“Hey there, sweet cheeks. Fancy meetin’ you here,” he flirted with Lilly.
Her cheeks lit from within, flushing her face with a pretty pink blush. She adjusted her shirt, pulling it down over her thighs self-consciously as she moved closer to the counter.
“Hey, Matt. It’s good to see you again. What can I do for you?”
She knew him.
What the hell was going on?
When did Lilly become friends with all these men?
Did I need to worry that she would start bringing them to our apartment?
I couldn’t live that way—sleeping in bed with the enemy under my roof while contemplating the terrible things they could do to me while I slept.
They weren’t trustworthy. They took what they wanted and I would never be taken again.
Not ever.
“Ah, how sweet,” he cooed, his voice dark and seductive. “You remembered my name. I didn’t think you’d remember anything with as much as you had to drink that night.”
He laughed, and the sound of it sent chills over my skin. Not for the usual reason, which had more to do with revulsion and anxiety, but because it sounded deep and rich … soothing my frazzled edges in a bizarre way.
Goose bumps attacked my body, rolling across my flesh like falling dominoes, making the hair on my arms stand on end. A curious ache I hadn’t felt in over three years formed between my thighs, making my nipples tingle and pebble.
I wanted to get away from this guy, whoever he was, and never see him again.
My mouth opened so I could speak to Lilly, so I could tell her I needed to get away, but the words wouldn’t come out. Swallowing hard, I cleared my throat.
“I see you have this taken care of,” I muttered. “I’ll just be in the back if you need me.”
I hurried to the rear of the store as fast as my trembling legs would take me.
Once I made it to the break room, I slammed my shoulders against the wall and tried to gain control of my breathing.
“Get it together, Shannon,” I whispered.
I listened from the back as the guy flirted with Lilly, trying to convince her to go on a date with him. Then they must have moved farther away because their words became distant and muffled.
My hands shook as I snatched a few boxes of stock for the display cases and walked back to the front of the store.
Curiosity bloomed until I could no longer contain it, but as long as I was in the back of the store, I was unable to hear their conversation. It was imperative I knew every single detail of why he was there. It was also vital for me to understand why I responded to him so abnormally. If I understood the cause, perhaps I could cure the unwanted feelings he was tugging from within me.
Then everything became clear, and I knew the path I needed to take.
Lilly was freaking out about Devin, but maybe seeing this guy would make things easier?
Maybe it would take her mind off all the things bothering her if she started dating a new guy?
It was a sick and twisted way of thinking. The whole “to get over one, get under another” saying, but if she was dating this guy, it could kill two birds with one stone. She would be occupied, which meant her mind would be engaged and unavailable for her friend Devin, and if she was dating the sexy, bronze god in the front of the store, it would surely cure my unwelcomed attraction to him.
Lilly was my best friend, and I was loyal to a fault. As long as she was seeing him, my mind wouldn’t flutter into this unknown territory it seemed to be launching itself toward. He would be taken, and I wouldn’t have to worry about my body responding to him. He would be hands off for me.
Not that I was thinking about putting my hands on him.
My body, on the other hand, hadn’t gotten the No Men memo. My stomach twisted with sickness while the secret spot between my thighs throbbed and ached for something I refused to give into.
My body and mind weren’t on the same channel. They weren’t on the same anything. My cognizance was screaming no to everything my body was feeling, and I breathed a bit easier knowing my brain would win the war.
The memories were always victorious.
My sickness could never be cured.
My irrationality had taken my brain hostage without demands and refused to release it. I knew as long as it was locked away behind my wall of crazy, it would always stay put. My brain could never allow my body to push me toward its urges.
My dark past and the memories came rushing forward like a mentally altered white knight, fighting anything that threatened my newly acquired sanity.
“I actually have something I have to do this Saturday night. I’m sorry, maybe some other time,” Lilly said with a forced smile.
She wasn’t lying.
She did have plans this coming weekend—plans that included me—but that didn’t stop me from opening my mouth and shutting down her rejection.
“Lil, why don’t you invite your new friend to your birthday party Saturday night?” I suggested.
Sure, it would put this guy in my proximity again, but as long as he was with Lilly, it was worth it.
I kept my attention on the task of stocking the display with the boxes I had in my arms. I was sure I looked calm and cool as if I were just working, but inside, my heart was drilling in my chest and making it next to impossible to breathe.
Needless to say, it was my fault Lilly had a date to her birthday party. A date I could tell she wasn’t thrilled about, but whatever it took to fix my issue.
I had a selfish moment.
It happened.
He needed to be untouchable, in case my mind decided to finally heal. In case my white knight became a pansy and ran in the opposite direction of my inner fight. In case my brain was finally released from its hellish prison.
“You ladies have a nice afternoon,” he said before he turned to leave the store, happy with the outcome of his visit.
It was then, and only then, I turned away from my task and took another look at him.
His back muscles flexed with his stride, and when he reached up to put his shades back on, I could see the intricate network of veins bubbling from his tan, muscled arms.
He turned back and grinned at Lilly, the tilt of his luscious lips sending another wave of chills across my flesh, and then he was gone. The bell above the door chimed with his exit, and finally, I was able to breathe again.
BY THE TIME SATURDAY NIGHT CAME, and we were getting ready for Lilly’s birthday party at her mother’s house, I still hadn’t gotten the guy who came into the store out of my mind. I hoped I would have, but it seemed I went to sleep every night with his grin and dimples playing on repeat.
It was sickening.
Thinking of a total stranger that way literally nauseated me, but I couldn’t shut it off.
I tried everything to get out of going to Lilly’s birthday party for several reasons. The main reason being I was apparently a terrible friend since I was even considering skipping her party, but also because I didn’t want to see Matt, her date; the guy who branded himself on my memory without even speaking to me.
Pathetic.
Of course, there was also the prospect of spending the night with her mom’s rich friends. It was next to impossible to be comfortable around those people. They had a tendency to look me over like I was a piece of trailer park trash waiting to be tossed.
Our other friends would be there as buffers, but nothing was worse than old hags dripping in diamonds looking me up and down in disgust because I was financially beneath them or, as I had heard one say once before, “A little too curvy for my own good.”
Whatever the hell that meant.
I was fat.
Get over it.
I tried not to think about that remark or the weight I seemed to be gaining on a weekly basis no matter how much I watched what I was eating. If I even looked at something fattening, I gained a pound, and I looked a lot. Since I refused to be weak for anybody, food was my weakness.
&nbs
p; I was in the middle of checking out my thickening waistline in the mirror in the living room when the doorbell rang. My breath hitched, and I waited quietly in hopes that Lilly would come out of her room thinking I was still in the shower and answer the door.
I wasn’t that lucky.
Even though it was the last thing in the world I wanted to do, I strode across the room to the door and pulled it open with a tight smile that made my cheeks ache.
Matt was standing there, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe with a knowing grin on his thick lips. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew he was handsome. He was aware of what his presence did to women. He relished in it, enjoying their looks and shivers and bathing in their attention like the filthy man he was.
His suit looked expensive, and his dark hair was carelessly tousled into the perfect amount of accidental sex appeal.
God, he looked tasty.
Like chocolate and caramel and all things crave-worthy.
I bet he tasted as succulent as he looked.
Not good for you at all, but magically delicious.
The kind of delicious that caused weight gain and diabetes. Except instead of doing bad things to my body, he was making all my senses go into overdrive. My heart rate went up, ripping into my ribs until I felt its beat vibrating my entire center.
He looked around me, not even paying me a bit of attention, yet he had the nerve to say, “Hey, gorgeous. Is your girl Lilly here?”
Gorgeous.
Yeah, right.
How would he know what the hell I looked like, considering he had never really looked at me?
I didn’t even attempt to respond to his rehearsed flattery.
“What’s your name again?” I asked, even though I already knew his name.
I felt like he needed a knockdown off his high horse, and I could tell by the widening of his eyes that he wasn’t accustomed to being unmemorable.
He chuckled, the sound sending yet another wave of vibrations across me. I found myself shaking as if a cold breeze slid over my skin.
Icy.
Shocking my system with shivers.
“My name’s Matthew, sweetheart.”
“I’m not your sweetheart,” I deadpanned.
His grin lifted, the dimple punching me in the gut and pushing the oxygen from my lungs. “Noted.” He chuckled.
The door creaked when I tugged it open all the way and made space for him to come inside.
A night with him at Lilly’s mom’s house, which would be full of rich, snobby people, meant I was sure to have the most uncomfortable night of my life.
“Lilly! Matt’s here!” I called through our small apartment.
Thankfully, she appeared in the living room within seconds, looking just as beautiful as usual. Her makeup was perfection, and her hair curled just so. She was breathtaking and clueless to her beauty.
Matt’s eyes lit up when Lilly came into the room, and I was happy to see him so engrossed in her. As long as he was interested in Lilly, I could never be interested in him.
He was off limits and far away from me.
Exactly how I liked my men.
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For me, this is the hardest part of writing a book. Telling a story is the easy part, but sitting down and trying to thank the people who have supported you is very difficult, especially when you have lived a full life filled with wonderful people. That being said, I’ll give it a shot.
This may sound weird, but I’d first like to thank any person who ever said a rude thing to me about my weight. There’s never been a point in my life that I wasn’t overweight, so this happened a lot in my world. At the time, the things you said were very hurtful, but looking back now, I’m glad you said them. You single-handedly fueled this story. You planted the idea in my brain and watered it every time you said a hurtful thing to me. So, thank you.
Secondly, I’d like to thank my Beta readers, Mary Smith, Melissa Andrea, Ruthi Kight, and Katy Austin. You ladies are amazing, and I appreciate the late-night messages and your honest opinions. I’m very blessed to have met such wonderful people throughout the entire publishing process. I’m amazed by the amount of support I receive from people I’ve never met in person. Again, I thank you guys.
To Cynthia Shepp, thank you so much for polishing my baby. This book means the world to me and you made it pretty.
To Nadege Richards, you’re amazing. That is all. I love your gorgeous face. Thank you for the fabulous formats!
To every blogger who jumped on The Fat Bitches Blog Tour and to every single person near and far who have helped to promote or supported my work. I love you all more than you could ever know.
Last by not least, to my wonderful husband Matthew. You took the insecure girl I used to be and turned her into the confident woman that I am today. Thank you for telling me I’m beautiful every day for the last eleven years of my life and thank you even more for meaning it. The love that you have shown me over the years has nourished me and helped me blossom. I love you, baby.
On the Plus Side (Chubby Girl Chronicles Book 1) Page 25
