Fat Read online

  This sucked.

  “I won’t. I’m not a fucking liar.”

  “Don’t swear at me.” They had never spoken more than a handful of words at each other during their time in high school.

  “How do I know you’re not going to tell everyone?”

  “You keep my appearance here quiet, and I won’t tell.”

  “Fine. I can do that.”

  “Good. Can I go now, or are you going to lecture me about something else?” she asked.

  “No, you can go.” He released her arm, and she made her way back toward the treadmill.

  The buzz she was getting had disappeared.

  The entire encounter with Noah had ruined what she wanted to achieve. She’d done an hour, and that was better than nothing. Leaving the treadmill, she made her way into the changing room. Instead of sticking around to change, she grabbed her stuff, and headed out into the parking lot.

  Sarah was chipper, asking how she got on.

  Elsa did her best to smile, and say thank you, but all she wanted to do was escape. Maybe get a large tub of ice cream on the way back.

  “Elsa, wait.”

  She tensed up, glancing behind her to see Noah rushing toward her. This was the last thing she needed.

  “What is it?” she asked, turning to look at him.

  He ran up to her, and she refused to be drawn to his rock hard body. This was not her. She wanted something more than a pretty face to look at.

  “You’re serious about losing weight? This wasn’t some joke to find out where I was?”

  “How can you even walk with an ego that size? Yes, this was about me, and what I wanted to do for my mother. It wasn’t about you.”

  “I’ll help you.”

  Elsa jerked back. “What?”

  “Look, I know what I’m doing, and you clearly don’t. This will be awesome for me to put on my college application.”

  She shook her head. “No, that’s not going to happen. There’s no way in hell that I’m going to be—”

  “I’ll do it anonymously. I can take pictures without your head, or anything that will give you away.”

  “You can do that?” she asked, curious.

  “There are a great many people who like their privacy. I can help you with this.”

  “And you look awesome for college?”

  “It’s a win-win for both of us. You lose weight, I get a good education.”

  She bit her lip, hating and liking it at the same time. The last thing she wanted to be doing was allowing Noah to be near her. He wasn’t an awful guy, but other than being a jock, she didn’t know anything about him.

  “So what do you say?”

  “No one can know about this. Not your friends, or family.”

  “It’s a secret.”

  “Completely top secret.”

  “Okay, so completely top secret, let’s go to my place,” he said, walking away from her car.

  “What?”

  “My place. Let’s get started. How long were you on the treadmill?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to go to your house.”

  He turned toward her. “Do you want me to go to yours?”

  “No.”

  “Then where do you expect us to get started?”

  “What’s wrong in there?”

  “No, we’ve got some preliminary stuff to get done. We do it in there, it’s got to be done through Bruce’s books.”

  She groaned. “No, I don’t want any record of what we’re about to do.”

  “Then stop being a pain in the ass, and get in my car.”

  “What about my car?” she asked.

  “You don’t want anyone to know about this, right?”

  “Duh.”

  “Well duh, right back at you. Your car in my driveway is going to have a lot of people curious, asking questions. Do you want them asking shit about this?”

  Once again she was stumped.

  “You’re right.”

  “You know, for a smart girl, it doesn’t show.”

  She glared at him but couldn’t find a reason to tell him otherwise.

  Climbing into the front seat of his car, she held her bag tightly to her, and stayed silent as he pulled out of the parking lot.

  She hated awkward silences, and she felt utterly tense.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.

  “Oh, I know. I could probably squash you anyway.”

  “Okay, rule one, do not put yourself down like that.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I don’t want any fat jokes, or comments when you’re with me.”

  She frowned. “I get called them at school. In fact I’ve been called a lot worse, by you and your friends.”

  “Actually, not by me. I don’t get involved with that shit. My friends, that’s their deal, not mine. I don’t put anyone down. I don’t believe in that. In fact I actually believe in karma.”

  “Karma?”

  “Yeah, if I start putting you down for your weight or whatnot, then later in life I’m going to be hit by something that’s going to make my life suck. So, I live in a nice little bubble, and it works for me.”

  “Wow, a jock who is weird, who knew?” she asked. “What do you tell your friends?”

  “About what?”

  “About where you work out? I thought you guys were supposed to train together or something. You know, compete for how big your dicks are.”

  “Oh, look at you, knowing what a dick is,” he teased, and she rolled her eyes. “You do know what one is?”

  “Shut up, Noah.”

  “You’re not a very nice girl.”

  “I’m a little out of my comfort zone.”

  “You don’t think I am? I intended to relax today, do some weights, some running, maybe some laps in the pool—”

  “You consider that relaxing?”

  “What do you consider relaxing then?” He glanced over at her.

  “Seriously?”

  “You say that a lot.”

  “I know.”

  “So what do you think is relaxing?” he asked.

  “I don’t know, anything that is not working out?” She looked over at him.

  “Nope, that’s not me, I’m afraid. I find sitting around doing nothing stressful.”

  “You don’t have to do nothing. What about a walk in the park? Or maybe going swimming?”

  “I would have gone for a swim. We both have different ideas about relaxing.”

  “There’s also my personal favorite, being a slob.”

  His knuckles were white as they held the steering wheel. She sat back in his seat and watched the scenery go by.

  “Jessica doesn’t know you’re here?” she asked, filling the silence.

  “We’re not together anymore.”

  “You’re not?”

  “Jessica is lying. I’m not with her since before her little outburst a year ago in the gym.”

  “Wow, a whole year. You still hang out with her.”

  “She’s part of the cheerleading squad, I don’t have a choice. What about you, nerd, do you have any guy troubles?”

  “Nope, I’m lucky that way.” She messed with the flap on her bag, and as she did, she couldn’t believe that she was sitting in Noah’s car, on the way to his house. This went against every single rule that she’d ever known.

  “You’re the first girl to think not having a guy is lucky. You’re weird.”

  “Don’t be mean.”

  “Come on, there’s not some guy you want to make out with, get married and have loads of little babies?”

  “Ew, gross, no, there is not.” Who was this guy?

  “Have you ever made out with a guy?”

  “No!”

  “That answers all of those questions.”

  “What questions?”

  “If you’ve never made out with a guy then you’ve never done anything else. You’re a virgin.”

  “Shut up!”

  She couldn’t
believe this was even up for discussion. Actually, it wasn’t. She wasn’t going to get drawn into that conversation, not now, not ever.

  He chuckled. “You’re so funny.”

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

  “It wasn’t that hard.”

  Blowing out a breath, Elsa decided to stare out of the window rather than talk to the insufferable guy beside her. Just because the whole school thought he was a god, didn’t mean that she had to think it.

  He put on the radio and started nodding his head to some kind of heavy metal music, which only made her head hurt.

  Thirty minutes later they were pulling up into his driveway, which was a large one, similar to hers. They lived three streets from each other, not far to walk. She could have dropped her car off at home, and then walked.

  Oh well, they were here now.

  “Come on.”

  She followed him into his home, hiking her bag onto her shoulder.

  “Both of your parents work?”

  “Yep. My dad is a plastic surgeon, and my mother is a model.”

  “You’re playing ball?”

  “My dad is cool. He wants me to pursue my own dreams, and no, he’s not the kind of guy that grabs a pen, and starts marking where he wants to cut.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Let’s go on up.”

  Elsa didn’t exactly have a choice. She followed him up to his room, and even his space had equipment inside to work out. Didn’t this guy know how to do anything else?

  ****

  “You want me to do what?” Elsa asked.

  Noah placed her bag in the corner and turned toward her. “I want you take your shirt off so I can get some proper measurements.” He grabbed the scales, his notebook, and his tape measure designed for the body, and waited.

  “You’re crazy. I’m not doing that.”

  “We need to start a record, or a diary,” he said. This was the usual process for anyone about to lose weight.

  “How about we go by just looks, or dress size? I tell you when something is loose?”

  He shook his head. “That’s not how this works.”

  “I don’t care. I’m not getting on them, and I’m not letting you use some tape on me either.”

  She folded her arms, and Noah saw the vulnerability in her eyes.

  “Look, this is going to be between us. I won’t tell anyone at school. It’ll be personal to us, to keep track.”

  Elsa nibbled her lip. “I’m not sure about this.”

  “You’ve got to start somewhere, and I’m not going to be able to use this as an example for college if I don’t show the proper procedures.”

  “Writing it down?”

  “Writing it down, keeping a record, and making sure it’s all done properly.”

  She sighed. “You promise this won’t go anywhere else?”

  “It won’t go anywhere.”

  “Do you promise?”

  “Yes, I promise. Now, are you going to allow me to do this?”

  She nodded. “Close your eyes.”

  “I’ve got to be able to see. Are you wearing a sports bra?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we’re fine. Sports bras are as unflattering as they come.”

  “I hate this. I hate this. I hate this.” She kept on repeating those words as she lifted up her shirt.

  Her stomach was rounded, and her tits were squashed into a dark black sports bra. Noah had seen a lot of action in his life, even though he was only eighteen. There were a lot of girls who liked to fool around with him, not to mention women he’d picked up at random places. He was a guy. He liked to have sex, and not one of those women had ever gotten him this interested.

  His cock started to swell, and he gritted his teeth, getting focused on the now. Thinking of his grandma, he stepped toward Elsa.

  “Lift your arms out.”

  She did as he asked, and her cheeks were the color of a real ripe strawberry.

  “Everything is okay,” he said.

  “Speak for yourself. You’re not half naked.”

  He tutted. “Will this make you feel better?” He tugged his own shirt off so that he was as naked as she was.

  “Not really.”

  Noah chuckled. “I’m doing my best to make you feel comfortable.”

  “How can that happen when you’ve got that wicked thing in your hand? Also, I don’t want to know what it says. Don’t read it out, okay?”

  “Fine. May I do this now, or do you have another list of instructions for me?”

  She pursed her lips, tilting her head to the side. “Nope, we’re good.”

  “Come on, stop being a big baby.”

  “I don’t have to remove my pants, do I?”

  “No.” He wouldn’t mind if she wanted to, and for most fitness instructors they might ask her to.

  “Cool. I can handle that I guess.”

  Reaching around her, he pressed the tape against her skin, and she jumped. The backs of his fingers touched her as well. He noted how soft her skin was.

  “What are you doing? You’re touching me.”

  “Not intentional, baby. I’ve got to take your measurements.”

  “Don’t call me baby.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “No wonder you don’t have a boyfriend. You don’t like being touched, or being called baby. What exactly do you like?”

  “Being left alone and not called baby.”

  “It’s my nickname for you. You’re being a big baby, and so that’s what I’ll call you … baby.” She sighed, and he waited. “May I finish now that I’ve started?”

  “I’m waiting.”

  “Pain in the fucking ass.”

  “Shut it, jock.”

  “Nerd.”

  “Dumb ass.”

  “Spoilt brat.”

  “Shut up,” she said.

  “I won.”

  “Ugh! Just do it already.”

  “Wow, baby, you really like to get down and dirty, don’t you?” She shot him a glare, but he silenced her with his words. “You’re no fun, and I can say you’re going to struggle through the whole of this.”

  “Fine, fine, fine. Do it.”

  He took the measurements for her waist and hips, making a note of them. Next he moved up to below her breasts, and she tensed.

  “Be careful.”

  “I’m not fondling your tits,” he said.

  “You’re crude.”

  “Hey, you’re the one that went off halfcocked on losing weight. I’m helping you out here.”

  “So, I’m helping you as well.”

  “You’re being a huge pain in my ass.” He stared into her pretty brown eyes. “I’m being nice here. Stop being a bitch. I’ve heard you’re supposed to actually be nice. We’re both out of our comfort zone here, but you don’t see me being a jerk. The least you can do is give me some damn credit!”

  She took a step back, but he stopped her as he still held the tape around her. “You’re right. I’m being a bitch, and I really shouldn’t be. I’m so sorry.”

  “Now, can we get back to work?”

  “One question first.”

  “What is it?” he asked, getting tired of all of her questions. Maybe he should have stayed working out at the gym where Jessica made a scene. Right now, he was starting to think he’d have been left alone for a hell of a lot longer.

  “Why are you not making a big deal about this? I’m fat, and I’ve been bullied at school, by your very friends.”

  He sighed, and couldn’t resist the urge to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, so he did it. “My friends are assholes at times, I get it. I’ve been an asshole, and I’m sorry if I’ve ever hurt you, okay. All I can say is that you have my word that this will never get out.”

  She nodded, and proceeded to let him get the size around her breasts, and underneath them. He did her thighs, and then around her ass. After he was done with th
e measurements, he asked her to get on the scales, and he made a note of that as well.

  “What are you going to call me for your paper or whatever it is they call is?”

  “You’re going to be exhibit A.”

  “Oh, I’m an A. That’s good. I do well in school even though I’m not showing it right now.”

  Noah chuckled and handed her back her shirt. When she pulled it back over her head, he was shocked by the fact he was gutted to see her cover up. “So, we’re onto the diet stage.”

  “Diet?”

  “Yep, are you hoping to lose weight with a change of diet and exercise or just with exercise?”

  “I don’t know. If I change my eating habits my mom is going to know, and this is kind of a surprise for her.”

  Noah sighed. “Elsa, losing weight, it has to be about what you want, not what other people want.”

  “I get that. I do. I just want, I want my mom to be happy, and if she’s happy, then I am.”

  “This isn’t the right way to lose weight.”

  “Please, Noah. This is what makes me happy, making her happy.”

  He stared at her, seeing how much it really did mean to her. This was going against all of his rules. Personally, if Elsa was happy with the way she was, then he didn’t see a reason to change her. Even now, some would say she needed to lose a couple of pounds, but from what he saw, she was fucking hot. If only she wore the right clothes for her shape, she’d have half of the guys panting for her. She was a size sixteen, which wasn’t all that big. Sure, compared to a size zero it was big, but she was cute, hot even.

  Staring at her, Noah imagined her in one of those old vintage fifties styles dresses that Jessica had tried to wear a year ago. Elsa would pull it off, whereas Jessica just looked gaunt.

  Great, now he was starting to think like a pussy by imagining her in different clothes.

  “Okay, so how about you make a diary of everything you eat. I’ll assess, and then we can see where you can make changes without your mother knowing.”

  “Sure, I can do that. It’s pretty easy.”

  “Good, great.”

  “When would you like to get started?” she asked.

  “I work out at Bruce’s gym four times a week. Do you think you could start making trips there after school?”

  “Yeah, I can make some studying excuse to my parents. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

  “Great. Monday, we’ll make a start, and next Saturday, I want to see your diary of what you’ve eaten.”