Page 51 of Plus Size Player

“It’s a party celebrating a clothing brand’s launch.”

“And you work here?”

With pride, I nodded. “Yeah. I do.”

After the couple in front of us walked through, we were stopped by security. “Name, please?”

“Nina Ford,” I answered.

He found my name and gestured to the red carpet. “Enjoy your night, Ms. Ford.”

The doors opened and the music pulsed out. There had to be at least five hundred people milling around, dancing, talking, and enjoying themselves. There were food stations and bars. There were photographers and 360-degree-photo booths. The lights were bright, and the energy was electric. Everyone looked good.

“What do you do?” Dru asked, still taking everything in as we headed to the bar. “I thought you worked at that place I picked this shirt up from.”

“I do,” I answered in a noncommittal way.

It was my first time doing anything work related with a date. I didn’t talk to any of the men I dated about what I did for work. I talked about my life, my interests, and the things we had in common. None of them knew about my real social media page; they followed the private friends-and-family page with less than a thousand followers. If any of them knew about the other page, no one had ever said anything.

“I was going to take you dancing under the stars last night, but this…” He pointed to the glass ceiling. “This is much better than what I’d planned.”

“I’m sure you had an incredible night planned,” I told him, pulling him a little closer.

He brought my hand to his lips. “You’re still going to get your incredible night. Don’t you worry about that.”

We made our way to the first food station and got a small plate, and then we started mingling. We met so many people. Everyone was so friendly. Hellos were exchanged every couple of minutes and before we finished our first drink, we got sucked into conversation about our outfits.

We’d been there for almost an hour before I ran into Lori.

“Nina! Wow!” she greeted me, clasping her hands together.

She had on a navy blue formfitting trumpet dress that clung to her like a glove.

“You are wearing that dress!” I complimented her as she gave me air kisses to both cheeks.

“This isn’t an RL Fashions design, but it is”—she kissed the tips of her fingers—“chef’s kiss!”

“Thank you. Thank you.” I pointed to Dru. “This is my date for this evening”—I put my hand on his shirt and snuggled my body next to his—“and my accessory.”

Her eyes widened as she saw how the shirt complemented my dress. “Nina!” she gasped. Looking around, she waved over a photographer that was nearby. Taking the drink out of my hand, she pointed. “Take their picture.”

I adjusted Dru’s sleeves and unbuttoned his jacket to show off the shirt before lifting my chin and putting my hand against his chest. I posed, doing my model thing, and Dru just stood there smiling, happy to be included.

“Yes! Yes!” a woman cheered as the photographer snapped a few photos. “Work it!”

“I like the way you did this, Nina,” Lori told me as the photographer moved on. She checked her watch. “I’m going to wrangle up the others and introduce you all in about an hour. Until then, enjoy yourselves!”

She walked off, and it wasn’t until she disappeared into the crowd that I realized that she’d taken my drink.

Dru jumped into action. “I’ll get you another drink. What would you like?”

“Rosé champagne, please.”

He kissed my hand. “Anything for you.”

As soon as he walked away, I dug into my clutch to pull out my phone. I had every intention of texting Aaliyah and Jazz in our group chat when I saw a text waiting for me.

Russ: I’m going to cut out of this thing I have to do early tonight. How early is too early to start my date with you?

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