Page 25 of Exchange of Heart

‘Your ridiculous hat isn’t exactly something I’d normally wear.’ I tapped the green brim.

‘Hey, it’s our day off. I can wear what I want.’

I eyed his outrageously large outfit to demonstrate that no, he couldn’t.

‘I’m not taking the hat off.’ He crossed his arms like a defiant child.

I exhaled a large puff of air through my nose to signal my gracious defeat, though inside, my blood thrashed through my body like water rapids leaving me on edge. Not having control over my own body was a challenge I never expected to experience. He yanked the shirt over his head in the living room, and I spun to face the wall.

Corey laughed. ‘This is your body; you can see it naked if you want.’

I twisted my head, squinting as though it would make it any less creepy. Somehow, it felt wrong. Like a perverted stranger peeping through the cracks of a blind, or that awkward moment when a dog takes a shit on your lawn and their owner knows you’re there, watching through the window.

‘Oh my gosh.’ My fingers skimmed the soft skin across Corey’s back. ‘I have a scar from that stupid corner I scraped the other week.’

Corey went stiff, goosebumps scattering across his back. ‘Stop.’ He shuddered.

My fingers were magnetised to the spot. Brushing the skin I used to feel every day was like finding my way home. Like a road I could follow in the dark, or with my eyes closed, or in reverse while performing the chicken dance. It was mine, damn it, but instead I had this new arm covered with black drawings like a child who’d been left alone with markers. Forcing my hand from the soft skin I ached for, I curled my fingers so they wouldn’t seek it out again.

Corey dropped his pants, collected the clothes into a ball, and threw them at me. Snatching them with my stupidly large fingers, I hurried into the bathroom.

‘What, I gotta wait out here naked?’ he yelled after me.

‘Go get a bra from my drawer while I change,’ I called out.

‘No, those contraptions are uncomfortable. I couldn’t wait to come home and take it off yesterday.’

I poked my head out the door and caught his gaze. ‘It’ll hurt if you try running without one. Or spin around too fast. Or—’

‘Fine.’ Corey walked to the drawer in a huff and pulled out the black one on top. ‘But you need to help me put it on again. I don’t understand how you twist your arms to clasp this damn hook.’

I bit my lip to avoid laughing as he curled his arms around his back then gave up, leaving the bra hanging loose from his shoulders. ‘Give me a minute.’

I stripped my clothes and threw them through the crack in the door, then pulled it shut to seal the privacy required for my moment of panic. The muscly reflection staring back at me made me want to peel my skin until nothing but the fleshy muscle beneath remained. Which I would then claw at until there was nothing but bone, which would still leave me with the same problem, only exhausted and writhing in agony at having ripped this body apart. I forced my mouth into a smile to trick myself into a better mood, but the manic face staring back threatened to send breakfast up my throat. I wanted to rip those teeth from my mouth. They weren’t mine.

My gaze dropped to my chiselled stomach. I had to admit, Corey wasn’t just fit. He was fit. Perhaps he secretly lived with apes in the jungle and entertained a lady named Jane in his spare time. I pulled on his clothes and joined him in the living room, riddled with curiosity as to how he attained a physique like this. ‘Why are you so toned?’

He frowned. ‘What?’

‘Your body. It’s muscly as heck for a guy that spends all day in an office. Shouldn’t you be overweight and balding or something?’

Corey laughed. ‘That would be my father you’re describing. I do Muay Thai. I guess it keeps me healthy.’

‘Ha! Healthy? It keeps you something all right.’

An irritating smirk appeared on my face he wore. ‘Something, hey? Got something you want to tell me, Nora?’

My appreciation for his body faded with his show of arrogance. ‘We’d better find this umbrella today because I’m not going to Muay Thai for you.’

‘Well, obviously not. I want my body back before the weekend.’

‘Obviously,’ I agreed. ‘Besides, I have Pilates on Saturday.’ And I was desperate to see Hayley for her reminder that love exists after this excruciating disaster. I don’t intend to let a man into my life, but her refreshing take of ’til death do us part compared to Mum’s they’re death, keep apart allows me to dream.

Then there’s our end of year exam in two weeks, dangling over our heads with the allure of winning our bet. I just wanted to be seen as the worthy worker I am, but what if we hadn’t switched back by then? Fear curled around my spine at the thought of spending two entire weeks as Corey.

My image contradicted my values, and I was terrified I might lose sight of pushing for women’s rights in the workforce if this continued much longer. Especially considering Hayley’s voice floated in my mind about how there’s something sexy about a man who can take control. I wanted a man to take control of the laundry – not my career.

Outside on the pavement, I suggested we start checking the trash cans nearby before we search second-hand stores.