Big & Beautiful 12: Stocky & Sumptuous

I took a deep breath when I walked into Bite Me! Tuesday evening. I tried to talk Peyton into joining me, again, but she declined. She had a long day, she said, and wanted to relax. I knew the truth was she wasn’t sure about meeting all my friends. She knew Joey and Addi, but as Addi’s physician, and she met Carrie and Drew briefly, but I knew she was nervous around people in social situations. She always was.

Me? No. I loved being around people. Especially my friends. They were loud and crude and hilarious and I loved every single one of them.

I blew Charlie a kiss and picked up the Oreo cupcakes she had waiting for me at the end of the counter. She always set aside our favorites for girls’ night, then let us take home whatever else was left. It was the only thing that ever tempted Peyton to come with me.

I took the open seat next to Olivia and said hi around the table.

“How are wedding plans going?” Claire asked Olivia.

Olivia groaned. “My future husband has some definite ideas about what he wants our wedding to be like.”

“I think that’s really cute,” Sam said. “Brady was indifferent about pretty much everything. Except the wedding night, of course.”

Everyone cackled.

“Drew was like Ethan. He had all sorts of ideas. Of course, the most important thing for him was that we got married quickly,” Carrie said.

“I can honestly say, I don’t regret anything about my Vegas wedding,” Claire said with a grin. “All this planning and stress and frustration makes me itch. We didn’t have any of that.”

“Yeah,” Mandy said, “you just had us all thinking you got pregnant and felt forced to marry a guy you’d only been dating for a month.”

Claire laughed. “Yeah, Aidan and I had fun laughing at all of you about that.”

“If any of the rest of us had done that, you’d have thought the same thing,” Mandy argued.

“Oh, totally,” Claire agreed. “But I’d known Aidan for years. It wasn’t like he was a stranger when we started dating.”

“True. But when you two started out, man, it was H-O-T, hot!” Lexi said. “I didn’t know you guys were old friends but I knew you two weren’t going to stay just friends.”

Claire blushed but smirked. “Yeah, well, he finally stopped letting me turn him down.”

“You turned him down?” I blurted, shocked that she would say no to a guy like Aidan. Not only was he really cute, but he was such a nice guy I couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to date him.

Claire nodded. “I never thought he’d actually be interested in me. I honestly believed he was only asking me out as a joke. Not a cruel one, but just friendly banter.”

“Obviously you figured it out.”

Claire laughed. “Yeah, I figured it out. He wasn’t really subtle once I told him I thought he was joking.”

“What about the rest of you?” I asked, curious. “When did you first realize the guys were after you? That you wanted them?”

The others looked around and exchanged knowing grins. Their eyes, one by one, swung to the men they loved, all of them entertaining all the kids at the table next to us. The smiles that lifted their lips were full of love and knowledge of the men they’d fallen for.

“Well,” Carrie began, “I knew right away that Drew wanted me. The first time I saw him he was checking me out the same way I was checking him out. Plus, we went to his office and… had some fun. Of course, all that was before I knew his name, or that Mandy had gotten me a job as his and Xander’s assistant.”

“You’re joking, right?” I blurted, baffled that she would not only hook up with him on sight, but that I had sat on the edge of his desk more than once. “I work there. Ew.”

Carrie crowed. “Just make sure you knock on his office door before you walk in if I’m visiting!”

I plugged my ears and hummed, blocking out any new information about my boss.

They all laughed at me. I shook my head, laughing along. “Trust me, I’ll never open that door again without ample warning.”

Mandy broke in over the laughter and said, “While you’re at it, knock on Xander’s door, too. We try to make sure no one’s there, but we’ve forgotten to lock the door a few times.”

“Oh, jeez,” I groaned. “I might need to find a new job.”

“No, please don’t do that,” Mandy begged. “Xander loves having you there. We’ll stay out of the offices.”

I laughed. “I’m just kidding. But if I catch you guys, I might have to rethink my commitment to XD.” Carrie and Mandy exchanged worried glances and I laughed. “I’m just kidding guys.”

They shared a sigh and grinned. “That’s good to know.”

“Tell her about when you knew Xander wanted you, Mandy,” Carrie encouraged with a grin.

“Oh, yeah. Well, he was calling me at work then asked to meet me. Of course, I blew him off, but he kept calling. We started talking on the phone and by our first official date, I was halfway in love with him. Thankfully, he was the same. I spent the night with him our first night.”

“No way.”

Mandy nodded and giggled. “Yeah, Carrie and I are two of a kind in that way. Day one and we’re jumping into bed. Or onto a desk.”

“Wow. I’ve never slept with a guy on a first date. I kind of wish I’d met someone I’d ever wanted to,” I confessed. “That immediate attraction that made it hard to focus with him around. That need to be with him at any cost. I wish I’d ever known that.”

“It kind of sounds like you might know that feeling,” Olivia said carefully. “Did you meet someone?”

I waved off her question even though my mind went straight to Hunter. I definitely felt something different when I met him, but I knew it was just my repeated failed attempts at finding a guy that had me jonesing for something more than a boring date. Hunter would definitely not be boring, but I didn’t need another workaholic in my life.

“Definitely not,” I said. “Every single one of my dates has only managed to bore me, not excite me.”

“That’s the worst feeling,” Sam agreed. “I had plenty of those before I met Brady.”

“When did you feel that spark with him?”

“Honestly?” Sam glanced at her husband with their little girl on his lap. “It took a while. I’d say the first time he kissed me was the first time I felt anything but discomfort around him. He’s a pretty intimidating guy.”

“Well, he was,” Addi chimed in. “He used to be a whole lot scarier. He’s turned into a softy since he met Sam and they had Maddy.”

“True,” Sam agreed. “But when we met, I was uncomfortable around him. He made me nervous.”

“So how did you get to a first kiss?” I asked.

“These guys at his gym were being really nasty to me. They told me I was too fat to be there and that I should leave. Brady overheard them and kicked them out, then dragged me off to his office to apologize. Then he kissed me.”

“Just like that?”

Sam nodded. “Just like that. It was kind of hot.”

“Wow. That is hot. I can’t see Brady losing control, but it sounds like that’s exactly what happened.”

Sam giggled. “Oh, yeah. He definitely lost control. But it was good.”

“If that hadn’t happened, Connor and I wouldn’t have ended up together,” Riley said. She turned to me and explained, “We met again at their wedding. He almost kissed me at the reception when we were dancing. I felt the attraction then, but I didn’t believe it. In high school, he only dated cheerleaders.”

“That’s so cliché, isn’t it? The athlete and the cheerleader?” I teased.

“I know,” Riley agreed. “He had no imagination.”

“That’s exactly how I felt about Joey,” Addi said. “When we first met, another teacher flirted with him and I knew he’d go for her instead of me. I think we all shared the same insecurities about the men we fell for.”

“I definitely did,” Charlie said. “When I met Max, he was nice, but I was sure he wouldn’t want me. My cupcakes and coffee? Yeah. But me? Nope.”

Everyone murmured their agreement.

“So how do you move past that?” I asked. “I mean, it’s hard to fight your natural instincts. I grew up with older men paying me attention, but guys my age were never interested. I’ve always wondered if the interest I got was genuine.”

“It’s hard to get to that point,” Olivia said. “Single mom? Loads of baggage? And extra curvy? Add that I made a fool of myself in front of Ethan the first time we met and I never imagined he’d think of me as anything but a crazy woman.”

“He adores you,” I said, thinking of all the times I’d seen them together. She was a very lucky woman to have a guy like Ethan.

Olivia nodded. “He does. He adores my kids, too. I think that makes an even bigger difference to me.”

I followed her eyes to where Ethan was talking to Kevin. He was a quiet kid, but he’d come out of his shell a bit since Ethan joined their family. Becca, on the other hand, had never been accused of being quiet.

“I didn’t start out worried that Drew wouldn’t want me,” Carrie said. “From the first time we met he was checking me out. We had a very physical relationship, but once I saw his ex I wondered why he was with me. By then, I was in love with him and it ripped my heart out.”

“I wonder if skinny women ever worry about this kind of thing.”

“I’m pretty sure every woman worries about not being attractive enough. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t see movie stars getting plastic surgery and women spending tons of money on the latest hairstyle. I think it’s in our nature to think we aren’t pretty enough or sexy enough or skinny enough,” Lexi said.

We all groaned. “It sucks being female.”

“Yeah, but it’s pretty nice when he tells you how sexy you are,” Sam said. “I’m even more insecure after having Maddy, but Brady tells me all the time how much he wants me.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty great. Xander is so hands-on that we were worried I was pregnant again last month. Not that we would have minded.”

“Are you ready for another kid?” Claire asked.

Mandy shrugged. “Elise is great and she’s getting older. We always said we wanted our kids close together so they would hopefully get along. She’ll be two in a few months so if we want more we need to start thinking about it.”

“Wow. We’re still trying to figure out if we want any.”

Mandy nodded. “We all know kids are not for everyone.”

“Here, here,” Lexi said with a grin. She and Mike had no interest in having kids. She shared that her mom wasn’t thrilled about it, but it was what they wanted. I was as far from that feeling as possible. I just didn’t have the other piece of equipment needed to make it happen.

We talked about kids and relationships and that spark, and before I knew it, it was time to go. I stayed to help Charlie clean up then headed home.

Peyton was sleeping on the couch when I got home. I woke her up and shuffled her off to bed. She apologized for falling asleep as she trudged to her room. I opened a bottle of wine and went to my own room. I passed out before I even finished my glass of wine.

* * *

Late Thursday morning, Carrie showed up at the office with multiple bags, and Joel. She handed him off to me before she went in search of Drew. I didn’t think about how long she was gone as I cooed to Joel and told him stories.

“Do you want lunch?” Carrie asked when she came back up front.

“I have lunch. You guys go enjoy yourselves.”

She shook her head. “I brought lunch for everyone. I was only asking if you were hungry. We want you to join us. Plus, if I pay you in food and kisses from Joel, you won’t quit when I take a few extra minutes to give my husband some mid-day lovin’.”

“Ew. And your chances of me not quitting are even better when I don’t have to hear about it.”

Carrie tipped her head back and laughed, her long brown hair trembling. “I’ll try to remember that,” she teased. “Are you ready for lunch? I have to get this little monster down for a nap in an hour and a half.”

I stood with Joel and carried him to the break room behind Carrie. “You really didn’t have to bring me lunch.”

She waved her hand and said, “You know I love to cook. Drew always tells me I cook too much food, but I can’t help it. I just brought in our leftovers from dinner last night. I really did make too much.”

“Well, thank you for feeding me.”

“Any time,” she said with a grin.

“What does this little guy eat?”

“He’s finally starting to eat his veggies. For a while he would just throw them at me, but he’s enjoying them now. We’re having zucchini, squash, and sweet potatoes. I’m going to try some fruits in a few weeks. The last thing he needs is the same sweet tooth I have.”

“I’m guilty of that one, too,” Drew said, joining us and taking Joel from me with a grin. He kissed Joel’s belly and blew a raspberry on his neck, eliciting excited giggles from him. “But I think he’s going to have a sweet tooth no matter what because he’s so sweet.”

“Aw, you’re nauseating,” Carrie joked with him.

“That’s not what you were saying five minutes ago,” he argued with a wink.

I plugged my ears and said, “La la la la la.”

Carrie laughed and pulled my hands away. Then she told Drew, “Vicki threatened to quit if she has to hear about our workplace adventures. She was not happy when I told her about the night we met. She’ll probably never sit on the edge of your desk again.”

Drew flashed Carrie a saucy grin and said, “That’s my favorite spot in the office.”

“Gah!” I yelled. “Child in the room!”

They laughed. “Okay, okay. No more. What’s for lunch, babe?”

“Last night’s dinner,” she told him. “Baked chicken and roasted potatoes and carrots and green beans.”

“Jeez, you really do cook a lot.”

Carrie smiled. “I do. I love it. Help yourself.”

We sat and ate and talked. They caught me up on Joel’s progress on everything from weight to height to milestones. They shared that they were trying for another baby, but feel bad since Addi and Joey haven’t had any luck. I told them about my latest dates and how little luck I was having finding a guy who made me wish for a second date. We heard the door open and assumed it was Xander stopping by before his afternoon meetings, but then we heard his voice.