Page 43 of Curvy Girl Summer

“Oh, hey!” My voice was a little too loud, and the words came out a little too fast. “I didn’t know you were here.”

Her lips pulled into a taut pucker. “It happens a lot.”

“What?”

“People forgetting I’m here when Ahmad’s around.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “He’s the popular one—especially with the ladies.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not like that.”

With a smile, Asia took a step back. “Yeah, okay.”

“No, I’m serious,” I argued. “I’m doing my first dates here, and Ahmad’s watching my back.”

“Oh, I’m sure he is.” She winked before turning her attention to the two men who had strolled up next to me. “What can I get for you two?”

She shifted gears so fast, I didn’t have time to defend myself from the assumption she was making.

“We’ll take you and your friend over there in the stripes,” one of the men commented.

I looked over at them in confusion.

Now how did I get in this? I was minding my business.

The shorter of the two flashed me a toothy grin. “I don’t mind taking the fat one.”

“Yeah, well, I mind,” I retorted.

“You’re feisty,” he commented, taking a step toward me. “Say it again. But this time, say it to my face.”

“Get a step stool and I will.”

“Oh, shit!” the taller one snickered. “You’re not going to let some fat bitch diss you, are you, Frankie?”

“Not the guy with the Habsburg jaw talking shit about my friend,” Asia commented.

I burst out laughing, which only made the two men madder.

“We’re leaving this dump,” the short one spat, pulling his friend back.

They started shouting obscenities when she pointed to the door. “Out. Now.”

“What’s going on?” Ahmad asked just as the two men stormed out. “You both okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Asia answered as I nodded.

He looked between us and shook his head. “One minute, I look down here and everything is cool, and the next minute, all hell is breaking loose.”

“Those guys didn’t know how to act, so I put them out. I don’t tolerate that level of disrespect,” Asia informed him. Crossing her arms across her chest, she smiled at me. “But this one right here can hold her own with the jokes.” Noticing someone waiting to be served, she started walking away. “I see why you like her.”

She tossed the comment over her shoulder like a grenade that neither of us were prepared for.

Like deer in headlights, we just stared at each other.

“I might have mentioned that you were cool,” he mumbled before he noticed a woman waiting. “I’ll be back.”

What was that?

Turning my head, I looked into the mirror behind the bar and froze. My eyes locked with the light-skinned, curly-haired man who’d just walked in. The man who looked exactly like his profile picture smiled as he moved toward me. I waited until he was right next to me before I turned to greet him face-to-face.

---