Plus Size Player (Curve #2)

Chapter 1

“My friends call you ‘which one,’” I told Russ with a laugh.

“I know that’s a lie,” his deep, velvety voice replied good-naturedly. “They know exactly which one I am.”

Heat crept up my neck and flushed my face.

His confidence was just as sexy as everything else about him.

He was exciting and with each date, I found myself more and more drawn to him.

It wasn’t just the fun we had. It was the way he opened me up and lived in the moment with me.

He was charismatic, charming, and irresistible.

If I wasn’t careful, he would have me admitting as much.

Switching the phone to my other ear, I stared out my parents’ living room window with a huge grin on my face. “And what do your friends call me?”

“You really want to know?”

“I really want to know.”

“My girl.”

My stomach fluttered.

“Oop! They call me your girl?” My smile grew, even though he couldn’t see me. “I think you like me a little bit,” I teased.

He let out a light chuckle. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We exchanged goodbyes, and it took me a few seconds to realize I was still smiling.

“I found it,” my mother yelled from upstairs. Jogging down the steps carrying a vintage designer bag, she grinned. “This is the one I was telling you about.”

My eyebrow quirked with interest. “This is cute.” I took it out of her hand and held it against my red floral dress.

The black rectangular bag with the gold handle really was gorgeous.

“But it’s not going to work because of my shoes.

” An image popped into my mind. “I know just the thing this would go with! You know those gold shoes I sent you a picture of? That would be perfect!” I looked at her with pleading eyes. “Can I borrow this for a photoshoot?”

“You can have it!”

My eyebrows shot up. “Oh, wow, really?”

My mom loved her bags.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I got a similar one a couple weeks ago, so this one is for you.”

“Thanks, Mom!” The grin crept across my face as I posed. “How do I look?”

“You should be a model,” my mother commented as she stared at me from across the room. “You really should.”

She was honest and direct—that’s where I got it from. My mom and I always had a good relationship, but we didn’t see eye to eye on my career. She thought I was wasting my talents, while I knew I was enterprising.

“I am a model,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

She sighed. “No, Nina… a real model. Not an internet model.”

“What’s the difference, in your opinion?”

“Respect. Stability. Money.” She looked me dead in my face, her hand on her hip. “Need I go on?”

“I have all of those things now.”

She squinted her eyes and gave me a questioning look. “Do you?”

Oop! No, she didn’t!

I wanted to have a snarky reply, but I cracked up.

“Mom, I can’t even get into this right now. I have plans, so I have to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have a date.”

She smirked. “When don’t you have a date?”

“Don’t be a hater because I get taken out on dates.” I pointed at her. “You’re just mad because your man doesn’t take you anywhere.”

“Hey! I heard that,” my father yelled from the kitchen.

Mom and I burst out laughing.

“Then take Mom out so she doesn’t have to live vicariously through me,” I responded, loud enough for him to hear me clearly.

“I take your mother out plenty,” he replied indignantly as he appeared in the doorway. “We just went to the movies not too long ago. Didn’t we, Diana?”

Mom and I looked at each other with shocked expressions on our faces.

“Michael, that was two months ago,” my mom pointed out calmly.

“No, Di, that was only a couple weeks ago,” he argued.

“It wasn’t,” Mom and I said in unison.

He looked perplexed. “Diana, we saw that comedy you wanted to see. The one with the actor you like.”

“That was at the beginning of June. It’s now the beginning of August,” she explained.

I put my hand over my mouth to contain my snickering.

He stared me down, only making me laugh harder. He folded his arms over his barrel chest. “Now why are you all in married people’s business anyway?”

“She’s making a good point though, darling,” Mom defended me with a light, musical giggle. “You haven’t taken me out in a while.”

“Did we or did we not go to church last Sunday?”

“That doesn’t count,” Mom and I said in unison.

“Of course the two of you would gang up on me. I’m going back to finish making my sandwich!” He swatted his hands at us. He started to turn around and then stopped. “Nina, do you need a few dollars? You said you were going out.”

I smiled. “I’m good, Dad, but thank you.”

“In case of an emergency,” Dad stipulated. He shifted his eyes to me, and a concerned look flashed across his face. “Do you need emergency money? Let me go get you something.”

“Dad!” I called out to his back as he made his way to his office.

He ignored me and I turned to my mother, who shrugged.

“You know how your father is,” she reasoned with a pleased smile. “He always makes sure his girls are good.”

“This is true.”

I glanced at the clock over the television and made a face. “I have to leave in the next few minutes if I’m going to make it on time.”

“Where are you going?” My mom eyed me suspiciously. “And with whom?”

“Going to a lecture. With The Smart One.”

“Oh! A lecture!” Her eyebrows flew up and a flash of confusion crossed her face. “That sounds… fun.”

Laughing, I shook my head. “I don’t date him for fun. I date him for what I can learn from him. We teach each other things and I enjoy that.”

“The way you’re dressed, I was expecting something else. But I think a lecture sounds nice.”

“Yeah, Tyrell is my smart guy,” I replied, pulling my phone out of my bag.

“Is that the one you went race car driving with last month?”

My lips curled into a smile as I reflected on that date. “No, that was The Fun One.”

My mom’s eyes lit up. “The Fun One? What does that mean? And who is this mystery man?”

I rolled my eyes again. “Russ is The Fun One. And he’s not really a mystery man. He just doesn’t live locally.”

“Ohhh, yes, I remember! I liked that you enjoyed yourself with that one, but I’m partial to the one who took you to that French restaurant in the city. Very romantic.”

“Dru is very romantic, and I like that. Tyrell is incredibly smart, and I like that. James is hilarious, and I like that. And Russ is so much fun, and I like that a lot,” I explained.

“I understand fun, but the race car driving was a dangerous date—especially for the first date,” she complained.

“It was our second date,” I corrected.

She quirked an eyebrow. “I see that look in your eye. But don’t discount the romantic. I didn’t, and look how lucky I am.”

“Yes, but you also don’t go on dates anymore.”

Mom’s head fell back, and a laugh erupted from her. “The dates may have slowed down, but the romance hasn’t. Wait until you find you a man who gives you everything you’ve ever wanted and needed. That’s when you settle down. You’re young. You’re only thirty. You have time.”

“What if I don’t ever want to settle down?”

She put her hand on my arm. “Then don’t.

When you find exactly what you want, you will want to and it’ll feel like home.

What I found with your father when we were twenty-five is rare.

It happens when it happens and it’ll happen for you, too.

But in the meantime, live your life for you first and then find someone who fulfills you like life fulfills you.

Don’t worry about settling down. Worry about settling in. ”

“Settling in?”

“Settling in to your life.” Her smile widened. “Enjoying what God has blessed you with.”

On cue, my dad appeared in the doorway with a handful of cash.

“Now take this”—he counted two hundred dollars—“and make sure you can pay your own way.”

“Aw, thank you,” I replied. “But I don’t need it, Dad.”

He stuffed it into my hand anyway and then smiled at me. “Take it. Keep it. And if you need to, use it.”

I smiled.

Michael Ford always made sure his girls were good. I never had to worry about anything because if I let him, he’d handle it. One thing about my dad was that he didn’t just take care of me, he taught me how to take care of myself. I loved and appreciated him for it—even when he was being extra.

Shaking my head, I accepted the crisp bills. “Thank you.”

“And here’s something for you,” he said, handing my mom a note. “While I was back there, I made reservations at Chez Francois for us—tonight at seven, my queen.”

My mom giggled. “Michael!”

The giddiness and lovestruck looks on their faces made me smile.

My fifty-eight-year-old parents were a youthful couple, and the way they made each other light up was the most beautiful thing.

They found a home within one another. If I ever settled down, it would have to be in a relationship like the one those two had.

And since what they had was rare, I was content being fulfilled in other ways.

Speaking of…

“Okay, well, I’m going to head out now,” I announced.

“Remember when all Nina wanted was to go off to Magic World?” my mom asked my dad with a mournful sigh. “I miss when she was that age, and we could keep her with us all the time.”

I lit up. “I haven’t thought about Magic World in forever!”

Magic World hadn’t crossed my mind in years, but I loved that place. It was an all-ages amusement park with so many things to do. It wasn’t that far—almost two hours away—but I hadn’t been as an adult.

“We used to take you every summer,” my dad reminisced.

“I haven’t been there since I was a kid. Maybe we should go one day soon, for old time’s sake.”

My mom stopped pretending to be sad to give me a look. “With these knees?” Pointing to herself and my dad, she continued. “Only in a magical world are we going to be able to walk around Magic World.”

“Speak for yourself,” Dad replied, folding his arms over his chest. “My knees are good. I still got it.”

“Yes, you do,” Mom flirted before looking over at me and shaking her head. “He doesn’t,” she mouthed.

My dad gave her a look. “Hold on, now.”