Beauty (6 page)

They were taking pictures! I realized as I heard the quiet click of a camera shudder, both of them giving each other high fives as they exchanged phones. A guy on my left was blatantly staring, his eyes glued to my braless breasts.

Next up…Walmart.

“
Like moths to a
flame…” a voice behind me murmured, warm breath tickling my
bare shoulder
s
.

I turned slightly, my breath holding a
s I met a set of beautiful sky blue
eyes. He was almost a head taller than I was…which was tall. I was 5’8’’ bare foot and yet the top of my head only came just past his shoulder
s. Broad hips
shifted slightly, and I noticed the nat
ural flex of muscles in his
arms, my gaze traveling lower
to his tanned legs.

“
E
…excuse me,” I whispered, my mouth suddenly dry as I looked back up a him, heat filling my cheeks.

Without a mirror as my guide, it was hard to remind myself that I was beautiful, skinny Evelyn now. My mind
was still reacting as if I were fat
.

“I’m Jeremy…” he introduced himself, shifting his stack of books from one arm to the other before extending his right hand to me.

“I’m…” I paused, hating for the millionth time in my life that my mother had named me Evelyn.
It sounded so old…and…fat!
“Eve…” I forced out, the corner of my mouth pulling into a Voila kind of smile as my tongue tested the nickname for the first time.

“Eve…” he repeated after me, a look of surprise in his features for an instant when he took the
fingers I offered. “Pleasure is mine,” he laughed, brushing his lips across three of my knuckles in a kiss.

Ho-ly Shit!

“Jeremy, as in Jeremy ‘JBird’ Fuller… You’re the point guard for Alabama State…NBA bound…Olympic hopeful…”

“Whoah…yeah…that’s me…” he grinned and I almost swooned.

Did people still swoon?

“I’m sorry…I just did…well I mean…my friend just did an article on your rise to ‘fame’ here at ASU and I was just surprised to see you here and in person. She mentioned an interview with you…”

My words trailed off as the nasty memory pulled forth. A few months back,
I
had
done an article on Jeremy ‘JBird’ Fuller, ASU’s star point guard, but he’d never shown up for the
interview. Well actually he had…kind of…
I’d waited in the student union library, at table number fourteen. The one I’d reserved two months prior to the article being due. I
’d
watched him walk into the library, ask the blonde haired receptionist for directions and then head my w
ay. I turned away when his eyes found
me, already knowing that he wouldn’t stay. Disgust was all over his face when he finally made his way over, never looking at me directly when he mumbled some excuse about an extra practice
the coach had called
. I’d al
ready known the truth. He hadn’t
want
ed to be seen with a
girl
as fat as me
. How shallow…

“Yeah…I guess I kind of remember that…” he shrugged, moving one step forward in the line when I did.

He didn’t recognize me…

Now that I was skinny and beautiful, I wanted to laugh in his face. Point to my body and tell him: “In your dreams buddy!”

“So…you’re still on campus. You got plans tonight…?”

“Nope,” I smiled sweetly, tos
sing my hair so that it fell
over one shoulder.

Here was my chance…

“I would love to hang out with you some more…get to know you maybe…” he proposed, his hand pushing back through the dark brown waves on his head.

God he wa
s gorgeous. His
hair looked silkier than any girl’s I’d ever seen
. What I wouldn’t give to replace his hand with mine and feel the texture for myself.
He was waiting for my answer, following as I moved another step up in line.

“That sounds…okay,” I whispered, wanting to smack myself for not giving him a piece of my mind.

“So tonight then…there’s a party…”

Oh no
…
A party… I can’t dance…

“Um…not so sure about the party scene…” I stalled, trying to think of something else we could do together.

“It’s not going to
be a lot of people. A few students
at my place actually… More like a get together…” he shrugged, motioning to the free cashier waving for the next person in line.

“Where…? What time?” I asked, backing my way to the counter, my new ASU sandals clutched to my chest.

“I live off campus…”

Right… Senior and all that… I couldn’t pull up driving my raggedy old Jetta. Wait…who was I trying to impress…!
?

“I’ll pick you up…
W
hich dorm?” he smiled as another register opened up, the students in line behind him now murmuring complaints at us holding up the line.

“Foxwood…it’s over by…”

“I know where
it is,” he interrupted, throwing me a wink as he started for the next open register.

“Ten…?!” I tried to call as casually as possible, my flip flops now on my feet
.

“Perfect…”

He smiled that wide boyish grin
of his
, and I think I actually did swoon this time. My knees felt wobbly as I exited the bookstore, darting off to the freshman student parking lot before he could see which way I went. I was going to my first party ever!
A college party…holy shit!

**********

I’d already requested to be placed in the same dorm suite I was in now, but
things had changed since then. B
eing in my room was almost unmanageable now. I had a new body, but I certainly didn’
t have a new memory
. The second I opened the door
–after being away all day today-dread sunk through me, my eyes automatically going to the fresh comforter I’d put on the bed before leaving. The evidence was gone, but I could still hear my own screams…feel the embarrassment, and feel the weight of Brice
pinning me down
.

Reporting the rape was out of the question. Brice Honeycutt was not the type of guy you went up against. Silver spoon fed, all American blue blood ran through his veins so thick that two of the founders of ASU had been related to him in some way. I’d heard June brag about it a few times, mentioning that Brice’s dad had gotten more than one student kicked out of the school for messing with his son. No…as much as I would have loved to have a reason to leave this place
before
, I suddenly had a new outlook on the whole college experience
thing
. Starting tonight…
Evelyn was dead. Eve was the new me, and she had some major catching up to do.

The little black dress I’d left hanging on the closet door was waiting for me after I’d unpacked the six pair of shoes I bought
earlier in the day. I pulled my new
black stilettos free from their little pink box, admiring the four inch heel
s for a moment before setting them on the floor just under the dress. I’d never walked in heels before in my life, but I’d seen tons of girls here wear them on a daily basis. Surely it couldn’t be that hard…

It took forty five minutes longer than usual to get through my shower this time. Who ever thought that shaving down there was a good idea was insane. I’d been so scared of cutting myself that I’d skipped over half the hair on my first pass. Three more passes and my crotch tingled in protest, bare and exposed even under the tiny sheer white panties I’d bought to match the push up bra I wore now. A quick look at the clock and I saw it was already 9:30 p.m. The dress went on next and then the shoes, my body covered in a body shimmer I’d had for years –a gift from one of my aunts. Fat people didn’t wear body shimmer…it drew too much attention to the
flubby skin we
were trying to hid
e
. Adding a smattering of sparkle to that would have been disast
rous at three hundred and fifty-three pounds. At one hundred and
twelve pounds I looked like I had a glow about me
.

I’d pushed my hair back into a loose
braid
that I wrapped into a bun, pinning shorter layers on top of my head with a thin silver headband. A few swipes of black polish on my nails and toes, and I was almost ready.
If only June were here…

I looked in confusion at the five different types of
make-up
I’d purchased
, hoping that one of them had directions printed on the side. No such luck…

You Tube hadn’t failed me yet. Makeup in hand I
hobbled over to my bed, placing
my laptop and my new hand held mirror in front of me. Two searches and I found what I was looking for: Quick and easy natural looking make-up. It
was simple
enough to follow the directions, my tiny fingers nimble at getting the black liner just so around my eyes. Midnight black eye shadow transformed my face into something I’d only seen in magazines or
on
pretty girls. Sexy…alluring…I blinked at the finished work in surprise. I couldn’t believe that this was
the new
me…
Eve…

**********

I loved nighttime because
of the shadows it brought. Before, it would have given me something to hide within, now it complimented my beauty.

Riding in the passenger seat of Jeremy’s car
, everything just seemed better. The stars were brighter, the moon was bigger, I felt like a million bucks, and I was with one of the most eligible bachelors on campus. He couldn’t stop looking at me, and I couldn’t stop smiling. I was severely overdressed compared to the jeans and collar shirt he wore, but he didn’t
make me feel that way. He’d seen
me waiting for him
outside
in front of my dorm, stopped at the cur
b and stared
for a full thirt
y seconds before getting out to
open my door. There was no hiding the continuous blush that
seemed to fill my entire body, even now as we pulled into his apartment complex.

My spirits suddenly sank at the crowd of student
s milling about on the sidewalk
, stairs, and balconies.

“A little get together…” I mus
ed out loud, clutching my hands tightly in my lap to
hide
the sudden nervousness
I felt
.

He caught the irritation in my tone right away and grabbed my hand as soon as he parked the car.

“I’m not the only one having a party. You’re not gonna bail on me are you?” he asked, his hand slipping from
over
mine to my exposed
thighs.

I suddenly felt intoxicated, my head instantly fuzzy as his fingers trailed their way upward to the hem of my dress. I’d never been turned on
or pursued
by a guy, so I wasn’t sure if this was how it was supposed to go, but I felt myself leaning ever so slightly into the seeking kiss he planted on my mouth. Warmth enveloped my face and I moaned just a little. It gave him the opening to slip his tongue past my lips and suddenly my nerve endings were bursting. Wetness pooled in the crotch of my panties, my skin was abuzz with goose bumps that seemed to multiply by the thousands, and my hands were suddenly
slipping
in
to
his hair
,
caressing those silky waves. The kiss grew more aggressive, his teeth nicking my lower lip and then pulling me into him. Panic started when I felt his hands close around the back of my head, cupping my neck.

I was still in the car with Jeremy, but
without even consciously thinking it
,
my mind placed me
back in my room, fat and pinned down by Brice. I pushed against Jeremy’s chest, protesting when his hand
s
slipped lower to squeeze
both
my breasts. A hard knock sounded on the driver’s side window just as his kisses trailed from my lips to my neck. It was Brice’s voice I heard whispering in my ear, but Jeremy’s words.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

I blinked fast to keep the tears from falling, my body recoiling against the door when he released me, a lopsided grin on his face.

“More of that later…” he promised, oblivious to the fact that I’d just flashed back to being raped only twenty-four hours ago.

I wanted to run for it now, back to the safety of my room, and away from what he expected of me, but I followed, my legs stiff as I exited the car.
It took everything in me
not to mental
ly curse Brice for doing this to me
. Just when I had a chance to be with a guy or even fall in love like every other pretty girl out there, I was trapped remembering one more awf
ul thing that had happened in my life
.