What Did I Agree To?

I don’t think I have ever worked like this in all my life. Granted I am young and in great shape but man this is damn hard work. What did I agree to? See it all began when…

I was walking home after a long day at work, wondering what I was going to eat for dinner and deciding if I was going to stay in to watch some TV or go to the movies. My apartment wasn’t far from the store where I was a cashier and I didn’t have a car so I walked. This particular day was no different than hundreds that had preceded it and hundreds likely to follow. Little did I know that my safe uneventful life was going to take a major detour.

As I neared the entrance to my apartment I heard the roar of a motorcycle come to a stop near me. The noise startled me but before I realized what had happened I found myself looking through dark sunglasses beneath a full-face helmet, sitting on a motorcycle and staring back at myself. My old body reached over to shut the engine off and told me to follow him inside. I was in such shock that I nearly fell as I dismounted the bike, trailing myself in someone else’s body and feeling like I was on auto-pilot in some bizarre dream. I can’t begin to describe how strange it felt to be about half a foot taller than I had been mere seconds ago or how I could feel young well-toned muscles ripple as I walked behind myself. I had no idea whose body I now inhabited but in all other ways I was still me.

“Relax and breathe.” He told me as we entered the apartment. Everything looked so different from this new perspective I had. Of course it didn’t help that I still had dark glasses and a helmet on but somehow things just looked slightly smaller than before. I flopped down in a chair so I could get oriented, taking the helmet and glasses off as I did so. “Don’t worry Sam. I’m not here to hurt you. In fact I’ve come by design to help you and to propose a deal with you.” I was so totally freaked out hearing my own voice talking to me that it never registered he knew my name.

Propose a deal with me? What kind of deal could someone propose after switching bodies with me? Who was this person that had taken my body? What he said next surprised me even more.

“Who I am is of no importance. I first saw you in the store about a month ago when I was in a different body. I studied you figuring I would take your body so I could get some easy down time. Face it Sam – you don’t exactly have an exciting life and that was just what I wanted. But as I got to know you better from talking to you in the store, I began to realize you had a dream and I could make that happen for you while I got what I wanted as well. So I found out where you lived and became the man you desired to be. I’ve put you in his body with your consciousness intact. If you agree to my deal, you will get to stay in his body permanently with an all access pass to his memories; your mannerisms will all be his so to the world you will be him. In exchange I get your life. You would, however, never be able to return to your old body. Do you want to be Brant?”

What he was saying was all so incredible. How could someone just switch bodies? Who was this Brant he was asking me to become for the rest of my – his life? Would I really want to be Brant? I could tell I had regressed by quite a number of years when he moved me to this body although I couldn’t say just how many. I hadn’t even seen what I looked like yet but the feeling of youth and power was intoxicating. I had to see who I now was. I stood up and made my way to the mirror on the other side of the room. So that was Brant. I stood there dumb founded at what I saw looking back at me.

My now piercing blue eyes seemed to be delving deep into my very being, teasing me with the youthful looks I had always longed to have. I had dark hair suitably mussed from the helmet with a day’s worth of sexy stubble gracing my jaw. The leather jacket I was wearing accentuated the handsomeness of my face while I could only imagine what I would find beneath. This guy who had put me in Brant’s body wasn’t kidding when he said he had made me the man of my dreams. He knew there was no way I could resist being Brant. My mind was going a mile a minute until finally, irrevocably I blurted out “Yes”, hearing Brant’s voice for the first time.

No sooner had the word left my lips than thoughts of another life flooded my brain. How do I describe what I was feeling at that moment? I knew his life as well as I knew my own, able to enjoy it all as myself and yet be Brant to everyone else. A youthful vitality infused every corner of my being and I felt truly alive. Words couldn’t express what I wanted to tell him so I simply said “Thank you.” I think he knew what I couldn’t adequately say.

“Enjoy your new life Brant. We won’t be seeing each other again.”

I knew I had to get back to my commitment so I headed outside to mount my bike, anxious to experience the thrill of commanding the iron steed that was mine. That was the last time I would see my old life but it didn’t matter. I was young again with a new zest for living and all that I had ever wanted to be.

I got to the studio and reality set in. All things come with a price and this was no exception. As Brant I gave up the one thing I valued most: my privacy. I would be living in the spotlight that inevitably came with fame. Did I regret my decision? Not in the least. I was a smart great looking guy with everything to look forward to.

My immediate future was a lot of hard work training for Dancing with the Stars. No sooner had I gotten back to rehearsal than I hurt myself. That was such a bummer to finally have it all and then get injured before I could enjoy it. Fortunately the injury, while painful, was not going to be show-stopping. I had endured worse. I was determined to carry on so after putting a brace on my ankle for rehearsals I pushed myself to continue dancing.

Now here I am waiting to perform in front of a massive audience. No pressure there. Maybe once I’m done with the show I’ll have some fun but at the moment it’s all work and not much else. It’s time to take my place on the floor. The announcer is introducing us. “Dancing the quickstep – Brant Dougherty and his partner Peta Murgatroyd.”

Wish me luck.