Chapter 5
                             THE GAME


     Joe drove home from the mall with his latest purchases.  He
took the clothes and placed them into the new blue bag.  He went to
the bathroom, and selected a large bath towel to take along.  He
dumped the sack of drug store items onto the bed.  He placed the
bath powder, and the deodorant into a little compartment on the
side of the bag.  He looked at the box of panty liners, wondering
what he should do with them.  Should he put some of them into the
bag?  Should he put some into the purse he started carrying?  He
did not know if he would need them, and carrying them around seemed
to put more of a permanence to his situation.  He just could not
accept that.  Everything was just temporary.  It had to be.

     Leaving the box lying on the bed, he removed his blouse, and
blue skirt.  After struggling out of the pantyhose, he flopped down
on the bed.  Sometimes, the situation just overwhelmed him, and he
found he was having one of those times.  He looked at the clock
radio beside the bed.  It said four thirty.  Just one hour till he
had to meet Jay again, this time under much more difficult
circumstances.

     Again, he doubted if it was a good idea.  The health club was,
among other things, somewhat of a "Meat Market."  Muscular studs
went there to show off their bodies, and stare at the attractive
women working out.  Although Joe appreciated good looking women, he
did not go to the club to ogle women.  He did not go to strut his
stuff either.  Now, he did not know.  He never did consider himself
a muscular stud, but this was completely different.  He could not
even use the men's locker room.  Under different conditions, the
idea of invading the private domain of the ladies' locker room
might perk his interest.  Not now.  He would not just be a fly on
the wall.  He would be going in there to change his clothes,
women's clothes, with other women around, and he would look like a
woman too.  Hell, he might actually BE a woman for the rest of his
life.  He could not accept that.

     Lying there, he felt tired, but decided he better get dressed. 
He got up off the bed, and picked up the royal blue jumpsuit he
just bought.  He stepped into it, and zipped up the front.  He
looked at himself in the dresser mirror.  It fit well.  It was
attractive, and yet did not place a strong emphasis on his new
shape.  He liked it immediately.

     He went to his old gym bag, and removed his racket from the
side.  It seemed too large now.  It would have to do, he thought. 
He looked through the bag, and found his safety goggles.  He put
them on, and they were too large for his smaller features.  He
threw them back into the bag in disgust.  He could feel tears
welling up in his eyes.  He noticed that happening quite often
today.  It seemed that he was more emotional now, or at least, it
was much harder to contain his emotions.  Was that part of the
change?  It was difficult to tell.  He knew that women cried much
more easily than men, but he always thought that was because of
differences in the way they were brought up.

     Maybe there was a more physical difference, hormones maybe,
and now maybe those things were affecting him.  What else would
they do to him?  He decided that no matter what he looked like, he
was still a man, but would he still feel the same way next week, or
next year?  The problem would be solved before it lasted that long,
he decided.  He did not think he could stand to grow old looking
like this.  There had to be a way back.

     Joe went into the bathroom mirror, and made one last check of
his hair, and general appearance.  "Ready to go," he decided.

     He took his bag, and racket, and went to his car.  It was
getting easier.  He had no trouble walking in the new Reeboks, and
the jumpsuit seemed more familiar than the dress he wore last time
out.  "I can almost forget about the changes," he thought.  Putting
the seat belt on again made him aware of his new body.  There was
no forgetting it.  "Just as well," he considered.  It might really
be embarrassing to forget at the wrong time.

     He pulled into the club parking lot.  His heart was pounding
with fear.  He noticed Jay's car in the lot, and pulled next to it. 
Jay was waiting for him.  As he got out of his car with his gear,
Jay walked over.

     "Hi, Joe.  I'm glad to see you made it," Jay said.

     "I'm still not sure if this is a good idea, Jay," Joe
returned.

     "It will be okay, Joe.  Where do you get all those sharp
clothes?" Jay asked, honestly.

     "Come on, Jay," Joe replied.  "You know everything I do now
seems to involve getting different stuff.  Nothing fits, and I have
more differences than just being a few inches shorter.  If I don't
figure a way out of this, I'll go broke buying all the stuff I
need, if I don't go nuts, first."

     "Well, you look really good, if that helps any," Jay said as
they walked up the steps to the entrance to the club.

     "I guess that's the problem, isn't it," Joe said, as Jay held
the door for him.

     Although both Joe and Jay were regulars at the club, and were
known on sight by the attendant at the counter, Jay sidestepped
Joe's possible identity problem by telling the girl at the counter
that Joe was his guest.

     As they arrived at the men's locker room, Joe said, "This is
where we part company, Jay.  I'll see you on the court."

     Joe walked over to the door to the ladies' locker room.  He
took a deep breath, and walked in.  As entered, he noticed other
women, some of whom he recognized as regulars to the club.

     "Well, it does smell better in here," he thought.  His nose,
which seemed more sensitive now, picked up the scent of perfume,
and cosmetics, not the old sweat sock smell of the men's locker
room.

     Although the layout of the rooms were similar, this one was
arranged to provide more privacy.  There were still rows of
lockers, with benches down the center, but the showers were
partitioned, and there were some couches, and vinyl upholstered
seats available.  "I've moved up-scale," Joe thought to himself.

     He chose a row with only one young woman seated on the bench,
tying her shoes.  Selecting an empty locker, Joe opened his bag. 
He removed the capri tights and leotard, and quickly hung them on
a hook in the locker.  He slowly unzipped his jumpsuit.  Nervously,
he looked around.  The girl at the bench paid him no attention.  He
pulled the suit off his shoulders, and stepped out.  Standing there
in his underwear, he rummaged in the blue bag for the running bra,
and exercise brief.  Finding them, he laid them on the bench.

     He quickly unhooked the pink bra, and took it off.  Feeling
vulnerable, he looked at the running bra.  It did not have any
hooks, or adjustments.  He had to pull it over his head.  It fit
snugly, and sort of pressed his breasts against his chest.  He
shook his chest, and for the first time since the change, he did
not experience the jiggling he felt even while wearing the other
brassiere.  He liked the feeling. It was almost like before... 
almost.

     He removed his panties, and could feel the cool wetness as the
air circulated around his crotch.  He looked down, and saw that the
pubic hair on his mound was matted flat.  He reached down and
roughed up the hair, the way he might have scratched his balls
yesterday.  Again, he looked over at the woman, but she did not
even notice he was there.  He took the stretchy white brief, and
pulled it on.  It was a good fit, not tight, but the cotton lycra
fabric followed his contours like second skin.

     Looking down at himself, again he felt the first sensations of
arousal.  "Lucky me," he thought.  "Now I can get a boner, even
without clothes on, in public, and nobody can tell."

     He picked up the tights, and put them on.  The glistening
slickness felt great.  He rubbed his hips and upper legs.  He
stepped into the light blue leotard, and pulled it over his
shoulders.  The light blue color emphasized his shape and buttocks. 
His breasts, flattened to his chest by the sport bra, looked
smaller.  He took the crop top and pulled it over his head,
thinking that if he got too warm, it could be removed.  He decided
to leave the little nylon shorts in his gym bag.  He liked the way
he looked and felt in the leotard and tights.

     He thought of Jay.  "What will he think when he sees me?" he
thought.  He was not sure how his friendship might be affected by
the change.  "He seems to treat me the same to this point," he
thought, "and I certainly need his help."

     He put on the white and pink Reebok socks and shoes, and tied
them.  He got up from the bench, and hopped up and down.  Since the
change, he of course, felt smaller, but also more flexible.  It
seemed he could bend his body easier now than he could ever
remember before, even when he was a small boy.  Actually, he
considered, he felt great.  He took a towel and his racket, and
closed his locker.  Walking toward the door, he passed the sinks,
and mirrors.  Looking at himself, he brushed his short hair with
his fingers.  He thought he looked pretty good, too.

     From the locker room, Joe walked to court three, the one they
had reserved.  He entered the small door.  Jay was already on the
court swatting the ball against the wall.  When he saw Joe, his
eyes widened.  Joe suddenly felt self conscious with Jay looking at
his body, and crossed his legs, and held his racket in front of his
body.  He could feel the blood rush to his face.

     "Wow, you are gorgeous, Joe!" Jay exclaimed.  "I didn't know
you looked like that."

     "Just keep your mind on the game, you horny toad," Joe said. 
"Don't forget, it's me in here, and I'm not about to put up with
any shit from you."

     "I'm sorry," said Jay, continuing to stare at Joe as he walked
to the corner and bent over to put his towel on the floor.  "It's
just that...  I knew you looked feminine, but I wasn't ready for
this.  You... You're beautiful!"

     "Now you have some idea what I'm going through," said Joe.  He
could feel that the bottom of the leotards had ridden up on his
buttocks.  He grinned at Jay as he pulled them down.  "I feel just
like you do.  I just look like Debbie Winger."

     Jay had the ball.  "Ladies first," he said, and tossed the
ball to Joe, grinning.

     Unsure of his abilities, but wanting to do well, Joe served
with what he felt was more power than usual.  The ball went where
he aimed, but did not have the speed he wanted.  "My arms just
don't have any strength," he thought sadly, and felt his small
biceps.  "I not only look like a girl, I guess I play like a girl."

     Jay easily returned the ball, but, not taking advantage, he
hit the ball back to the wall with an easy lob, which Joe had no
trouble hitting.  Joe ran and back handed the ball with all the
force he had.  He felt awkward when he ran, since he still was not
used to his wider hips and lower center of gravity.  The ball went
right to Jay, who snapped it back with his old familiar speed.  The
ball ricocheted to the opposite corner.  Joe dove for all he was
worth, but he could not get to the ball.  Jay's point.  The game
progressed in this manner with Joe getting a point for every two or
three scored by Jay.

     The game progressed, with Joe getting trounced.  As Joe stood
at the back of the court, and prepared to serve.  Jay, standing in
front, was bent over, ready to receive the serve.  Joe hesitated,
looking at Jay, at his buns and broad shoulders.  He studied Jay,
checking himself for signs of arousal, but he found he was not
nearly as interested in Jay as Jay obviously was in him.  He saw
the bulge in Jay's shorts.  He knew an embarrassing erection when
he saw one, but doubted that he had ever caused one before.  Jay
saw him staring.

     "Sorry Joe," Jay said.  "I don't know what's come over me."

     "No sweat, buddy," Joe replied, grinning.  "I just wish that
Woody would slow you down a little, so I could catch you.  Looks
like I'm going to need all the advantage I can get."  Seeing male
arousal from the other side for the first time, he realized that no
matter how Jay felt about their friendship, as long as he looked
like he did, it would never be the same as before.

     The game continued quickly, with Jay scoring at will, and Joe
getting run all over the court.  His light blue leotard was getting
dark spots where the sweat was beginning soak through.

     At the end of the third game, and near the end of their hour
court time, Jay came up and held his hand out.  Joe took it, and
shook the big hand of his buddy.

     "Good game, Jay," Joe said.  "You beat the pants off me."

     "Considering the pants, you did pretty good," Jay joked.

     They picked up their stuff and walked out of the court, toward
the locker rooms.  As they passed the exercise machines, Joe could
see that the guys working out were eyeing him as he walked by.  He
knew that he probably looked appealing to them, but he just felt
tired.

     "I'll see you in a few minutes," Jay said, as he walked on
toward his locker room.

     Joe entered his locker room.  He wiped the sweat from his
forehead as he walked to his locker.  There were three women on the
benches near him.

     "Looks like you had a tough workout," one of the young women
said.

     "Yeah, I got beat three times," he said, wishing they would
leave.

     He opened the locker and removed his gym bag.  He pulled the
crop top over his head.  He was soaked except for the outline of
his bra.  He pulled his arms out of the armholes of the wet
leotard.  He then realized he still had his shoes and socks on and
sat on the bench.  He removed his shoes and socks, stood up, and
pulled the leotard down and stepped out.

     He looked over at the women getting dressed to exercise.  He
was too embarrassed to get completely undressed with them there. 
He fumbled around, hoping that they would finish and leave.

     After a bit the women gathered their things and walked out. 
Joe removed his underwear and, taking a bar of soap and a towel
which he held in front of himself, he walked quickly to the
showers.

     Joe hung up the towel and turned on the shower head.  As it
warmed, he adjusted it to a comfortable temperature and stood under
the streaming water.  It felt great as it pelted his tired sweaty
body.  He let the water stream on his face, holding his hands over
his sensitive breasts.  Suddenly, he felt the sting as the water
washed some of the mascara into his eyes.  He realized then that he
was washing off all the cosmetics that the lady in the department
store applied.  Though it had held up well during his earlier
shower, now he had washed it away, or at least he had messed it up
so bad that he would have to wash it all off.  He did not think he
could put it back on with the skill of the saleslady, but it was
too late now.

     After soaping and rinsing, he took the towel and dried himself
quickly.  He wrapped the towel around his body, and walked back to
the bench.  He took the towel and quickly dried his hair, and then
poked through his bag looking for his underwear.  He found the
panties he was wearing when he arrived, and put them on.  The silky
nylon again felt unfamiliar, and he thought to himself that maybe
he should get some underwear more like the cotton lycra sport
panty, which was not so feminine, and also seemed to firm up his
soft butt.  He slipped into the pink bra, and quickly put on the
jump suit.

     Suitably clothed, he took his hair brush and went around the
corner to the sinks and mirrors.  He studied his face.  Without the
makeup and mascara, he looked much different, a little more
familiar, but not really like he used to.  He decided not to try
anything here, and besides, he had not brought anything along
anyway.  He just brushed his hair over to one side, making it look
as feminine as it could.  He went back and collected his things and
placed them into his bag.  He noticed the bath powder, and wondered
when he should have used it.  He then took the bag and walked out. 
It was not nearly as difficult as he had feared.

     Jay was not standing near the men's locker room door, so he
walked to the front alone.  He saw him standing at the counter
talking to the girl who staffed the desk.  Jay grinned when he saw
him, and walked over to him.

     "I asked about your membership," Jay said.  "They have no
problem with it, as long as you have identification."

     Joe's face turned beet red.  "You told her about my problem?"
he said quietly turning away from the young lady, who knew him as
a man, and was looking at him with curiosity.

     "Well, Joe," Jay answered, "I don't know how to help you
without talking to people about your situation, and besides, there
will be no way to hide from it.  You might as well get used to it."

     "No!" Joe insisted.  "I won't get used to it.  This is only
temporary until I can figure a way out of this situation.  I'm sure
that doctors will be able to help.  For God's sake, they can do sex
change operations on men to make them women, they ought to be able
to make me look like a male again."  Joe was visibly shaken, and
almost to tears.

     The girl called to him, "Joe, come over here, please.  Let me
talk with you."  She had a friendly smile.

     Joe walked over to the counter.  "I don't know what's happened
to me, but I'm sure it's only temporary," he said quickly.

     "Whatever has happened, I'm sure we can help you," she said,
reaching across the counter, and taking Joe's hand.  "If there is
any way I can help, or if you have any questions which I might be
able to help you with, don't be afraid to ask.  My name is Judy."

     "She's treating me like I'm really a girl," Joe thought,
pulling his hand away in embarrassment.

     "I really appreciate your concern, but I don't think you can
help me much, Judy," Joe said.  "I think it will take a doctor to
get me back to normal."

     "Well, don't be afraid to come in here, or call me at home if
you want.  I work from five to ten every evening except Sunday. 
I'll let you in here ... with or without Jay," Judy said smiling
knowingly.

     "Thanks, Judy," Joe said, and walked toward the door.

     Jay followed him out, and when they were outside, walking
toward their cars, Jay looked at Joe.

     "Joe, I'll help you in every way I can, but you will have to
trust me," Jay said.  "I won't do anything to embarrass you if it
is possible, but I think your problem is going to be difficult, and
you're going to have to get over your embarrassment.  Damn it, Joe,
it just might be possible that you will have to remain as you are. 
Would that be so bad?  You are a GOOD looking woman."

     "I'm NOT a woman!" Joe almost shouted.  He looked around the
parking lot, and hoped no one heard his outburst.  "I'm a man, and
I will always be a man."

     "Well, mister, you have the nicest ass I've ever seen," Jay
said sarcastically, but grinning, "on a MAN that is.  Just in case
you were wondering how you looked."

     "I'll call my friend at the forensic lab tomorrow morning,"
Jay said, suddenly getting serious again.  "Maybe he'll see you
tomorrow even if it is Saturday."

     "Thanks, Jay," Joe said quietly.  "I'm sorry I snapped at you. 
I just don't know how to handle this sometimes."

     "That's okay buddy," Jay said, patting Joe on the back, and
squeezing his soft shoulder.  "You're doing such a good job that
sometimes I just forget that you're really a guy.  You look so much
like a woman, and are doing a pretty good job of acting like one. 
I just forget that you aren't one."

     "I have to meet Linda tonight," Joe said as he remembered.  "I
have to tell her about this myself."

     "Well, I don't envy your relationship with Linda," Jay said. 
"I'll call you tomorrow morning."

     "Thanks for everything, Jay," Joe said.  He took Jay's hand
and squeezed it in his small one.

     Joe opened his car, threw his bag in the back, and slid into
the seat.  He decided to go get Linda wearing the jumpsuit.  He had
an hour to go until the time he told her, and he felt most
comfortable dressed like he was.