He took me by the shoulders and said, “Don’t ever say that.You’re not damaged.Don’t eventhinkthat.”
He almost never got angry.I felt touched, honestly, because at the time, nobody had cared about me.They’d only cared about keeping my sister out of trouble.
I smiled.“Okay, boss.”
“Good.Now, let’s make you look like a star.Put this on.”He handed me my favorite T-shirt.
I pulled it on.
“There,” he said.“You look good in pretty much everything, but in black, you’re so hot.And that orange brings out the copper in your eyes.”
“My eyes are brown, Eddie.They’re nothing special.”
“They’re amazing,” he said.
“Come on.”
“Come on, what?And that shirt shows off your body like wow.”He ran his hands down my sides.
“I’m skinny.I don’t have abs.”
“Neither do I.”
“Yeah, but you’re hot.”
“So are you.Why do you think all your ex-girlfriends wanted to sleep with you?”
“’Cause I put out on the first date.”
“You didn’t put out onourfirst date.You didn’t put out for five months.”He slipped his arms around my waist.“I wouldn’t have waited that long if you weren’t hot.”
I looked at the floor.“Sure.”
He ducked his head to catch my eye.“Trust me.I’m gonna make sure you look like a star in those photos.I’ve got your back.I’ll always have your back.Okay?”
Then he hugged me, and everything felt okay.
And the photoshoot went great.Having him there to watch me, I felt more confident than I usually did, just like when I tapped while he watched.I left the photo studio with him, feeling better about myself than I had in a long time.
And then I blew it.
