Over the next couple of weeks, the massive doses of hormones I’ve been taking made quite a few changes to me. My hips are wider, and my bras are too small for me, so we head back out to Victoria’s Secret to replace my too-tight bras and panties.

Ben has been calling and texting me every evening. He eventually learned that calling me during the day wasn’t working since I’m usually far too busy with ballet, yoga, the gym, or any number of other things to talk to him for more than a couple of minutes. In the evening, though, we usually spend an hour or two talking. Oh, it’s just inconsequential things, but I enjoy our conversations nonetheless, and I believe he does as well.

As we’re talking, Megan taps on the door and pokes her head in. I tell Ben to hang on, and she tells me, “Hey, don’t forget that we have Sharon’s birthday party on Saturday. Oh, I didn’t realize you were on the phone. Ben?”

“Yep.”

“Why don’t you invite him along as your date? I’m going to invite Cary.”

I tap the speakerphone icon and ask, “Did you hear that?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“Do you want me to come?”

Not that he can see me, but I roll my eyes as I reply, “Are you like stupid or something? Of course, I do!”

He laughs. “Okay, I’d love to go with you. What time?”

I’m fairly sure about the time, but I glance at Megan, who holds up a finger. “1 o’clock, and it’s being held out at the lake, so you need to be here no later than 12 so that we won’t be late.”

“Alright, I’ll be there around 11:30 or so.”

“Good. Don’t forget your swimsuit.”

“I won’t.”

I glance at the clock and see that it’s already 10:30. “Benny, I’m sorry, but I need to get to bed. I have yoga class early tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, good night, Babe.”

“Night, yourself. Sweet dreams.”

“If they’re of you, they will be,” he replies, which makes me blush and smile.

“Flatterer. Although, on second thought, you’d better not be dreaming of other girls.”

He laughs. “Jealous type, are ya?”

“Damn right, I am… Good night, Benny. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Night.”

I end the call and set my phone down on the nightstand as Megan comes the rest of the way in the room, closes the door behind her, and crawls into bed with me.

“You two seem to really get along well.”

I shrug and smile. “Yeah, I suppose we do. It’s really hard to say though since I’ve only seen him the one time. I do like him, though.”

She lays her head against my shoulder. “Sometimes, once is all you need to know something.”

“Megan… What if he finds out that I’m not a girl?”

She raises her head, quirks an eyebrow, and states, “Who says you aren’t a girl?”

I point at my crotch. “That does.”

“That means nothing. Do you believe you’re a boy? Do you feel like one?”

“You know that I don’t feel like one, although I’m kind of in limbo.” I cup my breasts. “I’m a girl, yet, I’m not.” I point at my crotch again. “I’m a boy, yet, again, I’m not.”

“Jackie, our body parts do not define who and what we are. You already know this. I wish you could get over this hang-up of yours.” She points to my crotch. “That does not define you.” Then she points to my boobs. “Neither do those. You’re a girl, all girl, regardless of anything else. You are my sister. That is who you are. Capiche?”

I reach over and hug her tightly and murmur, “Thanks.” When I release her, she crawls under the covers with me. “Are you sleeping with me again?”

“Mhmm. Assuming you don’t mind, that is.”

“Of course, I don’t mind.”

We sleep together quite often. Something we both seem to enjoy. As she said, we’re sisters, so there’s nothing indecent going on. Plus, as beautiful and sexy as she is, I don’t look at girls in that way.

The next few days pass quickly, and finally, Saturday is here. Getting out of bed, I head to the bathroom to shower and shave since I’ll be wearing my bikini today. Once I have, I wrap my towel around myself and head back to my room to dress in a light-grey mini skirt and beige crop top. Then I braid my hair, and finally, I slip on my tan strappy sandals.

I walk down the hall to the kitchen, where I find that Aunt Scarlett is already up, sitting at the table drinking coffee.

“Morning,” I say with a smile.

“Good morning, Sweetie.”

I make myself a glass of orange juice, then sit down at the table beside her.

“While Megan is sleeping, what do you say we have a little discussion?”

She phrases it as a question, but I can tell that it’s really more of a statement.

“Sure. About?”

“How have you enjoyed your summer so far?”

“I’m having a blast, even though I wasn’t too sure about some of the things you wanted me to do.”

“You’re definitely not the girl that showed up at my door that first evening.”

I’d have to agree. Megan says the same thing and thinks it’s because I’m much more confident in myself. I can’t say that I disagree with her either.

“Honestly, when I first got here, I was nervous about how things would go. I wasn’t too worried since Mom had me be a girl most of the time, but I still didn’t know what to expect.”

"I’m not surprised to hear you say that. Only a blind person couldn’t see the changes in you. Not only your confidence and demeanor, but your personality as well. When you first showed up, I wasn’t very confident that you could follow through on your promises to me. I’m happy to see that you’ve exceeded every expectation I’ve had of you.” She suddenly changes the subject. “It’s been almost two months, so what would you say is your best experience so far?"

I think for a moment. That’s a hard question. There are so many things I’ve enjoyed, so how can I narrow it down to just one?

I like the attention I get from people around me. The way guys check me out as I walk by makes me feel powerful. Then there’s the way I find myself feeling reassured of my femininity, confident because of that, and even somewhat vulnerable at the same time. Especially when I’m wearing a short dress, or skirt, and heels. That’s when I notice the guys and even some of the girls looking at me, and it really boosts my confidence. I am more confident in myself now than I’ve ever been before.

I was always a shy, quiet boy with no social skills; a wallflower that would rather spend time in my room alone, on my computer or X station playing games rather than deal with people, but all of that has changed now. I find myself enjoying my time out of the house because it means more new experiences.

The sleepover I attended with Megan and her, or rather our, friends was actually a rather eye-opening experience. I’m not the person I used to be. Rather than merely existing, I’m involved with people, and I love interacting with them now. Sure, it took a bit for me to feel comfortable, but once I realized that I was just one of the girls, I had a great time. Megan told me the next day that everyone loved me and that I was pretty much the life of the party.

Beside me, Aunt Scarlett sits and watches me, patiently waiting for an answer.

“I believe it’s the power that I hold as a girl. Guys… well, they simply don’t have it. Not in the same way, anyway. Guys have so much pressure on them to live up to society’s expectations of them, but I’ve found that while girls have expectations of them as well, they aren’t as rigorous, nor are we required to always meet them. We can be who or what we want to be. Everything from a masculine woman to the girliest girl possible, and no one will say that you can’t be either, or even a combination of them. It’s as if a whole new world, which I didn’t even know existed, has opened up to me, though I don’t quite know where that leaves me yet.”

She grins at my answer like she knows something about me that she isn’t saying. Instead, she says. “You amaze me with your adaptability, Jackie. You embrace every change and take to them like a fish to water. Looking at you, I’d have a hard time saying that you haven’t always been a girl. You told me in the car that you want to be a girl. Is that still true?”

“I do, I truly do. As I said, I’ve come to believe that I’ve always been one. I just didn’t know it until now.”

“So, have you given any thought to legally changing your name?”

“No, but isn’t that something we would have to have Mom’s and Dad’s permission for me to do?”

“Yes, we would,” she replies.

I slightly tilt my head and ask, “Can I be honest?”

“Of course, Sweetie. I always prefer you to be honest with me.”

“I want to. It’s who I am. Who I’ve always been. Even so, I’m afraid that Dad would lose it if we told him that I want to.”

“It’s okay, Jackie,” she says as she pats my thigh reassuringly. “No one is trying to push you into doing anything you don’t want or are not ready to do. It’s just that you seem so comfortable and so at ease with yourself now, unlike the person who came to live with us. But, do you know what I think? I think you had already decided who you are by the end of the second week, but you were afraid to admit it because your father might disapprove.”

I think about it for a minute before I finally say, “This is me. I’m happy with myself now. I’m actually comfortable in my own skin for the first time since I became aware of the difference between boys and girls. You’re right, I have enjoyed myself immensely here. It’s just that once I tell Mom and Dad, everything is set in stone, and I’m afraid of what his reaction will be. Mom, well, I know she’ll love me no matter what. But Dad, well, you know already. That’s scary, you know?”

“Jackie, I’m going to tell you something, and I want you to remain calm, okay?” I nod. “ Last night, I had a long conversation with your Mom and Dad.”

I sit bolt upright in my seat as my eyes widen in alarm. “You what?! Wh-what did you tell them?!”

“Calm down, Sweetie. We talked about how you’ve been doing here. What Megan and I have seen. What you’ve done. Your reactions to everything. They also asked me what I thought. I told them in detail about our conversations. In the end, they agreed with me. If this is what you truly want, then they will give me their power of attorney to make decisions for you.”

“Th-that sounds like they’ve washed their hands of me,” I state dejectedly.

“No, Honey. That isn’t it. They are doing what they think is best for you. They are allowing you to make your own decisions here. I haven’t and won’t ever lie to you. So, I’m not going to try to tell you that your dad wasn’t disappointed about you wanting to be a girl.”

Now, more angry than sad, I state, “I told you, didn’t I? I said that he wouldn’t want me if I decided I would rather be a girl. He wants Jack, not Jackie. Nothing more and nothing less.”

I can tell by the tone of her voice that even she doesn’t believe it when she says, “No, that isn’t true. If he didn’t love you or want you, then he wouldn’t have agreed to pay for anything you want.”

“Bullshit! That’s him paying you to take the problem off his hands,” I say forcefully.

She looks away and sighs. She has to know I’m right here. How could she not? She bites her lip for a moment, then finally looks at me and takes my hands in hers.

“Honey… Jackie, maybe you’re right. Maybe that’s what he’s doing. I can’t prove it one way or the other, but even if you are right, that doesn’t mean that Megan and I don’t love you and want you here with us. I’ve told you that before, and I meant it.”

“I believe you, Aunt Scarlett.” I take a deep breath and slowly let it out in an attempt to relax. “So, what now?”

“Do you want me to accept the power of attorney and take custody of you? Do you want to live here with us? You can attend school with Megan, starting this fall. To me, that makes sense. Think about it. Everyone here only knows you as Jackie, and that will make it much easier for you to truly begin your life as a girl. Megan and I want you here. I’d love to have another daughter, and Megan thinks of you as her sister already. So, what do you say?”

“Is it really up to me?”

She nods. “The decision is yours and yours alone.”

I think about it for a few minutes. Mainly wondering why my dad even pretended to even stand behind me no matter what I might choose. Looking at it now, I think he somehow knew that I would choose to be a girl before I even came here. I believe I even understood that, and it simply took some time for me to recognize and come to terms with what I am and want. Whatever though, if he doesn’t want me, then that’s fine. I have who I consider to be a mother to me and a sister right here.

I grin as I ask, “Can I call you Mom?”

She laughs, pulls me into a tight hug, and tells me, “Of course, you can, Sweetie.”