Page 2 of His Curvy Woman

I smile awkwardly, not sure what he means by that and turn to go back to my brother’s table. I should have just ordered my drink from there, but I needed a breather. Ramsey’s new girlfriend and a couple of her friends are back at the table, and they're driving me insane. I never thought of myself as a judgmental person but listening to the girls tonight I’ve caught myself rolling my eyes more than once. Are people really this self-absorbed? What was my brother thinking by dating someone like Julia? She’s just so… hell, I don’t even know. I heard her friends making fun of what other women in the bar were wearing, and they all laughed. Do they not have anything better to talk about? I’m sure they have a lot to say about what I’m wearing. Now I’m wondering what Hunter thought when he saw me in my short jean shorts and a plain black tank top with my cowboy boots.

When I get back to the table, my brother smiles at me, before going back to talking with his friends Trevor and James. They are two of his closest and oldest friends. They played football with Ramsey and Hunter while in high school and also spent a lot of time at my house.

“Where did Julia and her friends go?” I ask, sitting down across from them, my back to the bar and crowd, at the long wooden table.

“I think they went to grab drinks. Our waitress has disappeared, and they got tired of waiting.” James offers.

Trevor and James work at the fire department with Ramsey. The three of them went to fire school together and joined the department when they got out. Over the years, they’ve welcomed me into their friend group. While they’ll still always think of me as Ramsey’s little sister, I’m now welcome as one of their own.

“So, you’ll never believe who I ran into at the bar,” I say.

“Who?” Ramsey asks.

“Didn’t think you were going to show up tonight,” Trevor says, looking at someone behind me.

“Well, I saw Whitley at the bar, had to stop and say hello.” Hunter pulls out the seat next to me and sits down, leaving no space between us. His thigh presses against mine while he rests his left arm behind the back of my chair, making the small hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Ramsey smiles at Hunter and doesn’t pay any attention to how close he’s sitting to me, while that’s all I can focus on. “It’s good to have you back man,” Ramsey says, reaching his hand out to shake Hunter’s.

“It’s good to be back,” Hunter says with a smile.

I take a sip of my drink as I listen to the guys talk and try and calm my jittery nerves.

“You ready for your first shift?” Trevor asks Hunter.

“More than ready. It’s been too long since I’ve worked. I was starting to go stir crazy.”

“You’re back? Like back-back? For good?” I ask, still in shock.

“That’s the plan, Lee.” He tells me and winks, calling me by the nickname he gave me when we were younger.

“Where are you going to be working?”

---