Page 53 of Bodybuilders for the BBW

He wasn’t worth it. Not my time, not my pain, nothing, and that had me straightening up, staring at my car blindly as my mind rushed to make new connections.

Of course, he had to go and ruin it.

“Katie and her animals…” He appeared beside my car with a sneer on his face. The girl he was with had walked inside the vets. “Save any dogs from choking today? Some cats from bleeding out? No, you wouldn’t have.” His arms crossed his chest. “You’re not an actual vet, just a receptionist.”

“A receptionist who booked your…” I stared past him to the door. “Girl…whatever’s appointment for Fifi. Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be over there, pretending to care?” I faced him head on. “Heard you lost your job at the station.” The sight of his expression souring was just delicious. “What’re you doing now?” I glanced back to the surgery’s door. “In house dog minder?”

“You little…” His growl should’ve worried me, scared me, but right now it felt like nothing Dave did mattered. He wasn’t just a dick, he was irrelevant. “I guess you would get jealous of a pretty girl like Felicity.”

“Jealous?” I couldn’t keep the laugh back. “I feel sorry for her. She hasn’t had the epiphany I had. That it’d be far better to be alone than to have you rub her left labia a few times and then ask her if she’s ready to come.”

“Is that right? Well?—”

A ping from my phone let me know another notification had come in. I held up a hand, cutting him off to read it. A smile came unbidden as I saw the newest photo. Bronson had his collar on, a lead attached.

Looks like someone’s ready to go for walkies with his best girl.

Dave, work, and the world all dropped away as I went to my happy place, because I could almost see Bronson’s reaction when I arrived. That whole body wiggle of his was enough to brush away all the other bullshit.

“Who’s that?” Dave was mean, but he wasn’t stupid. I saw the glitter in his eyes as he took in my every response. “Your next ‘hookup?’” He flexed his fingers in the air to form quotation marks. “Probably just another guy that has you on speed dial because you come running every time he wants his dick sucked.”

I knew I needed to make some kind of smart retort, but all words died in my throat. He smirked, shifting his weight from one hip to the other.

“That’s one thing Felicity will never have on you.” He glanced back at the vets. “Fat chicks? They’re hungry for it in ways pretty girls never are.”

Just walk away, I told myself.Pick up your feet and move. He doesn’t matter. Nothing he says matters.

But I didn’t. It was like my body went into freeze mode the moment men showed who they really were. From cruel boys in primary school, to coercive ones in high school, it felt like I saw a side of mankind that others didn’t. They saved their smiles, their pleasant demeanour, for people who looked like Mandie or Felicity, but never for me.

“Fuck off, Dave.” God, that came out all wavering and weak, which just had his smile widening. “Not everyone has the same poison in their fucked up head like you do. I’m going to help a guy with his dog?—”

“Is that how he sucked you in? Fuck.” His hand went to his temple. “Why the hell didn’t I think of that? What’s he doing? Using you as an unpaid dog walker?” I looked down at my phone, not wanting to see Dave anymore. Bronson seemed to treat me like a therapy person and right now, I needed the same from him. The joy in those amber eyes, it was a lifeline. “No doubt he’s got you thinking you’re ‘helping,’ whereas really, he’s just getting you right where he wants you. A desperate, low effort side piece that’s only good for a fuck when you’ve got no other options.” He snorted. “God, you’re pathetic.”

Was that what was happening? I’d love to say that I’d only settled for Dave before, but unfortunately I had a habit of letting people who didn’t deserve it get close. It felt like I could see what they needed so damn easily and I just knew I could give it to them.

No matter what it cost me.

For a moment, I just stared at Dave like he was a thing, dissecting the parts of him into smaller and smaller pieces before I pulled away and got into my car.

Without even a look backwards, I pulled my car out of the carpark and then drove down the road.

Chapter28

Garrett

“It’s alright, boy.”

I told myself I was waiting out the front of the house with Bronson to help accustom him to the noises of our street. Really, it was because we were waiting for her. Bronson could at least show it in the way his ears perked up every time a car passed by, his muscles quivering as he held himself in a seated position. Me? I couldn’t do anything but plaster a friendly smile on my face as Katie’s car pulled up. That faded when I saw her.

“C’mon.”

I didn’t need to give the dog a prompt. He was on his feet, straining against the lead as soon as he saw her. We half-walked, he half-dragged me closer.

“Hello, boy!” She started smiling the moment she saw the dog, but I saw it. How pale she looked, the furrow in her brow as she pulled up outside the house. “He is looking better.”

“Much.” I didn’t get where I was in my job by ignoring people’s subvocal cues. “How about you?”

That furtive look away, the press of those full lips. Yeah, something happened today, but she shook her head, as if to brush that off.

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