Fat Chances

by J. S. Wilsoncroft

  “I know,” I continued to sob. “I just don’t understand why you would want me when there are lots of beautiful skinny girls out there.”

  Then he gently placed his hands on my cheeks, and pulled me closer to him. The smell of his sweet breath and cologne sent tingles down my spine. “Oh, Annie, if you only knew what you do to me. I knew the moment I saw you at my Zumba class that I wanted to get to know you. And besides, I love a woman with a little meat on her bones,” he chuckled, still holding my face in his hands. “But may I ask you something?”

  I looked at him, confused, but nodded my head still between his hands. “Are you on a diet?” He asked. The smile on his face disappeared into a more serious look.

  I scrunched my eyebrows, even more confused. “No! Why?”

  “Hmpf! Well, how can I say this?” He hesitated a moment before taking his hands off my face. “I mean this as a compliment, but you look like you dropped a load in your sweatpants,” he replied, chuckling nervously.

  My eyes grew wide. “What?” I yelled, touching the back of my pants and sighed in relief when there was nothing there, then laughed.

  “I know that didn’t come out right, but what I’m trying to say is that your sweatpants look baggy, like you dropped a load. That’s why I asked if you had lost weight? Your face looks slimmer, too,” he explained, then turned on the light and pointed toward the mirror on the dresser. I took two small steps and looked in the mirror. He was right. My face did look slimmer.

  “Do you have a scale?” I asked with a hint of excitement in my voice. Then Cory pointed to the bathroom across the hall, smiling, as I hurried to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I didn’t want him looking over my shoulder while I stepped onto the scale. Like always, I stripped down to just my undies and stepped onto the silver electronic scale. The number moved up and down a bit then finally stopped.

  I held my hands to my mouth and gasped, realizing I had lost weight! Eighteen pounds! But how? I stepped off the scale and looked into the vanity mirror above the sink. A smile slowly spread across my face as I stared at myself. I gasped again when I saw a small dimple form on the right side of my cheek. I have a dimple!

  I swung open the bathroom doors with such excited force that it banged against the wall. I squealed when I saw Cory standing in the doorway of his bedroom. “I lost eighteen pounds!” I squealed again. Cory picked me up in his strong arms, giving me a bear hug. I couldn’t believe it. I had never lost this much weight before. And what amazed me even more was that I wasn’t even trying.

  “That’s great, love! You lost it and I gained it,” he replied, laughing, as our lips met and we kissed passionately. Before I knew it, we were peeling off our clothes and crawling back into bed. We kissed and caressed one another, this time more freely and with no hesitation on my part.

  “Oh, my gosh! What about Annie? We’ve been up here all night and left poor Annie downstairs all alone,” I replied, suddenly remembering that I still hadn’t got to meet the puppy that was named after me.

  “Oh, she’s okay. I just checked on her a little while ago, while you were still sleeping. The vet has her on pain medicine, so she’s kind of out of it right now,” he reassured me while twirling his fingers in my hair.

  “Oh,” I sighed with relief, staring into his beautiful eyes, then planted my mouth on his, taking in every scent and feel of his rock hard body. Cory rolled over, pressing his hard body on top of me. A soft moan escaped my lips as he traced his tongue down my neck and across my collar bone until he found my breast. I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to feel him inside me. Every nerve in my body was screaming his name. I shifted my legs so that I could wrap them around his waist and pulled his hips close to mine. The heat between our thighs was intense. As if we were two people ready to spontaneous combust if we didn’t do something soon.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, lifting his head up, breathing hard. I answered with a hungry kiss as his shaft entered me. We both moaned as we moved back and forth in one fluid motion. It was like we were a perfect match, molded perfectly together. At first Cory was slow and gentle, but as our breathing came harder, so did his thrusts. The headboard banged against the wall as he pushed hard and fast inside me. Every nerve of my body was sizzling, ready to explode like a firecracker. Then we both moaned at the same time as we climaxed together. After a few moments, Cory rolled over onto his side. We both lay there for a moment, panting.

  “Whooo,” Cory breathed, twirling his finger into my hair again. “That was amazing.”

  “Yes ... yes it was,” I giggled, running my fingertips up and down his side and across his ripped stomach.

  “Stop! That tickles,” he said, laughing, then grabbed my hand and placed my fingers on his lips, kissing them one at a time. After a few minutes of finally getting our breathing back to normal, I was hot and ready for more. Just touching him made me moist. Not only was I falling in love with Cory, so was my body. I knew that after tonight I was never going to get enough of him. I’d want to make love with him all the time.

  ***

  A soft glow poured from the window, waking me out of the most peaceful sleep I’d ever had. “Good morning sunshine,” the sweetest voice spoke into my ear. I giggled and rolled over to see the most beautiful eyes in the world staring at me. “Good morning, Buck-O,” I teased.

  Cory leaned back against his pillow, laughing. “I love that name, ‘Buck-O.’ That can be my pet name.” He continued to laugh as I reached over and caressed the small patch of hair in the center of his chest.

  “Well, then, what’s my pet name?” I asked, curious, propping myself up on one elbow.

  “Hmmmm ... let me think about that for a moment,” he replied, smiling. Then with one arm behind his head and the other hand tickling my back, he closed his eyes to think.

  “Don’t call me something stupid,” I warned. He laughed and shook his head, no.

  “How about Buttercup?” He opened his eyes to look at me. I glared at him.

  “NO! No food. I don’t want to be named after a food,” I replied, returning his smile.

  He laughed and shook his head in disbelief. “Okay.” Then he closed his eyes and leaned against the pillow again. I laid my head on his chest and listened to the sound of his heart as it beat. I could lay here forever. “How about Sparky?” he asked, opening his eyes again.

  “Sparky? Where did that come from?” I wondered, confused. It was such an odd nickname. I was thinking more along the lines of snookums or love bug, but Sparky? He laughed at the expression on my face.

  “Well, when I see you it feels like sparks are shooting off inside me. You make me feel all tingly inside,” he reasoned. Suddenly, a huge smile grew across my cheeks. I liked it. I also liked that I made him feel that way.

  “Okay, I’m Sparky,” I giggled, as he wrapped both arms around me, hugging me. “Sparky and Buck-O! We sound like a couple of gangsters who robbed banks back in the 1940’s.” We both laughed for a few minutes before he pulled the comforter back and slid out of bed. I watched him as he stood up and slid his sweatpants on. I wanted nothing more than to lie naked in bed with him all day, but I knew that was impossible. Not when my mother was probably at home pacing the floors by now, waiting for me to walk through the doors.

  “Meet me downstairs. I’m going to put Annie outside to pee,” he said, smiling, then pushed his arms through the sleeve of his t-shirt. I rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed for a moment. When I stood up, it felt tender and raw between my thighs. I smiled, knowing that it was because Cory and I had spent the better part of the night making love and that I would do it all over again, too. I quickly grabbed my clothes and ran to the bathroom. My bladder felt like it was going to burst.

  I could hear Cory talking to Annie as I walked down the stairs. “That’s my girl. Eat a little more, Sweety,” he cooed. I walked into the kitchen to see Cory sitting on the floor beside a little black dog. I gasped when she looked up at me with her little nub of a tail waggin
g vigorously.

  “Oh, my gosh! She’s beautiful,” I gushed. I sat down beside Cory and crossed my legs. Annie walked slowly over to me, shaking her behind vigorously as I reached my hands out to her. Cory sat on the floor, smiling, watching us both. I ran my hand across her back, petting her. Her coat was shiny, soft and black as the midnight sky. She looked at me with her dark eyes and I was shocked to see there was a hint of blue in them. “She has blue in her eyes?” I turned to ask Cory. I’d never seen a dog with blue eyes, except maybe a husky. “Yeah, she was born that way. The vet says it will go away as she gets older, though.

  I nodded, petting the beautiful dog that was named after me. I could see how Cory fell in love with her with just one glance.

  As the two of us sat on the floor playing with Annie, my stomach roared loudly. “Was that you?” he asked, chuckling.

  My face flushed when I answered, “Yeah.” He stood up and walked over to the counter. That’s when I saw the table that was elegantly dressed for our dinner last night.

  “I’m so sorry,” I replied, standing up and walking over to the table. The candles had burned downed, leaving nothing but a dried, waxy puddle. The white plates lay spotless, the napkins untouched.

  “For what?” he asked, turning around to face me.

  “For not getting to eat the dinner you made me,” I replied. “I’m sure you worked so hard to prepare this dinner and I didn’t even get a chance to try it.”

  He laughed as I cocked my head to the side, puzzled by his outburst. “Annie, I have a confession to make. Well, two actually,” he said, smiling. Then he walked over and gently wrapped his arms around my waist. It felt so comfortable, natural, like he did it a thousand times.

  “What?” I half glared at him.

  “Well, first off,” Cory began, taking a deep breath. “I don’t feel bad about missing dinner if it means laying naked it bed with you.” My face turned red and he laughed again. “And secondly, I didn’t really cook this meal,” he admitted sheepishly. I looked over at the counter and saw a bag from a local Italian restaurant in town. I shook my head, chuckling lightly.

  “So, you don’t cook?” I asked, raising my eyebrows in suspicion. He leaned back to look at me as a small smile lit the corner of his mouth.

  “Well, actually I do,” he replied. “I was just so nervous about cooking dinner for you. I was afraid I would screw it up, so I got take-out instead.” Then he reached up to brush the hair from my eyes.

  “You weren’t going to tell me, were you?” I asked, clearly enjoying his discomfort a bit more than I should.

  He laughed then continued, “Eventually, I would have.” Then he leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling his man smell, a combination of soap and an amber, woodsy scented cologne.

  I felt the vibration of his cell phone against my leg just before it even rang. He quickly reached into his pocket and retrieved it. “Hello?” he said, then looked at me and winked. “Yeah, hold on. She’s right here.” He smiled and handed me the phone. “It’s your mother,” he said, mouthing the words. My heart stopped as I glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was 9:15 a.m.

  “Hello?” There was hesitation in my voice.

  “Annie, when are you coming home?”

  Cory walked over to the puppy and sat back down on the floor beside her. I watched him as he gently picked her up and held her in his arms. “Umm ... pretty soon. I just woke up,” I lied.

  “Okay then,” Mom replied. “Tell Cory that I’m sorry to keep calling his cell phone, but someone forgot to take hers with her last night,” she hinted.

  “Oh, sorry,” I replied, suddenly remembering that I left my purse at home beside the door. “Annie, when you get home. You need to call Natalee. She called here this morning looking for you and she sounded upset.”

  “Oh, okay. I will,” I replied, then hung up the phone wondering about Natalee. She usually never calls this early in the morning.

  “What’s with the worry lines?” Cory asked as he ran his thumb across my forehead.

  “It’s my friend, Nat,” I answered worriedly. “She called me this morning. I need to get home and call her.”

  “Okay,” he replied, then ran upstairs to grab his car keys as I knelt down on the floor to hug Annie goodbye. “Bye, Sweetie. I’ll be back soon and I promise to bring you some treats.” Her little stub of a tail wagged violently when I wrapped my arms around her neck to hug her.

  “Is that a promise?” Cory asked, leaning against the wall. I smiled at him and said yes.

  ***

  “Nat, it’s me, Annie. What’s up?” I asked into my cell phone as I hurried up the stairs to my room. I called Nat as soon as Cory dropped me off.

  “Annie, can you come over?” she asked and I knew right away that she’d been crying as she sniffled on the other end of the line.

  “Sure. Just give me a few minutes,” I replied as my stomach rumbled again.

  “Okay,” She whispered, then hung up the phone without saying good-bye.

  I hurried and changed into the jeans that I wore the day before and threw on a clean t-shirt from the dresser. Then I quickly ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair.

  “Where’re you going? Back to Cory’s house?” I turned around to see Molly standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, glaring.

  “No, Natalee’s house. Something’s wrong. She sounded upset,” I told her even though it was none of her damned business. I was still pissed at her for ratting on me.

  “Hmpf,” she replied, then shrugged her shoulders and turned to walk away. I watched her go, shaking my head. I loved my sister, but she seriously needed to grow up and change her pissy attitude.

  My stomach sounded like there was a monster growling inside me as I headed to Natalee’s house. I was so hungry right now I could eat a cow. As I waited at the stoplight, I saw the McDonald’s sign up ahead. I could smell the sausage and maple syrup just thinking about their breakfast menu. My mouth watered instantly as I pulled into the parking lot and thank the good Lord there was only one car ahead of me in the drive-thru.

  ***

  Nat’s mom opened the door for me before I set foot on the first step. “Hi Annie, I’m glad you came over,” Marian smiled weakly. Nat was the spitting image of her mother, with dark hair and hazel colored eyes.

  “Good morning, Mrs. R,” I said, smiling weakly, then I noticed how bloodshot her eyes were. She looked as if she’d been crying, too. My chest tightened as I walked through the door. Something was wrong. I could feel it. I held my bag from McDonalds in one hand and my large soda in the other and walked toward the living room where Nat was sitting on the couch, curled up in her favorite Tweety Bird blanket.

  “Nat, what’s wrong?” I asked, sitting down beside her. Her face was white as a ghost, her eyes puffy and red. Tears trickled down her cheek in a steady stream. I set my breakfast on the coffee table beside me and took her hands into mine. They were ice cold.

  “I lost them,” Natalee replied, her lips quivering as she inhaled a jagged breath.

  I scrunched my eyes at her, confused. “What? Lost who?” I could hear Mrs. R sobbing from the kitchen. This made my heart drop to my stomach.

  “Th ... th ... the baby. I lost the baby ... an ... and Tom ... my,” she stuttered, sobbing uncontrollably. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and rocked her back and forth.

  “Shhhhh ... everything is going to be okay,” I whispered as the tears welled up inside me.

  I held her for a while, just rocking her back and forth until she finally calmed down. My stomach was rumbling fiercely. Of course it didn’t help that I could smell the greasy hash browns and sausage McGriddles in the bag.

  “I can hear your stomach,” Nat said, laughing weakly as she pulled away to wipe her face with the already soaked tissue.

  “Yeah, I’m starving,” I said, laughing. “Do you want some? I bought an extra sandwich.” I grabbed the bag quickly an
d opened it up. The sweet aroma of maple syrup made my mouth water.

  “Sure,” she replied, holding out her hand, then we both ate in silence. Of course, mine was finished before she even took her third bite.

  I sucked down the last sip of soda and set the cup on the coffee table, then turned around to face Nat. “Do you want to talk about it?” She nodded then set the half eaten sandwich on the coffee table along with my empty soda. I wondered if she was going to finish it. I hated to see it go to waste.

  She inhaled deeply then blew it out sharply. “After I came home from school the other day, I started feeling sick. I thought maybe I was coming down with the flu bug that’s going around,” she said. I watched her carefully as one big tear drop fell from her eye and slowly trickled down her cheek, landing in her lap. “My stomach started cramping really badly ... and ... then I thought I had diarrhea. I ran to the bathroom and that’s when I saw the blood.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath when I realized where this story was going.

  “I ... t ... told Tommy that he didn’t have to marry me now that I was no longer pregnant,” Nat admitted then broke down again, sobbing.

  “Oh Nat, why would you say that? You know Tommy loves you. He’s been wanting to marry you since the day he’s laid eyes on you,” I replied, trying to console her.

  “I know ... and I love him, too, but I feel worthless. If I can’t give him a child then what good am I?” Nat admitted, pouring out her heart along with the tears.

  My eyes grew wide. I couldn’t believe my ears. “What? What the hell are you talking about Nat? Tommy doesn’t want a baby making machine. He wants you. He loves you for who you are. You’re perfect in his eyes and that’s all that matters.” I stopped and leaned back against the couch, thinking about what I had just said. Suddenly the age old expression “practice what you preach” came to my mind and I thought about Cory. That’s what Cory’s been telling me, too.