Page 118 of Hypothetical Heart
“But that angle?” Winnie asks. “There’s no way you didn’t see the flash go off. I mean, where even was the camera?”
Genevieve puts her head in her hands. “We are no longer talking about this. I refuse.” Meanwhile, Jameson and Eloise look seconds away from laughing their asses off.
“I would advise you against showing any positive emotion toward this situation,” I whisper to Jameson. “You’d be giving Gen a great reason to test those knife skills.”
“There is still missing information,” Winnie sighs, looking between Genevieve and Jameson. “We’ve already seen the result, so why does it matter if we know how the picture was taken?”
“What do you want to hear? That we fucked in the school bathroom, and the camera accidentally went off while I was putting it in the front pocket of Jameson’s suit jacket?” Genevieve explodes, throwing her hands up.
“Less descriptions would have been great,” I cringe.
“I would have also preferred that,” Jameson adds, his sour face matching mine.
“I still can’t believe my camera was defiled like that,” Luke deadpans as if this has emotionally scarred him.
In all honesty, seeing my best friend’s boobs has likely scarred me too.
“Hey, on the bright side, at least you have that picture forever,” Eloise says, shrugging. “That way, when you’re really old, you can look back and say,Wow, my boobs looked great.” We all laugh, baffled.
“Trust me, I’m keeping that picture forever,” Jamesonsays, and Luke and I both smack him in the back of the head.
The talk of Genevieve’s accidental nude simmers out, and the conversation moves to something much more normal. Luke puts on a movie, and the living room falls quiet for the most part.
About twenty minutes in, Winnie grabs my hand, pulling me up off the couch and out of the living room. “Can we go up to your room?” she asks in a hushed voice, already headed toward the entryway where the staircase is.
I stop in my tracks. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” she replies, but the look on her face tells me something isn’t. “Come with me.”
“Lead the way.” I motion up the stairs.
When we get to my bedroom, Winnie shuts the door behind us, letting out a breath as she leans her back against the door.
“Winnie.” I take a step toward her. “What’s going on?”
She looks conflicted, and I can tell whatever she’s thinking is making her uncomfortable. “I?—”
“Winnie,” I sigh. “Tell me, honey.”
“Have you ever seen my boobs?” she blurts out, like it’s been on the tip of her tongue, and she just gained the courage to say it.
“What?” My eyes widen to the point where I probably look terrified. She knows I’m just shocked.
Winnie has never been forward about this type of stuff. No sex-related topics have been broached between us, so for me, this is completely out of character for her.
“I just—” she stops herself, dragging her hands down her face while she takes a breath. “It makes me uncomfortable that you’ve seen Evie’s boobs if you’ve never even seenmine.” The truth shatters her face like a hammer dropping on a pane of glass.
“I’m not worried about that, Win.” I grab her hands to keep her from covering her face. I want to look her in the eye when I say this. “Seeing Gen’s boobs has nothing to do with you and me because she’s my friend and I don’t see her as anything but.” My biggest concern is her being worried that seeing my friend’s boobs makes me view Genevieve as more than that.
“I’m not worried about your feelings for Evie,” she replies. “I just don’t like that you’ve seen her naked before me.” I realize this isn’t about an insecurity of hers, it’s about the milestones of our relationship.
“I looked away as soon as I realized what the picture was, honey. It’s not like I got to examine it.” Winnie reaches behind her, not breaking eye contact as she locks my bedroom door.
“Well, then do me one better and get a good look atme,” she whispers closer to my lips, stepping back as she lifts her arms.
Her tank top lifts, exposing her belly, and when her hands begin to pull up on the bottom hem of her shirt, I grab both her wrists to stop her.
“Win—”
