Chapter One: The Proposition
Alex was 24 years old and had just finished his marketing degree from the University of Missouri. Now back at home with his parents and younger brother, Brandon. He was looking for work and not having a successful time at it.
Chase was 39 and had been a friend of the family for many years, having first met Alex’s father, Dan, after graduating from college himself. Dan Evans was working in a department store at the time, selling outdoor equipment, and Chase was assigned to him as an apprentice. During that time, they became close friends, and Chase would even be invited to join Dan’s family on holidays and outings. Chase became like an older brother to Dave and Dan Jr, the oldest twins, and the younger brothers, Alex and Brandon. He was like another son to Dan and his wife, Jennifer.
Fifteen years later, it would be time for Chase to return the favor to the Evan’s family. Dan Sr. reached out to him at his job with William’s Watercraft to see if Chase could get his middle son hired on with the company. It pained Chase to tell his mentor and friend that there were no other sales positions open at the time, but he thought something might happen in the fall. As Alex, his dad, and Chase sat down together in the Evans’ family room, Chase said, “I wish I could tell you differently, but after talking to Mr. Williams, the only positions we need to fill are for the Boat Babes during the convention shows.”
Mr. Evans nodded. He was familiar with the term. Alex was not, however. “What’s a Boat Babe?”
Chase explained that a Boat Babe was a colloquial term used to describe the models who stood around in bikinis trying to draw attention to the different boats on display. “A little eye candy used to start the conversation towards the purchase of a new boat,” Chase smiled as he tried to paint the picture.
“I guess that counts me out.” Alex slumped into the couch. Finding a job was proving harder than he thought.
Chase snickered, “Unless you want to take one of these new X-Change pills that are getting so much attention right now.”
“What is that?” Dan asked.
“That’s the new pills that supposedly change you gender for a period of time, right? Kind of like a gender lycanthropy.” Alex offered up. He had heard something about this but hadn’t done any research about it yet.
“Yeah,” Chase said, shaking his head. “I actually saw a commercial on a late-night show last weekend. I guess the stuff is legitimate.”
Dan Evans stood up, signalling the end of the conversation. “Chase, I really appreciate you looking into things for us. I suppose if Alex can’t find anything by the end of summer, he can talk to you again?”
“Of course. I think Mr. Williams will be more than happy to speak to him about that then.” Chase stood up and shook his old friend’s hand.
Alex watched Chase leave the house. Alex was fond of him, and always had been. He seemed like one of the family, but at other times, he felt something more. The thought, when it reached him, always made him a bit uncomfortable with himself.
That night after everyone had retired to bed, Alex decided to look up some information about X-Change on his phone’s web browser.
Chapter Two: The Consideration
It was hard to believe what Alex was looking at was legitimate. The pictures were unbelievable. This had to be a joke. Most of the women barely resembled the men that they had shown in the before and after pictures. But the more and more he looked into, the more curious he became about it. No, curious wasn’t the right word. The more he looked at it, the more he desired it to be true.
And it wasn’t just the money and opportunity that appealed to him. The women advertised looked amazing, almost goddess-like. Of course, the makeup made them appear more beautiful and the clothing more glamorous, but to deny the seduction of wanting to be someone else, someone beautiful, desired, and enviable was folly.
Deep within his psyche, it was something he had longed for since he was very young. In a house full of men, the appeal to be something different had always been there. The constant competition and drive between his brothers that was pushed by his father, was always present. He secretly wished he could just withdraw from it, as his mother could by hiding behind her femininity that protected her from such pressures.
But how was he going to accomplish this desire? The next day, Alex left home early and drove across town to a distant post office to rent a mailbox. He was surprised at how expensive it was, but decided this was the best course of action. He immediately placed an order of X-Change to be delivered to this PO box.
After the pills arrived, he hid the drugs in his room and began thinking about when he could experiment with them. More importantly, he thought about the chance to work with Chase. It sounded like a lot of fun to him, and maybe it would be enough to tie him over for the summer until he could get the sales job. He’d stop using the gender transformation medication then.
The only real obstacle would be what his family thought about this. He was sure there would be hell to pay. The disappointment from his father, the anguish of his mother, and the ridicule from his brothers would be immense. He pondered over all of this until he developed a plan.
If the point of all of this was going to be employment, there was no need to risk upsetting his family immediately. He really needed to find out if he could actually be hired as a model using X-Change. He would make the transformation, get as attractive as possible and then approach Chase to see what he thought about it all. If all went well, maybe Chase could help him break the news to the family. It was his suggestion after all, even if it was tongue in cheek.
On a Friday morning, Alex got dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and sandals and kissed his mother good bye after devouring her scrumptious serving of waffles and bacon. “I will be gone most of the day, gonna hang with some friends, run some errands.” Jen nodded, remarking that her and his father would be going to the store and asked if he needed anything added to the list. He thought to himself, “If you only knew.” He declined and got on his way.
His first stop was near a Wal-Mart. He parked in what he believed was the employee lot in the back of the building. He figured he wouldn’t be bothered or noticed much here. He opened the bottle and reread the instructions as he had seemingly a hundred times before. He had watched the online video links provided there within as well and knew the process took about an hour. The only thing he didn’t know is how he would ultimately look.
“Results may vary.” This was the standard disclaimer on the package. He had bought a Basic 8-hour batch; “Perfect for a night on the town!” read the small banner. There were many, many different varieties; weekend packs, 24-hour, even a seven-day version for those who wanted to experiment long term. There were permanent and pregnancy versions that he was aware of also, but of course, he had no inclination to purchase.
For about fifty minutes, he watched himself in the rear-view mirror change from a young man to a young woman. It was a slow process and relatively pain-free aside from some aches in his limbs and hips as they elongated. Since he didn’t have to adjust the mirror, he assumed that his height hadn’t changed that much. He might be an inch shorter, but couldn’t be sure. What surprised him (or her now) was how much his chest expanded. The effect began almost immediately and didn’t stop until the entire process was complete. Being that it took so long probably explained why it wasn’t painful, but he couldn’t be for sure. All that was for certain is that he was truly endowed with a large bubble butt and breasts to match. It was more than he expected, a lot more.
Even though he had planned on breast expansion, the oversized shirt extended outward and didn’t touch his stomach anymore. The shorts he wore were longer, basketball-style, fortunately. Otherwise, his now full buttocks would have been exposed from the rising leg holes. The sandals were also too large. He would need to keep his toes clamped down on the insole to keep them from sliding off now until he could get some new ones. His facial hair had disappeared and he now had a medium-length mane of hair that was a golden brown, similar to his male body. But he wouldn’t have that for long, he decided. This girl before him needed to be blonde. His fingernails were grown too, but would need a manicure to complete the look.
The costs for this experiment were rapidly rising, he mused. He opened the car door and stood up, wobbly. The center of gravity had shifted in his body, and he wasn’t used to it at all. He looked around and hoped no one was watching. Alex slowly took a few steps and started to feel more confident until he realized how much his breasts were moving. Without a bra, he knew that he would draw more attention to himself than he was prepared for. He returned to the car and opened the trunk. Inside, there was a jacket back for emergencies. He put it on. Even though it was very warm, it was necessary to contain his large breasts. And although he couldn’t zip it up entirely without compressing his mammary glands, he was satisfied that the boobs were contained, he went around the building towards the entrance.
The store wasn’t too busy, fortunately. He made his way towards the women’s section and began to look around. He didn’t need much right away. Just something that would fit him properly for an interview and maybe a bikini, just in case. He started in the dress area and looked for something that would appear sexy without being slutty. Something that would turn heads in an office, but wouldn’t get him in trouble with a human resources department. After milling around different racks, he thought he found something. It was a deep plunging neckline, red lacy type fabric that had a flesh toned under liner within it. It would give the appearance of being see-through without actually doing so. Next he went to the shoe department to find something close in color. He found some very low, wide heels that would do the trick and would be easier to walk in than high heels. Then he measured his foot to get the proper size. He had gone from a size ten in men’s to a size seven in women’s. Now he needed underwear.
He sauntered over to the lingerie section and began to browse. As he did, he subtly rubbed the bulbous trunk he now sported on his backside. “I am a guessing a large,” he thought and smiled as he reached for a packet of three cotton bikini-type panties and threw them in his cart. Did he need hosiery? The weather was warm enough to go without them, he thought as he glanced at his legs. They appeared relatively hairless, but he realized it was probably a male perception. He had better buy an electric razor just to be sure. Now came the fun part: finding a bra. He had no idea what size he was; he just knew that he was well-endowed as a woman. Was it weird that there seemed to be no correlation between penis and breast size? Or was it deliberately disproportionate? That would have to be researched later. He began pulling down some of the free hanging bras and then removed his jacket so that he could slide them over his shirt. Size 36 seemed right, but the C cup was not going to be enough. There were other women around now, so he stopped and just decided to grab a few of the larger cups and toss them in the basket to try on in the dressing room. Once he figured out his size, he could start on the bikini purchase.
Once in the dressing room, he took off his clothes and stared at his naked body for the first time. It was incredible. The woman before him looked nothing like him in any way at all. Many people had remarked on the X-Change reveal videos that they thought they looked like their mother or their sister or basically like themselves, only feminine, but this transformation had none of those characteristics at all. She was a complete, but totally hot, stranger. The male part of his brain registered that if given the chance, he’d want to fuck her. The female side of him recognized this too with equal parts pride and apprehension.
The thought normally would have made his cock respond, but he now could see that it was gone too. How this happened, he wasn’t for sure, since he was wearing pants the entire time. He recalled that people had described the transformation as a ‘shriveling’ or ‘withdrawing’ from the body. It didn’t matter. He rubbed his fingers into his bush until he felt the upper part of the slit that concealed the sensitive bud beneath it. A tingling sensation was felt the more he rubbed along it. Now wasn’t the time to experiment, even though the temptation was there. He tried on the bras, starting with the smaller ones first. When he was finished he was astonished to find himself fitting comfortably in a 36DD. What the hell?” he muttered as he took the bra off, and tried the standard D again. As if the D size wasn’t large enough! Putting the DD back on, he tried on the dress and shoes together. He looked good, he thought. The clothing clung to him in a flattering sort of way and wasn’t too tight. He tried to imagine what the full package might look like if he had his hair, nails and makeup done.
Putting on his male clothes again, he stepped out and left the other bras on the return rack, then went to look for a bikini. As he walked again in the clumsy sandals, he decided he should get something comfortable for the rest of the day until he would reveal himself to Chase. Back into the women’s section he went lamenting again about how expensive this was becoming. He only had a $500 credit limit and he still wanted to visit the salon. He spent less time here now, quickly picking out some inexpensive jeans, flat shoes and a top. On to the swimwear section, he looked over the different cuts and colors but eventually had to look at the sizes. There were not a lot available for busty women. He found a black high waist bottomed and lace up top that he thought was equally sexy and modest at the same time, and added it to his cart. Back in the dressing room, he tried on and modelled all of the piece,s then decided it would suffice. He felt a little better as he considered he could probably return everything if he didn’t get the job. He would keep the tags just in case.
Damn, this was a lot of work, he pondered to himself, and he still had a lot to do. He pushed his cart towards the checkout lane and waited behind a mom and her two children. She looked like he felt, tired and ready to get out of there. The woman looked at Alex in his masculine clothes and men’s sandals and offered a weak smile, then whispered. “Hard night last night?”
He swallowed hard ,then spoke, “Something like that. I lost a bet,” was the best lie he could muster on the spot.
The woman was pushing the arm down of one of her children who was reaching for gum in the impulse rack, “Oh, that’s funny.” She rolled up her cart and began retrieving her debit card as the clerk rang up her items. Alex waited until she was done, then pulled out the items individually so he didn’t have to put them on the conveyor belt. He paid for the items through the keypad, grateful he didn’t have to show any ID, then picked up his bags. “Since I’ve paid, can I go get dressed in the ladies’ room?” he asked.
“Oh yeah, that’s fine.” The clerk waved her hand towards the bathroom, and Alex proceeded in that direction. A few minutes later, he came out now looking more ladylike than before. He left the store and then drove to a nearby Ulta boutique. It was nearly noon.
Once inside, he was greeted immediately. “Hi, welcome to Ulta. Can I help you?”
“I want to get a hair and makeup appointment.”
The girl sucked air in through her teeth, “Oh wow, I don’t know if we have openings or not. Let’s go back and see.” Towards the back of the store was a small salon with two girls working with clients. The greeter went to a computer and pulled up an appointment calendar. “What is it you want done?”
Alex explained that he had an interview this afternoon. “I know this is last-minute, but so was this interview. I need to be done up well: hair color, cut, styled, and makeup. Can you pleeeease get me in?” Alex tried to whine like some girls did.
The woman smiled and nodded. “That’s so exciting. I am happy for you. We can get you in an hour and half, will that work?”
“I will take it, thank you.”
“OK, what is your name?”
Alex’s eyes widened. “Um, put it under, Ashlee. Ashlee Evans.”
Chapter 3: The Reveal
“Great, we will see you back here then, Ashlee,” the woman smiled as she punched Ashlee’s name into the keyboard.
Ashlee turned around and walked towards the exit. “Ashlee Evans,” she thought in her mind. She repeated the name over and over, then began speaking it in different tones when she sat down in her car. “I like it!” She smiled as she looked in the mirror and then started the car. In a few minutes, she was at a Jack in the Box and ordering two tacos and a drink. She sat down to eat and noticed two men in slacks and polo shirts eating on their lunch break. She couldn’t make out the monogram on the shirts, but they apparently worked somewhere close by. One of the men was looking at her, and as she passed, he reached out to his co-worker and tapped him on the wrist, then flicked his thumb in her direction. They both watched her pass.
Alex had engaged in the same behavior before, so this didn’t come as a surprise to Ashlee. But it did feel different. Was this normal to feel so self-conscious? To feel this weird mixture of pride and self-doubt at the same time? As she approached the table, she contemplated sitting down to face the men, but decided against it. It would be better to have them look at her unknowingly rather than confuse her returning glances as flirtation. She could only imagine the discomfort of having to talk to them if they approached her.
As she sat down and began to open her wrapper, her mind raced with this possibility. There was a lot she was going to need to do to conceal her real identity. She would need a back story, a new and phone number, probably, a new id card even. That would probably be a real challenge.
She ate alone, lost in her thoughts until the two men walked by her and out the door. They didn’t stop but made a casual look back inside at her as they turned from the door towards their vehicle. She had to admit, she was a real head turner. She grabbed up her tray and tossed the debris in the trash, keeping her cup and returning for a refill, then leaving for her own car and back to the Ulta store.
Once in the salon chair, Ashlee asked for a cut and curl. The hair was longer now, but needed some shaping as it was uneven. She also asked to be blonde. The cutting didn’t take very long, but the coloring was very labor and time intensive. Ashlee remarked again about the interview she had and the stylist said that she could get her makeup done while she waited for the color to soak in. That seemed like an excellent idea. She got up and was escorted to the front of the store, where the makeup artistry station was at. The woman there introduced Ashlee to a lot of different items and Ashlee tried to take it all in. Ultimately, she asked that Darla, the consultant, apply what she thought would make her look best and bag up those items for her to purchase afterwards. Ashlee asked a lot of questions about the applications as they were being made and hoped she didn’t sound ridiculous. She felt like she should have known about these things already. Darla was not judgmental at all and seemed enthused by the conversation.
When it was done, and she was turned to face the mirror, Ashlee couldn’t believe her eyes again. Even with her hair covered in the aluminum strips, she looked so different in the face. She was gorgeous, goddess-like even. “Oh wow,” she gasped softly as she looked at herself.
Darla was happy with her reaction. “It really shows off your features, doesn’t it?”
“Like I wouldn’t have believed.” Ashlee stopped talking for fear of saying too much and exposing herself. “I want all of this, exactly what you used, alright?” She had no idea what any of this would cost and hoped she hadn’t reached her credit limit yet. Darla told her she’d have it all waiting for her at the counter. Ashlee went back to the hair salon so that they could finish up there.
Once the hairstylist was done, the reaction was the same. It was like a second transformation to her hair and face. The stylist said, “You should post a picture of yourself. If you hashtag Ulta, you get in a monthly drawing for prizes.” There was an interesting idea Ashlee hadn’t considered at all. She could create an online presence for the new her.
“Oh how fun, I will do that.” Ashlee looked at herself from all angles, including the to,p to ensure her roots weren’t showing. Pleased with the work, she thanked the stylist and made her way up to the counter. Between the makeup, color and styling and tips, she was well over $300 and nearly maxed out now. Would it be worth it? She went to the car and retrieved her dress, then went inside to change. It was now time to get over to Williams Watercraft and find out.