Matt and Megan walked hand in hand through the tall glass doors. She’d finally built up enough courage (and finances) to seriously consider body-shopping. Megan had married and divorced young, and wanted to start over now that she’d found a soulmate in Matt. There was one small hangup, though not a dealbreaker. She stood about 5 inches taller than Matt, and it made her self-conscious to wear heels and tower over him. Matt didn’t mind, but was supportive if she wanted a change. And, she thought to herself, a new body might make her ex jealous on the off chance they ever pass each other again.

They started shopping body dealerships around town, without much luck. Their fourth store they visited was recommended by one of her old friends. Even though it was a few towns over, her friend had leased two bodies there and was always treated professionally for such a big decision.

A smiling, young woman wearing a dark blue polo shirt approached the couple. This sales rep couldn’t have been more than 22 years old but she carried herself with the confidence of someone older.

“Welcome to Harbor Bay Bodies, where the customer always comes out “ahead”. My name is Jen, how can I help you today?

“Hi Jen, I’m looking for a new body from the neck down. You came recommended from a friend.”

“I’m glad you came in today, we have an excellent assortment to meet your needs. First, are you looking for masculine or feminine bodies?”

“Feminine, please.”

“Great. And are you looking to trade in your body or buy a new one?”

“Trade in, please. Not sure if I’ll lease or buy yet.”

“Thank you. If you don’t mind, to speed up the process, we can provide an estimate for your body while you shop. Naomi, please come over here and assist this customer’s head?”

A headless body, also wearing a dark blue polo with the caramel skin color of her neck stump sticking out of the collar, walked over and motioned to Megan to bend over so Naomi could reach her neck. Naomi pulled a laser edged blade from her hip and with a quick slash severed Megan’s head from her body. Megan yelped - it was always awkward having her head separated but Naomi’s grasp on her head seemed to have a calming effect.

“Sorry I meant to tell you, this is Naomi, our intern. Her head is taking classes at the community college while her body can earn a living here. It’s a great program for sales, it’s how I got started.”

“I could use a headless intern,” muttered Matt, followed by an “OOF”. Megan’s body swiftly hit Matt with an elbow for the remark. “Sorry.”

Naomi handed over Megan’s head to Jen. “Thanks Naomi. Now, please take her body to the service area for an estimate, and let them know she came in as a referral.” Naomi’s body took Megan’s by the hand over to another section of the store. Jen began to walk through the showroom with Megan’s head in her grasp and Matt in tow.

“So, have you thought about what you are looking for in your next body? Age range? Lifestyle?”

“Well, to be honest, looking for a fresh start and to be a little shorter. Probably not too different than my current body shape and activity level, and looking for a late 20s-early 30s body.”

“Great!” said Jen. “And to just let you know if you do pick a body that is different in build from your current one, we do offer a wardrobe swap so you can have that body’s clothing to save some hassle. Have you been shopping before?”

“I haven’t bought before, but last weekend we visited the used body shop in Pine Hill and came away from it with the heeby-jeebies. It looked like they took mismatched body parts to make a full body, and afterwards we heard rumors they might not be on the up and up when it comes to acquiring bodies…”

Jen nodded, “I understand, they get you in the door with their prices but I can’t tell you how many customers we have serviced after they buy from there - not to mention the work it takes to match the bodies up correctly after they screw it up.”

Matt jumped in next. “Yeah, and then we visited a more luxury store with Italian and German models. While the bodies were nice, they tended to be a little older than what I was looking for and definitely more expensive for what you were getting. Sure the jewelry came with them but it was way out of our price range and we researched that these bodies require more delicate care - they aren’t off-road types I guess and we like to hike and camp.”

“Definitely,” Jen said. “It’s a good source of bored, rich housewives’ bodies looking to downsize to just a head to be pampered or they trade in for younger models. They are nice but as you said, often require a lot of maintenance whether that’s manis, pedis, aftermarket boob jobs, you name it. And probably not fitting your lifestyle in your case.”

“Right,” Megan said from Jen’s hands. “Felt like you were just paying for the prestige and that’s it. Finally, we looked at one of those clone stores that had popped up in the last year. They had the Kim K and Margot licensed lines but it’s such new technology, not sure I’m ready to make the jump to that plus it is a very different body than what I’m used to. Plus the reviews online seemed to indicate a lot of problems that the company is trying to cover up as they grow.”

“Sure, and we see a lot of those customers too - some girls don’t know how to operate a model with a much wider back end or different center of gravity,” Jen replied. “And we see parts fall off those bodies all the time - you would hate to have an accident like your legs falling off or going rogue while on a trail. Nothing really beats a real body.”

Megan tried to nod in agreement as best she could.

***

“What are those bodies there? Looks like a good price,” Matt asked.

Jen responded, “Ah those are our vacation value bodies. Good price because they’re mostly rental bodies from people visiting the lake over the years. Still have good tread on them, very sunkissed, but they’ve been run hard if you catch my drift - people love to have a good time here. We offer them as rentals too like if people want a beach body for vacation pictures or try something different while they visit. I can show you them…”

Megan chimed in, “That is OK, thank you, but let’s check out the main showroom. I think we have enough to budget for a less used body model.”

Matt peeked under a bikini bottom as they walked by. “You got it!”

Jen, with Meg’s head, entered into the main gallery. Headless bodies of women of various size, shape, and background stood around them in bikinis, the same dark blue color as Jen’s shirt, so the customer could see and inspect the bodies (and know all parts were from the same body). Each body had a bracelet with a price tag and a scan code for more information on its left wrist.

“Well, here we are! I think the best thing to do is explore and try on some bodies to see how you feel with them. There is a treadmill in the center if you want to try walking or running with it, and there is no rush. We want you to walk out of here happy and hopefully with one of our great bodies.”

Matt stood slack jawed at the bodies before him, before noticing Megan’s glare to keep him settled down - if only for negotiation purposes and not being horned up.

Megan wanted to first try on the body to her left - it looked almost like a copy of her old body but 6 inches shorter from the neck. She asked Jen to try it on and she plopped Megan’s noggin on its neck. The connection was instant, and Megan raised her hands to her neck and down the body. She wouldn’t understand why some women would want to be just a head - she enjoyed having a body in some way or another.

Jen scanned the code. “Nice choice, it is a 29 year old, non-smoking body. Good fitness level, attractive midsection and hips. You would be about 5’7” with your head on. I have to disclose it has been in an accident - you can see she had knee surgery with the scar on her left knee. Original owner had a rollerskating accident. Surgery was clean and years ago but wanted to let you know - that does cut the price on this body by about 10%.”

Meg was a little disappointed on a promising body, she didn’t want to deal with the hassle if the other knee overcompensated and could give out later. She reminded herself it was the first body she tried, there were plenty more.

“I’d rather not risk another knee injury but it is a good looking body, said Megan. “Let’s try that darker skinned body over there.”

Jen pulled off Megan’s head and summoned the body over to them by calling “Aditi, please come here”. The headless woman, with a sizable bust,  walked over and stood next to Jen, pointing its stump to her. Megan was once again connected at the neck.

“Oh, this is nice. Good height and much bigger chest than I had before!”

“Yes ma’am, Aditi is 31 years old, measures in at DD’s in the bra and fairly low maintenance based on the original owner. Shapely legs and plump butt too. What do you think?”

Megan looked in the mirror. Although it was a very attractive body, it contrasted too sharply with her white skin tone. While that look was in with some of the younger crowd, it wasn’t for her.

“I’m afraid it is not for me, but maybe it would be fun to rent her or someone like her when we are at the lake.”

Matt, almost panting like a dog, agreed with Megan. He promised himself he would let Megan shop for her needs not his, but this experience was sparking his imagination.

Jen pulled off Megan’s head and began to take some steps towards another section. “Oh, let’s try this one! With the abs!”

Jen whistled and called for Kylie. The headless body seemed almost cut from stone, still very feminine but with defined shoulders, abs, glutes, and quads. The body decided to do a handstand walk over to the shopping couple.

“She likes to put on a show. Megan, this is Kylie. Former crossfit owner, still maintains great shape and we had to upgrade our facility to keep up with her. She’s even helped some of the other bodies here get in better shape.”

The headless body, still in in handstand with her back facing them, sauntered over to caress Matt’s face with the bottom of her right foot. “I think she likes me,” Matt blushed.

“Alright Kylie, come on now let’s try Megan on for size,” said Jen, with patience but wearing a little thin at the decapitated crossfitter’s antics. Kylie’s body, still on its hands, walked over and plucked Megan’s head from Jen with her bare feet. Megan was also a little curious about what this body could do too and bit her lip. In one motion, the body bent her knees and flung Megan’s head into the air - as it was soaring, Kylie rolled into a standing position, back on her feet, and caught the falling head onto her neck, connecting the severed head perfectly on her stump.

“Whoa!” Megan said, as she felt the energy and power the body seemed to generate. She felt as though she could jump through the ceiling and tumble the length of the store floor. “This is amazing! What’s the catch? Why did she get rid of this?” Megan flexed her arms.

Jen answered, “It is a high performance model and this body will need a high level of commitment to maintain it in tip top shape. Kylie is 32, non-smoker, C cups, no serious injury history, but the original owner wanted to transition into powerlifting sports, not crossfit. So, rather than change this body herself into a shape more suited for raw strength, she traded it in.”

Megan walked over to Matt and picked him up from behind with ease. Matt was a little surprised and a little aroused by the move. But he knew, like Megan did, that they probably couldn’t keep up with this body’s demands. And the price tag premium it commanded.

Megan set Matt back down. “This is a great body but both of our jobs are pretty sedentary, I would hate to ruin a body like this sitting in a chair all day and only really testing it on the weekends.” Megan pulled her head off and Kylie’s body tossed it back to Jen, who caught her with her chest.

“Thank you Kylie, you may return back to your spot and you can hit the gym in five,” Meg said. “Let’s continue on, shall we?”

Matt, with hands in his pockets to hide his erection, followed behind Jen. She didn’t have too bad a body herself, he thought, she could make a mint on selling hers but he was sure it would be too much for them. And he’d feel rude suggesting it so he bit his tongue.

“If you are looking for athletic types, here we have a section where Kylie is heading back to. Any of these look good to you?” Jen asked.

“Matt, do you see any? I’ll let you pick,” Meg asked.

Matt scanned the bodies. All of them were attractive and he could be very comfortable with his new serious girlfriend’s head on top of their shoulders. Looking for one that closely matched her skin tone, he selected one on the second tier of the shelf. It was a bit thinner than her old body but not frail by any means.

Jen called out. “Caitlyn, you’re on deck. You’ll try Megan on next.”

Caitlyn’s body slid past the others and took Megan’s head into her hands, waving to it and then putting it on her neck. Megan could feel a different kind of athleticism energy but couldn’t place it. “Jen, what is the background on Caitlyn?”

“She is 34, clean record, A cup, two previous owners but well-taken care of. Has run in multiple marathons, so that is probably what you are feeling - great level of endurance and lung capacity.”

Megan looked down again from atop the body’s neck, feeling her hips and legs. “Damn, not sure I want a high mileage model and the concerns with ankle and knee pain in the future. And it is a bit on the taller side. Am I being too picky?”

Jen heard her concerns. “Totally understandable - you are not being too picky, it is a major decision to have a new body so you are right to be choosy. Plus, you can blame Matt,” Jen chuckled.

Matt shrugged. Megan also laughed, “Sorry Matt, good try but we are getting closer. Caitlyn’s going to go to a good home but not mine.” With that, Jen plucked off Megan’s head.



To be continued...