It's Hard to be a Man 

	Patrick sat on the couch and looked in the direction of his
bedroom. He couldn't believe he had gone and bought so much female
clothing. During that week he had needed to work very hard simply to
keep his new feminine side under control. He knew he was weakening
under its onslaught. What was very worrying was that it felt so good
and right when he was in female form.

	The physical feelings he had when female were unsurpassed by
anything he had felt as a man, but it was more than just a physical
addiction. The worst thing about his curse was all the little daydreams
and alien ideas that kept popping into his head. These female thoughts
had centered on Hank for some reason. Even now, in his full male form,
Patrick still felt attracted to him.

	He shivered and glanced at his bedroom again. His one ray of
hope in this mess was Abigail. All his hopes were pinned on her. If she
couldn't help him then eventually one of his lapses would end him up
in real trouble.

	Patrick stood up and walked to the bedroom door. He opened it
and looked in at his bed. It was covered by all the purchases he had
made at the clothing shop earlier that afternoon. Even his old male
self would have found them attractive, but he wouldn't have considered
wearing them for one second. Patrick had intended to buy just one simple
outfit to experiment with in the day or so before Abigail cured him.
Instead he had lost it totally and bought almost an entire wardrobe.

	But did it really matter? So he'd bought more than he had
intended, that just meant he'd have more to play with over the weakened
while he waited.

	He slowly relaxed his control over his body. Almost immediately
the transforming surge that he had been holding back rushed over him.
His scalp tingled as his hair grew out. His waist shrank while his hips
grew and his breasts expanded to fill his shirt.

	He wasted no time in pulling off his ill-fitting male clothes.
Patrick turned and looked at himself in the mirror. He hugged himself
as he admired his feminine beauty. There was no doubt about it; he was
better looking than any of the long line of women he had bedded over
the years. How could any man resist him?

	Patrick made a conscious effort to turn away from the mirror
before he lost control again. Already he felt really turned on, and he
knew it wouldn't be long before he gave in to his desires and
masturbated. But what outfit to try? Something elegant and sexy, he
decided.

	The choice of underwear had almost been made for him. Among
the lingerie was a basque with matching panties and stockings that
called out to Patrick. It was a virginal white in color, but its design
was anything but.

	The rest of his underwear could wait. This is what he had to
wear first. He slipped the straps over his shoulders and shivered as
the cool silk pressed against his flesh. Doing up the upper catches on
the basque was as difficult as doing up the bra had been the day before,
but after a few minutes effort he had managed it. He straightened the
basque and revelled in the feelings it gave. It was tight, but the way
it held his body felt so good.

	Patrick couldn't remember whether women wore the panties over
the suspender straps or under them. He finally decided to wear them over
the straps so he could pull them down easily if he needed to.

	Patrick took his time with the white stockings as he didn't want
to wreck them. He eased them up his smooth, long legs and then fixed the
suspender straps to them. He pulled the lacy panties on last and then
went to look at himself in the mirror.

	He found it impossible to believe he was looking at his own
reflection. The silk and lace of his basque and panties complimented his
body perfectly. He could just see his blond pubic hair through the
semi-transparent fabric of his panties. Patrick smiled and ran his hands
over his body. It was even more alluring to have his body clothed like
this than to see it naked.

	He walked slowly over to the window, enjoying the swishing noise
of his stockings. The suspenders of the basque pulled strangely against
his thighs, though he enjoyed the sensation. Everything about the
clothes was turning him on, from the way the cups held his breasts to
the slightly constricting feeling around his torso.

	Patrick looked out the window at the city skyline. He wished he
could go out, but he couldn't have any fun as a man. His headache would
cramp his style and he'd have to avoid any alcoholic drink or risk
losing control. Of course, he wouldn't have to worry about either if he
went out as a woman.

	The idea startled him and his nipples got harder at the thought.
Could he risk that? He'd have to be very careful where he went and he'd
have to keep close control of his mind.

	He shook his head and turned away. It was far too risky to go
out on his own as a woman. He returned to the bed and sorted out a
clingy, silvery top and short skirt to wear.

	After he had pulled the top on he examined himself in the mirror.
He didn't want his underwear to be too obvious, but fortunately it seemed
to work okay. The top was tight and clung to his every curve. The skirt
was made of deep, red leather. It was very short and very sexy. It was
tight around his thighs and it restricted his movement a little, but it
felt good.

	Finally, came the boots that reached almost up to his knees.
The heels were higher than those on the shoes he had worn to Amanda's
office, but Patrick felt the end result was worth the instability.

	He looked in the mirror and laughed. He looked like a free and
easy girl out for action. Patrick tried copying a few poses he had seen
calendar girls in. The fire between his legs was growing, but he didn't
want to waste perhaps his last night as a woman stuck in his apartment.

	Patrick wrestled with the two conflicting desires inside himself.
On the one hand he wanted to go out and enjoy the seductive feminine
feelings racing through his body, on the other was the fear of going out
as a woman. He was afraid he'd enjoy it too much, but it would be the
last time he could do this. Since his curse would be broken soon he
didn't have to worry about reigning in his new desires.

	Perhaps if he had been in his male form he could have maintained
control, but slowly the female desires overwhelmed him. Over the past
few days his entire time as a man had been filled with nothing but pain,
while he had felt pleasure like nothing before as a woman.

	Patrick reached for his address book. He decided to phone
Abigail and see if he could persuade her to go out for a drink together.
She would make sure Patrick wouldn't get in over his head on this final
excursion. That was fully his intention until he opened his book at
random and his eyes fell on the entry on the page. It was Hank's address.

	An idea formed in his head. He could play a joke on his friend.
Hank prided himself on bedding any woman he set his sights on, and he
tended to get very depressed when he failed. Patrick could remember
vividly Hank's expression from when he had accidentally exposed his
female body to him. Patrick knew that Hank would grab any opportunity
to bed 'Rebecca'.

	Patrick reached for the phone. This was perfect, he'd get
treated to a night out as a woman, he'd be protected by Hank from any
dangerous situations, and he would get to annoy him at the same time.
Drunk on female emotions he might be, but he could easily avoid getting
into bed with Hank. The trick was to ride along with most of the
feelings and not fight every single feminine thought that he had. It
didn't matter if he thought Hank was attractive, that would disappear
with the curse. All he would have to do was avoid going to bed with Hank
at the end of the evening. He wasn't that far under the influence of
his feminine half for that to be a real threat.

	Even so, Patrick felt very nervous as he dialled.

	"Hello?" came Hank's unmistakable voice.

	"Hi, Hank. This is Becky. I just wanted to apologise for running
off like that earlier."

	"Don't worry about that. I'm sorry I embarrassed you yesterday
by walking in on you."

	Patrick laughed. "That's okay. There is one way you could make
it up to me. Take me out for dinner."

	Patrick had to give Hank credit. His friend didn't miss a beat
before he said, "Sure! Eight o'clock okay with you."

	"I'll be waiting," Patrick replied as seductively as he could.

	"What about Patrick?" Hank was obviously slightly worried about
upsetting his friend, and boss, who had told him to leave 'Becky' alone,
but no warning was going to keep him from a sexy woman.

	"Patrick's gone for the night. It's just me here...alone."
Patrick smiled to himself. There was no way Hank could resist that. He
was half-certain he heard Hank swallow on the other end of the phone.
"Don't be late," Patrick added and hung up.

	He shivered with excitement as he walked over to the window. He
knew that he'd had effectively just told Hank to come over and fuck him.
Hank was going to be furious when Patrick cold-shouldered him later. He
looked at his female face in the mirror and frowned. He wasn't going to
be able to do much with his hair beyond tying it back, but he needed to
put on some make-up.

	Patrick went back to the bedroom and found the bag of cosmetics
he had bought. He set off to the bathroom to start experimenting. Before
he reached his destination he paused. Was he pushing it too far? He had
lost control of himself as a woman several times. That was true, but
this time he wasn't fighting it all the way. As long as he didn't end
up in bed with Hank, he could revel in his feminine feelings.

	Yeah, this time was different. He didn't have to worry about
long term effects. Sure, these strong feminine desires worried the old
womanizer in him, but he knew they would be gone soon and somehow that
removed the pressure from him.

		*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

	Amanda had to sit down in a chair because her head was whirling
so much. Abigail's story was fantastic, ludicrous even, but it was the
only thing that came close to explaining what she had seen the previous
Sunday.

	How else could she explain how she had seen Patrick change into
a voluptuous woman right in front of her eyes? Was the alternative that
much better, though? She looked down at the astrological diagram that
Abigail had given her. Personally, she couldn't make any sense out of
it whatsoever, but Abigail maintained that it showed how she was a
reincarnation of an ancient Irish witch.

	"Even if all this is true," Amanda said, "what can I do about
it?"

	"It's simple really," replied Abigail. "If you have the power to
do that to Patrick, you have the power to undo it. In fact, you may be
the only person alive that can undo it at all."

	"I still don't know how I'm supposed to have done it in the
first place. I didn't feel any different that night."

	Abigail pointed to a stack of books on a table. "I've been
searching for any reference to that old Irish tribe, and I think I can
work out a ceremony they performed that could break Patrick's curse."

	Amanda thought for a moment. She was certain that it wasn't a
trick. No-one could have faked what she had seen and Abigail seemed so
genuine. "You have to admit, it's a very appropriate curse, isn't it.
That self-centered egotist now has to stop turning into the very type
of girl he likes to chase. It's a pity we can't leave him like that."
She saw Abigail about to protest so she added, "But I know we can't."
Much as Patrick deserved punishing this was too much. Abigail had told
her how stressed he was trying to cope.

	"Good," said Abigail, "we have to move fast. The most holy day
of the tribe you used to belong to is just the day after tomorrow. I
don't know exactly what it celebrates, but it is somehow linked to the
holy day last week when you zapped poor Patrick."

	Amanda snorted. "Don't feel sorry for him, he brought it on
himself. So...are you going to tell him."

	"Tomorrow would be best. He's was as worried about meeting you
as you were of encountering him again. He's had a stressful day today.
I'll let him rest. There's nothing he can do until Saturday anyway."

	Amanda nodded and studied the astrological chart again. She
still couldn't make any sense of it, but she didn't want to have Abigail
try to explain it again.

		*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

	As the hours passed, Patrick got more and more nervous. He had
quickly realized what a stupid mistake he had made in asking Hank to go
out with him. What had he been thinking?

	He had to get out of it. He didn't want to phone Hank again. He
knew that when he heard his friend's voice he wouldn't be able to cancel
their date. What he should do, he decided, was to turn back into a man
and tell Hank that Becky had had to rush home for some reason.

	However, he found it ever so hard to take the first step and
turn himself male again. Not because he couldn't do it, but because he
didn't truly want to. Part of him didn't want to disappoint Hank and
was actually excited about the evening ahead. He was also feeling a
little revulsion to his old male form, to its slightly hairy and flat
body.

	It was as if his male form was the alien, unfamiliar body and
his female form was the one he had been born with. For the first time
he was starting to feel at home in his curvy, feminine body.

	Slowly the hands on the clock crept towards 8.00pm. His doorbell
rang half an hour before Hank was due, making Patrick jump. He made a
conscious effort to control the panic he was feeling before heading to
the door. He knew he should not answer it. He should just stay quiet
until whoever it was went away. Patrick looked through the spyhole in
the door. It was Hank alright, obviously impatient to get to 'Becky'.

	He felt his hands go to the lock. Desire was starting to
overcome his fear again, and Patrick lacked the willpower to stop
himself opening the door.

	Hank smiled broadly at the sight of Patrick. He obviously liked
what he saw and made sure that Patrick knew it. Patrick shivered as
Hank's gaze rolled over his body.

	"You're look fantastic," Hank told him.

	"Thanks," Patrick managed to say. He knew he should slam the
door and stay as far away from Hank as possible, but he found it
impossible to move away from his friend. Instead, he walked into the
passage and pulled shut his apartment door behind him, closing off his
only escape route.

	"So how are you finding city life?" Hank asked him as they
started to walk towards the elevator.

	Patrick tried to remember the cover story he had invented for
'Becky', but his close proximity to Hank made it difficult to
concentrate. He couldn't stop himself from repeatedly glancing at Hank's
muscular body. "Oh...it's fine. I haven't been out much yet."

	"You just leave that to me," Hank said warmly, "I know all the
best places here. You won't forget this night in a hurry."

	No, I won't, thought Patrick. He smiled nervously at Hank as
they travelled down in the elevator. He knew he shouldn't be doing this,
that he'd probably regret it, but at the moment there was nowhere else
he wanted to be than with Hank. He was surprised that Hank hadn't noticed
his hair had returned to its original length and color. You couldn't
expect men to notice everything, he supposed.

	As they left the building, Hank put his arm around Patrick's
shoulders. Patrick felt so vulnerable as Hank's fingers gently stroked
his shoulder. Hank's caress made Patrick's skin tingle and he'd sighed.
He looked up at Hank's face to see if his friend had noticed what effect
it was having on him.

	Hank was looking straight ahead, but the smile on his face spoke
volumes. He already knew this girl was as good as his.

	Patrick put his own arm around Hank's body. It felt very strange
to be doing this. Here he was, walking down the street with an arm
around a man! Patrick could feel Hank's muscles rippling under his thin
shirt.

	All too soon for Patrick's liking they reached Hank's car and
they had to let go of each other. Hank opened the passenger door for
Patrick, who decided to watch Hank walk around to the other side of the
car before sliding onto the seat. His skirt was starting to ride up a
little so Patrick tugged it flat and wiggled in his seat until he was
comfortable.

	Hank drove extravagantly, definitely risking a ticket. It took
Patrick a few minutes to work out why he was doing it. Hank was showing
off! He was trying to impress Patrick with his car. I suppose cars
really are an extension of a man's dick, he thought wryly. He had done
similar things before, but he had never really been consciously aware
of it before.

	Hank had made reservations at a good Italian restaurant. It had
actually been Patrick that had told Hank about it, but he made of show
of not knowing it.

	When they parked, Patrick decided to wait for Hank to open the
door for him. Well, if he was going to be a woman tonight he might as
well let Hank do all the work. Patrick had to be careful when getting
out of the car not to flash his panties at the passers-by. There was a
knack to sliding his ass around and then easing himself out of the car,
but he didn't quite have the hang of it.

	If the waiter had any objections to Patrick's clothes he kept
them to himself. They were led quickly to their table. Patrick allowed
Hank to hold the chair out for him to sit down. Despite his
reservations, he was starting to enjoy himself. He was totally unused
to being treated this way.

	The waiter handed the menu to each of them. Patrick tried to
find the most expensive dish on the menu. It always seemed to him that
that was the major consideration most women made when choosing their
food and wine. Anyway, Hank was paying. The waiter returned after a few
minutes to take their orders and to hand Hank the wine list.

	Patrick was a little annoyed that he had been automatically
excluded from this decision. There were many drawbacks to letting men
take the lead, he realized. It was clear that Hank didn't know wines
that well and he was steered towards a reasonable choice by the waiter.

	There was silence for several moments after the waiter left. It
was broken eventually by Hank, who asked Patrick, "So what do you do
then?"

	Patrick dredged up the cover story he had thought up. "I used
to be a secretary. Got bored of that, so I came here looking for a
better job. Maybe in finance. I don't know yet. Something more
interesting, you know?"

	Patrick didn't want to have to talk too much about himself. The
more he said, the more likely it was that a hole would appear in his
story. Patrick asked Hank about his job and was slightly annoyed to
notice that he was quite happy to talk on and on about himself. But at
least it meant Patrick wouldn't trip over himself with some aspect of
'Becky's' life.

	As the evening passed, Patrick started to relax and enjoy
himself. He knew it should worry him that he was getting more and more
attracted to Hank, but somehow it just didn't matter as much as it had.
Patrick still planned to leave Hank at the doorstep and not invite him
in. He knew his self control could only take so much. Anyway, Patrick
didn't want Hank to think 'Becky' was the sort of girl who'd sleep with
him on the first date.

	At the end of the meal, Hank reached over and held Patrick's
hand. It felt very small and vulnerable in Hank's powerful grip. He
shivered with passion at the touch.

	"Shall we go?" Hank asked.

	Patrick knew what he was really saying was 'your place or
mine?' Well, let him think that if he wanted to. Hank still wasn't
going to get lucky that night.

	They took the long route back to Hank's car. Hank and Patrick
had their arms around each other again. Patrick found himself quite
enjoying the sense of protection he felt with Hank. He let his head
rest against Hank's side and breathed in his friend's masculine scent.

	When they reached the car, Hank opened the door for Patrick
again. He turned to Patrick and paused before asking. "Do you want to
come back to my place for a drink?"

	Not particularly subtle, thought Patrick. Though he knew the
way he had been acting that evening had been sending Hank a very strong
message. He smiled at Hank, "I'd really like to, but I have to be up
early tomorrow."

	"Can't have you being late, can we." he said with a smile.

	As they drove back to his apartment, Patrick tried to examine
his feelings. As much as he hated to admit it, his opinions had changed
over the course of the day. He was still worried by the way the feminine
side of him would occasionally grab control, but he was no longer
fearful of any female thought or action he had.

	This whole experience had been a huge eye-opener for him. To
experience life as a woman, if only for a few hours, had taught him so
much. He realized he'd be a little reluctant to give up this new
feminine side he had discovered when Abigail perfected the cure.

	Hank escorted him all the way up to his apartment door even
though Patrick said it was unnecessary. They stood for a moment holding
hands. Patrick knew now was the moment he had to exert his control.
Regretfully, he let go of Hank's hands and pulled his keys from his
handbag.

	He opened the door and then turned back to Hank. "Thanks for a
wonderful evening, Hank."

	Hank ran his hand up Patrick's arm. "It doesn't have to end here
if you don't want it to."

	Patrick shivered. His desire for Hank was reaching new heights.
His erect nipples had to be obvious to Hank. It was only now that he
realized how aroused he really was. His whole being yearned to be
possessed by Hank's manly physique. He couldn't allow his body to rule
him. He had to be strong. "I have to admit I'm tempted, but I don't
think Patrick would be that happy to find you here when he gets back
tomorrow." Patrick hoped that reminding Hank of his male self would put
Hank off.

	"I suppose this is goodnight, then." Hank replied, moving
forward to kiss Patrick.

	Patrick was frozen with panic. He had no idea how to brush Hank
off politely. Then it was too late and Hank was gently lifting Patrick's
chin.

	This isn't happening! Patrick told himself over and over. He
looked up into Hank's strong, blue eyes. They looked so warm and
inviting. So deep and caring.

	Slowly, so slowly, Hank leaned down until their lips met. The
first kiss was soft and small, but the next was stronger and more
passionate.

	Hank wrapped one arm around Patrick and held him tight. Patrick
was melting in the embrace. It felt so good to have Hank's strong body
pressed against his. He opened his mouth and felt Hank's tongue slip
into his mouth. For the first time in his life, he was taking the
submissive role, and with a man as well!

	What delighted him most was a long lump on Hank's body that was
pushing into Patrick's stomach. Patrick was thrilled to be able to
provoke this response in his friend.

	But he shouldn't be doing this! Playing the woman that night
may have been fun, but he could not afford to let it go too far. He had
to pull away now and leave Hank on the doorstep.

	Reluctantly, he broke away from Hank and stepped slowly
backwards. Patrick stopped when they were only holding hands. All he
had to do now was let go and then shut the door, leaving Hank outside.
Nothing difficult about that.

	Patrick's body wasn't paying attention to its mind, though. It
stepped back through the doorway without letting go of Hank.

	Hank offered no resistance and allowed himself to be pulled into
Patrick's apartment. He shut the door behind him and then turned back
to face Patrick.