Fat Chances (8 page)

“Sure, or we could just go back to
your house and play with Annie,” I suggested.

A huge smile stretch
ed across his handsome face, exposing his two dimples. “I like that idea even better. How about we have dinner at my place? Do you like Italian?” he asked, hopeful.

But before I could answer, he crushed his lips onto mine. We kissed a few more times before I finally peeled myself away from him and got into my truck. Cory followed me until I pulled into my d
riveway, then he continued on in the direction of the veterinarian’s office. I had just pulled the key out of the ignition when Molly stormed out of the house.

“Where in the hell were you? I tried texting and calling you a hundred times, but you didn’t answer. I ended up walking home.
Walking! Did you hear me?
You knew that I wore heels today and you purposely made me walk home! I ended up breaking a heel off one of my favorite shoes and now you owe me a new pair,” Molly continued to scream at me until Mom came out.

“Molly, get inside,
NOW!”
Mom ordered then turned to face me. “Annie, you have some explaining to do,” she stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. I reached across the seat and grabbed my purse then slammed the door shut. Mom waited until I got inside to scold me.

“
ANNIE POWERS!
Where in God’s green earth were you? Your sister and I have been calling all over town looking for you for the last two hours! Even Natalee was looking for you! She said you were supposed to meet her after school, but you were gone! Where did you go?” Molly was sitting at the top of the stairs watching and listening to us. I could see the smirk on her face as Mom continued to give me the third degree.

“I was out,” I replied, tilting my head down to stare at my boots.

“What do you mean ‘out?’ Out where? You could have at least answered your cell phone,” Mom yelled, pointing toward the door. Her long, fake, hot pink finger nails stuck out as she continued to point at me then at the air toward the door.

“I wasn’t feeling well after lunch so I left. Then I ran into a friend and we chatted for a while. I must have lost track of time. I’m sorry Mom. It won’t happen
again,” I said truthfully. I mean really, it was the truth. I
did
feel sick, sick to my stomach about Cory and I
did
lose track of time chatting and kissing a friend, but she didn’t need to know the exact details.

I could hear Molly stomp
down the stairs. “Who’s the friend?” Molly asked, accusing, even though Mom seemed content with my excuse, as she gave me a hug then continued back into the kitchen to make dinner.

“What?” I turned around to face her. She stood there with her auburn hair pulled back in
a ponytail, glaring.

“WHO WAS THE FRIEND?”
She hollered as she tilted her head back and forth sarcastically. I threw my purse on the floor and started up the stairs. I didn’t have to answer to her, and I wasn’t going to. Not when she was acting like a royal bitch to me. 

“Was it Cory?”

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around. She gave me an evil grin. “
MOOOMMM!
Annie was with a boy this afternoon doing God’s knows what,” she yelled, cupped her hand around her mouth to holler. Just then Dad walked through the door.

“What’s all the screaming about?”
he demanded, glaring at Molly, recognizing her big mouth. “Dad, Annie skipped classes to make out with a boy,” she said, accusing. My eyes grew wide as I shot a glance at her, then at Dad. My cheeks instantly started to burn.

“Dad, she’s lying,” I re
plied, curling my lip and glaring at her.

“No, I’m not,” Molly continued, thinking she had me. “I saw her kissing Cory and making out with him.” A series of gasps fell from my lips. Did she? Where? When? Was she eaves dropping or was she just talking shit to get me in trouble? I could feel my legs tremble as I stared at them both.

“Is she telling the truth Annie?” Dad asked, standing straight with his arms crossed, waiting for an answer. 

“What?
NO!”
I lied. Damn it! My voice cracked. Why did my voice have to go on me now?

“Hmfp! I suggest you go to your room until I tell you when to come down,” Dad ordered.

“But, Dad ...” I yelled.

“Go!” He pointed toward the stairs. Molly watched with a smirk on her face, thinking she’d won.

“You too, Molly,” Dad continued, turning to face her. “I had a bad day at work and coming home to listen to you two squabble  ... well, I’ve had it! Now go, you two, and I don’t want to hear another word out of either one of you!”

Tears clouded my eyes as I stomped up the stairs. I was suppos
ed to be at Cory’s house in an hour and now I wasn’t allowed to leave my room until my parents said so. My first real date with Cory and once again, Molly ruined it.

My room was a blurry mess when I threw myself onto my bed, crying. Why was life so unfair? Tonight was supposed to be my first real date with Cory and I was stuck in my bedroom. Worse, I left my purse downstairs by the front door, so I couldn’t even call and tell him that I wouldn’t be coming over. He’s going to think that I stood him up. Or worse, he might think that I don’t like him and Lord knows that was far from the truth.

I blew out a jagged sigh as tears streamed down my cheeks, soaking my favorite pillow. Memories of our afternoon together kept playing over and over again in my head. I chuckled quietly through my tears when I thought of Cory doing the moon walk across his living room floor. And
the way his dark eyes looked into mine just before he kissed me. My lips still burned from our last passionate kiss in the parking lot. I could still feel where his hands had touched my back, arms ... my breasts. My stomach tightened at the thought of him touching me again. I wanted his lips on me, caressing and fondling me. For that brief moment, I didn’t care if his hands would be touching my ‘rolls’ or not. My mind was somewhere else.

I sat up on the edge of the bed, using the front of my shirt to wipe the tears from my cheeks, but another round of tears quickly filled my eyes when I got a whiff of Cory’s cologne on my shirt. How could they do this to me? I’m eighteen, for God’s sake! I stood up, this time wiping my cheeks with the back of my hand. I wasn’t going to lie here in bed all night and cry. One way or another I was going to be in Cory’s arms, tonight. I just needed to think of a plan and fast. The clock on my nightstand read 6:10 p.m. I promised Cory that I’d be at his house by 6:30 p.m. That gave me twenty minutes to come up with a plan to get the hell out of here. I felt like one of those bad teenagers who were always sneaking out of their houses at night to meet up with friends to drink or their boyfriends or girlfriends. I was never
one of those types, until now ... I could feel adrenaline rush through me as I tried to think of an escape plan.

I needed to call Cory, but I needed to get to my phone without Mom or Dad hearing me. And that was going to be difficult. This house was old and creaky. No one could sneak down those steps without the old wooden boards creaking loudly under their feet. With Mom and Dad in the next room, they would surely hear me.
DAMN IT!!!

I rubbed my temples, hoping to stir something up inside my brain as I paced back and forth in my room. The clock read 6:13
p.m. I stopped dead on my feet when I suddenly remembered that mom kept her cell phone on her dresser in her bedroom. “Yes!” I shrieked under my breath.

I slowly opened my door and listened for Mom and Dad. They were downstairs in the kitchen talking about Dad’s boss. I glanced over at Molly’s door, whose room was right across from mine. There was a dim light coming from under of her door. I could hear her singing quietly to herself. I knew then that she was listening to her MP3 player, which was to my benefit. The last
thing I needed was for her to catch me in the act and tell Mom and Dad, again.

I opened my door
open just wide enough to fit my fat ass through then tippy- toed to Mom and Dad’s bedroom down the hall while keeping my ears tuned in for any odd sounds. Like a thief in the night and as quietly as physically possible, I snuck into their room and grabbed Mom’s cell, then quickly rushed back to my bedroom.

The adrenaline rush was unbelievable as I started dialing C
ory’s number. Even though he just gave it to me this afternoon, I already had it memorized by heart.

“Hello?
” Cory answered. There was hesitation in his voice.

“Cory, it’s me. Annie,
” I was out of breath, not from running from my parent’s room, but because I was excited. I knew in a matter of a few minutes that I would be in his arms, kissing him.

“Annie? Where are you? Whose number are you calling from?” I could hear the urgency in his voice. This made me smile.

“Listen. I’ll explain everything to you later. I need you to do me a favor,” I said in a rush. My mind was scrambling to come up with a plan.

“Meet me at the stop sign at the end of my street
in fifteen minutes,” I said, taking a deep breath. I could feel my heart pounding through my chest as I glanced out my bedroom window.
The porch roof! That was my escape!

“What? What are you talking about?” Cory asked, confused. I laughed.

“My parents sent me to my room. It’s all Molly’s fault. I’ll explain it to you later,” I said briefly, not wanting to get into any details. All I wanted was for him to get here.

“Wha ...
Annie! What’s going on?” he asked again. My heart was beating in my ears as I stared out the window at the porch roof.
God, I hope it’s sturdy.

“Cory! Just meet me here in fifteen minutes!” I shouted, then hung up the phone. Hearing the anxiety in his voice was not helping my nerves. I needed to do this before I chickened out.

I quickly changed my clothes and slipped into my black hoodie and grey sweatpants as beads of sweat formed across my forehead. I slowly unlatched the lock on the window, opening it as wide as it would go. Then I unlatched the two locks on each side of the screen before popping it out and setting it inside against the wall. I slowly crawled through the window, holding onto the window sill with all my might. As soon as I got out onto the roof, I knew that it was a stupid idea. The ground was much farther down than I anticipated and it was slippery with ice. If I jumped now, I would surely break a leg or two. I looked around to see if there was something that I could use to climb down. 

My heart beat wildly when I saw headlights coming up the street, pulling into the driveway. A series of gasps escaped my lips when I saw that it was Cory’s Mustang. The door flew open and he ran up the driveway.

“ANNIE!
What the hell are you doing?” he screamed.

“SHHHHHHH!”
I yelled, holding my finger to my mouth. I didn’t want Mom and Dad hearing him. He totally ignored me and walked up the steps and rang the doorbell.
“SHIT!”
I carefully and quickly climbed back through my window, placing the screen back in before closing it. My heart was racing like mad as I hurried to my door.

I could hear Cory and my parents talking.
“ANNIE!”
  I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard Mom holler my name. I sucked in a deep breath then blew it out, I opened my door and slowly walked down the stairs. Cory was standing at the bottom of the stairs with an expression on his face that I couldn’t decipher. It was a cross between humor, agitation, and relief all in one.

“Mr. Shields says that you two have a date tonight?”
Dad asked, matter of fact. Cory leaned against the door frame with a wide smirk on his face.

“Ummm ... yeah ... we did ... er’ ... do,” I stammered
, quickly shoving my hands into the pocket of my hoodie so that they couldn’t see them shaking. They were cold as ice, but I wasn’t sure if it was because I was just outside on the roof or if it was my nerves, maybe it was a little of both.

My parents looked at each other smiling before turning to glance at Cory, then back at me.

“Well, then I guess you’d better go. You don’t want to keep him waiting,” Mom said with a huge smile on her face. I could feel my jaw drop as I stared at her in disbelief. I looked over at Dad and he, too, was smiling his goofy smile.

“
WHAT?
You’re going to let her leave after what she pulled today?” Molly yelled from the top of the stairs.

“Molly, cool it!” Mom ordered then leaned over to wrap her arms around me
. I let her hug me, still in shock.
What just happened here? One minute I was ready to leap off the front porch and risk killing myself to be with a boy, and now my parents are telling me that I could leave with him?

“Are you ready?” Cory asked, putting his arm out like a perfect gentleman. Still in a daze, swung my arm through his and we headed out the door. Inside t
he house behind us, Molly whined to Mom and Dad, something about not being fair. I didn’t care. I was going to have my first date with Cory and meet the ‘other’ Annie. Tonight was going to be perfect.

“Would you mind telling me what you were doing on the roof?” Cory asked. Soon,
the engine turned over and we were pulling out of the driveway. My hands were still shaking as I sat in the seat of his warm car, but I knew it was my nerves. I was still waiting for the initial shock to wear off.

“Well?” h
e pressed. His lips curled downward as he glared at me with his dark worried eyes. Avoiding him, I glanced down at the vanilla scented air freshener that was hanging from the dashboard. The sweet scent made my mouth water. That’s when I realized that I hadn’t eaten since this morning.
God, I hope he cooked a lot of food.

“Oh ... um ...
I was leaving to meet you at the stop sign,” I replied, my cheeks burning from embarrassment. I knew my whole plan of jumping off the roof was stupid, but I was hell bent on seeing him tonight, to kiss him, to wrap my arms around his huge shoulders and to feel his warm hard body against mine.

“You were going to ju
mp off the roof, weren’t you?” he pulled over next to the stop sign then turned to look at me. His eyes burned into me as I stared straight ahead, watching the little snowflakes fall from the sky, landing on the windshield, melting instantly. I knew a lecture was coming on as I waited for him to say something. And I knew no matter what I said, it was going to come out sounding stupid. Hell, even I knew it was stupid, but I was falling in love with him and nothing was going to stop me from seeing him tonight.

“Annie! Why wo
uld you do something so stupid?” he asked, gently grabbing my arm and squeezing it. My body shuddered from his touch. I wasn’t used to this. How can one boy ... er’ ... man make me feel this way? With just one touch, my body melted like butter. 

I glanced up and got a whiff of his amber scented cologne. Just smelling him set my heart into an arrhythmia.
Was this normal?

“I was trying to find a way to come see you,” I choked.

“Well, killing yourself by jumping off the roof is not the way to go. Promise me you won’t do that again,” he pleaded. I was expecting him to crack a smile, but he didn’t. His face was stone serious as he waited for me to make my promise.

“I promise,” I whispered. Then neither of us said a word as we drove to his house. I wasn’t sure if he was mad or just waiting for me to say something. When we pulled into his driveway, ice balls the size of quarters came beating down onto the car.

“Shit! You stay here! I’ll get you an umbrella,” he ordered before stepping out of the car, into the sleet. Within seconds, he was standing beside the door with an umbrella over his head. A warm sensation came over me when he held me tightly against him, then we both ran quickly to the front door.

“Whew
... that’s nasty out there. If this keeps up, you may have to stay the night. Those roads will be nothing but a solid sheet of ice,” he said, smiling as he shook the ice balls from his hair. My heart dropped to my stomach when I realized what he had just said. My cheeks grew red at the thought of spending the night with him ... alone. After taking off my boots and black hoodie, I suddenly became self-conscious, realizing that I was wearing nothing but a t-shirt and sweatpants. At the time, I was only thinking practical when I was contemplating jumping off my porch roof. Sweat pants and a hoodie seemed like the right clothing for it. Now, I felt worse when I looked over and saw that Cory was wearing designer jeans and a cream colored sweater that fit his body perfectly.

“What’s wrong?” He saw the disgusted look on my face when we walked into the kitchen. Everything looked elegant. The table was dressed in white linen with two long white candles burning in the center. Two glass plates were set, one with a red rose lying on top, which I assumed was for me. There were also two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine waiting to be popped open. The smell of garlic filled the room, making my mouth water and my stomach growl.

“I look like a scruff,” I said, closing my eyes, groaning.

Cory laughed then replied, “Why do you think that?”

I opened my eyes when I felt the heat from his body standing next to me.

“Look at me. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m wearing
sweatpants and you’re wearing ...” He pressed his finger against my lips, silencing me.

“Would it make you feel better if
I go change into sweatpants?” he grinned, exposing his two perfect dimples. I nodded my head yes. Without saying another word, he took off upstairs. I stood in the kitchen, chuckling quietly, envisioning what he looked like undressed.
God, how did I get so lucky?
Suddenly, without even giving it a second thought, I found myself following him upstairs. My heart raced. I was hungry, but not for food ... for him. At the top of the stairs, a light streamed from underneath one of the doors. I paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, then quietly blew it out, slowly grabbed the door handle, and turned. The door opened instantly.

I gasped when I saw that
he wasn’t wearing a shirt, just sweatpants. How can one man be so beautiful? His chest was a work of art, muscles so defined that you could wash clothes off him. I had the sudden urge to run my fingers over every line, every curve of his naked body. When I looked further south I saw that he, too, was just as excited as I was.