Stephanie's Deal - Episode 22

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Nintendo Wii dressed in pink
 
Stephanie’s Deal

by Jennifer Brock

When Steven Brooks was forced to dress as a girl over Christmas break, it was supposed to have been a punishment. Instead, it opened his eyes to how things just made more sense if she were female. Stephanie, as she’s now known, has been seeing a psychiatrist and hopes to be diagnosed as officially transgender, so they’ll give her hormones and operations and stuff to make her a girl for real. In this episode, Stephanie follows up on some plans she made in previous episodes, as she goes on a shopping trip to the mall with her friend Debbie, and goes over to her boyfriend’s for a Super Bowl party. It’s Feb 1, 2008, and she’s just spent the day taking placement exams at her new school.

Episode 22

Stephanie was so excited about the way she’d be treated at Hutchinson that she couldn’t stop talking to her mother about all the cool things there over the whole drive home. Mom was amazed to see her offspring finally ready to embrace the potential she’d always known was there. She couldn’t help smiling.

Stephanie’s phone made its little chime noise that meant she had a new text message. It was from Debbie, reminding her that they had plans. She said that after her mother picked her up from school, they’d swing by Stephanie’s house and pick her up, then they’d head over to the mall. Debbie told Stephanie to find out if it was okay for her to have dinner with them.

Mom gave her permission, and said that since Stephanie was going shopping she should pick up some new school clothes for herself. She said that Debbie’s mother had good taste, but probably shopped at pricey stores, so she pulled a bunch of money out of her purse and made Stephanie put it in hers. She counted it before putting it away, and it was nearly two hundred dollars! Stephanie was impressed by how much trust her mother had in her, and told her she’d try to spend it on good deals; as she understood it that was important. Shopping was supposed something girls loved to do all the time, and she didn’t want it to be obvious that she was a total rookie; it might make people wonder.

When a big, fancy silver car pulled up in the driveway, Debbie got out and came to the door. She was carrying a duffle bag and asked Stephanie if she could see her room. She shrugged and brought Debbie upstairs.

Debbie looked around. “It’s, like, really pink in here. Was it like this before your sex change?”

Stephanie blushed. Her first instinct was to try to defend her old boy self, that he wasn’t some kind of sissy; of course the pink bedding and stuff wasn’t always there. But then she wasn’t sure if that meant she wasn’t a real girl inside. Shouldn’t she have always wanted girlish things? She didn’t know what to say. “My mom redid my room back when I started being a girl. I don’t really notice the pink anymore.”

Debbie dropped her bag on the bed. “Thanks for letting me change. It’s a stupid rule, but even at the end of the day we’re not allowed in street clothes on campus. There’s no way I’d want to go to the mall like this.” She started taking off her jacket.

Stephanie realized that Debbie’s smart outfit of a navy pleated skirt and blazer over a red sweater vest with a crisp white blouse underneath was actually a school uniform. In fact, the fancy little shield thing embroidered on the front of her blazer looked a lot like the one on the jacket Christopher wore. “Hey! Do you go to Lawnbrook? That’s where my dance partner in my cousin’s wedding goes. Maybe you know him; his name is Christopher, um… Actually, I don’t know his last name. That’s not good. His sister is going to be family. I should make an effort to learn their name. He’s like older than us, anyway, so I guess you probably wouldn’t have a lot of classes together.”

Stephanie looked up to see that Debbie had also taken off her skirt and sweater, and was almost finished unbuttoning her blouse. She tried not to stare as she saw her friend standing there in just her bra and panties. Her bright yellow underthings somehow made her cocoa skin look darker. She probably wasn’t showing more than a bathing suit would, but it still seemed like Stephanie was seeing something she wasn’t supposed to. She’d never seen anyone she wasn’t related to in their underwear before, especially not a girl.

Debbie caught her looking and winked. “Am I hot enough to make you want to turn back?” She stuck out her hip and struck a pose. Stephanie turned bright red and tried to explain, but Debbie cut her off. “I’m just teasing. I know you’re all girl. I’ve seen boys looking at girls, and that’s not in your eyes. Relax, Girlfriend!” She reached out and tickled Stephanie’s ribs, and soon they were both giggling and tickling and it didn’t seem to matter anymore how they were or weren’t dressed.

Eventually, Debbie decided that her mother would get mad if they made her wait to long, so she got dressed in an orange tank top, a pair of black jeans that skimmed her hips, and a red hoodie. She folded up her uniform and put it back in her duffle bag, and then took out her purse. She swapped the tiny studs in her ears for more noticeable gold hoops, put on some fresh lip gloss, fluffed her hair a little, and she was ready.

Stephanie asked if what she was wearing was okay. Debbie looked her over, and had her spin around a couple times. She thought Stephanie needed to change her jewelry to something prettier. Stephanie wanted to keep her charm bracelet, so she just changed her earrings from stars to dangly silver chains. Debbie gave them her thumbs up. Stephanie grabbed her handbag and the girls went trotting on down the stairs.

Debbie’s mother didn’t seem too upset that they’d taken so long; she must have gotten used to how long her daughter took to get ready. The girls got in the back seat and she waited until they’d buckled their seatbelts before starting the car and driving off to the mall. She really took her shopping seriously; she drove a couple laps around the parking garage until she found a spot she liked, and then made the girls leave their jackets in the car. She said that it was so they wouldn’t be constantly taking them off and putting them back on in the changing rooms, where they might forget them. The stores were heated anyway; they’d probably have just ended up sweating uncomfortably if they kept them on. It was worth a chilly walk through the garage.

In the first store they went to, Stephanie saw these clothes that were called “yoga pants,” and she said that she was going to take a yoga class, so maybe she needed a pair. There was a rack of coordinating tops nearby, and Debbie’s mom told her that it was better not to get pieces the same color, but to pick colors that worked well together instead. She said that it wasn’t good to look too “matchy-matchy.” Stephanie just nodded as if that made sense.

Stephanie chose a pair of pants in a pastel orange color that reminded her of sherbet, and they picked out a pale yellow top to go with it. It was sort of a cross between a camisole and a tank top, with thin little straps with buckles for adjusting the fit. She tried them on in the fitting room, and everything fit nice, but she wasn’t sure how it looked and went out to show them.

Debbie’s mom thought the pants looked okay, but told Stephanie that because the fabric was thin and the fit was tight, she ought to wear a thong panty with them. Apparently, “visible panty lines” were a major fashion mistake for a girl to make. People weren’t supposed to see the outline of your underpants through your clothes. Stephanie asked if it was just as bad that her bra straps were showing, and Debbie and her mom disagreed over whether having several straps on display on your shoulders was in fashion.

Debbie’s mom said that part of the problem was that for yoga, Stephanie would be wearing a sports bra, instead of a regular one, she she’d have a different style of strap showing and the look that Debbie thought was cute wouldn’t be happening. Stephanie didn’t own any sports bras, so she didn’t know what the difference was. Mrs. Washington asked the fitting room attendant to hold the yoga clothes for them, and then led the girls over to the “Intimates” department to get Stephanie the right undergarments.

Stephanie was in awe to be shopping in the grownup women’s underwear section, since the last time she went out with her own mother they got her stuff in the girls’ department. But Debbie’s mom said that since she was almost a teenager she probably would take a small size in juniors’ clothes, and the lingerie selection was better than what she’d find in the girls’.

She picked out a three-pack of size XS thong-style panties in varied colors that she thought would fit Stephanie. They were a cotton/spandex blend, so they were stretchier than she was used to, but they still seemed awfully tiny. Debbie’s mother had to call over the store lady to help find a sports bra for Stephanie. She asked if they had one in Stephanie’s size with a little bit of padding, explaining very delicately that she wasn’t quite as developed as her classmates. The assistant nodded knowingly, and said that she remembered how rough it could be for the late bloomers in gym class. She wrapped a measuring tape around Stephanie’s chest and took a couple measurements, then led them to a 30AA sports bra with well-defined foam cups.

She wanted her to try it on and led her to the changing booths right there in the bra department. Stephanie was a little afraid to go back there alone with her. Debbie could sense her nervousness and asked if she could go along to give her a second opinion on how it looked. Stephanie was relieved and welcomed her.

Stephanie was so scared that the lady would be able to tell that she wasn’t a real girl that she was shaking a little when she took her shirt off. But it seemed like she didn’t need to worry, because even when she’d taken her bra off and the shop assistant was helping her into the new one, all she said was that Stephanie didn’t need to be embarrassed about developing slowly. She winked and said that often the girls who get their boobs last get the best ones, and she should take her word for it, as a professional bra fitter she’d seen a lot of them.

Debbie’s mother called through the curtain to ask how it was going, and they said it seemed to fit. She came and joined them, and brought a few more bras for Stephanie to try on. One was another sports bra, only this one clipped in the front and had a single strap in the back. The others were actual grownup bras with underwires and lace and pads in the cups that were made to push your boobs up. Stephanie was surprised to see that those bras made the little bit of softness on her chest look like actual girl boobs.

She changed back to her original clothes, and they went to the cash register to ring up her order. She ended up getting two sports bras in that first style, a white one and a gray one, so she’d have a spare in case she had a really sweaty gym class. She decided not to get the one with the weird back, but she did get three of the lacy bras, in white, pink and purple. The lady pointed out that there were matching panties available for those, and Debbie ran off to get them for Stephanie. They were just as lacy and looked very grownup. The purple one was a thong and Debbie said it would be very sexy, but Stephanie wasn’t sure she wanted to be. The other two were what she called a “string bikini,” with a thin strap of elastic on the sides, but a full back. She trusted Debbie’s opinion and bought them, along with the pack of thongs they’d already picked.

The lady told Debbie’s mother the total, but Stephanie corrected her and pulled her money out of her purse. It made her feel very grown up to pay for her new grownup undies with her own money. She could even kind of understand why girls were supposed to like shopping so much. She was excited about having new things to wear, even if no one else would be seeing these particular things.

They went back to the other changing room and Mrs. Washington showed the girl Stephanie’s receipt so she could take some of her new things in with her. She stripped down and changed into her new white thong and sports bra. The thong felt kind of weird going where underpants weren’t supposed to go, but it seemed to cover everything that was supposed to stay covered. She still looked like a girl where it mattered most. She put her yoga clothes on again and went out to show them how it looked.

She got two thumbs up for her invisible panty lines, but the bra straps showing through weren’t working. Debbie’s mom went back to the rack and got Stephanie another top. This one was a more traditional-looking tank top or sleeveless t-shirt, made of the same soft fabric. It was a pale green color. She told Stephanie to take off the spaghetti strap top and put the tank on, but then put the other one back on top of it. She pointed out that layering clothes like that was one of the essential tools in a girl’s fashion toolbox. Not only did it add interest to an outfit, but it allowed you to get completely different looks from the same basic elements. They looked pretty cool together, so Stephanie bought all three pieces.

They shopped around in that first store some more, and Debbie got a couple nice tops, but nothing else really caught Stephanie’s eye; she tried on a couple things that Debbie’s mom recommended, but she decided not to get them. In the second store they went to, both girls found some things they liked in the juniors’ department, and Mrs. Washington left them to browse accessories while she went to check on a sale over in shoes. Debbie saw a rack of cute bracelets and convinced Stephanie to try a couple on.

While helping fasten a clasp, Debbie whispered to Stephanie that there was a creepy guy that seemed to be following them. He’d been a couple rows over when they were looking at skirts, and had gotten closer when they were checking the colors on scarves against the tops they’d picked out, and now he was only like twenty feet away and pretending not to stare at them. She warned Stephanie that they might have to scream and run if he came any closer. She glanced over and saw the guy she meant, an older bald pudgy guy in a rumpled suit.

It was an aspect of being a girl that Stephanie hadn’t thought about before. She was feeling very nervous and vulnerable, and envied how cool Debbie was acting over the whole thing. It came as a great relief when she saw Debbie’s mom walking back over. She could tell something was wrong, and asked the girls what was the matter. Debbie softly told her about the creepy guy and tilted her head in his direction.

She boldly strode over to the guy and got in his face. “Mister, the way you’ve been following my daughter and her friend around is making them uncomfortable. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, or maybe you’re a pervert who gets off on watching underage girls. Either way, I strongly suggest that you go shop in some other store in the mall for a while and leave them alone. Or do I need to call security?” She was so awesome, like a super heroine or something.

The guy just kind of laughed at that. “Actually, ma’am, I am store security. I was keeping an eye on those girls to make sure they weren’t taking anything.” He leaned in toward her and lowered his voice. “And it’s not your daughter that I was worried about as much as her friend. She better fits the profile, if you know what I mean. We can’t be too careful letting a girl like that in a store like this unsupervised.”

Stephanie was mortified. This guy had not only figured out that she wasn’t what she appeared to be, but also had decided that since she was dishonest about her sex she must also be dishonest in general. It took every ounce of her willpower to keep from crying.

Debbie’s mother’s face broke into a huge smile, but it seemed kind of fake. She said to the guy, “Just to make sure, let’s all four of us go to a register and ring all this up. You can personally check to make sure that my daughter’s friend didn’t slip any merchandise into her bag. After all, we can never be sure of Those People. Where is the nearest register? In fact, I think it would be best if we found one attended by a manager or department supervisor on duty, just to let Little Miss Potential Delinquent here know how serious this is.”

Stephanie looked over at Debbie to find out what was happening with her mom, but she just shrugged. They dutifully followed the adults over to a counter in a nearby department.

The guy looked through the shopping bags the girls had been carrying, and even went into Debbie’s pocketbook, although he didn’t bother checking Stephanie’s when she held it out. The lady behind the counter tallied up all their stuff, even Stephanie’s. She tried to tell her that her things should have been rung up separately, but Debbie’s mom cut her off.

She smiled at the cashier. “Thank you. I just wanted a total, so you’d know exactly how large a sale you lost today. I won’t be buying any of this from you.”

The lady looked confused. “Is there a problem, Ma’am?”

She pointed her thumb at the guy. “Does this excuse for a man truly work security here?”

He got upset at that. “Hey! What did I do to you, Mrs. … I didn’t catch your name?”

She flashed a new smile, one that looked genuine this time but also kind of scary. “Actually, it’s ‘Dr,’ not ‘Mrs.’ As in I make enough money to have a platinum card for this store.” She pulled a credit card from her wallet. “And as you can see here, it’s Dr. Gillespie-Washington, that’s Washington as in I married a beautiful chocolate man and had our lovely mocha daughter here.” She wrapped her arm around Debbie’s shoulder. “This one over here is her friend.” She reached out and pulled Stephanie closer. “And three of us are going to leave this store and go spend twice as much as we would have spent here over at your competition. Their prices might not be as great, but to the best of my knowledge their security policy isn’t set by racists. There’s just one more thing I need to do.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of scissors, and cut her store credit card into pieces in front of them, and then put the scissors and the pieces back into her purse. “Just to let you know I’m serious about not coming back here. Let’s go, girls.”

She led them out of the store without giving the people a chance to reply. They walked out into the mall and collapsed on a bench not too far down. Stephanie was still pretty shaken. “I don’t get what went on in there, but thanks for sticking up for me. I guess he could tell I wasn’t a real girl, so he thought I was a criminal.”

Debbie’s mother smiled at her, a real one with warmth and caring. “Honey, that jerk wasn’t talking about you.” She gave a little chuckle. “He thought you were my daughter and Debbie was the friend. He looked at you and only saw color. He figured the blonde white girl was mine, and the black girl was some kind of hoodlum from the ghetto. It had nothing to do with your, um, special situation. I’m pretty sure he saw you for exactly what you are, a lovely young lady.”

Stephanie sniffled a little. “Thanks. So, is it true that you’re a doctor? Should I call you Dr. Gillespie-Washington instead of Mrs. Washington?”

“Yes, I am a doctor. But any friend of Debbie’s is a friend of mine. You can call me Julia.” She put an arm around each of the girls.

Debbie leaned against her mom. “You know, I love Daddy and everything, but sometimes I wish I looked more like you. Stef, I’d give anything to have your hair.”

Stephanie sighed. “I wish I had your body. Want to trade?” An idea hit her. “Hey! Mrs. Dr Julia? You’re a doctor, so does that mean you could give me a subscription to hormone pills that would turn me into a girl?”

Debbie’s mother laughed. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. First, you’re not my patient, so it would be unethical to prescribe drugs to you. Second, I’m an oral surgeon, and I can’t think of any dental condition that would warrant hormone treatments, so I could get in trouble with the ADA. And finally, you’re a minor; I’d need your parents’ consent before giving you any medication. Are you serious about wanting to change your body permanently? This isn’t just some kind of phase you’re going through?”

Stephanie nodded. “I’ve never been so sure about something as I am about knowing that I should be a girl. My psychiatrist says she’ll see about getting me girl hormones, but she’s making me wait until summer, and that’s like forever. Some day I’d like to go bra shopping and not need a padded one.”

Debbie tried to cheer her up. “There’s a lot of girls in my class that don’t have any more than you do inside their bras. I’ve seen them in gym class. Even if you don’t start until summer, you probably won’t be the last girl you know to get boobs. It does suck that you won’t have them by bikini season, though.” She thought for a moment. “Hey, Mom! If we go to Florida again next winter, can she come with us? Maybe she’d be bikini-ready by then, and that way she’d only have to wait half a year instead of a whole one to wear one.”

Her mother nodded. “That sounds like a possibility, Honey. Of course we’d have to talk it over with your father and her parents, but it might be nice for you to have someone your own age along.” She stood up. “But now, Ladies, we still have some more shopping to do, and get the sweetest revenge we can on that idiot back there. Let’s go.” The girls hopped off the bench and followed her to the really fancy department store at the other end of the mall.

Julia insisted on buying some things for Stephanie in the new store, since she hadn’t been able to get herself the items she’d picked out at the last one. She saw a display of leggings, kind of a cross between pants and tights, and explained that they were great for layering under a dress or skirt in cooler weather. Stephanie didn’t have any, so she got her three pairs, and then set about showing her how to use them in an outfit and ended up also getting her 2 new dresses, a sweater, a pair of fun red suede boots, and some pretty earrings with dangly black beads. It was too much, but she wouldn’t let Stephanie refuse to take her gifts. She thanked her very much.

On their way out of the mall, Stephanie’s eye was drawn to a cart that was selling sports t-shirts. She told Debbie and her mother about how she had been invited to her boyfriend’s to watch the Super Bowl, so maybe she should get a Giants shirt to show that she supported his team. She picked out a nice blue shirt, while spilling everything about her date. Debbie’s mom was surprised to learn that she had a boyfriend, and even more so when Debbie told her that it was Brian Somers from church. Julia told Stephanie to tell Brian’s mother she said hello.

It was getting late when they left the mall, so they had Stephanie phone home and ask if she could go over to the Washingtons’ for dinner. Her mom said that was fine, and so Julia called to warn her husband that the three of them were on their way. Debbie’s father, Dr. Ernest Washington, was also a dentist. He was tall and kind of scary, with wide shoulders and the darkest skin Stephanie had ever seen from that close. But he greeted her with a friendly smile that made her a lot less nervous.

It was interesting that in their house the dad always did the cooking. The lessons Stephanie’s mother had been teaching her had made her think of cooking as a girl thing, but here was a very manly man at home in his kitchen. Mr. Dr. Washington made a spicy noodle dish he said was from Thailand. The noodles were special extra-thin spaghetti-like stuff, and on top of them was this mixture of vegetables and chunks of chicken in a yummy sauce unlike anything Stephanie had ever tasted before. She asked him if she could have the recipe. For dessert, probably because they were dentists, he served slices of fresh pears. They were juicy and delicious, even though he had to talk for way too long about how wonderful modern technology was, so people could eat fresh fruit in January. He was funny.

After dinner, Debbie pleaded with her parents to let Stephanie sleep over. At first her father was against the idea, since Stephanie was really a boy. But then Julia, the coolest lady in the world, explained to him that she’d spent the last few hours with Stephanie and didn’t see any boy there at all. She saw a girl who’d bought clothes to look pretty in for her boyfriend, so he needn’t be worried that she had any interest in Debbie as other than a friend. Plus, she hadn’t noticed Stephanie at any time staring at the other girls in the changing rooms. She even told her husband about how Stephanie had tried to see if Julia could prescribe hormones for her. As far as she was concerned Stephanie was just like other preteen girls, dreaming about growing boobs, not touching them. He respected his wife’s opinion and said Stephanie could spend the night.

Stephanie called up her own parents, and asked their permission. Her Mom wanted to talk to Debbie’s, who told her it wouldn’t be a bother. Stephanie had plenty of new clothes she could wear in the morning, and Debbie could lend her something to sleep in. The moms okayed the sleepover, and the girls squealed in delight.

Before going to bed, the three ladies put on a fashion show for the man of the house, showing him what they’d gotten at the mall. It was fun. Their audience of one sat in the living room, and one at a time they left the dining room to go show him what they had on. Stephanie felt like she was the only one nervous about being seen by Debbie and Julia in her underwear as they changed. Each of them had to walk to the middle of the room, turn around, and walk back. Stephanie didn’t watch the modeling shows that Debbie and her mother liked, so they had to show her what to do. By the end, they were all feeling silly and glamorous.

Debbie must have had friends over a lot, since she had two beds in her room and she was an only child. She looked through her dresser and picked out some pajamas for herself and for Stephanie, and then shockingly just started getting undressed with her in the room. It was one thing for Stephanie to have seen Debbie in her underwear before, but to put on her pajamas she had to get completely naked in front of her. Stephanie tried not to look, but Debbie’s body was just fascinating to her. Debbie had real girl boobs, not fake ones like hers. About the only thing they had the same size were their nipples, although hers were pink and Debbie’s were purple — that was weird.

Debbie caught Stephanie looking, and instead of getting embarrassed or quickly putting her top on, she made Stephanie get undressed while she watched. She’d given her what she called a “baby doll” style set that had a top that was like a cross between a short dress and a long tank top, and little shorts on the bottom. Stephanie tried to keep her panties on, but Debbie said the shorts were soft enough she wouldn’t need to. She had to get completely undressed in front of Debbie.

She pointed at Stephanie and wrinkled her face. “I don’t understand. You look just like a girl!”

Stephanie blushed, and quickly pulled on her shorts. “Things are taped up down there. Things I wish I didn’t have.”

“No, I mean even up top. You look just like some of the girls in my class. It’s almost like your boobs know they’re going to get their chance to grow. She reached out and touched Stephanie’s chest. “You know, I think you’ve even got buds. “ She took Stephanie’s hand and put it in place. “Feel that little lump behind the nipple? That’s how a boob starts out.” Then she shockingly brought Stephanie’s hand over to her own chest. “And after a few months you get this. That little bud is still in the middle there; you might be able to feel it.”

Stephanie felt weird, but gave her friend’s breast a little squeeze. She might have been able to feel something like what she’d felt on herself. She let go. “Thanks.” She pulled on her pajama top, which had a little elastic band built in below her bustline, and really made it look like she had something up there. “Debbie, can you keep a secret?”

Debbie got a serious expression on her face and made a fancy pattern in the air with her fingers. “Definitely. Anything for my BFF. I will take your secret to my death!” She leaned back on her bed, closed her eyes, and stuck her tongue out like a corpse.

Stephanie waited for Debbie’s resurrection before she continued. “Just like I told your mom, I really want a girl body, but the doctors won’t officially give me hormones yet.”
She took a deep breath before giving out her secret. “I went on the internet and found that there are these herbal things that were make boys grow boobs as a side effect, so I bought some and have been using them for about a month now. So I really hope you’re right about me starting to grow. You’re the only one I’ve told about this, so don’t say anything to anyone.”

Debbie stared, wide-eyed. “Wow. That’s like, so cool.” She gave Stephanie a hug, then pulled on her own nightgown. “If you want, we can share my bed instead of leaving you way over there. Sometimes it’s good to cuddle.”

Stephanie took her up on the offer, and she was right. It was nice to cuddle. Debbie’s parents checked in on them a couple times, and thought it was sweet and cute and innocent. They left the girls alone until morning. After breakfast, Stephanie got dressed in some of her new clothes and then Julia drove her home.

Stephanie was excited and eager to show her new things to her mother, so she brought all her shopping bags to her and told her about all the cool ways she could wear stuff, but when Mom saw her bag of lingerie she got really mad at her. She said that the things she’d gotten were inappropriate for a girl her age, and told Stephanie she was very disappointed. Stephanie said that Julia had shown her where to get her clothes, so she at least thought they were ok for a twelve-year-old. After all, she was almost a teenager.

Mom didn’t like it, but she’d told Stephanie to follow Julia’s fashion advice, and apparently that meant that she’d end up dressing in sexy underwear. She was having flashbacks to dealing with Stephanie’s sister Michelle at that age. The realization was hitting her that she’d have to deal with the nightmare that is raising a teenage girl all over again. The two of them spent the morning in separate rooms until Dad got home to referee.

Sunday morning, they tried a new church way over in Wallace. Their minister thought he was funny, and made a lot of sports jokes that just didn’t work. It was a shame they had to drive so far just for that, so they went out to a nice restaurant for lunch. Stephanie was nervous, but they got home with plenty of time to spare.

She changed out of her church dress and put on a layered outfit, with her long-sleeved red t-shirt under her new blue NY Giants t-shirt, and navy blue leggings under her red pleated skirt, and her sneakers. For jewelry she wore the silver charm bracelet Brian had given her and her silver star earrings. She did her hair with her red padded headband, and used plenty of Brian’s favorite strawberry lipgloss. She asked her mother if she looked sports fannish enough, but she just called her too cute for words and took her picture.

Dad said she was ready too quickly, and made her wait like a whole half hour before he said it was time to go. And it wasn’t because he needed time to get dressed, since he just changed his shirt to his Patriots sweatshirt and kept on the pants that he’d worn to church. Stephanie thought he was just sore with her because she was rooting for the other team.

As it turned out, they were still the first guests to arrive. Mrs. Somers met them at the door to take their coats, and told Stephanie that she should go see if Brian was still getting dressed. Stephanie’s Dad asked if it was a good idea to let the two of them be alone , but Brian’s mom just laughed and said that there was nothing to worry about, seeing as how Stephanie was really a boy.

That stung, but Stephanie tried not to show it. She went down the hall to Brian’s room. The door wasn’t quite closed, so she gave a quick knock and pushed it open. He was standing there in just his jeans, with his shirt off. She took a good look at him and saw that his chest looked nothing like hers. His nipples were tiny and almost the same color as the rest of his skin, and nothing stuck out at all, not even a little.

He smiled when he saw her and came towards her for a kiss. She took advantage of the opportunity and ran her hands across his chest. It didn’t feel like hers either; it was smooth except where there were ribs underneath, and nothing anywhere was soft like hers, without the little lumps she had. Stephanie was so happy - it proved that she was becoming more like a girl than a boy!

Meanwhile, Brian had kept kissing her and doing that cool thing where he touched her tongue with his. He was really getting into it, and must have interpreted her examination of his chest as something else. He ran his own hands along her body, going so far as to grab her butt under her skirt. She’d worn one of her new thongs under her leggings, so there was only one layer of fabric between his skin and hers. It felt different.

Brian pulled her with him and backed up into the room until he fell back onto his bed with her on top of him. He held her hips on top of his and bounced her up and down. She finally realized that it was like he was having sex with her, except they were dressed. Stephanie wasn’t sure whether it would be rude to ask him to stop, so she just waited until he finished. At least the kissing was fun.

When he was done he finished getting dressed, throwing on shirt. It was a Giants jersey, so they kind of matched. Stephanie took a moment to fix her lip gloss, and he finally noticed what she was wearing and told her she looked pretty. It sure took him long enough! He sent her along ahead and said he’d be a minute.

On her way to the family room, Stephanie was detoured by Brian’s mother who called her into the kitchen. She wanted a hand getting the refreshments ready. Stephanie was more than happy to pitch in. She got to take a giant bowl of chips downstairs while Mrs. Somers carried a big rectangular pan containing a seven-layer dip. Whatever those layers were made of, they sure were thick!

A few other guests had arrived while Stephanie had been playing with Brian. Her dad was in the family room talking with Mr. Somers and some other man. He introduced himself as Max Schmidt, and she shook his hand. He told her father he had a lovely daughter, and then winked. Maybe he knew her secret? She wasn’t sure. Anyway, she had to go dash upstairs to stir a pot of little weenies in sweet-and-sour sauce so they wouldn’t burn, while Brian’s mom dealt with some snacks in the oven.

In the kitchen she remembered to tell Mrs. Somers that Julia Washington said hello. Stephanie then had to explain how she’d been shopping with Debbie and her mother and had mentioned that she’d be going over to her boyfriend Brian’s for the big game.

Brian’s mother frowned. “I see. So she wanted you to let me know that she knows about you and Brian. You need to be careful who you tell things, Sweetie. Now she’s got leverage to use against me the next time the women’s auxiliary group meets.” Stephanie looked puzzled, so she explained further. “We’re on the same church committee, but now she can force me to vote her way, or she’ll let the right people know that my son has a little gay drag queen boyfriend, and then we’ll be kicked out just like your family was.”

Stephanie didn’t think Julia was as mean as Mrs. Somers was making her sound. She really didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of a fight between her best friend’s and her boyfriend’s mothers, but if she had to choose she’d probably side with the one who called her a girl over the one who kept saying she was a boy.

By the time all the edibles were brought down and Stephanie was finally ready to join the party, the rest of the guests had shown up, and all the seats were taken. Mr. Schmidt and Stephanie’s and Brian’s fathers were on the couch, and Brian’s friends Tim and Josh, who Stephanie had met before, were in the two regular chairs. Brian himself was sitting in a beanbag chair on the far right that hadn’t been in the room the last time Stephanie visited. They must have brought it from another room. She looked around and couldn’t figure out where she’d fit.

Tim got a sly look on his face and said, “This chair’s kind of big. We could share it. Want to sit on my lap?” He opened his arms to make a place for her.

Brian smiled, said that it was a good idea, and then got up and made Tim switch to the beanbag. He sat in the now empty chair and called Stephanie over to sit with him. She felt a little self-conscious sitting on his lap, especially with their dads watching, but neither was shooting dirty looks, so she guessed it was okay.

The downside to sitting on Brian’s lap meant that she’d have to get up when he wanted to go get more snacks or another can of Coke, and since she was up anyway it just seemed easier to go and do it for him. Somehow that evolved into Stephanie working as a waitress for everybody. It was only natural to get stuff for her Dad, and she wanted to stay on her boyfriend’s father’s good side, so fetching an occasional plate of wings for Mr. Somers didn’t seem like asking too much. But she wasn’t exactly sure how she ended up serving Tim and Josh, too. And then of course Brian’s mother would call her upstairs whenever another round of pigs in blankets or whatever was ready in the kitchen. Mrs. Somers may not have believed she was a girl, but she sure treated her like one!

The game itself, what Stephanie saw of it, was about as exciting as a football game can get. Her team was winning at the end of the first quarter, but then the other team got ahead at the end of the second. The dads bet each other some money that their team would win, and kept raising the bet. It started out as a friendly twenty dollars, but it was up to a hundred at half time, when they disappeared to go talk business.

This dumb old musician guy was the half-time act, and the boys wanted to play a quick game of Mario Kart, but Brian’s “Uncle Max” insisted they watch this Tom Petty guy sing his songs. For old people music, it wasn’t horrible, but it still wasn’t Stephanie’s cup of tea. She preferred music by other girls, like they’d had before the game started.

When the second half of the game started, there was a lot happening but nobody scored anything in the third quarter. But then in the fourth, it got crazy. First, her team scored and regained the lead. Then, the other guys did. The dads were getting really excited, and their bet was up to three hundred. Like just as the game was running out of time, her Giants got another touchdown, and they won! Stephanie got so excited she forgot people were watching and gave Brian a deep kiss, the good kind. It earned her a couple wolf whistles from Brian’s friends, and a stern look from her Dad.

After the game, she thought she’d get a little bit of time alone with Brian while their fathers finished their business chat, but she got wrangled into helping clean up. None of the other guests had to. Sometimes being a girl meant being treated unfairly.

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Comments

Brian's mother seems to be

Brian's mother seems to be more of a bigot than the store security guy and that is saying alot. Her comments to Stephanie were uncalled for and very rude at best. She could cause lots more problems for Stephanie and her family as she apparently does not much care for Debbie's parents either. Could race be playing a factor here also? I think so. Jan

Stephanie's back!

Athena N's picture

Yay!

Funny thing how, every once in a while, something comes right out of the blue and prompts a flashback to days long past. Somehow the bit about 'dreaming about growing boobs, not touching them' brought me to tears, just like that.

As for the story, Dr. Gillespie-Washington is way cool, and the way she handled the store 'security' was something I've only done in my dreams. It might have done the store more good to make sure a manager was nearby, though.

And I sincerely hope my impression of Brian's mum is mistaken.

Stephanie's Deal Is Back ;-)

And I am glad that it is! Seeing her as she deals with her special problem and how her family and friends love her simply proves that bullies and racists lose out when confronted with their stupidity.

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine
    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

A humble point

Stephanie's lack of interest in other girls does not a girl make. Sexual orientation and gender identity are very different as we all know here. To justify her sexual identity by using her sexual orientation has been a sore point for me as I am post-op but still more oriented towards other women then I am towards men. No, I would not stare at another woman like a man would but I WILL look if I am interested.

Stephanie should not need to have her sexual identity justified or rationalized.

Kim

sexual orientation andgender identity

That's technically true, however I really can't buy a 12 y/o TG believing that without someone spending a lot of time to reassure them of that and unless said12 y/o met someone like you who could explain it to both them and their parents I can't see them getting that reassurance.

Very true, but...

You're exactly right, but maybe her sexual orientation was just one clue of several rather than the only one. In my case the fact that I was attracted to guys helped break through my denial about other things. And we do see Stephanie feeling like a girl -- and enjoying it -- for other reasons.

Thanks for the new chapter

KristineRead's picture

Thanks for the new chapter Jenni!

Debbie's mom is great --- perhaps a bit too great, as even with the fact that Steph is all girl, I would be really surprised at a parent allowing them to sleep together, especially in the same bed. But its a story, so it makes it cool.

Brian's mom on the other hand, is scary. I wish Steph's mom had been there for that conversation, but something is going to blow up in that relationship, sooner rather then later.

The security guard in addition to being a bigot, was stupid enough to tell Debbie's mom so. Amazing. We all know that security profiles, and it really sucks, but for him to admit it to Debbie's mom (even though he thought Debbie was the friend, not the daughter) was especially stupid. It is an upend store, and two teenagers shopping on their own would warrant some extra notice, though he obviously isn't very good at his job, since they were very well aware he was watching.

With the way that Brian's mom obviously feels, I'm surprised nothing more was said while she was helping with the cleanup about her kiss. I'm sure there will be more about that from her own father as well.

Hugs,

Kristy

Thanks for the New Episode

I look forward to learning how things are going to work out for Stephanie.

I Second that Emotion!

Me, too! (I know it's not a really deep commentary but, hey!, I've been sick lately.)

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

x

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

Still looking forward to more Stephanie

I just wanted to let you know I'm still looking forward to more of "Stephanie's Deal." I hope you can continue it at some point. Thank you for a great story so far!

This time I mean it.

A new episode will be out real soon. I was aiming for today, but didn't quite make it. Tomorrow is looking good, though.

This time I really mean it.

Hey Jenni, do you even have a calendar? That "Tomorrow" you spoke about on Sunday would have happened two days ago, and I didn't see any update to this story.

Okay, so I'm horrible at guessing how long stuff takes. I've got 1800 words written so far, which is about a third the size of an average Stephanie episode, and should mean I need about four hours more writing. I'll stay up as late as I can tonight, and see how much I can get done. So look for Episode 23 by July 29 at the latest.

I'll believe that when I see it!

Go away, you.

This time I mean it...

Andrea Lena's picture

Does anybody want a peanut?

She was born for all the wrong reasons but grew up for all the right ones.
Con grande amore e di affetto, Andrea Lena

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

That Mother

That Mother of hers is a pain in the rear Oh that will cause you to have an eating disorder or that is going to be to loud when you pratice. And now your to young to wear that style of under ware I mean come on this mother is just to full of double standards. Yes she may have said the same thing to Michelle when she was growing up but it still her with the double standard of my child will do everything I say or else. She not a allowed to grow up unless I say she is. And it's not like Steph is buying the under ware so Brain can see her in it she is buying it so people don't see it through her clothes. Going through this once with Michelle should have told her that and if not she should remember what it was like when she her self was young and trying to gain some independence.

Yours Truly

Arina