“Lucas, you have to take a break sometimes,” Courtney said, her voice strained.
“It’s really not that bad, sure I’m working some nights now and maybe a weekend or two…” I responded.
Courtney and I worked in the same office building and we would always meet up on the first floor in this very passable coffee and pastry shop. It was a bit of a dump, but it was easier than making breakfast at home, so we would stop here every day to get a bagel and coffee.
“That’s very bad, are you kidding?” she asked me. “You need to relax, you’re getting migraines, it’s not normal to take as much aspirin as you do! You’re going to get yourself hurt if you don’t take some damn vacation time!”
Courtney was my best friend, always has been. We met when we were like five years old. I was always getting us into some kind of trouble, but she always managed to get us out of it. Or at least most of the way out. There were things that would have gotten us both expelled, that she managed to reduce to a slap on the wrist.
This didn’t stop as we got older. Once she even ended up saving my life. I went nearly a day painfully struggling with a ruptured appendix before Courtney practically threw me in the back of her car and drove me to the emergency room. I still nearly died, it was so bad. The doctors said that if I went even an hour longer there would have been no saving me.
But as she says, I am as stubborn as they come, so even knowing that she’s right about me needing to take some time off, I wasn’t listening to her.
“Listen, I am going on a cruise in a couple days, my cabin is big enough for two, come with me,” Courtney insisted. “You’ll be cut off from work completely, they won’t be able to bother you. It will give you the time to relax that you desperately need.”
“I can’t, not so soon,” I shook my head. “I have a couple projects at work that I can’t pass off.”
“Those are the ones you were telling me about, right? The ones that you got stuck with after those people got fired?”
It’s true that I had to take on some extra projects. Two of my coworkers were caught stealing and got fired, so the rest of us had to absorb their duties. It meant that I was a lot busier than I wanted to be, but the bosses will notice my hard work and give me a big raise I’m sure.
“Yeah, those ones. Sorry I have to get upstairs, I’ll see you tonight, we are still on for dinner at your place?” I asked, standing and getting ready to leave.
“Yeah,” she said with an exasperated sigh. “But you better think about that cruise, you really need it.”
“Whatever, I’ll think about it,” I said to shut her up before I headed upstairs to my office. I could tell Courtney was watching me and judging me as I walked away. The day progressed as it always did, working hard trying to get ahead of the extra projects. I ended up leaving two hours later than I wanted to, which made me late for the dinner with Courtney.
“What the hell?!” she said as she threw the door open. I didn’t even have time to knock, she had been watching for me, clearly.
“I’m sorry, I got caught up at work,” I said with a sigh as I walked into her apartment.
Now that she was off work, Courtney was wearing a lower-cut top, which showed off her dermal piercing, five studs across her chest. The lowest one in the middle was a few inches above her cleavage, the two on each side drew a line to the shoulders. It was her pride and joy, and she showed it off whenever possible. Her office required her to cover it, but any time she was off the clock, she wore clothes that kept it on display.
“Of course you did,” Courtney shouted, angrier than I’ve ever seen her. “I told you, you need a break. You are working too hard!”
“I’ll take a break when I get these projects done,” I shot back. “Then I’ll get a raise and maybe a promotion, then I’ll have plenty of time to take that cruise.”
“They aren’t going to give you a raise!” Courtney yelled. “It’s a corporate bureaucracy! They will squeeze what they can out of you and toss you away! If you don’t take time to enjoy yourself now, you won’t ever get the chance!”
“No come on, I’m sure they will! I’m busting my ass over there,” I said, though my tone was less confident than my words. I sighed and lowered my head. “Plus I wouldn’t know what to do with myself on a cruise. I would be so focused on the office. I would probably be more stressed than if I was home, since I would be thinking about all the work that I need to do.”
“Alright, you know what, I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it,” Courtney stormed off, walking over to the dining table and snatching up her phone. “But I think it just might be the perfect solution for you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked her, not sure what she could possibly have on her phone that would help me relax in the face of the overwhelming amount of work that I had to do. Sure I’ve heard of phone apps that help you relax or be more productive, but that’s all bullshit.
“You’ve heard of the Transform-It app right?” she asked, showing me the screen on her phone with the apps interface pulled up.
“Yeah, that’s the one that lets you turn people into objects, right? What’s that got to do with this?” I really did have no idea where she was going with this.
“Let me turn you into something that I can take with me on the cruise. You’ll be right there with me, so you’ll be able to see and participate in everything I do,” Courtney explained.
I was taken aback. She wanted to turn me into an object? How would that help? Then I would just think about how I was unable to get any work done as a thing rather than a person. I didn't even know how to respond to her. Turned out that I didn’t have to, as she started speaking again.
“I know that it sounds weird, but I’ve been reading online about people’s experiences,” she explained. “They say that as an object, they were completely relaxed. After all you have no muscles in that form, you are perfectly comfortable. Many said like you, they would be stressed over the work they could be doing. But they said that since doing work was impossible, they didn’t stress over it. They just accepted that even if they wanted to get some work done, they couldn’t! I’ve even read about psychiatrists recommending transformation therapy as a way to relax and shed the burden of flesh-and-blood human lives.”
“I mean that does kind of sound good,” I admitted. It seemed that my brain couldn’t turn off these days, and I was always stressed about work, even when I was home. “But are you sure it’s safe? What if you leave me behind? And what would you even turn me that would be with you all the time? If you have to leave me in your room, that would get boring.”
“No no, see I have the perfect idea,” Courtney reassured me. “You will be with me all the time and will be able to see everything, I promise.”
“Yeah? What’s your idea?” I asked, sold on the idea, but not on the execution just yet.
“Do you trust me?” she asked instead of answering.
“Well, yeah, of course I do.” My answer was sincere. There was no one I trusted more than her.
“Then send a text to your bosses that you’re taking leave, maybe say a relative died and you need time off. I know you have a good bereavement policy.”
I paused for a second. I couldn’t really be considering this, could I? To become an object for Courtney to carry with her? And on a cruise that would stop in foreign countries? If she loses me on the ship or on an excursion, I could be left there forever. But then again, it was Courtney, and if she said she had a plan, then she had a good one. I sighed and smiled as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Courtney squealed her excitement.
A few minutes later, the text had been sent and acknowledged. My boss was very understanding of these kinds of things and said they would manage without me for the two weeks of the cruise, though she didn’t know I was going on a cruise of course.
“Ready?” Courtney asked, lifting her phone camera up to point at me.
“Do it!” I said and squeezed my eyes shut.
She pushed a button on the screen and the room was filled with a white flash. No, not the room, just my eyes. I don’t know how I knew that, but I did. While I was still blinded from the flash, I felt myself falling, not only falling down toward the floor, but falling in on myself somehow. Soon I felt the impact with the floor, but not painfully. It felt odd not being able to brace for impact. In fact, I couldn’t move at all.
My vision cleared and I saw Courtney standing above me. From my perspective I must have been tiny, like less than an inch tall. Courtney looked down on me, her expression soft and kind. She crouched down next to me, keeping her knees together so I couldn’t see up her skirt.
“How do you feel?” Courtney asked before she rolled her eyes and quietly scolded herself. “Sorry, I know you can’t talk.”
Never-the-less, I tried to respond to her, but I couldn’t. I was frozen, still able to see, hear and feel the ground beneath me, but I was completely unable to move or speak. I watched as Courtney reached out toward me, her giant hand approaching me like a bus. She gently picked me up with her thumb and forefinger, and started to stand up.
There was a mirror mounted to the wall to my right, so when she stood up to full height, I realized what happened. In the mirror, I could only see Courtney, not myself. But she was holding something, a replica of her center dermal piercing with a pink stone rather than a clear one. From my angle and how I moved, I could tell that I had been transformed into that piercing. Why the hell did she turn me into her piercing!
“You might be nervous, but don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you,” Courtney reassured me, stepping over to the table and setting me down as she sat in one of the chairs.
She fiddled with the center piercing on her chest, removing it and putting it down next to me. She gently picked me up and started to raise me to her chest.
“I’m going to keep you right here,” Courtney explained as she started to put me into place. It was a weird feeling, part of me being pressed into and through her skin. She was done quickly, and there I was, settled into the center of her chest. It felt… nice. Her skin was warm and soft. And could I hear and feel her gentle heartbeat. It was calming. I heaved an internal sigh at the pleasant feeling.
Then I felt Courtney stand and I directed my vision upward. It was an interesting view, looking up at her from her chest. I could only see the bottom of her chin, her face hidden above. It was weird, but it was comforting somehow, looking up at her. Like she was holding my head into her chest. I was so lost in the feeling that I didn’t even realize that we were walking.
“So, what do you think?” I heard Courtney say above me. She wasn’t looking at me, but I knew she was talking to me.
I looked around, trying to see what she meant. That’s when I saw that she moved over to the mirror. I saw her reflection, or I guess it’s our reflection now. She had that subtle smile she always had when she was showing me something she was proud of. It was the same look she had when showing me her piercing the first time. I got lost in her face for a moment and heaved a metaphorical sigh. Then I watched her lift her hand and run a finger over the various piercings. That drew my eye to my own reflection. Just a pink, jeweled stud situated in the middle of her chest.
“I’ll keep you here for the entire cruise,” Courtney said softly, her finger stroking my stone gently. Her finger was huge, it was like being touched by an SUV, though it was oddly comforting. “You’ll be safe here, I’ll never take you off and I’ve never had a stud fall out on me…”
“Alright, now I’m hungry, so I’m going to eat the dinner you let get cold and then I’m going to bed,” Courtney said and headed off to the kitchen.
For a while, Courtney ignored me as she went about her evening. She microwaved the spaghetti she made for our dinner together and ate it on the couch in front of the TV. I was a tad bit annoyed at her choice of movie, some cheesy romantic comedy from the nineties. Despite the sub-par entertainment, the experience was pretty relaxing though, listening to her heartbeat and basking in her warm skin. It was almost like being in a hot tub.
That night I slept better than I ever had, probably in my entire life. Courtney was like a goddess, both hovering over me to protect me, but also holding me close in her soft, warm embrace. Sadly the night was over too soon. Her alarm went off and she woke before stumbling into the bathroom.
“So, um, sorry about this, but I’m going to take my shower now,” Courtney said in the mirror, letting me see her face as she spoke. “I don’t want to take you out so I don’t lose you. I know that I could take you out here and you would be safe, but I won’t risk it on the boat. So you’re going to shower with me eventually, so might as well start now.”
I hadn’t thought about this part of our arrangement. Of course I was going to be able to see her naked. I felt a chill run through me at what was about to happen. Coutney stepped away from the mirror and stripped down. I could tell from her slow, awkward movements that she was nervous about this as well.
It was weird to see her naked, almost like accidentally walking in on your sister. Sure she was attractive, but I never saw her in a sexual way, so it was a bit awkward to see her chest and nipples, even if the angle was a bit limiting.
The next two weeks were just as relaxing as Courtney promised. She spent a lot of time relaxing in the sun, sightseeing in foreign countries and going to comedy or magic shows on the ship. I was able to metaphorically sit back, relax and just take it all in. I didn’t worry about my feet hurting, getting stuck far from a bathroom, or deciding on what to do next.
The beauty of the tropical destinations was breathtaking, and from my position on Courtney’s chest I could see it as well as she could. And she spent a lot of time at the pool, so I got to check out all of the ladies in bikinis. Courtney even made a few attractive friends on the ship, spending a lot of time with them and allowing me to take in an eyeful. I didn’t even have to worry about them seeing me staring!
After a couple days, showers got less awkward to a point where it was as normal as anything else we did. When we were alone, she would talk to me, recounting the day and talking about what she liked or even gossiping about things she saw or overheard. It was great to spend time with her, even though all the conversations were one-sided.
The two weeks finally ran out, and Courtney arrived back at her apartment. She took me out, put me on the floor and activated the Transform-It app, growing me back into a human again. I immediately gave her the biggest hug, holding her tight but gentle.
“Thank you for that,” I told her. “So umm, when is our next vacation?”
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