Curvy Girls Can’t Date Best Friends by Kelsie Stelting

Thirty-One

Callie

I got five texts at almost the same time as I lay in bed with my shower cap on, scrolling through social media. Franklin had nuzzled under my arm and was snoring away. That dog snored louder than my dad.

Carson: You have to check the news.

The next messages were from my friends.

Zara: Guys... Merritt’s dad’s being taken to jail.

Ginger: WHAT?

Jordan sent a screen shot of a news story saying Merritt’s dad had been caught for insider trading.

Zara: The feds froze all of his accounts. Even money that Ryde gave them is tied up.

My mouth was slack as I read the messages, and my heart immediately went to Merritt. She may have had a large network, but that just meant more people had access to her for judgement and shame.

Not sure what I was doing, I pulled up a new text message and entered in the contact information I still had from seventh grade. No matter how Merritt had treated me, she deserved to have at least one kind message reach her eyes.

Callie: Merritt, I’m so sorry about what happened. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.

I hit send and hesitated. When someone was going through a crisis, the last thing they needed was to make extra decisions, to feel more vulnerable by reaching out for help that might get turned down. I typed out another message and hit send.

Callie: We have an extra bedroom if you need a place to get away. I promise no one here will talk about what happened unless you want them to.

I knew Merritt probably wouldn’t see my message amongst the hundreds she was surely getting, much less act on it, but it was the best I could do before seeing her at work. If she would even be there.

I wouldn’t blame her for not showing up. I’d almost quit because one person I didn’t like would be there, but hundreds of thousands of people knew she worked there now, thanks to her posts on social media. I cringed and sent a text message to Lorelei.

Callie: Let me know what I need to do on Monday in case things get crazy with Merritt.

Within minutes, Lorelei messaged back.

Lorelei: I love your heart. I’ll let you know as soon as I do. <3

A new message came through on my Curvy Girl Club group chat.

Zara: That must have been the financial troubles she and Ryde were talking about.

Rory: Is it weird that I feel bad for her?

Ginger: No, but after what she did to you, we wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t feel bad.

Jordan: Exactly, caring makes you awesome.

My heart lifted. I loved these girls so much. Less than a year ago, Merritt had led our entire high school in throwing cupcakes at Rory during the homecoming game, and after it all, Rory was still kind enough to care for Merritt. Being friends with them was such a blessing.

Callie: I agree with Jordan. Hopefully it will all blow over soon.

Zara: Depends on who her dad screwed over.

The truth in that hit me. I hoped for Merritt’s sake it wouldn’t be too bad.

Another message came through, and even though I’d been expecting another one in the group chat, it came from Carson.

Carson: Meet me at our park?

My eyebrows drew together. What was he doing around here?

Callie: Even if I understood WHY you’re close to your dad’s house, I would still say no. I’m in my shower cap!

Carson: It’s an emergency.

I closed my eyes and groaned, making Franklin stir. He gave me a dirty look before walking to the end of my bed and lying down in a huff.

“I’m upset too,” I muttered. Nick and Joe were downstairs playing video games, and the last thing I needed was for Nick to get another view of me looking like a mixture of a rubber duck and a grandma.

Carson: Please?

With a sigh, I got out of bed and rummaged through my closet for a thin sweater. After pulling it over my head and lifting the hood to cover my shower cap as best as I could, I picked up Franklin’s leash and clipped it on his collar. I picked him up and started quietly down the stairs. Sometimes the guys got so into the zone they hardly noticed anything around them.

As I rounded the corner to the second set of stairs, I bumped into a hard body and looked up. My breath caught in my throat. “Nick?”

Franklin barked loudly at him before jumping from my arms and racing down the stairs.

Still, Nick didn’t back away. Instead, his lips lifted in a smirk. “Going somewhere?”

“Downstairs,” I breathed.

His gaze flicked from my eyes to my lips, making my heart hammer in my chest.

“What’s the hold-up—” my brother said from behind him, holding Franklin.

Nick stepped back on the landing, finally giving me space to breath. When Joe caught sight of me, he smirked as well. “Sneaking out to see your boyfriend?”

I glanced behind us toward Mom and Dad’s room and shushed him.

He rolled his eyes. “Have fun, lover girl.”

But my eyes weren’t on Joe; they were on Nick. The smirk had left his mouth, and his dark eyes were watching me intently.

“I’ll see you,” I breathed, mostly to Nick, but my brother said, “Use protection.”

That snapped me out of my trance just enough to grab Franklin and hit Joe’s arm before going the rest of the way downstairs. I slid the glass door open and set Franklin down. As I stepped into the cool evening air, I couldn’t help but think about Nick and how close he and I had stood to each other, the charge I’d felt in his gaze.

Once Franklin finished his first pee of the walk, I hurried to the park, excited to tell Carson. The second I saw him on the swing, I said, “Carson! You’re not going to believe this. Nick and I—”

“Callie!” He jumped out of the swing and wrapped me in a hug. “Guess who’s here.”

The urgency in his voice made sense as he turned to the side and showed me the girl hiding in the playground equipment.

“Gemma?” I cried while Franklin yapped frantically.

Carson picked him up, instantly quieting the dog while Gemma jogged over to us and gave me a hug. “Callie! Look at you. You are so beautiful! And grown up!”

Even though Gemma was only a few years older than us, she seemed so glamorous, like she had her whole life together. And she was absolutely gorgeous with an ample hourglass figure and clothes that made her look both sexy and polished. Not like me in my pajamas and shower cap with a scraggly, yapping dog.

“Look at yourself! You look amazing,” I said. I could see why Joe always had a hopeless crush on her. “What are you doing in town?”

She and Carson exchanged a dark look, and she answered, “I’m helping Dad pack up.”

Ice filled my stomach as I glanced from her to Carson. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I’m not the little girl I once was.”

Feeling reassured by her confidence, I gave her another hug. “I’m just happy you’re back. Carson has missed you and the others like crazy. How long are you in town?”

“Four days, but I want to get together with you and Carson. I have to know how he finally convinced you to date him. You know when you guys were twelve and you went to that party—”

Carson hooked his arm around her shoulders, ruffling her hair, and said, “That’s enough of that.” As Gemma shoved him off, he said, “I better get this one back to her hotel, but I’ll see you tomorrow, Cal.”

They began walking away, but I was still rooted to the spot. What had Gemma been about to tell me? I had to know.