Sweethearts (Curvy Women Wanted Book 13) Read online

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  Copyright© 2019 Sam Crescent

  ISBN: 978-1-77339-889-1

  Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

  Editor: Karyn White

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  SWEETHEARTS

  Curvy Women Wanted, 13

  Sam Crescent

  Copyright © 2019

  Chapter One

  Theo West waited for the perfect moment to approach Ruby James. His friends were all gathered around, talking about the game last Friday. A couple of cheerleaders were hanging off their arms as they spoke. It was just like every other day. Guys and girls passed them in the school halls, and each person was desperate to catch someone else’s eye. Theo didn’t have time for that bullshit right now. He was focused on only one girl. He’d not seen her yet and knew she wasn’t going to the cafeteria first, as he’d been watching her for six months.

  She always came to her locker to put away her books.

  For six months she hadn’t done anything different, and he doubted today the beautiful blonde would even consider doing anything like it. His locker was nowhere near hers, but he had the perfect excuse for watching her. He was standing with his football buddies.

  His friends were starting to move on, slamming locker doors closed, and she still hadn’t made an appearance, which really pissed him off.

  “Hey, Theo, what are you doing tonight?” Rachel asked. She was one of the best cheerleaders on the squad and had been trying to get with him for some time. He had no interest in putting his dick anywhere near her. She was often the main discussion in the shower room where most of the guys talked about how she liked to fuck. He didn’t want any part of that. Not that he had a problem with sex. Not at all. He loved sex. What he didn’t want was Rachel.

  The girl that had been starring in his fantasies of late just so happened to round the corner before he and his guys left for the cafeteria. Mike, his best friend, who also happened to know whom he wanted, smirked at him.

  “See you soon.” Mike shook his hand and took off, leaving him alone with Ruby.

  Her face was red, and she looked really frustrated as she got to the locker. He watched as she twisted the dial back and forth, before waiting for the door to open.

  The school was old, and so were their lockers. She had to bang the door three times for it to open. Most of them had to do the same.

  “Hey, Ruby,” he said.

  “Theo, what’s up?” she asked.

  He waited as she opened up her bag, putting three books inside before grabbing out three more.

  “Why does there have to be something up?” He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the locker. She closed her door, and her face was no longer hidden to him. She pulled her bag on, watching him.

  “Were you waiting for me?”

  “No.” That was a total lie. Of course he was.

  She smiled. “Then what’s up? It’s not like you to stand around waiting for me.” She tilted her head to the side. Her face had lost the red color.

  Her pale skin looked so soft, he wanted to reach out and stroke it. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment in his life when he realized that he wanted her, only that it had become an obsession of his.

  “I’ve been thinking we should go out some time.”

  She started to chuckle. “Okay, good joke.” She made to move past, going in the opposite direction of the cafeteria.

  He didn’t expect that kind of reaction from her. “It’s not a joke.” He grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving. This wasn’t going how he intended at all.

  “Theo, what’s going on? I’m kind of confused at the moment.” She stared at her arm where he held her, and he had to force himself to let her go, even though he didn’t want to.

  “I want to take you on a date.”

  “Theo, you do know I’m Ruby, right? I’m not on the cheerleading squad or, like, associated in any way with football, or sports in general.” She licked her lips, and he wanted to kiss her.

  “I know. Just because you’re not part of the team doesn’t mean we can’t hang out.”

  “We’ve never hung out. Like, ever.”

  He was used to chicks being all over him. He was one of the most popular guys in school. With just the snap of his fingers he could have any girl, and yet the one he wanted looked at him like a crazy person.

  “Let’s change that.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She pulled away, and he couldn’t think of a single thing to say to make her stop.

  That was not what he wanted.

  Running fingers through his hair, he watched her ass sway. He stared until her curvy body was no longer in sight before heading toward the cafeteria where Mike had already gotten him a tray of food.

  “How did it go?”

  “Bad,” he said.

  “Really? Wow, that does surprise me,” Mike said.

  Theo took a bite of his burger and looked toward his friend. “Why does that surprise you?”

  “I bet you a hundred bucks you approach every single chick in this room, they’d jump at the chance to go out with you. Ruby isn’t popular. She doesn’t have guys hanging off her every word, but you, my friend, are like a sex magnet. I don’t get it. Clearly she’s a lesbo.”

  “She didn’t believe my offer for a date was genuine.” He took another bite.

  “You’re not going to give up, are you?”

  “Hell, no.”

  Mike laughed. “So, what’s the game? You want to fuck this chick or something?”

  “You know it’s not about that.”

  “You got to be prepared to deal with the consequences. A guy like you, messing with a chick like her, it’s going to bite you in the ass.”

  Theo felt the anger simmer beneath the surface. “A girl like what?” he asked.

  “You know, fat.”

  The blood pounded in Theo’s temples. It pissed him off to think of anyone calling Ruby fat. She was a beautiful, sexy woman. One he wanted more than anything.

  ****

  “I’ve just had the weirdest experience of all high school,” Ruby said, entering the kitchen back at home.

  It was just her and her mother and had been for nearly eight years now, when her father up and left saying he couldn’t handle this life anymore. Last they had heard he was pursuing some kind of Wall Street job. He sent money every single month to deal with the rent and expenses. As far as Ruby could tell, her mother was no longer heartbroken over it, but she also never dated either.

  “You were forced to eat chocolate as the best kind of adult experience of your life?” Callie asked.

  “I wish.” She dropped her bag on the floor and jumped up on the opposite side of where her mother was working. She worked long hours at the local vet’s and was often on call to help out. Ruby wondered if the main veterinarian, Steven, had a bit of a crush on her mother. He was ten years older, and always flirting. Her mother never noticed of course.

  Callie was rolling out dough, cutting large circles and placing some pulled pork mixture on to one half of the dough, sealing it up, crimping the edges, and placing them onto baking sheets.

  Glancing over at the calendar, Ruby s
aw it was the day her mother always filled the freezer. This helped them throughout the month in case something ever came up and they didn’t like ordering takeout. Her mother was an amazing cook. Rolling up her sleeves, Ruby jumped off the counter and washed her hands.

  “If it has nothing to do with chocolate, which it totally should, let’s see … you got asked out?”

  Ruby dried her hands and nodded. “Yep. I got asked out.”

  “Oh, that is so wonderful.” Callie turned to her with a huge smile.

  “Yeah, the most popular boy in school asked me out.”

  “And?”

  “And, it’s got to be some kind of trick, right?”

  “Why does it have to be some kind of trick?”

  “Seriously, Mom, when have I ever mentioned Theo West, or even had him turn up on my doorstep?” She shrugged.

  “Okay, never.”

  “It has to be some kind of trick. There’s no other explanation for it.”

  “I really don’t like this negativity from you. It’s the one trait you get from your father, and it’s really not healthy.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m being serious. Why would a guy like Theo want to be with a girl like me? For one, I hate sports. I’ve never, ever gone to a game.”

  “Then go to a game.”

  “I can’t go to a game,” she said.

  “You know, sweetie, I hate to say this to you, but you’re the one being really difficult here.”

  “I’m the one being difficult?”

  “Yes. You really shouldn’t worry your head so much.” She chuckled. Her mother dusted off her hands and turned to face her. “First of all, you’re a beautiful woman. I know you don’t see it, but you really are. You turn heads when we go shopping together. You catch men’s eyes. Second, you’re smart. So intelligent, apart from when you’re being stubborn, and then you lose all of that intelligence down the toilet.”

  “Mom.”

  “Third, you’re a nice person. You’re not mean to anyone, and for me, you have been the perfect daughter. One I’m so proud of. I can see why every single man would love to be with you. You’ve just got to learn to see it yourself.” Her mother cupped her face and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  “What if it’s a joke?” Ruby said.

  “Then we’ll figure it out. You know my stance on trusting you.”

  “How can you be so trusting after what Dad did?”

  Callie sighed. “Your father was never the settling down type. You know this. We had you by accident.”

  She knew her parents were due to go off to college when her mother got pregnant. Her father went to college, and, so his parents would help support them, her mother stayed at home. If Callie hadn’t gotten pregnant, Ruby had no doubt she’d be a veterinarian right now rather than Steven.

  “He was the popular guy in school, and our relationship was doomed to fail from the start.”

  “Did you ever consider it doomed?” Ruby asked.

  “No, I don’t consider it a failure now. We’ve moved on. We have different ideas of what we want out of life.” Her mother kissed her head. “Stop being so negative before I’ve got to call your father and berate him for being an ass and rubbing off on you.”

  Ruby chuckled.

  “You want to finish helping me with these pies?”

  “Love to.”

  They got to work, and Ruby cut out each pie shape as her mother filled and shaped them.

  “So, tell me, is this guy cute?”

  She thought about Theo. “He’s … not the boy next door. His persona is very boy next door, but he has short black hair. Blue eyes. He works out a lot. He looks more like the teacher than the student.” She heard her mother chuckle. “What?”

  “For a girl that’s not interested, you sure know how to describe him.”

  “He’s not hot or anything. I don’t know. I’ve never really noticed him.”

  “Wait a moment, Theo West?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s got a Labrador that got into his stash of chocolate just last week. He came in so concerned. We had to help the dog bring the chocolate back up, and it still was in the wrappers. He seemed like a nice boy. Handsome too.”

  “Mom?”

  “What, I can’t be encouraging to my very negative daughter?”

  “You should be advising me against doing anything. You do know guys in this generation demand sex, right?”

  “Honey, guys in every single generation demand sex. They just hid it better in the past is all. Besides, you know your body, and your mind. Do you need me to repeat no means no, and to leave and to not be forced to do something?”

  “No.”

  “What about the safe sex?”

  “No.”

  “Good. I won’t push you into dating, but try not to be so cynical so young. It’ll give you wrinkles.”

  Chapter Two

  The following day, Theo wasn’t going to allow one failed attempt to woo this girl to put him off. If she was completely dead set against dating him, then he’d step back, but for now, he had a feeling she was … scared. He’d never had a chick turn him down before and he wasn’t looking forward to the experience again any time soon, but he liked Ruby.

  She wasn’t like any of the other girls he’d ever met.

  Running finger through his hair, he spotted her, and he saw when she did him. She walked up toward him, looking hesitant. The one plus for him, she didn’t turn on her heel and run in the opposite direction.

  Squaring his shoulders, he waited.

  “Hey, Theo,” she said, approaching her locker.

  He noticed several guys and girls watching them. He wasn’t interested in any of them, just the girl in front of him now.

  Today her long blonde hair had a slight curl to it as it fell down her back and over her chest. It always looked so silken even after gym. She wore no makeup. He’d never known her to wear any in all the years he’d been watching her.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “I know you said no yesterday, but I want to take you on a date.”

  She didn’t immediately shut him down. He considered that a plus.

  “There’s a pizza place that just opened up.”

  “It’s Fabio’s place. I’ve heard of it,” she said.

  “Would you like to go out with me for pizza?” he asked.

  His hands were shaking, so he shoved them into his back pocket. This wasn’t going how he hoped.

  Girls usually screamed, or at least they did in the past.

  “Can you answer me something first?”

  “Sure.”

  “Why?”

  “I like pizza. I figured everyone liked pizza.”

  She laughed. “It’s not about the pizza. I was wondering why you’re asking me? We don’t really talk and we’ve never hung out, and yet, you’re asking me for pizza. See the problem I’m having here?”

  “True. It’s not a joke. I like you, and in all honesty, I’ve been wanting to ask you out for some time but never got around to it.”

  “Never got around to it?”

  “No. Between football, college, and stuff—”

  “You’re going to college?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Cool. I didn’t know you were set on going to college.”

  “I’ve got a few options open to me. I keep my head down, get decent grades, and I do try. I didn’t think I’d get too far without it. It’s a lot of hard work, which I’m always willing to do. I want to be more than a high school jock.”

  He saw he’d surprised her, which he’d take. He’d take anything so long as it would get her on a date with him.

  “Okay, we’ll go for pizza.”

  “This Friday, after the game?”

  “Yeah, this Friday.”

  “Do you need me to talk to your mom or something?” His father had told him about Ruby’s parents breaking up so he didn’t have to worry about her dad anytime soon.

  “N
ah, it’s fine. She’ll be fine with it. See you this Friday after the game.”

  “Are you coming to the game?”

  “Nope. I’ll get my mom to drive me, and I’ll meet you.”

  They arranged a place to meet, and by the time they finished, the bell for first classes sounded.

  Theo wanted to kiss her, but he also didn’t want to spook her. Walking her to class, he ran toward his own, and got there just in time before the door closed.

  He found Mike in the back, and took a seat next to him.

  “You got her to say yes?”

  “I’ve got her phone number.” He held it up in victory. Now, all he needed to do was to convince Ruby that he was a sure deal.

  There was no joke attached to him wanting to date her, not even a small one. Mike had thought there was when he first mentioned his feelings for Ruby, but his best friend soon realized he meant business and had stopped trying to tease him over it. While the English teacher started to go on about some poem, he pulled out his cell phone and typed in her number, saving it.

  Theo: Got your number saved, Theo. X

  He thought about adding an emoji and quickly decided against it. A X was serious, he liked to think.

  Stop being a pussy when it comes to this girl.

  Ruby: You should be listening to your teacher.

  Theo: I like to live dangerously.

  Ruby: I like to graduate.

  Theo: Be a good girl and study.

  He didn’t get a response back, but he was already feeling positive from her responses. Today was going to be one hell of a good day.

  ****

  Ruby had a nightmare week after accepting Theo’s date. Her phone was confiscated by the teacher as she was caught putting it in her bag. The math teacher then decided to read out all the messages from Theo, which only served to make her embarrassed, and for all the popular girls to point out that she wasn’t the real kind of girl that he liked to date.

  As if she didn’t already know that!

  She did get her cell phone back at the end of the day but with a strict warning to not get it out during class again. Her mother laughed at the entire incident and even made a comment about there not being cell phones when she was in high school. It was always folded-up notes they passed