Team Players

Chapter 1

I first laid eyes on Kailani during our first semester of college, but it took me weeks to even build up the courage to say hello.

I had just come out that fall—tentatively, quietly, to a few close friends. I still wasn’t entirely comfortable in my skin yet. I was still figuring myself out, but from the moment I saw Kailani in the dining hall, I felt something shift inside me. There was a magnetism about her that I couldn’t explain. She was loud, big, and unapologetically herself, laughing from deep in her belly as she wolfed down plate after plate of food alongside the rest of the women’s rugby team.

She fascinated me.

Her body was massive, even back then, especially for someone our age. She must have been pushing three hundred pounds at the start of the semester, but she moved like someone half her size. On the rugby field, she was fast, agile, ruthless. I watched her from the bleachers, stunned by the way she threw herself into tackles, how she shrugged opponents off like they were made of paper.

In the cafeteria, however, she was a spectacle of a different kind. While other girls nibbled on salads or picked at their food, Kailani would sit with three or four trays piled high—chicken fingers, cheesy pasta, mashed potatoes, burgers, thick slabs of cake. She'd devour it all without shame, sometimes challenging her teammates to races. 

“Hey, watch this,” she’d grin before demolishing a plate of fries in under thirty seconds. Everyone noticed her. How could they not? But I noticed her differently.

I wanted to know her. I wanted to touch her—I wanted to feed her.

It took me some time, but I found little excuses to talk to her—asking questions after games, bumping into her at campus events. To my surprise, she was kind, funny, and warm. She remembered my name, and she started inviting me to sit with her and the team at meals.After a while, it wasn’t just chance run-ins or group settings. We started hanging out in quieter moments—grabbing smoothies after class, watching Netflix on her battered dorm futon, trading memes late into the night. I was shy, careful not to come on too strong, but she never made me feel awkward. If anything, she always looked at me like I belonged right there with her.

One afternoon after practice, her face still flushed and her jersey damp with sweat, she nudged me with her elbow as we waited for our coffees. “We’ve got a game tonight. It’s gonna be a big one, and we’re having a party afterward. You’d better be there!”

I laughed nervously. “Me? I don’t know. I’m not sure I’d really fit in with the other girls on your team.”

She grinned, brushing a damp curl out of her eyes. “Come on, Quinn. You don’t have to be on the roster to be a team player.”

I went to the match, and it was amazing. Kailani was like a warrior out on that field, taking out her opponents with equal parts force and grace. Later that night, I found myself at the team’s after party. It was really wild, lots of people, loud music and lots of drinking. I wasn’t sure that I really belonged there, but when I saw Kailani across the room—looking so fat, sweaty, and utterly radiant—I just knew that I had to talk to her.

I weaved through the crowd, heart pounding, dodging red solo cups and beer-soaked laughter until I was finally in front of her.

“Hey!” I said, probably too loud. “Great game! You were... you were amazing out there.”

Kailani turned toward me, her cheeks flushed and glistening, a lazy smile spreading across her face. “Quinn!” she beamed. “You came!”

Before I could say another word, she pulled me into a hug—tight, warm, all-encompassing. Her body was so soft, so massive and solid at the same time. I could hardly breathe, and I never wanted it to end.

When she let go, I stumbled over my words. “I—I mean, of course I came. I said I would. You were really... like, seriously impressive. You, guys, like… totally crushed them out there.”

She grinned, brushing her hair back behind her ear. “Yeah, it was a good one. Brutal, but good.” She took a sip from her cup, then looked back at me. “You havin’ fun?”

“Yeah!” I lied. “Totally. I mean, I don’t really go to parties like this, but... I’m glad I came.”

We stood there for a second, awkward and unsure, the music thudding in the background.

“I’m glad you came too,” she said softly, and for a moment, everything else seemed to fade.

For what felt like an eternity, I stood there awkwardly beside my new friend, trying desperately to find cute and charming things to say. In my mind though, I couldn’t stop thinking about how hot Kailani was.

I mean, my gosh, she was so big and round! Her jersey barely covered her belly now—stuffed to the gills with pizza and beer from the team’s post-game feast, jiggling when she moved, swaying when she laughed. Her hips flared so wide I couldn’t imagine how she squeezed through doorways. Her thighs just looked so thick and delectable, I couldn’t stop picturing them wrapped around me. I wanted to get her alone, pin her down in bed, feed her until she was fat as a cow—until she was so huge that she couldn’t move. The thought made my heart race and my face flush.

I had to make a move. I had to say something, anything—I just had to.

“Um, so—I’m queer, you know,” I finally blurted out clumsily over the thump of the music. “I… I just thought… maybe you should know.”

Kailani raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I know,” she said simply.

My heart was pounding in my chest, my knees knocking together as the room started spinning all around me. For some reason, I was terrified, but I couldn’t stop now. I had to keep going.

“And… I think maybe… I’m falling in love with you.”

“I know,” she said again, and kissed me. “I love you too, Quinn.”

Before I even knew what was happening, Kailani threw her massive arms around me and pulled me toward her, kissing me passionately on the lips. Our lips fused together, as if they had always meant to be as one, our tongues enwrapped in a fiery dance with one another. In that moment, it truly felt as if Kailani and I were one, breathing the same air, our saliva becoming infused.

My hands found their way to the back of Kailani’s mighty shoulders, and my fingers began to run through her soft curls that hung behind her. My eyes were closed tightly, but in my mind I felt like I could see a galaxy full of stars, the entire universe, my fate, my destiny—and in the center of it all, there was Kailani, her beautiful face, her massive curves, her soft but powerful body. 

That was just the beginning of what would come to be the most important relationship of my entire life.