TF (clothing, vibrator), TG

As she dressed, Anna ran through her options again in her mind.

Bella was out, for obvious reasons. Ava too - she’d almost certainly tell Bella. Melanie, well, she’d do it but she was a total gossip.

Which left Sean.

If she left now she could probably catch him.

*

“Hey! Sean!”

He turned around in surprise, to see Anna, his girlfriend Melanie’s friend, chasing him down the street.

“Hey, Anna,” he said, a touch warily.

“So, off to work?” Anna said brightly. A little too brightly.

“Uh, well, actually I’m going to get some breakfast at the diner across from the mall. Mel and Ava are both sleeping in this morning.”

Perfect. He wasn’t going to Kat’s cafe.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Sure, that’d be great.”

“I could do with some coffee! Oh, and, by the way, would you mind doing me a little favour?”

*

“You want to spy on your friend?” Sean put his coffee mug down as Anna scowled.

“It’s not spying, exactly. I just want to look at her without her seeing me.”

“Uh, I don’t know about you, but to me that’s pretty much the definition of spying.”

Anna blew out a breath. “Look, I know it sounds weird, but that’s all I want to do. I’m not in love with her, I’m not going to cheat on Bella, it’s not about sex. I’m just, well, fascinated by her look and I want to check her out without her thinking I’m interested in her.”

“So why don’t you ask Bella or Ava?”

“Because they would totally jump to the wrong conclusion.” Anna sighed. “Will you do it?”

“Let me get this straight - you want me to use the Venn machine to turn you into a different person so you can go look at this girl you know, but it’s not about cheating, but I can’t tell anyone I’ve done it.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“OK, I’ll do it.”

Anna broke into a grin. “Great!”

“But I want two favours in return.”

“OK. What?”

“First, you change me into my female form.”

She blinked. “Aren’t you going to work?”

“I don’t care. I want to be a girl whenever I want to.”

“Sure. What’s the other thing?”

He grinned. “Next Saturday, when we get together to be worn by you, can I be something other than a pair of shoes?”

“Sean, do this for me and I’ll make you my bra.”

He actually blushed. How cute. “No need to go that far. Just make me something not for feet.”

*

Anna stared at herself in the mirror. Sean had done a good job in the Venn machine. She was tall, blonde, pretty but not beautiful, dressed conservatively for a day at the office. She looked nothing like her usual self. She touched her nose. It was rather more snub than her real one, and she missed her septum ring.

Perfect. She could watch Kat all day and she’d never know it was her friend from the fetish club.

Next stop, Kat’s cafe.

*

As she passed by a shop with a mirrored window, Sean checked herself out. She was reliant on whoever controlled the Venn machine interface to change her from male to female, and while they tried to make her look as close to a girl version of her boy self, the results always varied a little. Ava was brilliant at making the changes; Melanie, who after all knew her the best, was almost always spot on.

Anna wasn’t quite there. Yes, she looked like Sean - same black hair with a blue stripe, just longer; same brown eyes; same chin. You could tell it was him. But it was also a tiny bit different.

She’d venned her clothes - his jeans, T-shirt and jacket - into female versions, and they fit her snugly. But her boobs were a little bit bigger than she felt comfortable with, and her thighs a little too muscled.

She wished it had been Ava doing the change. She’d looked so hot the other day as a rockabilly girl.

Well, this change was only for eight hours. She’d be a boy again before she went home.

She recalled the spinning moons on the Venn machine that indicated the duration of the change. A third of a day, a day, three days … they went all the way to the one with three years.

The one that would make her a girl for what seemed like forever.

Or no, not forever really. Three years. And all she’d have to do to change back is enter a Venn machine. But still, the option was there and she kept thinking about it. She’d already agreed with Melanie that when they went away on vacation, they’d be two women.

OK, she was near work. She felt nervous, but heck, wasn’t it time she let her friends there know he spent a lot of his time as a girl?

After all, she planned on doing much more of it.

*

Anna sat at her table, a big latte and a thick chunk of raisin toast in front of her. This should keep her at the cafe for a while, she thought. Idly, she wondered if the calories she consumed in this body would vanish when she changed back to herself.

Changed back to herself … she stifled a giggle. She’d been so scared of using the Venn machines, and actually, turning into something inanimate like a dress or a machine - like her girlfriend did - still unnerved her. But totally changing her appearance had been cool. After all, she was still Anna inside her head.

Wasn’t she?

“Skim decaf latte with nutmeg - a Why Bother - for Danny!” Kat called out cheerfully from behind the coffee machine. A hipster with a messenger bag stepped forward, taking the takeaway cup. “Thanks, Kat, you’re the best!” he said.

“And don’t you forget it, Dan!” she called out with a grin as he left. Then she got to work making another coffee.

Today, Kat was wearing a red spaghetti strap top that exposed all the tattoos covering her left arm. They went all the way from her shoulder to the back of her hand. They were blue, they were red, they had obviously been done over a long time by the same person. They were a jumble of images - a rose, a skull, a lock and key, the words “shine brightly”.

They looked fucking amazing.

Kat pushed her thick-framed glasses up on her nose. “Double shot for Naomi!” Her long hair, dyed dead white, was tied back in a loose ponytail.

Anna flashed on the image of her friend a couple of weeks ago at the Sin Sessions. She’d been dressed in a leather G-string and a bondage harness that had left her small breasts exposed. She shivered as she recalled the large gauge rings through the nipples.

She wanted to do that too. And she wanted the tattoos. And, yeah, the hair was totally cool too.

She wished she was Kat.

She took another bite of her toast.

One of the other women who worked in the cafe filled her water glass up and asked her if she wanted more coffee. Sure, why not? Another large one.

There was no way she was going to sleep tonight after this much coffee.

Fuck it, it was worth it.

*

“Uh, excuse me, that’s for employees …”

Sean turned, her hand still on the door marked “Staff Only” at the bookstore.

Imogen, her boss, did a double take, and Sean felt her cheeks burn.

“Sean? That you?”

“Uh-huh,” she mumbled. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea. Maybe it was a really bad idea.

But Imogen just smiled. “Been having fun in the Venn machines?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s cool, right?”

“Sure. I’ve been gender-swapped too. And I had a girl here, before you started, I never knew what gender she was going to be when she walked in. I even had her partner ring me once to say she couldn’t come in because she was a book. I thought that was a novel excuse - get it?”

Sean got it.

“So, I know you usually work in non-fiction and graphic novels, but would you mind helping out on the registers this afternoon? Evie’s got a dentist appointment at three.”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Great! Oh, and Sean?” Imogen gave a crooked smile. “Welcome to the sisterhood.”

*

Ava looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She looked like crap.

Buzzing her hair to a number one crop had seemed like a good idea when sleepless one 4am, but now it was growing out and it was all the same length, it looked like a topiary bush.

She ran her hand through it. Not quite long enough to do much with, but soon. Another pixie cut, maybe?

Maybe she’d ask Melanie to venn her hair, try out some new styles.

Speaking of which …

A banging came at the door. “Ava, you going to be much longer in there? I really need to pee!”

“Coming!” And she made for the door.

*

By the time she was ready to leave, Anna was actually shaking from all the caffeine. Next time she came, she was definitely going for the Why Bothers.

Another woman had taken over at the coffee machine and the crowd had thinned out. Kat was chatting with another customer.

She took Anna’s money with a smile. “Glad you like our latte!” she said.

Anna didn’t know how much her voice had changed in this body, so she gave a smile and nod and left.

Then she realised it would be at least five hours before she changed back, and there was no way she could explain to Bella why she looked like a completely different person.

She could just enter a Venn machine, she supposed, but why waste this body? She decided to do some shopping. She enjoyed trying on clothes, and hey, she knew it would be a waste to buy something, so she wouldn’t be spending money.

*

Much to her surprise, Sean found the day whizzing past. For some reason, she was much more competent as a woman than as a man. Handling the cash register was a breeze.

Her co-workers had made a couple of jokes, but for the most part the fact that he was now a she was simply accepted. There had been one agonising moment when she vacillated between the two toilets, but Imogen had come along and told her she was welcome to use the Ladies.

She could get used to this.

*

“Sandwiches!”

Melanie held up the plate with a smile. “Want some? They’re tuna and mayo!”

“Sure, thanks,” Ava said, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “What do you want?”

For a second Melanie considered attempting to look hurt, but what the hell, Ava knew her too well. “I’ve got a couple of things I wanna discuss.”

“Go ahead, shoot.” Ava took another bite. They were good sandwiches.

“First, this is from Sean.” Melanie fished around in her jeans pocket and came up with a wad of bills. “He says he’s spending so much of his time here, he felt he should make a contribution to the rent.”

“Aw, that’s sweet. He didn’t have to do that.”

“I told him that, but, you know what boys are like. He insisted. It’s about pride or something.”

“Well, it’s welcome.”

“Uh, I got to thinking,” Melanie said. “What if Sean moved in here? I mean, it’s like he says, he’s here all the time anyway. I like having him here.”

“So do I.” Damn, where had that come from?

“Oh, I’m glad you two are friends! Well, if he lived here, he’d sleep in my room, obviously, so he wouldn’t be taking up any more space. And with Bella and Anna upstairs, it’d be fun to have the whole gang together.”

Well, yeah, Ava wouldn’t mind having Sean around. “Did this come from him?”

“No, it’s my idea. I wanted to sound you out first.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

“Great!” Melanie cleared her throat, and looked slightly nervous.

“Actually, there’s something else I kind of wanted to ask you.”

*
The music was exotic, with a strong beat. Bella found herself intrigued by it. She’d have to ask what it was. She was pretty sure Anna would love it.

She stretched out on the yoga mat. For someone who hadn’t done yoga in about five years, she fell quickly back into it. Her mom had been a yoga teacher, and Bella had been a regular until she was seduced away by soccer, Fugazi and most of all, Carrie Whiting-Smith, her first girlfriend.

One of the nice things about taking over someone’s apartment was finding things you would never have bought yourself. Like the yoga mat she sat on. When she’d found it, then found there was a yoga studio right around the block, she knew she was going to get back into it.

Carrie Whiting-Smith had broken her heart. Yoga never had. Nor had Fugazi or soccer, come to think of it.

She adopted the downward facing dog. Maybe she’d bring Anna next time. Of course, they’d need another mat.

Anna had been gone when she woke up and Bella wondered what she was doing. Shopping for clothes, probably.

She remembered being a pair of latex leggings, wrapped around Anna’s legs, so very tightly. A smile came to her lips.

God, she loved Anna.

Maybe she should make a surprise present for her.

Or rather, be a surprise present.

*

“So what do you think?”

“Depends, Mel. Are you serious?”

This time around Melanie actually did look hurt.

“Just say no if you don’t want to do it.”

“No.”

“Wait, don’t make up your mind all at once!”

“Melanie, you’re asking me to have sex with your boyfriend.”

“But I’d be there too! It’d be a threesome!”

“But you say you want to be a condom.”

“Oh, I know it’s kinky as hell, but I can’t stop thinking about it. And I mean, you agreed to be a strap-on for me.”

“That was different.”

“How the freakin’ freak was it different?”

Because I might have the hots for your boyfriend. “It just was.”

“Really? That’s your answer?”

“Look, Mel, what if Sean decides he liked what he got?”

“You don’t know Sean. He loves me. And I trust you guys. You’re my best friends.”

Ava paused. “What does Sean think about this?”

“He’s up for it. Will you do it?”

What the hell. “I don’t know. I’d have to think about it.”

“Thank you!” Melanie jumped up and kissed her.

“I haven’t said yes.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t said no.”

*

“Um, hi.”

The yoga instructor looked up at Bella. “Hey. New here?”

“Yeah. This was my first class.”

She smiled. “Like it?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool.” Bella slung her folded-up mat over her shoulder. “So, there was this music you were playing during the downward dog part that was really great - reminded me of belly-dancing music.”

“Oh, I know the one you’re talking about.” The instructor stood and collected her iPod Touch. She pressed its surface. “This music?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s Beats Antique. I use them a lot in my classes. That one’s from Blind Threshold, it came out a couple of years back. They played Wanderlust around here last year. Did you go?”

Bella had no idea what Wanderlust was. “Uh, I just got back into yoga recently. Good music, I’ll check it out.”

“I’m Harper, by the way.” The instructor held out her hand.

“Bella.”

“I like your hair.”

Self-consciously, Bella ran her hands through her death hawk, which was pulled back in a ponytail. “Yeah, thanks. So, see you.”

“Yeah, see you around. Don’t be a stranger.” Harper gave her a thumbs up and turned back to packing up her stuff.

*

Sean was in the stock room when he felt himself shift back to his male form. He’d become so comfortable being female that realising he wasn’t always like that came as a slight shock. For a moment he felt like simply staying back here, where no one else could see him, until his shift ended, but then someone walked in and, well, that wasn’t really an option. He went back to his post in non-fiction, restacking books customers hadn’t put away properly. A few of his fellow workers walked past - one even waved - and he realised no one cared if he was a boy or a girl. He was just Sean, in what ever form he was in.

That felt … liberating.

*

“Hey Melanie.”

“Hiya, Bella!”

“Is Ava in?”

“Sure, she’s in the kitchen. Ava!”

Bella stood at the door waiting for her friend.

“Hi, Bella. Everything OK?”

“Everything’s fine. Just … can you do me a favour?”

“It seems this is the day for favours.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Can you come to the Venn machines with me? I want to give a surprise to Anna.”

“And would this surprise be … you?”

Bella grinned. “Yes.”

*

Sean passed by Bella and Ave as he walked home, giving his friends a brief greeting. Going to the mall, probably. He wondered what they would do there. Or rather, what they would be.

He knocked on the door, which was flung open by Melanie.

“What did you guys forget … oh, hey, babe!” She flung her arms around him and it felt good to be squeezed by his crazy girlfriend.

“We’re really going to have to get you your own key,” she said, moving back to let him in.

“Got a present for you.” He dug around in his bag, presenting her with the book.

“Ooh, the new volume of Batwoman!”

“Yeah, they’re collecting the Marc Andreyko stories.”

“The guy who did Manhunter? Cool! I’m gonna read this in bed. Thanks, lover.”

“No problem.”

“Of course, that’s not the only thing I wanna do in bed …”

“You’re insatiable.”

“Come and sate me.”

*

Anna had stopped shaking - just - by the time she got home. No more caffeine. If she was going to spy on Kat, she had to switch to something more calming.

Wait, she wasn’t spying. Was she?

She went to put her key in the door, only to have the door opened for her. Ava stood there, with a grin that was just a little sheepish.

“Oh, hi, Ava!”

“Anna. Uh, Bella wanted me to help her get a little surprise for you, and this is it.” She held up a little box. “She said to tell you to remember what you guys were talking about the other night.”

What had she been talking about?

Ava handed her the box. “You’re probably gonna want to be alone now, so I’ll head downstairs. See you!” She kissed Anna’s head, as she usually did, and left.

Anna wandered into the bedroom, put her bag down and opened the box. And immediately remembered the conversation Ava had been referring to.

“I’ll make you something smaller … more intimate … and battery-powered.”

Bella had beaten her to it.

She held the vibrator up. The idea that this was her girlfriend was freaky … and exciting.

Well, if this was Bella’s surprise …

Anna began to take off her clothes.

And for the next hour, she didn’t think of Kat at all.

Well, not very much.