Page 32 of Body Check

She moves into the light, a bright halo surrounding the crown of her head and casting her features in shadows. But I can practically hear her smile—and, this time, I know without doubt that it’s real. Wanting to keep the ease of the conversation going, a first for us in so long, I drag the heel of my palms down the length of my thighs. “And”—I draw in a deep, dramatic breath—“I lied.”

“What?”

I nod sagely. “Crazy, right? I went willingly into confession because my momma demanded it of me. We were one of the only Catholic families in Zachsville, so it’s not like I had much of a choice in the matter.”

“How old were you?”

Scrubbing the day-old scruff on my jawline, I make a show of thinking real hard. “Twelve? Maybe thirteen?”

There’s a small hesitation, and then she murmurs, “And you lied?”

“Oh yeah. See, it was Christmas time, and my dad asked me if I’d help with getting the lights for the tree out of the attic. I said yes—he bribed me with the lure of pizza—and all I had to do was stand at the bottom of the ladder as he slid me down a box to catch.”

Holly steps forward, arms over her chest, a smile tugging at her lips. “I’m already scared on your behalf.”

“You should be, swee—” I break off, clearing my throat, hand moving from my jaw to ease against my mouth.Shut up, man, don’t even go there.I reach blindly behind me, my fingers grasping the cup she abandoned, and I suck down what’s left of the tea. I hate tea to the core of my soul, but God knows it’s better to pretend that I’m afflicted by a random bout of coughing than to confess that I almost called hersweetheart.

Some habits are impossible to break.

“Anyway,” I continue, the cup clasped between my hands, “there I am, ready to catch this box that my dad says will have everything we need—and then it rips in half as he’s lowering it down the ladder toward me.”

She barely covers up a shocked burst of laughter. “Please tell me you didn’t get hurt.”

Warmth spreads in my chest that she would be concerned in the first place, and then I’m shoving it away to keep on with the story. “Depends on the way you look at it,” I murmur with an easy roll of my shoulders. “All I remember is my dad shouting, “oh, hell,” and then the next minute it was raining down old-fashioned glass Christmas lights andPlayboymagazines.”

I watch as her blue eyes go wide and her cheeks, even with the glare of the lights we’ve set, turn pink. She’s biting down so hard on her lower lip that I’m surprised she doesn’t draw blood. “Jackson,” she manages to work out in between gusts of laughter, “oh, my God.”

“Trust me,” I mutter, enjoying her joy way too much for my own good, “God wouldn’t have wanted any part of that scene. I don’t know which one of us was more embarrassed—my dad as he stared down at me hopping around, trying to avoid shattered glass and old-as-fuck magazines, or me, when I realized that everywhere I looked were breasts.”

“Looks like Santa came early that year.”

Laughter climbs my throat at her blasé tone, and it takes everything in my power to maintain a straight face. Thumb sweeping across my bottom lip, I feel my lips curve into the first real smile I’ve had in months—despite the light hitting me square in the face and turning my vision splotchy.

I couldn’t look away from Holly if I tried.

“My dad was horrified, naturally, and I was a preteen with sudden access to all these naked women on the pages.”

“You didn’t.”

I lift my arms wide, palms up, tea cup clasped in my right hand. “I did.”

“I don’t know whether to slap you on the back and tell you congrats or shut my eyes and try not to think about where this story is going.”

“It gets worse,” I offer happily.

She shakes her head. “Of course it does.”

“I don’t know how many times I jerked off to those magazines. My dad even had the very first issue, and let’s be honest, it would have been a crimenotto take advantage of what Santa had given to me as an early present.” I pause, waiting for her to hurry me along, and when she does, I drawl, “Only, my mother caught me one night.”

“Poor Momma Martha,” Holly whispers, a smile barely contained on her face. “I can only imagine how loud she must have shrieked.”

“The neighbors called the cops.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t drop dead of a heart attack right then and there.”

“Oh, she tried, trust me, but nothing a little cold water couldn’t remedy.”

When I wink, Holly only presses her fingers to her lips again to hold back another laugh. “You’re awful.”

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