Page 7 of Body Shot

Anders

It’sfunny how you can look forward to something for so long and then it turns out to be anti-climactic.

Yes, Hana is as gorgeous and friendly as I’d expected her to be, and yet, there’s nothing there beyond friendship. Like a sister. My buddy’s sister, but mine too in an odd way. I can’t explain it.

The flip side of that is the way my stomach—and regions farther south—react when I’m around Claudia. It’s odd, because the shy quiet ones aren’t usually my type. Yet there’s something about her that makes me want to know more. She’s smart, with a sweet smile and long legs. It’s also pretty obvious she has no idea how beautiful she is, and I’m curious why.

“I feel like the chances of us becoming brothers-in-law has rapidly diminished,” Johan says as he tosses me a beer.

I take a pull before gazing out at the water, where Hana has somehow gotten into a game of water frisbee with some kids.

“She’s beautiful,” I say.

“But no chemistry?”

“I spent five minutes with her,” I hedge. “Too soon to know.”

He shakes his head. “I knew the moment I first saw Sloane. It took seconds, not minutes.”

“That’s some crazy, romantic bullshit,” I say, though I’m mostly kidding. “It doesn’t happen for the rest of us”

“Sure it does. I see you staring at Claudia like you want to have her for lunch.”

He’s right but he’s also wrong.

“She’s very quiet, closed off,” I say thoughtfully. “I tried my best to talk to her, but she kept things very surface level. What do you know about her?”

“She and Hana met in college. She’s very smart, very driven, but shy and introverted. The opposite of Hana. They’re very close, like sisters, despite the geographical distance between them. She lives in Philadelphia, I believe. She just got her master’s degree in computers and has a job at some fancy startup tech company. I don’t know the details about that.”

“Single?”

“Very. I don’t think she dates much.”

I make a face. “You think she’s a lesbian? I mean, that’s cool if she is, but she’s smart and beautiful. Why else wouldn’t she date?”

“She’sverysmart,” he says slowly. “Like, the kind of smart that makes most of us feel stupid. I know a lot of guys don’t like that. She’s also extremely shy.”

“That’s okay. I’m the opposite of shy.”

“Well, try not to scare her,” he says, chuckling.

“I keep telling you—I’m a nice guy!” I say, pulling off my shirt. “But I’m also a sweaty guy. I need to cool off.”

I make my way to the water and dive in, letting it wash over me.

It feels good after being in the midday sun, and I come up, shaking the water out of my eyes.

Then I see her.

Claudia is standing at the water’s edge, ankle-deep, splashing a little.

She’s taken off her shorts and lost the hat, and she’s wearing the demurest one-piece bathing suit I’ve ever seen on someone in her twenties. Everything is covered, and yet, I can’t help but stare at the swell of her breasts. Long, shapely legs. The curve of her hips. The way her waist indents. Fuck, I’d love to see her naked.

“If you want to talk to her, you’re going to have to make the first, second, and ninety-ninth moves,” Hana says, coming to tread water next to me.

“How come?” I ask curiously.

“When a woman is as smart as her, well, you know how people can be. Her high school years were rough, so once she got to college she focused on all things academia.”

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