Chapter 7

"Uh..." Camryn looked apprehensive about sharing but did so anyway. "I uh... I guess the short story is, I put on some weight, and he didn't like it." Camryn bashfully admitted. "Just some winter weight after the holidays. I found the Freshman 15 later than everyone else. Drake told me to lose it or find a new boyfriend."

"Seriously? He threatened to dump you for putting on 15 pounds?" I asked. I'd always known Drake was a f*cking asshole, so the scenario Camryn was laying out didn't shock me. Yeah, sure, a girl gaining 15 pounds was always a bit of a red flag, and I thought Camryn's body was perfection back when I'd spent time with her, but getting mad about 15 pounds on a goddess seemed like an overreaction. "That's so dumb!" I added.

"Yeah, seriously." Camryn continued. "After Drake gave me that ultimatum, I was stressed, unintentionally put on ten more pounds instead of losing the weight, and so he dumped me."

"That sucks." I sympathized. "Sorry to hear it didn't end well."

"It's fine. I bet if Drake knew what I looked like now, he'd really feel like he dodged a bullet." Camryn quickly said, looking away and blushing after saying that.

I couldn't help but agree with Camryn's assessment but wasn't about to pile on and say that out loud, given it seemed like a somewhat sensitive topic. If I had been in Drake's shoes, I'd have felt like I dodged more than a bullet, but a landline, getting out of that relationship before Camryn's body had morphed into something this bad. Instead, I continued to offer Camryn comforting words. "Drake was never very nice to anyone. Especially women."

"No, he wasn't." Camryn agreed. "Especially not fat women. Drake was always a fat-phobic asshole and got pretty mean to me towards the end of our relationship. Probably a good thing he dumped me. Could you imagine what he would say to me now?" Camryn looked surprisingly afraid at even thinking about the imaginary scenario as she awkwardly squirmed and slightly shuddered.

"I'd imagine he wouldn't say anything nice... but he was never a nice guy, Camryn." I offered. Camryn seemed to bust out of whatever funk she'd talked herself into and stared intently at me. "Listen, I didn't want to say anything while you were together... but Drake f*cking sucked. You're the one who dodged a bullet not being in that relationship anymore." I said somewhat honestly. Drake and Camryn, as a couple, had never made sense to me, and despite Camryn's significant weight issue, she was far too nice of a girl to be with someone like him.

"Thanks, that's sweet of you to say." Camryn smiled warmly at me, showing me that beautifully affectionate toothy smile that oddly still was able to charm me. Loosening her smile, Camryn paused before talking again. "After Drake and I split up...I... I honestly thought I would've heard from you... given I was single again." Camryn was looking into my eyes intently and gave a few playful pivots to her hips.

"Whys that?" I asked, a little distracted by her deep green eyes. It was a surprise for me to hear her say something like that. This was the first time I'd ever heard anything from Camryn that hinted towards romantic possibility (if I was reading her right).

"Because..." Camryn rolled her eyes. "You had the biggest crush on me Freshman year! Duh!"

I gave a wry smile, surprisingly feeling bashful that she'd known the whole time. "Was it that obvious?" I asked.

"Oh, so obvious! You were not subtle in the slightest." Camryn laughed.

I found myself chuckling along with her. "Damn, I thought I was being sly. Though, I think my game has improved since then, haha."

"I'm sure it has. And that's not the only thing." Camryn's tone of voice changed as her eyes traveled from my arms to my chest. "Working out, I see."

"Oh yeah.. just a bit." I said, feeling flattered and instinctively puffing out my chest.

"No, It shows. You look good. Really good." Camryn said in a flirty voice I'd never heard her use towards me. I could tell by the way Camryn was looking me over she liked what she saw, making me realize that she was attracted to me. What terrible timing.

"Thanks. Didn't think I'd become the guy that takes too much pride in his body." A true statement. I actively avoided becoming one of those roided-up guys that made their life at the gym their entire identity. Sure, I got a lot of satisfaction in increasing my reps in the gym without letting myself get too muscular and bulky, but I wasn't about to go over the line and become a meathead.

To say it was surreal to be hearing flirtatious remarks from my college crush was an understatement. I still remember going to the gym my Freshman year and thinking of Camryn while I pushed myself on the bench press, imagining somehow winning her over if I did one more rep. That oddly motivating fantasy played out less in my head these days, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't still think of it from time to time while working out. She was good motivation, and it seemed as if, at the end of the day, my hard work had caught her attention. Obviously, it was unfortunate that Camryn had gotten too heavy to catch my attention, and the one-way traffic of attraction remained ironically intact, as always, between Camryn and myself.

"That's great. It suits you." Camryn said, checking out my body in the same way I used to check her out (though I felt like I was much more subtle). Then Camryn frowned and gave her undersized top a slight fruitless tug. "At least one of us is still trying to stay in shape."

"It's never too late to get back into fitness, Camryn." I said, seizing on the moment. Clearly, Camryn had a high mountain to climb when it came to starting her weight loss journey, but I couldn't help but be selfishly motivated to get her to try to lose weight. A person like Camryn didn't deserve to look like this. "I know if you really put your mind to it, you could shed some pounds!"

My enthusiastic support was not received in the way I'd intended. Camryn scowled, and I saw she didn't take my comments very well. "Uggg, really? You're starting to sound like my ex."

I was taken aback and found myself trying to backpedal. "I'm not trying to sound like... I'm just..."

Camryn's frown broke into a smile so quickly I knew she'd just been pulling my leg. "It's fine; I'm just teasing you." She said playfully. Then she brushed a bit of stray hair behind her ear and looked at me with her trademark beautiful eyes. "I always thought you were pretty cute, ya know."

"You did?" I asked, still finding it surreal to hear her say that. Had I misread things between Camryn and me during our freshman year?

"Oh, totally." Camryn nodded. "If I hadn't been dating my boyfriend, I think I would've given you a shot if you asked me out."

I couldn't believe I was hearing what I was hearing. "Damn, sounds like a missed opportunity." Every part of me felt like an idiot for not trying harder our Freshman year, knowing I may have had a shot with the hottest girl on campus (at the time).

Just then, I felt a raindrop hit my arm and then another, the pace of the rain quickly escalating. Camryn seemed to notice as well, putting her free hand over her head to try and shield herself.

"Ummm.." Camryn looked away, considering her next question."Do you want to get out of the rain? My place is right around the corner. Maybe you can come over for some tea and wait out the rain there? And we can catch up a bit more, too." She looked intently into my eyes in a way that I knew she wanted to talk to me more.

I couldn't say no. Not to those eyes. It was Camryn, after all, and my place was a much further walk than 'around the corner.' and the rain was starting to pick up more. "Uhh.... sure. Why not." Fat or not, those eyes found a way to melt me. However, I had no intention of doing anything other than sipping tea and catching up with Camryn while I waited for the nighttime spring shower to end. I wish I could say I was going back to Camryn's apartment for something more, but Camryn just wasn't my type anymore, and I could only really see her as a friend.