Role Reversal

[This is a story about a social experiment. Included are lots of oral sex, coitus, anal and an exchange of partners. If any of that bothers you, please don't read the story. If you demand that men stay in their "traditional" roles as men... don't read this story. It may upset you. However, if the spirit of adventure and experimentation attracts you, read on. I will be interested in your comments. Please vote and please either post comments or email them to me. Thanks.]

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"Are you serious?"

The man nodded. He was serious. He knew my circumstances and knew I would have a really tough time turning him down. I thought about the contract. One year with no contact with family, friends, anyone I knew. One year in a relationship that I needed to make work, no matter what it took. We would be isolated and given hard work to do as well as having an intimate relationship. The man said it was an experiment in role reversal. She would be the dominant partner. For a year, I would be her wife, to use a traditional label. The sexual part of the relationship was, like in most relationships, part of the negotiated relationship with the understanding that I would be the wife, not the dominant partner. At the end I would be paid a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars. If we were evaluated as quite successful I would be paid two hundred thousand. Since yesterday I had signed everything I owned away in a court case, I didn't have a job, money or hope of either, it made the decision pretty easy. The paper was on the table between us. One signature and I was in.

I signed.

The man picked up the paper and smiled. "Follow me. You begin now."

I followed him through a door, down a long hallway and out another door into the sunshine. We were on a dock. Farther down the dock a large white boat was docked. I followed him to the boat and climbed the ramp when he pointed to it.

I was on the biggest adventure of my life and I had no idea how it might turn out. The man walked back down the dock and was gone. As I stepped aboard I was met by a man dressed in blue. He welcomed me, took me below and showed me to a locker room.

"Take off everything and put it in that hamper. Shower, shave and shampoo. There are lockers with clothes over there." He pointed. "Get dressed and wait here. I'll be back for you in fifteen minutes."

By the time I was in the shower I realized I needed to get used to following orders. I would probably be doing a lot of it. All the clothes I found were in lockers with size labels on them. I found my sizes and put them on. White everything.

The man came back as I finished. I followed him back up on deck and to an area with tables and chairs set up. There were nine other men seated, waiting.

As soon as I sat down the horn sounded. It was so loud we all put our hands over our ears. When it ended I noticed we were moving. We watched as we slid quietly from the harbor into the open ocean. As the land receded from us our attention was refocused by the sound of someone calling for our attention.

He stood at a lectern, dressed in blue. He was about sixty and healthy looking. Clean shaven, hair short and salted, he appeared to be in good shape.

"Welcome aboard. For the next two days you will be given training in your new lives. For the week after that you will be on a small island where you will meet the women of the project. There are ten of you. There are six of them. If you do not have a mate at eight o'clock on the final evening your participation in the project will end. You will be taken back to New Orleans and given five hundred dollars for your time."

One man stood and said, "That's not what I agreed to."

"Did you read the document you signed?"

"Yes."

"In paragraph six it says that at our discretion we can terminate your participation anytime within the first month by returning you to New Orleans and giving you five hundred dollars. Would you like to see a copy of the document you signed?"

"No. I believe you. I just didn't read that part."

"Most didn't. Some of you signed up simply because you heard about the money at the end. Some of you signed up because your life circumstances were so shitty you thought this looked like something that you could do for a year. At least one of you signed up because you figured you would get some free sex for a year. There is a possibility that you will have sex this year and the possibility is strong that it won't be like sex you used to have. The rules have changed, gentlemen. My job is to begin your training. How many of you can cook?"

Seven men raised their hands. A cart was rolled out of the main cabin stacked with notebooks and pencils.

"Come get a notebook and three pencils. When you sit back down I want you to plan a menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner for seven days for two people. When you have the menu planned bring it to me."

A hand went up. "Can we ask questions?"

"Yes. Certainly."

"Who is going to prepare this menu? I can't cook."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-eight."

"For thirty-eight years the women of planet Earth have taken care of you. Fed you every meal for all those years. We believe you can learn how to take care of yourself and for the woman in your life. You will plan a menu that will appeal to a woman and that you will learn how to prepare. I will be back in half an hour. Have your menus ready."

He walked inside the cabin and I watched him go. The man who had asked the question sat still. I opened my notebook and started writing. 'Day one: Breakfast.' I thought about the things I like for breakfast; sausage, pancakes, eggs, cheese. Then his words hit me: "plan a menu that will appeal to a woman." Most women don't eat like men.

Day one; Breakfast Granola and yogurt, coffee with cream and sugar. Lunch Salad with grilled chicken and iced tea. Dinner baked ziti, bread and red wine

By the time I had written a menu for two days I realized just how different women eat than men do. I started questioning the food choices I had been making and why. I realized that every woman I had ever been involved with knew more about what I liked than I knew about what she liked. I was thinking hard about things women I knew had ordered in restaurants over the years.

I used all the thirty minutes writing and finished dinner, day seven as the man in blue came back on deck. He sat at a table near the lectern.

"If you have completed the menu bring it to me. If you have not, keep working."

I was second in line. The man in front of me handed the menu to the man in blue.

"Sit, please." He read the menu. He made notes on the page. When he was done he looked up at the man and asked, "Have you ever been a chef?"

"Yes. Ten years for Denny's."

"Excellent! I want you to sit at an empty table and assist the men who are still stuck. Your menu is quite good."

He gave it back and the man moved off to do as he was told. I handed mine to the man in blue. He made notes and read carefully.

"Sit, please." When he was done he said, "Have you ever been a chef?"

"No."

"Your menu is pretty good, but not chef quality. Later there will be a class for you in balancing meals. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Go back to your table and make out a shopping list for this menu. Assume the kitchen has all the tools, bowls and things you need. Your shopping list is just for food. If you have questions come back up and ask me."

The menu took one page. The shopping list took three. When I asked my first question he asked to see what I had written. He asked how much chicken I was going to buy. I had to plan for quantities!

As it started getting dark I took my shopping list back up. He looked it over and made some comments. He sent me to the galley and the man who had been with Denny's was there already. We made dinner for twenty people. There was a five by eight card on the refrigerator giving us the menu and quantities. We cooked for an hour. When it was ready we served the meal.

We had worked had for an hour and they ate it all in twelve minutes! As we served we heard the man in blue say that when dinner was over there would be an hour of free time. When the men finished eating they started wandering off. I stood and said, "Dinner is over when the dishes are done and the kitchen is clean."

They looked at me like I was nuts. Three helped, the others wandered off. None of the crew helped in any way except they brought their dishes to the kitchen. Mike and I spent the hour doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. The three who helped us complained the whole time.

We went back on deck and sat to rest. Fifteen minutes later we heard the man in blue's voice calling us into the main cabin.

"How many of you have lived alone for a period of time of at least a year?"

All of us raised our hands. "Then I may assume you know how to keep a home clean?"

A few of the men looked down or away. "Are you slobs?"

"Maybe". One of the men who skipped out on KP said.

In the morning, you two men are making breakfast." He pointed to two who had skipped out on KP. "And, (pointing to the other two who had skipped out) you two will make lunch. The rest of you will come in here in the morning and clean this room. Look at it now. This is how it needs to look when you are done in the morning. Cleaning supplies and equipment are behind that door."

The two days were filled with work and classes. Mr Blue told us the course was called "Everything your Mother forgot to teach you." On the morning of day three we woke up with the boat tied to the dock on a small island. We could see what looked like apartments and a club house. We were given a key to an apartment and told to go to our apartment and do our morning ritual. We were to meet in the club house at ten.

I had apartment six. I had nothing to take with me so a short walk from the boat and I was pushing the key into the knob at number six. I opened the door and wanted to scream. The place looked like the last people to be there had a party and left the place without cleaning up. It also looked like the party was at least a month before. In cleaning up I discovered a closet full of clothes my size, a kitchen loaded with food and a fresh bar of soap. I showered, shaved, dressed in new clothes and went to the club house.

Mike was already there and I sat next to him. We had become friends ever since our first evening in the galley.

"How was your room, Mike?"

"Like a college dorm on a long weekend. Some of the crud was old. Everything was dirty."

"Mine too. I did find some new clothes."

"Yeah. I wonder how Alan and Jake are doing?" Alan and Jake were the two who most resisted the program. The answer to our question walked through the door together, still wearing the whites from the boat.

Mr Blue walked to the front of the room and had us all sit together on one side of the room. Before he spoke Jake raised his hand and asked, "Are we expected to clean up the mess somebody else made in these rooms?"

"Jake, have you ever heard the saying that you only get one chance to make a first impression?"

"Yeah."

"The women you are to attract and be with for the next year are touring the rooms right now. They saw them last night and now they see what you did with no instructions from us. You were given the instruction to do your morning ritual and I see that you and Alan are still in whites from the boat. Everyone else is in new clothes."

"I didn't know there was gonna be an inspection!" Jake said.

Mike and I looked at each other and smiled. Alan and Jake hadn't seen the new clothes. Alan and Jake had looked at the mess, complained to each other and waited to be rescued.

The doors behind us opened and we all turned.

Six women walked in. Each was dressed in jeans, loose t-shirts and sandals. With them was a woman dressed in blue. Each woman carried a stack of cards in her hand. As they walked forward Mr Blue said, "Gentlemen, do not speak. Make sure the key to your room is in your pocket. Please stand up. The women are going to look you over and each will put a card in your shirt pocket. Do not look at the cards. Just stand still."

I stood. Mike was on the end of the row, then me, Pete, Miguel, Hassan, Harvey, Alan, Jake, Chris, Carl and Lee. The first woman walked up to Mike and looked him over. While she looked him over I looked at her. She was about my age, natural blond, very little make-up, about 5'8" and about 160. Not skinny, not fat, about right for a healthy woman. She reached up and ran her hand over his cheek. She searched through the cards and put one in his pocket. She sidestepped to me and repeated the process. When her hand touched my cheek she smelled good. She moved on to Pete and I looked into the eyes of the next woman. Taller than the first by inches, brown hair down to her shoulders, brown eyes, and a slender build. She brushed against my cheek too. I liked the way her eyes sparkled, like she knew a secret and it was funny.

One at a time they came and deposited a card in our pockets. They were tall and short, slender and chunky, some had long hair and one had almost none. I've always liked looking at breasts and although I don't have a size preference I do love them all. Three of the women obviously weren't wearing bras.

When the last woman had given her last card to Lee, Mr Blue spoke again.

"Gentlemen, please arrange the twenty chairs in a circle." We did. Mr Blue put cards on ten of the chairs. Cards with numbers on them.

"Gentlemen, sit on the card that has your apartment number on it."

I saw Mike sit on number eight. I sat on six.

"The women gave you cards based on how they think you fit the person who would be in each apartment. When you look at the cards you will see what impression you made on them. You won't know which woman gave you which card. Remember, your job is to get a mate in five days. The first and second impressions have been made. Look at your cards."

I scanned the cards. Of the six cards I had four with "8" on them and two with "6". I looked over at Mike and we smiled. I knew his room was clean too.

"Gentlemen, put your cards in the basket on the table. Next to the basket is a bowl. Pull a card from the bowl. Post the card next to your name on the board by the door. It identifies the meal you will be preparing in the next three days. If you draw lunch Monday then you need to post your card and go to the kitchen, through that door. The rest of you have two hours of free time. After lunch there will be a social event."

I drew Tuesday Lunch. I walked back to my apartment and went to the bathroom. I went exploring and walked along the beach headed south from the apartments. As I walked I wondered who had picked Monday Lunch. I hoped it wasn't Jake.

I walked back with plenty of time before lunch and saw that Lee had drawn Monday Lunch. He was a nice guy but lost in the kitchen. I went in to help. He was shredding lettuce for the salad and looked at me with fear in his eyes.

"Shred the pieces smaller. I'll cut up the other stuff." I looked at the card with the menu on it. "Where's the chicken?"

"I don't know."

I found it and because time was short I nuked it, boiled it and cut it in thin strips. We got a huge bowl and tossed everything together and made the dressing. Mr Blue walked in, saw that the big salad was ready, and walked out. A few seconds later I heard the dinner gong sound. Lee served the salad onto plates as I poured iced tea for everyone.

The women came in and sat down. Mike and I got the message and took salads to them. I took the first one to the tall, slender blond. Mike took his first to a petite brunette. I served one other woman and so did Mike. I got my salad and turned to see the slender blond beckoning to me. I sat next to her.

Mr Blue spoke. "People, listen to me, please. The rules have changed. Men are used to being the hunters and women the pursued. No more. If a man attempts to take the role of aggressor then put him in his place. In a few days some of you men will be going back to New Orleans nearly broke. The women have all the power here. Treat them with the respect they deserve and you may get to stay. I am sure as you enjoy the salad it would be good to know that Nick helped Lee prepare it. He was not asked or required to do so."

The blond leaned to me and said, "Nice move, Nick."

"Thank you."

The rest of the meal was pretty quiet. None of us were quite sure how to be in these new roles. Near the end of the meal the blond said, "I'm Ila. That was a great salad."

"I'm Nick. Thank you."

"Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Now?"

She nodded.

"I need to help clean up. Can you wait a few minutes and then we can go?"

"You helped make the salad. Why do you need to clean up?"

"Where I grew up everybody helps. I'd feel like I was a slacker if I didn't."

"Then, go ahead. If I'm here when you're done, I waited."

"I hope you do."

I gathered the plates from around me and headed for the kitchen. Lee was up to his elbows in the sink. No one else helped. When we were done I wasn't surprised to find that Ila wasn't waiting. I walked back to my apartment and sat on the balcony. At two the phone rang. I heard every phone ring. When I picked up the voice said, "Please come to the club house."

The chairs were in a circle. As each man entered they were told to sit together. When everyone was seated Mr Blue spoke.

"From now until the evening meal you are to pair off and spend time getting to know each other. Not all of you will have someone to pair with. If you are without a partner think about what that may mean. When you hear the next gong it will mean for you to come for dinner. Dinner tonight is the responsibility of Miguel. Remember men, you do not choose. You can turn her down when she asks but you cannot ask her. When you are asked you get to do what she wants to do."

Mr Blue stood and walked out.

We all sat looking at each other for a long time. I wanted to do something that would let Ila know I was interested, but I wasn't sure what to do. Finally, one of the women got up and walked over to Mike. She held out her hand and said, "May I have this dance?"

Mike smiled and stood, taking her hand. "Sure." They walked out. I watched them go. When I turned back a woman was standing in front of me.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" She said.

"Yes, thank you." I stood and walked beside her to the door. She opened it and held it for me. It felt weird but I walked through and said, "Thanks."

She led the way and the way was past the apartments and then north along the beach. I didn't speak.

The silence lasted a long time. Finally she stopped and looked at me.

"I'm not very good at this yet. My name is Lace and I'm forty. Originally I'm from Idaho. I've never been married and I have no kids. I work as a vet's assistant."

"You help take care of animals?"

"Yes. Not just dogs and cats. I work on farms."

"Wow. I'm impressed. Tell me please, what your work day is like."

"That's the best part. There's no typical day. Every day is different." She described days filled with births, injuries, illnesses and sometimes deaths. It was obvious to me that she loved her job.

"So, Lace, why did you sign up for this?"

"I know a lot about animals. I don't know anything about being in a relationship with a person."

"Given my history, I must not know anything either."

"Tell me about your history."

"Ok. I've been married twice. The first one didn't work very well and I said it was because we were both too young and stupid when we got married. The second time I stayed married for ten years. I had made up my mind that I would stay married to her forever, no matter what."

"What happened?"

"It wasn't what it was who. Her daddy didn't like me much, in the beginning. As time went on he liked me even less. He was all about money. He believed that the more money I made the happier his daughter would be. He set me up in business, his business, and I worked my ass off for ten years. In ten years I made fifty million for the business and daddy. In the end he was right. She divorced me, took every cent I ever earned and daddy kicked me to the curb."