Lisa’s mom was gone. The door was unlocked, as usual, and I went in and made my way to her room.

“Hey Aaron … Wow! What’s the matter?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “Nothing … why? Everything is normal….”

“Oh, come on Aaron, you’re all flushed! Your eyes...Have you been crying? Are you OK?”

“I’m not sure. I have the most unbelievable thing to tell you!”

“You definitely have my attention!”

“Lisa, when I share this with you, I’m going to trust that it doesn’t go any farther.”

“You got it! What is it?”

“That answer was too quick. I’ll repeat; when I share this with you, I’m going to trust that it doesn’t go any farther.”

“Wow! OK! I promise. I’ll carry this secret to the grave.”

“OK. After I tell you, I think you’ll understand why discretion is so important. I’ll start like this: Lisa, what if I was a girl?”

“You’re gonna do it!”

“What?”

“A sex change!”

“No. I’m a girl already.”

“Yeah, I know. Your body is male, but inside you’re a female.”

“Well, yes and no! Yes, it was a secret…even from me.”

“Ok, Aaron, you’re killing me!”

“Well, Lisa, it’s kind of like that ... but not the way you think.” I explained “anomalous genitalia”, and told her about my breast growth, etc.

She thought a few seconds, then her eyes lit up. She looked at her cell phone. “Yep, I should have known. Aaron, I’ve always thought your parents were pretty cool, but this really tops it. They had you going … me too for a little bit!”

“Lisa … this is serious! What are you talking about?”

“Think, Aaron. What day is it?”

I had to pull out my cell phone to find the date… “Fri, Apr 01”

My heart sank. “Damn! … I fell for it. Wait, Lisa, I don’t think they would do something like this for April fool’s day!”

“Let’s call and make sure!” She punched some keys on her cell and waited. “Aunt Kim? Nice try, but Aaron and I are on to your little joke!”
She paused and I watched her face as she went from a smile to a serious expression. “Yes, she told me…really?... Seriously!? … Oh, I’m so sorry we…. It doesn’t seem possible. Of course I won’t. My lips are sealed. OK. I apologize, Aunt Kim. Thank you. Bye.”

She disconnected and put the phone down. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

“I didn’t think so. Now you can see how important it is not to tell anyone. Can you imagine what would happen at school?”
Lisa sat … stunned. It seemed like forever, but finally she spoke, “Oh my God! Yeah, but my lips are sealed. Gonna be tough, but I can do it!”

“Thanks, Lisa.”

“So, Aaron, I’ll bet you’re happy!”

“Lisa, it’s beyond my control anyway, so I’ll treat it as an adventure!”

“You don’t fool me! You’re glad! Wow! I can’t believe this! Don’t take this the wrong way, but it explains a lot. I kind of sensed something. It’s hard to explain. You’re so different from other guys. I guess I should say ‘you’re different from guys’. When you told me the guys might think you were gay because your best friend is a girl, I thought ‘That would be easy to believe.’ Please … no offense intended. A girl pretending to be a boy is a tough sell … almost as tough as the reverse. The times at the mall that I almost suggested we shop for clothes or jewelry. You’re feminine! You’re supposed to be feminine! I can say that now. So, you have two ‘X’ chromosomes? Can I see them?” She smiled. ”Just kidding.”

“OK!” Let me get them.” I reached partially down the front of my pants. “Seriously there’s not a “Y” chromosome in this room right now. From what I’m told I’m just as much girl as you.”

“OK Erin,” she was careful to feminize my name. She fell back on her bed. “This is unbelievable! What are you going to do about school?”

“My dad is getting transferred to Houston in June. I’ll finish this year like nothing happened, and start a new school in September. I’ll have the summer to ‘transition’.”

“No Erin! Don’t go! I don’t wanna lose you now!” She had known about the move for a while, and knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything it, but she was more than just my cousin, she was a real friend and she hated to see me go.

“Lisa, would you come spend the summer with me.”

“Are you kidding?! We are going to have so much fun…and…” she pulled an imaginary zipper across her lips. I knew I could trust her. If she betrayed that trust, the loss of her friendship, not to mention a rift in the family, would be worse than any repercussions at school. “I have to explain to my mom, though. She would never let me go spend the summer with a boy...cousin or not. Oh, Erin, this is going to be so cool!”

“Yeah.” My mind was wandering to visualize how the summer would be. It would be good to have her with me.

She walked toward her closet. “You’re going to have to quit cross dressing. I can’t imagine having to wear boys’ clothing 24/7. Let me get you something cute to wear. OK?”

“Sure!”

“’Sure’? You’re ready to go!”

“I decided to make this something positive. The things you said about me being feminine. Everything falls into place now.”

“Great…you’ll be so cute!” She paused and sat on the bed. “This is unreal! It’s like…you’re a whole different person! Want to know a secret? I kind of thought I might be in love with you! You’re a really wonderful person. Maybe I am in love with you! She smiled and went to her closet and began going through her wardrobe and pulled out a beautiful baby blue top with ruffles around the shoulders and neck. She laid it across her bed and opened a box in the corner marked “Goodwill”. “You’re lucky this stuff hasn’t gone to Goodwill yet. I have a couple of training bras…yes!” She pulled out a bra with almost no cups. “Hope you haven’t developed too much for this.” She found some panties and some jeans to complete the outfit. “Try these on. If you’re shy, go into the bathroom and change. I have some jewelry also. See? You should have gotten your ears pierced!”

“Yeah, but who knew?”

I went into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror until she called out,” What’s the holdup, Aaron…Erin?”

“Ok. I’m changing!” The bra was a pull-on stretch bra, so I didn’t have to struggle with connecting it behind my back, and it fit my developing breasts. It was strange to think that, instead of disappearing, my little boobies would be growing to…who knows how big! The panties easily hid my fake boy parts. The top buttoned opposite from what I was accustomed to, which felt strange. It fit a little tight and bragged, “Look at this waistline and eat your heart out! When I pulled up the jeans, they fit my bottom and legs nice and snug. I looked in the mirror again. I realized that I liked what I saw! I involuntarily said, “You’re really cute!”

“What’s that ... are you done?” Lisa was growing impatient.

“I’m done! Get ready!” I slowly opened the door and half expected to hear Lisa laugh. Instead, her jaw dropped. “Erin, you are beautiful! She reached out and put her hands on my waist and leaned back slightly. “Oh my God, how did I miss this? It’s like I had my eyes closed. Sit down and let me brush your hair.” She brushed my hair while watching my face in the mirror. I could see that she was having a good time. She kept repeating, “Beautiful”.

“Let me get you some shoes and we’ll go show your parents how good you look.”

“Lisa, I don’t….”

“What? It’s not like you’re cross-dressing or something. Actually, you’re not cross-dressing for the just about the first time. What’s the problem with a girl looking like a girl?”

Lisa had impeccable logic. I put on her white sandals and a necklace and we headed toward my (luckily nearby) home.