The motel bed shakes from the combined efforts of the two people half-covered by its silky white sheets.

"Oh my God…” the nude woman on her hands and knees moans, while letting out soft, sensual wails of pleasure.  Her bouncy, strawberry blonde hair falls down in tangled strands, obscuring a lovely, pale face contorted in pleasure. “Tell me…tell me you love it…”

The young man kneeling behind her grasps her waist tightly. “I love it, Sydney” he replies, between pants. “You feel so fucking good…”

Suddenly, the door to the room bursts open, and a furious-looking woman enters. With a look of pure rage on her face, she snarls "I KNEW IT! YOU FUCKING TWO-TIMING BASTARD!"

She moves to approach the busted couple, but then the woman on the bed turns to face her, and she stops dead in her tracks.

Grinning at her wickedly from behind a disheveled, shoulder-length mane of hair, is a face completely identical to her own.

"What. The. Fuck..." the angry woman gasps, in total surprise and confusion.

The man, having extricated himself from the woman in front of him, glances wide-eyed, back and forth between the two of them.

"Oh my God...Sydney? Wait...what the hell is going on!?" He exclaims.

Taking advantage of their evident shock, the woman on the bed seizes the opportunity and grabs her bag, then dashes for the door.

The fully dressed Sydney snaps out of her daze and reaches out, grabbing a fistful of the imposter's hair. She yanks the woman's head back, growling “Oh no, you're not going anywhere!"

The imposter strains against her grip, and Sydney's mouth falls open when she sees the areas around the woman’s eyes stretch unnaturally, revealing darker-coloured skin underneath.

"Hrrrnnggg, let go of me!" The nude woman grunts, in an exact copy of her voice.

After a moment's struggle, the apparently fake flesh of her face stretches past its breaking point, and a chunk of hair and skin break off into Sydney's hand. She stumbles backwards, letting the imposter resume her escape. She can just barely make out what looks like a patch of smooth, black material under the other woman’s “flesh”, as she races out the door.

Holding several locks of hair in her fist, Sydney gazes down at the remarkably lifelike replica of her own scalp. Each hair appears perfectly attached to the fake skin, and even the patterns of freckles appear accurately placed.

She glares at her boyfriend and demands "Who the fuck was that, Alex?"

With the bedsheet wrapped around his waist, he holds his hands up. "I have no idea! I thought it was you!" He insists.

"Don't lie to me! This has been going on for months!" She wails. "You never thought to mention the fact that we were meeting up to screw in a motel room twice a week?"

"You said not to! Like, it was this new fantasy you had! I was just playing along, I swear!"

Sydney squeezes her fist harder around the disturbing mass in her hand. "She was wearing one of these fucking masks. I can't believe these are legal. I swear to God, I'm going to find her, and when I do..."

Alex slides off of the bed, and goes to comfort his enraged girlfriend.

A FEW DAYS LATER

"Are you almost ready, babe?" Alex calls out.

His girlfriend's voice replies from the bedroom. "Yeah, just give me one more minute!"

He nods, leaning up against the kitchen counter. Due to the events that occurred earlier that week, he'd offered to take her out for a very nice dinner.

"Ugh, I still can't believe that happened" Alex says. "Like, that was some of the craziest shit ever."

He takes a big gulp of his drink, as she replies from the next room. "I know! Like, what the fuck? Did she hire some private investigator to, like, have you followed?"

Before he can respond, a young woman enters the living area. Very attractive, she has straight, dark hair, naturally tan skin, and sharp cheekbones.

Alex tilts his head at his ‘accomplice’. "Why are you still using the voice changer? It'll be a while before you get to go out as her again, Mindy.”

He nods towards her couch, where the empty, sagging face of his girlfriend Sydney lies crumpled on the cushion. Her lips and nose are scrunched together, and her wavy blondish hair dangles over the side, just barely touching the floor. On the back of the mask's head, there is a sizeable hole from where the real Sydney had ripped it a few nights before.

Mindy gently touches the thin strip on the outside of her larynx, giggling in her stolen voice. "Oh, is that what you think?" She jokes. "After all of the effort it took to make that mask, you didn't think I’d get a spare?"

With that, she pulls her arm out from behind her back, and thrusts it towards him proudly. Clutched in her fingers, she holds an identical mask up by the top of its head. Sydney's vacant face gapes at him widely, her mouth hanging open in an expression of vulnerable helplessness. Her soft, hollow cheeks and chin jiggle, as the exquisitely lifelike disguise is jostled around playfully.

She’s relentless, Alex thinks to himself. Gazing at the remarkable replica of his girlfriend, he wonders for the hundredth time how things had escalated so far.

"Oh, you devil. I should have known.”

Grinning wickedly, Mindy uses her other hand to prod the empty mask's lower lip like a puppet. "I KNEW IT! YOU FUCKING TWO-TIMING BASTARD!" She mocks, using the real Sydney's angry tones.

Alex can’t help but chuckle at the ridiculous caricature, though his laughter is a mix of humour and unease.

Unable to help herself, Mindy continues in a breathy, seductive tone "Oh, Alex, I'm so much better in bed than the real Sydney, aren't I?"

Now, Alex smirks back at her. "You know you are, babe."

He steps forward, and strokes his ‘girlfriend’s’ hollow cheek with the mask of his hand, savouring the feel of the fake flesh.

"That was a great escape you pulled the other night. You really fell on your sword for me” he says.

She gazes back at him with a lustful look. "I'd rather fall on your sword instead…” she purrs.

He leans over to kiss her, nudging Sydney's blank, floppy face out of the way.

When their lips separate, he whispers. "Show me."

Smirking, she hands him the mask, then grabs a nylon cap from the counter, deftly slipping it over her head. Instead of reaching for her disguise, she faces him and says in her borrowed voice "Well? I believe you and Sydney have a date tonight. Something about making up for recent drama...?”

Smiling along with her, he gazes down into the scrunched, empty replica of his girlfriend's face. Okay, this is the last time, he promises himself, all the while knowing it’s a lie.

Using his fingers, he spreads the mask’s neck opening wide, then lifts it up and guides it down over Mindy's head. She lets out the occasional soft grunt or groan as the pliable material stretches over her skin, engulfing her little by little. Alex has never helped his mistress don her disguise, and it’s extremely eerie to witness his girlfriend’s gentle-looking features coming to life over her own.

He glances down, and notices for the first time that she’s already wearing an exact copy of one of the real Sydney’s outfits: a teal pleated skirt, and a form-fitting, black-and-white striped top. The little minx planned this, he realizes, watching the transformation progress.

When Sydney’s more rounded chin snaps into place, Mindy lifts her fingers up and starts to press and prod her new face. The imposter works her mouth open and closed, testing the fit. She then scrunches her nose and puffs out her cheeks, all the while gazing at Alex with a wicked twinkle in her eyes.

Alex tucks the neck flap into her shirt, then helps smooth out her slightly tangled hair while she continues to make a few final adjustments. Finally, she closes her eyes and takes a few big, deep breaths. He sees a remarkable change come over her, as her borrowed face settles perfectly into the kind of warm, familiar look that the real Sydney would have.

She opens her eyes, and this time, it’s not Mindy looking back at him.

"Ready to go, sweetie?" The phony Sydney chirps, fluttering her eyelashes.

God, she really gets off on impersonating her, Alex thinks. At least, until the clothes come off. He can already feel his arousal building, triggered by all the salacious memories of what this version of Sydney is willing to do.

Feeling like pushing his luck, he playfully asks “What’s the rush? We have a little time for…” his voice trails off, as he subtly nods towards the bedroom.

Sydney raises her eyebrow and gives him a bemused look. "Oh, is that all you want?" She replies, with a bashful smile. "I don't know, sweetie, we have a reservation for seven o'clock..."

Alex places one hand on her lower back, pulling her into him gently, as he plants a tender kiss on the side of her neck.

"Come on, just a quick one" he says.

Her eyes close and she bites her lip, enjoying the feeling of his lips on her skin. "But...you know how I hate being late" the phony girlfriend sighs, as the person wearing her face continues to feign reluctance, as part of her elaborate performance.

He’s so close to her, he can smell the light trace of the real Sydney’s perfume, meticulously applied by her imposter. He’s about to reply with another persuasive agreement, but he notices a small gap on the side of her right eye, exposing a hint of the real flesh beneath.

“Uh-oh” he says, lifting a hand to her face.

Picking up on the cue, she lightly swats it away, and turns to face a mirror on the wall. Frowning adorably, she closes her eye and uses two fingers to press the mask into place, pressing for a few seconds to let the adhesive take hold. While she does so, she uses her other hand to deftly tuck the exposed waistband of her black thong back down into her skirt, erasing the final evidence of her deception.

Satisfied, she turns back to him and gives him a big smile, as though nothing had happened. Taking him by the hand, she chirps “Come on, I’m hungry! We’ll see about later, you know I have to get up early for work…”

Alex stifles an eye roll, knowing perfectly well that 'Sydney' would never call it an early night. He lets her lead him out the door, preparing himself for another one of Mindy’s torturous-yet-wildly-erotic performances. As he watches her hips sway in a perfect imitation of the real Sydney’s stride, he thinks to himself with a smirk.

It’ll be worth the wait.

EPILOGUE

Sydney sits cross-legged on her couch, with her laptop resting on her thighs. After receiving a text from her boyfriend saying that he’s going out with some friends, she’d settled in for a quiet night at home.

The events of the week had understandably rattled her, but after several long talks and a lot of thoughtful contemplation, she’d realized that she couldn’t really blame Alex. Her eyes narrow as she recalls the smug look on that imposter’s face. ‘Her’ behaviour may have been out of character, but that bitch had looked and sounded exactly like her. Why would he have suspected such an elaborate deception?

Still, she knows it’ll take time to get over the shock of the experience. And worse, it’s not like she really has any way to punish the woman who so atrociously stole her identity. Yes, officers, she wore a mask of my face and seduced my boyfriend! Who is she? I don’t know, but if you see a girl who looks like me, with part of her scalp missing…

Sydney sighs. Even though the timing is certainly less than ideal, Alex’s birthday is still coming up soon, so she decides to do a little shopping. She’s just started her search, when an email notification pops up on the bottom corner of her screen. She frowns, not recognizing the sender’s address, and opens it.

Her confusion turns to foreboding when a single image pops up in front of her. It’s a picture of her and Alex, holding hands and walking together. But her eyes narrow when she can’t place the building, and the surroundings don’t look like anywhere she’s ever been before. She scrolls down, and her heart stops when she sees a short, anonymous message underneath the picture.

This was taken thirty minutes ago.

Her name is Mindy Guerrera.

Thought you should know.

“That mother fucker…” Sydney whispers, finding that her hands have balled into angry fists. She takes a moment to consider the shocking revelation, then switches over to Instagram, where she searches for the name of the unmasked imposter. It doesn’t take long before she’s staring at a picture of a pretty, smiling woman with caramel skin and long, dark hair. Her face has a kind of sharp, pretentious quality, and there is something wicked about the way her big, brown eyes seem to gloat at the camera.

Sydney clicks through random pictures and videos in Mindy’s profile, then eventually reopens her browser. She closes the tab she’s been using to shop, and opens another. Typing in a very specific search inquiry, she thinks to herself with a devilish smile.

Time for a taste of your own medicine…Mindy.