Fat Chances Read Free

room. All of the other ladies were standing around talking and drinking from their water bottles. Some of them were gazing at Cory. Now I understood why so many women came here to exercise. It wasn’t to get in shape, but to ogle over the hot Zumba instructor.
    I walked over to the mirror and gasped in horror. I knew that my face was flushed with sweat, but not like this. It was beat red, like I was ready to have a heat stroke. I quickly splashed cold water on my face, trying to cool myself down, knowing I couldn’t go back out there, not when my face looked like a ripe tomato. Tears pricked my eyes as I sat down in one of the stalls to go to the bathroom. I hated Molly and I hated myself even more for agreeing to come here. The music started up again, just as I was pulling up my capris. I needed to get out of here, so I walked to the other end of the bathroom to see if there was another exit. No! Shit! The only way that I could leave here was to walk back out into the gymnasium where everyone was exercising again. Where Cory would see my tomato face again.
    I stood against the wall, beside the bathroom door and peeked to see if anyone was looking. The exit door was about fifteen feet away. My heart beat erratically as I tried to think of a way to escape, but with this fat body, I knew I wasn’t going to go unnoticed. Either way, I was going to look like a fool running through the gym.
    I could hear Cory yelling something over the loud music, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, contemplating my great escape.
    “Annie! Are you okay?” I gasped when I heard Cory’s voice just outside the door. I quickly took a few steps back so that he wouldn’t see me standing just inside the door.
    Clearing my throat, I replied, “Uh … yeah, I’m just a little lightheaded.” I spoke truthfully. I was feeling lightheaded … earlier.
    I opened my eyes and nearly choked when I saw him standing before me. Then he grabbed my shoulders, looking down at me.
    “You’re not sick are you? Do you feel like you’re going to pass out?” he asked, then grabbed my arm and placed his fingers over my wrist to check my pulse with worry in his dark eyes.
    “Uh … no … I just need to cool down,” I whispered, then bowed my head down to stare at the floor, not wanting him to see my sweaty, red face. Suddenly, it felt like shock waves ripping through my body when he gently placed his fingers under my chin and lifted my head so that I had to look at him. Then he stared into my eyes for a moment, as if he was examining them. I could barely breathe as I kept my back tight against the cold brick wall.
    “Come with me,” he ordered, and before I could object, he quickly grabbed my towel and water bottle and pulled me alongside him. We both walked quickly out of the restroom toward the exit doors and I sighed in relief when we walked outside. The cold winter air felt like heaven against my overheated body.
    “Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard tonight,” he apologized.
    I sucked in a sharp breath. “What? No! It’s not your fault that I’m not in good enough physical shape to handle a little Zumba class. In case you haven’t noticed … I’m fat. Fat girls tend to get out of breath easier than skinny girls,” I admitted sheepishly. Why the hell did I just say that? I could feel my cheeks grow flush from embarrassment.
    “Annie, you’re not fat, just pleasingly plump,” he said, flashing another gorgeous smile.
    “Oh, Shut up!” I hated this guy. One minute he seemed genuinely sweet and the next minute he would say something so fricking stupid that it pissed me off.
    “What? What did I say?” he asked, bewildered.
    “Do you need glasses? You worry about your muscles and your tan so that you look good for the ladies, but you don’t take care of your eyes. Go get an eye exam, will you?” I snapped, grabbing my towel and bottle from his hands, then walked toward my