Promotion

Huzzah! The poll was a close one, but you all ultimately chose "Changed by (male) best friend."

I must admit, these are among my favorite kind of caption. This is a long one. Enjoy!

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Tyler sipped his milkshake, looking uncomfortable. “Why couldn’t we’ve just stayed home?”

John looked up from his book. “We have to be seen together.”

Tyler toyed with his long dark hair. He’d always considered himself rocker, despite his small stature. “I’d rather be home. I hate getting all prettied up in drag. This is humiliating.”

John sighed. “I’m paying you.”

“Money isn’t everything,” Tyler replied. “You’d be happier if you understood that, man.”

“Don’t talk to me like that in public,” Jon chastised.

Tyler rolled his eyes. “You’d be happier if you understood that, sweetheart.”

John and Tyler had been best friends since college. After graduation, they went their separate ways, but kept in touch and even vacationed together. John had been a law student and was now on the fast track to becoming a partner in the firm he joined right after school. Unfortunately for Tyler, his philosophy degree had proven less useful; he was a barista. Or, at least, he had been until he accepted Tyler’s crazy proposal.

Tyler folded his arms on the table. John had recently made him wax them. “You’re gay. If they don’t promote you because you’re not married, you should move away from this conservative hell hole. Or get a woman to marry you. It’s not that hard.”

“And what? Break up with her after I got the promotion? That’d be cruel.”

Tyler snorted. “So, having me pretend to be a woman and your fiancée isn’t cruel?”

“Don’t play the damsel in distress card.”

“I am in distress,” Tyler shot back. “This has gone on far longer than I agreed. And I think...I think there’s something wrong with my body.”

John cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Tyler said, “I think I’m starting to turn into a woman for real.”

“That’s ridiculous,” John said, opening his book back up. “Why do you think that?”

Tyler bit his lip. “Well, um, my nipples get hard,” he admitted. “And I think they’re bigger.”

John snorted. “Maybe you should see a doctor or something.”

Tyler pouted. “You’re not taking me seriously. Don’t you understand? It’s like my body is changing into what you want. Maybe I should start cooking my own food.”

Putting down his book, John gave Tyler a serious stare. “What, do you think I’m putting female hormones in your meals?”

“I don’t know,” Tyler muttered. “Are you? Because sometimes I… feel different, too.”

John shook his head, looking annoyed. “Stop being a drama queen. You know what? You’re right, this was a mistake. Let’s go home.”

Tyler slurped up the last of the milkshake. “Fine.”

As they walked through the door, Tyler turned back to John. “Do we have to sleep in the same bed tonight?”

“Not really,” John said.

“Oh.” Tyler looked a little disappointed. “Actually...I think we should. You know, for realism.”

John arched an eyebrow. “Are you attracted to me? I’m supposed to be the gay one.”

“No!” Tyler said, blushing. “I just...I dunno. I like sleeping next to you. It’s comforting. And, um, when I’m the little spoon. It’s okay if you reach over and, um, touched with my nipples. It’s the only thing that gets me to sleep.”

John raised his eyebrow. “Well, what kind of fiance would I be if I didn’t help you sleep?”