chapter 1

“”"Her hand trailed down his sculptured chest feeling every tensing muscle beneath his sun kissed skin. Olivia found herself swimming in his olive green eyes as his strong calloused hands pulled her against his taught abdominals...””

“Uhgg!” Robin exclaimed pushing herself away from her glowing lap top screen curling her legs up to her chest in her uncomfortable desk chair. “What am I doing Oliver?” she asks glancing over at her paunchy orange cat for whom her heroine is named. This wasn’t exactly the future she’d imagined for herself when she’d graduated with her masters degree in English literature. She hadn’t anticipated making waves in the literary world, she wasn’t that expectant of herself but she had imagined something a little more than this.

She had written herself into a corner, she was 27 at the time, fresh out of her masters program and in need of money after dozens of rejection letters for her book of poetry and when a friend suggested she write a romance novel, the paperback kind middle aged women pick up in an airport, as a means to an end she jumped on it quickly. It had taken her six weeks to write Stolen Glances, it was simple, tongue in cheek and full of tropes and conventionally attractive protagonists. She hadn’t expected the response at all, it was snapped up immediately and within a year it was on shelves and a hit with the target demographic. She should have been thrilled, of course she was when the money started coming in and a deal was drafted for 3 more books to complete a series but she felt trapped now writing stories she wasn't passionate about not like her “hobby” writing.

She logged into fantasyfeeder and browsed her latest post reading feedback from readers and responding to some of the enthusiastic replies. She sighed, “Now this is more in my wheelhouse.” she said as she scanned the lines of one of her favorite stories, she was always drawn to this kind of story. The kind where the weight gain is gradual at first, the ‘victim’ hardly notices at first as his partner sneaks higher calorie alternatives into his diet and the affects start to take hold until its too late and his palate has changed completely, he's asking for more on his own and at times seeking more food out on his own. This was her greatest fantasy, what she wished she could actually commit to on the page and in life.

Robin startled slightly as a knock on her bedroom door broke her fantasy, “Robin, I’m headed out.” came her roommates voice as she slowly opened the door. Her roommate Charlotte was beautiful and outgoing with an infectious bubbly personality. She was almost the complete opposite of Robin who was tall for a woman at 5’10 with a thin yet feminine athletic frame, Charlotte was almost 6 inches shorter and pleasantly plump with gently swelling hips and a small pooch of a belly.

They had been childhood friends until Robin’s father had been relocated to West Virginia for work and they were parted until they met again in undergrad and had stuck with one another since. She was also a writer but of a different sort. She was an investigative journalist and was off on another assignment that would take her away from their small shared apartment in the city for six months. “Thanks again for being so cool with Harry staying in my room while I’m gone. I promise he’ll be out as soon as I’m back.”
“Don’t even worry about it.” Robin says with a smile, she had truthfully almost forgotten that Harry would be here tomorrow. She barely remembered Harrison, Charlotte’s older brother, from childhood. What she did remember wasn’t especially pleasant. He’d been a menace in those days, three years older and hellbent on ruining their every tea party with a freckle faced grin and some creepy crawly bug in hand ready to be thrown in an unsuspecting 10 year old girl’s hair. “I’m sure we’ll make it work.”

From what Charlotte had mentioned Harrison had gotten out of relationship a few weeks ago and had needed a ‘change of pace’. From what she was told he was taking advantage of his sister’s absence and moving in to get a taste of the city. Charlotte had promised that after Robin picked him up from the airport tomorrow they would hardly interact. Harrison would work from home as a freelance financial planner during the day but would likely be out fairly often as well as he had several big clients that lived in the city and it would be an opportunity to “schmooze” as Charlotte had put it. Robin had agreed if only because she loved her friend and another person in the apartment, no matter how distant, would make her feel a little less alone.

Robin shifted uncomfortably in the lobby of the airport, ‘I should have brought a sign’ she thought to herself as she waited awkwardly for Harrison to arrive. She doubted he would remember her, their time together as children had been as adversaries, his kid sister’s best friend what could there have been to remember. She sighed looking at her watch, he should be deplaning now perhaps she would recognize him. She searched her memories for a composite of Harrison Grady, at 13 he had been tall and freckle faced with a crooked grin and pale blue eyes and although at 13 he still carried a bit of puppy she had always thought him handsome in the way 10 year old girls pine over 13 year old boys. There were many chubby men that walked past her but none auburn haired and freckled like she remembered him.

“Robin? Robin Kline?” a smooth deep voice asked disrupting her thoughts, she turned to face the voiced and raised an eyebrow, “It’s me, Harry.” the man said but he was hardly as she remembered him. He was still tall easily 6’4 as he towered even over her and still freckled but a sharp jaw line had been carved from formerly chubby cheeks and an early swatch of grey tinged the sharply combed hair on the sides of his head. He was undeniably handsome, a charming crooked grin and smartly dressed but he was clearly not the chubby boy she had crushed on so long ago.

“Uh- yeah, yes.” she stammered, “sorry, I must had missed you in the crowd.”

“Distracted by your fame?” he joked motioning a woman thumbing through Stolen Glances at the kiosk near them. She felt herself blush slightly, she didn’t think he would know about that but of course it made sense that Charlotte had probably mentioned it to him.

“N-no, honestly I just didn’t recognize you.” she admitted, “You’re not exactly 13 anymore.”

"No, definitely not." He laughed, "And thank God for that. Lost the baby weight, got braces and I got a good haircut. You've barely changed at all though. You're almost exactly like I remember you." he says a distant familiar smile creeping on his face. "Definitely not 10 though, thank God for that too."

She blushes and thinks better than to say anything further, it feels like he's trying to flirt with her but that seems like a pipe dream hold over of a little girl's crush. She awkwardly leads the way instead to the luggage carousel and stands back and away as he retrieves his belongings and they make their way to the parking ramp where she parked her silver Ford Fusion.

(Author's note: This is the first time in a long time that I've written a story. I wrote a version of this a few years ago but I've lost the original and it seems to be lost to time here so I've decided to revisit the concept. I appreciate any feedback and all your patience as I shake off some of the dust. Thank you. )