Page 20 of Bodybuilders for the BBW

Not a date, I told myself over and over as the prick offered her his hand. I watched her shake it and then pull away almost instantly. I thought I liked Kosta, but not so much now. A shout from the counter had him leaving our table, thankfully, leaving us to stare at the majesty before us.

“Damn…” she hissed, poking the massive stack of bread, meat and cheese. “How…? What…?”

“Like this.”

I demonstrated pulling the skewer out of the burger stack and then squashing it into something that might actually fit in my mouth. Damn, these were good burgers. Katie watched me chew my mouthful, then nodded, looking like she was ready to have a crack at it.

“Mmm…!”

She wanted to say something, but couldn’t with her mouthful. The burger was dropped back onto the plate, her hand going to her lips. The looks she was giving me made clear I’d made the right choice. Like she couldn’t believe she had something this good in her mouth, which just gave me ideas. Rather than scoop her up and rush her out to my car so I could whisk her back to my place, I reached out with a thumb and wiped the smudge of tomato sauce away. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, right as I licked my thumb clean. Fuck, I needed to seal the deal, get her to agree to come out on a date with me, stat. I’d take her somewhere fancy, where the waiters wouldn’t make eyes at my girl, and?—

“These are freaking amazing.” She stabbed a finger at the burger. “Like so, so good.”

“Told you,” I replied with a smug smile.

“Totally worth dealing with Steve’s shit,” she added and that’s when my heart sank. That fucking arsehole.

“Look, that should’ve never happened,” I said, my appetite deserting me. “I should’ve been there, stepped in before he even thought to interrupt you. We try to create a good vibe where everyone feels comfortable.”

“I guess he felt comfortable with the idea of giving me advice.” For some reason, she looked around at the rest of the diners before her focus returned to me. “You take the whole gym thing really seriously. What made you get into the industry?”

I didn’t want to talk about me. That it was a long line of fuck ups that got me where I was and there was no guarantee there wouldn’t be more. Instead, I gave her a pat answer.

“I was just a skinny little skater boy at school.” Her eyebrows jerked up. “And I really liked Maggie McGann. She was…” I traced the outline of that woman’s outrageous curves, but when I was approximating the shapes of her breasts, I dropped my hands. “I figured if I built myself up, got big and strong, she might look my way.”

“And did she?”

She asked that with a gentle smile.

“Nope.” I shook my head. “To say I haven’t been real successful with women is an understatement.” I shot her a meaningful look. “Some people think I’m a bit extra.”

“Noo…”

“Anyway, she went off with some dickhead with a big, shiny car. I think they ended up getting married or something.” I shook my head. “But the gym? The adrenaline surge, the pump I feel after a good workout? That was damn near addictive. After fucking my ankle one too many times skating, I figured I’d stick to the gym. Routine, physical exercise to burn off all that energy.” I shrugged. “It was either the gym or the army, and I’m not great with authority figures.”

She was smiling as she listened to my story. So far, so good, I thought, right before I ruined everything.

“So, what about you? What brought you to the gym? You used to come to use the treadmills, right?”

The burger landed back in the basket and she reached for a napkin, wiping her fingers clean. That smile, it was like a flame trying to spark to life in the midst of a rain storm, spluttering and then finally going out.

“I…broke up with someone.” She was staring at the food, but I was willing to bet she wasn’t seeing any of it. “No, not really.” When she did smile, it was a horrible thing, full of remorse. “It was supposed to be just a situationship. We’d get together, hook up whenever we were both keen.” I watched her lips firm up to a thin line. “No strings attached.”

When her eyes met mine, they felt like they stabbed into the core of me, but I had no idea what was coming.

“But he kept wanting the boyfriend experience, even though he didn’t want the commitment.” Whoever this fuck was, I would hunt him down and punch the ever loving shit out of him for hurting Katie. He was the one who put those shadows in her beautiful eyes, I was sure of it. “At his work Christmas party, I got a bunch of texts from the other ladies there. Come and get your man, they said.”

This was like watching a car crash happen in slow motion, except I was powerless to stop it from happening.

“Except he wasn’t my man. Dave asked me to pick him up after the party. I knew he’d drink and drive if I didn’t, so I said yes. Not to this, though. Not to walking in on him trying to shoot his shot with someone prettier…” She let out a long breath. “Skinnier than me. He acted all guilty when I walked in the door, and we had it out.”

When she blinked, I was pretty sure I wasn’t the one sitting on the other side of the table, he was. Katie sat up straighter and stared me in the eyes.

“I asked him what the fuck he thought he was doing.” Her voice grew harder, flatter. “How he could disrespect me like this, and he…?”

I didn’t want to know what the fuck said. He deserved to die a horrible death in an alleyway, and right then, I wanted to be the one to deliver that final blow.

“He said, what did I expect? We didn’t owe each other anything, that I couldn’t expect him not to shoot his shot, when she looked like she did.” Her hands flattened against the table. “And I looked like this.”

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