The Gender Game by Bella Forrest (historical books to read txt) 📗

in the mirror. My chest, which didn't bulge much anyway, could easily pass as a man's. The shirt was amply bulky.

"This is a temporary measure," Lee said, eyeing me over. "I have a body suit for you, too." He rummaged in his closet and pulled out an actual skin-colored male body suit, complete with bulges in all the right places. "But I figured that'd really be throwing you in at the deep end. This gray suit will be enough for tomorrow."

He replaced the body suit in the cupboard, and then drew out a wig of curly black locks and strips of facial hair.

“This is insane!” I said.

Lee looked half amused as he applied my wig and then the facial hair with a thin, transparent adhesive. By the time he was done, I was a black-haired man with a mustache and a generous beard. The facial hair helped to cover the softness of my jaw. I would have laughed in disbelief at how realistic it looked had I not been so tense.

"However you figure out the logistics, this task shouldn't be too difficult," Lee said. "Remember, it'll be nighttime. I'll give you this, too." He brandished a cap and planted it on top of my head. "Oh, and lenses, to be doubly sure…" He left for the bathroom and returned with a rectangular silver packet, as well as a narrow white and blue box. He split the packet open and told me to tilt my head back while he applied the lenses. I hadn't expected the application to be so uncomfortable, but he managed it. When I looked back in the mirror I had dull brown eyes. My eyeballs had gone reddish with irritation, my tear ducts working overtime.

"Your eyes will get used to them," Lee assured me.

"And shoes," I murmured. "I guess I can wear the ones I arrived here with. They're unisex. But then there's the matter of my voice. What if I need to speak?"

"You should try to avoid speaking at all costs," Lee said. "But in case you can't…" He held out the small box so that I could see the front of it. Bold, jagged black letters stamped across the packaging announced the product as "Deepvox." He opened the box to reveal it was stuffed with tablets.

"You're kidding me."

"Nope." Lee laughed. "This is actually a thing here. Swallow one of these and it'll deepen your voice for up to twelve hours. Designed for men who aren't happy with their natural tone."

"Go deeper. Last longer," was the brand's slogan.

"What are the side effects?" I asked, dubious. I squinted at the tiny, almost illegible print on the side of the box.

"Your throat might get sore," Lee said. "But that's nothing that can't be solved with some warm honey and ginger tea. You should get used to it after a while, anyway."

How many times was I going to have to swallow these things? How many excursions would I have to make before leaving Patrus?

For the sake of my sanity, I figured that it was best to only look one step in front of me at a time.

"I should test the product now to see how well it works on me," I said. "And how quickly it will work."

We headed to the kitchen where I helped myself to a glass of water.

I swallowed one of the small round pills gingerly and waited with bated breath. Nothing happened at first, other than my heart pounding. Then I began to feel a constricting, tingling feeling at the back of my mouth. It wasn't strong enough to hurt, just enough to be unpleasant.

"Say something," Lee said.

"Hello." A noticeably deeper voice blurted from my lips. Not quite deep enough to pass me off as a man, though. I consulted the product's description; it said it could take up to an hour for the pill's effect to fully come into play.

"I suggest you take three tomorrow evening to be safe," Lee said. "Otherwise, I guess you're ready."

Lee had to go out early the next morning, which left me alone in the house with Samuel. As I washed up after breakfast, I already knew the wait for this evening's excursion was going to be tedious. Tedious and nerve-wracking.

I ended up gathering a pile of books from the library and sitting out in the garden; the mild temperature and mountain breeze helped to calm me. I took a seat in a deck chair and tried to forget about the time for as long as I could, until I could no longer ignore Samuel's whining. I finally acquiesced to his requests to play ball and remained busy with him until lunchtime. I brought food outside for both of us so we could sit in the sun and eat, and then spent the rest of the afternoon indoors. I had roamed every room in the house by now, but I still had not set foot in the basement. On heading down there, however, I discovered the door was locked.

I huffed and returned upstairs.

I had deliberately eaten until I felt stuffed again, hoping to make myself feel drowsy so I might be able to get some solid sleep before Lee's return. I had been awake most of the night before, tossing and turning and worrying. The food was beginning to take its toll and I slipped into my bed and managed to pass the rest of my alone time in slumber.

I woke up to the sound of the front door unlatching, and Samuel's barks as he scurried to the door.

Yawning, I staggered out of bed, splashed my face with cold water, and headed downstairs.

A black canvas bag was waiting by the doorway, filled with some kind of heavy, rectangular weight. The door was open, and I caught sight of Lee crossing the drive and returning with an identical second bag.

He quickly closed the door and turned to me, rather out of breath.

He planted down the second bag next to the first and reached into his pocket. He rummaged