I draw back and look at him in confusion, while he grabs Scarlet’s arm and pulls her to her feet.
“Your heart is too fragile for this. You know better than to expose yourself to danger.”
“As if the sun is going to make my heart explode,” Scarlet says. “C’mon, Brody. A little warmth isn’t going to kill me.”
“You don’t know that. If you heat up too much your heart has to work way too hard to cool you down. There are risks. You know all this,” he explains.
She sighs. “It’s my heart, Brody. I know. I know the limits. Don’t tell me what to do.” She jerks her arm loose and turns her head away from him in defiance.
He lets out a huge breath. “I’m just worried about you.”
“Thanks, but I can take care of myself.”
He frowns. “I don’t have time for your nonsense. Stay if you want. I just want you to be safe.”
“Well, thanks, but see ya,” she says, still ignoring him.
In the meantime, Evie and I look at each other with raised eyebrows, both thinking the same thing. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but it has something to do with her heart. And Brody is acting like a total bitch because of it.
God, this is so not how I remember him from high school.
Has it been so long? Has he changed so much in the last couple of years?
He storms off again, and after a while Scarlet gazes at him with a sad look on her face. “I’m sorry, girls. I don’t …”
“Yeah, we know,” Evie says, nodding. “Don’t apologize for him. Not your fault.”
She smiles lightly. “Thanks. I’m sorry. I really have to go. But I’d really like to hang with you sometime.”
“Yeah …” I say, and a pathetic laugh comes out of my mouth. “Maybe sometime later.”
“Okay. Well, see ya!” She waves and then runs after Brody.
“Jesus. That girl’s something else,” Evie says after a while.
“Tell me about it.”
“I did not expect that.”
“No, I didn’t know she had heart problems. Kind of puts things in perspective.”
Evie hums in agreement. I’m staring at the grass, thinking about the whole scene. Brody really reacted over the top. I’m not sure it was necessary.
“Well, even if she has heart problems, it shouldn’t give Brody permission to act like that,” I say. “I think Brody’s really turned into a jerk.”
Evie chuckles. “Now you’re saying.”
“Yeah, well, I hate to admit it, but it’s true. He’s changed. A lot.”
“I wonder why. I mean, you always said he was the nicest guy you ever met. Then when I met him I thought you were crazy or something. He never struck me as a cool guy.”
“We used to be best friends. He always stuck up for me when I got bullied.”
“Yeah, I know. Still, he doesn’t strike me as the type to care right now.”
I nod and hum in agreement.
It’s true, what she says. I’m starting to see it more and more, but I don’t actually want to admit it. It means we’re really growing apart, and I don’t want that to happen. Before I came here I’d hoped we could be a tight bunch together, just the three of us, having fun, but now it seems he’s totally disconnecting from us. I barely see him anymore.
I don’t really want to think about it anymore, so I look at the people around me instead and focus on what they’re doing.
As I turn my head, my heart stops.
It’s Hunter.
He’s stretching his back and legs, alternating positions while staring up into the sky. His face is blank, concentrating on what he’s doing. The cut muscles hiding behind a thin layer of cotton are mesmerizing to look at, and he reminds me of those sportsmen who prepare for their challenge by increasing their limits.
He gets up on two feet and shakes off some of his energy. Then he starts hitting a large ball that’s hanging from a tree by a thick rope.
His strikes are hard and fast, and his face turns into the face of a fighter. Full of energy. Full of anger.
I don’t know which one I find more frightening.
He’s like a massive force of fury aiming for the knockout punch. On a freaking ball.
Sweat drips from his face and makes his skin shine. He’s wearing only shorts and a loose tank top, which moves fluently with his shuffling. I can clearly see his six pack through his wet shirt, and his brown nipples peeking through.
I gulp at the sight.
He looks marvelous. The way he jumps around, hitting that ball like it’s his arch enemy. He’s lightning fast and not heavy on his feet at all, even though he looks like a hulk right now. A big, fierce, manly man with biceps the size of small melons.