Dane gaped at him. Was that true? He stared at the others in the car with him. Bas, who was nodding his agreement, and Adam, who smiled out the window, all acknowledged it as the truth. He thought about thegirlwho sat across from him. Outwardly she did look female, delicate in build, pretty face, long hair. Her breasts, if she truly had them, were small, but unless they were looking for signs, anyone would have trouble figuring out what she hid under her clothes.
“Can you really choose to be a girl?” Everyone looked at him, four sets of eyes telling him to shut up.
He put up a hand. “I’m not trying to insult her. I am just trying to understand. Do you go to the girl’s bathroom or the boy’s? Do people get angry if you’re not what they are expecting? I’ve always been a boy and never thought about what it would be like to be a girl. Do you think like a girl?” He paused, then said, “Do girls think differently than boys? Other than usually liking boys, I mean. Although I suppose there are lesbians, which would like girls…. I’m so confused.”
“I’m a girl. I do girl things. I think I’m a girl, if that’s what you mean. I like boys.” Paige sighed. “Yes, people get angry all the time. That’s how I ended up in the hospital. Flirt with the wrong guy, and he decides I make a good punching bag, even though he was into it until he discovered I have a little surprise down below. Reminds me of my dad. He loved waling on me just for the hell of it.”
Dane swallowed, memories of his own father’s abuse invoked by her words.
“I didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘hey, I’m a girl.’ I spent a lot of my life hating myself, not understanding why. When I finally figured it out, I realized how much the rest of the world hated me for trying to be comfortable in my own skin. I wouldn’t have chosen this for anyone.” She tugged on Tommy’s jacket, wrapping it tight around her as Tommy took his seat again. Her bare legs looked cold. Dane wondered if he should offer his coat too.
“You have nice legs. Girl legs. Like they have in magazines and stuff. I heard once that Angelina Jolie has her legs insured for millions of dollars,” he told her as he took off his coat. “You should cover them so you don’t get cold. Adam told me earlier today that the cold is really bad for your skin.”
Paige hesitantly took his coat and laid it over her lap.
“You’re a My Little Pony fan?”
“Huh?” Dane asked. She pointed at his hoodie. “Oh, yeah. I’m working on growing up to be a unicorn. Right now I’m just a pony. Though this one has wings and rainbow colors, so it’s pretty cool. She’s pretty bossy on the TV show. I think I like the one with the apple trees the best. She’s like those Southern ladies who say ‘bless your heart’ when they are really cursing you. I watched the wedding episode four times. The unicorn guard became king. Makes you think anyone could become better than who they are born as by just being a unicorn, right?”
She laughed, a hearty sound that made him smile. Bas grinned next to her.
“How does the saying go?” Adam asked. “Just be yourself. Unless you can be a unicorn, then always be a unicorn.”
“A bad ass unicorn. I’m getting that on a shirt,” Bas said.
“And ifIcan grow a horn, you can lose a dick and grow some boobs, right?” Dane said. He clapped his hands over his mouth. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
Paige laughed again. “It’s okay. It would be a dream to ‘lose a dick and grow some boobs’.” She cupped her small breasts. “The hormone pills only do so much.”
They all laughed. And there was no more talk of Paige going out in the cold.
