Of course, I'd already thought that a few times tonight, and look what had happened. Every time I'd decided I wouldn't make any more wishes, I went ahead and made another one. It was like I had no will power whatsoever. I remembered what Malcolm had told me, about the wearing down of inhibitions. I knew it was happening, so why couldn't I fight it.. Without even realizing what had happened, I looked down and found the bottle was open and half of it was gone already.
I walked over to Rick and sat down beside him. Deep down, I was still worried about what I'd done to Jill, about the life that Chloe seemed to have ahead of her, but on the surface, all I could think about was the night before me, and how much fun it could be. How much more fun could it be if I used the rock to liven things up a little
No! I forced myself to pull my hand out of my purse. No more wishing! Look what's happened already. Your sister's living in a hellhole trailer that looks like it's falling apart, she's got a daughter that she obviously can't afford to take care of, her ex is in jail for who knows what, Though as I thought about the car, and took a look at the entertainment center, a few thoughts popped into my mind. Probably some lowlife dealer, I thought, and you! You're completely losing yourself! Changing your body was one thing; you'd still been the same person inside. Now, the deeper you sank into the stone, as it were, the more you've lost yourself! I shook my head rather violently, trying to get rid of these thoughts. It was almost too much, and I thought my brain might start to melt any time now.
It was becoming extremely confusing in there. On one hand, I remembered my life as a guy in almost perfect detail. On the other hand, I had all of these new memories now that didn't quite fit the mold. In the world of my memories my life seemed to be a series of contradictions.
I decided to deal with it the only way I knew how. I looked up, by now people were starting to stare at me, and finished the rest of my bottle in one swallow. I smiled at them, trying to waylay any worries they might have. The only one who didn't seem particularly concerned about me at the moment was Jill, but of course that was a given. Rosie looked over at me, the faintest traces of a worried smile crossing her dark, red lips.
"You okay Nat?" she asked as she lit a cigarette.
I nodded, doing my best to force a smile. Actually, I was already starting to feel a little better. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked over to see Rick there. I grinned at him, and then looked back at my sister's friends. "I'm fine," I told them. "It's just been a while." I held the empty bottle up for a moment, and set it down on the table. "Think I could really use another one." I stood up and made my way over to the refrigerator. Opening it up, I pulled out another bottle of the Hard Lemonade and screwed the top off. Another healthy gulp later, I was on my way over to Rick again. I smiled when he looked up at me. As I approached him, I noticed Bill out of the corner of my eye. He was holding a beer, and putting a CD in the player. A moment later, Metallica was blaring. I'd never really liked the band before Or, more accurately, Jon had never really liked them. He'd been more into alternative and pop.
That was interesting, I thought, allowing my hips to sway ever so slightly as I walked around the coffee table. I was pretty sure that I'd just thought of my former self as well, as somebody else completely, I realized with a start. I took another sip from the bottle. I could feel the alcohol starting to work its magic now. I felt a little lighter and uncertainty was starting to creep up on the edges of my balance. It felt really good. I could also feel a gentle fog starting to roll in over my worries and doubts, obscuring them from my view. They were problems that could be dealt with tomorrow. Tonight, I was going to have fun. I was truly happy for the first time in my life right now. In a way, I kind of owed it to myself.
Before long, I was standing in front of Rick, looking down at him. "Hey sexy," I said. "You've been awfully quiet." I paused, looking at the rest of the group. Bill was sitting on the floor with Gina and they appeared to be engaged in some kind of conversation, but I couldn't hear it under the music. Jenny, wallflower that she was, sat in the kitchen on one of the rather old looking chairs. She was holding a beer and watching everybody else have fun. Rosie, Jim, and my sister were laughing, all holding their own beverages. Jill was finishing a cigarette and glanced over at me. She nodded and smiled. I smiled back. I turned my attention back on Rick. "So, what gives?" I asked. "This is supposed to be a party you know?"
He offered up a smile that wasn't really a smile. He was really uncomfortable and I had to admit I felt bad for him. He hadn't said much at all since the others had arrived. "They're not going to bite, you know " I paused and looked back over at my sister's little huddle. "Well, Rosie might," I amended, "But not very had " I paused, looking back at him, "Unless that's what you want." I cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm fine," he said, taking a deep breath. "I'm just not good around people I don't really know, especially in groups. It takes me a while to get comfortable."
"You're comfortable around me, right?" I asked, putting the right amount of mock doubt in my voice. This got the desired effect. He smiled up at me, and this time it was genuine.
"Absolutely," he assured me.
"Good," I said, smiling and wrinkling my nose. God he's hot! I thought, my eyes drifting up and down his body. I just wanna I stopped the thought long enough to climb up on him, straddling his waist. I smiled seductively at him and started to grind my body against his. I smiled down at him. I didn't really worry about the others for the moment. It wasn't like we were gonna fuck right there. Fuck? Like Jill, I'd never really used words like that, never really thought them either. It wasn't that I thought there was something wrong with four letter words or anything like that. I'd just never had much use for them. As the thoughts started to come, I poured another round of lemonade down my throat to drown them. Tonight, I was Natalie. Tonight, there was no such person as Jon.
As I started to grind more and more, I began to gasp in time with him. I couldn't believe the way it felt. Aside from the quick touch I'd given myself to confirm my manhood had left me, I hadn't really touched it. Needless to say the stimulation I was feeling was far more intense than I'd expected. As I dry humped him on the couch, I leaned in and started to kiss him on the lips. "Mmm," I moaned softly, pulling my lips away briefly. When they connected again, I slid mind apart and felt his tongue enter my mouth. This made me grind harder. As a guy, I'd given myself the occasional orgasm. I mean, come on, I was a sixteen-year-old for God's sake. This completely blew that away. I felt his hands sliding up and down my back, underneath the fabric of my shirt. I felt his warm skin on my own and it was electrifying.
A time later, I became aware of a strange quiet around us. I pulled myself away, after a few more extremely quick kisses and looked around. Everybody in the room was staring at us. I felt my face turn completely red as I climbed off of him. "Um," I said softly. I quickly finished the rest of my bottle and set it next to the other empty one. "Wow," I whispered to myself.
"How you two doing over there?" Jill asked sarcastically as I lit a cigarette. I smiled.
"After watching that, I think I need a cigarette," Gina said with a chuckle. I took a drag and blew the smoke out at them.
"Yeah," Rosie added. "I kind of thought I was the easy one in the group." This got a chuckle from everybody. I caught Bill looking over at Rick and nodding his approval. My boyfriend, at least for the night, smiled back and nodded. He got the same gesture from Jim. Even Jenny, sitting alone in the kitchen was smiling at us as she continued to nurse her beer.
"Well," I said, "I think I need another drink." I got up and nearly tripped over my own feet as I rounded the coffee table.
"Yeah," Rosie said with a nod, "that's definitely what you need." A moment later I was walking back toward the couch with two bottles of Rolling Rock. I handed one to Rick who actually, despite the embarrassment I'd caused him, seemed a little more comfortable. Good, I thought. I'd seriously thought about using the rock to give him a little bit of an overhaul, make him a little more comfortable like I'd done for myself. Now, it didn't look like I'd have to.
*You still could *
When Bill turned the music back on, I realized it had been off. They'd probably turned it off when they'd noticed us going at it like animals. I chuckled softly. "What's so funny?" Rick asked.
"Nothing," I told him, unconsciously resting a hand on his leg. As I looked around, I realized this was turning out to be rather lame as far as parties went though. There were eight of us in all, and everybody seemed rather inclined to break into our little groups and talk amongst ourselves. I thought about grabbing Rick and pulling him back to the bedroom. I was certainly horny enough, but I thought I might like to have a little fun first. After all, this was supposed to be a PARTY!
Forgetting my earlier decision to abstain from wishing, I reached down and grabbed the rock. "I wish "
