30 Don't You Knock

Ace's uncle's house had so many rooms that they spared an entirely furnished room for him for the week. He couldn't help but wonder if having excessive wealth and leisure time led one to build spare rooms and extravagantly furnish them, especially when stuck on a ranch three hours away from the city.

"My god, I can barely recognize my body, except for the face everything else feels so unfamiliar yet familiar," Ace uttered in disbelief, staring at his naked body reflected in the full-body mirror. He felt like the character's in the comic books that gain incredible bodies as they awaken their superpowers. Except that was fiction, and this was reality. 

"Admiring ourselves, are we," Pam remarked, walking into the room and placing a few sets of clothes and a swim trunk on the bed for Ace to use. She had bought these clothes for her son but was about to return them since they didn't suit him. But seeing Ace today, she thought he could use them, especially with his body frame. 

"Oh, shit. Auntie Pam! Don't you knock," Ace exclaimed in shock and hurriedly tried to cover himself with whatever he could get his hands on.

"Boy, you don't have to be shy in front of me. I have changed your diapers and taught you how to wipe," Pam lingered, watching Ace struggle to hide his massive body behind a small pillow. "Come on downstairs. Everyone's eager for you to join the party," she said before leaving the room as a subtle mischievous smile graced her lips. 

'This would never happen to me in my old body,' Ace mused, having spent many summer breaks at his uncle's ranch. He was used to seeing all these 'surprise scenes' in the movies and TV shows and wondered why it never happened to him. Now, he knew why. He did not look the part. In simpler words, he didn't have the right body for it. 

Changing into a slim-fit floral half-sleeve yellow shirt and white swim trunks, Ace headed downstairs to join his parents at the pool party. He might have gained an athlete's body but lacked the confidence to flaunt it. 

Walking into the bustling backyard, Ace scanned the crowd for familiar faces, only to realize that all eyes were on him. This time, it was not a figment of his imagination. Every gaze had turned his way. His mere presence had captured their interest. It was the first his presence was acknowledged with him just being there. Good-looking people did live in a world of their own. 

Just then, a blonde babe in a white knitted swimdress covering her ample curves warped in a black swimsuit walked up to Ace and said, "Hey, nephew. Long time no see." 

"Hi, Mandy. When did you turn blonde?" Ace exclaimed, recognizing that the blonde was none other than his Aunt's younger sister. Mandy and Ace were of the same age group, just a few years apart. Since Pam's parents had Mandy when she was a senior in college. Pam practically raised Mandy, so she was more of a mother to Mandy than an elder sister. 

"Since when did you have a jawline?" Mandy asked in astonishment, pondering when her bratty nephew had matured into a man.

"Blonde is your color. It suits you," Ace complimented Mandy and asked, "Where's Danny?" 

"Which one, the senior or junior? If you're searching for Danny Senior, he's out grilling with your father. As for Danny Junior, he's probably holed up in his room, lost in video games," Mandy relayed, occasionally glancing at Ace's well-defined thighs. While she had encountered her fair share of handsome men, she had never encountered someone with such finely sculpted thigh muscles.

"Could you be a bit less obvious?" Ace grumbled in annoyance. They weren't blood-related, so he wouldn't have minded Mandy's advance if they were in some other place and company, but they were among family and friends. 

"What? As if you never sneaked glances at my cleavage," Mandy retorted. 

"I don't want to be part of this conversation," Ace remarked, rolling his eyes at Mandy. "I'm going to find Danny," he added before turning away.

"What just happened?" Mandy uttered in disbelief. Ace's dismissive attitude left her feeling a bit embarrassed. 

"That's called rejection," Mandy heard Pam's voice coming from beside her.

"Hi, Pam. Hi, Mary. I was just teasing him," Mandy laughed awkwardly, avoiding their glares. 

"Mandy, I can't dictate who you date. But Ace is off-limits. He's family and underage," Pam sternly warned her younger sister.

"Pam, you talk as if I'm some kind of promiscuous woman with no self-control," Mandy protested, objecting to her sister's characterization of her.

"Lately, your actions have given off that impression," Pam persisted, concerned that if she didn't defuse Mary's anger, Mandy would have to face Mary's wrath for flirting with her son.

"You're impossible, Pam," Mandy exclaimed, stomping her foot in frustration before turning to leave. Not only had she been rejected by a teenage boy who once drooled on her, but now she had also been reprimanded by her sister in front of a crowd of people. As someone who was the 'Miss Country Rose Pageant' for three consecutive years, she did not need to take this. 

'Sigh, I dodged a bullet,' With his increased spiritual stats, Ace had sensed his mother and aunt's presence nearby, so he rejected Mandy's advances despite her looking smoking hot in her swimdress. 

Ace then headed to his cousin's room. Though the pool party only had friends and family, they were all his uncle and aunt's side of family and friends. Ace was not acquainted with most of them. So, he felt it was better to play video games with his cousin a little, before heading back to practice curse arts. Then he awkwardly lingers in the corner at the pool party.

Without knocking, Ace brazenly entered his cousin's room, to find his cousin naked, standing behind a woman on all fours, equally naked. Their eyes met, and a shocked Dan exclaimed, "Ace! What the hell? Don't you knock!" 

"Why didn't you lock your door?" Ace retorted. 

"Get out!" Dan demanded angrily.

Noticing that the woman's head was turned oddly, in an inhuman angle, Ace cried out, "Is she dead?"