Free Here For You by Denise Muniz

odd games. His arms were around me, kissing my cheeks while Emma was on the other side of me laughing as well. She had just moved here. Damn, that was only a few years back. I couldn’t believe how young we looked there. It was a good thing I filled out well because I was so weird looking in that picture. My boobs were so small and my legs look too skinny for my body. My hair was unkempt, always in a low ponytail and my eyebrows needed some serious waxing.
    The next picture was of me and my dad when I was about eight. Damn, my dad looked tired, but he always tried to have a smile on his face. I guess that’s why I was cheesing so hard. It looked like my lips were pulled all the way to the back of my head.
    My phone made a beep, indicating I had gotten a text.
    James: What r u still doing awake? (11:45pm)
    Me: Just getting to bed, and u? (11:45pm)
    James: Just got in not too long ago. Showered now lying in bed (11:46pm)
    Why did he have to say shower and bed? Now I was thinking about what he was wearing, if he was wearing anything at all? Once he told me that he slept naked sometimes. I should text Grey again.
    Me: Yeah me 2 (11:47pm)
    Was I flirting?
    James: Really? What r u wearing? lol (11:47pm)
    Me: Jackass, I’m not telling u (11:48pm)
    James: Does that mean u r not wearing anything? (11:48pm)
    Damn, he was typing mighty fast. Should I play around with him? He was always joking around with me so maybe this would teach him a lesson. I bit my lip before replying.
    Me: Maybe (11:49pm)
    James: Really!? Don’t be getting me excited, babes (11:49pm)
    You know how you can tell a person’s emotion just from a simple text? I honestly thought he was getting excited.
    Me: U r an idiot! Of course I’m wearing clothes. I’m not u (11:51pm)
    James: What?! I am wearing clothes…this time (11:52pm)
    I couldn’t help but laugh at that one. Even through text he was funny.
    Me: U r an idiot (11:52pm)
    James: U r always calling me names *hands on heart* (11:53pm)
    Me: Oh poor baby. I’m sowwie (11:54pm)
    James: Yeah right! (11:54pm)
    Me: Yea u r right lol (11:55pm)
    James: So what happened with ur date tonight? (11:56pm)
    Oh great. I’d forgotten that I’d told him about my date with Grey, but even so, I never expected him to remember or even care about it, let alone ask me how it went.
    Me: He had to cancel. Work (11:58pm)
    I had been trying to avoid this awkwardness about Grey canceling on our date, but everywhere I turned someone was asking me about it. Was I that excited about our date? A couple of minutes passed and still James hadn’t written back. I guessed he’d fallen asleep. As I once again placed my phone on the nightstand it started to ring, letting me know someone was trying to FaceTime me. I didn’t realize my phone was so loud. Not wanting to wake my dad since he could be a light sleeper at times, I answered it in a hurry.
    When I finally looked at the screen, I saw James. His hand was behind his head and he had sleepy eyes like he would pass out any minute. His hair was still wet from the shower and it spilled over his forehead.
    “Hey, I can’t see you. It’s too dark,” he said. He already had his light on because the image was very clear…and he was half naked.
    I reached over to turn the lamp on, blinking a few times to adjust my eyes to the light. “I’m right here,” I said. I leaned up on one elbow with the blanket wrapped around me; I wasn’t wearing a bra and you could see everything through this tank top. I propped up my phone on my lamp so my arms didn’t get tired from holding it.
    “There you are.” He smiled, displaying those sexy fucking dimples.
    Ugh, why did he do this to me? Best friends, Becca, remember.
    I must have looked like shit; my hair was piled on top of my head with loose strands everywhere. “I look horrible,” I told him, trying to pick some of my hair up.
    “Oh please, you look great.” I think I turned a few shades of red at that comment. “So, about your date?”