Plump & Pretty

by Mary E Thompson

  Carrie narrowed her eyes in his direction as though looking at him would tell her if he was a jerk. Of course, knowing Carrie, she might actually be able to read something on his skin that told her the truth. As for me though, I wasn’t going to even glance in his direction again. Connor Lee was as far out of my league as you could get. There was no reason to even care that he was at the wedding. It didn’t matter.

  “He’s still looking over here,” Lexi stated as though it would make a difference.

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s probably checking out someone behind us. Or maybe he thinks I look vaguely familiar and is trying to imagine me 100 pounds lighter, when he’d actually have given me a second glance. Let’s go to the reception.”

  Xander and Aidan flanked me on our walk out, in tune with my emotions, and protecting me from Connor Lee. They didn’t need to. Connor Lee wouldn’t approach me. He was into women who looked more like models than the woman who ate the models for lunch. Literally.

  Besides, Connor Lee had never been mean to me or cruel. He’d have to know I existed first. And that wasn’t ever going to happen.

  Carrie and I climbed back into my ten year old Volvo SUV, a gift from my parents when I graduated high school. I cranked the heat, but of course, it blew out cold air. “Ugh, I don’t know why you don’t just trade this in. You could get something that actually heats up when you turn it on.”

  It was a constant battle between us. Carrie hated my car, but even more than that she hated not being able to drink. I’d never enjoyed the feeling of being out of control so I volunteered to be her designated driver pretty much all the time. It just meant she had to deal with my old car.

  “You know I’m not going to get a new car. I love Betty. She’s been good to me. Plus, I don’t need a new car. This one is running just fine.”

  “Yeah, if you like freezing eight months of the year in this frigid weather we live in.”

  I shrugged. “I’ve got plenty of padding. The cold doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it does you. That’s about the only good thing about being the plumpest one of us.”

  Carrie rolled her eyes, like I knew she would. She hated when I talked about being the biggest one, but she couldn’t ever deny it. The difference between me and the others was obvious to anyone who looked at us. Really though, I didn’t mind. Yeah, I had more curves than a mountain road, but I was happy. I’d watched my mom and sisters struggle to maintain a healthy weight for years, only to always restrict what they could eat and grumble about it. I wasn’t going to live that way. If it meant I carried a few extra pounds, or a hundred extra, I wasn’t going to go nuts over it. I was happy with the way I looked, and one day I’d find a guy who was happy with it too.

  Betty warmed up as I pulled into the parking lot for the reception hall, something Carrie was more than happy to point out. “Remember how you feel about Betty when you have a drink. If it weren’t for her you’d be sober with me.”

  Carrie grumbled half-heartedly. She knew I was right.

  We rushed inside, carefully so we didn’t end up on our asses in a snow bank, and breathed a sigh of relief when the warm air surrounded us. “Ooh, much better,” Carrie moaned happily. “I can feel my toes again.”

  Shaking my head at her we went into the main room. The entire house had been gutted when the new owners took over. The first floor was for the party and upstairs had rooms that Sam and the others used to get dressed. On the first and second floors were wrap-around porches that would probably get lots of use in the summer, but were wasted in the middle of January in Winterville.

  The house was bigger than I expected with a wide open room off the foyer. Large tables filled the space, enough room for the 125 guests. Crisp white tablecloths covered the tables with red sashes tied around the chairs and red flowers lighting up the centerpieces. Red napkins sat on white china at each place setting.

  It was elegant and beautiful. It suited both the beauty of the Victorian home and Sam.

  Carrie and I found our seats. Lexi and Mike were already at our table. Carrie headed to the bar to get a drink and I took a seat next to Charlie’s coat. Mike and Lexi were drinking wine, gazing at each other like they couldn’t wait to get home. I sipped my water and tried to think about anything other than Connor Lee walking into the room.

  My cheeks heated when I noticed him. He scanned the room but I looked away before he could see me. The last thing I wanted was for him to catch me staring at him again. God knew I’d done enough of it in high school, but I was a grown woman. A grown woman who’d moved on from childhood fantasies about the captain of the football team.

  Xander dropped into the seat next to me, kissing my cheek as he sat. “Is lover boy still checking you out?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Connor Lee is not checking me out. He doesn’t even know who I am. Besides, I’m not interested in him.”

  “Then you won’t mind if I go talk to him,” Carrie teased as she took the seat on the other side of Xander.

  I shrugged and tried to feign indifference, but knew I failed miserably.

  “So tell us about him. Who was Connor Lee? And why does he have you in knots?”

  “He doesn’t have me in knots,” I argued with Xander. “I’m just surprised to see him is all.”

  “So you said. Who was he?”

  I rolled my eyes, not interested in the interrogation that was headed my way but knowing I’d never get out of it. Xander sipped his beer, Carrie leaned onto the table to look at me around him. Lexi and Mike even stopped mooning at each other. Aidan and Joey halted their conversation to listen in. And of course, Charlie chose that moment to sit down next to me.

  “What’s going on?” she asked tentatively.

  “Riles was just about to tell us who the hottie at Table 12 is,” Carrie informed her.

  I glanced around quickly, as though Connor Lee would sneak up on us and overhear Carrie. Or me. Even worse than staring at him would be talking about him and having him catch me. I couldn’t do that.

  “Connor Lee was the popular guy in school. He was a year ahead of me. His girlfriend had a locker next to mine my junior year, but he and I never spoke. He was captain of the football team, leading scorer on the hockey team and the lacrosse team. He always seemed like a nice guy, but he didn’t look twice at girls like me. He went for the cheerleaders.”

  “He was probably leading scorer with them too,” Carrie teased, earning laughs from the rest of the table. I nodded in agreement because she was probably right.

  “Were you friends with him?”

  I shook my head and sipped my water. “No. He didn’t know I was alive. I kept to myself in high school. I mean, I had friends, but none that were in his crowd. His group was oblivious to people beneath them, people like me.”

  Xander rested his arm on the back of my chair and leaned over. “He was a fool and a jerk to ignore someone like you. Even if you were just friends, like we are, he missed out on knowing a great person.”

  “Thanks, Xander. You guys are wonderful. Connor Lee is a nice guy, I think, but he’s not like any of you. He always seemed to care more about looks than anything else.”

  Xander laughed mirthlessly. “I was one of those guys a while ago. In some ways I think we all have those moments. Even if we don’t want to admit it, looks matter. Being attracted to someone has a huge bearing on dating them. Just remember, it works both ways. Mandy wouldn’t go out with me at first because she thought I was too hot. Sam struggled with Brady because of that asshole who hurt her. Everyone has fears. Maybe he’s changed.”

  I glanced around the room again but didn’t see Connor Lee. I looked back at Xander. “Maybe he has, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s not like he’s going to talk to me. He doesn’t even know who I am.”

  The DJ came over the loud speaker and asked everyone to take their seats so the wedding party could join us. We turned to face the door and cheered for the couples, everyone standing when Sam and Brady walked in. We screamed and yelled and tapp
ed our forks against our glasses until Brady swept Sam into his arms and dipped her low for a kiss. Her fists clenched the lapels of his tux as he held her for the entire crowd to see.

  They parted with a grin and headed to their table at the front of the room. Plates of food were deposited before the wedding party then the rest of the guests were called up to the buffet for dinner. As I loaded up my plate with chicken, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and salad I chatted with Xander. He and his best friend, Drew, were looking into starting up their own restoration company and had come into my bookstore, well the one I worked at, for some reference materials. I asked him how the plans were going.

  “We’re moving along slowly. Drew is ready to jump in, but I’m a little more anxious. Mandy wants me to go for it.”

  “You do too, don’t you?”

  Xander and I talked when he came in one day. He was excited about the idea and looking for information about setting up an actual business, the legal side of things, and about running a partnership. Xander and Drew had been friends since college and worked together already, but they wanted to branch out of their own instead of taking orders. I admired the hell out of them.

  “I definitely want to do our own thing. It’ll mean a lot of flexibility down the line, as long as things go well, and doing the projects that really inspire us. Drew’s all in. I feel like I just need to jump, but I’m anxious, you know?”

  I nodded, understanding better than he could imagine. I’d been working at READ for seven years and had thought about buying out the owners more times than I could count, but I never had the guts to approach them about my dream. I kept telling myself when they were ready to retire I’d talk to them about it. I was pretty sure they were getting close to retirement, but I didn’t know if the money I had saved up was enough to buy the store.

  “It’s a big leap. One you need to be sure you’re ready for. The security that comes with a day job is hard to let go of, even though you could lose your job at any time. Working for yourself there’s no one to fall back on if things don’t work out.”

  Xander nodded and scooped up a mouthful of mashed potatoes. “You’re right. If I knew things would be okay it would be easier. But I don’t know that things will be okay where I am now. I guess I trust myself and Drew more than I trust our current company so there’s no reason to stop the progress.”

  “Then maybe it’s time to take that leap. Hey, where is Drew? I thought he was coming?”

  Xander shook his head. “Brandi’s being Brandi. Sam didn’t invite her, of course, and Brandi gave Drew a bunch of shit about it. She basically told him if he came to the wedding she was going to leave him.”

  “I don’t know what he sees in her.”

  Xander nodded. “None of us do.”

  The conversation and drinks flowed around me. I accepted a glass of champagne when the toasts began, but other than that I kept myself free of alcohol, although I would have loved a few drinks to take the edge off seeing Connor Lee. All through dinner I stole glances at him. He was talking to the others at his table, laughing and enjoying himself. It didn’t appear as though he had a date, but he was chatting with a pretty blonde sitting next to him. I knew I shouldn’t be jealous, but I couldn’t help it.

  Never before had I truly wanted to be one of the beautiful people, the ones with the skinny bodies and the perfect hair. Not until that moment when my high school dream was looking at the woman at his table as though she hung the moon.

  I’d never been looked at like that. Sheer determination, or maybe stubbornness, told me one day I’d find a man who would look at me like I was the prettiest woman in the room, but that night, I didn’t think it would ever happen.

  Music started playing in the room next door where the DJ was. It was nice to have the tables and dining in one room and the dancing in the other. That way if people wanted to sit and talk it wouldn’t be so loud. It also meant it was obvious who was the popular crowd and who wasn’t.

  Once Sam and Brady shared their first dance, Wanted by Hunter Hayes, Sam danced with her dad. Since Brady’s mom died when he was only three, he danced with his little sister for what would have been the mother-son dance. Even though I couldn’t hear them, it was amazing to watch the bond between them strengthen on the dance floor.

  The wedding party was called up to dance and Xander, Aidan, and Joey joined Mandy, Claire, and Addi on the floor. Before long Lexi and Mike were out there too.

  And then there were three.

  Carrie found a guy to dance with but Charlie and I hung out near the edge of the dance floor. Not dancing but standing around as though we were part of the action anyway. Charlie went to check on the cupcakes because Sam and Brady were about to cut it, or whatever you did with a cupcake cake. I turned to head back to our table, if nothing else to check my phone for any missed calls, or read the latest smutty romance novel I’d downloaded, not that I’d confess that one to anyone.

  On my way back to the table I had to walk past Connor Lee’s table. He was still talking to the blonde. I didn’t look at him, but I could feel his eyes on me when I passed by. He probably wondered why I was looking at him in the church, but I had no intention of clueing him in. I’d never see him again after the reception. He’d be out of my life all over again, not that he was ever really in it.

  I collapsed into my seat, equally anxious to leave as I was to celebrate with my friends. With the added stress of seeing Connor Lee, home was looking better and better. I contemplated asking if someone else could take Carrie home when I heard my name. “Hello Riley, how’ve you been?”

  I knew that voice. Although he’d never said my name before, I knew his voice as well as I knew my own. That smooth, deep voice was made for 900 numbers. If my quickened pulse wasn’t enough of an indicator, I was pretty sure, based on the hardening of my nipples and the dampening between my legs, that Connor Lee stood behind me.

  Damn, how could five words have that much effect on me?

  Three

  “How do you know my name?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

  A flash of hurt crossed his face and he flinched. His head cocked to the side then he said, “We went to high school together. I’m Connor-“

  “Lee,” we finished together. “I know who you are, everyone does. But how do you know my name?”

  He grinned a slightly cocky smile and gestured to the chair next to me. I nodded resignedly and he sat in Xander’s seat. “I’ve always known who you were, Riley Williams. How’ve you been?”

  Was he for real? He’d never spoken to me before, and he was sitting there like we were old friends. Was I being punked? It had to be some sort of joke.

  “Why? I don’t mean to sound like a bitch here, but we weren’t friends in high school. Why bother with me now?”

  Connor’s smile faded and he looked down at his hands. No doubt he would get up and leave in five, four, three, two, one.

  “I was a jerk in high school. There’s no reason I shouldn’t have been friends with you. I’m sorry. Maybe I’m trying to be a better person. I understand why you don’t trust me though, so I’ll start. Since high school I played football in college and a couple years in the NFL, got a degree in broadcasting, and have my own talk show in the morning for men where I talk about sports, women, and life. I live in a high rise apartment here in Winterville. I’ve never been married, no kids, that I know of.”

  His eyebrows danced with his last statement, teasing me. I rolled my eyes, relaxing like he intended for me to do.

  “Come on, Riley, give me a chance. I’m not a bad guy.”

  I took the opportunity to look him over. Close up I noticed a touch of green in eyes I’d always thought were just blue. His brown hair was trimmed recently but still a little long, like he wanted to give himself an edge. He’d shed his suit coat, and his white dress shirt fit tight across a broad chest that I ached to run my hands over. He was watching me, a half-grin on his face. White teeth that were just a little crooked added to his charm. />
  Damn, he was sexy.

  “Fine, what do you want to know?”

  He shrugged. “Everything. I know you were a year behind me in high school. Where did you go to college? What did you study? What are you doing now? Are you dating the guy you were sitting with at the wedding and whose seat I’m in now?”

  He glanced away as he asked the last question. If I didn’t know any better he was embarrassed to be asking, although I had no idea why. Connor Lee was confident, outgoing, dominating even. He had no reason to be shy.

  “I went to University of Winterville for undergrad. I studied business then got my masters in library science. I worked at a book store during college and stayed on full time after I graduated. I’ve always been a big fan of reading and being surrounded by books is like a dream come true for me, I guess.”

  Connor laughed at my stupid joke and leaned forward. His hand came closer to me and I froze, a breath stuck in my throat. He reached up and brushed a lock of my dark blonde hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on me, gently touching my ear and trailing down my jaw. “What about the guy, Riley? Is he your boyfriend?”

  I laughed, not knowing why he cared, but unable to lie to him. Before I could respond, I heard Xander behind me, “What’s going on Riles?”

  Xander sounded pissed, although I had no clue why he would be. I turned in my seat to look back at him and found Xander glaring at Connor. His arms were crossed over his chest and his feet were set wide, a fighting stance if I ever saw one.

  Connor rose to his feet, hands up in surrender, and I jumped up between them.

  “I didn’t mean any harm, man. I was just catching up with an old friend,” Connor told Xander. “I didn’t realize she was taken.”

  “Yeah, well, last I heard you and Riley weren’t friends in high school. You were just some jerk who screwed half the cheerleading squad and ignored the girls who had any substance, girls like Riley, who were actually worth getting to know. What makes you think you deserve the chance now?”