Four months. It had been over four months since Jessi had had most of her left arm removed temporarily by the girls who had made campus news by temporarily crippling each other long term.

Living without a left arm had been weird. She still sometimes reached out with her left arm, only to find that her left hand and elbow didn’t exist. She’s learned to hold things with her stump, either by using it to press the object to a table or wall, or to her body. That’s all it could do now, and it’d stay like that for another 14 months. She didn’t regret the decision, in fact, she loved the way her body looked now. The asymmetry was thrilling, and she bathed in the attention her missing limb got her. She and her roommate Dora (who’d had her left arm removed just below her elbow) had experimented a lot and taught each other how to do certain things, though it was a little different fit them both, seeing as Dora had more arm left than Jessi. They hadn’t even considered doing anything else in terms of body reductions. They were happy with their choices and were determined to get used to this new, altered life for the duration of their reductions. Besides, neither of them had a lot of money, and while the products of BodyVis Industries weren’t uber expensive, they still cost money, money usually neither Jessi nor Dora had.

Two weeks ago however, Jessi had dared to check their website. To her surprise, she had found that the company constantly added to their inventory and had added products that were actually attainable to her. She was fascinated by the rubber bands that would remove any limb the user stuck through it for a certain amount of time, depending on the colour of the band, and she also found the reductive beverages, edibles and weed interesting. Jessi loved weed. Weed made her happy, and she felt like she could understand the world when she used it. Depending on the strain, she’d use it to relax or to get creative, and she loved that there were different ways of consuming it. After some searching, she had ordered an ounce of Northern Lights, which the website described as having a “strong couch lock”. Perfect, Jessi thought.

Now it was Spring Break, and Jessi had gone home to see her family and have some fun. She had been single for a few years now after her last relationship had ended in a bad breakup. She could’ve had a dozen relationships since. She was personable, easy to talk to, adventurous and open to pretty much anything, and physically attractive. Her very light blonde hair went only to her chin and was a stark juxtaposition to her dark eyebrows. It also highlighted her big green eyes. Her body was lean and fit, but not overly muscular. Yes, she was a very attractive woman in her early twenties, and she knew it. Still, she had taken a break from guys for the last two years.

Now she had created an online dating account, one in which she had made clear that she was just looking for some fun, and only maybe a little more. She had matched with a few guys. Most were dull, uninspired and simply not interesting, but there were a few shed actually liked. There was only one picture that kind of showed her missing arm, and she’d had quite a few conversations explaining the situation.

She’d of course also had to explain the situation to her family, but after the initial bewilderment, the Jessi’s assurances that it was perfectly safe and only temporary had calmed her parents down. They figured it was just a phase, and if this was what phases were like today, what with the technological advances and all, who were they to judge?

She’d set up a date with one of them, Julian, for when she was at home. He lived two towns over and they had decided to meet at a café, and see where it went.

Before she left her parents’ house to meet Julian, she packed some weed. She always took some to social gatherings, just in case. She liked having the option available.

Julian was nice enough, a little dorky, but hey, that’s not always a bad thing. After the initial small talk and exchange of useless trivia, Julian asked a few careful questions about her arm, carefully trying to not sound insensitive. They changed the topic again and chatted about their hobbies, tastes in music and whatnot. Jessi decided she liked Julian. He was nice, interesting and a bit odd, but that just gave him character. She liked that. When he invited her to go home with him and watch a movie, she gladly accepted.

They drove to his place, and the two settled down on the couch. Julian asked if she’d like anything, a beer, snacks or some weed, and she gladly accepted the snacks, but said she’d brought weed herself. It supposedly had a strong couch lock and if he’d like, they could try it together. Julian eagerly accepted and then marvelled as Jessi used her single hand and stump to role two perfect blunts. She handed one to Julian and they both lit up, while settling down to watch The Fault In Our Stars.

When Julian’s and Jessi’s legs disappeared from their hips down, Julian, in a haze, just grinned and said “strong couch lock, eh?” and the two cuddled up to enjoy the movie.