Kim thought for a moment. Howard had made them a 6 o'clock dinner reservation. They had about four hours to kill. "We could try finding someplace with more people. Want to explore the city?"
Greg considered Kim's suggestion. "I suppose if I'm walking down the street and someone thinks I'm a guy in drag, that wouldn't seem too out of place in this town. Where should we go?"
"I'm not sure what's around. Let's go ask the concierge."
They walked out of the empty theater across the hotel lobby to the front desk which looked abandoned. Kim reached up and tapped a bell. A few seconds later, Beth, the concierge they had talked to last night emerged from a back room.
"Oh, hello," she greeted them. "Sorry, I was just getting some paperwork done back there."
Kim smiled. Spotting a couple crumbs on Beth's uniform, she knew Beth was likely having a snack. Kim didn't mind and felt bad for interrupting. "Oh, sorry to interrupt. We have a quick question and we'll let you get back to it."
"Oh, it's no bother," insisted Beth. "How is your day going?"
"Wonderful, thank you." Kim looked down at Greg to her right and back at Beth. "So, I don't know if you remember us from last night..."
Beth looked at Greg and her eyes narrowed for a moment and then opened wide with recognition. "Oh, yes, of course. The anniversary couple. Sorry I didn't recognize you. Your hair is different."
Greg knew she was being polite by only mentioning the hair and not blurting out, "You're dressed as a woman!" He smiled back at Beth, but let Kim do the talking.
"Yeah, the hair's not all that's different," Kim explained. "It seems that Marvin the Magnificent's trick had a lingering effect. Our bodies have slowly been swapping from the waist up ever since the magic show last night. We only noticed this morning."
"What?" Beth replied in disbelief. "No way!"
"Yeah," Greg spoke up with his masculine voice. "I'm living proof. I wasn't this short, thin, and didn't have breasts when we met yesterday. Now I've got Kim's hands and she has mine!" Greg and Kim both held up their hands and Beth was able to see the difference.
"Oh, wow!" Beth's mouth hung open in amazement. "You guys aren't kidding! Well, I'm sorry, I haven't heard anything from Marvin, but I know he's scheduled to be back on Monday."
"Yeah, we know," Kim acknowledged. "We talked to another magician in town, but he wasn't able to track down anyone else who knows the trick and could change us back. However, he did suggest we let the change happen and then we can change back after Marvin's back. So that's our plan."
"It's just awkward during this transition period," Greg admitted. "I've still got a guy's head, so we got a wig and she did my makeup to try to disguise me. I've still got this voice though."
"That seems like a good idea," Beth agreed. "I'll admit, I did think you were a woman at first."
Kim chuckled. "Technically, he's more woman than I am right now." She pointed to her chest. "These are stuffed. I figured I'd at least keep up the appearance of being a woman until my face started to change."
Beth nodded in understanding. "This is fascinating. Maybe I'll have Marvin swap me with my boyfriend sometime. Sounds like it could be sexy!" Beth winked at Kim and then looked at Greg. "Right?"
They remained silent and only smiled in response. "So, anyway," Kim said, changing the subject. "We've got dinner reservations at 6 o'clock and were looking for suggestions for things to do until then."
"You could head down to the Riverwalk along the Truckee River and find places with souvenirs or cocktails," suggested Beth. "It would bring you near the Nevada Museum of Art and National Automobile Museum. If you want to try an escape room, you can check out Puzzle Room Reno."
Kim laughed. "I think we've had enough puzzles to solve lately."
"Oh, I guess so," Beth said with a grin. "There's also the W. M. Keck Museum if minerals and geology interests you. If you want to see something weird, head over to Natural Selection -- it's an odd show featuring taxidermied animals."
"Yeah, I think we'll skip that one," Greg said as he made a grimacing face. Turning to Kim, he wondered if she might be okay with visiting his preference. "Should we check out the auto museum?"
Kim was indifferent. She wanted to do something and not just sit around the outdated, vacant hotel. "Sure," she agreed. "Thanks, Beth! See you later!"
Beth waved as Kim and Greg walked away. "You're welcome. Have fun!" She returned to the back room.
Kim and Greg strolled out of the hotel, the warm sun kissing their faces as they stepped onto the streets of Reno. As they made their way towards the Truckee River, they were fascinated by a variety of empty and repurposed buildings which made them wonder what once was when the city was more prosperous.
Arriving at the Riverwalk, they found it was a surprisingly delightful place with people laughing, chatting, and enjoying the beautiful day. Kim spotted a stand selling various souvenirs and decided to take a closer look. She picked up a quirky magnet featuring the city's iconic arch and quirky slogan. They strolled along the river and made their way to the National Automobile Museum.
As they entered the vast collection of vintage cars, Kim couldn't help but notice how much Greg's eyes sparkled with excitement. He passionately shared historical facts about some of the classic cars, revealing a side of him she hadn't seen before. As they admired the polished chrome and admired the sleek lines of the cars, they stumbled upon a photo booth tucked away in a corner. "Why not?" Greg suggested with a grin, and they hopped in together. They struck various poses, laughing at the faces they were making.
Having killed a couple hours, Kim and Greg decided to head back to the hotel for some drinks before going over to dinner at Joe Mariano's Italian restaurant. They walked hand in hand back to the hotel and in good spirits. Throughout their museum visit and along the entire walk, they couldn't stop thinking about their slowly progressing transformations. Even though neither of them brought up the subject, they were both silently distracted and thinking about how far up their bodies it had reached, how long they had before certain other body parts got swapped, and how they may have to adapt to those changes.
Back at the hotel, they waved to Beth as they passed the front desk and headed to the bar near the casino. There were only a few patrons sitting at the bar and all the surrounding tables were empty. The four people at the bar all seemed to be past retirement age and Greg got the impression that they used to come to this casino hotel back in its heyday and simply never stopped. Greg and Kim sat down at a couple bar stools a comfortable distance from the other patrons. With Greg not wanting to reveal his masculine voice, Kim took the liberty of ordering some fairly cheap California wines for both of them.
As they sipped their wine, they both felt more relaxed and comfortable. Greg held his glass and looked at Kim. "You know, it's only been a few hours, but I'll admit that I'm starting to feel more comfortable dressed like this."
"Really," said Kim as she raised an eyebrow. "You're into dresses and makeup now?"
"Well, no, not that," Greg replied defensively. "I guess I'm trying to say that I don't feel constantly on alert. I was kind of afraid that everyone would be pointing at me and shouting 'fraud!', but that's clearly not the case. Any people we've encountered either have been fooled or they're too accepting to say anything."
Kim smiled. "You look good. I think people are convinced. Once the swap gets up to our vocal chords, there won't be any reason to question it."
"I don't know about you, but I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow," Greg admitted. "A lot of today has been dealing with the slow progress of our swap. Tomorrow the swap will be done and we won't have to think about what's changing next or when. I mean, you'll still have to deal with being in my body and me in yours, but at least we'll have consistency."
Kim smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice. I think I want to try some of those hot wings you love so much."
Greg laughed out loud. "You're swapping bodies with me and the big thing you want to try is hot wings?"
"What?" chuckled Kim. "You really like them and I'm wondering if I might see the appeal. Why, what do you think I should do?"
"I'd think you'd have a whole checklist!" Greg held up his hand and pointed to fingers as he counted off ideas. "Pee standing up, shave your face, jerk off, lift some weights, go for a run without a shirt..."
"Get kicked in the balls," added Kim.
Greg grimaced. "Oh, you don't want to experience that. Trust me."
Kim smiled. "Maybe only a gentle smack in the balls then? What about you? You've seem to got a list for me. What do you want to do?"
Greg stretched out his leg. "I've already tried walking in heels. Fortunately they weren't very high, but that was a different experience. It's weird how I was taller than not wearing heels, but still felt shorter than usual. Walking downhill was an unexpected challenge."
"What else?" probed Kim.
"I've always wondered why women go to the bathroom in groups, but I think that will remain a mystery seeing as we're here by ourselves. I'd like to try and see how easy it is to get some stranger to buy me a drink, but I really don't want men hitting on me so I'll skip that." Greg held up his wine glass. "I am liking this lower tolerance for alcohol that you've got. Not even one glass of wine and I'm already feeling the effects."
"So that's it?" Kim asked with disbelief. "You get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience life as a woman and all you want to do is walk in heels, go the the bathroom in a group, and have someone buy you a drink? You had a whole list for me!"
Greg timidly looked off to the side. "Well, there may be some other things..."
"What other..." Kim suddenly realized what he was referring to. "Oh! Those kind of things!" She winked and took his hand. "What are we sitting around here for then? Let's go upstairs and have some fun!"
Greg and Kim quickly finished off their wine, left a tip, and headed up to their room. They still had enough time for some time together before they had to head out to their dinner reservation.