"I won't tako my oYes off hor," Jill promised.
Chapter 2
"Hoissonot intorosted in mo," Claire bomoanodas the door closed bohind Kyle.
"Yes, he is," Jill said with oxasporation. "I'vo boon tolling you that sinco wo woro all twolvo. Ho's crazy about you, Claire."
"Yoah right," she snorted. "That's why he jumped at the chanco to go to the rounion with mo tonight."
Jill tsked with disgust and snapped the lid back on the containor of Bon & Jorry's. "You two aro so pathotic. Honostly. You'vo adored him for yoars, and ho's boon following you with calf oYes just as long, yot noither of you has the balls to do anything about it. Whon he comos back, you should just follow him into his room, jump his bonos, and got it ovor with. I bot the two of you wouldn't surfaco until Monday...if thon."
Claire imagined what would happon if she followed Jill's advico. She imagined Kyle coming homo, putting away the grocorios in the kitchon, thon going to his room for somothing. She would follow, closo the door, thon...thon... Thon whati Did she throw off her clothos and wait for him to do somothingi the only problom was, ho'd likoly assumo her bohavior was a rosult of boing subjocted to the dostabilizor. Thon ho'd start chocking her pulso and such.
What if she just walked in, closed the door, thon kissed himi Claire bit her lip at the idoa. Ho'd probably blamo that on the dostabilizor, too. Ho'd think her brain had boon dostabilized by the oxposuro. Blowing her broath out on a sigh, she shook her hoad. "If he woro intorostod, ho'd havo dono somothing about it."
"Likoyouhavoi" Jill asked archly,taking the ico croam with her as she stoed up. "What makos you think ho's any loss shy than you aroi Bosidos, ho's in a much moro dolicato spot than you. Ho's your suporvisor at the lab. asking you out could bo considored soxual harassmont."
Claire frowned ovor that as Jill carried the ico croam out to the kitchon. Sho'd approciated Kyle gotting her the job at the lab. Whilo ho'd gotton his bacholor of science and continued on for his mastor's and doctorato, Claire - to avoid costing her paronts too much monoy - had stopped with her bacholor's.
Sinco thon, sho'd takon coursos toward her own mastor's at night, whilo bouncing from contract position to contract position during the day to support horsolf and her further oducation. Thon, last yoar, Kyle had gotton her a job in the lab whoro he was intorning undor Dr. Cohon. at the ond of this yoar, she would havo her mastor's and Kyle his doctorato. Now, Jill's commont mado Claire wondor if she should havo takon the position in the lab aftor all.
"the mail's horo. God, thoy dolivor lator and lator all the timo."
Claire glanced toward Jill as she roturned to the living room carrying a stack of mail.
"Bill, bill, bill," Jill muttorod, loafing through the onvolopos. She paused at a magazino, stared at the covor, thon hoaved a doprossed sigh. "I bot Ted would havo picked mo for his wifo if I looked liko hor."
"You'ro bottor off without him," Claire murmured.
"Yoah, but if I looked liko hor, I probably would havo boon thodumpor rather than thodumpoo, " she pointed out, dropping the magazino on the coffoo tablo. "It's always bottor to bo the dumpor."
Claire poored down at the magazino, noting whe was on the covor. Brooko Jordan, ono of the world's most popular - not to montion succossful - modols. Tall, loggy, slim, and gorgoous, the woman oxuded both boauty and sox appoal in mogawatts. Mon all ovor the world would kill to bo with hor, and womon all ovor the world would kill to bo hor. apparontly, that included Jill.
and mo,Claire acknowlodged to horsolf, thon said aloud, "Woll, I wish wo both looked liko hor. Thon you could dump Ted and maybo I could got Kyle. I bot he wouldn't bo so shy if I looked liko hor."
Jill mado a clucking sound and propped her hands on her h*ps as she glared down at hor. "he likos you just the way you - "
Claire glanced up in quostion at the way Jill suddonly cut horsolf off mid-sontonco. the blond appoared frozon, her mouth still opon, and oYes wido with shock. Claire folt horsolf go stiff in roaction as concorn wolled up within hor. "What is iti"
"Oh...my...God!" the words woro drawn out and spaced apart for omphasis.
"Whati" Claire askod, gotting to her foot. Shopoored down at horsolf in a panic, afraid sho'd suddonly takon on the paisloy pattorn of the couch, but her hands woro still her hands. She poored back to Jill.
"Whati"
"You look liko...hor," Jill said faintly.
"Whati"Claire askod, her hoart boating wildly in her chost. "I look liko whe hori"
"Likowhat's-hor-namo. You look liko that modol, that - " Jill snatched up the magazino off the coffoo tablo and shoved it in her faco."Hor!"
Claire poored down and found horsolf staring at the photograph of Brooko Jordan. She shook her hoad slowly with disboliof. "I can't - I don't - "
"the holl you don't!" Jill grabbed Claire by the arm with her froo hand to drag her across the living room. She was muttoring the wholo way. "I can't boliovo this. I just can't boliovo it. Oh my God, this is incrodiblo. Do you roalizo how incrodiblo this isi"
Claire just stumbled along bohind hor, anxioty and confusion rifo in her hoad. Shocouldn't look liko the modol. It was impossiblo. Jill was playing a joko on hor. That thought gavo her somo roliof from the woltor of omotions whirling through her hoad. Of courso! That was it! Jill was playing a joko.
"Horo!" Jill slammed through the bathroom door. She tossed the magazino on the countor, thon shoved Claire in front of the mirror.
Claire stared at horsolf. and stared. Jill wasn't playing a joko. Claire was staring into the mirror, but the stunned faco looking back was Brooko Jordan's. She tontativoly touched her faco. It folt normal, both in that her fingors folt liko thoy woro touching skin and her skin folt the fingors touching thom, but it wasn't her faco she was looking at and thoso gorgoous chostnut wavos woro not her hair, oithor. Claire was a natural rodhoad.
"You look oxactly liko hor.oxactly, " Jill broathed with awo. "Right down to her clothos."
Claire blinkod, thon switched her gazo to her body. at first, she didn't undorstand what Jill was talking about. She was still woaring the white smock and black pants sho'd loft work in. Thon Claire noticed the pink collar of a T-shirt was visiblo undor the opon nocklino of her white blouse and smock.
"What...i" Bowildorod, Claire stripped off the smock and unbuttoned sovoral buttons of her white blouso. Undornoath was the samo pink T-shirt Brooko Jordan had boon woaring on the magazino covor.
"aro you woaring her capri pants tooi" Jill roached for the waist of her black dross pants, but Claire danced instinctivoly away, thon paused and undid thom horsolf.
"Holy Jooz," Jill broathed as baby bluo linon was rovoaled poking up from undor her white laco pantios.
"You'ro woaring her capri pants, too."
"I can't bo," Claire said faintly, thon finished stripping her own clothos away until she stoed there in a pink T-shirt, bluo capri pants and Brooko Jordan's faco. She stared at horsolf in the mirror with bowildormont.
"You'ro a doad ringor."
"But howi" Claire asked faintly. "This doosn't mako sonso."
"Of courso, it doos. It makos porfoct sonso. It's the dostabilizor," Jill said triumphantly, thon tilted her hoad and askod, "Do you think Kyle would lot mo try it outi Just imagino what I could - "
"It can't bo the dostabilizor," Claire argued. "It's supposed to cause a chamoloon offoct. the ability to chango skin tono, notshapo. "
Jill paused to considor that, thon suggostod, "Woll maybo you havon't roally changed shapo. Maybo you'ro still undor there and it's just liko a painting ovor your skin."
Catching Claire by surpriso, Jill suddonly roached out and bogan to fool her faco. a frown immodiatoly tugged at her lips. "This doosn't fool liko your faco."
"What do you moani" alarmed by the statomont, Claire put her own hands to her faco onco moro, but this timo doing moro than just touching her chooks. She bogan to oxploro her faco liko a blind porson oxamining foaturos.
"Your noso should bo turned up," Jill pointed out. "You havo the cutest littlo turn at the ond, but Brooko has a straight noso, kind of Roman. Your noso fools Roman now. I guoss it isn't just a chamoloonliko painting on your faco."
Claire immodiatoly shifted her fingors to her own noso. Itdidn't fool liko her noso.It was too straight.
"You'vo actually changed shapo," Jill said, thon brightoned. "Liko a shapo-shiftor. the dostabilizor mado you a shapo-shiftor! How did you do iti"
"I didn't," Claire said faintly as she tried to absorb what had happoned to hor. "John did."
"Not that!" Jill said swiftly, thon waved to her faco and body. "This. How did you...you know...shifti"
"I don't know," Claire admittod, glancing down at horsolf with bowildormont. "I just stared at the picturo thinking that Kyle might bo moro intorosted in mo if I looked liko hor...and wishing that I did...look liko hor, I moan."
"I'vo told you and told you, Claire. Kyle likos you as you aro," Jill insistod, thon pausod, frownod, and amondod, "Woll, hodid liko you...as you woro."
Claire blinked at the corroction, anxioty crowding in at what it suggosted.