He goes looking for help but finds love instead.
Category: Romance
Soundtrack: Selena Gomez, Rita Ora, Fifth Harmony, Camila Cabella, Bebe Rhexa, Hailee Steinfeld, Demi Lovato
*
Shae Walsh stared at herself in the mirror, her brow furrowed and her lips curled in a frown. Her delicate hands unwrapped the towel that covered her body, dropping it at her feet. She stared at her naked body, squinting at her own reflection. Her hands ran over her skin, softly touching the bit of belly before pinching a bit of skin. "Hmpf," she mumbled as she saw the stretch marks in her pale skin. She reached over and picked up a bottle of lotion from the dresser, squeezing some into her hand. Her fingers reached beneath her breasts which were large and prominent and smoothed the lotion into her skin, slowly working her way across her body. She saw her wide hips, the way her stomach stuck out a bit further than her lower abdomen and turned away, frowning.
She quickly got dressed, throwing on a pair of cotton panties and plain beige bra before throwing her legs into a pair of black pants, pulling the waist over the swell of her butt cheeks. She threw on a white tank top before covering herself with a loose fitting tan colored knit sweater. Despite the fact that it was nearing eighty degrees she preferred to stay covered up as she hated the way her arms looked. Her big bright green eyes stared at themselves in the mirror but didn't see themselves. They only saw what she perceived as her flaws. She reached down and put on a pair white sneakers before walking out of her room. She saw her friend and roommate Ava Martinez sitting on the couch watching TV. She saw how much thinner her friend was and felt a twinge of jealousy once again. They were best friends back in high school and despite the fact that she had gained weight, Melissa never once brought it up. Several years after graduating they were still best of friends and had moved into their own apartment.
"Hey Shae, is it that time already?"
"Yea, time to go to work."
"You really should take the sweater off girl, it's way too warm out there."
Shae smiled at Ava half heartedly, "Maybe if i was skinny like you I would."
"And? I know it ain't too bad now but I sure hope you aren't still wearing that damn thing when it's summer. You're so pretty you should show off some skin, stop covering yourself up so much."
"We'll see, I'll see you later." Shae walked out and down to the garage where she got into her car and drove to the mall, parking at one end where the employees were allowed to park. She walked in the door and down the hall, passing a girl with bright purple hair. "Hey Bree!"
"Hi Shae, coming or going?"
"Coming, gotta close," Shae said softly.
"Me too. Lucas says hi by the way."
"Tell him hi back for me. See you later!" Shae continued on her way before turning into a small room with a large walk around desk that had spots for up to three people to sit behind. A large sign above the desk read "Help Center" in light blue block letters. She looked down at the one other person who was already there, an older woman named Janice who was reading a book. "Another romance novel?"
Janice simply nodded, reading to the end of the paragraph before she put it down. "It's been a slow one today."
"Sure looks that way, but then again everyone is probably out enjoying the sun."
"Probably," Janice said as she picked up her book once again, not noticing that Shae had sat down and started looking at her phone.
Indeed the day was slow and dragged on as Shae sat behind the desk. She alternated between shuffling through some paperwork and her phone before saying goodbye to Janice. Eventually the mall closed and she was able to close the small area, turning out the lights and going home. When she got inside she found Ava on the couch on her laptop studying. She walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of lemonade before sitting on the far end of the couch.
"See any hot guys?"
Shae smirked, "Yea a few, but none of them saw me."
"I told you so, gotta show some skin."
"I highly doubt that will change anything. I'm a fat girl living in a skinny girl's world."
"You knock that shit off Shae. You know there are plenty of guys out there who would love you before they gave me the time of day," Ava said sternly, her Hispanic accent becoming more prominent as her words became more forceful. She usually didn't speak with much of an accent at all but when she became upset, she found it just naturally came out.
"Like who? The chubby chasers? Or the ones who are solely obsessed with my tits?" Shae slumped into the couch, already feeling bad for the way she spoke to Ava. "I'm sorry, it's just that sometimes it would be nice to meet a guy who just liked me for me."
Ava's tone softened, "And you will. One day some guy is going to sweep you off your feet, I just hope you see him coming and don't assume he's some guy looking for something else."
Shae giggled, "I highly doubt he could sweep me off my feet, I'm too heavy for that."
Ava stuck out her tongue, "You know what I mean." She put her laptop on the floor and sat up, "Look, you're gorgeous but you need to see that. You've got these amazing eyes and blond hair that I know drive guys wild, and yea, you got big tits, something I wish I had a bit more of. But you got this amazing personality. I know you had several guys hurt you but you can't judge them all from the actions of those creeps."
Shae grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly. "I'm just afraid the next guy will end up to be just like Mike."
"Oh screw Mike, he was a bastard who didn't know what he had."
"He knew what he had, but I wasn't good enough. Kept wanting me to change for him."
Ava looked at her friend, "Look, the right guy is there, just have to be open to seeing him.
Shae pondered the words, maybe Ava was right. She wouldn't change how she dressed or acted, but she'd be open to keeping her eyes peeled.
***
Ryan Weaver walked into the mall to try and escape the overbearing heat that the midsummer months had brought. The immediate effects of the mall's air conditioning made him feel faint for the briefest of moments as the sudden temperature change caught him off guard. His tall lean body was dressed simply, a plain black shirt, khaki shorts and a pair of well worn sneakers. He peered through black rimmed glasses as he walked through the mall, unsure of where he was going. He turned down one corridor and saw a sign that said "Help" on it and walked towards it. As he approached he saw a young woman sitting behind the desk, her golden blond hair glowing beneath the bright lights.
As he approached he was caught off guard by a pair of piercing green eyes. He saw her makeup was light and simple, highlighting her features instead of covering them like he had seen so many other girls do. Her skin was flawless and he found himself immediately drawn to her.
"Hello," Shae said in a friendly voice.
"Uh, hi, uhm, I was wondering if you could tell me where 'GNC' was?"
Shae stood up and pulled up a paper map of the mall, pointing to where they were in relation, then showed the man how to get to the place he was looking for. She looked at him and saw that he was thin, lightly muscled and had the darkest brown eyes she had remembered seeing in a long while. "You alright?"
"Huh?" Ryan felt fine and realized he had been caught staring at this woman. He thought quickly, "Oh uh I suppose just coming in from the heat made me a little light headed."
Shae pointed to the water fountain on the opposite end of the room, "Help yourself."
