Page 31 of Take My Heart
‘Just try them on and we’ll go from there.’
‘Are we really doing this? It’s freezing outside.’
‘It’s not that cold. It’s above zero. Anything above zero is considered warm around here, or at least warm enough to be outside.’
‘It’s cold to me. I’m not used to being outside in this kind of weather.’
‘We don’t have to stay out long, just long enough for you to throw a few snowballs.’
‘We’re throwing snowballs? I thought we were making a snowman.’
‘We’ll figure it out when we’re out there. Would you just put the pants on?’
I put them on over the shorts, but they don’t have a drawstring so I can’t tighten them. I let go of the waistband and the pants fall to my ankles. ‘A belt’s not going to help. It won’t be small enough, unless you have one small enough for a girl.’
Brody looks at the pants pooled around my feet, rubbing his jaw as he thinks. There’s a thick layer of stubble on his face that’s really sexy. Cam always kept his face smooth. Sometimes he’d shave twice a day just to keep from having a five o’clock shadow.
‘I got an idea.’ Brody runs off and goes out to the garage. Why is he going in the garage?
‘What’s that for?’ I ask when he returns holding a roll of duct tape.
‘We’re just going to try it.’
‘Try what?’
He lowers to his knees in front of me and pulls the pants up to my waist, folding them over a few times.
‘You are not duct taping these pants on me.’
‘Desperate times call for desperate measures.’ He tugs on the pants, the part around my waist. ‘Can you hold this?’
I take hold of the pants, then watch as Brody wraps duct tape around me. ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this.’
‘I don’t know how to else to keep them up.’ He finishes taping the pants, then rips the tape from the roll. ‘Okay, let go.’
When I do, the pants fall down a little.
‘You need more.’ Brody hands me the tape. ‘You do it, so you can decide how tight you want it.’
‘Maybe we should just forget it. I don’t need to make a snowman.’
‘You’d rather sit in here thinking about your ex and your parents and all the other shit going on in your head?’
‘Well, no. It’s just this seems kind of juvenile. Aren’t we too old for this?’
‘No. My brothers and I have snowball fights all the time and they’re older than me. We don’t build snowmen, but that doesn’t mean we can’t. You gotta stop worrying so much about what other people think.’ He points to the window. ‘There’s nobody even out there. Who’s going to know what you’re doing?’
‘Yeah, that’s true.’
I’m actually kind of excited about doing this. I always wanted to play in the snow when I was younger, but it wasn’t a thing my family did. My sister hates the cold so there was no way she’d even consider going out in the snow with me.
‘Are we doing this or not?’ Brody asks.
I answer by wrapping another piece of duct tape around me. I can’t believe I’m duct taping myself into a pair of sweatpants. If Cam or my family saw me, they’d be horrified and embarrassed. They’d tell me I’m being ridiculous. But like Brody said, they’ll never know.
‘Okay, I’m ready,’ I say, handing Brody the tape. ‘Can I wear your coat again?’
‘Yeah, of course.’ He rests his hand on my shoulder and looks me in the eye. ‘Since you’re probably going to be stuck here another day, let me make this clear right now. If you want to use something, just use it. You don’t have to ask. Same with putting your feet on the table and taking stuff from the fridge. I really don’t care. Just do what you want.’
