Happy Saturday! It’s a relaxed, quiet weekend here. I missed last week’s snippets because we were out of town. I’m glad to be back!
Today’s bit is still out of Leaps of Faith, from a story called “Pretty Boyish.” Cat, the 13yo MC, is genderqueer (and only interested in boys). Last time, he was wondering what it would feel like to wear a “girls” bathing suit. This week, he’s admiring one. Due to being raised by loving, affirming parents, Cat has no trouble accepting other people exactly as they are.
They were by the lake, maybe three or four days before Blaze left. An older girl, with curvy hips and boobs big enough to be mildly alarming to Cat, caught them staring. She glared at Cat, and he looked away. He couldn’t tell her that he was looking at her clothes, not her, and he’d really liked her pink polka dot bikini with the cute bows between her breasts and at her waist. The girl didn’t seem to notice or care that Blaze was looking too. She probably didn’t realize he was a boy.
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Oh, I like this 🙂 admiring from afar–methinks he’s going to do some online shopping 🙂
I think you may be right. 🙂
Cat is becoming…Cat. I think a bathing suit would be a great next step. Pretty please? 😀
LOL! Well, not in this specific story, but yes, he will definitely own the bathing suit of his dreams one day. 🙂
I remember looking at girls in bathing suits like that at Cat’s age and not seeing the suit at all… then wondering what was wrong with me for doing so. Funny how we remember such things. And there was nothing wrong… I just didn’t understand who I was.
Glad Cat has some support.
Oh, man. Yes. Cat is sort of like the mirror-image of how I was at that age, though unlike me, he’s only into one gender. I remember both looking at girls (but not swimsuits) and boys (with haircuts and preppy clothes I wished looked good on me). I didn’t have the words to explain it at the time.
Curious how the admired is completely misunderstanding Cat’s attention and disregarding Blaze. As someone who’s had people berate me for what they decided they saw in my eyes, I’m acutely feeling the empathy. (wry grin)
Heh, well, to be fair, Cat was probably overtly staring. I think he figured if he was staring at the suit and not the girl, that was okay. Blaze isn’t at a stage of transition where he “passes,” and he’s also more aware of the consequences of staring than Cat is. I know the feeling, though. I used to be so afraid of being accused of something that I would press in close to my gym locker and nearly stick my head inside so no one could say I was looking when we were all changing.
Love this! Interesting commentary on how they’re being perceived by bikini-girl.
Heh, I drew a little on my own experiences as a youth there. I never, ever noticed when girls (or people I assumed were girls) were checking me out—it didn’t even occur to me that I might not be the only one interested! LOL.
I’m sure Cat would look lovely in a polka dot bikini 🙂
He definitely would! It’ll be a few years before he’s brave enough to try, though.
Should I even ask what Blaze is up to these days? 😉
Blaze = Henry (the name he settled on as his legal one). He’s Elle’s partner. I’m not sure that was totally clear in KtF because it was only a passing mention. I had intended to write something for the two of them to include in LoF, but then I ended up not doing it.
For a sec, I got confused and wondered if you were asking about Bryce, who probably also deserved better than I gave him.
The bikini sounds very pretty.
Cat thinks so, too! 😀
Cat is really interesting.
LOL, in what way? He’s genderqueer/gender fluid. But this story takes place in the late 1990s, and he’s only 13, so he doesn’t yet have the words for it. 🙂
I hope Cat gets his bikini one day soon. Great snippet.
He will. 🙂
Shouldn’t that have been a yellow polka dot bikini? (I might be dating myself with that one…)
And I’m wondering what bikini girl is going to say or do now that she’s noticed him staring.
LOL! I’d actually considered it and decided it would probably date me. Bikini Girl isn’t going to do more than glare, since Cat’s not really doing anything. Cat, on the other hand, has a whole summer of adventures ahead of him.