Beach Blonde Page 3

Slowly, he took a few steps back and twisted sideways, examining the wide curve of his hips. With one finger, he traced the tan lines on his chest, leading all the way to his stomach. He turned his back to the mirror. His back was smooth and unblemished, taut muscles over a low curve, and he had a nice ass that was both round and firm. Of their own accord, his lips curved into a smile as he turned back and swept his gaze over the rest of his body, taking in the pronounced breasts and the tiny waist. Even his face was attractive; he had a small, dainty nose, high arched brows, and a heart-shaped face, all of which was framed by shoulder-length hair.

  Yeah, I think I would do me too.

  He ran his hands along the front of his body, marveling at the silky-smooth texture. Chills raced up and down his spine. Little by little, he examined every inch until his cheeks were flushed and there was a strange glint in his eyes. Damn, women’s bodies sure were sensitive. Every nerve ending was on high alert, almost as if a pulse of electricity was going through him.

  Suddenly, the door banged open. He jumped, straightening out. A group of women entered the bathroom, their arms linked together, breathless with laughter. They crowded the mirror, a single unit of beautiful skin, colorful bikinis, and vibrant red lips. He took several steps back and stared at them, almost in awe at how confident they all were in their perfectly feminine bodies.

  “Hey, are you okay?” one of them asked, turning to face him. “You’re looking a little pale.”

  “Yeah, I’ve just never worn a bikini before,” Chris said. His cheeks flushed hot “I’m a little uncomfortable, to be honest.”

  “Oh, honey. Only one-pieces, huh? Don’t you worry, you’ll get used to it,” she assured him, giving him a small smile and a quick appraisal. “You just have to get something in your size; that top doesn’t fit you well.”

  “Uh… yeah. Right.”

  “See how my boobs aren’t popping out of mine so much?” She gestured to her own suit and gave a little twirl. “You’ll feel much better when everything is held in place.”

  “Do men always stare like that though?” Chris asked her in a half-whisper. “It’s like they’re undressing me with their eyes.”

  “You’ll learn to ignore it,” she assured him, giving his hand a few soft pats. “Besides, you are stunning, girl. You should work it! If I had your body, I would definitely be enjoying all the attention it was getting.”

  Chris smiled weakly. “Thanks. It just feels like I woke up in the wrong body, you know, and I’m still getting used to it.”

  “Don’t worry.” She cocked her head at him. “New experiences are always a little like that; I’m sure it’s just the heat. Just throw on some makeup and hit the town; you’ll feel better in no time.”

  “Okay.” He had a million more questions he wanted to ask her, but she’d already turned back toward her friends. Besides, how could he get the information he really needed without giving his situation away? Assuming she even believed him. He couldn’t believe that grown women were just supposed to know how to do this stuff. It’s not like he could ask a stranger for makeup 101 tips. Chris decided that this was getting him nowhere, so gave a slight wave as he left the bathroom and hurried outside in frustration.

  He needed to talk to someone he could trust; someone who wouldn’t think he was a crazy weirdo when he started peppering them with questions about how to be a woman. It was going to be hard to make a new friend that he could do that with fast enough to help him out with his predicament. So, what could he do?

  Then, an idea came to him. His feet slapped against the hot pavement, heat shimmering in front of him. Chris weaved in and out of the throngs of people the best he could with his new center of gravity and the extra weight he was carrying on his chest until he stepped off the gravel path and onto the sand. When he spotted his friends, he made a beeline straight for them. He tugged on Paul’s arm, dragging him away where nobody would overhear what he was about to say.

  “What is it? That blonde chick was totally checking me out,” Paul complained.

  “Probably because your shorts are too low,” Chris pointed out.

  Paul glanced down and hiked up his plaid swimsuit, a ripple of sweat sliding down his chest. “You pulled me away just to tell me that?”

  “No. Listen, I was thinking, and I want you to get me in touch with Lisa.”

  “Lisa? As in my ex-girlfriend Lisa?”

  “You said you guys were friends now and it’s all good between you both,” Chris said impatiently. “Look, if I’m going to be a woman, then I need to know everything there is to know about it, including makeup, fashion—”

  “If you’re about to start telling me about the wonders of the female body, I’m going to throw up all over you,” Paul said flatly. He took off his sunglasses and placed them atop his sandy blonde hair. “Fine, I’ll put you in touch with Lisa, but we need a good cover story. Otherwise, she won’t understand why or how you don’t know anything about being a woman.”

  Chris paused. “Strict Catholic parents?”

  Paul shrugged. “If you think that will work, then sure, whatever. You owe me one, though.”

  Chris scowled. “I’m already doing you a favor. I’m going to introduce you to all the women I meet, remember?”

  “And yet, I see no women around.” Paul gestured to the lack of ladies. “You need to make sure you keep up your end of the bargain, Cooper.”

  “Cooper?” Jack’s voice came out of nowhere. Again, he had managed to materialize out of thin air. “That’s the same last name as Chris. Where have you guys been, anyway? The beach is hoppin’ today!”

  Chris suppressed a wince and feigned a giggle. “He’s a Cooper too, huh? What are the odds? There were like a dozen Coopers at my high school.”

  “Hey, is this asshat bothering you?” Jack asked, looking from Chris to Paul. He definitely looked at Paul a little harder. “Because I can get rid of him if you want.”

  Paul rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Hayes, I have better things to do anyway.” Then he smirked. “Hey, why don’t you entertain Christina for a while? I need to go talk to that blonde over there…”

  “Hey!” Chris grabbed desperately for his arm, but Paul was already walking away. He blinked a few times at Jack and forced a smile. He’d already caused enough of a scene today. Nothing else to do but go with it. “Uh… hi. Jack, right?”

  “Mmhmm. Seriously, was he bothering you?” Jack asked, his tone going soft. “He’s not a bad guy, you know. He and Andre are actually both pretty decent when you get to know them, but they can be a bit much sometimes.”

  Chris tilted his head to the side, curious. Maybe he could use this whole situation to his advantage after all.

  “What do you think about Chris?” he asked.

  “Chris Cooper? He’s a good guy too,” Jack replied, a little too quickly.

  Chris frowned. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound forced at all. What’s the deal with you two?”

  Jack scratched the back of his neck. “We used to be good friends in college, but I guess once we were hired by the same marketing firm, things got a little intense between us.”

  “You don’t say. It definitely sounds like there’s a bit of a rivalry going on there.”

  Jack nodded. “A little, but honestly, it’s all in good fun. He challenges me to do better at my job, so I don’t really let it get to me too much.”

  “Maybe you should keep that in mind so things don’t get ugly between you,” Chris offered, tucking an errant lock of hair behind his ears. “It’s none of my business, but he just mentioned it a few times in passing, so I thought I’d bring it up.”

  “I didn’t know you knew you know Chris well,” Jack said. “I thought you’d just met all of us this weekend.”

  “Not super well, but I really felt like we were vibing. You know how sometimes you just meet someone and it’s like you’re almost the same person?” Chris couldn’t help smiling at the irony.

  Jack chuckled, but Chris noticed a hint of jealousy in his ey
es. “Oh, I see. Well, this is awkward. So, does this mean you and him are…”

  Chris made a face. “Oh, God, no. It would be like making out with my brother. No, definitely not.”

  “I’m glad. I was totally checking you out earlier.” Jack flashed a smirk. “I wasn’t sure if you could tell.”

  Chris paused. “I think so? I’m not used to so many guys hitting on me so openly though.”

  “I’m absolutely shocked to hear such a gorgeous girl say that.”

  Chris was embarrassed at how good the compliment made him feel. He couldn’t remember the last time that Jack had been nice to him, instead of turning everything into a competition. It was almost like back when they used to be friends… and Chris was surprised to feel a twinge of nostalgia, even if Jack’s intentions might be a little different now. But they really had been close.

  Jack suddenly held his hand out, a mischievous twinkle in the depth of his sapphire blue eyes. “Why don’t we take a walk and get some ice cream? It’s a gorgeous day and it would be a shame for us to waste it alone.”

  Am I really going to go hang out with Jack?

  But Chris found that he did want to talk to him a bit more. His stomach gave an odd little lurch as his hand slid into Jack’s, and he allowed Jack to lead the way to the concession stand.

  Jack bought them both ice cream and a couple sangrias, and they sat down at a table facing the ocean. He kept his eyes fixed on Chris the whole time, regaling him with stories that he already knew by heart. Still, Chris found it both endearing and amusing that Jack was trying so hard to win his affections, and it felt just like catching up with an old friend.

  A swarm of butterflies settled in the pit of his stomach, flapping their wings mercilessly as the hours ticked by and the sun began its descent toward the horizon. Chris was shocked at how much fun he was having. He’d never seen Jack so animated before. This was the Jack he used to admire back when they were actually friends—open, talkative, unguarded. When the setting sun colored the world in hues of orange and red, Jack suggested they move to a park bench nearby and watch the sunset, and Chris agreed eagerly.

  As they settled together, Chris sat up straighter, watching everything as if he were seeing it all for the first time. It was strangely magical—all of it. Jack’s bare legs were brushing against his own, and Jack slid his arm across Chris’s shoulders. It felt warm and reassuring.

  A jolt went through his body.

  What the hell? What am I doing?

  This was Jack sitting next to him. His former best friend and current nemesis. What was he doing cozying up to him on a park bench? Chris had just been having so much fun that he’d gotten lost in the moment, hadn’t he?

  But then, another thought occurred to him. It had been so easy to spend the last few hours with Jack, and he’d felt so comfortable…

  He couldn’t possibly be developing feelings for his old friend, could he? Girl feelings? He was pretty sure he’d never been gay, even if he had always been jealous of how handsome Jack was, but now… what were these feelings that he was having?

  It was probably just his hormone-addled body adjusting to the changes. Still, he couldn’t help the goosebumps that broke out across his skin as Jack’s fingers intertwined with his, his grip strong but soft.

  What am I letting him do? Is this okay?

  But he didn’t get up to leave. Something seemed to hold him in place.

  “Oh, wait, you’ve got a little something right here.” Jack pointed to the side of Chris’s mouth. He picked up a napkin and dabbed at it. He was leaning forward toward Chris, close enough for him to notice the stubble on Jack’s chin, the flecks of grey in his eyes more pronounced.

  Chris’s eyes roamed over his friend’s face, taking in the defined jaw, the hooked nose, and the heavily lidded eyes. His stomach gave another lurch, chills racing up and down his spine when Jack’s hand lingered near his delicate mouth. He met Jack’s gaze, the tension pooling in his stomach. Chris wasn’t sure what was happening to him right now, but he was definitely attracted to Jack. Had the sea sprite given him an attraction to men along with his new body? He guessed it would make sense if he were being filled with all these feminine hormones. He was torn between wanting to rip himself away from the situation and begging Jack to make a move on him.

  “You have beautiful eyes,” Jack murmured.

  “Thanks,” Chris replied, jerking back suddenly as if he had somehow come to his senses. He shook his head, clearing it of the thoughts of him and Jack alone together. “We should probably go and find the others; I’m sure they’re wondering where we went.”

  Hastily, he rose to his feet, putting some distance between them.

  “Sure. If that’s what you want.”

  Beside him, Jack stood, his hands shoved in his pockets and his unruly brown hair tossed to the side. Chris tried not to look at him as they fell into step together. They walked in silence past a slew of couples before they found Paul and Andre. They had identical frustrated expressions and were both holding empty beer bottles.

  Jack gave Chris a long, heated look and winked before greeting the others, as though nothing unusual had happened a few moments ago. Meanwhile, Chris’s stomach was still flipping with butterflies and the obvious and confusing attraction he felt toward Jack.

  Shit, I’m in trouble, he thought glumly. What am I going to do?

  Chapter 3

  Introducing Christina

  “Damn it,” Chris cursed, throwing her hands up into the air. “Why is it so freaking hard to put on a bra?”

  She eyed herself in the mirror as she struggled with the stretchy tangle of fabric and hooks and huffed, at a complete loss for how to match the hooks when she couldn’t see them. For the past few days, she’d been hiding in her hotel room, doing everything she could to learn more about being a woman.

  Needless to say, it was not going well. At least she’d managed to start thinking of herself with female pronouns; referring to herself as male would only draw unwanted attention. It was something she’d have to get used to, especially if she couldn’t figure out how to reverse what the sea sprite had done, which was looking less and less likely every day.

  Meanwhile, Paul and Andre had been getting a kick out of watching her struggle with this new adjustment, poking fun whenever they got the chance and generally being their obnoxious selves. She’d gotten so fed up with it that she insisted on moving to a new room so she could at least change behind a door. Now, she whirled around and tossed angry looks in the direction of that door, hearing the low chuckles and snickers behind it.

  “Come on,” Chris said to herself. “It can’t be that hard. I am an expert when it comes to knowing how to take these things off, so putting them on should be a piece of cake.”

  Someone knocked on the door.

  Chris scowled and tossed the lacy fabric onto the bed. Quickly pulling a t-shirt on, she yanked the door open to find both Paul and Andre standing on the other side. “What?”

  “Where are your ladylike manners, Christina?” Paul teased, ducking to avoid her swat. “Hey, hey, just because you’re a girl now doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass.”

  Chris smiled. “Go ahead and try it. I can still kick your ass, regardless of how I look.”

  “We only wanted to check on you and make sure you’re alright,” Andre said, sincerity in his tone. “It sounds like you’re really struggling.”

  Chris pushed the door open and stood aside with a hand on her hips, inviting them in. “Really? Why the sudden interest?”

  “Hey, we’ve always been interested,” Andre said defensively. “I mean, this is your new life now, right?”

  Chris sighed. “Well, at least for now, yes.”

  “So, have you given any more thought to your backstory?” Paul asked. “While Jack might have been okay with the ‘I just happen to be named Christina Cooper’ explanation, we still need a better cover story than that for the long haul.”

  “We?” Chris repeated, her e
yebrows drawing together.

  “Yeah, we’re in this with you,” Andre said. “But Paul is right. Have you come up with anything yet? We’ve been waiting and haven’t known what to say.”

  Chris sighed again. She’d been thinking about it a lot but hadn’t managed to come up with anything useful. She collapsed onto the bed in frustration, covering her face with one of the pillows.

  “Nothing seems to make any sense anymore. Nothing about this situation is fair,” wailed Chris before she looked at them pleadingly. “Please, will you guys help me come up with something?”

  “Well, a simple answer could be that we could say that the two of you are friends, especially because you know a lot about Chris,” Andre began, dragging a chair across the room. He sat smoothly and crossed his legs to really settle in.

  “It may be better to say you are old friends,” Paul said. “Like, your families were friends, and you grew up together, but you had to move away and were back in town for a funeral or something. Maybe we can say that’s how we got in contact with you. And when Chris had to leave because there was a family matter, we decided to hang out with you so you wouldn’t be lonely.”

  Chris paused, considering. “Okay, that sounds like it could work. I told Jack I didn’t know Chris that well, but I’ll worry about it if it comes up later. But what do I say about my job?”

  “We were talking about that,” Paul said from his place on the edge of the bed. “And we could say that you’re coming in from another company, doing some work for us, and you’re looking to get hired. The longer Chris is away, the better Christina looks.”

  Chris tilted her head to the side. “You guys actually did think about something for a change.”

  “Brains and looks,” Andre reminded her. “There’s a lot more to us than meets the eye.”

  “Okay, but what about this?” Chris made a sweeping hand gesture to indicate her body. “How am I supposed to manage… all of this? And still seem normal?”

  “Um.” Paul shifted from one position to the other. “I’m pretty sure you have to ask a doctor about the specifics because I really don’t know shit about the female body’s inner workings.”