The Alpha Dating Game: An Extremely Sensual BBW Shifter Romance (2 page)

“What will you have?” Jeff said to Jessica. His eyes were watchful and he appeared rather ill at ease.

She was just as nervous.
I’m not big on looks and I’m not big on personality either
. Oh wait, scratch that.

“Mmmmm, I think I’ll have the three cheese baked pasta,” she said. “And the cream of wild mushroom soup.”

He hesitated, and then plowed on. “You sure you want to order that?”

Stuart and Lyla were laughing over something, and so they weren’t listening.

“I’m sorry?” Jessica said.

Jeff cleared his throat. “I said are you sure you want to order that?”

She thought she knew where he was heading.

“Um, why not?” she said. A flush came to her cheeks.

“Creamed soups have far more calories than consommés, and three cheese baked pasta has to contain a whole of refined carbs. That can’t be good.”

“Oh.”

“Yes.” He seemed earnest. “You should be eating clear soups and salads. Carrying all that weight around can’t be good for you. If you’re this heavy at nineteen, think of what you’ll be at thirty-two.”

Ohhhh. Her spirits sank to her black heels.

Lyla was telling Stuart the story of how Professor Jenkins was caught digging his nose and eating his own booger pellet today in his office when he thought no one was looking.

“Trust me,” Jeff said kindly, “eating less carbs is good for your health in the long run.”

Ah, right. Of course she knew that losing weight was probably for the better for her in the long run, but to be told so blatantly by a guy she had just known for five minutes was nothing short of mortifying.

When the waiter came and everyone ordered, she said, “Um, I’ll have a chicken soup, please. And a Caesar salad. Minus the croutons.”

Jeff nodded happily.

He said in a low voice, “Keep eating like this and you’ll be down to normal size in no time.”

Normal size? Uh, define normal.

The conversation that ensured was dominated by Lyla, who was the life of any social gathering. This was why Jessica liked to be with her – Lyla talked enough for the two of them. And Lyla was interesting. She had interesting stories to tell, interesting things she had done (like going to the Niagara Falls and rafting there), interesting anecdotes she always managed to fashion into a punchline.

The food came, but Jessica barely had any appetite. She was so afraid of what Jeff might think if she gulped her soup and salad down.

Lyla gazed at Jessica’s entrée.

“Salad?” she said knowingly.

“I’m, uh, trying to cut down on carbs.”

“I know a gym near campus,” Jeff said helpfully. “It’s amazing what forty-five minutes a day on a treadmill will do.”

Lyla froze. Uh oh, Jessica thought.

“What did you say?” Lyla demanded.

“Lyla, he was just trying to be helpful,” Stuart put in hurriedly.

“Lyla, it’s OK,” Jessica begged.

“I was just suggesting to Jessica here that she should cut down on her food intake and increase her exercise.”

Lyla bridled. “You’ve barely met her and already you’re telling her what to do with her life?”

“Uh, Lyla,” Stuart said again.

Lyla ignored him. “You have a lot of nerve, buddy,” she said to the bewildered Jeff. “Jessica here has been worried sick all day about what you’d think about her body size and she has been going all out to make an effort for you.”

The diners at the other tables turned, listening to Lyla’s rather loud diatribe with interest. OK, I can officially vanish now, Jessica thought. She sank down in her seat.

“But what do you do? You waltz in here and criticize her the first chance you get. Do this, eat that, don’t do this, don’t eat that. Do you realize what that does to a person? You don’t even know her, buddy. You don’t know that she’s the kindest, sweetest thing to ever come out of Brocton, Mississippi. You don’t know that she can make the best red velvet cake outside The Plaza in New York City and play three different musical instruments.”

Actually it was one, Jessica thought faintly.

“I’m sorry,” Jeff said in a small voice. He eyed Jessica. “I’m sorry,” he squeaked again. “I was just trying to help. All that padding you’re carrying can’t be good for your Framington Score index.”

“Jeff’s in pre-med,” Stuart put in.

“I don’t care if he’s in after-med!” Lyla stormed. “He either treats my best friend right or we both walk out.”

“Hold on,” Stuart said desperately, “that’s kind of drastic.”

A funny look came over Jeff’s face. He threw down his napkin and stood up. He glared at Stuart. “You know, I don’t have to take this from your girlfriend. I came here today because you begged me to. And you know what? She’s not the type of girl I’d date. No offence, but I believe that anyone who doesn’t try to lose weight when she’s still in her teens has no self-control. And I don’t want to date someone like that.”

He stalked off.

Jessica’s cheeks burned.

“Uh, Jeff?” Stuart glanced at Lyla and then scurried after his cousin.

“Fine, go after him,” Lyla remarked. “You don’t need someone like that, Jess. You’re fine the way you are and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you’re going to lose weight, you’re going to do it on your own terms and not someone else’s. Got that?”

THE WEBSITE

Oh yeah, that went well, Jessica thought. Particularly when everyone else in the restaurant was staring at them and smirking.

She was holed up in the room she shared with Lyla. She had totally refused to go out since the disastrous blind date. Because that was what it was – an epic scale disaster. OK, maybe not that epic like in a typhoon sort of way, but it made her feel like creeping into the closet and hiding behind her oversized winter clothing and never coming out till the semester was over.

Was she happy with the way she was? Did she want to do something about it? That was the question, wasn’t it? It was so
hard
to control her diet and exercise just gave her heartburn.

If only . . . if only someone with romantic inclinations on his mind would just accept her for the way she was. Someone who wouldn’t judge her. Someone who would listen to what she had to say and not be mentally assessing her physical state all the time. Someone who would stay long enough with her to get to second base – and by that, she didn’t mean making out.

If only a guy like that existed.

Maybe if the guy was just as overweight himself . . .

That’s right! She should only date like-sized people, and then they wouldn’t have body image expectations. From now on, she was only going to date people with a BMI of over 26.

If there was going to be a next time.

There came the sound of a key being inserted into the door. Lyla was back. Jessica buried her head under her blanket and pretended to be asleep. The lights were off anyway. As much as she loved Lyla, she didn’t feel like talking about it.

She heard Lyla come in. Lyla was anything but silent. Whenever she entered the room, it was as if a mini-tornado swept in. There would be mutters and curses (if she stubbed her toe in the dark) and the sound of keys and a purse being thrown onto an armchair. Then her clothes would come off with more curses (if her bra clasp got stuck).

But today, Lyla was strangely silent. OK, maybe ‘silent’ was too absolute a word to describe anything Lyla did, but she was quieter than normal. Jessica held her breath. She could feel Lyla’s presence beside her bed. She imagined Lyla standing there, debating whether or not to wake her.

Then:

“Come on, Jess, I know you’re awake.”

Jessica kept very still.

I don’t want to talk.

A depression on her mattress told her Lyla was sitting on it.

“I know you don’t feel like talking and that’s why you’re pretending to be asleep. But you know what? I believe in solutions, not moping around.”

Here it comes, Jessica thought with dread. The pep talk about going to the gym and cutting down my diet into five peas a day.

“So I’ve trawling the Internet for solutions, and guess what I found?” Lyla nudged her leg.

Jessica was piqued despite herself.

“Jess, I know you’re in there.” Another nudge. “And I know you want to see what I’ve found.”

She was busted. Jessica poked her head out from under the covers. Lyla was sitting on her bed, smiling, iPad laid in her palms like a sacrificial offering.

“Look for yourself,” she teased.

Jessica was aware she looked a right mess with her hair all over the place. But she took Lyla’s iPad anyway and glanced at the screen.

“Big, Beautiful Dating,” Lyla confirmed, reading it out loud. “Isn’t that absolutely great?”

Jessica sat up. She was interested. Why, she had arrived at the same conclusion.

“So does this website pair big, beautiful people together?” she said cautiously.

“Apparently, all guys can apply, but the girls have to be BBW and they get to register for free.” Lyla’s voice rose excitedly. “Look.”

She snatched the iPad from Jessica and scrolled down the website.

“See? All the girls have their pictures in this and they are all BBW. You’re prettier than any of them. It says here . . . ‘a dating service for men who love Big, Beautiful Ladies’. And look at the men themselves.”

Many of the male avatars didn’t have accompanying photos, but they were interesting enough.

“Dave, 31, lawyer,” Lyla read. “Loves to go for walks by the lake, loves Italian food and has a golden retriever named ‘Sam’.”

“He’s too old for me.”

“There are others. Look, Steve. 23. College student. Loves to cook macaroni and cheese and show a girl a good time.”

“Define ‘good time’.”

“Oh, come on. Not every guy has sex on his mind.” Lyla’s fingers flew on the touchpad.

“What’re you doing?”

“Creating your profile.”

“What? Wait, no!” Jessica tried to pull the iPad from her best friend but Lyla held it away and sprinted from the bed.

“Ha ha,” she said. “It’s my iPad and I have a gorgeous photo of you in your prom dress.”

Yeah, the prom to which she went alone. “Please, Lyla!”

“No! It’s time you do something for yourself. Look, you deserve a guy who likes you the way you are and won’t try to change you unless you want to change yourself. I think this dating site is your best bet, don’t you think?”

Privately, Jessica thought so too. “But what if they are all weirdos?” she said in a small voice.

“So? They are all weirdos in college too and that doesn’t stop anyone from dating them.”

Good point.

“What if one of them is a serial killer or something?”

“Then at least you’ll have plenty to talk about . . . you know, about burying his victims and stuff.” Lyla’s fingers tapped the touch screen. “There, your profile is done!”

“What? OK, that’s crossing the line.” Jessica hurled herself out of bed and almost tripped on her blanket en route to Lyla’s bed.

“Oh, don’t be stupid. It’s a great profile.” Lyla showed it to her. “Jessica, 19, college student. Loves baking, taking romantic walks in the park and reading. Looking for a guy who will accept her for the way she is and not try to change her, and she’ll do the same for him. Very much into monogamy and believes in saving it all for ‘the one’.”

Accompanying the caption was a very flattering photo of Jessica in her prom dress. The dress was a sleek and very fancy, blue, off-shoulder, satin number that didn’t hide Jessica’s curves but emphasized her big bosom in a way that was deliciously sexy.

“You practically spelled out I’m a virgin!” Jessica groaned.

“And what’s wrong with that? It’ll hook in the guys like flies!”

“That’s exactly the type of guy I don’t want!”

“But you’ll also reel in the type of guys you want – the ones who believe in monogamy and true love and being with only one person. We’ll know how to screen them out soon enough. Trust me on this, Jess, it’ll be a breeze!”

THE VIRGIN

Kyle stared at the screen of his Mac.

The profile read: “Jessica, 19, college student.”

Hmmm, so she’s young, he thought. He preferred them a little older, but asking for a virgin in anyone over the age of twenty was stretching it a bit. Just like the last one he had snared over the website this way. He had spent two whole weeks wining and dining her, and when the test came, she jumped him, and he found out she wasn’t a virgin.

Two wasted weeks.

Anyhow, it was time to move on. This ‘Jessica’ actually seemed interesting.

“Loves baking, taking romantic walks in the park and reading.”

Well, he liked eating baked goods, talking walks in the park – which usually led to sex – and reading a lot of James Patterson.

“Looking for a guy who will accept her for the way she is and not try to change her, and she’ll do the same for him. Very much into monogamy and believes in saving it all for ‘the one’.”