On the car ride home, Derek and Sonya argued about who should transform first.
"I found the shop," Derek said.
"I found the collar," Sonya said.
"I bought it," Derek said.
"I'll be very angry if I don't get to try it on first!" Sonya said.
"How do you know I won't just turn you into a frog to spite you?"
"You'd never do that."
Derek sighed. "You're right, I wouldn't. But I will try to make your transformation as appealing to me as it is to you."
"I'm willing to be almost anything as long as it ISN'T an amphibian and can still speak English."
They stopped for a moment and pondered in the silence. Derek was the first to start laughing.
"I can't believe we're arguing about who gets to be transformed. Isn't the subject supposed want to stay the same?"
"Only in most of the stories," Sonya answered. "But right here, in this reality, I need a change."
"Then that's what you'll get," Derek said as he pulled their car into his driveway. "We've got the whole evening and half of tomorrow before my parents get back from their conveniently-planned out-of-town business meeting. I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday night."
Sonya hopped out of the car, still clutching the collar. Derek let her into the house and she dashed upstairs into the bathroom. He waited for her in his own room, chuckling quietly, his face turning red as he realized the gravity of the situation they were facing. It turned even more red when Sonya emerged a moment later wearing nothing but her underwear. This certainly wasn't like their preparations for sex. That was always taken slowly, building up the passion of the moment. Here Sonya just stripped like she was jumping into a pool, way too eager for her own good.
She held the collar out. "Would you care to do the honors?"
"This is a pretty serious commitment, you know," Derek said, taking the collar. "What if something goes wrong? What if it's painful?"
Sonya stared at him with more confidence than he had ever seen from her. "This is our dream," she said.
Derek looked from her blazing eyes to the shining ruby in the collar. He carefully positioned it around her neck and gently slipped one end through the buckle. He let it tighten until it was just loose enough to let her swallow.
Sonya's hands felt the leather and the jewel. She tested the buckle, but it wouldn't budge, as if the rectangular loop and the thin metal rod had fused together, binding it to her neck permanently. Derek then attempted to loosen the buckle and it opened easily. He reset it.
"Okay, it comes off," he sighed with relief. "Now to find out if it can meet our lofty expectations."
"What are you thinking about?"
"I was considering something graceful. Something gorgeous."
"Something to get you hard?"
Derek smiled sheepishly. "That too."
"As long as I like it too. I can't wait to feel it. Do you think it'll be like pinpricks, or breaking bones, or just numb?"
"You tell me. Here we go..."