.

Unfortunately, it is just too dark to see anything, and he does not feel confident enough about where things are to find what he was wearing without being able to see it. To be honest, he thinks, I'm not really sure what Beth was wearing today. Figuring he can just get up when the Sun comes up, he slips back into bed, keeping as far from Big Mike as he can.

I'll just lay here and be quiet. I'll just wait until I see daylight. I'll just...these sheets feel nice. I'll just...take a quick nap. Ian drifts off to sleep, dreaming of using magic and flying to the stars. He soars above the problems of the world, enjoying his magical powers like never before. He knows it is a dream, but he does not care. He then decides to fly towards the very bright light in the sky.

Her eyes open to Sunlight hitting her face. Oh, Ian thinks, I must have fallen asleep. I wonder if Kristine is up yet. I could use some coffee. He rolls over to see Big Mike's mountain-like back. "Oops," he says, "I forgot." As he realizes his situation, the entire bed shifts as Big Mike rolls over. "Coffee? Yeah, I figured you didn't start it yet." Ian gulps loudly, "Uh, yeah, sorry...uh, I'll get it." Big Mike smiles broadly, "Sure, baby, I wanna see that naked butt shimmy out of here."

Ian gulps again and slips out of bed. He tries to keep the sheets around him, but Big Mike pulls them back so he can get a good look at Beth's body. "As much as I like looking," Big Mike says with lots of lust, "I need to get going, so let's have some coffee, huh?" Beth's body nods and walks awkwardly out of the room, as Ian is not sure how much of himself he can cover with his hands.

In the kitchen, he finds what he needs to get the coffee started. Big Mike looks like a 3-4 cup kind of guy, so he prepares a full pot of coffee. Ian peaks out the kitchen window to see if anyone is stirring next door. He can see Beth's truck in line with Big Mike's, and there seems to be a light on at his house. Beth must be back by now, so I just need to get dressed and wait for her to come back over.

He hears the bathroom door close and the shower start up, so he decides to get dressed. It takes longer than it should, since Big Mike was throwing clothes everywhere last night. Eventually, Ian finds all of Beth's clothes and puts them on. He could change into something else, but let's not try anything silly here. I would not know what to put with what.

After getting everything back on, he hears the back door open and close softly. He walks to it to see Beth sneaking in, a grin on her face. "Thank you," she says. Ian replies softly, "You were gone longer than I thought you would. I was getting worried." Beth shrugs, "Things are always complicated. He in the shower?" Ian nods while talking to his twin, "Yep, and I've started the coffee." She turns to see what he started and responds, "Good...you made plenty. He drinks a lot in the morning." Ian smiles to himself, having guessed right.

He feels a whack on his head as he changes instantly. He is now in his wife's body from yesterday. She hands her the card and says, "Better get going. Ian will be waking up soon." Ian nods his head and leaves, almost forgetting he has to also play the part of his wife. He is not sure how much he wants to say about what happened last night, and he really does not want to get into an argument with Beth over how long she was gone. Right now, he tells himself, I want out of here without being discovered. This evening has been one close call after another.

The steaks sizzle on the grill. Ian is happy with how they are coming along. The baked potatoes are wrapped in aluminum foil and should be already done. Drinking from his beer bottle, he overlooks his small but well kept back yard. It is so nice to have a place to cookout and relax, Ian thinks with contentment. "And, this is the nicest grill I have ever used," he winks at it.

I'M SO HOT, the grill thinks, I love cooking food. Sizzle, meat, sizzle. I love being hot, because I am hot. I'm a grill, and I cook things with flames. The grill would not remember it's name before it was a grill, but Ian would have called her  Kristine.

Pulling the meat and potatoes off the grill, he takes all the food up to their small, but covered back porch. The tiny plastic table and chairs are all that can fit on it. Getting the table all set, he grabs the playing card from the chair. Walking over to the grill, he takes a quick look around. The houses are rather close together, but there's enough hedges and trees around to block most people from looking too closely at what he is about to do.

Hitting the facecard to the grill, it disappears and his wife stands there in her casual attire. She smiles at him and walks back with him to the house. "Thanks for making dinner," she says. He then says, "Thanks for cooking the food!" They both laugh at that as they sit down to enjoy their "feast". This was the first month since moving here that they both got a paycheck in the same month. There have been lots of starts and stops, but finally, they both have steady income and can sit down to enjoy it.

As they eat and talk, they enjoy the late summer evening. He notices her looking around then she starts to get up. He asks, "What do you need?" She replies, "Butter, I forgot to grab it off the counter." He takes hold of her arm, "Don't get up. Just lean over and open the door." She looks at him strangely and does as he requested. As she opens the door from her chair, the butter floats out shakily to the table. She smiles and takes it out of the air. "You're getting your powers back?!" He shrugs, "Well, that was the extent of what I can do, but it is a start." Setting the butter down, she grabs her wine glass and holds it up. "To finally finding our normal," she says with a chuckle. He does a quick glance to make sure the lawn does not need cutting or that Beth is not coming around the corner. With a sigh of relief, he brings his wine glass to gently touch hers with the same sort of chuckle, "To normal."

Days turn into weeks, and Ian is beginning to wonder when more of his magic will come back. He has not gained anymore since that breakthrough when he was Beth that last time. He never would have thought of that being a good situation, but somehow, it reopened his connection to magic. Unfortunately, he is not back to near the strength he used to be.

The good news: him and Kristine can now enjoy regular intimacy like everyone else. He can tap into enough magic to keep himself human throughout the whole process. And unlike every time in the past, that intimacy is not "recharging" him, as Kristine likes to call it. He hates to admit this, and he cannot even believe he is suggesting this thought, but he may need Big Mike. Just the thought of that makes him cringe with repulsion, yet he cannot deny that his last encounter had one positive outcome.

Trying to keep his thoughts hidden, Ian will occasionally ask about Beth. Kristine, for the moment, thinks he is making sure they are avoiding her at the moment, so she thinks nothing of his questioning. For Kristine, Beth has texted very little, returning to their regular routine. They never really went out together without some type of coupon or attendance issue where they needed another female to come along. Kristine has not pursued that lately, as she does not want to open up their relationship to be hijacked by her.

Ian would normally agree, but he would like to find a reason to prove his theory. Unfortunately, it is not something he could do without tipping his hand of his intentions. I need to talk to Beth somehow, he reasons, without Kristine knowing and for Beth to think I'm Kristine. He sarcastically grunts and rolls his eyes at that thought, "How hard could that be."

That weekend, while mowing the yard, he sees Beth walking the trash out to the garbage can in between their houses. Ian releases the mower handle and walks over casually, or at least he tries to be casual. "Hey, Beth," he says, "How are you?"

She looks over at him and says, "I'm good, Ian, how are you?" She does not stop walking, as if she intends to go back inside the house. Ian tries to hold her up, "I didn't see Big Mike today. Is he out of town?" Beth pauses for a moment to respond, "He took the weekend to go fishing with some of his buddies, but he'll be back tomorrow afternoon, but maybe tonight. Whenever he decides to show up," she adds throwing her hands up in the air.

Ian decides to press a bit more, "Oh, well, then, uh, you should see if Krisinte is available. Maybe you two could do something?" Beth shrugs her shoulders, "Maybe. We'll see. Thanks." And with that, she closes the backdoor. Hmm, he thinks, not sure that went the way I wanted it to. He returns to the mower and starts it back up. He can almost hear it humming a happy tune as he continues to mow the grass.

Beth never contacted Kristine, and Kristine never contacted Beth, even though Ian tried his best. Well, he thinks, 'best' might be a strong word. I cannot let them know what I'm trying to do, and it is complicated since Beth thinks Kristine is the one who knows about all this.

However, Ian is about to get a possible boost. Kristine has to go out of town for a couple of days for some sort of training for work, so he will be home alone. He has the thought that maybe he could convince Beth that it was really Ian who left town, and that maybe she should go out somewhere, while "Kristine" fills in for her? That could work, he reasons, since Big Mike seems like the kind of guy who needs his woman regularly.

Kristine had not been gone very long, taking their only car with her, before Ian spots Beth coming home in her truck. Even though he had no car, Ian said he got permission to work from home for a couple of days, so it should not be a problem for him not to go physically into work. This gives him a couple of days to find a way to get next door as Beth. Hitting himself with a card of Kristine, he changes clothes quickly to be more casual. The short shorts and tank top are maybe not exactly what his wife would wear, but he has a short window to intercept Beth on her way inside.

Walking out the back door, Ian sees Beth trying to get several bags of groceries inside the house. Smiling too much, he walks Kristine's body up to Beth. "Hey, neighbor," Kristine's voice says cheerfully, "Let me help you with that." Beth tries to protest, but Kristine's body has already moved to get the other bag from the truck. Beth breathes out a heavy sigh and says, "Well, okay, thanks...I could have...you know."

Ian nods Kristine's head, "I know, I know, but I figured I could help you out. I mean, we both like to play cards." In his head, that sounded so smooth, but after he heard Kristine's voice say it, he realized that it sounded very forced. Beth almost drops her bags at what he said. She looks away saying, "Oh, yeah, I guess. Listen, I wanted to..." Ian can tell by her voice that she was trying to apologize, but he does not have time for that. Big Mike might come home at any time. "Oh, it's fine. You and I can talk about that whenever you want. I'm good, aren't you?"

Beth gulps as she sets the groceries down on the cluttered kitchen table. "Uh, well, sure, I am, but I figured you might not be. You performed perfectly for him, and I feel almost bad for him thinking it was me." Ian keeps a smile on Kristine's face, "Oh, I'm so glad you didn't get into trouble. I wasn't really sure how to handle that much man." Beth looked at her strangely, but then replied, "Yes, he is multiple handfuls for me, but that never seemed to bother him. And you cleaned up, too, and I did your...uh, did nothing like that for you." Beth finds herself wrapped up by Kristine's body in a hug, as Ian says, "Oh, listen, it is fine, really. I'm just glad your cousin got the help she needed, and he had no idea it was me."

Beth nodded numbly, "Yeah, about my cousin..." Ian perks up as he starts to put the groceries away, "Need to go back and check on her? We could switch for a few hours if need be. Like I said, Ian is gone for the next few days." Beth shakes her head, "Well, no, that is not what I meant." Ian hears the truck, and knows his time is short if he is going to implement his plan. "Hey, I brought your card from last time, so I could take over here if you want. You could hop in your truck and..."

But Beth cuts her off, "No, I can't. I can hear Big Mike's truck, and I have not got dinner ready yet. He won't be..." But Beth does not finish her words, as a shiny new spatula falls to the ground in her place. Kristine's body is able to catch it quickly. Whew, Ian thinks, this almost didn't work. He hears the truck door close, and realize he only has seconds. Using the car in his hand again, he becomes Beth just as the front door opens. Stuffing the card in a drawer, he turns Beth's body to the front door. Okay, he thinks to himself, I need to turn up the charm.

He does not get to say anything before Big Mike's booming voice says, "I don't smell dinner." Ian turns to the messy kitchen and then back to Big Mike, who has her arm wrapped by his huge hands. "Uh, yeah, I, uh, was just about..." but Ian cannot finish that sentence before he feels another strong hand grip his other wrist.

"I give you a good life, woman," he says with alcohol heavy on his breath, "And I do not ask for much." Ian realizes he has now made a horrible mistake. In my desire to get what I wanted, I may have put Beth in a bad situation with her husband. It makes sense that he would be very domineering over her, and I should have known that their marriage is a delicate balance. He feels Beth's arms pulled behind her as her body is pulled into his. Ian can smell the day of work on him, and the last couple of hours of the bar as well.

"B-b-big Mike, I'll get it for you," Beth's body says weakly, but Big Mike is not having it. "You know what happens. I always keep my word, you know that." Ian has no idea what that means, but he nods Beth's head. It just seems like the right thing to do. Then he has an idea...if he has enough magic left in him to do it.

Drawing on every bit that he has in him, he whispers a retraction spell. Ian can feel all the magic he was able to hold onto leave him to make the spell work. Big Mike stops in mid motion and begins to go backwards. He voices his statements backwards and then slowly releases Beth's arms and begins to walk back to the front door. Ian falls to the ground as the magic use drains him almost completey.

Once at the front door, Big Mike stops on his way out from coming in. Beth's body shakes with the strain. I'm not used to doing this in another body, Ian tells himself with strain on Beth's face. Taking a deep breath, he crawls into the kitchen. He had seen the frozen meat and veggies Beth was going to heat up for dinner.

Still from the floor, Ian gets a pan on the stove and turns it on. He opens the bag of frozen dinner as sweat begins to pour down Beth's face. Dumping the contents into the pan, he then crawls to put the frozen bread into the toaster. He gets the lever pushed down and then he collapses to the kitchen floor. Just need to hold him back for a few minutes, letting the food cook some and smell the house up nicely. "If I can just start this over, maybe Beth won't be punished for my selfishness."

He reaches for a drawer from the floor, rummaging through it for the card. Not here, he thinks with a frown, must have put it in a different one. Deciding he should stand up, he pulls himself up to her feet. In a break of concentration, he feels strength come back to her body as Big Mike starts moving again. The front door swings open and he hears loudly, "I don't...oh, there it is...that smells good," he adds much softer. Ian breathes out a sigh of relief, thank you for buying a quick easy meal tonight, Beth. You knew you were short on time, which makes our conversation between the houses make much more sense. You were in a race against time, and I was delaying you.

Ian almost jumps out of Beth's skin when two big arms wrap around her, pressing her against the counter. Big Mike's beard tickles her right ear as he says, "How's my faithful wife?" Ian tries to relax, but the memory of his last encounter with Big Mike is still on his mind, "I-I'm good, you-you scared me." Big Mike makes a grunt and takes a big nibble on Beth's ear, "Oh you know me, momma, I'm just a big teddy bear." Ian wants to say something like, "Really? Because that is not what you..." Oh, Ian notices something pressing into his back now, that has distracted him from the ear nibbling.

"Dinner's got a few minutes, right?" Ian actually had no idea, as he can now smell the alcohol on the breath that just warmed his neck. Wait, he thinks, what do I do? Do I seem excited? Do I squirm away? What would Beth say? "Uh," Beth's mouth says, "I should check it, and well, you just got home and..."

"Come on, momma," he says hungrily, "Let daddy have his dessert first." Ian tries to twist Beth's body around, but Big Mike's hands hold her by the hips so tightly, that he is trapped right there against the kitchen counter. He will have to get Beth to give him a different set of clothes for the card, as the button on them just popped off as Big Mike slid her shorts and panties down with one smooth motion.

Ian finds that Beth's body starts to grow weak in the knees, like it knows what is coming and there is nothing to be done but to hold on for the ride. Ian tries to rotate again, but he has to stop to put her arms out in front of her, as she gets lifted up and has to keep her head from hitting the upper cabinets in the kitchen. Her hands naturally grab the handles on the doors, and Ian cannot help by scream when the pressure that was behind her is now coming in her. How can he get that big thing in her?

The sounds of banging cabinet doors echo throughout the house, as Beth's hands open and close the doors with each thrust. Any pain Ian might have felt is gone, as the magic well he was hoping to dip from again comes to him quickly and easily. As Beth's body heats up with pleasure, Ian's essence begins to drink deeply of the magic that has been kept from him for unknown reasons. Big Mike sends pots and pans and silverware off the counter with his mighty thrusts, making Beth's racket seem quiet. Within a few seconds, or at least it only felt that short, Ian feels the now-familiar unloading of Big Mike, as magic washes over him. Beth's body moans in ecstasy, purring in delight, and quite literally drunk on tingling pleasure.

Ian is not really sure what happened next. He knows Beth grabbed a new spatula to stir food in the pan. Later, he would try to recall more details, but he cannot seem to do it. All he knows is that somehow, he got dinner on the table while Big Mike went to the bathroom briefly. He swapped back with Beth, who had a big smear of the sauce from the pan on her shirt, but before he could acknowledge that, he stumbled out the back door prior to Big Mike returning. He is not sure what happened next, but he assumes he told Beth about what happened. Then somehow, he found his way home to collapse on the couch in Kristine's body, while Beth and Big Mike sat down to eat. That whole ordeal almost went horribly, horribly wrong, as he is the only who knows about the timeline that he barely avoided others from going down. I cannot do that again, he tells himself as he drifts off to sleep. Hopefully, that was the last time, and my personal, magical well has started to refill properly. Despite what he had to do, he dreams of being a fairy that is chased by a large unicorn.

The next morning, he is floating on cloud 9...literally. When he wakes up, he is levitating above the couch he collapsed on the previous night. He cannot help but laugh. Finally, he tells himself, finally I can be me again. He lets himself lower until Kristine's body lays back on the couch. Snuggling into the soft cushions, he puts her hands behind her head and crosses her legs. "Ah," Kristine's mouth mumbles, "It feels so good to be back." And, he thinks to himself, I don't need to be in my body to access it, which I was afraid that would be the case. I've never tried doing such complicated transformation magic like the camera, so I had no idea how it might work out. "Normally," he mumbles contently, "I just float things around the house that I don't want to get up and get. Or maybe, I nudge reality a bit, but this opens up a whole new world of possibilities."

Once the real Kristine was back home and after they reconnected intimately, Ian shared that his magic had finally been restored, but he definitely did not share any details as to the how. She seemed content with his explanation that things like this happen, that magic is not a science, and that she was integral to its return. He started to go more into how science and magic differ, but he noticed her dozing off, so he decided she did not need that information afterall. He wraps his arms around her, while takes a hold of magic, feeling the warmth of both as he drifts off as well.