It's Hard to be a Man

	As Patrick dried himself off, even the feel of the soft towel
against his body made his skin tingle with arousal. His cock was already
showing signs of life. This was getting bad. He couldn't stay in his
male body for any great length of time and his female body kept getting
turned on by the wrong things. Men, for example.

	Patrick put on a bath robe and headed back into the main room.
He sat and tried to relax. His headache was slowly going down, but it
wouldn't totally disappear until after a good night's sleep.

	He stretched out on the couch. Within a few minutes he was
nearly asleep. Then his doorbell rang and he sprang upright, falling off
the couch and knocking over a small table as he did so.

	"Patrick? What are you doing in there?" came a voice from
outside the apartment door.

	Patrick froze. That was Hank! He wished he could pretend to be
out, but knocking over the table had ruined that idea. He couldn't give
Hank any reason to think something was wrong. He daren't risk Hank
finding out about his curse. Patrick stood up and concentrated on his
male form. He gave himself the once over to check he hadn't missed
anything and then went over to the door.

	Patrick was angry at Hank for turning up now. Normally, he'd be
happy to see his friend, but not today. His reserves were already low
from maintaining his male shape for most of the day. Now he would have
to expend what little he had left while Hank was around.

	"I'm not disturbing anything, am I?" Hank asked after Patrick
opened the door.

	"Unfortunately, no."

	"Never mind. We'll soon fix that." Hank wandered into the kitchen
to look for some beers. "We'll go out and find some good ass and we'll
have fun tonight!"

	"I'd like to, but I still don't really feel like it tonight."

	Hank came back with two cans. "Look, Patrick. You haven't been
out for days. You're not even going for your usual lunchtime drink. You
are getting old."

	"No, I am not!" Patrick replied testily. "It's just I've been
busy and right now I don't feel that well."

	"Old," Hank repeated. "You remember that time you had the flu?
You felt like Death and that still didn't stop you going down the bars
and clubs looking for a nice bit of ass."

	"I remember, I puked my guts out when the drink reacted with my
flu medicine," Patrick replied.

	"Yeah," Hank said, reminiscing, "what an evening!"

	Patrick was weakening. He really did want to go out. He hated
being stuck in his apartment all the time. "Alright, but just a couple
of hours. Give me a few minutes to get dressed."

	He went to his bedroom. He changed quickly into a casual outfit.
He decided he would be able to control his body for a couple of hours,
now that he had rested for a little in his female form. Anyway, he
needed to blow off steam and relax. Otherwise, he'd go mad by the end of
the week.

	Hank was already working his way through the second can of beer
when Patrick had finished getting ready. Hank was quite happy getting
totally smashed during a night's drinking. Patrick preferred to avoid
total drunkenness. Partially because he was driving, but mostly because
he thought he didn't have much of a chance getting off with a girl if he
collapsed in a heap under the table.

	It didn't take them long to get to their favorite bar. It was
packed as usual. Hank and Patrick bought two drinks and then started
looking around for likely targets. Patrick's headache wasn't helped by
the booming rock music being pumped around the place, but he felt more
relaxed than he had all week.

	"Over there," Hank shouted in his ear. Patrick looked to where he
was pointing. Sure enough, Hank had spotted two young, well-stacked
women. One of the reasons Patrick liked the bar so much was the type of
women who would go there. Available, open-minded women looking for a
good time with no attachments.

	Hank introduced himself and Patrick as if they were English
lords and then bought them a drink. The girls seemed amenable. They knew
they could get their drinks free for the rest of the evening at least.
Then if Patrick and Hank didn't seem that interesting they could brush
them off and go somewhere else.

	Patrick tried to put his troubles behind and enjoy his evening.
The dark haired woman he had targeted seemed more than interested in
him. He was gratified to see that despite the bizarre feminine thoughts
he had been having, he still had the knack for picking up girls.

	He was careful to moderate his drinking through the evening. His
headache was steadily growing again and it wasn't helped by the loud
music, but as long as he didn't get drunk he felt he could control it.
By the end of the evening he'd be sober enough to perform for his girl,
and in control enough to have something to perform with. Hank was
getting on well with his girl. Unlike Susan, she didn't care what his
mind was like. She was just after his body.

	It was only as the evening progressed that Patrick realized he
wasn't going to make it. His already low reserves of control were
draining far faster than he had expected. He found he wasn't able to
hold his liquor as well as he usually could either.

	Patrick could already feel his penis starting to shrink and
retract into his body. He quickly excused himself and went to the
washroom. He locked himself in a stall and sat down. He relaxed the hold
on his body and his feminine self emerged in an instant.

	He held his head in his hands and breathed deeply, feeling his
breasts rising and falling, as he tried to control his headache. As the
minutes passed his headache did retreat a little, but he started to feel
dizzier from the alcohol. Just like on the night the curse first set in,
his resistance to drink had fallen. Perhaps his female body wasn't as
used to the amount of alcohol his male one was.

	Whatever the case, it was obvious he'd have to get home as
quickly as possible. Any chance of having some fun with his girl was
gone. He composed himself and turned himself male again. He knew that
the length of time he could hold his male shape was measured in only a
few dozen minutes. He had to move quickly.

	He made his way carefully back to Hank and the two girls. "Hank,
I have to go, I'm feeling like shit."

	Hank was about to complain, but he could clearly see Patrick was
really suffering. "Damn it!" He said out of annoyance rather than anger.
"Can I take them back to your apartment then?"

	Patrick groaned, mostly because of Hank's suggestion rather than
his painful headache. Hank's apartment was much further away and was
always in a total mess. It wasn't usually a problem for Hank to stay
overnight. There was a spare room and Patrick would normally have a girl
of his own to concentrate on. He didn't have the energy to argue, though,
so he agreed. He staggered out to his car while Hank talked to the girls.

	After a few minutes Hank and the girls caught up with him. "I'd
better drive," Hank said. "You look like you're about to drop dead."

	"Thanks, I feel like I am." replied Patrick morosely. "But if
there's one dent in my car..."

	"...don't bother turning up for work tomorrow." Hank finished,
laughing. "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

	Patrick looked behind him at the two girls following them. "Both
of them?" he asked Hank.

	"Waste not, want not." Hank replied with a drunken grin.

	They reached the car and Patrick let the two girls climb in the
back before slumping in the passenger seat. This was just brilliant. Not
only had he ended up looking like a total idiot in front of the girl he
was trying to impress, but now he was going to have to spend the night
alone listening to Hank fucking two women.

	When they reached Patrick's apartment, Hank wasted no time in
escorting the two girls to the spare room. He turned and winked at
Patrick before closing the door.

	Patrick glared at the door and then went into his own bedroom. He
stripped and then relaxed his control on his body. God, what an
embarrassing evening, he thought as his body rearranged itself into a
softer, more rounded form. He slipped into bed and just sat there, able
to relax at last now that the strain of maintaining his male body was
gone.

	One of the girls gave an excited squeal. Patrick glared in the 
general direction of the spare room. He was a fool to have let Hank 
bring the two girls back to his apartment while he still had the
transforming curse on him. Anyway, why was Hank over there wasting his 
time with those two sluts when he could be over here...

	Patrick shivered with fear. He didn't want to finish that line
of thought. He turned over and tried to get some sleep, but he quickly
realized that was going to be impossible for quite some time.

	Hank and the two girls were very vocal in their pleasure and it
was doing more than just keeping Patrick awake. It was starting to turn
him on. Patrick could hear one of the girls crying 'Yes!' over and over
again, mixed in with a low grunting noise coming from Hank.

	Patrick dropped a hand between his legs and he wasn't surprised
to find he was already wet. He flung back the bed covers and looked down
at his nude body. Whatever he felt about his body he had to admit it was
damn sexy. If only he could share it with someone. Someone like Hank,
with his perfect, muscular body and chiselled features. Patrick's
nipples started to tingle and he lightly brushed the tips with his
fingers.

	No! This wasn't right. He was a man, not a horny woman. Why
couldn't he stop these thoughts creeping into his head?

	What was wrong with those thoughts, really? Wasn't he now a
woman? A beautiful woman with curves in all the right places? A woman
with soft, creamy breasts and a hot place between her legs aching to be
filled?

	Patrick leapt out of bed and retreated to the far corner of the
room. He couldn't give in to the desires his body had, no matter how
good they felt. He knew he had to relieve the tension or he was going to
end up crossing the hall and joining Hank and the girls.

	He crept over to the door and cracked it open. Now he could hear
what was going on far more clearly. Patrick could hear the bed creaking.
One of the girls was exclaiming something in a very excited voice.
Patrick couldn't quite work out what it was. His heart was beating
rapidly from the fear of being caught and his excitement as he crossed
the hall to stand right outside the door to the spare room.

	Patrick listened carefully and he could now understand what the
girl was saying. "Fuck me...fill me up! Ummm...Aaah! That's it! More!
Harder!" Her fairly inarticulate cries of passion were mixed in with
Hank's bass grunts.

	Patrick touched himself between his legs. He bent over as the
waves of his own desire washed over him. His clitoris was almost
painfully sensitive and he knew it wouldn't take much to reach an orgasm.
He spread his legs to give him easier access and started to ease his
fingers into his vagina. He leaned back against the wall and listened to
the girl and Hank having sex in the spare room.

	He could tell that every time she gave a little yelp of passion
Hank had just thrust into her to the hilt. Patrick timed himself to the
girl's cries and thrust his own hand deep inside himself in rhythm with
her. He imagined he was the girl on the bed and Hank was rearing up above
him. He could almost feel Hank's tight muscular hips thrusting against
his. Patrick wished that he could have Hank's cock inside him. He needed
it to make him feel complete. How could something like that be wrong?
Especially when it felt so good.

	Hank's thrusting increased in speed and the girl moaned loudly
as her orgasm hit. Patrick's followed immediately after. Despite his
best efforts, a quiet, high pitched cry escaped his lips as he slumped
to the floor.

	In the spare room, Hank was building up to his second climax of
the night. It was hard, if very enjoyable, work, keeping two women happy
at once.

	The second girl had been watching her friend and Hank making
love, slowly rubbing herself as she enjoyed the show. She looked over at
the door. Was that a noise outside she had heard?

	She slipped off the bed and moved over to the door. As quietly
as possible, so as not to disturb Hank and her friend, she opened the
door and peered into the hallway.

	There was no-one there. Just an empty hallway and Patrick's
closed door. It was a pity Patrick had gone down ill. He had been quite
cute.

	"What are you doing?" Hank asked her.

	"Oh, nothing," she said, shrugging.

	"Come over here and we'll give you something to do then."

	The girl smiled and shut the door. Then she rejoined Hank and
her friend on the bed.

	Patrick was back in his room leaning against the door. His heart
was pounding furiously. It sounded as loud as a drum. He had turned
himself back into a man and he had only just avoided being seen by the
girl. He reached down to his now male crotch, it was still slick with
his feminine juices.

	He climbed back into bed and hugged himself. It took him several
long minutes to calm down and relax. He'd totally lost it again. Even
now that he was fully male he still felt drawn towards Hank. When he
woke up the next morning he was going to have to get Hank and his
friends out of his apartment as quickly as possible. Until he stopped
transforming he was going to have to keep his distance from Hank or he
was going to do something he'd really regret.

	It took Patrick nearly an hour to get to sleep, but finally his
exhaustion claimed him. Unlike the previous night, he slept long and
deep.

	He was finally wakened by a knocking on his bedroom door.
"Patrick? Are you awake?"

	Patrick lifted his head and slowly started to come to his senses.

	"Come on," said the voice again, "wake up. We're late for work."
It was Hank.

	Patrick turned his head and looked blearily at the bedside
clock. It was 9.45 am. Oh hell.

	He sat up just as the door opened and Hank walked in. "Wake up!
You didn't get that drunk last..." Hank stopped and stared at Patrick's
chest.

	"What's up?" Patrick asked in a high-pitched voice. Shit! He had
forgotten he was in his female body! He looked down and realized his
breasts were bare. He quickly grabbed the bedsheets and covered himself.

	"Sorry," Hank said, embarrassed, "thought you were someone else."

	Patrick was too petrified to say anything and he just stared at
Hank.

	"Ummm, I'll go now." Hank said before retreating from the room.

	Hank stood confused outside Patrick's bedroom. Several questions
came to mind. Why had Patrick gone to work leaving him behind? Why
hadn't Patrick woken him up? The most important question of all,
however, was: Where had that absolute fox in Patrick's room come from?

	Patrick was going to have to answer a lot of questions when Hank
caught up with him. He quickly finished getting ready and then rushed
down to his car. The two girls left with him and he had to give them a
lift home before he could get to work.

	In his room Patrick didn't start to relax until he heard Hank
leave. He collapsed back onto the bed with a groan. Now Hank had seen
him as a woman. There was no reason to think Hank would know who the
girl he had seen really was. Even so, he had seen the look in Hank's
eyes when Patrick had accidentally exposed himself. It was a look of
pure lust.

	If Patrick had offered his body to Hank at that moment he had
little doubt that his friend would have climbed into bed with him. Hank
would have pulled back the sheets and held Patrick in his strong arms...

	With a jolt, Patrick realized where his thoughts were going yet
again. He turned himself fully male and got up. He was already very late
so he didn't bother rushing. He made himself breakfast despite not
really feeling hungry. 

	He showered and then dressed. Just three days to the weekend and
Patrick was getting convinced he couldn't survive. At the rate he was
going, by the weekend he'd be begging Hank to fuck him.

	On his way to work, he stopped to pick up some heavy duty
painkillers. With any luck they could take the edge off of his headache.
It was getting close to 11.00 am when he finally arrived in the office.
He apologized to everyone for being late.

	Fortunately, his team were more than able enough to carry on
without him. Even so, he was busy for the rest of the morning trying to
catch up on lost time. Patrick had to work through his lunch hour in his
effort to catch up, which meant he wouldn't get the rest break he needed
at Abigail's shop.

	By early afternoon, his headache was getting oppressive again.
He took a few of the pills he had bought at the drugstore. He wished he
had thought of this sooner, these would give him the edge to last out the
day with ease. He would have to be careful not to get hooked on them,
but hopefully Abigail would have solved his problem before that happened.

	Hank had been desperate to talk to Patrick alone all day. It
wasn't until well into the afternoon that he finally got his chance. "So
who was _that_ then?"

	"Who're you talking about?" Patrick replied trying to sound
innocent.

	"Who do I mean?" Hank asked incredulously. "That blonde in your
bed with the big tits!"

	"Oh... her." Patrick was trying to get his story straight in his
head. How should he explain this one away?

	"I'm glad you remember her, I'd be really worried about you if
you didn't."

	"Don't worry," Patrick said, "she's been on my mind for the last
few days."

	"So, who is she?" Hank patiently asked.

	Patrick was quiet for a few seconds before he decided on which
story to tell. "She's my cousin, Becky. She's staying with me for a few
days until she can get a place of her own."

	Hank smiled, "So you're not..."

	"No, I'm not." replied Patrick, testily. "Neither are you."

	"Now, surely that's for her to decide." Hank said slyly.

	"There are plenty other beautiful girls out there waiting for
you. So it won't be a hardship to stay away from just this one, will it?"

	Hank nodded. "No problem. Message received and understood."

	Patrick hoped that it had got through Hank's skull. The last
thing he wanted was for Hank to try to get into bed with him.

	The painkillers seemed to be working, his headache had gotten
bad, but it wasn't strong enough for him to lose control over his body.
He worked hard to get through the backlog of work that was building up,
but he knew he wasn't going to manage it all in one day.

	Towards the end of the working day Patrick started to feel
tired. His headache wasn't too bad, but because he was so drowsy he
couldn't concentrate well enough.

	He pinched himself to stay alert. Why was he starting to fall
asleep? He wondered if it was due to the combined stress of the past few
days. He pulled the painkillers out of his jacket pocket and read the
packet.

	'Warning,' it read, 'this product can cause drowsiness and should
not be taken if the user is operating heavy machinery.'

	Great, just great! If it wasn't one thing it was another. No
matter, it was almost time to leave. Patrick relaxed his control over
his body from the waist down and just concentrated on those parts
visible to the rest of his team.

	He decided to wait until his team had left before leaving
himself. When female his hips seemed to him to stick out like shelves.
They were certainly far wider than normal and they gave a feminine swivel
to his walk. Patrick refused to take the risk of walking out while
half-female when the others could see him.

	While he waited, Patrick returned to the backlog of work.
Everyone else except Ian soon left to go home. Patrick started getting
seriously worried. The side-effects of the painkillers were really
starting to kick in now and he was finding it difficult to keep his eyes
open. Several times he felt his breasts starting to expand, though he
managed to keep them down.

	He couldn't get up for a walk, while Ian was there. Eventually
he told Ian to go home and forget about his work until the next day.

	Ian wanted to get the work done so it wouldn't be waiting for
him the next day, but something about his boss still made him uneasy.
Finally he left and Patrick was alone.

	Patrick got up and walked around to keep himself awake. His
control quickly slipped and the rest of his body turned female. He
cursed as he felt two buttons pop off his shirt. Another one ruined.

	He was too tired to drive all the way home and he wanted to
check in with Abigail anyway. He pulled the jacket of his suit on and
did it up. It had been tailored for his male self, and it didn't fit him
as well when he was female. The arms were slightly too long and it was a
little too broad across the shoulders.

	Patrick slipped the back way out of the building; Down a flight
of stairs and out of a fire exit. He hoped he wasn't setting off any
security alarms. He walked as fast as he could to his car, but that
wasn't very quick. Every movement set his breasts jostling and he was
afraid they would get free of his shirt. Also, his shoes were now the
wrong size and he had to half shuffle his way to the car so that they
didn't fall off.

	He could see no-one in the car park and he soon reached his car.
Then it was only the matter of a few minutes drive until he reached
Abigail's shop.

	Ian had stopped to use the men's room before leaving the building
and he emerged just in time to see his boss's car pull out onto the
street. He frowned as he saw that it wasn't his boss driving. Instead,
there was a strangely familiar woman behind the wheel. Where was
Patrick? And where had he seen that woman before?

	He shrugged and headed over to his motorbike. That was a problem
for another day. For now he might as well make full use of the early end
of work Patrick had unexpectedly given him.