“Because I was dressed as a girl.”
“But he kissed you, not the other way around. You knew he was a guy the whole time. Are you mad he kissed you?” She handed me a dress and pointed me back to the fitting room. It was a sundress sort, but had cap sleeves, and one of those tie waists. “This isn’t fitted, so it won’t accentuate yourboybits.”
I flushed and looked down. My boy bits were well covered no matter what I wore.
“I mean your straight hips. Girls have a bit more curve.”
I took the dress into the room. “No. I’m not mad at him. Surprised?” The kiss had been unexpected, but more because I’d liked it.
“You don’t like a lot of people touching you,” Jenny added. “It was okay for him to touch you?” She knew and still hugged me often. But she often kept others away, so it worked out okay.
“Yeah.” I tugged the dress on, having to wiggle a little to get it zipped in the back. “Warm? Comforting? Gentle? I didn’t feel like he was demanding anything, even when he was moving me around the set like a rag doll for the pictures.”
“Hmm,” Jenny said from the other side of the door.
I stared in the mirror for a second, the dress starkly white, but made my skin look golden. I stepped out and she smiled wide. “That’s perfect.”
“It’s very white,” I remarked, preferring color.
“Let’s add some color.” She found a necklace with a bit of a bright wash of peacock blues and purples, chunky even to distract from my neck and non-existent chest. “We could do clip on earrings.”
I frowned.
“Never mind. Let me find some shoes.”
Shoes. Ugh. “No heels.”
“Okay, no heels.” She vanished into the racks.
I turned back to the mirror. The fabric felt nice, the shape of the dress flattering. My hair down, but still a mess of curls, looked good cascading over my shoulders. The dress hit mid-thigh, a little shorter than I’d have liked, but my legs looked long and tan. Would I have to shave? Jenny complained about having to shave her legs all the time, but all I saw on my legs was peach fuzz.
She returned with a pair of purple and silver flats, and a few bracelets.
“Should I shave? My legs, I mean.” I didn’t know if I’d ever get the facial stubble a lot of guys at school talked about. Jameson didn’t either, so it wasn’t just me being a beanpole and slow developer.
Jenny ran her hand down my leg, making me jump.
“Warn a guy,” I said. “That was my bubble you just popped.”
She smiled. “You have a bigger bubble than most, but no, your legs feel fine. Besides, if Lucas is feeling up your legs, you’ve got bigger problems.”
No kidding. Like him finding out I wasn’t a girl. “I shouldn’t do this. I should just cancel.” I put on the bangles and the shoes, the color making everything come together. The dress not as stark with the bright pops of blues and purples. Could I do eye stuff to match? Maybe not the extra lashes, those had sucked, but the rest? Some color and depth? Maybe I could find a YouTube tutorial on how to do it.
“I’m different,” I admitted.
“In a lot of ways,” Jenny agreed. “But none of them bad.”
“Even if I like dressing like this? Or kissing a boy?” I wondered.
“Even if,” Jenny agreed. “Maybe Lucas is different too. Won’t know until you give it a chance.”
“I don’t want him to hate me. He seemed nice.” I liked his kiss, wanted to memorize his face forever, even if that was destined to only be in a picture.
“Would be his loss. If he hates you, he wouldn’t be nice.”
“What if everyone at school finds out?”
“That you make a gorgeous woman?” She laughed. “All the girls will be jealous. And you’ll have every guy looking your way.”
