Love Me Plus Size

Part 2

Violet 

My heart skips a beat at the sound of his name.

"Kyle?" Lin says from behind me.

"Yeah," I answer, my eyes still glue to the closed door.

"The same Kyle that's been coming to the bakery ever since you opened?"

"Yeah."

Before I know it, Lin is beside me. "Go see him," she encourages with a satisfying smile.

"I will." Shifting to my left I point my index finger at Lin. "But first, can you stop grinning?"

"Grin?" she questions, happily rocking side to side. "What grin?"

"It's not what you think," I assure her, walking to the exit. "There's nothing going on between us. He's just a friend and regular customer that I talk to. So," my left hand is on the light wooden door ready to push, I glance back one last time, "wipe that smug smile off your face."

Lin chuckles softly as I exit the door. The bakery itself isn't all that large, at 1,320 square feet it is the right size for me. Plus, I didn't have to scan the room to know where Kyle was sitting. If available, he sat in the same spot every time, the last booth at the end of the aisle that's position directly under my favorite painting by Ellen Williams.

Our eyes lock instantly and as always, my heart did a little flip-flop every time I see Kyle's smiling face.

How can someone be so handsome, generous, funny, and successful at the same time? It's only him that can fall into such a category. I still can't believe that I have come to know such an amazing person like Kyle who I can call a friend. In fact, he is my first and only male friend. I was acquainted with Lin's two older brothers, but they were more like brothers than friends.

I forget that Kyle and I have only known each other for about 11 months. Sometimes I get the feeling we have known each other much longer. When I first opened my bakery last year on Monday, March 25th at five in the morning, I never expected Kyle to be the first person to walk through those doors.

I still remember it like it was yesterday. His short brown hair looked perfectly maintained and his well-shaven face showed off the beauty of a chiseled jawline. He strode in with confidence but his red drowsy eyes, which were hidden behind black glasses, indicated that he had just woken up. And I couldn't forget the way his blue Oxford dress shirt molded against his broad shoulders and toned biceps as his arms swung side-by-side with each step he took. However, it was his beautiful brown eyes and charming smile that captured my attention.

He had ordered a large cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin, sat himself down on one of the stools by the counter and started a conversation with me. Surprisingly we hit it off right away, given I was practically shaking with anxiety that such a handsome man would talk to me.

I don't have much experience with men, period, whether it was interacting or dating them, I had no history. It didn't help that I am an only child and have no blood siblings of my own. The most contact I had to men were Lin's two older brothers and her father. My physical relationship with the opposite sex is non-existent. Regardless, none of that seems to matter because Kyle was such an easy person to talk to. He didn't try to flirt, ask any personal questions nor did anything out of the ordinary, he was just himself. His charming wonderful self.

Of course, our talks did become more personal over time. However, how could it not, when we see each other Monday to Saturday during open bakery hours. It became a norm for us.

Kyle arrives at my bakery at 6:30 am each morning for his coffee and muffin then stays an hour before he leaves for work. He is a Radiologist at Columbus Memorial Hospital which is two blocks away. When he isn't too busy, he makes time to visit me during his lunch break and of course, get his second coffee and dessert of the day. It became a custom for us to be together during those times. Most days, talking to him is the highlight of my day.