Page 32 of Take My Heart
Does he really mean that? Nobody’s ever said that to me so I don’t trust that it’s true. I always ask. Always. Not doing so would be rude.
‘You’ll need boots. They’re in the laundry room.’
I follow him in there and sit on the folding chair that’s across from the washer as he sets a pair of black boots in front of me. They’re so big, my feet slide in them without any resistance.
‘Shit, they’re huge,’ Brody says.
‘My feet won’t stay in these if I try to walk. And snow will get in all that space and make my feet wet.’
‘Got an idea,’ he says, taking off again.
‘Oh God, what now?’ I say to myself, laughing. After this horrible day, I can’t believe I’m laughing.
Brody returns with some t-shirts. He stuffs one of the shirts into my right boot, then does the same with the left. It makes the boots feel tighter but it’s still going to be hard to walk.
‘It’s not the best solution but it’s good enough.’ He standsup and grabs his coat from the hook. He puts it on, then picks a black stocking cap off the floor and yanks it on his head. ‘You need to get your coat on.’
I get up and put it on. I was so busy watching Brody I forgot to finish getting ready. I’m finding myself fascinated by him, by the way he just does stuff without giving it much thought. He gets an idea and does it. I’m someone who overthinks everything. I imagine every possible thing that could go wrong, then come up with ways to avoid those things, and if I can’t, I don’t do it. Cam’s the same way. We’re both very cautious. We love pros and cons lists. In fact, that was one of the things I thought made us a perfect couple. I’d finally found someone who overanalyzed stuff as much as I did. But that became a problem when we didn’t agree. We used our pros and cons lists against each other and ended up fighting and unable to find a compromise.
‘You need some help?’ Brody asks as I struggle to walk through the house. Brody’s already standing by the sliding glass door, waiting to go out back.
‘Go ahead. I’ll get there eventually.’
Brody laughs as he watches me walk like Frankenstein, moving one leg, then the other, across the floor. He comes over to me and scoops me into his arms.
‘Hey! Put me down!’
‘It had to be done or we’d be here all night.’ He slides open the door, goes out in the snow, and slides the door shut, all while still holding me. The guy’s strong. Cam couldn’t even lift me, but Brody’s acting like I weigh nothing.
‘Are you going to put me down?’ I ask as he tromps through the snow.
‘I think the less you have to walk, the better.’ He stops in the middle of the yard and sets me down.
Looking up at the sky, I watch as the snowflakes fall. They’re big and fluffy and sting my face. The wind has died down, allowing the flakes to gently drop from the sky instead of being blown around.
‘It’s beautiful,’ I whisper, feeling a calmness come over me.
Closing my eyes, I notice I don’t hear anything. I’m surrounded by silence. Living in the city, I’m not used to that. I don’t remember ever being outside and hearing nothing.
Something smacks against my leg.
‘What was that?’ I look down as I’m hit again, this time on my stomach, the snow sticking to my coat. ‘Brody, did you—’ I stop when something hits my back. I whip around and see Brody holding a snowball. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Having a snowball fight. You gonna join me or just stand here?’ He aims the snowball at me.
‘Wait! I don’t know what to do.’
‘Make a snowball and throw it. It’s easy.’ He tosses the snowball and it hits me in the arm.
‘Okay, that’s it,’ I say, getting annoyed, but not in a bad way. I’m annoyed I haven’t hit him back yet. I reach down and pick up some snow. ‘It’s not sticking together.’
‘You have to use both hands,’ he says, coming over to me. He scoops up some snow and adds it to what’s in my hand, then closes my other hand around it. ‘You gotta pack it. The tighter the better.’ He presses my hands around it. ‘See how that feels?’
I do, but it’s less about how the snow feels and more about how Brody’s hands feel around mine. He’s gentle, yet strong,and having him close to me like this, I’m feeling something, something I shouldn’t.
‘I think I got it,’ I say, backing away. I crouch down and get more snow, adding to what I already have. I quickly stand up and toss the snowball at Brody, hitting him in the stomach.
He stands there, acting like nothing happened.
