Cheerleader- Boy for the Cheer

by Daring Diane

  Darby said, “Change into your red leggings and your red top. Everyone else tried to sleep in different clothes. I’ll change while you are gone. See you in 5.”

  Lee ran home and up to his room. After brushing his teeth and hair, he stripped his clothing. Donning matching clean panties and camisole in white, Lee added his red leggings and the red space-dyed top. He looked at himself and had a moment’s concern. He then put it out of his mind and ran downstairs.

  Sally was in the kitchen and had placed his items in a bag for him. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Mom, I fell asleep. I planned to come home. I didn’t even wake up until a few minutes ago. I’m sorry.”

  Sally smiled and assured him, “Lee, I came over and saw you asleep. It was really cute. The whole squad just fell asleep where they were when watching the movie. You, Darby and Marcia were all laying on each other. We didn’t want to wake you. Your father and I trust you completely. We were just worried what other parents might have thought if a boy was sleeping with all the girls. Your forms are in the bag. I’ll be over in a few minutes to help you guys.”

  Erin was in the kitchen mixing batter with Darby when Lee returned. The activity level was increasing and breakfast was getting close. Erin was heating up some breakfast sausage and syrup. Lee pulled out his custom designed forms and started making pancakes. Darby woke the rest of the girls and told them to go to the bathroom and get dressed before breakfast.

  As the girls gathered around the table, Darby and Sally brought the first platters to the table. Darby said, “We’re having Lee’s special pancakes today.” When everyone saw the pancakes they screamed. Lee had built large custom cookie cutter type shapes of megaphones. So all the pancakes looked like cheerleader megaphones. The entire breakfast was a hit and eventually Erin and Sally shooed Darby and Lee out to join their friends. The girls all helped cleanup and started packing their things. Soon, girls started departing and eventually it was the two mothers, Darby and Lee.

  Erin asked, “How would you guys evaluate the party?”

  Lee and Darby looked at each other. They high-fived and said, “Success!”

  They related some of the things they had done and talked about. The parents did not really want the details and Erin and Sally decided to return to the kitchen for more coffee. That left Darby and Lee on the couch. Darby walked over to the TV picked up the movie Lee had selected and hit play. She sat down again pulling the foot rest up to the couch. She grabbed her comforter put her pillow back on the couch and got comfortable. Lee sat next to her. As the movie started, she threw the end of the comforter over both of their legs. Half an hour later, they were both asleep again in front of the TV. Lee had pulled more of the comforter up.

  Erin turned to Sally, “I guess I’ll wake them after the movie and send Lee home.”

  Sally put her hand on Erin’s shoulder, “They are as cute sleeping like that as they were that first day you guys moved in. Sometimes, I worry that they will reach a point where they will be afraid to be friends. I don’t know how I would handle that. They are both such good kids.” Sally had tears on her face as she watched them. Erin hugged her.

  “Sally, they are such good friends, I don’t know how I would handle it either. I love watching them sleep. Like you, it reminds me of when they were seven.”

  When Lee stirred, he again was being held. It was mid-afternoon and Darby was asleep and holding onto Lee. His heart felt full and he wanted this moment to last. Lee loved the idea of waking up to being held by someone who cared about him. There was nowhere in the world Lee wanted to be. Lee lay there and savored the moments trying to catalog all his emotions and feelings so he could remember them forever.

  When Darby woke up, she was holding Lee. She liked the feeling. She looked up and Lee smiled at her. She pulled her arm back and sat up. Being young, they had that uncomfortable moment. They laughed and moved away from each other sitting up on the couch.

  Lee’s mom had gathered up the breakfast items and took them home while the kids slept. After cleaning up the family room and folding Darby’s comforter, Lee thanked Darby and her mother for a great party before heading home.

  Still wearing his red leggings and top, Lee worked on his homework in his bedroom. He loved his new clothes. For some reason, these feminine clothes were giving him a level of excitement. It was comfortable and exciting. Lee felt like he was on edge while working on his homework. When his mom called for dinner, Lee was worried about what his dad might say. He pulled on the warmup pants and coat before heading down to dinner. Sally knew why he had his warmups on but she said nothing.

  After dinner, Lee finished his homework before joining his mom on the couch to watch a little TV. Sally pulled Lee to her and hugged him. “I am so proud of all you have done. You really helped Darby have a great party. From what I could see, all your friends had a wonderful time. And, you deserve a lot of the credit.”

  A little later their show ended and the evening news came on. Sally asked, “Do you like your new clothes?”

  Lee looked towards his mother. “I do. I’m just not sure if I should.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The clothes are really comfortable. And they are the right size. Thank you for that. But, I feel like they are girls’ clothes and while I really like them, I’m afraid of what people will say. I feel like people will tell me I should wear something different.”

  “Lee, did anyone at the party say anything?”

  “Well No. But, they were all wearing the same thing.”

  “But, Lee they all know you are a boy. These people are your friends. What did Darby say?”

  “She said I should wear what I want and not to worry about other people. She said I shouldn’t be dressing to make other people happy.”

  “I agree with Darby. She’s a good friend. Lee, you can wear whatever you want. When people do exercise or participate in sports, they wear a lot of different clothes. Frankly, women wear a lot of men’s clothes and men wear a lot of clothes that in other circumstances would be considered only for women. Lots of men wear tights and leggings. Body builders wear loose tops that are comfortable. You have to decide what you want to wear and tell other people to mind their own business. Don’t go out of your way to flaunt your choices if they are on the edge. But be confident enough in yourself to tell people to mind their own business.”

  “Thanks mom. You’re the best.”

  “Lee, I want to talk to you about one personal grooming item. You are going to be wearing sleeveless tops and tank tops to work out in the coming days. Body builders and swimmers usually shave their underarms and chests when wearing these clothes in public or at events. I know it is a rite of passage to get some manly hair. But I think you should consider it. It will look nicer when you are practicing. Also, you will find that without the underarm hair, your sweating will not be quite as smelly. You already wear a good deodorant. But the hair traps smells and germs. Can you try this for me?”

  Lee was caught off guard but listened to his mom. “It seems like something the girls do.”

  “Lee the girls do it to avoid the smells and because their underarms and chests are exposed more often in their clothing. It looks unprofessional. It’s not a girl thing. It’s a presentation thing. Once you start baseball, it will grow back quickly. At your age, most of the boys won’t even notice. The only hair they are looking for is lower on your body.” Sally laughed at that last point.

  “Mooooom,” Lee whined. He could not believe she had said that.

  Sally asked, “Will you try it for me? It will only take a minute in the shower.”

  Lee acquiesced, “Alright, I’ll try it.”

  Soon thereafter, they both headed off to bed.

  Chapter 14 – Week One

  In the morning, during his shower, Lee awkwardly tried to figure out the best way to shave the sparse hair under his arms. That task done, the few manly hairs on his chest joined the others in the drain.

  Lee packed his s
leeveless top and cheer shorts for practice. The weather was cooling off so he wore his cheer warmup coat. His hair was caught up in a black scrunchie.

  As he exited the house, Darby was coming out. She saw Lee and ran back into her house to get her cheer warmup. The school day was pretty normal. At practice, while everyone else was probably clueless, Darby noticed that Lee had removed the hair from his underarms. She smiled to herself and thanked Lee’s mom in her mind.

  As they exercised and practiced cartwheels and handstands, Lee’s bare underarms were on display and Darby knew he looked much better.

  After practice, Marcia pulled Darby aside, “Lee looks so much better without that hair under his arms. I was worried when we were working out last week and he wore the tank top. Did you talk to him?”

  “No, I didn’t. I think his mom talked to him.”

  Marcia said, “Good for her. I think he looks much better. Who wants to look at hairy pits? It doesn’t really show, but in crops or shorts, the peach fuzz on his legs may need to go.”

  Darby agreed, “I know. Give it time.”

  Tuesday afternoon, Lee wore his cheer tank and leggings for practice as did all the girls. Afterward, he donned a baseball shirt over his tank as he and Darby headed to meet with Jerry. A few minutes after Lee started working with Jerry, Jack showed up. Jack stood next to Darby chatting as they watched Jerry working with Lee. When they started playing catch, Jerry got Darby involved. While he focused on Lee, he offered advice to Darby also. It gave Jerry the ability to stand next to Lee and offer advice. Jack was fascinated and even he could see little things that were getting better.

  When they were done, Jack spent time thanking Jerry and emphasizing how excited he was that Jerry was helping his son. Jack reminisced with Jerry about some past years with the professionals. Lee was happy watching his dad. Jack gave the kids a ride home after practice and he could not stop talking about Jerry. Darby decided she would bring her baseball mitt next time.

  At dinner the only topic was Jerry and all the things he was doing to help Lee. Sally was pleased to see Lee and his father bonding and Lee finally getting to do something with baseball.

  Thursday afternoon, Lee and Darby headed to Jerry’s batting cages after cheer squad practice. Jerry let Darby hit for a few minutes to show Lee differences in stance and performance based on small changes. He offered Darby advice along the way. Darby got to participate in throwing and catching. Jack showed up and watched practice. After practice Jack was obviously proud of his son and excited for the opportunities.

  After Dinner, Lee and his mother cleaned up the dishes. Sally asked, “Lee, Christmas is coming. Have you given any thought to what you want?”

  After a moment of thought, Lee said, “I’ve given it a little thought. I have a couple of ideas. One idea is a new bag to carry my stuff to baseball games and practice. I might need a new glove and that way I could get it broken in before the season starts. Then, I might have a few clothing ideas.”

  Sally smiled, “Those are some good choices. Tell me about the clothes you want.”

  “I really like my new underwear. I think I want some more choices or maybe some different styles. Is that okay?”

  Sally thought that was cute, “I am sure we can find you some other choices. Maybe you could come with me and help pick out the ones you think you will like. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  The surge of excitement Lee felt was evident in the huge smile that erupted on his face. “That might be fun.” He just stared with that stupid grin on his face.

  Sally asked, “Anything else?”

  “I’ve been sleeping in just my underwear which is really comfortable. I thought that with colder weather coming that I should probably think about pajamas. I wondered if I could get some new pajamas in some softer materials. I’m not sure I know what my choices are. Can I get some different sheets for my bed? Some of the girls say they have soft sheets.”

  “Sure honey. We can look at different choices when we go shopping. Maybe if we go to the stores, you’ll see some other things you like.”

  “I might like to get some new jeans for school. I guess we can shop for school clothes when we go to the mall. Is it weird that I like my new underwear?”

  “Honey, for myself, I buy underwear I think looks good and is also comfortable. When it comes to underwear, comfort is the number one criteria. Anyone who suggests you should wear something that is not comfortable is being stupid. But even comfortable underwear can have other choices. I love hunting for new underwear because there are lots of different choices and they are available in all the colors of the rainbow and with all kinds of patterns and prints. You can have anything you want. You are not weird.”

  “Thanks mom. Could we consider a gaming machine like the XBOX?”

  “I’ll talk to your dad. When we go shopping, we’ll leave your dad at home.”

  “That’s probably a good idea.” As Lee went to his bedroom to finish his homework, he was very happy. Maybe, this would be a good Christmas.

  Lee packed his tank top and cheer leggings in his string bag. He was not prepared to wear his leggings to school just yet. He wore some old jeans. It was hard getting the warmup pants over the jeans. He pulled on his cheer squad polo shirt and added his warmup coat. As they walked to school, Darby reached over and buttoned up the two bottom buttons on his shirt.

  “That looks much better. Don’t you think it’s a little cold to have an open neck like that?”

  Lee answered, “I just hadn’t thought about it.”

  In the afternoon, when Lee went to change clothes, he had trouble undoing the buttons. There was something wrong. Darby was calling. Not having time, he pulled the shirt over his head and finished changing quickly and ran out to practice.

  As they walked out to practice, Lee explained, “It was weird, I was having trouble unbuttoning my shirt.”

  Darby couldn’t resist teasing him, “The reason we are going to be late and not start on time is because you have trouble unbuttoning your shirt. You poor thing. Should I ask the girls to give you lessons on unbuttoning shirts?”

  Lee knew she was just harassing him. “Would you? Maybe we should spend our practice going over how to put clothes on and take them off.”

  Darby retorted, “I’ve watched you dress and undress for years. I don’t think you need any help in that area. That’s why I think you blaming your delay on buttons is baloney.” She then punched him in the shoulder and started running to practice.

  Lee was right on her heels. But, he had no intention of hitting her back.

  At the end of practice, Lee and Sylvia explained that starting the next week they would be combining all the moves they had been working on into the choreographed program for the competition. The first local competition was right after Christmas. To that end, there would be a practice on Saturday at 10:30 which would be over before noon.

  Lee was up and dressed to run in his running shorts when he walked over to get Darby. Darby had decided it was getting a little cold for little running shorts and was wearing a pair of cropped leggings along with two shirts. They both wore baseball hats with their ponytails pulled through the keyhole in the back.

  After their run, they decided to dry off and change clothes because they planned to shower after practice. Lee donned the black cropped leggings and his football cheer practice top. He added the warmup, top and bottom due to the colder weather. Darby looked the same when they headed up to the school. Lee loved the feel of the leggings as they walked along. The other thing was the leggings slid along inside the warmup pants which was nice. He was warm and wearing comfortable clothes. He was with Darby and they were going to practice for cheer squad. Life was good. They each carried their string bag with water bottles, power bars and towels. June’s mom had promised to send a snack.

  Lee and Darby were early and Sylvia greeted them at the gym entrance. They checked out the area they were assigned and set things up. After warming up, Sylvia was going to help the group l
earn some new skills involved in pyramids and other elevated routines.

  After practice, Darby asked Lee if he wanted to work on their homework after lunch.

  “I think we can get together later in the afternoon. My mom and I have to run a couple of errands. I’ll call you when we get back.”

  Chapter 15 – Shopping

  At home, Lee showered, selected his baby blue panties and matching camisole. At his mom’s suggestion, he put on a pair of black ankle length leggings and a national park t-shirt. The T-shirt was a little longer than some of his others. It wasn’t tucked in and hung down loosely. He combed his hair and pulled on a black scrunchie. Over the last month or two, he had really developed a liking for the scrunchie. The girls had suggested it as an alternative to simple hair ties. He found his hair didn’t get knotted up in the scrunchie like it did with the ties. Even with his hair in the scrunchie, it hung down below his shoulder blades.

  Lee and his mother left for the mall. His mother explained that they would be going to a different mall which was a little further away. She told Lee it would be fun and she was confident they would not run into anyone they knew.

  As they parked at the mall, Sally asked, “I know this is personal, but, did you tuck your privates like you do when you work out with the girls?”

  Lee was surprised by the question, “I feel like I have to when I wear tight clothing like the cheer shorts or these leggings.”

  “Good,” she remarked.

  As they started towards the door, Sally stopped and looked at Lee. She reached around his head and slipped his ponytail out of the scrunchie. “Let’s try letting your hair hang free today.”

  Caught off guard, Lee simply agreed and they turned towards the mall. Inside the mall, Lee’s mom looked at the directory and set off. They entered a store clearly focused on teenage girls.

  Lee’s mom headed for a rack filled with tops. “Lee, come on over here and take a look.”

  As he walked towards his mother, Lee wondered what she was doing. He took a moment and then began reviewing the tops on the rack. Several were really cute. His mother noticed the ones Lee stopped to look at.