Love comes in mysterious ways

Chapter 1

Puberty hit me like a brick.

One day, I was a puny little girl with braces and a ponytail that somehow always looked flat. The next thing I knew, I woke up with boobs the size of mountains—not actually. I'm really a B cup—thicker thighs, wider hips, and acne.

Safe to say, every time I looked in the mirror, I hated what I saw.

Now it's time for our annual beach trip at the end of summer, and none of my clothes fit me right anymore. They're all too tight.

So now I'm at the mall with my mom.

"What about this one, sweetie?" my mom asks, handing me a light pink two-piece bathing suit.

"Are you sure? It's a little revealing," I say, looking at the bathing suit in her hands.

"Yes, honey. You're older now. You can start wearing two-pieces." She pauses before adding, "God gave you those. Why would you want to hide them from the world?"

She's talking about my breasts, which immediately makes me uncomfortable.

Nobody wanted to see these things.

"Just try it on," she says as we walk toward the dressing rooms.

I step into the small dressing room, placing the clothes on the rack in front of me before closing the curtain behind me.

I look through all the options that my mom and I picked out, eventually deciding on the light pink bathing suit.

"Best to get it over with," I mumble to myself as I start changing.

Once I have the bathing suit on, I turn toward the mirror.

Hey... it's not too bad.

It shows a little bit of cleavage, but most of my body is covered. For the first time in a while, I actually like the way I look in the mirror.

I pull the curtain back and step out.

I nervously run my hands over the swimsuit material, feeling a little uneasy about stepping out into public wearing it.

"Oh, honey, you look great. Oh, doesn't she?" my mom says.

My head snaps up.

My eyes almost bulge out of my head when I see Aleyna standing right next to my mom.

And she's looking directly at me.

Suddenly, the pink bathing suit that I had just convinced myself looked fine feels like it's leaving nothing to the imagination.

I feel self-conscious all over again.

Aleyna is a pretty girl. Tall, muscular, with curly brown hair and green eyes. She should honestly just have attractive written across her forehead because that's exactly what she is.

She never had an ugly-duckling phase like me.

"MOM!" I say, immediately covering myself with my hands as if I can somehow block myself from the prying eyes of the world.

Or, more specifically, hers.

"No, she's right," Aleyna says with a smirk. "It's cute. You're gonna get all the huzz with that on."

Ew.

I don't like the way she's talking about me getting "huzz." Not that I've ever had any, but it's still awkward.

I let out a sigh before turning back toward the dressing room and closing the curtain.

What is she even doing here?

Wouldn't she rather be with Marcus shopping for whatever guys shop for when they're going on vacation?

Now I'm annoyed and ready to go home.

I finish trying on all the dresses, pants, and shirts. Once I'm done, I put my regular clothes back on, gather all my things, and head toward the front of the store.

Aleyna is still hovering around us.

Literally and metaphorically.

She's like 6'3".

"Why are you still here?" I ask, genuinely confused. Since she's more masculine-presenting, there's nothing she would want in this store.

"Finally ready to get in touch with your feminine side?" I joke.

She cracks a smile but says nothing as my mom finishes paying for my clothes.

The three of us walk out of the store, my mom carrying all the shopping bags.

"Here, let me help you," Aleyna says, grabbing some of the bags.

"Aww, thank you, sweetheart," my mom says with a smile.

Aleyna gives her a wink in response.

Ew. Gross.

We walk out of the mall, where Marcus is already waiting by the car.

"Got you a cute little thong," Marcus says to Aleyna, teasing her.

"Dude, shut up," Aleyna says, shoving him.

I laugh a little as I picture Aleyna in a sparkly pink Victoria's Secret thong.

It's a hot picture, don't get me wrong, but it feels weird because I've never seen her in anything girly.

Even when she was younger and first started coming around the house, it was always tennis shoes, Pokémon shirts, and khaki shorts.

Even then, she was still hot.

We all pile into the car. My mom and Aleyna sit in the front since Aleyna needs the legroom, while Marcus and I sit in the back.

As we make our way home, I can see Aleyna's phone through the spaces between the seats. She's snapping a bunch of girls, and like idiots, they're practically drooling all over her.

They wouldn't be so easy for her if they knew that when she was twelve, she almost peed her pants at a haunted house.

Granted, I actually did pee my pants, but I was ten, so it was acceptable.

We pull into the driveway of our house.

As we all get out of the car, my dad greets us at the door before helping us bring the shopping bags inside.

Dinner is already prepared when we get home.

Baked salmon, broccoli, and rice.

Personally, it's one of my favorite dishes that we have.

My dad is the best cook I know.

We sit around the table and eat dinner, Aleyna sitting across from me.

I can't help but stare at her.

I'm not sure if it's puberty or what, but she looks...

Different.

Oddly satisfying.

The way her mouth moves as she chews her food. The way her jaw tightens slightly as she chews. The way she smiles at a joke my brother makes.

Or how intently she stares at my mom while she talks about her day, looking like she's genuinely interested in everything she's saying.

It's like something is suddenly pulling me toward her.

I hate it.

I'm not the type of person to have crushes.

Let alone on my brother's best friend.

That's disgusting.