The Girls of Summer: 3

 

Hunter prepares for softball camp with the support of his family and his friend, Wanda.
When camp begins, of course, there are complications.

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Author's Note:Thank you for your comments. They mean a lot to me. I hope you enjoy where the story takes us.~Clara.
 
This version of The Girls of Summer: 3 has been updated with many corrections towards spelling and grammar.~Sephrena.
 
Image Credit: Image created through the use of ai at https://perchance.org/beautiful-people .~Sephrena.

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Chapter 3
 

Crowley's Restaurant was a place designed for twenty-something business people who liked to grab a decent lunch, then play a little air hockey, or a classic video game on a classic console, or throw some skee-ball before heading back to the office. It wasn't a place that either Joyce or Veronica had ever been before, but Veronica had figured it'd be a good place for Wanda and Hunter to get to know each other.

"Well, look at you!" Veronica grinned as Joyce and Hunter approached the table. Veronica put her arms around Hunter and gave him a big hug, something she'd never done before and he didn't expect. "You look amazing, Hunter. I love the hair. Oh, and look! Earrings! Oh, you're adorable!"

Hunter sighed, hoping no one was looking at them, even though the restaurant was nearly empty.

When she was finished, Wanda stepped up to Hunter and gave him a much less aggressive, friendly hug. "Hi, Hunter," the girl said. She was obviously finding the situation just as awkward as Hunter was. "You really do look great." She smiled nervously and nodded. Finally, she let out a nervous laugh and said, "I really have to say, Hunter... I didn't expect you to look like this. I thought you'd look like Hunter in a dress or something, but... even though I know you, I just see a girl when I look at you. Shit, Hunter, you're actually pretty cute!"

"Hey! Language!" Veronica scolded her daughter. Then she looked at Joyce and shook her head. "Honest to God, Joyce... these kids! They can't say a sentence without putting a swear in it."

"I know," Joyce laughed. "Hunter's the same way."

"Alright, you two," Veronica said to Wanda, "you two go play some games. We moms need to talk and you two need to need to get reacquainted. Here," she handed a plastic card with the restaurant's logo on it to Wanda. "Just put this into the slot of any of the games and we'll pay for whatever you spend on the way out. Now, go have fun."

Hunter hesitated a moment, but Joyce gave him a gently shove to indicate that he needed to follow Wanda. So he did.

The two women sat at the table.

"Well, I have to admit, Hunter is going to have no problem passing as a girl at camp," Veronica smiled. "Why don't I fill you in on the day to day routine at camp?"

"That would be great," Joyce smiled as she took out her phone and opened the 'Notes' app so she could jot down important things.
 

~^~
 

"I like your outfit," Wanda said with a friendly tone as Hunter followed her to an air hockey table.

Hunter looked down at the rose colored top and jean shorts, both of which had a little lace trim on them. He'd not really wanted to wear these lace adorned items that day, but his stepmother and Mary Ellen insisted that this was the nicest, casual outfit and, being a twelve year old boy or girl, adolescents didn't always have final say in how they'd be presenting themselves.

"Oh, thanks," the boy said, a bit embarrassed. "I like yours, too." That wasn't just a feigned compliment, either. After a week of intensive shopping with Mary Ellen, Hunter had started taking note of how girls and women dressed. Wanda was wearing a very tight, athletic looking, dark green top with a very sporty, white skirt that looked like something a female golfer would wear. "I like that skirt," he said, honestly. It also came out in such a casual way that it almost seemed odd to Wanda. "It looks nice on you."

Wanda smiled a grateful smile and giggled a little. "Well, thank you, Hunter. I like this skirt, too. Well, it's really a skort, but I like the way it fits me. It feels kind of grown up."

"A skort?" Hunter asked, confused by the term. "What do you mean?"

"You know. A skort," she seemed surprised to have to explain, but then realized that Hunter was new to girls' fashions. "It's a pair of shorts with a skirt on top of it. It feels like shorts, but looks like a skirt."

"Ah," he nodded and picked up an air hockey mallet and got ready to play.

Wanda picked up her mallet and grabbed a puck. She was about to put the plastic card into the slot to start the game, but she stopped and looked at her opponent. "So... how did you end up getting those?"

"Getting what?"

"Your titties. How did you end up growing those. I mean, you're a boy, right? How does a boy end up with boobs?"

Her casualness made Hunter snicker a little. He shrugged. "I don't know. They just grew. My doctor says they'll PROBABLY go away, but maybe not. If they don't go away on their own, they'll have to take them off with surgery when I'm like eighteen or something."

"So... it's like a hormonal thing or something?"

He nodded. "I guess."

Wanda played with a puck for a minute. "What about boys?"

"What about them?" Hunter waited for the game to begin.

"Do you like them. Like - are you into boys?"

Hunter looked around to be sure no one else could hear. "No. Of course not." In fact, he wasn't 'into' girls, either. At that point in his life, Hunter had yet to have so much as a crush on anyone else.

Wanda looked a little disappointed. "That's too bad. A lot of the conversation at softball camp is about boys. I guess I'll have to help you with some things you can say to join in." She sighed. "It's too bad, though. You're cute. I could get you a date if you wanted one."

Hunter laughed. She had to be joking, right? Who cared? "Do you want to play air hockey?"

"I do. Do you know how?"

"Of course," Hunter shook his head. Girls! They sure could talk. He was looking forward to playing the game, though. He'd impress her with his eye/hand coordination and win in record time.

"Ok," she smiled, inserted the card and the air began to blow through the holes in the tabletop. Wanda grabbed her mallet and started the puck on its slow bounce from her left side to her right. Hunter prepped himself for her serve and kept his eye on the puck. Until...

Wanda's slap shot sent the puck to the bumper on Hunter's left hand side and before he could even move his hand into the line of fire, it ricocheted off of that bumper and slid easily into the goal he was defending. He blinked in disbelief at how quickly the piece of plastic had rocketed past him.

"One nothing," Wanda said, proudly. "Your serve."

Ok. That was freakish, but he could kick her butt. She was just a girl, after all. Boys were naturally better at games and sports. He pulled the plastic puck out of the receiver area and set it on the table, gently bouncing it from one side bumper to the other, as Wanda had done. He judged his angle of attack and fired the puck at his chosen spot with all the might he could muster. Unfortunately, Wanda was quicker than his puck. Her hand guided her mallet in such a way that as the puck was about to pass, she moved her mallet with blinding speed and the puck shot back into Hunter's goal before he could react.

"Two nothing," Wanda gloated, just a tiny bit. It didn't matter, though, because no matter what he did, Hunter could not score off this girl, and defending his goal was an even less successful endeavor. In short: She wiped the floor with him.

She did the same thing with the 'Dance Fever' game and Skee-bowl.

"So, what position do you play?" Hunter asked as they headed back to the table where the moms were waiting.

"I'm usually a pitcher, but since you can't pitch every day for the fifteen days of camp, I bounce around, too. I prefer infield to outfield, but I'll do whatever the coach tells me to do. How about you?"

He gave a small shrug. "I usually play in the outfield - right field or center. I played third base for a few games last year and I really liked that. There's more action in the infield and the ball moves a lot faster. I'd like to give that a try, if they let me."

"Have you ever played softball before?" Wanda asked

"Yeah. In gym class."

Wanda laughed at that. "So, the answer is 'no.' You've never played softball for real. Like, with girls who REALLY play softball."

"I guess not," he shrugged, "but I've played little league baseball. Same thing, right?"

Wanda smirked and shook her head. "I think we'd better play some softball this week before we go to camp. If you show up and throw a softball like it's a baseball, you're going to look pretty silly. I'm going to have to teach you how to throw like a girl. And bat like a girl, too, come to think of it."

Hunter didn't respond. He felt like she was being kind of uppity for no real reason.

"What d'ya think?" Wanda asked. "You want to get together and play some ball?"

Hunter was feeling a little beaten up by the number of games he'd lost to Wanda that day, but he knew how to play baseball and softball was just baseball for girls, right? He'd show her that he had some real athletic talent playing a game that was meant for boys.

"Sure," he smiled. "I'd love to play some ball."

"Ok. Let's talk to our moms about it."
 

~^~
 

The 'ping' of the aluminum bat hitting the softball wasn't as exciting to Bob as the 'crack' of a solid ash bat striking a baseball, but it was still nice to have his son back to playing ball - something that both father and son loved doing. It was a warm Sunday morning and Ronnie was bringing Wanda over pretty soon. Bob thought it might be a good idea to throw a few pitches for Hunter so that he'd be warmed up and confident when he started working with Wanda. Mary Ellen was acting as an outfielder, chasing down the ball when Hunter sent them out into the field behind their backyard.

'Ping!' Hunter hit another one a good long way.

"Well, alright!" Bob said, clapping his throwing hand into the new softball glove they'd bought for Hunter to take to camp. "You got a hold of that one!"

Mary Ellen retrieved the ball and threw it back to Bob, not quite reaching their 'pitchers mound.' The mound was actually just one of two pieces of two-by-four lumber that Bob had dug into the ground that morning. He'd read that the league rules set the pitcher's mound forty feet away from home plate for under fifteen players and forty three feet away for players over fifteen. So one piece of two by four had been dug into the ground at each of those distances from 'home plate.' He'd driven a tent peg through an old Frisbee to act as home plate, then measured out the correct distance for the two pitcher's 'rubbers.'

"You're really getting the hang of this," Bob smiled. "Here comes another." Bob wound up a bit and threw the ball in, across the plate, using an overhand pitch, just as he would with a baseball. He'd started by throwing his pitches underhand, but the arc of the pitch made it too easy for Hunter to hit. He figured he'd switch to a more manly pitch. After all, if Hunter could hit the ball coming at him in a straight line, he'd find it easy to hit whatever kind of underhand pitch Wanda was going to throw at him.

'Ping!' The ball shot in a beautiful arc over Bob's head and out into the field where Mary Ellen was waiting. She hustled in towards where the ball was going to land and managed to get a glove under it and caught it.

"You're out!" She called in from the field.

Bob laughed and gave her a thumbs up. "Good hit, champ!" He said, looking back towards home plate.

"Bob!" Joyce shouted from the back deck. "Veronica and Wanda are here!"

"Great!" Bob shouted back. "Send them out here."

Wanda came jogging over to their makeshift ball field. She was wearing a form fitting purple tee shirt with a sporting goods company's logo on it and a pair of plain, black yoga pants, nearly the same outfit that Hunter was wearing. The only differences were that Hunter's tee shirt was loose and orange, and, of course, Wanda, who was a year older than Hunter, filled out her outfit in a more womanly way. In a very much more womanly way, actually, and that was something of which Hunter took note and something that made him both oddly excited and oddly jealous at the same time.

She jogged straight to Hunter and greeted him with a warm, friendly hug. "Hi. How's it going? Are you getting the hang of hitting a bigger ball."

After the shock of being hugged passed, Hunter said. "Yeah. It's going good."

"Cool!" She grinned. "Let me see you hit a couple."

"Yeah, ok," he said and took up his batting stance by the Frisbee. He motioned to his father to throw a pitch. Bob wound up and threw a nice one that would have crossed the plate, but Hunter hit it out into the field. He watched it fly and drop, then looked at Wanda with a slightly smug smile.

"Nice," she said, looking out to the field where Mary Ellen was chasing down the ball. "Would you mind if I give a few pointers that the coaches will probably give you on day one, anyway?"

"That'd be great!" Hunter said, proud of his hit.

Wanda took the bat from him and took her position beside 'home plate.'

"First, your stance is too casual. If the pitchers throws a fastball, you'd never get your bat around in time to hit it. Put your feet shoulder length apart, bend your knees just a little and keep your legs flexed so you have support for the power in your core, the bat is off your shoulder and your arms are flexed and ready to swing at any second. You have to be a spring ready to pop. You cannot be at all relaxed. Ok?"

"Yeah, ok." Hunter kind of giggled at the advice. He'd heard pretty much the same thing before and felt he'd done what she'd said already.

Then, Wanda took her batting pose and, somehow, she seemed to grow. She seemed so strong as she stood there, looking just as she'd described - like a spring ready to pop - heck, she looked like she was ready to explode.

"Throw me a pitch," she said to Bob.

"Ok," Bob said. "Hunter, grab a mitt and catch for us."

"I won't need a catcher," Wanda announced with infinite confidence.

"Alright," Bob smiled.

He tossed the ball the way he'd been doing all morning, but instead of hitting the ball, Wanda reached out with her bare right hand and caught it as it approached the plate. She looked at Bob and said, "Don't hold back because I'm a girl. Throw a real pitch." She threw the ball back.

Bob was taken aback both by the way that the five foot four thirteen year old girl had just caught what he considered to be a pretty hard throw in her bare hand, but also by her allegation that he was holding back.

He shook his head and wound up, throwing the ball as hard as he felt he could while maintaining control of its path. It felt like he'd just released the ball when the metal bat 'pinged' and the ball took flight over his head and out... out... out... out into the field, far past the area where Mary Ellen had been prowling while Hunter had been hitting.

"Holy Moses," Bob muttered.

"Whoa," Mary Ellen said, amazed.

"Holy shit," Hunter said, wide eyed. He looked at Wanda. Yeah, she was taller than him, but so were all of the guys from the park he played ball with, too, and they could never hit a baseball, let alone a softball, anywhere close to that far. "Shit, Wanda," he said, looking back at her, "you're like The She-Hulk or something! How did you do that?"

She giggled a little. "I hope I'm cuter than The She-Hulk, but I did it by focusing all my strength on hitting the ball and understanding how fast it's coming in, where it'll be when it reaches me and making sure I make contact at just the right point to send it straight to center field because that's the shortest route for a home run. It's easy if you practice... no... I take that back. It's POSSIBLE if you practice... a lot."

"Can you do that every time!?"

She laughed at that. "Off your dad? Probably. Off a girl who knows how to pitch? No, but I do ok." She could see that she'd made and impression on Hunter and she saw an opening to get past his 'I'm better because I'm a boy' attitude, so she asked, "Would you like me to get you started? Of course the coaches at camp will do it better than I can, but I can show you the basics."

'Yeah!" Hunter was more than happy to learn, now.

After about twenty minutes of adjusting his stance, critiquing his swing and discussing his concentration, Hunter was hitting the ball a little further and placing the ball closer to center field with each hit.

"Your doing great, Hunter!" Wanda shouted as she gave him a hug. It's funny, Hunter had known Wanda his whole life and never really thought of her as anything more than the daughter of someone his dad worked with. Now, he saw her as this athletic beauty who, more than anything, he wanted to please. "Now, it's time to teach you how to hit a real softball pitch."

She headed to the 'mound' leaving Hunter at the plate.

"Can I pitch a few to him?" She asked Bob.

"Sure," he shrugged and stepped to the side.

Wanda looked at him, wondering why he was just standing there by the pitcher's mound. "Umm... maybe you should catch for me," she suggested.

"Ok," Bob half-laughed, "but neither of you has missed a pitch so far."

Wanda smirked at him. "Yeah, but... I think a catcher would be helpful."

Bob headed for the plate and picked up the old catcher's mitt he'd brought out when they were setting things up.

"How's it going, slugger?" He asked Hunter. Despite the well coiffed hair that stuck out from under his Houston Astro's ball-cap (he liked the big 'H' on the cap because he felt it stood for Hunter instead of Houston), the little pink earrings in his ears, the pink lipstick and, of course, the ever present breasts that had created this situation, playing ball - even softball - with Hunter was kind of like having his son back.

"It's going good," he said, with a huge smile. "She's kind of amazing, isn't she, dad?"

Bob punched the catcher's mitt on his left hand and laughed. "Yeah, she is a good batter, that's for sure."

"I can't wait to get to camp, now."

"Hey, that's great, son," Bob said, with genuine enthusiasm. He squatted down behind the plate and held his mitt at the height of Hunter's stomach. "All set!" He called to Wanda.

Hunter assumed his modified batting position and prepared.

Wanda wound up and fired an underhand pitch past Hunter that was faster than anything he'd ever seen thrown in his direction. Even though it crossed the plate in exactly a perfect strike, it actually scared Hunter to be so close to something moving so fast and he stepped back a bit to avoid being near it. The sound of the impact when the pitch hit Bob's mitt was almost as loud as a hit off the bat would have been, but the loudest sound was Bob's yowl when his brain registered the intensity of the pain in his hand.

"Ow!" He howled. "Christ! I think you broke my hand!"

Wanda smiled from the mound and put her hands on her hips. "I couldn't have at that speed. Maybe that glove is just too worn out. Why don't you use that new softball glove you were using before. It has more webbing."

Bob threw the ball back and then replaced the catcher's mitt with the new softball glove.

"Why did you step back?" Wanda asked Hunter.

He shrugged. "I was afraid it was going to hit me."

Wanda shook her head. "Hunter... that was probably a forty eight or forty nine mile an hour pitch. There are girls at camp who can throw a sixty five or higher. The coaches can get up into the seventies or eighties. Don't back away. Watch the pitch and hit the ball. I'll send in a few that are a little slower to start, but don't be a sissy. Hit them."

The word 'sissy' really hit Hunter hard. He stepped into the box and took a solid stance. When the ball came in, he swung and caught a bit of it, but not a lot. It popped up a little and would have landed foul of the first base line on a real field.

"Alright, that's a start," Wanda nodded. "A little more concentration and a little more girl-power on the swing and that ball will go straighter."

She wound up and sent another medium speed lob across the plate. This time Hunter got more of it and sent a line drive towards second base, but Wanda's quick hands pulled it out of mid-air.

"There you go," she said, encouragingly. "Try to get under it a little though."

He nodded and resumed his power stance.

The ball came in and he swung, catching all of it this time and sending it on a long arc into the field. Mary Ellen, who had been roaming a good distance away while Wanda had been batting, had to hustle in towards the infield to pick up the ball, but it was a respectable hit.

"Well, alright, alright, alright!" Wanda shouted. "Now, let's see if you can hit one with a little heat on it."
 

~^~
 

By mid afternoon, Bob, Hunter and the girls were hot and sweaty from playing softball for hours. If it was up to them, Hunter and Wanda would have played for another five hours, but Joyce and Veronica announced that it was time to call it a day and cool off in the pool. Hunter and the girls went to change into their swim suits, while Bob chose to go take a shower, then have a beer and watch the Red Sox on TV.

"Locking himself in his man-cave, I see," Veronica laughed when Bob announced his intentions.

Joyce smiled, but waited until Bob was out of earshot before she spoke. "I think Bob is finding it hard to see Hunter looking the way he does. Don't get me wrong, he's trying to be supportive and it was his idea to disguise Hunter this way, but when he sees 'the boy' looking little, and cute and sporting a bathing suit that shows off those breasts of his... I think it makes Bob a bit uncomfortable."

Veronica would have responded, but just then, Hunter and the girls exited the house in their swim suits. Mary Ellen and Wanda were both wearing very attractive two piece suits - nothing too daring, but very flattering, and Hunter emerged with a one piece swimsuit that Joyce had never seen before. It was white with dark blue piping around the arm and leg holes, a scoop neck, and narrow, dark blue, horizontal lines that were placed about an inch and a half apart for the length of the suit. The only other decoration was a three inch tall image of an anchor that was embroidered onto the front of his left hip. It gave the suit a bit of a nautical look. Like he was wearing a little sailor's dress of some kind.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Joyce said as he passed. "Where did this come from?"

"Oh," Hunter said, "Mae picked it up on sale at Kohl's. It fits good."

"Turn slowly so I can see," she instructed and he did. As she had done with the tankini, she slid her fingers into the rear of the leg holes to adjust the stretchy material over his rump. When he completed his slow spin, she said, "It does fit well. Do you like this style?"

He shrugged. "It's the first time I've worn it."

Joyce nodded, but took note of the fact that the suit's built in bra and deep, scooped neckline gave her stepson a bit more cleavage than she expected to see. Also, the sleek design of the suit showed a more feminine frame than the looser tops of the tankinis had. He didn't look at all boyish, now. She touched his hip, by the bottom of the suit. "It looks very nice, Hunter. Make sure you don't get too much sun, ok."

Hunter smiled. "Ok, mom."

Joyce and Veronica sat at the table under a shady umbrella and sipped on their wine and watch as the kids began playing and making noise in the pool.

When it was clear that the kids wear not listening to them, Veronica asked, "May I ask you a question about Hunter's condition?"

Joyce nodded. Veronica and Wanda were helping them quite a bit. She could share some details of this odd situation.

"I know that Hunter has gynaecomastia, but those breasts are not what most boys develop with that condition. Those are girls' breasts. And, in that suit, his hips and bottom looked to be fuller than I'd expect for a boy his age. Is there more to his situation than Bob has told me?"

"Yes and no," Joyce sighed. 'It's a hormonal imbalance causing the breast growth, but it's also wreaking havoc with other things, like his height and the way his body is developing. I know that Bob is hoping for a growth spurt that will kickstart Hunter's testosterone, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. Frankly, I have no idea how far his body will develop into a girl's form. I don't think the doctor knows either. I'm just as worried about Bob as I am about Hunter."

Veronica nodded and looked at the feminine form of her friend's son. "I noticed," she said, casually, "or rather - I didn't notice any outline of a penis in the crotch of that suit. He does have one, doesn't he?"

Joyce chuckled at the oddness of the question. "He does, but it's not much to talk about. Nothing has changed... well... developed... there, I mean. And beyond that - Mae put him into panties a few days ago and she showed him a video about how to tuck himself down there. I've seen him in panties and I think that the tucking is a full time thing, now. I am a little concerned that the tucking of his penis will cause the same problems that binding his breasts had caused. So far, though, he's fine."

Veronica shook her head and looked at Hunter as he did a gymnastic dive off of the diving board. "What a shame," she muttered.

"What do you mean?"

Veronica looked at Joyce apologetically. "I'm sorry I was just thinking out loud."

"And what were you thinking?"

"Just that... Well, you said that this is impacting his growth, so he'll probably always be a small boy, which isn't an easy thing to be. When I said 'What a shame,' what I meant was, what a shame he can't stay like he is. He's an absolutely precious little girl. I just was thinking... it's shame he has to grow up. All of them, really. It would be so nice if we could just keep them all like they are right now. Young, beautiful, carefree little girls."

Joyce nodded. "From your lips to God's ears." She watched her stepson even more closely. "Hunter was always a little moody before. Now... he seems thrilled to do anything as long as he is with his sister and he seems to be really happy with Wanda, too. Part of me thinks that we've only just met the real Hunter. I just wish Bob could see who she really is."

It was a solid minute or more before Joyce realized that she'd said 'she' when referring to her stepson.
 

~^~
 

Every day that week, Hunter and Wanda got together to practice. Mary Ellen drove them where they needed to go. Sometimes they worked on throwing exercises at Wanda's house. Sometimes they worked on hitting exercises at the softball field behind a local community college. Sometimes they worked in Bob and Joyce's backyard. It didn't matter, where they worked, Wanda was a fierce task master and Hunter was an eager student. Every afternoon, the three of them ended up in the pool with Joyce sitting on the patio watching them.

By Wednesday, all three of the kids were growing closer as friends. At Mary Ellen's suggestion, they all went together to see a movie at a cinema that was located in a mall down the highway, a few towns away. Not only was the theater a safe distance from home, but it offered food service in the theaters, as well. So the kids could go see the movie and have dinner at the same time. It was a big deal for all of them and both Joyce and Veronica were happy that the kids were doing something together.

So, the kids headed off for a four thirty in the afternoon film, unsure of which film they'd see until they got to the theater. They all had chicken fingers and fries with a soft drink and a small popcorn delivered to their seats and they enjoyed a ridiculous comedy that made them all laugh.

They were out of the movie by six thirty and, instead of going straight home, they decided to have some fun shopping - not buying much of anything since they didn't have much money with them. They did pick up a few little things, though. There was a buy-one-get-one-free sale on lingerie at one of the department stores at one end of the mall. Mary Ellen bought two packs of panties for herself and, much to his embarrassment, she bought two for Hunter as well.

"You didn't think I knew you wore panties?" Wanda asked, surprised. "Hunter, we've been doing athletic stuff together for days. Every time one of us bends over, the other sees the tops of our panties. It's no big deal. Honestly, I don't even think of you as a boy anymore."

He knew that was meant as a compliment, but the words did sting Hunter just a bit, too.

It didn't matter, though. After getting past that little bit of male pride, Hunter got into the flow and enjoyed talking color, style and fashion with the girls.

Eventually, they even talked Hunter into trying on some nice tops. He went into the dressing rooms and changed, then came out and showed off each top, some of which Mary Ellen liked enough to take pictures of to show her mother. Maybe mom would give them a few dollars so they could come back and buy Hunter a few nice things to wear when he went out, if need be.

The fifth store that they entered was a discount place that specialized in moderate quality, casual clothes. Both Mary Ellen and Wanda shopped there frequently and even Hunter had a decent pair of jeans that Joyce had picked up for him there. They picked up a few tops for Hunter to try on and Wanda grabbed some summer dresses and a romper. Mary Ellen didn't find anything that interested her, so she waited outside the dressing rooms to critique the clothing.

"It's pretty busy," Wanda pointed out. "The dressing rooms are pretty big here. Mom and I always go in together to try things on. Why don't we share one so that the paying customers don't get ticked off."

"Umm... you think that's be ok? I mean... you know..."

Wanda smiled. "Oh, come on, Hunter. You've see me in my bikini. My underwear covers more than that does. Besides, like I said, I think of you like a girlfriend. I don't mind if you don't mind."

"Ok," Hunter agreed.

When they got to the front of the line, Wanda told the lady at the counter that she and Hunter would share a room. The woman nodded and said, "Use room six. It's the biggest."

"Thank you," Wanda said and steered Hunter into the room.

First, Hunter tried on a top and went out to show Mary Ellen how it looked. While he was out of the room, Wanda tried on a dress. When Hunter returned, Wanda went out and showed it to Mary Ellen. This kind of alternating fashion shows for Mary Ellen went on until Hunter went out to model his last top. As he returned to the dressing room, he found Wanda in a state of undress, pulling a light pink, flowered romper off.

"Geez, this is way too small for me," she shook her head as she stood in her bra and panties and looked at the tags in the back of the romper. "Oh, for crying out loud. I took the wrong size." She began to put the romper back on the hanger when she stopped and looked at Hunter. "Hey... this will fit you. Try it on."

Hunter stood with his top in his hand, his comfortable, lace covered bra with the little bow in between the cups, supporting his plump breasts. "I... I don't think I should."

"Why not?"

He looked at the garment. "It's... it's almost a dress."

Wanda laughed. "What are you talking about? It's a romper. It's nothing like a dress. It's more like a pair of shorts with a blouse attached. Come on... just try it on. It'll be fun." She held the romper out to him.

"I don't know..."

Wanda let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Hunter... you are going to spend at least the next three weeks pretending to be a girl. Do you really think that this little piece of clothing is going to be the only girly thing you're expected to wear in that time? Come on. Just try it on. It'll be fine, I promise."

All that kind of made sense. It wasn't really a dress and the only people who'd know he'd even tried it on were Mary Ellen and Wanda.

Mary Ellen looked at the time her phone. It had been a longer wait than she'd expected. Either Hunter or Wanda should have come out with a new outfit by now. Or, if they were done, they should have both come out. Since Hunter didn't have a phone, she was about to text Wanda, but as she called up her contact information, Wanda walked out of the dressing rooms in her street clothes and smiling a big smile.

"Where's Hunter?" Mary Ellen asked.

"He's coming," Wanda grinned, "but don't freak, ok?"

"Why should I..." she didn't finish the question, because at that moment, Hunter stepped out of the dressing rooms wearing a light pink, flowered romper that had little fringes of white lace along the hems of the very short sleeves and very wide leg openings. It fit him really well and it looked so good on him! "Oh, my God," she said, quietly. "How did you get him into that?"

"It wasn't all that hard," the younger girl smiled. "I just told him that this might be a good alternative to a dress if he needed to wear something nice in the next few weeks. He wasn't exactly excited to try it on, but he gave in pretty easily."

"I need to send my mother a picture of this," Mary Ellen said, excited.

"Come on, Mae," Hunter whined as his stepsister approached with her cell phone out and pointed in his direction. "You're not going to show anyone those pictures are you?"

"I'm sending just this one to mom, Hunny," Mary Ellen explained. "When she sees you in this, she's going to want to get it for you."

And she did. As soon as Joyce saw the picture, she told Mary Ellen to use the credit card Joyce had given her for emergencies to buy the romper. In fact, her reply-text had read, 'THAT IS PERFECT FOR HIM. USE THE CARD I GAVE YOU. DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT BUYING THAT. IF YOU CAN GET HIM ANOTHER, GO AHEAD AND BUY TWO."

She only bought the one, though. Hunter wasn't interested in trying on any more. They did convince him to keep it on for the rest of their time at the mall, though.

Before they left, they stopped at the food court and got a little snack. Mary Ellen had a small fry and soft drink from Burger King, Wanda had a smoothie from a smoothie stand and Hunter got a kid-sized chocolate and vanilla swirl soft serve cone from another place.

As they sat there chatting and enjoying their last stop of the day, someone approached and said, "Wanda?"

Wanda looked up at a very handsome guy in his twenties who was walking with an equally attractive woman of the same age.

"Hey! Austin!" Wanda said, waving to the guy as he and his companion approached.

"I thought that was you!" The man named Austin smiled his handsome smile. "Maya," he said to the girl next to him, "this is Wanda. My star pitcher. I've told you about her, haven't I?"

"Only every single day since the softball season began," the woman chuckled. "Hi, Wanda. I'm Maya. I'm this guy's fiancé. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand, which Wanda accepted and shook.

"Oh," Wanda said, looking around, "these are my friends, Mae and Hunter. Guys, this is Austin. He's the coach of my softball team - not at school, but in the league I played in this spring."

"And every spring until you graduate," Austin smiled.

"I hope so," Wanda smiled back. "Hey, you should see Hunter play. She's getting really good. She's going to camp with me next week."

"Cool," Austin nodded. "Which camp?"

"The camp over at the regional high school."

"The camp over at the regional high school? Whoa, that's a tough camp! You'll learn a lot, but they'll beat you up pretty good. Don't get me wrong - I'm not criticizing them. They produce great athletes and I'll be happy to have you improve under their tutelage, but they will work you hard over there."

"I know," Wanda smiled. "I went last year, too."

"Ok," Austin smiled. "That explains a lot."

Wanda chuckled at that.

Austin looked at Hunter and squinted a bit. "I'm sorry, Hunter, but do I know you?"

"No. I don't think so," he said, but that was a lie. In fact, Austin had been a coach at the camp he'd attended the previous summer. Hunter had recognized him immediately and he'd been afraid that the older guy would recognize him.

"Huh..." Austin thought. "You look familiar." He thought for a moment more, then shrugged it off. "Oh, well. We have to get going. Will you all be going to camp next week?"

"Just me and Hunter," Wanda explained.

"Well, have a great time and work hard. Hunter, you should try out for our team next year."

"Maybe," Hunter nodded, trying not to give Austin too good a look at his face.

"Hey, I'll be able to come see your last game at the big park in the city!" Austin said. "I'll see you guys there. Have a good night."

They left and Mary Ellen looked at her stepbrother. "Do you know him?"

Hunter nodded. "Kinda. He coached at camp last year."

"So what?" Wanda laughed. "He'll never make the connection. You're much cuter now."

Hunter nodded. "I guess. I also guess that it's too late to go to camp under a different name, huh? I mean, he knows my name is Hunter, now, so if he comes to the last game..."

"That's ok," Mary Ellen smiled. "I've met a couple of girls named Hunter before. It's one of those names that can go either way."

Hunter nodded. "Yeah? Ok."
 

~^~
 

"Alright, girls," the coach assigned to Group A shouted. "Form a straight line along this white line in the grass!" They were on the school's football field, and spread out from the ten-yard-line to a little beyond the twenty-yard-line, facing across the narrow part of the field. "We're starting every day with some speed training. Across the field from you there are twenty tennis balls for each of you. When I blow my whistle, run across the field, grab one ball, run back here, drop the ball into the basket behind you and repeat the process until all twenty of your tennis balls are in your basket. Now, remember the first thing I said. This is SPEED TRAINING, so get moving and stay moving. The object is to be fast. Questions? No questions? Good. Here we go!"

She blew the whistle and everyone ran across the field. At first, it didn't seem like a big deal. Just get the twenty balls back into the basket, but after a few laps across the field, Hunter began to realize that the distance across the field was wider than he'd anticipated. By lap seven or eight, he felt like some of the girls were pulling ahead of him, so he pushed harder so as not to be the last one to have gathered all his balls.

Eventually, he lost track of everyone else and was just concentrating on getting through his own pain and retrieving all the balls. The world became his breathing and those stupid, yellow balls.

Finally, he grabbed the last one and dug down deep and found some extra strength and made a push for his basket, dropping the last one in. He stood and tried to slow his labored breathing. Eventually, he was returning to a normal feeling and he took stock of how many others in his group were still gathering balls. Of the twelve girls, including him, in the group, it looked like seven were done and a the rest were still hustling across the field.

Wanda came over to Hunter and offered a high-five. "You did great!" She said. "You came in seventh. That's great for a first timer - especially since you're one of the youngest people in the group."

He nodded his thanks as he bent over, his hands on his knees, and continued to breathe deeply.

"Hey, Short-Stuff," the coach said, coming up behind them, "you need to report to Coach Skylar's office."

It took Hunter a moment to realize that he was the person she was referring to as Short-Stuff. He nodded. "Ok, coach. Thank you, coach." He thought for a moment. "Umm... coach... where is Coach Skylar's office?"

The coach, who was a college student, pointed towards the nearby gymnasium. "Go in through the glass doors and turn left. You'll see her name on the sign outside of her office."

"Yes, coach. Thank you, coach." He headed in that direction, walking slowly so as to recover from the speed exercise.

"You're not walking, are you, Short-Stuff?" The coach shouted. "We don't walk here. Move that hiney of yours, Short-Stuff! HUSTLE!"

"Yes, coach!" He shouted as he ran towards the gym.

When he entered the gymnasium building, the coolness of the air inside hit his sweaty clothes and he realized how much he'd been sweating already and he'd only been at camp for a little over three quarters of an hour.

He turned left and headed down the hall. Coach Skylar's office was just a few doors down. The door was propped open, so he stepped in and cleared his throat, causing the woman at the desk to look up from her computer. She smiled and asked, "Hunter?"

He nodded, "Yes, coach."

She stood and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come with me. The nurse needs to see you."

That sent a chill down his spine, but he didn't really have a choice. So, he allowed himself to be guided down the hall. They had only walked a few doors down when Coach Skylar said, "In here."

"Hi, Sky," the older woman in the nurse's scrubs smiled. "So... is this Hunter?"

"This is him," Coach Skylar nodded, again surprising Hunter. He'd been told that he'd never be referred to as a boy while at camp.

The nurse patted the exam table next to her. "Ok, my dear. Up you go."

Hunter pulled himself up onto the exam table and waited. "Take off your shirt, please," the nurse said. Hunter looked at Coach Skylar, but she wasn't leaving, so he pulled the sweaty, light blue tee shirt off, revealing the beige sports bra below.

The nurse began by using her stethoscope to listen to his lungs. She asked a lot of questions, then had him stand to get a weight and height. "Forty nine inches and forty nine pounds," the doctor announced, shaking her head a bit. "You're definitely a little on the small side, my dear," she said to Hunter. Then she looked at the other woman. "She's kind of little for the rigors of this camp, Sky. Your call."

Coach Skylar nodded, then looked at Hunter, who looked frightened. "Don't worry, Hunter. I'm not sending you home, but I am concerned. When I was asked to include a boy in the camp, I had my reservations, of course, but I also expected a very different looking boy. I figured we'd be telling girls not to bother the butch looking tomboy. Instead, I'm concerned that they might plow right over you."

Hunter shook his head. "They won't, coach. I'm tougher than I look. Honest."

Coach Skylar snickered at that. "I bet you are." She looked at him for a moment or two, then she looked to the nurse, "What about his breasts?"

"What about them," the nurse asked. "They're a little ahead of schedule for a girl of her age and size, but if she's taking hormones..."

"I'm not!" Hunter cut her off. "Sorry, but I'm not taking anything. I didn't ask to look like a girl. I just do."

The nurse raised her eyebrows. "Really? Well, In that case... they are still a little ahead of schedule for a girl her age and size, but her bra fits well. I might have gone a little bigger in the cup, but as long as she's comfortable, it's a good bra. What are you wearing sweetheart? An A cup?"

He shrugged. "A 'B,' I think."

"It looks a little tight, but my guess is she's in-between cups right now, so it's fine. If she grows anymore, though, her mom will have to buy a better fitting bra for her."

Those were not words that Hunter wanted to hear, but he just sat and waited. God, why did women talk about bras so much!?

Coach Skylar nodded. "Ok, put your shirt back on, sweetheart." She watched him pull the sweaty shirt back on and then said, "Now, listen, Hunter... this is the last time that I will ever refer to you as a boy. I don't know what the deal is at home, but while you're here, you're just one of the girls, understood?"

"Yes, coach."

"Good," she nodded. "Now, I watched you doing the first part of your speed work this morning and I can see you have a lot of heart, but if you start getting hurt or teased because of your size, I want you to come to me immediately. Understood?"

"Yes, coach."

She had to admit, he was a cute kid. The little bob haircut didn't hurt, either. "Alright, sweetheart. Get back to your group. I think they'll be on field C at this point, doing some batting assessment."

"Yes, coach. Thank you, coach." He looked at the nurse. "Thank you, ma'am."

"You're very welcome, my dear," the nurse smiled at his politeness. "Off you go."

He turned and hustled out of the room and into the hallway.

"You think he'll be ok?" The coach asked the nurse.

"I think so, but I'll tell you one thing... If I were that child's mother, and I didn't want her to become a very pretty young lady over the next few years, I'd get her to an endocrinologist pretty damned quickly. I've seen lots of boys and girls that age who haven't developed secondary sexual features, but that girl..."

"That boy," Coach Skylar corrected.

"I know what I said," the nurse crossed her arms and shook her head. "That girl, that little girl, is never going to be a boy without some very aggressive intervention."
 

~^~
 

"That's lunch!" Coach Marie, the coach of Hunter's group called. He'd learned her name after he returned from the nurse's office. "Let's go, ladies! Everyone into the cafeteria." She clapped her hands rhythmically as Hunter and the girls jogged past.

When they got into the air condition of the building each group member let out a sigh. It was a hot day and they were all sweating a lot.

Lunch consisted of a choice of three items - pasta, chicken fingers or a vegetarian option that looked like a hamburger. Hunter chose the chicken fingers, always a favorite, then grabbed a bottle of a sports drink and a bottle of water. He took everything on a tray and looked around the room for an empty table.

"Hi," a much older girl said. "Come sit with us."

"Oh, thanks," Hunter smiled, "but I'm looking for my friend."

"Here I am," Wanda said. She'd gotten her food and was also looking for a table.

"Oh, ok," the older camper said. "Why don't both of you come join us."

"Ok. Great," Wanda said, then she leaned down and said to Hunter, "It's kind of a tradition that the older girls welcome the younger ones on the first day."

They followed the Group D girl to the table where her lunch was waiting and they all sat down. Another girl brought over two other members of Group A to join them. Hunter had been with the Group A girls all day and they were all very fit and fairly pretty little girls, but these girls, the Group D girls, they were all seventeen and eighteen years old, very athletic, most had fairly long hair in ponytails, and all of them were gorgeous - even without makeup.

"Are you guys taking care of my ladies?" Coach Marie asked the older girls as she walked by. The Group D girls all smiled and said they were.

"Take special care of Short-Stuff, here," the coach teased, patting Hunter on the shoulder. "This little spitfire has some talent."

Hunter was actually surprised to hear the coach offer any praise. So far, she'd been kind of mean to everyone.

"I understand that you've been working with our littlest camper," Coach Marie smiled at Wanda.

"Just for a week or so," she smiled, proud of her work and her friend.

Coach Marie smiled and gave Wanda a pat on the shoulder, too. "Good work, Wanda. Keep it up." Then she looked at Hunter. "Do what she says. She's our star."

The coaches walked away and the one of the Group D girls said, "Wow! Compliments from Coach Marie. You guys must be doing something right! I'm Ruthie," she smiled. "I gather you're Wanda and you're Short-Stuff, huh?"

"I'm Hunter," Hunter said.

Ruthie smiled. "Hunter? Cool name for a girl, but I like Short Stuff, better. Besides, if the coaches give you a nickname, it's always because they like you. Be proud of it."

Hunter shrugged, but he would rather not be continually reminded that, even though he was a boy amongst a slew of girls, he was the smallest camper by far.

"Hey, Ruthie," a girl said walking up to the table, "do you have a band-aid ? My sneaker gave me a cut on the back of my foot." Hunter and Wanda recognized the girl as Sarah, a girl from Group A.

"I told you to wear taller socks," Ruthie shook her head as she pulled a band aide out of a fanny-pack she was wearing around her waist.

"Hey, guys," Sarah smiled and waved to Hunter and Wanda.

"Hey," they both replied, but Wanda continued, "Are you guys sisters?"

"Can't you tell?" Ruthie teased. She was lanky and blonde and Sarah was a little bit broader and much darker with slightly swarthy skin and jet black hair.

The younger sister rolled her eyes. "One of us doesn't bleach our hair. Can you tell which one?"

That made them all laugh. "Hey, you guys are both really good," Sarah said. She gave Wanda a head jerk. "I only got two hits off of you. Usually, I hit, like, a lot more."

Wanda smiled. "We'll see. Maybe tomorrow you'll get lots of hits off me."

"You bet your ass I will."

"Knock it off," Ruthie laughed, giving the back of her little sister's head a dope-slap. "Be nice."

Sarah smiled, then said, "I'll be right back." She hurried to where her tray was waiting, grabbed it and hurried back to sit beside her sister. "So... where do you guys go to school?"

Conversation kicked off from there and by the end of lunch, the three Group A members had become fast friends.
 

~^~
 

"So, how did it go?" Joyce asked as Wanda and Hunter entered the house followed by Mary Ellen who'd picked them up.

"It was great, mom!" Hunter gushed. "I never worked so hard in my life, but we learned so much and I did really well! Oh, and mom! Wanda's like the biggest deal at camp! All the coaches watch her and talk about how great she is."

"Wow!" Joyce laughed. "And that was only day one!"

"I know. It was great!" Hunter smiled broadly. "We made a new friend, too. Her name is Sarah and her sister, Ruthie, is in Group D, the oldest group. Sarah is really good, too! I can't wait to go back tomorrow!"

"That's great!" Joyce said, giving him a hug. "Ugh! You smell sweaty. Why don't you guys get changed and take a dip in the pool before Wanda's mom gets here. Then you can shower for about an hour... or for how everything long it takes until we get you clean."

"Ok, mom," Hunter grinned and he and Wanda ran up the stairs to change.

"Aren't you going to go swimming?" Joyce asked Mary Ellen.

"Yeah, I am," she said, but she came over to the table where her mother sat and said, "You should have seen him when I picked them up, mom. I've never seen him so excited. All the girls were calling him Short Stuff..."

"Oh, that's awful!"

"No, mom. He loved it! All the girls were fawning all over him. He was like a little social butterfly."

Joyce looked towards the stairs and smiled. "That's wonderful."

Mary Ellen smiled, too. "It really was. Oh, here," she handed a Manila envelope to her mother. "All the girls had to bring this home for their parents. It's got all the schedule information for the next three weeks."

"Oh, thanks, honey, and thanks for being the chauffeur today."

"No problem, mom. I really enjoyed watching them play for a while and just seeing Hunter happy was awesome, too."
 

~^~
 

"Here they are," Bob joked as he and Veronica came out onto the patio and joined Joyce at the table. "So, preliminary reports are... what? Positive? Negative?"

"Very positive," Joyce smiled. "They both had a great day." She pointed to the kids in the pool having fun. "They're still wound up."

"Huzzah!" Bob said as he raised both hands over his head and did a bit of Rocky dance to celebrate.

"Yeah, it's a big victory, but take a seat. There is a problem that we need to discuss."

Veronica pulled out a seat and sat down as well. "As long as they're happy," she said, "we can help him with anything. Right?"

Joyce looked dubious. "They sent home this itinerary of everything that's happening for the next three weeks."

"Yeah?" Bob said, looking at the calendar. "And?"

"And..." Joyce said, shaking her head. "Look at the third Thursday evening. The night before they play at the stadium."

"What?" Veronica said, shocked. "They didn't do that last year!"

"Yeah," Joyce nodded. "I called Coach Skylar and asked about it. She said that last year they couldn't get the hall they used for the evening, so they didn't do it. She seemed really excited to be hosting it again this year, though."

"Wait," Bob said, looking at the calendar. "What's a 'Daughter Dance?'"

Joyce explained. "It's what we used to call a 'Daddy/Daughter Dance,' but since families aren't all dad/mom/kids and a dog anymore, they just call it a Daughter Dance. The child can go with a father or mother or uncle... whatever. The point is, it's a semi-formal dance."

"Which means, what?" Bob asked, not really all that aware of social mores of these kinds of things.

"Which means," Veronica explained, "the men wear suits and ties and the girls wear nice dresses."

"Yeah, but this is the twenty-first century," Bob scoffed. "The girls can wear trousers, right?"

Joyce shook her head. "I read the description of the event. It specifies dresses. It even discourages skirts."

"So..." Bob shrugged, "poor Hunter is sick that night. We really wanted to go, but... stomach bug or a low fever... what can you do?"

Veronica looked at him and shook her head. "So, Hunter is fine at practice on Thursday, is sick Thursday night, then shows up at the stadium to play on Friday? Bob, they'll never let him play if they think he's been sick."

"Alright, alright," Bob folded his arms and thought. "He's happy now, right? So, let's not say anything about it until we have to."

"We have to say something tonight or tomorrow, Bob," Joyce said. "Besides the fact that there will be conversations about this at camp..." she took a breath, "... he's going to need to go dress shopping and that doesn't happen with just one quick trip to the mall. It takes time."

Bob shook his head. "Dresses... Jesus... we're buying our son dresses. What kind of parents are we?"
 
 
To Be Continued...