In Chapter 4 of this multi-part serial, Peyton learns how much work he’ll have to put in to keep his new body looking good, which he’ll need to do to have any hope of breaking the spell. Available on Body Swap Stories, Smashwords, or Amazon.
Peyton will need to stay in shape to have any hope of attracting the very specific types of guys the spell demands. In fact, if a guy isn’t a massive jerk who treats women like garbage, then Peyton just isn’t attracted to him. In addition to seducing troubled men he also has to deal with women’s troubles, before discovering that not every encounter ends with his satisfaction.
After being comforted by Leah, Peyton thought he was on track. But the next morning he awoke with a stomach ache. He rolled over and pushed the hair out of his eyes, trying to find a comfortable position. It was a weird stomach ache. Not nausea, exactly. More like a throbbing pain somewhere deep in his gut, joined by a headache that throbbed off and on. He hadn’t had anything to drink last night, though.
Peyton groaned as he sat up, pausing for a moment to let his stomach settle before hoisting himself to his feet and shuffling to the bathroom. His whole body felt off, bloated somehow, like his feet sometimes got after flying in a plane. He sat on the toilet and put his head in his hands as he peed.
He couldn’t stand up straight without a deep throb of pain. Even still, he was compelled to make himself up, otherwise he would feel even more miserable. He combed out his hair until it fell in waves down his face, dabbed on his facial moisturizer and all the assorted makeups. He was dabbing on some blush when he paused and peered closer at himself. Oh shit, was that a pimple forming? Some concealer helped but his eyes kept straying to that tiny blemish on his otherwise perfect face, worrying about it.
After his makeup was finished, he tore his eyes away from the mirror and returned to the bedroom. Sorting through his outfits for something cute, he came up with some cut-off shorts and a tight tee shirt. It was one of the few outfits he could wear braless. He’d always enjoyed the sight of his ex’s nipples poking up beneath a tee shirt like this so, naturally, it was an outfit the spell made him comfortable in.
Peyton shuffled to the kitchen for something to eat, still clutching his stomach. He was restless and hungry but his fridge was almost empty and he had no interest in eggs or cereal. He wanted something sweet like…chocolate. Oh, god, that was exactly what he wanted! As soon as he thought of it he couldn’t think of anything else.
He popped some painkillers to try to soothe his stomach before heading out the door. He stepped into the mirrored elevator and began the long descent from his upper floor apartment. His eyes flicked over the reflection of the hot blonde in the mirror. Back when he was a man he would have given anything to bend a woman like this over his bed and fuck her hard. But despite his apparent perfection, his eyes kept straying to that blemish on his face, a little voice inside his head telling him that everyone would stare at it and that he was ugly. The constant cramp didn’t help, nor did the craving for chocolate. His self-esteem plunged along with the elevator.
At the fifteenth floor a man stepped on. Probably somewhere in his early twenties wearing a new suit that was slightly too small. The guy had a confidence in his face that belied his ill-fitting outfit and reminded Peyton of himself when he was younger. New to the city and eager to prove himself and make shitloads of money. His eyes flickered down Peyton’s body, checking him out. The cocky self-assuredness and the briefly lude look make Peyton blush shyly. The spell ensured that the more of an asshole a man was, the more Peyton desired him.
The guy smiled at him and Peyton smiled politely back, which was all the invitation the guy needed.
“Haven’t seen you here before. Did you just move in?” He asked as the elevator resumed heading down.
“Sort of,” Peyton replied noncommittally.
“I think I would have noticed a woman as hot as you before.”
The clumsy compliment should have been eye-roll inducing but he said it with such a confident grin and a knowing look that Peyton felt himself responding. Despite the ache in his stomach and his low self-esteem there was a part of him that wanted to cuddle up with this guy. Just wanted the attention. Peyton could imagine the man’s hands on his body, rough and greedy.
“I’m Ben,” the man said, sticking out his hand.
“Peyton,” Peyton replied, taking the man’s hand. It was huge and rough and warm and sent exciting prickles through Peyton’s body.
“Maybe you could give me your number and I could show you around the neighborhood.”
“I don’t know if my boyfriend would approve,” Peyton lied, trying to throw off the guy despite every part of his body wanting him more and more.
“Okay, I get it,” the guy said. “If you ever change your mind I’m in apartment 1510.”
The fucking nerve of that asshole made Peyton wet. Here was a guy who would finally see past the blemishes and who would love Peyton. They could get married and Peyton could live a wonderful life as his housewife. His only job to stay fit and sexually attracted to his husband.
Fortunately, they reached the ground floor and the guy stepped off before Peyton could respond. As the man strolled away, the ache resettled in Peyton’s gut and he once again felt ugly and bloated and miserable and sad. Had he missed his chance for happiness?
No. That was the spell talking. Goddammit. Why the fuck did his body hurt so much? His fucking exes would pay for this. The sudden explosion of anger made him tense and he gritted his teeth with fury as he went out into the street and hurried across to the nearby convenience store.
Read the rest on Body Swap Stories, Smashwords, or Amazon.