ROMANCE: CLEAN ROMANCE: Summer Splash! (Sweet Inspirational Contemporary Romance) (New Adult Clean Fantasy Short Stories) (152 page)

              “You are going to love this place. Everybody from campus comes here at least once a month when they can afford it.”

“It’s that expensive?”
Fuck I only have thirty dollars to hold me until next week.

“No, it’s just the food is so good you’ll go broke trying to buy more to take home for the next day. I remember the first time I came here and tried their pasta and shrimp. It was so good I spent fifty more dollars just to take some over to my mom.”

The hostess guides us to a huge booth that sat in the middle of the floor. It just so happened that we were facing the hugest bar that I’d ever seen. I thought that the alcohol seems abundant and everybody seems so chill.

              “So let’s get back down to it. Tell me about yourself, where are from?”

                “St. Paul, Minnesota.”

                   “Wow, then you really are a long way from home. What made you want to come all the way here?”

Oh there it is, the million dollar question. She certainly didn’t waste any time did she?

“The honest truth? I came all this way to start my life over.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…back in Minnesota I wasn’t very well known. I was pretty much invisible, and it’s funny ‘cause how could anyone not notice me as big as I am.” Sharae shot me the weirdest look, like she though what I was saying was completely foreign to her.

“Oh honey no, big is in sweetheart. They may not have known about it in Minnesota, but big beautiful women are all the rage in this city sweetie. Don’t let anybody tell you that they aren’t, and you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, you’re gorgeous.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Seriously you are, and believe it or not. I know a place where guys would love to meet a nice juicy booty like you.”

Juicy booty? Is she pulling my leg right now?
I have no idea where she got that from, but I guess if she liked saying I’ll love it. But I still had a twinge of doubt that she was actually trying to be nice to me. Everything about Sharae seemed entirely too perfect, so I couldn’t help but open my mouth and ask her that burning question about her motives.

                “Is this a set up?”

“What?” The look on her face was quite shocking. It kind of made me feel a little bad.

“You know, are you just bringing me out here just to prank me later on. Cause if you are I’m just going to tell you, it happens to me all the time so I don’t think you’re going to get a good laugh out of it.”

“Oh my God, no! Is that what you thought this was? Honestly, I’m not like that I just wanted to get to know the person I’m going to be sharing a home with for the next eleven months.”

              “That’s it?”

“Yeah, I swear.” Needless to say, I can relax now that I know she’s not trying to prank me, but I’m still no fool. I know there’s something that she wants to say to me. I just hope it’s not mean. For the longest time I felt a hush between us, even when the food came all we did was sit there and eat among a rowdy crowd of college kids. I hope nobody’s watching me eat and pointing at me, that would really be the last thing that I need. We should really try to break the ice here, I feel really bad now and I should probably apologize for catching her off guard like that. Yeah, good move.

“I’m sorry about what I said. I’m just not used to people being nice to me outside of my own family, you know.”

“Well that’s easy to understand. You know my freshman year here, I was quite thick too.”

“What?”

“Seriously. I was two hundred and thirty pounds.”

That I couldn’t believe, her body was amazing there was no way that she was close to my size. Her stomach is flat and her ass is perfectly round and luscious. Even her tits were perky with perfect cleavage that was highlighted by her deep v-neck shirt. Bottom line there is no way that this girl ever had a round belly, back rolls, or chunky thighs like mine…Like really, I just couldn’t see that. But far be it from me to want to discredit somebody else’s life.

“How did you lose all of the weight?”

“I just got tired of being over-weight, and then one day I went with a friend to the gym on campus and we worked out every single day like crazy. By the beginning of sophomore year I was down a hundred pounds.”

“DO you ever still think of yourself as fat?”

“All the time, but you know, it’s good to have an outlet where you can still remind yourself that you aren’t who you used to be. I even started joining a few clubs here and there to help me break out of my shell. In fact I definitely know of one that you would do great in.”

Finally there it was my key into the world of College popularity. She was going to give me the keys to the kingdom and all I would have to do is walk through. I wouldn’t mind going to sit at her sorority meetings. Actually I had high hopes of joining another one but I was sure that she had the connections to get me there. I totally judged her too harshly; Sharae was the life line I’d been looking for.

“What kind of club?” Apparently that was the question that she’d been waiting for me to ask the entire night. Because she suddenly dropped her fork and leaned in close to me across the table and she was shooting me a look as if she was about to initiate me into a strange world behind the one that we’re living in. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but I can guarantee that I’m ready to do something else. I needed something to finally get myself out there.

“Well, let’s just start off with me asking you a few questions. I am going to get a little personal so you let me know when you’re a little uncomfortable.”

“Ok, shoot.”

“Do you have a boyfriend or anything?”

“No. in fact I haven’t ever had one.”

“Really why?”

“Like I said, where I’m from, guys aren’t the biggest fans of a big girl.”

“Good, can I ask you if you’re a fan of books?”

“Yeah, I mean as long as it’s not chemistry. I hate that damn class.”

“Perfect. The kind of books that I’m talking about have nothing to do with that type of chemisty.”

“What kind of chemistry are you talking about then?”

“Only the best kind, involving passion, life, and not to mention a whole lot of sex!”

“Like a brothel—“

“No, not at all. See we have a book club in a place not too far from here. Once a week we all get together and read passages from erotic anthologies. Some of the members of the club even wrote some of the books we read. I honestly think you’ll fit in with the group.”

Erotic? Does she mean books about people having sex?

“When you say erotic…Do you mean books about sex right? Like S&M kind of stuff?”

“Yeah some of the stories are like that, but it’s more in terms of art. I really think you’ll like it and you know there are a lot of hot guys there. You never know – you might even meet someone who peaks your interest”

Now, I had no idea where she had gotten this idea that I would be into talking about sex in a room full of strangers. Clearly we never talked about things like this in Minnesota; like,really – never. I mean, listening to sex-ed lectures in high school made me uncomfortable, and now she expects me to sit through a book club meeting where we all talk about is sex? How long would it be before those anonymous hook ups started and we were all standing in a circle all in masks like that Tom Cruise movie. I would have to get more details about this before I agreed to go anywhere like that with her. Although I do have to admit, it did intrigue me, just a tiny bit…ok maybe a lot. I just can’t jump in head first.

“Well, what’s the alternative to going?”

“Well why wouldn’t you want to go? You’ll be able to expand your mind beyond those small minded people in conservative Minnesota. This is better than Greek life too, and who’s to say you won’t have a story of your own to tell.”

That’s when it hit me; she was right. That was the whole point of her telling me about the whole book club. It was the way into the school’s central control line, a secret society that would allow me to get into any and everything that I needed. I still wasn’t sure if that was something that I wanted to do. I mean how far did all of this go? Do they all meet up and just read? Or meet up, read and then partner up and screw? I’m not sure about it. Maybe she can give me a lifeline or something because this wasn’t an easy decision to make.

“I’ll have to think about it for a second.”

“Well before you do that, let me paint a picture for you. I’ve heard you on the phone with your mom some days, telling her that you were just doing the same old routine every single day. I knew you weren’t lying because every time I come home, I can see that the light in your bedroom is still on. How much longer are you going to let yourself do that? How long will it be for you start resenting even coming to California and not acknowledging that it was your fault? When are you going to start living for yourself instead of letting life take you in? Here’s the million dollar question, when are you going to get a boyfriend that’s not battery operated?”

My face just dropped, the look on her face was very serious. I had no idea that she even knew about that. “How did you know?” seriously how did she know? She was never home, she’d been too busy making appearances on campus to know about my time with ‘Hercules’.

“I didn’t mean to be so forward about it, but I’ve heard you a few times when I went into the kitchen in the middle of the night.” My face just turned beet red, I didn’t know that she was listening to me. I always thought that I was alone when I was doing that.

“Sorry about that.”

“No, don’t be. I didn’t mean to throw you under the bus like that. I was just trying to reel you in, is all.”

              “It’s okay really. I’ll just have to be a little quieter next time—“

              “Or you can take a leap of faith and come with me down to the book club meeting.”

“Um…I don’t know…”

              “Ok, how about this. You come with me to one meeting. Just one, and if you don’t like it, then we’ll leave on the spot and I’ll never make you come again.”

“Well, I guess that sounds fair enough.”

“Good, then we’ll go tomorrow night. I’ll give you a copy of the book we’re reading. Just read the first couple of chapters and then you’ll catch on.”

“What are you reading? Fifty Shades of Gray?”

“Hell no, fifty shades of gray is a fairy tale compared to what we read around here. But don’t worry, if it ever gets to be too much just squeeze my arm and we’ll leave. Deal?”

“Deal.”

As we clinked out glasses in unison, I couldn’t help but think about what I just got myself sucked into. I wasn’t into freaky stuff so I I’m almost sure that I’m not staying at this meeting very long. But first things first, I’d have to read some of the stories first.

*******

“Caught in a sea of his embrace, she opened herself fully to his hot bulging cock. She passionately kissed his mouth and allowed him to enter her dripping wet cave…”

“Oh my god what the hell is this?” Seriously this was complete crap that I was holding in my hands and I can’t believe that I was actually entertaining this crap just so I could go to some book club tonight. Maybe it isn’t too late to ask Sharae if we could go another night, or better yet how about I didn’t go ever and I’d find another way to get in. I get this was her shtick and what got her where she was but that doesn’t mean I have to do it. Not to mention I didn’t even know what the hell I was supposed to wear anyway. Sharae never specified if there was a dress code, but I guess a pair of jeans and a nice blouse would be ok. After all, I don’t have the body to wear some of the stuff that the main character in the book was wearing. There was no way that I was going to be showcasing my huge thighs in some short leather miniskirt that hugged the rolls of fat on my lower back. Nor did I plan on wearing a slutty top that was only big enough to cover my nipples like pasties or modesty patches—whatever they were called. I’m pretty sure nobody wants to see that either, let’s just get this thing over with. Hopefully we can stop by Marcelino’s on the way back. I’m not going to lie, she was right about the food.

“
Her creamy essence was covering his manhood like a raw comb of honey ripped from a beehive by an anxious bear”…What the fuck?

“…She clung to his bronze flesh and allowed him to take her over screaming to the gods in pleasure for the gift of passion that she’d received from her demigod lover…” Oh my god who wrote this crap, seriously!

“Hey Miranda, let’s get moving the meeting starts in thirty minutes!!”

Well here goes nothing
.

The drive there seemed to take forever, I figured we’d be going to someone’s house for this book club meeting but I was sadly mistaken. After thirty minutes of twists, turns and streetlights I find myself standing outside a sex shop. I can’t help but laugh at the situation, why wouldn’t it be in a place where a person could meet all of their sexual needs in one place. After all it makes sense, someone gets turned on from reading these crazy stories they can just walk over to the nearest shelf and pick up some quick relief off the shelves. It’s amazing what ten minutes and two batteries could do for a person and I was going to see the freak show first hand. I’m going to have to brace myself.