Luck of a Chubby Girl

Chapter 22

- Is this necessary? – I asked once again, already knowing fully well the answer.

- This is a gala event, Olivia! We have to get all dolled up.

Mindy said from the outside of the stall I was hiding in. I really didn't want to get out.

- Maybe I just shouldn't go – I proposed, hoping she would agree. No such luck.

- Don't be silly! Do you know how rare it is to be invited to one of these? And they extended the invitation to the team, not just the group.

- They probably just needed seat fillers – a low, disinterested voice suggested.

- Don't be such a downer! – Mindy reprimanded.

Jacob just sighted. When he called me for a cup of coffee, I was delighted to hear from him again. It had been too long. I understood why, though. He needed time and I just wanted him to ne okay. But during our encounter today, Mindy phoned me asking me to accompany her on dress shopping. I tried to explain I couldn't, but Jacob assured me he wouldn't mind coming with us since he had nothing planned anyway.

And so here we were, me on a store's dressing stall, with a hideous purple dress I didn't like, much like all the other seven before it. At first, Jacob seemed to be enjoying himself, giving flirty commentary whenever I or Mindy tried something on. After an hour, however, not so much. Still, he was here and encouraging me to come out.

Mindy had already found hers earlier on, since every one she tried looked pleasant on her tiny body, and she could have choose any one of them, she looked beautiful in all.

I, on the other hand, looked awful in pretty much everything I tried on. Nothing seemed to adjust well to my body, being tight on places it shouldn't, enlarging my faults instead of hiding them. My stomach always seemed to stand out, my arms to big, my thighs and hips too round.

- It will be fine, Olivia. If you don't like that one, we'll just keep looking – Jacob said kindly, and he meant it.

With low expectation, we continued the search and eventually, with their help, I found one I actually liked. The way Jacob looked at me and Mindy gasped when I stepped out in that dress was comforting enough for me to decide and buy it.

The Music Awards were on the 25th of April. I was nervous but equally excited. I was really hoping the boys would win. Something told me that they would. All their work over the past two months would be worth it. All the late nights, exhausting practices, hours of sleep lost. All the time stolen from Aiden and I would be justified.

I missed having more time to be with him. Nowadays, I only saw him when they were practicing on the room or at the end of the day, on the days he would come by my apartment when they got home.

The added benefit of having the boys finding out about us, was that he didn't need to lie to come by, he didn't have to worry about how long he'd been gone. He could just be with me. And it was both a blessing and a curse.

Most days, he would be so tired that either he would excuse himself early on to get to bed, or he would just fall asleep. I enjoyed the latter more than I cared to admit. Mostly because he would either fall asleep with his head on my shoulder or in my lap, as we watched TV or talked about our day. Seeing his sleeping form was a guilty pleasure for me. I would carefully trace my fingers around his features, marveling at his beauty. His small nose, his long dark lashes, His fiery hair, clumping to his forehead with the sweat of the day or the remains of a shower. His delicate jaw line. His full red lips that awoke volcanos inside of me in more ways than I wanted to admit.