The Curves Ahead - Wattpad Award Winner

Chapter 14

Lastly, I don't believe you're the 'right kind of fat.' You're just the right kind of Evi. I know you don't believe me when I tell you, but you are beautiful. I'm still hopeful that if I just keep on telling you, maybe one day, you'll be able to see what I do.

I'm going to go now. Please send me your second answer soon. I'm wildly interested in the kinds of men who have captured your heart in the past.

Matt

After I giggled and danced for about twenty minutes, Heather finally managed to persuade me to get dressed for dinner. We headed out on the touristy Cavil Avenue, my feet barely touching the ground.

"He still thinks I'm beautiful," I sighed, twirling girlishly, the layers of my red and orange maxi-skirt fluting around me like a bell. With my tummy feeling tighter from a week of swimming and no alcohol, and my face burning with infatuation, I knew I was looking better. With Matt's belief tucked inside my heart, I almost believed that I was beautiful.

"Come on, spinning beauty," said Heather good-naturedly. She turned us into a gourmet sushi place, and we sat by the windows overlooking the dark ocean. She ordered green teas and miso soups for both of us. "So, a happy Evi?"

"A very happy Evi." I pulled out my phone, bringing up the email again, just to glory in it. "He wants to know about my romantic past. He still wants me, right?"

"I don't think he ever stopped wanting you, Evi. It's just that you're finally becoming a person who can accept that he wants you."

I fidgeted in my chair. I was wired, antsy, not even hungry. I wanted Matt. An idea formed in my head as the waitress served our tea. "I think I've got a plan. What if I head home to Sydney tomorrow night? I can send the next email from my place, then go over and see him? I'll wait for his response first of course, just in case it's not positive."

"I think that's a great idea."

My bravery fled as the idea started to seem more real. "Will you come stay with me? That way, we can fly wherever we need to on Monday and you can help me analyse his reply before I go and embarrass myself."

She tilted her head in apology. "Actually, I needed to tell you tonight; this is our last dinner together for a few days."

I sipped my tea, puzzled. "Why?"

"Well, we're off to Darwin on Monday-"

"Darwin!"

"-But I really need to head home tomorrow afternoon for the weekend." She looked a little meek. "Andie is missing me."

"Oh." I tried not to feel pissed at Heather's girlfriend, but part of me was screaming, stop being so bloody needy! But I knew Andie wasn't really the clingy one. Something occurred to me. "You're not in trouble for being away, are you?"

Heather raised a soup spoon to her heart-shaped lips. "No. Not really. A little."

"Why? You have to work - she knows that, right?"

"Well... It's not really that simple..."

I reached for a plate of sushi from the slowly passing conveyor belt. "Talk to me."

"Me taking this job is a bit of a sore point with Andie, that's all. I had a few job opportunities at the time, but this was the one that interested me the most, even though it meant five weeks away from home. Andie thought I should have accepted a different appointment, so she's frustrated."

Andie's surly attitude towards me made a little more sense. "What were the other jobs?"

"Just some different clients I could have worked with. I'm a life coach," said Heather, beaming. "I help people become the best versions of themselves."