Jake Ashton knew exactly who he was. At 24 years old, he had it all figured out. He went to a prestigious university, studying business and economics, a fact which he’d heard his dad brag about to other family members many times before. He had a girlfriend, Ella, who he’d been with for two years now, and there were no signs of their relationship slowing down. And each weekend he’d go out drinking with the guys, shooting the shit and taking the piss out of anything and everything. 

Jake knew exactly where his life was going. Graduate university, get hired at his father’s company, marry Ella—the whole nine yards. He almost felt sorry for the chumps who’d dropped out in previous years, unable to make the cut whether because they couldn’t afford it or they just didn’t have what it took. Almost. Hard to feel sorry for losers like that.

It was a Friday night when Jake’s life veered suddenly off course. Vaguely he recalled Ella having told him that his horoscope said he should be mindful and watch out for strangers today—she’d been getting real into astrology lately. He’d just rolled his eyes and told her that crap was make-believe bullshit.

Now, the sun had set, his classes were over, and Jake was ready to get fucking smashed with the boys. He arrived at the usual bar, Tony’s, and slid into their regular booth, getting inebriated greetings from his bros. Pete was wide and strong, and liked to work out and pick up chicks. Eddie was an instagram star, using his money and charisma to propel himself into minor stardom. And Kevin was taking the same classes that Jake was, hoping to become heir to his father’s company. Jake had known these guys for years, and he fell into a comfortable rapport as he ordered himself some drinks, eager to get sloshed.

Pete laughed, downing his drink. “Fuck, dude, you should have seen her last night. Her tits were incredible! I wish she’d have let me take a picture of them. I’d be jerking off to her nightly if she did.”

Jake snorted. “You’re such a fucking horndog Pete.”

Pete grinned. “Don’t pretend you’re any different. How’s shit going with your girl?”

“Sex is incredible, man. She’s such a hot piece of meat, honestly. I must have hit the jackpot or something to end up with a girl like her.”

“See?” Eddie said, sipping his beer. “You might do it with only one girl, but you’re still as insatiable as the rest of us.”

Jake laughed, taking a large swig. “Can you blame me? What’s the point of life if not to feel good?”

“Sounds like you’re dead certain about this one,” Kevin said. “Gonna pop the question? If she’s as good as you say, better not let her get away.”

Jake rubbed the back of his neck. “Eh, give it until I graduate at least. I got my hands full as it is.”

The boys kept chatting, ordering more drinks, and getting drunker and rowdier. Jake was feeling good, with the alcohol burning in his chest and comfortable heat in his cheeks. He declared to his buddies that he felt like a man among men, that nothing could topple him. That earned him a cheer, before each of the others began bragging about their own life accomplishments. 

Finally, Jake checked the time and realized it was getting late. “Sorry, guys, but it’s time for me to go tuck my lovely girlfriend into bed.”

“Ha!” Pete exclaimed. “Don’t you mean fuck her into bed?”

Jake winked at him. “If the opportunity presents itself.”

He waved goodbye, and started to walk down the sidewalk, enjoying the feeling of getting a bit of exercise in. He’d call an Uber eventually, but for now, he just wanted to savour the moment. 

He paused, as he caught sight of something unexpected. At first, it looked like a girl, in a short dress and a coat, but as Jake looked closer he realized it wasn’t. No fucking way, a tranny. In the wild! What was the fag doing out here all alone? 

A grin spread on Jake’s lips. He had the perfect opportunity here. Get some laughs, a story to tell to his bros, and teach a tranny a lesson. 

“Whatcha doing all alone on a night like this, gorgeous?” Jake said, approaching with a smirk. Obviously, a disgusting pervert like this was the furthest thing from ‘gorgeous’ he could think of, but he had to set the rug up before he could pull it out from under the bitch.

“H- Huh?” It said, immediately adopting a scared posture. Well shit, that was no fun. “Nothing. I’m just… just waiting for my g- girlfriend to pick me up.”

Now that was obviously a lie. Who’d date a perv like this? “Come on, I’ll keep you company while you wait.” Jake slid in close, and pressed an arm up against the wall, pinning the tranny between him and the brick. “You look lonely.”

“I- I’m not. Please… please go away.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “You’re so bad at lying. A fag like you? No one out there cares about you. Quit being delusional.” He laughed. 

The pervert scrambled to grab its phone, but Jake batted it away with no trouble. “Don’t fucking bother. You’re going to take my fist, and you’re going to like it. Understand—” 

Something sharp pricked Jake’s neck. He blinked, stumbling away from the tranny, and turned to see a girl had arrived, and stabbed something into his neck. A needle? 

“What… What the fuck did you… do to…” Jake tried to muster up fury, to give this bitch what she deserved, but his muscles were slowing down, and he couldn’t even reach up to pull the needle out of his skin. Blinking slowly, Jake began to collapse.

The girl smirked at him. “Night night… see you soon.”

~

Jake blinked open eyelids that seemed to want to fall shut again just as fast. He powered through the tantalizing pull of slumber, however, and took in his surroundings. 

He was in a basement of some kind. It was dark, and he could only see the dim silhouettes of furniture and other objects. He began to squirm, but realized he was bound and tied to a chair. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What the hell happened? Jake’s breathing picked up as he tried to make sense of where he was. He’d been picking on that fag… and then some girl had stuck a needle in his neck. Fuck, did he get kidnapped?

“H- Hey!” He stammered. How long had he been out? “Where the fuck am I? What did you do to me?”

Someone was coming down a staircase behind him. He strained against his bonds to peer over his shoulder, and spotted the very same woman who’d drugged him walking up behind him. She was slow, unconcerned, as she rounded him and sat across from him, crossing one leg over the other. Jake was momentarily stunned by how beautiful she was. A black dress which perfectly hugged her generous curves, enormous tits, and wavy brown hair that framed a gorgeous face. What was most striking however were her eyes. They were a sharp, icy blue, and he thought he could spy flecks of pink in there. 

“Did you seriously fucking kidnap me?” Jake said, finally finding his voice. “You could get thrown in prison for fucking life for this. My father’s lawyers are good, I promise.”

The woman’s smirk didn’t falter. She regarded Jake as if he were a whiny child, below concern. “Let’s see… high class family, business major, misogynist, sexist, bigot, regards your girlfriend Ella like a piece of meat—or alternately like a thing to stroke your ego. Is that about right, Jake Ashton?”

Jake’s jaw hung open. “How do you know about Ella? How do you know my name?”

“You really don’t know much about anything outside your narrow perception, do you?” The woman said. “Tch tch… You don’t have any mental defenses at all, Jake. It was trivial to sneak in and take a look at everything. Even your best kept secrets.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Are you some kind of psychic, then? Jesus Christ, I get enough of this shit from Ella. Listen, I don’t care if you’re a creepy stalker or what. Just let me go, and I’ll consider having dad’s lawyers go easy on you. Okay?”

“You don’t feel bad at all, do you? It’s sad, really…” The woman said, shaking her head. “That poor girl… I can tell. You would have beat her to death. Wouldn’t have raped her, though—you aren’t one of those assholes who have a bizarre double standard for trans women.” She laughed, and it was almost musical. “Not that that makes you remotely better.”

Jake ground his teeth. “Am I supposed to feel bad about giving that faggot what he deserved? Perverts like that should know better than to show their fucking faces.”

The woman snapped her fingers, and a sharp bolt of pain shot through Jake’s head. He gasped—it was like a bullet had pierced his brain, yet he felt no trickle of blood, and more importantly, he was still alive. But the pain was so acute, and he struggled to breathe, moaning as it reverberated through his skull. 

“What… What the fuck did you…”

“I’m infiltrating your mind, pig. Every second that passes, I learn more, I work my control into each and every neuron. It’s so easy,” she chuckled. “You’re not even trying to resist.”

Resist? What the hell was she talking about? Jake tried, belatedly, to push against whatever this lady claimed to be doing, but he had no idea if he was doing it correctly. He’d still think she was bullshitting him, except he had no other explanation for where that pain in his cerebrum came from.

This is stupid, he decided. Trying to summon all the power in the muscles he’d trained after months in the gym, Jake strained against his restraints, hoping this psycho had tied them poorly. But, of course, after half a minute of trying, he’d made zero progress.

“Look,” he said, panting from the effort, “what do you want from me? You’ve made your point. I’ll never bully anyone ever again, okay?”

The woman shook her head. “I can tell you’re lying, Jake. You’ll say anything to me to get out. And I won’t let you, not until I’m… finished with you.” Her smirk widened a fraction.

Jake felt himself grow cold. “What… What does that mean?”

She snapped her fingers, and everything went black.

~

Jake’s eyes fluttered open. He stretched out, finding himself embraced in soft comfort. Ella’s smell wafted from the bedsheets into his nostrils. He smiled unconsciously, finding her curled up beside him. Was there anything more heavenly than waking up on the weekend with your sexy girlfriend?

He wrapped his arms around her, leaning in to kiss her. Ella slowly awoke, and gave him a small shove. “Someone’s eager this morning. Don’t think being all sweet on me is gonna make me forget about last night.”

Jake frowned. “Last night? What do you mean?”

She sighed. “Don’t tell me you were so drunk you don’t even remember? You said you were gonna come home by eleven. It was like two in the morning when you got back!”

What? That didn’t sound right. Jake was always punctual, even on nights when he was getting fucked up with the boys. Plus, he remembered texting Ella that he was gonna be home soon, right when she’d asked. But… it was true that everything past that point was a blur.

“Shit, Ella, sorry… I guess I drank more than I meant to.”

She cracked a soft smile, and then pecked him. “I guess I forgive you. Now come on, let’s get up and enjoy the day. And don’t forget about our evening date!”

Jake grinned, watching Ella’s gorgeous ass as she headed out the door to go make breakfast. Date night… they were planning on going to a chinese place nearby, but he had a feeling Ella would want to wander down the street and go window shopping afterward. Well, her antics were a small price to pay for incredible sex. Speaking of, he hoped he might be able to persuade her to spend the afternoon doing just that… 

There was a spark inside of Jake’s head, suddenly. He got up, and crouched down to dig under the bed. There, he pulled out two pill vials. He took a few small ones, and a big one, and swallowed them. Then, he put the pills back under the bed, where no one could see them.

Standing up, the memories of the last thirty seconds vanished from Jake’s mind, like frost in the midday sun. Ignorant to the pills inside his stomach, Jake headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and style his hair. 

He glanced at the mirror, and something made him pause. He regarded his appearance, studying it for the first time in a while. His black hair, wavy and kind of thick, was a bit shorter than he liked. He remembered being happy with this haircut—he’d gotten it just a couple months ago, and at the time had been quite satisfied with it. But now, he wished it were longer.

Something else grabbed his attention. Jake rubbed a hand along his jaw, feeling the rough stubble there. He liked to keep his facial hair trimmed in a short, stubbly beard, the kind Ella always said she found sexy. But for whatever reason, something inside him was telling him he didn’t like it. It needed to go. 

Without a second thought, Jake took his razor and began to shave his face completely clean. After a few minutes, he splashed his face, and looked back at the mirror again, rubbing his jaw. He grinned. There, that was much better. Smooth, soft. He liked it that way.

There was something still off about his appearance, though. He couldn’t put his finger on it. Finally, Jake gave up. He styled his hair and headed out to greet Ella. 

She plated him some eggs. “There you go, big guy—whoa. What did you do to your face?”

Jake blinked, and immediately felt at his chin. “I guess I just felt like changing things up.”

Ella pouted a bit. “That’s a shame, I liked your stubble…” She approached him, and reached up to feel at his face. “Hm, but maybe this is good too.” She kissed his cheek. “Now eat up, baby. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

Jake spent the first part of the day studying—midterms were just around the corner, and if he wanted to maintain his father’s approval, he needed to know this shit in and out. After that, however, Jake was feeling like he was in the mood for a break, and in the mood for his girlfriend.

Finding her at her computer, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and started to kiss at the crook of her neck. “Hey, baby… how do you feel about a bit of pre-date sex?”

Ella sighed. “Come on, Jake, I’ve got to get this done by Monday.”

“You’ve still got Sunday, don’t you? Come on, I’ll do that thing you like with my tongue.”

She still looked reluctant, but finally relented, closing her laptop. Standing, she took his face into her hands, pulling him into a heated kiss. He cupped her around the waist, meeting  her passionately and slowly guiding them to the bedroom. Moans and gasps filled the room before Jake settled Ella on the bed, and began to cover her neck in hickeys. 

She swatted him. “Hey! I don’t want to hide my neck on our date!”

Jake chuckled, and moved on, pulling up her shirt to grope at her chest. He romanced her tits, before sitting up to pull his shirt off.

Something suddenly stopped him. Like an electric pulse in his brain, the idea of exposing his body was like a hot stove he knew not to touch. He found that he couldn’t bring himself to remove his clothes. Showing Ella his chest… that would be shameful.

No, what? That doesn’t make sense.

Ella tilted her head. “Jake? What’s wrong?”

He flushed. “What? N- Nothing’s wrong. I’m just… C- Could I leave my shirt on this time?”

She seemed confused at his request, which was fair, because he was confused too. He didn’t know where this was coming from. He normally loved exposing his body to Ella, seeing her lust for him, feeling hot and masculine as she kissed his respectable muscles. 

“Alright…” She finally said, and instead began to unbuckle his belt. For some reason, that feeling hadn’t gone away, and Jake couldn’t shake the sense that he really didn’t want Ella to see him. But he couldn’t very well stop her now, could he? His dick was always involved whenever they had sex, and it would look very alarming if he changed that now. 

Ella began to stroke him to hardness, and the comfortable pleasure of sex took over, drowning out the strangeness. Ella kissed him, her hand continuing to work along his cock, and Jake breathed raggedly against her. God, she really was phenomenal at this. He was so glad she was his girlfriend. She was beautiful, she was heavenly, she was so much better than him, and he should be grateful that he’d tricked her into dating him—

Wait, what?

Her finger stroked a particularly sensitive part, and Jake moaned without thinking about it. “Oh my god, yes mistress, pleaseeee~”

Ella paused, and Jake put a hand up to his mouth, mortified. Did- Did he really just say that? That couldn’t have come from his mouth. There’s no way he’d ever moan something like that during sex!

It wasn’t just the words. It was the tone. He’d pitched his voice high, whining like a pornstar as he said it. Heat rose to his cheeks, and he avoided Ella’s eyes.

“That was…um, new,” Ella said. 

“I don’t- I don’t know why I said that. I didn’t mean to. J- Just can we… can we move on and pretend I didn’t?”

Ella was smirking in an amused manner, and for a moment something familiar flashed in his mind. A feminine smirk. Piercing eyes. The faint memory was gone a moment later as she began to stroke him again, working him up in her expert way. Jake tried to get back into it, and her touch was fucking divine, but a part of him was still reeling from what he’d said. Where did that even come from? That was so unlike him! He couldn’t muster up any explanation, could only feel the hot shame illuminating his face in a red blush that refused to fade. 

“Mmmmmmmistressssss–” Jake immediately cut himself off, clamping his hands over his mouth. His ears were burning. 

Ella eyed him. “Do you… want me to be your mistress?”

“No!” Jake blurted. “I mean, I don’t- I don’t think so? No, of course not. I don’t even know why this is happening!”

Ella laughed softly, and leaned into his ear. “You know, there’s nothing wrong if you do want that. I’d be happy to be your mistress.”

Jake shoved her back. “No!” 

Ella fell back onto the bed, staring at him in shock.

“Shit… No, Ella, it’s just—that’s not who I am, you know? It’s not what I want. I don’t… I don’t like that.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Then why did you moan it twice?”

“I…” A mocking, musical laugh echoed in his mind. “…I don’t… know.”

In the end, their sex was aborted. Ella prodded Jake a bit more, but it was clear he didn’t have an explanation. Jake spent the rest of the day trying to ignore what happened. Today had been so strange. What was going on? Why was he suddenly acting so different?

It was just a fluke. It had to be. Maybe the stress of exam season was getting to him. 

By the time Ella told him to get ready for their date, the weirdness of the day had mostly faded from Jake’s mind. When he tried to think about what he’d been so worried about, the memories danced out of his reach, until he shrugged and decided it wasn’t that important. 

Jake went digging through his closet for something nice to wear on the date. He frowned, none of the options calling to him. Why wasn’t there anything pink in here? 

… Wait, no, that’s stupid. Why would he want to wear pink? He wasn’t some effeminate faggot.

Finally he just threw on a nice sweater and jeans and joined Ella.

The two drove out to the chinese place, sitting down and ordering. Ella began to ramble about something related to astrology, and while Jake’s first instinct was to zone out and ignore her, something in him couldn’t help but pay attention. It didn’t matter, suddenly, that he didn’t believe what she did. Her passion, her enthusiasm, kept him enraptured. As he enjoyed her explanations, prompting her occasionally with questions, he couldn’t help but realize that Ella was beautiful. Like, really beautiful.

Obviously he’d known that already. But it was like he was seeing her with new eyes. She wasn’t just sexy, she was pretty. The distinction would have probably been lost on the boys, but for some reason Jake could see it. 

“Have I ever told you how damn beautiful you are?” He suddenly said, the thought slipping out unbidden.

Ella blinked, then blushed and smiled. “You know, you’re being a real gentleman this evening.”

Jake paused. “Really?” Did that imply he wasn’t normally a gentleman to her?

“Normally you never seem to care much about my interests. Astrology, or history, or computer science. But you seem to really be interested tonight! That means a lot to me.”

Slowly, Jake nodded, maintaining a smile, but internally, he was confused. She’d been able to tell he didn’t care about the things she talked about? For some reason, he felt bad about that, even though the boys would have just told him that he didn’t have to pander to his girlfriend’s inane bullshit. 

Eventually, the meal was finished, and the two paid and left. Ella wanted to keep talking, and she guided the two down the street, past store after store. Jake listened, and responses to Ella came naturally, more naturally than normal. He didn’t know what had unlocked in him, but Ella’s bright smile made it worth it, so he wasn’t going to question it.

He saw a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly some switch flipped inside Jake’s brain. 

In the middle of Ella’s train of thought, Jake pushed into the nearby women's clothing store, all thought gone from his head save for a singular objective. He grabbed a pink dress from the rack, admiring it with a grin, and made for the checkout to purchase it.

“Jake!” Ella grabbed his shoulder, confusion in her expression. “What are you doing? You just left me all of a sudden.”

“I’m buying a dress,” Jake informed her with a smile, as if that explained everything.

“For… For me?” Ella regarded it thoughtfully. “I mean, I guess it’s nice, but I don’t think it’s my size. And Jake, you know that I don’t like pink much.”

“Jake? Who’s Jake?” Jake tilted his head. “My name’s Selena.”

Ella stared at him, dumbfounded. “Is this… a prank? Did your friends put you up to this?”

But it was written all over his face, Ella could tell. Jake had never been that good an actor. What was happening to him?

She grabbed him by the arm. “Okay, put that away. We’re leaving.” And when they’d gotten home, maybe Jake would be back to normal.

Instead of going along with her though, Jake thrashed. “No! I need to—buy the dress!”

Ella’s cheeks burned. Everyone in the store was staring at them. What was going on? “Okay, okay, fine, I’ll buy the dress for you.” She took it from his hand and purchased it from a cashier who was staring at Jake like he was the town weirdo. Grabbing Jake’s hand, she towed him out of the store, dress under her arm. Their date had been going so well. What the hell had changed?

“Yay!” Jake exclaimed in a high pitched tone of voice. “Thanks, Ella! You’re the best!”

“You’re embarrassing me,” she muttered, walking him back to the car. “This had better not be some stupid prank or I swear we’re breaking up.”

Jake seemed confused as she said this. In fact, he seemed like he was in a state of bliss, a smile on his lips and cheerful observations about the world around him freely escaping his lips as they walked. Ella eyed him. Was he on drugs, maybe?

Finally, they got to the car, and Jake tried to kiss Ella’s cheek. She suffered it once, but he seemed determined to smother her in affection. She shoved him back. “Just—stay in your seat. We’ll talk about this when we get home.”

The look on Jake’s face was like a kicked puppy. It was strangely heartbreaking to see, but Ella forcibly kept her focus on the road until they arrived home. As she pulled him out of the car, he didn’t seem as blissful anymore, and in fact was strangely quiet. Shit. She hoped that wasn’t a bad sign.

She shut the door behind them and tossed the dress on the couch. Folding her arms, she sighed and faced him. “Okay, are you going to explain what that was?”

Jake rubbed his eyes. “... Ugh… What… What happened?” He blinked, looking around. “Wait, we’re home? I thought we were walking down the street from the chinese place.”

“We were until you went crazy and made me buy a dress for you!”

Jake’s brow furrowed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Ella stared at him. “Are you seriously telling me you don’t remember all that? You power-walked into that women’s clothing store, told me you were buying a dress, and then said your name was Selena.”

Flashes pulsed in Jake’s mind. A woman with piercing eyes in lingerie smirking down on him. An overwhelming urge to obey. A collar around his neck. 

“Th- That can’t be,” Jake managed after a moment. “I’d never do something like that.”

“That’s what I thought!” Ella exclaimed. “Jake, you embarrassed me. You embarrassed yourself! What happened?”

A wave of defensiveness rolled through him. “That didn’t happen, Ella. I’m not a girl, I don’t like dresses. Don’t try to put this on me.”

“Are you seriously going to try and gaslight me on this?” Ella said. She went over to the couch and picked up the dress, still with its tag on. She shoved it into Jake’s arms. “Here. You wanted it so much. You have it.”

Jake opened his mouth to argue with her some more, but she’d turned on her heel and stormed off. 

Fuck. There was no way he’d done that. Right?