I'm Edwina... but all of my friends call me Ed.
I've never been crazy for the nickname but it stuck to me when I was young, and now I just grin and bear it. Even better...
I own it.
Ed the Funny, Nerdy RedHead, the most noble of titles! I turned twenty-one over Spring and it couldn't feel any more liberating.
Ma has always been super supportive. She did her best as a single mom to make sure my siblings and I had everything we needed even if it wasn't always the best or newest things she could afford. She's a no-nonsense woman who works hard and takes no crap, and I think I got a lot of my personality from her. Ask her and she'll say we're nothing alike, because she could never be so sweet...
Anyways, Ma never told me she spent years saving up and penny pinching to make sure I started out right. She took care of tuition for my first year at Liberty University. It's a little community college with a big reputation for turning out underdogs who dominate the corporate world. Ma didn't even give me any crap when I told her I didn't want to look into Nursing or Business. I wanted to be a Writer. She smiled, nodded, handed me the check without a second thought and said, "That's my girl!"
It wasn't long at all before I was doing pretty well after leaving home. I skipped the campus dorm to move into a small apartment in walking distance with two other students. I landed my first job quickly by what felt like pure luck. To be honest, I totally lied on the application. I put in applications everywhere I could think of that happened to be hiring nearby my college. I never expected the
security job
out of all of them would call me back!
I work night shift security for a private, very secretive company that houses the most dangerous, high-tech and top-secret of items... oh, I'm kidding, though it
is
actually a warehouse. I would be the last person I would pick for security. I'm short, and otherwise highly unintimidating. My eyes and lips are too big for my face--my glasses don't help that, nor my little nose. I don't look like I could secure a damn thing.
The warehouse is mostly empty though. I was told it's really only here as a placeholder for... something--a new building or a shipment of metal, something that isn't ready yet. I think that's right? I can't remember exactly! The Supervisor didn't explain it too well, I was too busy focusing on the previous statement he made: 'Twenty-two dollars an hour'. I didn't really listen to anything he said about the warehouse after that.
On the overnight shift, the job of Security was to walk around to check all the dark shadowy spots, and keep the homeless people from sleeping in the loading dock behind the building. We are also tasked to keep the rowdy hormonal coeds from Liberty University from trying to sneak up on the roof. There's a bit of a fad at Lib-U, which is right across the street from the warehouse. It's kind of a tradition for the college kids to sneak up on the roof to get hot shots or videos with the school in the backdrop.
I met my new coworker the night I started... He's this amazing, gorgeous hunk of a guy who used to be in the Army. His name's Todd. Todd is tall, almost a full foot taller than I am. He could definitely be a model or movie-star. His hair is dark, and so are his eyes, and his complexion is flawlessly tanned--he's Latino, and not only is he gorgeous...
he's also the nicest man in the world.
My room-mates quickly began to refer to Todd as my "work husband". It's rare I didn't find a morning after work to talk about him when I got off and they got up. I mean, he could be my
real
husband if he wanted to--Todd is single-handedly the most amazing man I have ever met.
He's so smart, funny, and handsome... We had only been working together for a few months but if I'm going to be honest, I was one-hundred-percent in love with Todd. I always thought the love at first sight thing was kind of childish and overblown but when it actually happens, it really brings the world into perspective. Sure enough the very first night I met Todd I was smitten--head over heels in fairy-tale in love. I played it off and played it so cool, I don't think he noticed... but I
wanted
him to notice me so, so badly!
The longer Todd and I worked together, the more I grew to adore him. He's twenty-nine, so he's a bit older than I am. That sets off all these crazy sorts of impulses and desires, because it's not quite like a friendship with peers or others close to my age. I think all of his hot military background makes him even more mature than even most guys his age? I quickly realized that my insane attraction was very firmly seated in the lack of masculine presence throughout my life...
I had picked up a term from one of my wild child friends who had recently discovered a fondness for the BDSM lifestyle and was now in a happy D/s relationship with her long time much older boyfriend.
Daddy...
but not quite as in a platonic father figure. As in the hottest older stud prowling the streets, who could get any pretty young lady he told to bend over without a second thought, on sheer animal magnetism alone. Todd was so very
'Daddy.'
A quick Google search confirmed that
almost everything
attached to this particular kink sounded like it was right up my alley.
For the most part, Todd and I became such quick friends it was crazy. We went out for drinks when we weren't at work or out into the city to hang out. Hell, he even invited me over to game night with his family! It's hard to explain, but anytime I was around Todd, I didn't feel so pressed to hide behind being the funny, nerdy girl.
I'm a bit of a bigger girl, and I'm not super tall. I'm five foot two and to be honest I'm not exactly a whale or anything, I'm just a bit... plump, I guess? While lamenting about my weight to my roomies, Dustin chimed in, "You aren't even fat though, Ed... you're
thicc."
Thanks... I guess?
It was a weird compliment to get from one of my roomies who happened to be dating the other one. Rachel didn't seem to care or mind the off-handed compliment while I whined about my inability to stay away from pasta and non-dairy ice cream. I've always been pretty
'thicc'
, ever since I was little. I hated it, no matter how much I worked out or counted calories.
I've always had these shapely thunder thighs, this round bubble butt, and these gigantic breasts. I tamed the little pouch of my tummy down, my waist was never out of control and I really do love my hourglass figure. I just hate the "extra plushness" and the roundness of my face. Around Todd... I didn't feel like he paid attention to any of that. I was more than an adorable, goofy little beluga whale to him. I felt like I could just talk to him and be myself. I didn't have to hide behind self-degrading jokes that established my existence as the funniest chubby red-headed chick in the world.
So yep, that's me in a nutshell. But enough about that. You're probably wondering what I really mean to get to, with this little confessional... I guess we should probably start the night he caught me masturbating in the surveillance room, right?
------------
I had gotten sick at the beginning of the week. It was a nasty sort of head cold. The kind that put me down hard and confined me to my little room in my shared apartment. It could've been the Flu, but I'd never know; I couldn't exactly afford to go into a clinic.
I opted to spend a few days this week in bed instead. My awesome roomies were busy fucking in the public spaces of our apartment and trashing everything. They didn't pay me a bit of attention while I lay in bed dying...
but Todd did.
He called the morning after when I first called off sick. I guess I should've told him directly but I didn't want him to worry... knowing Todd, he might've dropped everything and came right away. Sure enough once he heard me croaking like a frog he came straight over after his shift. He was fully equipped with the finest OTCs money could buy and a total care package of cherry lozenges, chicken noodle soup and adult coloring books.
He came back the next day,
and the next,
manning the remote control to keep Netflix rolling for me while he kept me company. He probably would've brushed my hair and carried me to the bathroom if I asked him to. Before he headed off to cover the overnight shift, this valiant, heroic knight even took it upon himself to do the dishes. How could anyone be so perfect?
"You're looking a lot less like a zombie girl and more like a human today," Todd taunted as I made my way into the warehouse.
"I feel more like a human today, no thanks to you! I'd probably still be dying in bed if you hadn't come over this week... so thank you!" I said as I offered a sheepish grin.
"What're friends for? Besides, I needed you back quickly. It's been incredibly boring. I've actually managed to get some course work done without you here to distract me." He gave my shoulder a playful nudge with a solid fist. Sure enough, my face lit up like Christmas. Beet red.