Unwrapping Holly

“Shit,” Holly gasped. “Then this is on me. I’m the one who fucked up. I— I must’ve…”

“Sent the message to the wrong boyfriend?” asked Brody.

Her chin sank to her chest. “Yeah. Sorry.”

Brody sighed in disappointment. He was a good-looking kid, I’d give him that. Lithe yet strong. Scrappy. He seemed to be in good shape, like he could take care of business if it came down to it.

He sort of reminded me of myself.

“Well shit, that sucks,” Brody sighed, reaching for his coat. “I just figured you were inviting me over last minute. I thought I was getting an extra date.”

He slipped an arm through his sleeve, dripping more water on the floor. Holly looked crushed.

“You just got here,” she said apologetically. “Did you want to warm up a bit first? Dry off before—”

“Before I go back out into that,” the kid laughed, pointing out the window. “What’s the difference?”

“I guess there is none.”

She looked utterly miserable. Like someone was sending her dog away. I realized it wasn’t because she wanted to be with Brody, it was because she felt responsible for him. She was looking out for him, even though what happened had been her mistake.

“Gonna hit the bathroom first if you don’t mind,” he said, heading down the hall. “When it rains like this the subway men’s rooms get disgusting.”

He wandered away, leaving Holly staring back at me. She looked gorgeous, even with pity in her eyes. I let out a long, resigned sigh.

“Want me to tell him to stay?”

Her whole face lit up. She bit her lower lip and clapped her hands together happily.

“Fine.”

I said it with such overacted disdain, such sarcastic resignation, I thought it would be funny. Instead of laughing she hugged me, pulling me tightly against her body. Bare-chested, beer in hand, it felt incredibly, immeasurably good.

“Hey young gun,” I said as Brody emerged from the bathroom. “As tempted as I am to send you back out into the rain, that’s not the type of guy I am.” I walked over to the fridge and pulled out another beer. “You okay with a double date?”

His whole body language changed. For a second, I thought he was going to run over and hug me.

“Really?”

“Relax,” I told him, “it’s nothing spectacular. We were going to grab a little food, maybe shoot over and see a movie…” I paused to glance outside. “Although the way this storm is going, maybe we’ll just make something here and rent a movie.”

Holly leaned in excitedly and kissed me on the cheek. “We could totally do that!”

Before I knew it she was scrambling through cabinets, diving into her fridge and freezer. Everything she pulled out looked incredibly unhealthy. I know that whatever she’d make, I probably wouldn’t eat it. But I’d still make a good show of telling her it smelled delicious.

Across the little apartment, Brody grinned and removed his coat again.

“I’m in,” he said cheerily. “But on one condition.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“You gotta put your shirt back on.”

Twenty-Six

HOLLY

It was a strange, wet, extremely fun night.