“There’s nothing to be ashamed of—”

“Mom, I said I’m sorry.”

Ivan’s leg hit mine again, but I was too busy trying not to laugh at Jojo’s facial expression to react.

My mom ignored my brother. “Breasts are natural—”

“I know, Mom. I know they are. I love and respect women. Breasts. I just don’t want them in my face—”

“They represent womanhood, beauty—”

I’m pretty sure Jojo started choking. “Mom, please—”

“It’s close-minded, sexist mentalities that think just because we have vaginas and breasts that women are the weaker sex—”

“You’re not weak. None of you are weak, I swear—”

“Do you know what it’s like—”

Ivan’s leg hit mine, and I couldn’t help but twist my upper body enough to face him, pressing my lips together so that I wouldn’t start laughing. Two glassy gray-blue eyes met mine, and it was obvious he was trying not to laugh too. Especially not when my mom went off on how degrading it was to not be seen as an equal.

“Women marched, rallied, and were assaulted to make your mother and your sister human beings that weren’t their husbands’ properties.” Mom eventually reared back the conversation after a couple of minutes. “If your sister wants to show off her God given body, she can, and I’m not going to stop her, and you’re not going to stop her, and nobody is going to stop her.”

She then pointed her fork and blinked. “I taught you better than that, Jonathan Arvin.”

I almost lost it at her busting out his middle name.

Jojo had tipped his head up minutes ago, and it still hadn’t moved as he moaned, “You did. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Mom smirked and shot me a wink that made me laugh. “That’s what I thought. We can buy every issue around and make sure it sells out. I’ll frame it and put it on the mantle.”

I didn’t know about all that, but I kept my mouth shut.

Aaron chuckled. “I don’t think there’s going to be a problem making it sell out. It usually does well.”

“See? Everyone appreciates nudity. There’s nothing wrong with it. It isn’t like you didn’t watch pornography when you thought I didn’t know.”

That had all of us moaning.

“Don’t ever say pornography again,” I told her, trying to erase that word coming out of my mom’s mouth from my memory.

“You be quiet,” Mom said. “Jasmine Imelda.”

And I kept quiet before she turned it around on me even more and brought up something I’d done or said in the past. On that note, I jumped on the opening to change the subject or risk her going on another rant that I secretly loved but wanted to spare everyone else that wasn’t used to it from.

“Do you want to call Karina and spill the beans?” I asked Ivan all of a sudden.

Jojo made a gasping, squeaking sound from across the island, like he was now revived.

Ivan on the other hand, made a weird face like he didn’t get why I changed the subject all of a sudden. Maybe he wouldn’t give me any credit or realize what I’d done, but it wouldn’t be the first time. “Sure?”

His “sures” always felt more like “I guess,” but that was just part of him.

I wasn’t going to die from cold lasagna and garlic bread, I told myself, eyeing what was left of my food regretfully. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I set it on the island and went to my contacts icon, finding Karina’s name at close to the top; I hit the call button.

“What are you doing?” Mom asked.

“No one has told Karina that Ivan and Jas are partners,” my brother replied, setting his fork and knife on top of his plate, following it by lacing his fingers together and shoving his hands under his chin with his elbows propped on the counter, back to normal.

I put the phone on speaker just as it started dialing. Chances were, she might not answer. But chances were she might. I didn’t know her schedule anymore. The last time we had talked, she’d called me.

“Call Karina! Call Karina!” Jojo started chanting quietly, followed up by my mom throwing in her voice too.

“Call her!” Tali’s nosey ass piped up with her mouth full.

“I am,” I whispered, watching the screen as it showed the call was still connecting.

I could see Ivan glance at me, but he didn’t say anything.

Just as the phone made one last dialing attempt, one second before it would have given the last beep it needed before I could leave a voice mail…

“Hello?” a panting voice came over the line.

Ivan and I definitely eyed each other then. Why the hell was she breathing like that?

“Jasmine, you there?” Karina’s familiar voice came over the line.

“Yeah. Is this a bad time?”

“I was on the treadmill and hopped off as fast as I could,” she explained, still breathing hard. “I’m sorry. One second.”

My brown eyes met Ivan’s blue ones in what I figured was relief that she hadn’t been doing other shit that brothers and sisters shouldn’t know about.

“Okay, I’m back. Sorry. I had to get some water. What’s going on? You finally remembered you used to have a best friend or what?” she teased, still breathing hard.

“You have my number too.”

She made a tsking sound. “I’ve been so busy—”

“Whatever you say. Look, I’m having dinner with my family right now—”

“Am I on speakerphone?”

I paused. “Yes.”

Then she paused. “Are you pregnant?”

Across the table, Tali snorted, and I gave her a nasty look. “Why the hell would you think that?”

“Why else would you have me on speakerphone?” she demanded before adding, “And hello, my other family. I miss you all.”

“Hi, Karina!” Tali, my mom, and Jojo each called out, with Ruby adding in a lower greeting.

“Hi!” she cried happily before her voice went back to normal. “But, Jas, no kidding, are you pregnant?”

“No,” I snapped. “Of course not.”

“Oh, blessed Jesus. I thought your life was about to be over. Phew.”

“I have five kids,” my mom chipped in.

“Not you, Mom,” Karina replied, calling my mom the same thing she always had: Mom. “But Jasmine’s would. Anyway, why are you calling then if it isn’t just to tell your best friend hi and that you haven’t forgotten she’s alive?”

I rolled my eyes and mouthed to Ivan, that’s your sister. “I’ve been busy and forgot to tell you something,” I started.

There was a moment before, “Go on.”

“So did Ivan from what I learned today.”

There was another moment. “Ivan? My brother, Ivan?”

“The only one, genius,” I said. “In March, he asked me to pair up with him to be his new partner.”

She didn’t respond. Not for ten seconds, not for twenty or thirty. It might have even been a whole minute of silence with Ivan and me sharing a look before Karina’s loud-ass laugh came through the speaker.

“Oh my word,” she pretty much shrieked into the phone.

“Why is she laughing?” I heard Aaron ask Ruby.

My sister shrugged.

“Ahhh!” Karina pretty much started screaming her laugh.

“Stop laughing,” I called out to her, knowing damn well she was too into it to pay attention to me.

“You and Ivan?” she shrieked.

“He’s right here,” I let her know.

“Hi, Rina,” he greeted.

She started laughing her ass off. Again.

“I can’t believe it!” She began howling all over again.

“Who hurt her to make her this way?” I asked Ivan without even realizing it.

“She was born like that,” he replied, his eyes glued to the blank screen.

“This is going better than I thought,” James said.

Jojo sighed. “I’m disappointed. I thought she was going to get mad you guys forgot about her.”

“The two most stubborn people I’ve ever known skating together?” Karina shrieked. “BAHAHAHAHA!”

“You have problems,” I said.

“Please! Please! Tell me someone has recorded your practices together. Ooh! Tell me you’re doing a live video of them. I would watch every minute. Give me all your competition dates in advance. It’ll be the Hunger Games on ice. I’ll buy everyone in the family front row seats,” she cried out, her voice full of laughter.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “We’re getting…” What? Along? It was a little too soon for that shit. “We’re doing fine.”

“This is like my dream come true fourteen years too late.” There was a break and then more, “You and Ivan! BAHAHAHA!”

I wasn’t sure why this surprised me… but it did. Of course she would think this was hilarious.

Two years ago, I would have thought the same thing.

Me and Ivan. Having dinner. At my house. With my family. Trying to be friends. Whatever that meant.

But here we were.

And apparently, Karina was eating this shit up.

Chapter 10

“I don’t know if I want to do this anymore,” I said to Coach Lee a week later.

A week after I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about all the reasons why doing this was a stupid idea, including but not limited to flashing all my shit at Ivan.

Our one-week long friendship had gone… well. We hadn’t said anything insulting to each other in that time period. He had even smiled at me once when I’d agreed with him that we had done something right when Coach Lee had claimed the opposite.