The Girls of Summer: 6

 

Hunter realizes a few things about himself and gets dressed up to attend his friend's
bat mitzvah party. I am so happy that so many of you are enjoying this story. I truly
appreciate you letting me know that you're reading and what you think about the story.
For those of you who feel that characters have reached resolution already or that
Hunter's health is being neglected, all I can suggest is - read on. Thank you!!!

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Author's Note: I have taken suggestions from the comments that have been given
and thank you for them! I am working on improving some of these stories! And please, keep leaving
more reviews for me!

ps: The usage of the word Hunny is slang for "Hunter" not honey. ~Clara.
 
This version of The Girls of Summer: 6 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 6
 

Bob had been trying hard to be a good dad, but it was difficult to see his boy, the child he’d expected to carry on his legacy as a high school and college athlete, fade into girlhood. Everyday, when he came home from work, Hunter was either wearing one of those one piece bathing suits that Joyce and Mary Ellen seemed to find so cute on him – the ones that required that he tuck his-little-self away completely so that the only bulges on his body were the ones provided my those damned breasts that just seemed bigger every day – OR he was wearing a skirt and being told how to walk about in a maidenly fashion. So, Bob had taken to smiling a lot, offering the right amount of encouragement required to keep Joyce happy and watching Sports Center alone instead of sitting by the pool with his family.

He wanted to be supportive – he really did – but it was just so damned hard.

That Thursday evening, when he got home, Hunter was wearing the flowered romper that Mary Ellen had gotten him at the mall. It was better than a skirt, sure, but it was so delicate and so female.

For some reason, Veronica and Wanda did not stay for dinner that evening, as had become the custom since camp had started. From what Bob had understood from his conversations with Ronnie during the day, dinner at his house had been the plan, but something had apparently come up between leaving the office and arriving at home and Ronnie rushed out the door with her daughter in tow, saying something about some vague appointment she’d completely forgotten about.

“I got a call from the endocrinologist’s office, today,” Joyce said quietly to Bob in the back office, while Hunter and Mary Ellen set the table.

“And?” Bob asked, concerned.

“They’d like permission from you to get copies of Kate’s medical history.”

It took Bob a few seconds to process that. “Kate’s medical history? Who would even have that? I mean, she’s been gone for over a decade…”

“They said that her primary care doctor should have copies of everything. They just need your permission to contact them.”

“O…ok…” Bob shrugged, “but why?”

“Because she was Hunter’s biological mother, Bob, and Hunter’s body isn’t developing the way it should be. They want to see if there’s anything in Kate’s medical history that may have caused something like this to have occurred in Hunter. That’s all.”

“Ok,” Bob said. That all made sense. “Tell them I said it was fine.”

Joyce stopped him before he could walk away. “Bob. This requires a signature on a release form. You’re going to have to call them, make the arrangements to have them send you the required documents, then sign the paperwork and return it. Can you handle that?”

“Yeah, of course I can,” he pretended to be insulted. “I’ll call them tomorrow.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Mary Ellen called from the other room.

“Great! I’m starving,” Bob said as he took his seat at the head of the table. His heart sank a bit when he saw that dinner was to consist entirely of a large Cesar Salad with just a little bit of cold chicken on top. “Oh, good,” he teased. “Rabbit food.”

“We all had a busy day today,” Joyce said, shaking her head. “There was no time to cook and we needed to use up some left overs.”

Bob smiled and nodded. ‘Just be nice and supportive,’ he told himself.

“So… how was camp, today?” He asked Hunter, expecting the usual shrug and ‘good’ replay, but instead, Hunter broke into a long and involved story that included a game between his group and the oldest girls and how his group won the game and, even though he didn’t know it at the time, had scored the winning run by beating a throw to the plate… and… and… and… It was a very long and involved story.

“Wait, wait…” Bob said at one point. “You were knocked unconscious by another camper? Actually unconscious and they didn’t send you home?”

“They wanted to,” Hunter smiled, “but I begged Coach Skylar and she let me stay and play.”

“Did they even call you!?” Bob asked his wife.

“Oh, yeah. They called me.” Joyce smiled at the boy. “Skylar told me the whole story and said that he was fine. He’d just had the wind knocked out of him and he wanted to stay and finish the game. Knowing how determined Hunter can be, I said it was ok.”

“Huh,” Bob grunted. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

Joyce just smiled. “Things are different this summer. All the girls were taking good care of him. Isn’t that right, Hunter?”

Hunter nodded and smiled.

When the epic story of that game was over, there was a bit of a lull in the conversation as they all went back to eating. Mary Ellen looked at her stepbrother and waited until he looked up and she could make eye contact with him. She raised her eyebrows at him and then looked to Bob, telling Hunter that he should talk to his father at that time.

“Umm… dad…?” Hunter started.

“Yes?” Bob said, glancing up, expecting an addendum to the softball game saga.

“Umm…” Hunter looked a little scared, but he gathered his courage and cleared his throat. “Umm… next week… on Thursday… there’s that dance thing for the camp… you know what I’m talking about?”

Bob nodded, chewed his salad and dabbed his lips with his napkin, waiting for his mouth to be empty. “Yes. I know about that.”

“Well…” Hunter looked at his plate for a few minutes. “Umm… would you… be willing… to go with me to that?”

“Oh… umm…” Bob sat back and looked at everyone. Hunter was still looking at his food, but Mary Ellen and Joyce were smiling at Bob as if this was a very important moment, but he couldn’t understand why. “Well… Hunter… I kind of expected that you’d want mom to go with you to that. Wouldn’t that be better?”

“Oh,” Hunter nodded and played with his lettuce. “Ok… I guess…”

Mary Ellen looked at her little, feminine stepbrother and she could see his heart breaking and that was causing her own heart to break right along with his.

Joyce scowled at her husband. Bob responded with a shrug and the mouthed word, ‘What?’

“Well,” Joyce tried to keep the door between father and son open, “is that what you want, Hunter? Do you want me to take you, or would you rather that dad takes you.”

Hunter shrugged. “Whatever, I guess.”

“Look, sweetheart, if you’d prefer…”

Hunter dropped his fork, pushed his chair back and headed to the sliding door. “I said, whatever, mom. I don’t even care. I don’t even want to go, anyway. The whole thing is just stupid.” He slid the door open stepped out and closed it hard behind him.

“Dad! What’s wrong with you!?” Mary Ellen exclaimed as she stood to follow Hunter into the back yard.

When she was gone, Joyce looked at Bob and shook her head. “Well, I hope you’re happy, Bob!”

“What just happened?” Bob said, surprised that everyone was mad at him. “I honestly assumed he’d rather you went to this thing with him instead of me.”

Joyce stood and gathered the half-empty dishes together. “Do you have any idea how difficult that was for him, Bob? It took every ounce of courage that that little boy had to ask you to go with him, and you shot him down without even a thought. How could you be so mean to your own son!?”

“Ok, just stop, please. First off, my SON just invited me to a daddy/daughter dance. That’s a bit odd, Joyce, and I’m sorry if it caught me by surprise. I just thought that since this was a dress-up thing, he’d be more comfortable doing it with you. That’s all. God, Joyce, he’s as bad as Mae was at that age. I don’t know what to say around him. Whatever I say either ticks him off or makes him cry.”

“How does someone as obtuse as you get through a day?” Joyce asked, amazed. “Don’t you have any empathy for what that boy is going through?“

“Of course I do! I…” something occurred to him. “Wait… why would it take every ounce of his courage to talk to me about this? Did I ever give him a reason to be afraid of me?”

“Do you think he’s blind, Bob? Do you think he doesn’t see how disappointed you are because he isn’t living up to your expectations? I mean… for heaven’s sake… didn’t you hear the pride in his voice when he told you about his team beating the older team? You didn’t even congratulate him! You just asked about whether or not they called me about an accident that he was embarrassed about. Then, knowing how much he’s already disappointing you, he asked you to take him to the dance, and you just pulled the rug right out from under the poor kid.”

Bob sighed. Didn’t she understand that he’d been working all day and needed to relax when he got home? Lately, whenever he was in this house, it was just one problem after another! And why the hell didn’t she call him and prep him for this kind of thing!?

“Alright, I’m sorry if my response wasn’t quite what you expected, but you have to understand that I’m not really sure if I’m ready to…” he sensed that things weren’t going the way he wanted, so he just stopped talking.

“What? Ready to what?” Joyce persisted. “Ready to see your son in a nice dress? Well, too goddamned bad, Bob, because after talking to the endocrinologist today, I’m getting the distinct impression that things are worse than they’ve led us to believe. In fact, I think things might get more ‘girly’ for Hunter before they get ‘boyish,’ and you need to get with the program.”

“I’m trying, Joyce, I really am…”

“Well, stop trying and start doing, Bob. He needs your support, not your judgement. I know that, between the two of us, he’s only got your DNA, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s MY little boy – or maybe, MY little girl, I don’t know for sure, but I know that I will always love him OR her, no matter what – BUT AS FOR YOU – YOU’RE REALLY STARTING TO TICK ME OFF!”

She took the plates to the sink.
 

~^~
 

“Hey,” Mary Ellen said, tenderly, as she sat on the double seated swing on the patio and put her arm around her stepbrother. “You ok?”

Hunter let out a sarcastic chuckle. “No. I’m not ok.”

Mary Ellen pulled him closer and he rested his head on her shoulder. “What can I do to help?”

Another chuckle came from Hunter. “Maybe a knife or something.”

She tried not to sound too alarmed by that answer. She stayed calm and asked, “A knife? Why would you need a knife?”

“I don’t know… maybe to cut these things off, or to cut off… you know…”

A cold chill ran down Mary Ellen’s spine. “You don’t mean that, Hunny. I mean… you’d never really do something like that… would you?”

“No,” Hunter muttered as he dissolved into tears and buried his eyes in Mary Ellen’s shoulder. “I just wish I wasn’t like this, Mae. I’m not a boy and I’m not a girl and I don’t know what to do about anything. Mom treats my like I’m a girl. Dad treats me like I’ve got a contagious disease or something. I’ll never be able to go back to school like this. My friends who are boys would never… who am kidding? I never really had any friends who are boys.”

Mary Ellen kissed his head. “You seem to have a lot of friends who are girls.”

He nodded a little. “They’d probably hate me is they knew the truth, though.”

“Oh… I don’t think so. They’re your friends, Hunter. They’d still be your friends if they knew.”

He shrugged and sat back in the swing-seat. He wiped his eyes and sniffled back his tears. “I just wish…” he stopped there.

“What do you wish, Hunny?”

“Don’t laugh, ok?’

“Of course not. You can tell me anything. You know that.”

“I just wish… I’d been born a girl so that none of this ever happened.”

Mary Ellen was very surprised to hear this particular wish. “A girl?” She asked calmly. “You wish you’d been born a girl?”

He nodded. “Pretty screwed up, isn’t it?”

“No, sweetie, no. It’s not. You’re body is doing all kinds of things to you right now and… I understand. I really do.”

It was silent for a solid minute or so, but then a thought occurred to Mary Ellen. Something that had been living on the edges of her brain for a week or so at that point, but something she didn’t think was possible. Now, that thought pushed to the front of her consciousness and she knew she had to ask her little brother – the little boy who had the cute, red-dyed bobbed hairdo, who was wearing the adorable, flowered romper with the ruffled hems and his breasts pressing out from underneath the soft material – a question she never expected to have to ask.

“Hunny…” she spoke as quietly as she could. “…if… if you could make a choice… to live the rest of your life as a boy… or a girl… which would you choose?”

Hunter looked at the ground and the tears began again.

“Hunny?” She asked. “Which would you choose?”

He just cried.

“Hunny? I want to help you, but you have to tell me. Which would you choose?”

Finally, he looked at her and the desperation in his eyes was heartbreaking. “I… I don’t want to be a boy anymore.”

“No?”

He shook his head. “I know that makes me a fairy or a queer or something, but… I just want to be with the girls. To be one of them. That’s all. I’m sorry. I know that is going to make everyone mad, but… I’m so sorry… it’s just how I feel.”

“Oh, Hunny…”

“And look at me, Mae! Look at me! My body even wants to be a girl! And I want to do it, too! I want to go all the way and look like a who I’m supposed to be, but… then Dad will hate me… and… mom will hate me BECAUSE dad will hate me… and… I just wish I wasn’t me right now!”

Mary Ellen wrapped her arms around him and hugged him with all her might as he sobbed helplessly into her shoulder. She shh-ed him and told him it was ok. That everyone loved him and he would be fine. Both of them had their eyes closed when someone touched Mary Ellen’s shoulder, startling her a bit.

“Sorry,” Bob said, quietly. “Can you give me a few minutes with Hunter?”

Mary Ellen looked at her stepbrother and thought for a moment. Then she looked back at her stepfather and gave her head a sad shake to indicate ‘no’ was her answer.

“It’ll be ok, Mae. I promise,” Bob said, sadly.

Mary Ellen sighed and kissed Hunter’s head once more. “I’ll be right inside if you need me,” she whispered and he nodded.

When Mary Ellen had vacated her seat, Bob sat next to his son and put his arm around his shoulder. “I guess I really messed things up yet again, huh?”

Hunter shook his head. “Not you... Me. I mess everything up just by being alive.”

“Hunter… that’s not true. You… you’re a great kid, buddy. You’ve got lots of talent and it seems like you’ve got lots of new friends… Pal… I just… never expected to have to be a dad to someone as special as you. Things have just changed so quickly and I’m… I’m an older guy, buddy. It just takes me a little longer than it does for mom.”

Hunter nodded. “Ok.”

“So… about that dance next Thursday…”

“Yeah, forget about that, dad. I’m not going.”

“Of course you’re going. It’s part of the camp, right? A night for you to have fun with your friends.”

Hunter looked at him and shook his head. “But, dad… I’d… have to wear a fancy dress and all that.”

“And you’ll look great,” Bob said, giving his shoulders a shake.

“Dad, come on. You don’t want me to do this, I know that.”

Bob bit his lip and pondered what to say for a moment. “Look, sport…”

“Dad…” Hunter stood. His eyes were welling up again. “Calling me ‘Sport,’ and ‘Buddy,’ and ‘Pal’… it’s kinda making things worse for me. It’s kinda like you think I’m going to be… a boy… again… and… I don’t think I am.”

“Hunter, of course you’re going to go back to being a boy. This is just a temporary thing…” he stopped because Hunter abruptly turned to face Bob and lowered the top of his romper to expose his breasts.

“No I’m not, dad. Look. I’m shorter than any of the boys my age. I’m even shorter than all the girls at camp – but, dad, these,” he gripped his breasts, “are bigger than most of the girls in my group. Even some of the older girls have commented on them. They say I’m little, but I’m big where it counts. Dad… I’m scared and I don’t really know what to do, but… I don’t think I’m PRETENDING to be a girl anymore. I think I’m pretending that I might be a boy again someday.”

Bob nodded, looking a bit shocked and dismayed by Hunter’s words and actions. “Pull your top up, Hunter,” he said, quietly.

The boy did as he was told.

“Hunter…” Bob said, patting the seat beside him so the boy would sit again. When he was seated and Bob had his arm around his shoulders again, he said, “Maybe you’re right. I just don’t know. There’s no question that you’ve drawn a short straw as far as all of this goes, but we’re going to figure it all out. Ok? No matter what, we’re going to be here with you the whole time.”

Hunter stared straight ahead for a while before he said, “But, dad… What if I really am a girl now?”

Bob scoffed a little. “Hunter… you’re not a girl. Yeah, your breasts are bigger than they should be, but there’s more to being a girl than…”

“Dad! I’m not an idiot! I know about penises and vaginas. But I also know how to use Google, Dad, and I know that my boobs aren’t like other guys with this gyno-whatever stuff! Mine are firm and round and I have big nipples, too. I mean, you just saw them, right!? You must have noticed that they looked like they belonged on a girl.”

In fact, Bob had noticed and then looked away quickly. “Alright, Hunter. I know you’re confused and upset. I understand that and I wish that I could make it all go away, but I can’t. But I will tell you this: You are my son and I love you and I’m proud of you. If for any reason, you end up being my daughter… none of that will change. I will still love you and I will still be proud of you. Ok?”

Hunter nodded.

“Now… your mom tells me that she has been encouraging you to take small steps, right?”

He nodded again.

“Ok, so let’s do this. Let’s put the ‘Daughter Dance’ on hold for today. You’ve got a big day of camp tomorrow and then the bat mitzvah party on Saturday. Let’s concentrate on that event first. Then, if you want to go to the ‘Daughter Dance,’ and you’d like me to escort you, we’ll figure that out, too. Ok?”

Another nod.

“Alright. Let’s go in and watch a little TV before bedtime. The Red Sox are on.”

“Ok,” Hunter stood and walked with his father. “Maybe we’ll see the coach who’s coming to talk to us tomorrow.”

“Maybe,” Bob smiled. “That would be pretty cool, huh?”
 

~^~
 

“Hey, can I come in?” Hunter jumped and covered himself, embarrassed to be caught by his stepsister while looking at himself in the mirror. He had been standing in just a pair of cotton panties and looking at himself in his mirror.

“Yeah,” he said, hurrying to grab a pajama top.

“No. Hold on,” Mary Ellen said, with a smile. “I bought you something the other day and… well… here.” She held out a bag from a local department store.

Hunter looked into the bag and saw a neatly folded white garment with a lot of lace on it. “What’s this?”

“It’s a nightgown,” Mary Ellen said, reaching into the bag and pulling the folded parcel out.

“I’ve never worn a nightgown to bed,” he said as his stepsister shook the nightie loose. “Wow,” he laughed. “It’s like… It’s got so much lace… It’s like a wedding dress or something.”

Mary Ellen laughed. “I bought it, like, a week ago because I thought it’d look cute on you, but… well… I didn’t think you’d like it. Now… you said you wanted to be a girl, so… how about we try something REALLY girly?”

It was white and had a wide, lace ruffle around the neck line. That ruffle was wide enough to extend to the ball shaped, lace sleeves that ended in smaller lace ruffles. The gown itself was a simple, translucent gown that would cover him to just above his knees. Then it had a lace ruffle around its hem as well.

“It is very pretty,” he admitted, “but won’t I look kind of stupid in that?”

“No, Hunny. See, that’s where you keep misunderstanding the situation. You spend all day with all those girls in their athletic gear and you fit in perfectly, right? Well, I promise you, at least half of those girls are going home and wearing things like this to bed. It’s one of the benefits of being a girl. You get to be as tough and as pretty as you want.”

He looked at the beautiful nightie for a long, long moment and considered what the implications of putting it on might be. Yes, he wanted to be a girl, but… What did that really mean? And how would his parents react if they ever found out.

“Want to at least try it on?” She asked.

Finally, he nodded. “But if I look stupid, I’m taking it off.”

Mary Ellen giggled. “Ok.”

She held the nightgown open and eased it over his head and down his body. It fit just the way she’d hoped. The ball shaped sleeves made his already slender arms look tiny and thin and the gown hung from his shoulders and breasts in a sweet, girlish-nearly-womanly way.

“Well?” Hunter asked. “Do I look stupid?”

“Not at all,” Mary Ellen said in a voice that told him she was telling the truth. “Come sit on the bed with me.”

He did and Mary Ellen reached to his nightstand and grabbed a hairbrush she’d bought him a week or two ago. She scooted behind him and started brushing his hair in a gentle, sisterly way.

He closed his eyes and let her brush. It felt nice.

“I was thinking,” Mary Ellen said, quietly. “For Saturday… you have that nice dress to wear… I was thinking that you might want to wear one of my nicer necklaces and maybe some matching earrings. Would you like that?”

His eyes still closed and the sensation of the brush running through his bobbed hair making him relax for the first time in a long time, thought about things and finally said, “Thanks, Mae. That would be nice.”

It was at that moment that Mary Ellen looked to the doorway and noticed her mother standing there, leaning on the door molding and watching. Her smile seemed a little sad at first, but when she noticed her daughter looking at her, Joyce’s smile widened into a look of approval.

Mary Ellen continued brushing and talking. “I have a pendent with a garnet in it that has a pair of matching, pendent earrings. Those would be nice. We’ll try those first, ok?”

Joyce glanced down the corridor and saw Bob coming up the stairs. She held a finger to her lips and motioned for him to come look.

Bob turned into the room and saw the picture before him. A beautiful eighteen year old girl enjoying a sororal moment with her younger sister. There was no boy in that room. It wasn’t just the nightgown. It wasn’t just the hair cut. It wasn’t an issue of clothing or accessories. There were two girls sitting on the bed just enjoying being sisters.

Bob smiled along with his wife, but in the pit of his stomach, something was gnawing at him.
 

~^~
 

“Ok! Next!” Coach Ken, the visiting batting coach from the Boston Red Sox smiled and clapped his hands, encouraging the next person to move quickly. When Hunter stood and hurried to the batter’s box, the rest of the camp was clapping and encouraging with hoots and whistles and calls of “Short Stuff!” “Show him what you’re made of, Short Stuff!” Etc.

“Short Stuff, huh?” Coach Ken said, smiling. “Ok. Let me see your stance.”

Hunter took his place and assumed his batting stance.

“Alright,” the coach smiled and spoke loudly so everyone could hear. “Let’s talk about the obvious disadvantages. Our batter is small, making her a someone weaker batter…” that elicited some ‘boos’ and ‘uh ohs’ from the rest of the camp. The batting coach chuckled at that response. “I’m not being mean, I’m just telling it like it is. Smaller batters have a strength and reach disadvantage. I think we can all agree with that.”

He looked at Hunter smiled. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Hunter.”

He nodded. “Alright, so Hunter has a nice stance. Well prepped and ready to swing. That’s good. Now, here are a few ADVANTAGES for a smaller batter. First of all, Hunters strike zone is smaller than say,” he pointed to Ruthie, “you’ll do. What’s your name?”

“Ruthie.”

“Alright, Ruthie, come stand by Hunter.” When she had arrived, Coach Ken continued. “Now, remember everyone, the strike zone on any batter is roughly the distance between the batter’s shoulders and knees. Now, I’m six foot three, so my strike zone is fairly large.” He demonstrated the size of his strike zone.

“Now, Ruthie is, I’m guessing, five nine or so?” Ruthie nodded. “So Ruthie is about six inches shorter than me, so her strike zone is proportionately smaller. Now, Hunter is about two feet smaller than me, so her strike zone is A LOT smaller than mine. That limits the area into which our pitcher, Wanda, can pitch the ball. So, Wanda, throw a strike into Hunter’s strike zone. Hunter, don’t swing.”

Wanda threw the pitch and it crossed the plate at just about the height of Hunter’s belly button.

“Excellent. Now, throw a strike that’s just a little high and outside. Make sure it’s a strike, though.”

Wanda caught the ball when the catcher returned it and threw a pitch in that was a little high and outside.

“Ooh,” Coach Ken smirked. “That looked like a ball to me. See, Hunter’s height – or lack there of – makes it a challenge for the pitcher to throw a lot of her favorite pitches. Ok, this time, Wanda, give Hunter a good pitch and Hunter, let me see your swing.”

“You mean you want me to hit it?” Hunter clarified.

“Yeah, sweetheart,” Coach Ken laughed. “I want you to try to hit it.”

Wanda smiled at Hunter. She knew that he liked a nice slider coming in on the outside corner of the plate, so that’s what she served up for him.

Hunter saw the pitch coming and knew exactly where it was headed. He took the swing and connected solidly with the ball. It rocketed into the outfield and the left fielder grabbed it on its first bounce. The rest of the campers applauded and whistled.

Coach Ken looked shocked. “Well, shoot fire,” he gaped. “I have to admit it, Short Stuff, I never expected that.” He looked at Coach Skylar and Coach Marie. “Is this how she always bats?”

Coach Skylar smiled and nodded. Coach Marie didn’t smile, but kept her arms folded across her chest and said, “Never sell my girls short, Coach. As we always say: They may be small, but they are mighty.”

“I can see that,” he laughed.

They spent the rest of the day working with Coach Ken, running batting and fielding drills as he offered critiques. It didn’t take long for the Coach to realize that all of the girls had been working their butts off for the first two weeks of camp and that they were all fairly talented girls and if they lacked anything in talent, they made up for it in hard work and effort.

Hunter knew pretty well that he was a better than average player, but he was not the best player on his team by a long shot. He did love the game, though, and he really loved playing it with these girls. He loved how passionately they played and he loved how they supported each other. That was so different than any experience he’d had playing ball with boys.
 

~^~
 

“It’s bath oil, sweetheart. It’ll soften your skin and make it more sensitive so that your clothes will feel even nicer,” Joyce explained as Hunter looked at the tub. He was about to take a bath, something he couldn’t remember having done since he was very young.

“Can I have a little privacy, at least?” He asked.

“Sweetheart,” Joyce smiled, “it wasn’t that long ago that I was bathing you every night. Even though it’s been a few years, I know every inch of your body. Here’s the thing, though… I need to look at your body to make sure that all of those awful rashes are healed or healing. I’m sorry if that feels intrusive, but I know you don’t want those cuts opening up again. And remember that Dr Clemente said that we need to check all the areas that collect moisture. Now, you’ve been playing softball everyday for weeks. I need to make sure that everything is ok.”

Hunter let out a defeated sigh. “God, this is so embarrassing.”

“I know,” Joyce’s smile grew warmer. “I promise I’ll make it as un-embarrassing as possible.”

He shook his head and, reluctantly, removed his robe. He stood naked before his stepmother and said, “Well?”

Joyce began her inspection, but his rash was not what interested her. Earlier, she’d spoken to Dr Raymond, Hunter’s endocrinologist, and he had some questions about Hunter’s development that Joyce could not answer. So – she needed to see him naked.

“You still have a little rash back here,” Joyce said, looking at her stepson’s backside. “I’m just going to take a picture to send to the doctor.”

“Oh, mom, please, no! Don’t take pictures of my butt.”

She picked up her phone and opened the camera app. “Don’t worry. It’ll be a close up. No one will see your butt.”

Another frustrated sigh.

“Ok, let me see under your breasts.”

“Oh, man…”

Hunter looked at the ceiling while Joyce inspected and discreetly took some pictures.

He let out a surprised noise when she touched his penis. “Mom! What are you doing?”

“You’ve been sweating, Hunter, and you’ve been tucking yourself into the gusset of your panties where sweat gathers. I am just checking.” She said, as she took the last of her pictures for the endocrinologist. “Well, you definitely look better. Go ahead and jump into the tub. Here.” She handed him something that she pulled out of a small plastic bag.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a shower cap. Put it on and tuck in all of your hair.”

“But… I’m not taking a shower.”

“No, but you ARE taking a bath with oils in it and if you get oil in your hair, then you’ll have to take a shower to wash your hair and that will defeat the purpose of the oil.”

Hunter shook his head, removed the shower cap from the packet and put it on. Joyce tucked in any stray hairs.

“Won’t I have to shower and wash my hair at some point?”

“They’ll wash your hair tomorrow at the salon.”

“Salon?” Hunter was surprised. “I’m going to the salon again?”

“You’re going tomorrow AND Thursday,” Joyce said, sounding very self satisfied.

“Why?”

“Because you want to look nice at the party tomorrow and at the dance on Thursday. That’s why.”

Hunter sat in the very warm water, but continued talking. “That’s nuts! I didn’t have to go to the barber before every party I went to.”

Well, these are fancier parties,” she smiled and grabbed a face cloth from the closet. “And when a young lady goes out, she has to look nicer than a young man.”

“Mom, these girls are ball players, just like me. I guarantee that they are not going to get all dolled up for a party.”

“And I guarantee you that you are wrong. And to prove it – Wanda is going with you to both appointments. Here. Use this face cloth and wash your face and neck. Make sure all of your sink gets bath oil on it.” He took the cloth. “And besides… I bet that after you have had professionals pampering you and making you look all nice and pretty, you’ll learn to like it just like every other young lady does.”

She turned and left him to soak.

He thought his stepmother was crazy. He knew those girls. They weren’t going to show up looking like Barbie Dolls. He did have to give her credit regarding the bath, though. This was really nice. And it smelled really nice, too.
 

~^~
 

“Never!?” Effie asked, looking over the back seat at Wanda and Hunter in the back. “How did you get to be twelve and thirteen years old and never have a REAL mani/pedi done?”

“I’ve had my nails done,” Wanda said, sounding very mature and experienced. “I’ve never gone to a nail salon like this though. You know – where it takes a couple of hours to do everything and they treat you like a princess.”

“Well you two are in for a treat, then,” Mary Ellen’s friend smiled and chuckled. “You are going to feel things you have never felt before.” She looked at Hunter. “You’re going to find out how wonderful it is to be truly taken care of.”

“Ok,” Hunter shrugged and smiled. He was wearing a blousy, cotton, plain blue skirt and a light weight, front buttoned, sleeveless, yellow top that hung loosely on him. At first he was concerned about going out wearing a skirt. He’d worn them around the house all week, but going out was different. He was afraid of what people might think, but since Wanda was wearing a very similar outfit, he felt ok about it by the time they left the house.

Mary Ellen was taking them to their appointments that day. Joyce and Bob had a social obligation to attend that morning and afternoon. That was fine with Hunter. Mary Ellen was more fun and less pushy than his mom, anyway. In fact, Joyce asked Mae to deal with Hunter that morning because Mae seemed to get Hunter to do whatever she asked, while he tended to balk at Joyce’s suggestions more frequently. Joyce hoped that, if Mary Ellen could get Hunter to cooperate, get prettied up and enjoy being dressed up and looking cute at Sarah’s party, then maybe she’d stand a chance of getting him to relax and enjoy the full experience on Thursday evening.

It definitely worked.

“Oh, this is heaven!” Wanda moaned as her feet soaked in the salty water solution at the nail salon. “My feet feel so good!”

“I know,” Hunter agreed, sitting back in his stuffed chair and enjoying the jets massaging his feet with the warm water.

“See,” Effie smiled and shook Hunter’s forearm. “It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

“It is,” he agreed.

“I’m going to go with that bright sage color on both my fingers and toes,” Mary Ellen told the nail technician who came over to chat about their choices. “Both of the girls will take Baby Pink and Effie… what do you want?”

“I’m going with the bright yellow,” Effie smiled.

“Any extensions,” the technician asked.

“No, I’m growing mine out and Effie already has ‘Freddie Kruger Nails.’

“None for the young ladies?” The tech asked.

Wanda held out her hands, her fingers fanned open. “I’d love to try long nails.”

“Don’t you think that would interfere with your fastball?” Mary Ellen smirked and chuckled at the girl next to her.

“No, not my fast ball. It would interfere with my curveball, though.”

Mary Ellen laughed. “Well, maybe we can come back after the softball season is over.”

“Softball season is never over,” Wanda sighed. “It just moves indoors in the winter.”

That caught Hunter’s attention. “Really!? You play all year round?”

Wanda nodded. “It’s the regional league. You remember Austin, the guy we met at the mall? It’s the league he coaches me in. We play in that big, white tent kind of thing down by the the college. It’s an indoor football/soccer/baseball/softball facility. All the colleges in the area use it for practice in bad weather, too.”

“Wow, that sounds awesome,” Hunter smiled. “How do you join the league?”

“There are tryouts in August,” Wanda said, happy her friend might want to join her league. “If you want to try out with me, I’ll let you know when we get the tryout notices.”

“Yeah! I really want to do that!” Hunter grinned.

“It is a league for girls, Hunny,” Mary Ellen leaned over and whispered.

“I know,” he nodded.

“Then… you’d have to be living as a girl as long as your in the league.”

Hunter shrugged. “I know.”

“Ok,” Mary Ellen said.

The manicure was just as glorious as it had been the first time Hunter had experienced it, but the pedicure… the pedicure was AMAZING! Having someone working on his toes was a level of elegance that he had never experienced. Sometimes it hurt a little, but then it felt wonderful. And when the technician was done, Hunter had well shaped, bright pink finger and toe nails that matched Wanda’s and he loved them!

Their stop at the hair salon was brief. A little trim – very little – a shampoo and a blowout and brush out. A little bit of hairspray to hold it all in place and Wanda and Hunter were ready to go.

When they got back to Hunter’s house, Veronica had arrived and was on the patio with Joyce enjoying a glass of white wine.

“Where’s dad?” Mary Ellen asked.

“He’s playing golf with a couple of guys from work,” Joyce said.

“Why aren’t you playing?” Wanda asked her mother.

Veronica chuckled. “Oh, you know how men are. They hate to lose to a girl.”

“It doesn’t bother me when I lose to girls,” Hunter shrugged. “If they play better than me, they deserve to win. What’s the big deal?”

“Exactly!” Veronica laughed. “You are a special kid, Hunter.”

He shrugged. Sometimes, grownups could be so weird.

By late afternoon, it was time to get ready for the party.

“I’ll get Hunny ready,” Mary Ellen said to her mother, quietly.

Joyce nodded. “I left a new bra and panty set on the bed next to the dress and a slip.”

“A slip?” Mary Ellen seemed surprised. “Even I hardly ever wear a slip.”

Joyce smirked. “I am aware. I held that dress up to the sunlight and it’s pretty shear and I’d like to be sure his first venture into dressing up doesn’t end up in an embarrassing moment. You can get him to wear it, I’m sure.”

“I’ll try,” she said, then called Wanda and Hunter to go upstairs.

Wanda grabbed the garment bag her mother had brought with her and went into Mary Ellen’s room to change, while Mary Ellen and Hunter went into his room.

Mary Ellen handed him a pair of lacy, silky panties, which he put on and tucked himself into.

“What do you think?” She asked her little stepbrother.

“About what?”

“The panties,” she said. “They’re a lot silkier than your usual panties. Do you like them?”

In fact, he did, but it seemed weird to say so. “Yeah… they’re fine.”

Mary Ellen smiled knowingly as she helped him onto his new bra. It was not the typical sports bra, or tee shirt bra, or even the comfy bras that he wore everyday. This was a really nice bra and it had a little lift to it to emphasize the wearer’s assets. She fastened the back for him and adjusted the straps a bit.

“Pretty nice bra, isn’t it?” She asked.

At that moment, Hunter was touching the bra and admiring the silk and lace all over its surface. There was no point in denying it. “It is,” he said, trying to sound a bit noncommittal.

Mary Ellen held up the slip and bunched it up to slide over his head.

“What’s that?” He asked, genuinely curious.

“It’s a slip,” she explained. “Kind of like a long tee shirt. You wear it under your dress so the light doesn’t shine through the lightweight dress material.”

He squinted at it. “I’ve never seen one before. Do you wear them?”

“Occasionally,” she said, with a nonchalant shrug. “When I get dressed up, I usually wear one.” It was a fib, but so what? She had worn a slip a few times. That qualified as ‘occasionally,’ right?

He shrugged and stepped forward, allowing Mary Ellen to drop the silky garment over his shoulders. She straightened it out and smoothed it on his body. It was a thin, soft nylon slip with just a little lace around the hem and the cups that encased his bra and his breasts within.

“It’s like I’ll be wearing two dresses,” Hunter mused, more to himself than his sister, feeling the way the slip hung on him. “I never wore a dress before and now I’m going out wearing two.”

That made his stepsister smile a bit. “It’s just underwear, Hunny.” That was easier than she expected. Of course, if her mother had gotten him dressed, then she would have over explained everything and gotten frustrated with any resistance. “It’s just like a tee shirt or a cami.” She affirmed. “Now, step into your dress.” She held the dress low and Hunter stepped into it. Mary Ellen drew the soft cotton material up his body, careful not to catch his slip on the way. When she’d brought it all the way up, Hunter put his arms into the sleeveless arm holes and he waited while his big stepsister zipped up the back of the dress, tightening the bodice in, comfortably tight, around his torso.

Mary Ellen took a moment to tie the narrow sash, that sat along the dress’s waist, into a pretty bow in the back.

“Can you manage your shoes yourself?” Mary Ellen asked.

Hunter nodded and took the little, white sandals with the one inch kitten heel and slipped them onto his feet, then he ran the narrow straps through the little buckles and secured them to his feet.”

“Whoa,” Wanda said, entering the room, “you look great!”

Hunter looked down at the pretty, flowered dress, then back at Wanda and asked. “Do I? I don’t look like a boy in a dress, do I?”

“Are you kidding?” Wanda laughed. “You look beautiful, Hunter. I mean it. You look really, really pretty.”

“So do you,” Hunter responded, a bit relieved by his friend’s words. “Seriously. You look really pretty and really grown up.”

“Aww, thanks,” Wanda grinned, smoothing her form fitting outfit.

“One more thing,” Mary Ellen said, leaving the room and returning seconds later with something in her hand and a necklace hanging from her finger. “Come her and let me change out your earrings.”

Carefully, she removed Hunter’s pink training studs from his ears and replaced them with small, garnet pendants. They felt odd, but not bad at all. It was just… weird… to have something dangling from his ears.

“And this goes around your neck.” Mary Ellen turned him so his back was facing her and she put the garnet necklace around his neck. When it was on, she turned him to face her again. “Well… I have to say, until a few weeks ago, I never expected to be sharing jewelry with my little brother.” She smiled and touched his cheek. “And I never thought I would ever see my little brother looking so pretty.”

Hunter smiled. It was nice to be told that he looked nice. The few times he’d ever had to get dressed up in a boys’ sports coat, his mother always told him he looked handsome, but she always had a funny grin on her face when she said it, so he always assumed that she thought he looked funny.

“She’s telling you the truth, Hunter. You look great,” Wanda said, with genuine affection.

“Hey! You guys!” Joyce yelled from downstairs. “Come on down so we can take a few pictures! Hunter, your dad is here!”

Hunter grimaced a little. “Do you think dad will be ok with how I look?”

“He’s going to love it,” Mary Ellen smiled.

“Seriously,” Wanda added. “How could he not?”

They went down the stairs and entered the kitchen to the sounds of the two women gasping dramatically.

“Oh, you both look so grown up and beautiful!” Veronica said, first.

“Oh, you’re both just perfect,” Joyce joined. They both hurried to touch and hug their own child.

“What do you think, dad?” Mary Ellen asked her stepfather.

“What do I think?” Bob asked, looking serious. Then, realizing that his gut response was not what everyone wanted to hear, he smiled, not a huge smile, but the same smile that fathers have smiled for generations when they see their daughters as women, even young women, for the first time. “You both look… amazing.” He walked to his son who was wearing the pretty, soft, flowered dress and hugged him – not tightly like Joyce had, but in a paternal embrace. “You look beautiful.”

Hunter blushed. “Thanks, dad.”

After a few pictures were taken, Mary Ellen ran upstairs and put on a clean, casual dress. She drove Hunter and Wanda to the country club where the bat mitzvah was taking place. When they arrived, she walked them in and spoke to the host parents, introducing herself and her younger charges. When Wanda and Hunter had been properly introduced, Mary Ellen bent down and kissed her pretty, little stepbrother on the cheek. “Ok. I’ll be back by ten. Until then, you’re on your own. Have a great time. If you’re nervous, stick close to Wanda. Ok?”

“Hey, Short Stuff! Hey, Wanda!” Ruthie called before Hunter could even nod his answer. Ruthie was tall and athletic and beautiful, even without makeup, but now that she was made up and her hair was wavy and flowing down her back, she was absolutely breath taking. “Oh, my God, Short Stuff!” She teased. “We are actually wearing the exact same dress!”

They weren’t. The prints were somewhat similar, but Ruthie’s dress hugged every curve of her body, while Hunter’s was conservative and youthful. He smiled at her, though and said, “Not really. I look like a little girl and you look like a model.”

“Well,” she smiled, “let’s be real. You ARE a little girl and,” she struck a pose, “I could be a model.” She laughed. “No kidding, though, you two girls clean up really nicely.”

Then she noticed Hunter’s stepsister. “Oh, hey… Mae, right?”

“Right. Ruthie, right?”

“Yeah. Hey… you want to hang out here for the party? We’ve got mountains of food and you might even know someone here.”

“No, that’s ok,” Mary Ellen begged off. “I’ve got a few errands to run while the girls are here. I’ll be back, later.” She really just wanted to give Hunter space to enjoy himself as a girl that night. So she said her goodbyes and left.

“Sarah is visiting with her grandparents at their table right now,” Ruthie said to Hunter and Wanda, “but you two are actually sitting at the table with my friends. Come on.”

Ruthie led them across the dance floor to a table at the far end of the hall. As they approached, Hunter spotted several older girls standing by the table, chatting and laughing. They had amazing bodies and were dressed to the hilt. Disappointed that they were not sitting with Sarah, Hunter was just starting to feel bad about the evening when one of the girls at the table turned and looked at him and Wanda.

“Short Stuff!?” The girl said, surprised. “And Wanda!? Shit, you two look great!”

It took a moment for Hunter’s brain to figure out who this beauty queen was, but in a moment or two, he realized it was Addy from camp. The girl who’d accidentally knocked Hunter down on the third base line the other day. As each of the other girls turned , each seemed thrilled to see them and it took Hunter a moment or two to recognize each of them.

Izzy, the other Group D pitcher, not the one who’d been chastised for pitching too fast and too close to Hunter, Beth, the Group D catcher, and Lucy, the Group D short stop who was always nice to all the girls in the younger groups and made sure that no one ever sat alone during lunch.

Each looked absolutely beautiful in dresses that showed off their fit, strong bodies and each made a big deal out of Hunter and Wanda’s arrival and appearances.

“Wanda! You look like you’re twenty five years old. Damn, you’re a fox, girl!” One of them said to Wanda.

“Geez, Short Stuff,” another said to Hunter, “you look a lot different dressed like that! Such a pretty girl!”

Wanda received friendly hugs from each girl, but Addy, who was a very strong girl, picked Hunter right up off the floor and set him down so that he was standing on a banquet chair. Even then, his head was only about shoulder high to the older girls.

The older girls made such a big deal out of Hunter and how nice he looked that he was actually giddy with the compliments. He loved the way the older girls treated him at camp – as if he was their favorite little sister – and that was how they were treating him that night, too. He was positively lightheaded with joy when Sarah showed up.

“Hey, Wanda! Hunter! You came! Cool!” The bat mitzvah girl bubbled. “Come on! I want to show you some stuff.”

Hunter jumped down from the chair, his skirt inflating during his descent, but his hand flew down in time to retain his modesty. He and Wanda ran behind Sarah as she hurried from one place to another, speaking nonstop.

“We have a DJ playing music all night. He starts when we start eating. The food is over there. It’s a buffet. Take whatever you want to eat. There’s a booth over there where they’re going to make us all custom tee shirts – we can pick whatever we want on them. There’s a soft serve ice cream machine back there that we can use to make our own sundaes or whatever for dessert. Oh, these are my grandparents. Grandma, grandpa, Bubbee and Zaydee, these are my best friends at camp. Oh, this is my Aunt Rhoda, my Aunt Kyra, my Uncle Judah and my Uncle Steve. These are my friends from softball…”

On and on the excited girl went, showing off the event to her friends, and her friends to everyone present.

By the time they’d finished their rounds, the hall had filled with people and the DJ announced that it was time to start the buffet line. Tables should go up by number.

“Come on, Sarah,” Sarah’s mother said, gently. “We’re table one. We need to go get our dinner.”

“Ok, mom,” Sarah smiled. “I’ll see you guys after dinner.”

Wanda led Hunter back to their table, table twenty one, and they joined the girls from Group D while Sarah and Ruthie joined their family for dinner.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ said, as table one walked up to get their food. “My name is DJ Kevin and I’ll be here all evening providing music for your entertainment. We’re going to start with some relaxing music while you enjoy your dinner. Then we’ll kick off the dance music when you’re all filled up on this delicious food.”

He started playing some music that sounded very old to Hunter. The singer had a low relaxing voice as he sang,
“The summer wind,
came blowing in,
from across the sea…”

“Oh, Sinatra,” Lucy shook her head. “My grandfather LOVES Sinatra. He plays him all the time.”

The next song sounded a little newer.
“I like the way your sparking earrings lay,
against your skin so brown.
And I’d like to sleep with you in the dessert tonight.
With a million stars all around…”

“See this is my grandfather’s music,” Izzy said. “You get in his car and it’s all The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker…”

“Marshall Tucker!?” Beth laughed. “Is that a real band name?”

“I guess,” Izzy shrugged.

“Wow – it sounds like Eminem’s drag name!” Beth joked, causing everyone to laugh, including Hunter, who wasn’t sure what the joke actually was, but sensed it was a little dirty and he wanted to be included.

As the older, quieter music played, the girls were chatting about camp when a young man came over, bent low and kissed Lucy’s cheek. “Hey, Luce,” he said with a big grin, “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Sam!” Lucy said, surprised. “I didn’t expect to see you here, either!”

The young man shrugged. “My dad and Sarah’s dad are business partners, so we were invited. Why are you here?”

“Oh,” Lucy realized she hadn’t addressed that. “I play softball with Sarah’s sister, Ruthie. Well, with Sarah, too, now that she goes to the same camp.”

Addy cleared her throat, almost comically loudly, to get Lucy’s attention.

Lucy turned and saw all her friends staring at her and her handsome visitor. “Oh… sorry…” she giggled. “Sam, this is Addy, Izzy, Beth, Wanda and Hunter. Guys, this is Sam. He’s my cousin.”

“Well, we’re not REALLY cousins,” Sam smiled. “My dad is Lucy’s godfather, so we’re connected that way.”

“We do spend holidays and vacations together, though,” Lucy explained, with a smile. “Just like real cousins.”

Sam looked up and waved across the room. “I’d better get going. Mom’s signaling for me to join them to get in line. We’ll talk later, ok? Hey… you’re going to dance with me, right?”

Lucy laughed and waved to Sam’s family. “Of course,” she giggled as he left.

“Oh, my God, he’s gorgeous!” Wanda said when Sam was nearly out of ear shot.

“He is, Lucy,” Addy said. “Are you two dating?”

“What!?” Lucy looked shocked. “He’s my cousin!”

“No, he’s not,” Izzy said, looking across the dance floor at the handsome young man. “He told us your families are just close friends.”

“Yeah – very close,” Lucy laughed. “I spend more time with him and his brothers than I do with my real cousins. Nah… I couldn’t date him. I like him too much already.”

“You’re crazy,” Beth said, almost sadly. “He’s really into you. He even asked you to dance.”

“Of course he did,” Lucy laughed. “We learned how to dance together. So what?’

“So what!?” Wanda seemed shocked. “He’s into you, Lucy! And he’s gorgeous!”

“Wait! Wait! Wait!” Addy said, as something occurred to her. “Did you say he has brothers?”

“Yeah. Two,” Lucy nodded.

“Are they as gorgeous as him?” Addy asked with urgency. “I mean – do any of us have a chance with them?”

Lucy laughed. “Well… maybe Wanda and Hunter might. Look.” She pointed across the dance floor where Sam was in line with his parents and two younger boys. The bigger of the two younger boys looked to be about thirteen or fourteen and the younger a year or so younger.

“Damn!” Addy said, dramatically.

“I don’t know,” Izzy teased, “they’re cute. I’d give them a shot.” The others laughed at that.

“What do you think, Wanda?” Beth asked. “See anything you like?”

Wanda was looking at the middle brother. “I don’t know. He is cute.”

“I’ll introduce you, if you want,” Lucy grinned. “He’s an honor student and plays lacrosse.”

“Hmmmmmm,” Wanda said, still looking. “Maybe. Maaaayyyyyybeeee.”

That made all the older girls chuckle.

“How about you, Hunter?” Lucy teased. “Want me to introduce you to Brian? The youngest brother? Also an honor student, plays volleyball and he plays guitar, too.”

“Ooo…” Addy teased. “A little renaissance man. What do you say, Short Stuff?”

Hunter looked across the dance floor at the boy in question and… he had questions. Questions like: How was he supposed to feel about this situation? If he looked like a girl, should he be attracted to that, admittedly very good looking, young man? He’d always liked the way girls looked and acted, but he’d never felt any kind of sexual attraction to a girl – or a boy for that matter. He just didn’t know what he was suppose to feel.

“No, that’s ok,” he finally answered with a blush.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Addy, who was sitting right next to him, teased. “I bet he’d love you. After all, the best things come in small packages, right?” She suddenly tickled Hunters sides, causing him to keel over and giggle in surprise and because of the tickling sensation.

“I don’t think Hunter is into boys just yet,” Wanda said with a friendly smile, trying to keep the girls from teasing him too much, but it only really seemed to wind them up even more.

“You’re not?” Izzy asked, a big smile on her face. “Are you a softball stereotype, Hunter? A lesbian checking out all of her teammates?”

In truth, Hunter wasn’t even sure what a lesbian was. He’d heard the word a few times, but never looked into it’s meaning. In the context of Izzy’s sentence, though, he got the impression that a lesbian was a girl who liked girls and, since he knew how his baseball playing teammates felt about boys who liked boys, he figured he should steer them away from thinking he was a lesbian.

“I… I just haven’t thought about boys, I guess,” he finally shrugged.

“Come on,” Wanda said, defensively. “She’s only twelve. She’s not ready for boys yet.”

“Yeah, well, you’re only thirteen and I get the feeling you’re boy crazy,” Addy laughed.

“And besides,” Beth teased, “she’s built like a little brick house. I didn’t look that good at twelve and I was following every cute boy I saw around.”

“She was,” Lucy laughed, teasing her friend and looking at the younger members of the party. “You should have seen her – drool dripping off her chin… it was tragic.”

“Yeah. Thank God she out grew it,” Addy added.

“Hey, I haven’t outgrown anything,” Beth said. “I’m just more of a lady now and I keep a lot of my emotions inside.”

Everyone laughed at that.

Finally it was their turn to get food. The food was excellent! There was roast beef and chicken and fish and vegan lasagna and potatoes and carrots and asparagus and beets and pasta salad and all kinds of desserts… Hunter took a little sample of each and had a nice meal for himself. Some of the older girls, though, ate like they hadn’t eaten in a month. Huge portions of everything went into their mouths.

“How can you guys eat like that and stay looking so pretty?” Hunter asked, honestly wondering.

“We’re athletes,” Izzy laughed. “Food is fuel. We burn it off on the field.”

Because they were the last table to get their food, the DJ began to get the festivities started before they’d finished their meals. “Alright,” he said with practiced enthusiasm, “let’s get things started on the dance floor. Can I have the guest of honor and her dad on the dance floor, please?”

Sarah had a huge smile plastered onto her pretty face as she and her father took to the floor.

“She may be a woman, now,” the DJ said, “but she’ll always be your little girl, right dad?”

“That’s for sure,” Sarah’s father said. He was smiling, too and you could see that he was very proud of Sarah’s accomplishment.

“That’s right,” the DJ said. “So, let’s give Sarah and her dad a little time on the dance floor together.”

They started dancing as the music started to play. Hunter didn’t really know the song, but he knew he’d heard it in movies or TV shows or something like that. Maybe it was in a grocery story. The singer had a gravelly voice, but the words were pretty.

“I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world…”

People began standing to get pictures and to see better. Hunter had been enjoying watching his friend dancing with her dad, but soon he couldn’t see the dance floor at all.

“Here,” Addy said, effortlessly lifting Hunter up and placing him on his chair in a standing position.

Hunter’s view was still blocked, so Addy lifted him again and had him stand on the table while she kept an arm around his waist.

“Can you see now?” She asked.

“I can see great,” Hunter smiled, looking just slightly down to make eye contact with Addy.

When the dance ended, everyone applauded and the DJ said, “Alright! Let’s get this party started! Here’s an oldie but a goodie that you all want to hear, so we might as well play it now so you all start dancing!”

A very distinctive horn line began playing through the speakers and everyone, including everyone at Hunter’s table, let out whoops of excitement as they headed for the dance floor. Hunter had no idea what song was playing or why everyone was so excited, but when Addy’s arm around his waist tightened and lifted him so she could carry him to the dance floor, he knew that he was about to experience dancing for the first time.

“Young man – There’s no need to be down, I said
Young man – Pick yourself off the ground, I said
Young man – ‘Cause you’re in a new town
There’s no
need
to
be
unhappy…”

By this time, Hunter was in the center of a crowded dance floor, trying to emulate the dance moves that Wanda and the older girls were doing around him. He was actually doing quite well, and having a good time.

Then, suddenly, the band on the recording played four very short notes in a row and everyone on the dance floor shouted “Hey, hey, hey, hey!” with the horn blasts.

Lucy grabbed Hunters hands from behind and guided them into the letter formations as the song sang,
“it’s fun to stay at the
Y.M.C.A.
It’s fun to stay at the
Y.M.C.A.”

Lucy released his arms and Hunter continued to make the letters as the song required. Within a few moments, Sarah had joined them and was dancing with them as well. They were all bouncing and swaying and imitating each other’s dance moves and having a great time. Hunter’s mind was flooded with feelings of excitement, of the sensations of the slip and dress moving on his body, of friendship from these girls who just accepted him into their group without judging him for his size, of the thump of the bass and drums from the sound system, and of joy – pure, unadulterated joy at being able to be a part of everything!

Y.M.C.A. led into Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off,’ which led into Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition,’ which led into Wild Cherry’s ‘Play That Funky Music White Boy’ and on and on and Hunter and the girls stayed on the dance floor enjoying the energy and pure excitement that can only exist for young people.

Eventually, though, the DJ played a slower song:
“I found a love,
for me.
Oh, darling just dive right in
and follow my lead…”

With a sad groan, the group turned to return to their table to cool off and have a drink of water, when suddenly Sam appeared in front of Lucy.

“Wanna dance,” he asked with a huge smile.

“Sure,” Lucy smiled and took his hand.

Then, Sam’s middle brother appeared in front of Wanda. “Hi. I’m Sam’s bother, Wes. Wanna dance?”

Wanda was surprised, but happy to be asked. She blushed as she answered, “Sure.” She giggled and took his hand.

Hunter hadn’t taken two steps before Sam’s youngest brother stepped in front of him. The boy was a little nervous, but spoke politely. “Hi. I’m Sam’s brother, Brian. W… Would you like to dance?”
 
 
To Be Continued...