Page 25 of Size King

“Yeah, we should’ve gone to high school together.” She winks. “Anyway, we were fine at first. He was sweet and he was my first, but he always put me down and told me that I was going to do badly, no matter what I tried to do. He’d say I was a failure at everything: hobbies, job aspirations, goals. I was always optimistic, and he was always pessimistic and always said he wanted to ‘keep me grounded in reality.’”

“He sounds like a piece of shit, no offense,” I say.

“None taken.” She laughs. “I broke up with him right after high school. My parents were about to kill him. I think I probably saved his life.”

I chuckle. “Don’t mess with their baby.”

“Right. It did take me a lot longer to break free of the massive self-esteem and self-image issues after the breakup, but I finally felt better about everything around my third year in college.”

“You don’t deserve to be treated that wayat all,” I tell her. “It’s a travesty that any guy would abuse you like that. You’re a fucking treasure.”

“Well, I would thank you for saying that, but I think those might be the drinks talking,” she speculates.

“So, what if it is? I mean it. You deserve better, and you’re worth so much more than being with a guy like that.”

“Oh, I know I deserve better,” she assures me. “At first, it took me a while to stop blaming myself. Once I stopped blaming the wrong person, I realized that my life in general is worth so much more than how I’d been living it.”

“Which has turned you into the strong person you are today,” I finish.

“I don’t know if I’d put it likethat,but thank you, Aiden.”

As our night draws to a close, I try to put less distance between us. I sit closer to her whenever I come back from the bar. She doesn’t resist my approach, but she is crossing her arms and not inviting me like she usually does.

“This can’t go on, and you know it,” she eventually says.

“I don’t know it,” I say. “We both know we don’t agree with the things we’re saying. We know how we feel, and we know what we want.”

“You have to control yourself, Aiden,” she says. “Come on, you can do this. I have faith in you.”

“It’s not that Ican’t.I can’t do anything else whenever my thoughts are of you. You’re the center of my universe right now, Kate.”

“You have to stop thinking that way, Aiden.”

“This is easier said than done,” I whine. “Trustme, I’m restraining myself every moment when we’re together. Right now, I have to hold back from just… grabbing hold of you and kissing you right here in front of everyone.”

“We have to be safe, Aiden,” says Kate. “You know PDA is off the menu for you right now.”

“Fine,” I say, looking to change the subject. “So, listen. I go and visit my grandparents every Sunday. We usually have lunch or dinner together. It’s a really nice time.”

“Oh, that’s really sweet. I love how close you are to your grandparents.”

“Thanks.” I chuckle. “Anyway, I see them every Sunday, so I was wondering if you’d like to come to Sunday dinner sometime soon. Nana and Papa are basically my parents, you know? I don’t care if it sounds sappy. I want you to meet them. They’re my favorite people in the whole wide world.”

“I would like that,” Kate says as she finishes her drink.

10

Kate

Iam truly surprised by just how much things are looking up already, and the week isn’t even over.

At the end of my day on Friday, I go into Aiden’s office to give him a quick rundown on the most recent media coverage regarding him and the sex scandal.

“Overall, it seems things are going rather well for us—not to jinx it,” I tell him. “There are lots of people sticking up for you. A lot of menandwomen are bringing up how women use sex as a weapon just like guys do. A lot of news outlets are talking to the various other men, and they’re giving more details of their encounters, explaining how Sarah sought to hurt them. The public really doesn’t like Sarah right now.”

“That’s good,” Aiden says.

“But they still don’tloveyou all that much yet,” I continue. “They just don’t hate you with a fiery hot passion anymore. The media’s approach right now, it seems, is to hang out around you and wait for you to mess up.”