Page 161 of Plus Size Player

This is the real thing,I thought, looking around at the stage setup. Lights were being tested, speakers were being queued, and black folding chairs were being set up.

All forty male and female models participating in the RLF show arrived on-site at eight o’clock in the morning. Wearing our own street clothes and the shoes for the show, we strutted down the catwalk to the throbbing R & B beat. The rehearsal felt different than any other time because of the lighting, the music, and the seriousness of everyone involved.

Russ was somewhere, lurking in the shadows. Wearing all black and his black-and-white sneakers, his sexy ass was somewhere, running things. When we’d rehearsed on Sunday, the lights were on, and I knew where he was seated. He corrected mistakes, restarted walks, adjusted lights, changed music, and anything else to perfect his show. With the event in less than three hours, the lighting was show ready, the mirrors were in position, and I could only see the end of the runway. But I could feel Russ’s eyes on me.

The final fittings were taking place with Russell, Remedy, Angelica, and the other members of the design team. Afterward, the models were sent to hair and makeup. Then we were sent back to Angelica for stylings and final looks. Photos were taken oncethe outfit was solidified. We were sent out in the order that we’d appear in the show and since I was the final model to walk out, I went last.

Walking around the corner to where the RLF team sat, I locked eyes with Russ and saw him sit up a little straighter. He shifted in his seat, and his eyes swept up and down my body as I stepped up on the platform. My nipples hardened under his gaze. I glanced at the others, trying to focus on their reactions. I wanted and needed to calm down, but every time I caught the lustful expression on his face, my body stirred.

The white asymmetrical dress fit my body like a glove. The fittings resulted in the dress being perfectly tailored to my curves. The shoes I’d been practicing in all weekend were a pair of high heels with a sheer strap around the ankles. They were beautiful, but they were not functional. They had no support. The thought of me tripping in them clouded my thoughts each time I put them on. But I couldn’t deny that the shoes and the dress combined with the black sheer trench coat was fire.

“This looks good,” Russ told me diplomatically as he inspected my look. “This is the look we’re ending on.”

“It’s perfect,” Remedy commented.

One of the people I hadn’t met added, “The decision to use a plus model in this dress was spot on. Whose idea was that?”

“Mine,” Angelica stated.

“It was a good choice,” the second woman added. “It isn’t just the way it fits her. It’s the way she carries it.”

The man nodded. “It’s like Russell designed the trench with her in mind.”

Russ cleared his throat as he continued to stare at me. “Thank you, Nina,” he said finally as the others were deciding whether I needed a bag in my hand. “You can get changed and then head to hair and makeup.”

“Thank you.” I told them all, but my eyes kept gravitating to Russ.

I stepped down and headed back to the dressing room to get undressed, and then went promptly to hair and makeup.

It didn’t take as long as I anticipated. The makeup artist gave me a really dewy look, with heavily dramatized eyes. The hair stylist opted for Bantu knots for me, and I loved them.

After thanking her, I returned to the dressing room and was instantly taken aback. The space was big, but with forty models getting dressed, dozens of fashion assistants helping to get everyone dressed, and hair and makeup assistants touching up hair and makeup, there was a lot going on. The DJ started playing music, and I knew it was our cue that the doors were open and the show would be starting soon.

That was when I started to get a little nervous.

“We’re about to start,” Russ announced, getting everyone’s attention. “This show is about us. It’s about RLF. It’s about bucking tradition. It’s about carving out our space in the world. It’s about reminding people who the fuck we are.” Russ looked around the room with his chest puffed up and his head held high as we cheered. When we quieted, he continued. “We don’t follow trends. We set them. And while it’s an honor to be here, it’s an honor for them to have us here. So go out there and let’s make history.”

I felt so proud and so inspired by him. Joining in while everyone hooted and hollered, I couldn’t stop staring at him. When our eyes met, he mouthed something to me that I couldn’t quite make out. But just the formation and movement of his lips sent a chill down my spine.

“Things are going to move fast,” the coordinator reminded us. “Just like at the run-through this morning, but this is the real thing. Get dressed. Line up in the correct order. You’ll get a final once-over by Russell and Angelica before you head down the catwalk. T-minus ten minutes until showtime!”

My stomach lurched.

I was excited. I was nervous. I was happy. I was a mixture of emotions, but above all, I was ready. The last thing I wanted to do was let Russ down.

I went to the rack that had a garment bag with my picture attached to it. The assistant assigned to that rack gingerly took the dress out and then helped me into it. I slipped on the trench coatand tied the belt, cinching the waist. Someone came by, checked her tablet, and then touched up my makeup based on what the makeup artist had noted on the spreadsheet. When I was helped into my shoes, I stood and watched all the decked-out models in front of me.

“Wow,” I repeated to myself a few times as I stared in the mirror.

I looked so good my eyes started to water.

I’d had my makeup done professionally before and I loved putting my hair in Bantu knots, so it wasn’t the look that choked me up. I’d had the dress on a few times as they were fitting it to my body, so it wasn’t the impeccable fit that moved me. It was the combination of how I looked, that I was closing out a Fashion Week runway show, and that Russ was accomplishing a big feat in the industry, and I got to share that with him. Everything about the experience was surreal but it didn’t hit me until I looked at myself in the mirror.

I got in the back of the line, and from the moment the show music started, everything moved so fast. When it was my turn to go up the stairs, there were still two people in front of me who were waiting to walk down the catwalk.

“Do the walk you did earlier,” Angelica advised me.

Russ grabbed my waist and adjusted my belt, tying it in a way that somehow made the garment cooler. “You good?”

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