We end up lying together in a tangled mess on the couch, watching others release their pent-up needs. The room is filled with moans, blissful screams, and the smell of sex—all under the cloak of darkness and anonymity.
It isn’t much longer when Jake and I decide to leave. On the way home, we are both so turned on about the night that we pull off on a side road and fuck in an empty sheep barn with the sound of crickets surrounding us.
Chapter Twenty-Five
January 1, 140 pounds, size 8
I had wanted to get down to a size six and one hundred and twenty pounds. However, the weight lifting has made that impossible. I had to reassess my goals. That saying that strong is the new skinny—damn straight. I had the option of laying off the weights and losing size, but I chose strength.
I also chose emotional strength. Somewhere through this revenge body journey, I realized that I do not give a rat’s ass what Dick thinks of me, so I let the concept of “revenge body” go. Instead, I embraced the idea that Jake had tried to instill in me from the beginning. He was right all along. This was about making me the best person I can be.
That means I have given one-hundred percent of my effort in everything I do. I want to be the best mother, business woman, sister, daughter, and…me.
“Girl!” Opal greets. “You have gone from a fat ass bitch to a bad ass bitch!”
“Awww…” I hug her. “Sweeter words have never been said.”
“Well, tell me how you solved the problems with expanding the diaper business.”
She sits across from me in my dressing room and slides me a Diet Coke. We both have that guilty pleasure.
“Rather than buy new equipment and possibly run out of space, I decided to run a shift of part-timers. They work from eight to midnight three nights a week. On Saturdays, they work from six until midnight.”
Opal nods. “Sounds like you found the perfect solution. No capital expense.”
“It is,” I agree. “I really have to give Alicia, my assistant, credit. It was her idea. The new workers are mainly mothers who want to work a few hours, yet stay home with their kids. “
“Oh, yes. Hard to do it all. Got to love the sacrificing mothers out there like yourself.”
I blush. “I sacrifice little,” I assure her.
“Really?” She looks doubtful. “How many hours do you sleep? When was the last time you watched a television show you wanted to watch? You know I could go on and on.”
“Perhaps I do make sacrifices. They just do feel like sacrifices when you love someone.”
“How are you and Jake, speaking of love?”
“Doing well. He is great with Michael.”
“The age difference not a factor?”
“Surprisingly, no. I think it is because Jake had to work so hard for what he has. He comes from very humble beginnings.”
“I picked up on that.”
“I met his father last night. He is so nice. Of course, his mother lives in Costa Rica with her husband and his family.”
“When was the last time he saw his mother?”
“About five years ago.”
“That has to be tough,” she muses. “On another note, I am so happy about FAB!”
“I think we are on to something. I think that this will be a long-term project. I hope it becomes an icon in women’s fashion.”
“It is a great product—the best out there—for as little as we could possibly sell it for and still make a profit. It has to work.”
“I have faith.”
“In the end, that is what we all must have, right?”
“Right,” I agree.
“We better get our hair done,” Opal comments after noting the time on her phone. “Ready for your Grand Finale?”
I smile and nod. It is bittersweet.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Opal announces our entrance. I stand in front of the audience in nothing but FAB. I am wearing a sports bra and yoga pants. Jake has me do jumping jacks, a few yoga moves, push-ups, and karate moves. I stand before the audience and show them how nothing has moved. The bra has not bunched up, and my pants are firmly in place.
I put a sleeveless yoga top on and model it for the crowd. The reaction is fantastic. Then, Opal directs the producers to put up my before pictures. There are gasps and applause.
“What have you learned?” Opal asked.
“So, so much,” I answer. “I refocused my love of food to a love of exercising.”
“That had to be tough,” she comments.
“It was, but Jake was such a help.” I smile up at him.
“You are the one who worked through the struggle,” he praises. “She is really so modest. She was determined to make this work. It all came together when she realized that her focus had to change.”
“What do you mean?” Opal asks.
“You want to explain?” Jake asks me.
“Sure. I wanted a revenge body in the beginning. If you remember, this all started when my husband’s girlfriend called me a…well, you all know what she called me. Anyway, there came a time when I no longer cared about a revenge body. I just wanted to maximize what I have, which is an athletic build.”
Opal nods. “Did you reach your weight loss goal?”
“No. I am okay with that, because my goal was to be skinny. That changed. I want to be healthy, strong, and athletic. That goal, I feel, has been reached.”
“Definitely,” agrees Jake. “Doesn’t she look great?” he asks the audience.
They give me their applause. “Opal, thank you. You have been so great to me. Not just about this weight loss journey, but also about my dream of FAB.”
“You are welcome, and speaking of FAB, everyone in the audience has a pair of yoga pants under their seat—courtesy of FAB. I guess that explains why we asked for everyone’s pant size today.”
The audience rummages around and pulls out their yoga pants, clearly excited. “Don’t forget, FAB can be found in all your Smith and Jones Department stores and online at our website.”
She turns to Jake. “Any other thoughts or comments about Leigh that you would like to make?” She raises her eyebrows—her perfectly tweezed eyebrows.
“Yes, Opal.” Jake kneels before me and looks directly at me. “Leigh, I love you, and I love Michael. I would like for us to be a family. Will you marry me?”
How Opal kept this from me, I don’t know. That woman can keep a secret and a poker face.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” I answer.
Opal and the audience erupts in applause. Pink confetti falls from the ceiling, covering everyone in the studio.
I embrace Jake and bury my head in his chest. “This whole journey—this crazy, crazy journey—has made me a better person. You make me a better person. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He kisses my forehead. “You haven’t put the ring on.”
“Oh! I forgot about the ring.”
I look at the ring in his hand. It has two silver, thin bands intertwined to make one. There are three heart-shaped diamonds.
“Three hearts that are becoming one,” he explains. The crowd sighs. He is such a romantic. “That is what we are. Three individuals becoming one family.”
“Honeymoon is on me!” announces Opal. “Where do you want to go?”
I hug her. “Costa Rica?” I ask Jake.
“Costa Rica,” he agrees with a smile.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Six months later
Jake and I had been too busy to even think about a wedding, and our future did not look any slower. I am not complaining, though. Life is good.
For that reason, we decided to elope. The idea came to us while we were enjoying a great lunch at the diner across from the courthouse in Lexington.
We talked between us, not wanting anyone, including Michael, to know what we were contemplating. Sometimes, things just seem…right. My entire marriage with Dick was a struggle. It was like beating a square peg into a round hole. However, Jake a
nd this idea of eloping was perfect.
We finished our meal, explained to Michael what we were doing, and hurried across the street to the courthouse. Fortunately, I had kept the marriage license in my purse. I would love to attribute that to great foresight, but, in reality, it was simply a lack of organization that actually worked out for the best.
Our wedding may have been practical and short, but our marriage is divine and destined to be forever. I look up at Jake as he tells his mother about our elopement. She is holding Michael, beaming at her son’s happiness. This is happiness. This is forever in motion.
I may have started this journey to earn a revenge body. Instead, I found my heart and place in this world. I found myself when I found Jake. The three of us make a family. For that, I am truly thankful.
THE END

Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Revenge of a Fat Bitch [The Bitch Series 1] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 7