Free That Boy by Jillian Dodd

and Lisa have had boobs like this since about sixth grade - okay, so my body is a little slow - but I have to say, they were worth the wait! For once in my life, I actually fill out a bikini top on my own (as in, no padding) and it looks pretty good, I think. I
almost
feel sexy in it. Mom was with me when I found it. At first I thought it might be a little too skimpy, but she liked it on me.
    She said, “If you've got it, flaunt it because once you have kids, your body will never be the same.”
    This from a woman who is 5'9” and a perfect size 6. She goes and works out three times a week with a group of friends. Although from the sound of it, I suspect there is more gossiping and coffee-drinking going on than actual exercising. However, she must be doing something right because she still wears a bikini herself and looks good in it. When we go on vacation to the beach, it's really kind of embarrassing because the young guys pay more attention to her than they do me.
    Maybe there is hope for me.
    Of course, I'd prefer not to have to wait twenty years before I get a boy to notice me in a swimsuit.
    In all seriousness, I know there are large, really important issues in the world. World peace, terrorism, nuclear arms and global warming. But honestly, finding the perfect swimsuit has got to be at the very tip top of most women's list, regardless of race, religion, political, or sexual orientation. So in finding this perfect bikini, I really feel I've done my part to help conquer this great world issue.
    I'm thinking about the bikini's big inaugural event. It will first be viewed by the public, and specifically Jake, who I've been dating off and on for about three months now, at a big river outing some of us are having next weekend. Today my plan is to hide in the back yard and fill in my tan lines, so it really looks great.
    I am prepared to lay in the sun all afternoon if that's what it takes.
    I am so proud of my strong convictions!
    I have the whole place to myself. Mom is at a volunteer meeting and Dad is at work. Jake would be pissed to learn that I'm home alone and not begging him to come over, you know, so we can
be alone
, but I'm not in the mood to deal with
that
today. It's too perfect of a day. So I put the stringy thing on and appraise myself in the mirror.
    Not bad.
    The bikini is of the string variety, like I said. It's supposed to look like the American flag. One side of the triangular top is blue with white stars, the other side is red with white stripes. The bottoms are also red and white stripes and all the stringys are made from the star fabric. It is really very cute.
    I head out to the backyard, move my chaise into the sun and cover myself with a mixture of baby oil and iodine. I know, I
know
, no sun block is a bad thing. But my Mom used it when she was young, and she doesn't have cancer or anything. Plus, it works great! I lie down on my stomach first. Next to me is a table with an ice-cold diet Coke and a trashy novel to read if I so desire. Playing is my current favorite mix CD.
    Aw. Perfection.
    I close my eyes and start to daydream. I'm envisioning Jake's possible reactions to the tiny bikini. They have ranged, so far, from him wrapping me in a towel because he is so desperately jealous and doesn't want anyone else to see it, to attacking me with kisses out on a raft, to his fainting in amazement of my body, to….…
    “Hey, Jay,” a male voice says.
    I open one eye and see Danny's head peeking through the gate.
    “Come play catch with me and Mac.”
    Oh come on. Can't you see I am VERY busy!
    “Aw, Danny, I can't. I've got oil all over me.”
    “Please Jay, I've got football camp coming up, and I haven't thrown a pass in two weeks.”
    “What about Kelly Majesky?” I reply smartly, referring to his latest in a long string of female conquests.
    Really, if Danny was a girl, he would totally be considered a slut.
    “
Football
passes, Jay,” he says smoothly, rolling those baby blue eyes at me.