On both sides of his midsection was an impressive “V” that looked as though it had been carved into his hips with a knife. He was lean, too, not bulky. The arrow pointed alluringly downward, hinting at what was even lower.
Curling up into my covers, I felt my body warm.
My mouth agape, I thought about how to respond.
Something seemed off. Why would he be sending me this after making it clear he had “plans?”
I typed out a message and sent it to him.
Natalie: I thought you were busy tonight?
At the moment I hit send, a second text came through from him.
Shane: Sorry wrong number.
My heart fluttered. For a fleeting moment I’d felt a little special, though still thrown off that he would send such a picture to me. Another text came in, answering my first question.
Shane: Yes, I’m busy tonight.
My pulse quickened, and I ran my thumb and forefinger over my forehead. Was he messing with me, or was this real?
Natalie: You said you had plans already. If you didn’t want to hang out with me, you don’t have to make up a silly lie.
Shane: I didn’t make up a lie. I told you I had plans.
Natalie: And these plans were…texting random women ‘what are you up to?’ with a sexy selfie?
In my mind there were two options. Either he was messing with me and didn’t have plans, or he had really “accidentally” sent me the selfie. The second seemed unlikely.
Shane: You got it, Dino.
Natalie: You’re incorrigible! What does that name mean?!
Shane: Think about it.
Natalie: I am and I’ve got nothing. Now if you’re going to send me sexy selfies randomly, at least have the courage to tell me you’re attempting to show off.
Shane: You’re right. Must be my midwestern niceness kicking in because you caught me off guard. I’ll be sure to be an upfront asshole in the future.
My skin tingled. I brought the picture of him back up and stared at it for a moment.
Natalie: No need to be a dick. I’m just back in town and thought I would extend an olive branch to connect with my former Black Mountain friends to hang out. I would say the offer is still on the table but I am definitely rescinding it now. Ass.
Screw this guy. I didn’t know where he got off on being so cocky and dickish to a girl he didn’t even know.
With my blood boiling, I stewed, thinking about how I would teach him a lesson. What was he doing anyway, just copying and pasting a selfie to all of his contacts to get laid tonight? I would be mortified if I was sending a sexy selfie—which I never had because I’m overly paranoid it would end up on the interweb somehow. But if I did, I would be double checking the number ten times. The internet is forever, and once a picture got out there into the digital wasteland, it could be gif’d, meme’d, and who knew what else.
This had to be an elaborate prank. He hadn’t even sent me his face. He could have gotten the picture off of the internet, and be catfishing me. Plus, Jesus, if he looked like that in addition to the voice he had, he was in the top tier of attractiveness for the men I’d met in my life. And remembering what I did about awkward Shane, well, that just seemed unlikely to me.
Natalie: That’s probably not even you. Prove it.
As soon as I sent the message, I regretted it. I’d backed myself into a corner. Showed him that I was curious about the photo.
If it was him, I’d just look stupid. Then again, why did I care if I looked stupid in front of this guy, who I hadn’t seen or heard from for ten years?
My instinct was right. Because the next text that came through made me laugh and sweat at the same time.
Shane: You’re lucky I’m bored tonight, so I took time to make this. Are you a detective major or something?
The text was accompanied by a picture of him biting his lower lip. He was stark naked with the exception of the piece of cardboard he was holding in front of his crotch that said, in marker, ‘Shane North - December 26th’ with a smiley face.
Natalie: You have plans…but you’re also bored? That’s a funny combination. And I’m pretty sure detective isn’t a major. Me, I’m an English and Theatre major.
Taking a deep breath, I stood up. I was nearly sweating, it was so hot in the house. I checked the thermostat, which was at sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Weird. The heat was blasting, and it seemed much hotter than regular room temperature. Was I hot just because of that photo?
Shane: That’s your comeback? You’re killing me smalls. I guess it really is true what they say about Florida.
Natalie: And what do they say about Florida?
Shane: The cold does funny things to her.
Another picture came through. This time, it was of Shane making a goofy, but still slightly cocky, winky face. I swallowed. It was definitely a photo of him, alright. Except the boy I used to know had been replaced with a man.
A very, very good-looking one with ice colored eyes and thick, dirty blond hair that I’m pretty sure some of my girlfriends back home would kill for. This was an interesting development.
Yet, despite his assholery and outlandishness, I still felt the need to keep the conversation going with him.
Natalie: So funny I forgot to laugh.
Shane: Well, I showed you mine. Even if it was by accident. You going to show me yours?
I thought for a moment. I got this feeling he was playing me, so I decided I would mess with him. Especially since he somehow thought it was absolutely okay to mess with me at will.
Natalie: Show me your snake and we’ve got a deal.
Shane: Seriously? You’re a dirty, dirty girl aren’t you?
Natalie: So dirty :D
My heart hammered as I waited for his text to come through. I made the request to mess with him…but I had to admit I was curious what a man built like him looked like…all of him. On another level, I just wanted to see how far he would go. The tension built as I stared at those three ominous dots on the other end of my phone.
My phone buzzed and a surge of adrenaline rushed through me.
My jaw dropped and I blinked a few times, staring at the picture.
He sent me a picture of a hockey stick. Written in marker on a piece of white medical tape wrapped around the stick were the words ‘Snake.’
Shane: Goodnight, Florida Rider. Yes, I know my snake is big and scary. Hope you can sleep after that.
I rolled my eyes. Florida Rider? How many nicknames did Shane have for me?
In spite of his digs, the truth was, I had enjoyed our banter.
I didn’t know who Shane was hanging out with that night, though I wanted it to be me. I was not the type of person who liked to go days without social interaction. I was going to need some sort of diversion for the next two weeks in this town while I finished going through my father’s things. And despite him being a total dick…as I laid my head down on my pillow to sleep, I felt less lonely.
Something that he had said in our earlier conversation irked me though, as I drifted off to dreamland. You really think you were Louisa’s best friend?
What did he mean by that?
3
Natalie
THE NEXT MORNING, I woke up so hot I thought I might have been transported back to Florida for a moment. I headed over to the thermostat to see what the temperature was at, and it was still sixty-five, so I turned it down under sixty.