"Oops, sorry" the tall man stated as he entered the room; before him was the best arse he had ever laid eyes on. The short woman was bent over rummaging in a bag at her feet but turned slightly to look behind her and caught him staring at her butt. "Sorry I thought the room was empty" he blustered as he recognised the shimmering green dress from the support act he had recently witnessed "Casey McQuillen, isn't it? I'll come back when you've finished. I didn't mean to disturb you."
He began to retreat from the room but was stopped by the woman "Yes, it is, what are you after?" she enquired. She had now stood up straight and turned to face him with her fists balled on her hips. His eyes went straight for her tits, 'Typical man' she thought.
Eventually, his gaze worked up to her face and he looked suitably abashed "Sorry, wow, I mean seriously wow. I saw you from the side of the stage but close up. Just Wow. Errr I came to collect a transport case but it must be elsewhere. Loved your performance, by the way, that's some voice you have there." She noticed he was wearing the same lanyard she was required to wear backstage and therefore assumed he was part of the venue's crew as she hadn't seen him before at other venues and therefore probably not part of the main acts crew.
He stood a good six feet tall, maybe a couple of years older than her and obviously worked out if his biceps bulging from his T-shirt sleeves was anything to go by. "Are you part of the stage crew?" she asked.
"I am," he said as he bowed slightly. Oh, how she liked his clipped British accent "Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.
Casey hefted a large black hold-all and replied, "Actually yes, I need to get this on the main tour bus but after two months of continual touring it's starting to get a pain." The reality was that she invariably found someone to heft it and now seemed just such an occasion.
"I'd be more than happy to help a damsel in distress" he responded with a wide smile.
'Oh yes, I could definitely go for that accent. She hardly heard it in Brooklyn where she lived and certainly not in Andover, Massachusetts where she grew up.' It was at this point she caught him giving her chest a cheeky once over and so she pointedly asked, "Have you seen enough?" as she hefted a breast in her free hand.
The man held up his hands defensively "Sorry I didn't mean to stare and I know I've said it before... but wow. I don't want to get all creepy on you but you looked amazing jumping around on stage but now, close up -- truly amazing. Judging from your lyrics on 'Hold On' I feel I ought to apologise for the behaviour of some of my gender, let me assure you we are not all complete bastards. For the record though, when you wrote your song 'Skinny' you neglected to mention that actually there are some of us guys who like a woman that we can get a hold of." He paused for a moment before finishing with "That has really got into creepy territory now and someone as talented as you should be noted for her phenomenal voice and songwriting talent rather than that fabulous arse of yours. I'll get this deposited safe and sound on the truck, did you need anything else you need taking?" as he reached for the bag.
"Those two guitar cases if you don't mind. I have my other bag but haven't finished yet if you would like to return and pay me some more compliments and make me feel better about my size" Casey pointed to the corner of the room.
The man smiled, bowed slightly picked them up with ease and replied "It would be my pleasure" before disappearing out the door.
He was back knocking on the door less than ten minutes later "Come in" she announced keen to continue their earlier conversation. He stepped over the threshold and quickly scanned her chest once more before making eye contact. Casey began with "I'm intrigued by your comments about men liking the larger lady. Care to elaborate, sorry I didn't get your name?"
The man winced but held up his access badge "Sam. Look I'm sorry, I imagine someone as pretty as you gets hit on every time you turn a corner and I'd rather your experiences of my homeland be a pleasant one and not remembered for some random stagehand perving over you."
"Well Sam, it's a pleasure to meet you, but I really would like to know more. I used to get hit on regularly before the lockdown but since I put the extra weight on it's as though I'm a different person. I rarely get hit on and so it makes a pleasant change to have someone talk so openly, especially in such glowing terms." Casey stated hoping that would be enough to have him pitch a man's side of the equation; she was after all always on the lookout for new material to write about.
Sam shook his head and responded "I despair of my fellow man. You see these images with duck pouts, they are a complete turn off in my humble opinion, the whole fake lashes, fake hair and fake Botox look. No thank you, give me a real woman any day. God that sounds so chauvinistic to a woman who empowers others through her song lyrics -- a stance I fully approve of I should state so you know I'm not a complete asshole."