Swappers Chapter Three (Patreon)

The next morning, Justin and Michelle drove to the swappers clubhouse. Justin wore the ubiquitous white jumpsuit of an active swapper.

He fidgeted as he sat in the controller seat of the autonomous vehicle. Luckily he didn’t have to actually “do” much driving, just nudging the control arm into place a time or two as they progressed through the streets of New LA. They hadn’t been to this swap club, but it hadn’t been difficult to find on the tablet application. LA boasted one of the largest swapatoriums in the world.

Michelle bubbled next to him, her face all smiles. “Oh, this is so exciting! Aren’t you excited, just think on our way home you’ll be someone completely different!”

“Yeah,” he said, swallowing.

 “Oh, don’t be surly, Justin.” She ran her fingers through his short cropped hair. “I’ll still adore you just as much as a female as I do as a man.”

He nodded, wishing she wouldn’t touch him. He didn’t want to be touched at that moment, he felt strangely violated, unclean somehow, his gut sliding queasily around the breakfast sandwich he’d had that morning.

“Do you think we’ll meet anyone at the clubhouse who will want to swap with me?”

He glanced over. The way her eyes were so round and wide, the earnestness of her voice. He loved her so much, wanted to make her so happy. But that queasiness in his gut surrounded his love and yanked it back. “Why would you want them to? A swap here would really complicate things.”

“Well, I just thought that maybe if I swapped with a man, we could, you know…” she gave him a tickle.

“God no!” He shivered at the thought, pulling away from her.

“What’s the matter? You wouldn’t fancy me driving a nice thick cock into your--”

“Michelle, if you love me, you will never finish that statement!” It came out too harsh, but dammit, she had to know, didn’t she? Even the thought.

He almost gagged and lost his breakfast right then and there.

“I didn’t mean to repulse you so badly.”

He took a breath and got himself under control. “Look, I appreciate you have a thing for all this, it’s a kink, I get it. But I don’t have the same kink, Michelle, it’s just something I’m doing to make you happy!”

Stung she pulled away from him, and her face fell.

They sat in silence for a time as the autonomous vehicle progressed onto an onramp and into freeway traffic. It always made him nervous trusting an autocar, he ached for the old days when he could drive himself.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.” He said, brushing fingers through her hair.

“That’s exactly what you meant.” She turned to him, and he could see tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“You never do, Justin.”

She took out some tissue from her purse and wiped her eyes then blew her nose.

He waited in sullen silence, watching the traffic, the non-autonomous traffic, speed by them.

“I know you do this to make me happy, but it should be the only reason!” She took out another tissue. “Don’t you see, Justin, I’m trying to live a bit vicariously and thought this would be a fun way to add some spice to our marriage. Otherwise, what do we do, we watch the stream vids, we work, we come home, we eat, we watch more of the stream vids. Life is passing us by, Justin, and we have nothing to give us any excitement!”

He nodded, trying to take her hand, but she pulled away.

“You are the one who didn’t want children. You are the one who moved us away from my parents. You are the reason we are in San Francisco in the first place, and what do I have?” She raised her arms a bit.

He shrugged. “Not much, I guess.”

She nodded, wounded. It was an old argument. She sighed, deeply.

“Let’s go back. This was stupid. I’m sorry I twisted this around on you so you did just just to make me happy.”

He winced at that. “No, I didn’t mean that.”

“No, if you don’t want to do it, you shouldn’t do it!”

He sat in silence a bit, watching as they exited the freeway onto a cross street.

“Shall we turn around and go home? It really is okay, Justin, I didn’t mean to goad you into doing this.”

He considered his words carefully. Would it really be so bad? Mindy was beautiful and had a rocking body. Would it be so horrible to be her a few days, make his wife happy, and try to enjoy things a little? They could go back to SF, do a little shopping, make Mindy look different. Maybe they could go out dancing and play lesbian lovers. Would it really matter what body he wore as long as he was with Michelle?

“No, I’m sorry. You’re right. I was acting like a child.”

She stared at him a moment, still wiping tears away.

“I guess if you help me, maybe we can go shopping or some shit and go dance as two lesbian lovers.”

She giggled at that. “Who would lead?”

He took her hand. “I would, dear. No matter the body, I’m the lead.”

“You’re absolutely positive?”

He nodded, “Yes.”

“Solemnly swear?”

He pulled her into his arms. “Yes, damn you, now kiss me for one of the last times as your husband.”

She kissed him, hands on either side of his cheeks. He kissed her back, and their tongues tangled together, both of them panting a little as they parted.

“Look at it this way, you’re a husband who is being told by his wife to get into the panties of a porn star.”

They laughed at that, holding each other and kissing again.

He held her then, as the LA Swap club building came into view. It was enormous, easily twice the size of the San Francisco club.

“I still wonder if someone might like to swap with me.”

He took her hand in his and kissed her fingers. “If they don’t, they’re stupid.”

She smiled, looking away. “You’re just saying that.”

“No, Michelle.” He touched her chin, pulling her face toward him. “You are a joyful person full of love and beauty for the world. Anyone who doesn’t see that and want to be a part of it is an idiot.”

She smiled and leaned into him. “You always know just what to say.”

“Well, it’s true.”

She sighed a bit. “If it’s so true, why haven’t we swapped, Justin? Just for kicks?”

“I..I…”

“Shhh, it’s okay.” She put a finger to his lips. “I’m teasing.”

He exhaled loudly. “Look, maybe after this, since I’ll have, you know…experience, and all…we could maybe try.”

“Really?” She beamed at him.

He nodded as the car turned into the Clubhouse parking lot. “Really.”

***

The car stopped near the front gate. Justin tapped the “delivered to destination” button on his tab, and he saw the charge for the ride pop up on his screen. The hatches opened, and he and Michelle exited the vehicle and walked up the stairs to the entry.

A young woman stood outside the door. “Welcome to the LA Swappers Clubhouse. I’m Destiny and I’ll be your guided assistant. I take it you are the one swapping today?” She handed Justin a tablet.

Justin nodded.

“Fill out the questions and make your way to the swapatorium. Is this your swap partner?”

Justin glanced down at Michelle. “Oh! No, she’s going to meet us here.”

“But it is a TG Swap?”

“A…what?”

Michelle nodded, taking the tablet. “Yes, it’s a transgender swap.”

“Is this your first-time swapping?”

“Yes,” he exhaled loudly.

“I’ve swapped before, so I’ve been filling him in,” Michelle said.

“Good!” Destiny said. “It’s always a bit nerve wracking your first time.

“Has your tip point ever been measured?”

“Justin never has, no.” Michelle said, making quick work of the tablet.

“Very well. We measure everyone each time anyway, but it’s always nice to know if you had a previous tip point.”

Some loud murmuring came from behind them, and Mindy walked up.

She wore the same white jumpsuit but it looked much different on her curvaceous body, as if it had been painted on. She showed a gap of cleavage as well where she hadn’t quite zipped it all the way up. Her blond hair had been braided into a single cable down the center of her back, and she wore minimal makeup.

“Hi Mindy,” Justin said.

Mindy kissed each of them on the cheek. “Hello, you two. Are we ready to begin this adventure?”

Justin nodded, trying to keep the butterflies under control as Michelle handed the completed tablet to the attendant.

“He’s nervous, isn’t he?” Mindy said in that delightful European accent.

“This way to the swapatorium.” The woman said and led them around a corner and down a curved hallway to double doors that zipped open at their approach.

Inside was a domed area where dozens of reclining chairs stood in pairs with electronic apparatus standing in between each pair. Smaller chairs were set out in front of the recliners, for attending friends and family. Justin had been to the San Francisco swap club several times before when Michelle had swapped, but he had never sat in one of the recliners.

“If you two will take a seat, we’ll begin in a few moments.” The girl indicated a pair of recliners near the center of the room.

Justin climbed into one of the seats as Mindy lay back in the adjoining.

“Nervous?” Mindy said.

Justin shrugged.

“He’s nervous. Never been through this before.”

“Oh, you’ll love it Justin.” Mindy said, closing her eyes and putting her tongue between her teeth. “Soon, you’ll be as addicted as Michelle.”

Michelle blushed at that. “How many swaps have you had, Mindy?”

She gave a small smile. “Well, to be honest, this is my second. But my first TG swap.”

“Oh?” Mindy gave a small squeal. “Who did you become in your first swap?”

Mindy blushed a little at this, and Justin was surprised. “An African-American woman.” She whispered.

“Oh!” Mindy said. “I bet that was different. Did you enjoy it?”

Mindy nodded. “I loved every minute of it.”

Michelle hit Justin’s arm. “We should try that sometime, Justin! Wouldn’t it be exciting?”

He rubbed his chin a bit, considering. “I spose.”

Michelle shook her head and rolled her eyes. “He just doesn’t get it.”

Mindy gave a small laugh, winking a Justin. He felt himself aroused at her attention but tried to squelch it by counting the number of chairs in the room.

Fifty couples occupied fifty chairs of various combinations, Male, female, and age ranges. There were strict rules about age swaps, but basically as long as it wasn’t a child and both parties agreed, swaps could happen between anyone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen and soon to be Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could please have your attention.”

A cube lit up in the center of the room with a three-dimensional image speaking to them.

“Welcome to the swapatorium at Lancaster Swapping. My name is Brian Lancaster and I have been a swapper for the last 25 years.”

They all applauded that for some reason.

“Thank you. Now, down to business. Each of you has agreed to swap with someone else, to live their life as if it were your own. If anyone has come here under duress of any kind and does not want to participate, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Quiet murmuring came from the audience as people whispered to each to each other and looked around. Occasionally, someone actually spoke up, but it was a very rare occurrence. Briefly, Justin considered raising his hand, but one glance at Michelle’s shining and smiling face was all he needed to keep his hand down.

“Alright, then. You are about to embark on an amazing journey. Before we can begin this journey, each of you will be measured for tip point. A tip point is the time it takes for a soul and memory to completely integrate with the new body, making it, essentially, your new identity. Each of us has a different tip point, and for each swap the tip point will be the shortest time between either partner. Swaps can and do happen after a tip point is reached, but it becomes a forward swap, and not a backward swap.”

Justin glanced at Michelle.

“It just means if you tip while you’re in Mindy, it’s Mindy swapping into Justin, not Justin swapping back.”

Justin nodded, as if he knew exactly what she was talking about. He didn’t.

“You’ve all signed the agreements and have determined a length of time. I see we have a few permanent swaps happening today, so congratulations!”

At that a smattering of applause came from the group.

“It means they swap forever, and don’t swap back.” Michelle whispered again.

Justin nodded, feeling that squeamish feeling in his stomach again.

“Okay. Onward with your new adventure! Lie back, relax, and enjoy your new life!”

Again the crowd applauded.

“Justin, Mindy, if you’d be so kind as to lie back, we’ll begin the measurement process,” The attendant said.

Just put his head back against the high back recliner, and felt it move into position. Michelle stood next to him, smiling down into his face. “This won’t hurt, baby.”

He nodded, as two panels rose up near his ears. They hummed quietly, then moved up and down his body, before returning to their starting position.

“It looks like the tip point for this swap will be 12 days from today.”

He exhaled, glancing over at Mindy who gave him a wink. “Plenty of time,” she mouthed.

“So you both agree to return to the swapatorium exactly 11 days from today?”

“Yes,” Justin and Mindy said.

“Alright, I have you on the calendar. Please understand if one of you does not arrive at the agreed upon time and date, you will be apprehended by the authorities and forcibly returned to your body. All future swapping activity will be prohibited, and you will be listed as a body thief in the national database, with your ID sanctioned. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes,” Mindy and Justin stated.

“Good.” The attendant began making adjustments to the tablet she carried.

“Does that ever happen?” Justin said.

“What, sweety?” The attendant responded.

“Do people not return?”

The attendant pressed and area on the tablet and the panels again swung into position. “Oh, it happens sometimes. Usually it’s inadvertent, but sometimes someone tries to get away with it. With ID imprint technology now, it’s virtually impossible, however.”

Justin exhaled, settling back again.

“Okay, are we ready?”

He looked up at Michelle, gripping her hand.

“I’m right here, baby, and will be there when you wake up!”

He nodded. “I’m still nervous.”

She gave him a kiss. “Don’t worry, lover, it’s only for 11 days. You’ll be back to you in no time.”

They heard a warning bell, and a soft voice came over the loudspeaker. “Swapping commencing in 30 seconds.”

He breathed deeply, nervous as hell, gripping Michelle’s hand. 

“Don’t worry! It’ll be fine.”

“See you on the other side, Justin.” Mindy said from the other chair.

“10…9…8…” The countdown had started. Michelle pulled away, setting his hand on the arm of the chair.

“7…6…5…” He glanced around the room, seeing spinning red lights as the swap engine warmed up to a quiet intensity.

“4…3…2…” The hum of the great machine thrummed through him, vibrating his teeth. It felt like a million ants were slipping under his skin, biting and wriggling. He screamed against the strange feeling.

“1…swap!” He felt himself sucked away.

Oblivion intruded.