Free Fat Chances by J.S. Wilsoncroft Page B

in my ears as I we both sat down next to each other.
    I could feel his eyes watching me as I nervously took the time to look around his living room. It was small, yet cozy. The walls were beige, coordinating with the brown carpet. There was a small fireplace at the right side of the living room, a tan recliner that matched the couch we were sitting on, and a small entertainment stand in the left corner of the room.
    There were a few pictures hanging on the wall, but one I assumed was his family hanging above the fireplace.
    “Is that your family?” I asked, letting go of his hand to walk over to the large portrait that was trim with a gold frame. My breathing became shallow when he stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.
    “Yes, that’s my family. That’s my mother, Gale, and my father, Chris, and my younger brother Tony,” he said, pointing them out. “And of course the dorky looking one is me.” He chuckled lightly. I knew right away which boy was him, recognizing his dark hair and dimples.
    “You’re not dorky,” I replied, chuckling. “How old were you in this picture?” Besides the fact that he looked younger, in his teens and the cabana style clothing, I knew that the photo had to have been taken in the eighties.
    Cory laughed then replied, “I was only fourteen.” It startled me when I felt him press his chin against my shoulder.
    “But ... the clothes ... ” I laughed, pointing at the retro style print on his shirt. I could feel the heat from Cory’s hands as he held me tightly against him.
    “ I know, please don’t remind me,” he replied as he continued to laugh. “My parents were stuck in the eighties. I’m surprised they didn’t make Tony and I wear our hair like the dudes from Flock of Seagulls.” I turned around and shot him a surprised look before busting out laughing.
    “Are you serious? Were they that bad?” I covered my mouth to keep from laughing hysterically.
    “Hmmm ... let’s see ... oh ... once, we were at my cousin’s wedding and my parents decided to break dance and the worst part was they tried to coax Tony and me to join them. I got out of it by pretending that I had to use the bathroom, but poor Tony ... ” My eyes grew wide as I watched him shake his head in defeat.
    “Oh, my God! Your poor brother.” I laughed until the muscles in my stomach ached. “Please stop,” I pleaded as he pretended to break dance across the living room floor. His muscles twitched under his shirt as he pretended to do robot moves.
    “Come on, Annie! Moon walk with me,” h e coaxed, laughing, then grabbed my hands to join him as he slid across the floor backwards.
    “Cory, you’re killing me here! ” I said, laughing, then sat down on the couch, holding my stomach. He came over and stood in front of me, doing the wave with his arms.
    “Wo uld you like a drink?” Cory asked when he finally quit dancing.
    “Sure, ” I replied, then he pulled me from the couch as if I only weighed a few pounds and we walked into the kitchen, hand in hand. I snickered when I saw that his kitchen was decorated with roosters.
    “I know, I know! My mother decorated the kitchen. She loves roosters and thought that if my kitchen looked the same as hers , it would remind me of home.” He shook his head and laughed as he poured us glasses of iced tea.
    “Hmmm ... are you a Mamma’s boy?” I teased, grabbing my tea glass from the counter. He turned around to face me, his eyebrow arched high into his forehead.
    “Hmmm, I would like to be your boy,” he replied in a throaty voice. Then he took a step closer so that our faces were inches apart. I took a deep breath through my nose, getting a whiff of his manly soap smell.
    I raised my e yebrows, imitating him, “Hmmmm ... I’m not sure that would be possible,” I replied and watched as his eyes grew wide. I took another drink of tea. The expression on his face changed multiple times until he came to the conclusion that I was teasing