Author's note: A big thank you to all my fans.
*****
I was looking forward to the weekend. It had been a hard week at school. Finals week was hard enough, but in the middle of the week I caught my boyfriend Roy making out with another girl. I decided to meet him after one of his finals and as I headed to the building I saw him pressed up against some chick. I was angry, very angry.
I walked up behind him, "Having fun?"
He spun so fast he knocked the chick to the ground.
"Michelle," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"Well," I replied. "I was coming to surprise you, but I guess you surprised me. Asshole." I turned and walked away.
"Wait, Michelle," he yelled as I walked away.
As I left I heard the girl yelling at him, "You fucking asshole. You have a girlfriend?"
I didn't turn around. I just kept walking. I was mad, I was hurt, and I was crying. It was time to leave school and head home. I couldn't wait. I had two more finals and then I was done.
My boyfriend called like 20 times the next day, ex, boyfriend. He tried to catch up with me. Once walking through campus he grabbed my arm. I pulled away and told him next time he touched me I'd call the cops. The calls stopped after that.
I struggled through my last two finals trying to focus on that and not Roy. I'd finally finished and was on my way home for the summer. I knew mom and dad were gone for two weeks. They had planned a vacation. Initially I was going to visit with Roy and his family and then head home but now that that was out but they'd still had plans.
My brother Barry was going to be home. His college break started a week before. At 19 he was a year older than me. He was a great guy and a great brother. I was kind of glad he'd be there. He'd be sympathetic about Roy.
The drive home was four hours. Not bad but still boring. It gave me time to think about Roy and me. I met Roy my first week at school. He was handsome and confident. Within a month we were dating. By six weeks I was no longer a virgin. He could be a bit arrogant. Thinking more about it, I realized there were times he was missing when he shouldn't have been. Could he have been seeing someone else then?
Then there was the self doubt. Was she prettier than me? I knew I was cute. Everyone said so. At 5'2", 130lbs, I wasn't a skinny minnie, but I looked nice in jeans. With my brown hair in a pixie cut people would say I looked like some kind of fairy. I spent the drive home between seething mad and crying.
When I got home my brother's car was in the driveway and there was another car in front of the house. I wasn't in the mood to face anyone. I knew my eyes were red from crying. I snuffled up and tried to compose myself, then I went in.
The first thing I saw was my brother. He and a friend were playing a video game. He paused it and jumped up.
"Hey sis, I was wondering what time you'd get home."
He saw the bag I was carrying. He took it from me, put it on the floor and gave me a big hug. It felt good to be wrapped in the arms of someone who I knew loved me. I just leaned against him.
"Is there more stuff in the car?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Cool, let me help," he said.
As he headed out the door, his friend Jim stood up and said, "I'll help too."
I'd always liked Jim. He was Barry's best friend. In reality I liked all my brothers friends. Barry was a great guy and hung around with nice people. The two of them helped me bring all my stuff in.
It wasn't till we were done that Barry noticed my face.
"Have you been crying?" he asked with concern in his voice. Jim looked on with the same look of concern.
"I'm sorry," I said. Does it show?
"What happened?" Barry asked.
"It's stupid," I replied.
"If it made you cry, it's not stupid," he answered.
I took a deep breath. "I saw Roy kissing another girl," I said, and then burst into tears again.
Barry had never met Roy. He scooped me in his arms and hugged me. "I'm sorry sis," he said. "What an ass."
I leaned my head against his chest and cried. As I did he stroked my hair and told me the guy was crazy and that he didn't deserve me. I was comforted by his strong arms. Barry was 6' about 180. He hit the gym 2-3 times a week. He wasn't crazy but he had strong arms and a muscled chest. I felt protected.
Jim, for his part, also tried to comfort me with words.
"Geese, what a jerk. He has the perfect girl and he wants someone else? What kind of moron is he? It's like having the Mona Lisa and trading it in for dogs playing poker."
That made me laugh. I snuffled a bit more and said I was going upstairs to clean up and change. Barry kissed the top of my head and said, "Ok, we'll be here."
He walked me to the stairs. "Jim was going to spend the weekend, but if you'd rather he didn't we'd understand," he said quietly.
That was sweet, but I liked Jim. Jim and Barry had been friends forever and he was like another brother to me. Once, I was on a date and the guy was pushing too hard. I called Barry to come get me but Barry was too far away. Instead, Jim showed up in minutes. When I was younger Jim would help me with my homework. He was a great guy. Besides, I really didn't want to be alone so having company would be nice. I told my brother it was fine and headed up the stairs.
As I headed up the stairs Barry asked if I'd eaten. I told him I hadn't.
"Would you like anything?" he asked.
"Ice cream," I quipped, followed by "Whatever is ok with me." I continued upstairs.
I got to my room and sat on my bed. I wasn't really sad about losing Roy, I was more mad at myself for being fooled. I also again started worrying about if I was pretty. I started to cry again.
I started to undress. I pulled my top off and then my jeans. I stood in front of the mirror. I wasn't a skinny flat bellied, rib cage showing, girl. I was a 34c and size 5. I had curves, but i still doubted myself, I knew plenty of size 0s and 2s. I resolved to lose weight and run more than my current 2-3 times a week. I pulled off my bra and panties and now, mad at my body, climbed in the shower.
After my shower I pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a long loose tank top. I didn't bother with underwear. I finally headed downstairs. When I got there the boys were in the kitchen sitting at the table. They had chocolate ice cream, pizza, and diet soda. All my resolve from 10 minutes ago flew out the window. I kissed Barry on the head and said thank you.
"Hey," said Jim.
I laughed and walked over to him and kissed him on the head. "Better," I laughed.
"Well of course," he said. "A kiss from a pretty girl makes everything better."
That deserved another kiss. I placed one on his head and sat down to eat.
I took a slice of pizza. The great thing about Barry and Jim is there was no forced conversation. Everything flowed smoothly. We talked about Roy, about school, about my summer plans. The guys made me the center of attention and soon I'd forgotten all my troubles and was just happy to be home.
After we ate the guys cleaned up and asked me if I wanted to watch tv with them. I didn't want to interrupt their video game and told them so.
"We were almost done anyway," Jim said.
"Just cause I was kicking your ass," quipped Barry.
"Well, we'll never know now," laughed Jim.
We sat on the couch with me between them and snuggled into Barry. We picked a movie and settled in. Barry put his arm around my shoulder. I leaned my head on his shoulder. I felt safe and loved. We watched the movie.
After the movie I was exhausted and decided to head to bed. I thanked the guys for being so sweet and told them I'd see them in the morning.
They both responded with how nice it was to see me and that they were sorry I was going through what I was and said if I needed them to wake them.
I thanked them and headed to bed. I stripped off my yoga pants and climbed into bed. After 2 semesters of school there's always something comforting about being in your own bed. I thought a bit more about Roy. This time I was more angry than sad. As I started drifting off, my mind shifted to the pleasant thought of being cuddled and comforted in my brother's strong arms. I fell asleep.
I woke up about 2am and decided to go to the kitchen for some water. I headed down the stairs to the kitchen and got a glass out of the upper cabinet. I'm 5'2" so I had to stretch to reach them. I started pouring myself some water when I heard Jim.
"Everything OK?" he asked.
He startled me and I gave a small yelp. I'd forgotten he'd be sleeping on the couch.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed a drink," I responded.
I could now see his face. He was smiling at me. All of a sudden I realized that his head was low to the ground, I'd stretched to reach the glasses, and I wasn't wearing underwear.
I started to blush. I turned my head, looked at the cabinet, the. Looked back at him. I realized he must have seen my entire ass as I reached for a glass.