Chapter 15
Jana turned first and froze solid, her whole body locked up like she'd been zapped. I barely had the guts to turn around; deep down, I already knew who it was, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was gonna jump right out of my mouth. When I finally managed to swivel slowly, I saw her. She was a tall woman with a strong square jaw, wearing a loose shirt of thin, flowy fabric that fluttered in the mountain breeze, baggy beige shorts on her legs, and on her head, over her hair tied in a messy bun, one of those fancy straw hats like rich ladies wear.
She was the trans from my dream.
She was Lunna.
And I was fucking dying inside.
Jana tried to play off the initial shock when she saw her and let out an awkward laugh, talking way too fast.
"Oi, nothing's up, everything's fine," she stammered nervously, her voice coming out thin and shaky.
Nothing was wrong, really; we just wanted condoms and lube to fuck some asses, but our surprised attitude, the wide eyes, and the nervous vibe screamed that something wasn't quite right. We were standing there like two idiots.
"Two pretty girls alone in town, stopped in front of the pharmacy—they can only be after one thing," she said, pulling off her hat with a dramatic flair, letting her long hair cascade over her shoulders in black waves streaked with gray that shimmered in the sun. "How many condoms do you need, Rebeca?"
When she said my name, Jana and I went wide-eyed and slack-jawed, speechless, staring at her like we'd seen a ghost. When I finally got my mouth to work, I started babbling.
"You know me?"
"Of course, honey, you don't remember me, but I saw you when you were this tiny," she said, gesturing with her hand to show how small I was when she met me, palm open at waist height. "And I've been following you on social media now..."
So she'd seen the posts and knew everything. Knew about the condition, the Instagram post, the reports, the shit that went down at school, all of it.
"I gotta head out, my darlings. Make up your minds!"
Jana, who was braver, handed her the card and said.
"Two packs," the strength in her first words faded, and she went on like it was a dirty little secret, "and the large ones."
Lunna swiped the card with her usual extravagant moves, long fingers dancing over the plastic like it was a magic wand, then turned to the pharmacy. When I finally mustered the courage and let out a pathetic little mew.
"And lube... please..."
She smiled at me, a big grin that showed her white teeth and made her eyes sparkle, and went inside chatting with the woman at the counter like they were old party buddies. We waited outside, me biting my lower lip and Jana squeezing my hand hard, both of us red-faced with a mix of shame and horniness.
When she came back, we walked a few more steps away from the pharmacy, the plastic bag swinging from her hand. She kept dropping hints that she knew my family, mentioning my brothers' names, recalling how she tutored my older sister in math when she was vacationing up in the hills, telling how my mom once brought her corn cake when her house was out of power because of some bullshit from city hall. All of it in that husky voice with a low laugh, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
When we got to the corner, she handed over the bag and Jana's card and said.
"My sweeties, I gotta go; if you need anything, just knock on my door."
"We don't know where you live, ma'am," Jana said.
"Ma'am? Auntie?? Show some respect, girl—Lunna! Just Lunna."
She said it in a way that her moves made the sidewalk feel tiny, swaying her hips big time, tossing her hair back, and pointing with her chin.
"I live right there."
Pointing to a little house that felt kinda familiar to me. I couldn't tell if it was the one from my dream—everything had been dark there—but it seemed like it; I couldn't remember straight. I must've zoned out trying to think about it too long, because Lunna had walked off and I hadn't even noticed. It was Jana who snapped me out of it.
"Friend, is our thing an open relationship?"
"Huh," I said, coming back without knowing what she was talking about.
"If it's not, it will be from now on, because check out the square."
And I looked. In the square, some guys had just shown up and plopped down on the concrete benches acting rowdy, boy stuff, the biggest one almost six-foot-five, built like a tank, total bodybuilder type. They all looked young, the oldest maybe twenty or twenty-one. Actually, they were all ripped way above average, and hot—weirdly hot.
"This town is so fucking weird, Jana..." I said, and she looked like she didn't get it.
"So, slut, wanna slut it up a bit?"
"I don't know, friend; you know it doesn't work like that for me..." I let out, kinda scared.
One of the things I was scared shitless of was a guy finding out I had a dick and wanting to beat my ass after. That had happened before, and I swore I'd never get into that mess again. When a girl's trans, it's hard not to notice, but me? People see a young girl, all small and delicate, then when they discover the huge surprise, they get pissed feeling tricked.
"Jana, I'll go with you to keep you company, friend, but look, I don't want anything for myself."
We crossed the street toward the square and sat on the benches on the other side, putting ourselves out there waiting for the flies to buzz around us. If it were up to Jana, she'd already be over there flirting, swaying her hips a little, tossing her hair, giggling, and letting them come to her. But that wasn't my style; hell, I didn't even have a style because I'd never flirted with anyone and didn't know how to do it for real. I just sat there watching, legs crossed tight to hide the bulge that was already waking up just from imagining what could go down.
And it didn't take long. As soon as we sat, they looked over and started whispering to each other, yelling, laughing loud, razzing each other and slapping around, acting like animals figuring out who'd mate first. The big guy almost six-foot-five nodded our way with his chin, the others laughed harder, one of them mimicked an over-the-top hip sway and the rest cracked up. I quickly remembered to tell Jana to stuff the condoms in her bag—imagine these dudes coming over and seeing we'd just bought extra-large condoms and lube; they'd think they'd hit the jackpot for sure.
"Jana, stuff that in your bag quick, what if they come over and see," I whispered, heart racing.
She yanked open her bag, shoved the pharmacy bag deep inside, and zipped it up tight, glancing around like someone had already spotted it.