It’s funny how people’s minds work. I read somewhere that since the world’s become so online-connected, we no longer file facts the way we used to. Instead we file search strings. Ways to find the information. Usually it’s a good policy; if I look something up online (and I’m clever enough to filter out bad data), I’m going to get the most accurate and up-to-date information possible. It’s much more reliable than “I heard somewhere” or “This book I read said”.
Unfortunately this method falls short when you’re trying to find information on someone who is off the grid. There were no hits online for Lyubitshka Tokar, no information in the phone directories, no news articles, nothing. Not even a “find your classmates” or “free family tree” advertisement. The woman (I assumed it was a woman’s name) was a complete null entity. I won’t even mention what I found when I searched “gender change curse”. There are some real weirdos out there.
After a couple hours of frustration, I decided to go blow off some steam. Usually for me that means a hard workout at the gym. Under the circumstances, I decided a little normality would be nice, so I packed a tee and some drawstring sweats, pulled my hair back with an elastic – not a cute girly one, but the kind you use for holding a poster rolled up – and headed out into the world.
Everything seemed just a little off, and it took me a few minutes to realize it was because I was shorter now. Doorways were larger, handles were higher, and before I could get my car out of the underground lot I had to do a lot of adjustments to the seat and mirrors. Still, I was soon on my way, cruising the sparsely-populated saturday morning streets to my local gym.
I used by little keyfob to beep in at the entrance and nodded to the girl behind the counter, then headed for the changeroom. It was getting toward midday, so the place wasn’t too terribly busy. I dropped my bag on a bench and reached for an empty locker when somebody shouted.
“Hey!”
The other guy in the changeroom was reaching for a towel to wrap around his waist. I looked up just in time to see what he was hiding. Of course, it was nothing new to see a naked guy in the changeroom. You do your thing and don’t stare, that’s the rule. Then I remembered where I was.
“Oh shit!” I said. “I’m sorry, I thought this was the mens’- er, I mean womens’… uh, excuse me.”
I drabbed my bag and retreated out and across to the ladies’ changeroom. My heart was pounding and my cheeks were on fire. It was stupid, I knew it was, but still, I felt completely embarrassed to have seen that poor guy’s body, from his chiseled abs to his godlike glutes, including a brief side view of a cock as long and thick as mine had been yesterday…
And why was I picturing that? I shook my head. Just another naked guy, no big. I’d probably never see him again.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I looked over at the owner of this new voice. She looked about thirty, in great shape, and was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a concerned look. Her skin was glistening with the sweat of someone who has earned her washboard abs.
“What?” I asked, trying not to stare at her firm-looking breasts and nipples that were a little darker than mine. Not mine, Shawna’s. You know.
“You look like something’s wrong, did something happen out there? I can go get someone from staff if you need-”
“Oh god no,” I said, shaking my head. “My fault, totally. I walked into the wrong change room, and surprised some poor guy mid-change.”
She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, a sudden motion that made one of her breasts bounce distractingly. “Omigod,” she said, “was he buff?”
I chuckled. “Well, yeah,” I admitted before I could stop myself.
“Wait, what did he look like?”
I thought for a moment and described him. It was easy, since apparently I’d filed a mental photograph of him for future embarrassment, as is the way with upsetting memories. “Uh… tall, with short kinda dark blonde hair, some stubble, sorta almost pointy jaw and chin, blue eyes…”
“Holy crap, I know him. Well, not know, but that’s the Viking I keep seeing.”
“Viking?”
“Yeah, I figure he’s probably from Norway or something. What did you see?”
I felt myself blush again. “Well…”
She stepped closer. “Come on, dish. Is he… you know, big?”
I grinned at her eagerness. “Like a baby’s arm,” I said.
We both got a good laugh out of that. It was weird, partly because she was mostly naked and partly because I’d never been friendly with strangers in change rooms before, but it felt comfortable enough so I went with it for now.
“So,” I said, “do you have secret racist names for everyone who comes here?”
“Just the regulars. I’m Katlyn, by the way. Call me Kat if you like.”
“Shawn,” I replied, sticking out my hand.
“Shawn?”
“Um, I mean Shawna. Sorry, my brain’s a little weird today.”
Kat nodded as she shook my hand, which suddenly felt even weirder than the half-naked chatting. “I know the feeling. You’re new here, aren’t you?”
“Not exactly, but I’m changing up some things in my life,” I said, lying with practiced ease. “My cousin goes to this gym, and I just moved in to watch his place, so I thought I’d come here.”
“Oh? What’s he look like?”
I described myself as I knew me for most of my life. She thought for a moment. “Maybe… hey Di, come over here!”
Another woman, this one with black curled hair and biceps that would make a superhero jealous, strutted over. Her skin was olive-colored and dripping wet; she was patting herself dry with a towel, evidently fresh from the shower, and she was gloriously nude. “Yeah?”
“You know that guy who comes here in the mornings? Kinda tall, chiseled jaw-”
“The Viking?”
“No, the darker-haired one.” She repeated my description of myself.
“Oh, the Lawyer.”
I coughed. “The what?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Kat said, grinning. “I knew we had one for him. Diana, this is Shawna, the cousin-of-the-lawyer.”
Diana smiled. “Nice to meet you, Shawna. Remind me to get your cousin’s number sometime, he looks like he could go eight or nine rounds.”
This time I blushed for entirely different reasons. Kat laughed. “I can’t get a bead on you, Shawna,” she said. “You’re confident one second, shy the next. Give me your phone.”
“What?”
“Hand me your cellphone, please.”
I did as she asked and watched her take a selfie and put her details into my contacts. “There,” she said, handing it back to me. “Give me a call, we’ll do lunch. I need to figure you out.”
We exchanged our goodbyes and they both left, Katlyn to shower off and Diana to get dressed. I couldn’t help but watch Kat as she went, staring at her ass while she slipped the shorts off mid-stride.
“Yeah, it’s pretty great,” Diana said, scaring the crap out of me. I whirled and faced her, since apparently she hadn’t gone very far. She had put on her bra and panties and was in the middle of applying a stick deodorant to herself. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I won’t tell her you were staring. I will tell you that she’s single, though.”
“Uh… thanks,” I said, turning around and focusing very hard on the task of finding a locker and changing into my gym clothes. Read more »