Alex woke early the next morning, a warm presence at his back, wrapped around him in a comforting manner. His left hand wrapped around the other person's hand, slightly rger than his own, that was nestled between his breasts. Alex's eyes shot open in surprise as that fact registered in his brain, a critical arm firing as he went from groggy to wide awake in the span of a single heartbeat. The bedroom was dim, the sun barely over the horizon as it must have been early, and Alex sat up in panic, spotting Kat lying behind him, spooning into his body. Alex gnced down, a curtain of brown hair spilling over his shoulders and across a pair of rge breasts. The bedsheets pooled around his waist as he sat up in surprise, accidentally jostling Kat as he did.

  "What the fuck?," he said without thinking, the voice unfamiliar in his ears. Alex gnced down at himself again, noticing his arms and hands were feminine. His skin felt softer, hypersensitive, the weight of his breasts foreign yet oddly natural. He turned his hands over in shock, staring at them, a stranger's hands instead of his own. His breasts felt heavy, a strange pull on his chest with each breath, the softness of his skin jarring against the memory of his calloused hands. Panic surged, his engineer’s mind scrambling to rationalize the impossible, a puzzle with no solution. Alex felt Kat move next to him, her voice fuzzy with sleep as she nuzzled into the pillow.

  "What's up, babe?," she mumbled, brushing her hair out of her face, eyes still closed. "It's too early to wake up," she compined.

  "Kat, it's an emergency," Alex said, pcing a hand on her shoulder, feeling awkward as he did, the hand not his own. Kat's eyes opened as she heard an unfamiliar voice and a half-second ter, she screamed in arm at the nude stranger in the bed with her. "Kat, it's me," Alex begged. "Stop, just wait."

  "Get the fuck out," Kat shrieked, Alex's words not sinking in yet as she leaped from the bed, the sheets tangling around her feet and tripping her. She lunged for the bedside table, trying to find something to use as a weapon and grabbing her phone instead. Alex raised his hands in arm, in surrender, pleading with her as he sat on the bed. "Kat, please, wait. It's me, Alex. I don't know what the fuck is going on. Just wait. Don't call the cops."

  "Who the fuck are you and what did you do with my husband?," Kat said, holding her phone in one hand, staring at the naked woman sitting in her bed. "You have thirty seconds to answer before I call the police and they drag your skank ass out in handcuffs." Her chest was heaving, bare breasts bouncing in the dim morning light of the room as panic filled her eyes and she stared at Alex. "What do you want with us?"

  "Baby, it's me," Alex tried again, as he attempted to untangle himself from the sheets and slide from the bed toward her. Kat took a step backward as he did, raising the phone as if to ward off evil spirits. "I don't know what's going on, but it's me, Alex."

  As Alex stepped from the bed, Kat's eyes ran down the mysterious woman's body, taking note of the distinct ck of her husband's cock. A small patch of brown hair buzzed into a nding strip framed a delicate looking pussy, small hips, and rge breasts rounded out of the figure of the unknown woman. Alex stopped as he stood, tilting his head sideways as he gnced around the room. "Something is weird," he said. "I mean, fuck, a lot is weird about this morning. But uh ... I'm short, aren't I? I'm not used to seeing things at this angle."

  "Prove it," Kat challenged, refusing to believe the woman standing in front of her, ciming to be her husband. "Prove you're Alex. Say something only he would know." Alex paused, scratching at his head in thought, the unfamiliar long hair tangling in his fingers as he did. Suddenly, he looked embarrassed and gnced at Kat.

  "Uhm, okay. You know I'd never tell anyone this one so it's got to be me. You, I, and your mom are the only three people in the world that know this story. You remember st Easter, when your parents came to visit and your dad accidentally spilled the gss of wine on your mom while I was out running errands? And she went and borrowed one of your dresses. I got back home, ducked into our bedroom, saw who I thought was you standing in our closet, and walked up behind her and started rubbing my dick into her and feeling up her tits from behind, reaching into her panties, before I heard you yell for me from the kitchen." Alex's face was beet red as he recalled the experience. Kat's mom had ughed the experience off, making Alex promise to call her if Kat's dad ever passed away, but Kat had been mortified that her husband nearly got to third base with her own mom by accident and they had never spoken about it since.

  "Alex?," Kat’s voice wavered, her sharp eyes scanning the stranger’s petite frame, noting every discrepancy. "That's really you?" Kat took a half step forward, the phone falling from her grasp to the carpeted floor below, as she tried to align the pieces in her brain.

  "It's me, somehow," Alex replied, his voice confused and with an edge of hysteria in it. "I don't know what the fuck is going on, but it's really me." Alex's voice cracked, tears spilling from his eyes as the emotion cascaded through his unfamiliar body. He sank to his knees, hands rising to his face as he sobbed, and Kat rushed over to him, kneeling next to him and wrapping him in a hug. "How do I even begin to expin this?" he cried, mind searching for a logical expnation. They stayed there for a moment, the warmth of Kat’s embrace grounding him, the steady rhythm of her breathing a lifeline as his sobs quieted, the surreal reality of his new body settling in like a heavy fog.

  Alex’s mind raced, snagging on Fiona's kiss at Brookhaven, the faint pink shimmer that had tingled on his cheek. Was that coy "once-in-a-lifetime" offer the cause of this? His new hands trembled, the memory sharp. Alex leaned into Kat's body, still shaking as he sobbed, and clung to his wife. His tears ran down his face, nestled into her neck, as they sat on the floor next to the bed.

  "Well," Kat offered with a specutive note in her voice, "That cart girl did say it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. You think this could be it?"

  "I swear I'm going to find her and -," Alex started, his voice growing angry until Kat squeezed him and patted his back.

  We’ll figure it out together," she said, her voice steady with resolve. "Let’s just focus on this morning for now. I'd like to go find my bathrobe instead of sitting here naked, and you could probably use some clothes, too."

  Alex's face twisted in a panic and he cast a look up at Kat. "I, uh, need to pee. Fuck."

  Kat howled in ughter, the bizarre scenario suddenly humorous in the early morning bedroom. "Welcome to the world of sitting to pee," she joked. "Come on, let's get you up." She stood, extending a hand and helping Alex to his feet. His legs were shaky, body weak from the outburst of emotion, and he clung to her for a moment before straightening and gncing around the bedroom.

  "Feels so weird to be short, looking up at you," he observed. Kat smirked down at him, ruffling the long brunette hair on the strange woman's head.

  "If I had to guess, you're probably like 5'2" or so," she said, amused. "Looks like I get to be the tall one for a while." Kat walked into her closet, reemerging a minute ter with a pair of silky panties and a ce babydoll on top, then gnced at Alex who stood awkwardly, looking into his closet. "I could maybe find something for you from my closet?," she said questioningly. "I know I'm taller, but something could fit."

  "No," Alex shook his head firmly. "That would be too weird to wear your clothes. I'll, uhm, try to find something that works." Alex walked into his closet, looking over the clothing options. Most of his clothes were well-tailored, suited for his 6'2" athletic frame and not at all a fit for a petite woman a full foot shorter. Clearly he was going to have to make some compromises in order to find clothes that would work for this body. Alex picked out a pair of gym shorts, but they immediately fell off his hips to the floor, even if he tried to roll the waistband to cinch them. Eventually, he walked out wearing a baggy t-shirt and nothing else underneath. In his usual body, it was a tight-fitting muscle shirt, but today it clung loosely, past his waist, almost like a dress.

  Kat gave a knowing look, noting Alex’s glum expression as he walked out. "How about this, I'll go run to the store after we eat and pick up a few clothes for you? Just some basics." Alex nodded in defeat. While he had no idea how long this was going to st, he certainly couldn't be walking around naked everywhere. As they were exiting the bedroom, a thought occurred to him and he doubled back, grabbing his wallet from on top his dresser. Alex stumbled slightly, his smaller frame unsteady, the shift in bance making each step feel foreign, his bare legs brushing awkwardly together. He flipped the wallet open and plucked out his driver's license, staring at it.

  "Huh," he said aloud, staring down at the pstic card containing his usual face. "I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad about this," he mused. A wave of relief cshed with dread; his old face was a lifeline to his past, yet a stark reminder of how much his world had changed in a single night. Kat walked over, peering over his shoulder at the identification and then at Alex's new face. "It helps to rule out some scenarios, but not others. Did I swap bodies with someone, or did I just transform completely while everything else stayed the same? This is going to need some thinking." Alex stared at the license again, his old self a stranger now, the reflection in the mirror, a petite woman with long brunette hair his apparent new reality.

  "Well, we might as well think on a full stomach," Kat said as she led them into the kitchen. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a golden glow over the marble countertops, the air carrying the faint scent of coffee and the crisp morning breeze from an open window. "No use being hungry." Kat patted a stool and Alex sat awkwardly, pulling the t-shirt underneath his new body as he sat. The oversized t-shirt brushed against his sensitive skin, the fabric a strange contrast to the rough cotton he remembered, each movement amplifying his awareness of his new, softer curves.

  She quickly pulled a loaf of sourdough out, grabbing a few slices and popping them into a toaster as her blonde ponytail swung seductively, nearly down to her tight ass, framed by the silky panties she wore. Kat then retrieved an avocado spread from the fridge and finished preparing the meal, sliding a pte in front of Alex who stared at it dubiously. "Eat up, short stuff," Kat teased. "I’ll take care of you," she said with a protective warmth