Free Bender by Stacy Borel

You are interested in her, aren’t you?” When he didn’t say anything I glanced up at him. “Mace is my best friend, and I love her to pieces, but she’s a bit of a player.” I stopped walking and pulled on his arm. “Listen, I get that you are probably into her, but I’m thinking it might be best if you stay away from that one. I hate talking about her like this, but I really like you Dodger, and I don’t want to see either of you hurt.”
    His emotions flittered across his face before he settled on a grin and teasingly said, “I’m not looking to marry the girl, I was just wondering.”
    “If you say so, just please, be careful alright?”
    He reached out and ruffled my hair, and I swatted at him. “You worry too much. Loosen up. Oh, speaking of, so there’s this party at one of the frat houses…”
    I interrupted him with a gasp. “Oh my gosh I would have never pegged you for a frat guy.”
    “Well if you would have listened to what I was saying I was getting to the part where I would have said one of my really good friends lives in the house that’s hosting it. It’s going to be a Halloween party so you’ll need to dress up, but it would be fun if you came. I could introduce you to some people, and it’ll give you a chance to get out and stretch your legs some.”
    “Stretch my legs?” I giggled.
    “Yes, stretch your legs.” His smile was beaming. “So far I’ve only seen you work, go to school, and hang out with your sister and Macie. Get out a bit, Keegan. There’s got to be a little she-devil hiding in there somewhere.” He squatted down so he was eye level to me and acted as though he were searching.
    I blushed. “No, there’s not. And I don’t want to go to some frat Halloween party where I’m forced to dress like a slutty cop or a sexy nurse. It sounds like a nightmare stuffing me into spandex and something too short. I would look like a can of exploded dough.”
    His face became stoic. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
    “Seriously Dodger, I’m not blind. I know what I look like, and I make no qualms about what I see in the mirror. Squeezing into something that is only going to make me uncomfortable all night doesn’t sound like a good time.” I stopped talking when I saw him clenching his fists, and his mouth had formed a straight line. Tilting my head I said, “Did I say something wrong?”
    He shook his head. “You really don’t see yourself clearly.”
    “What?”
    “You have a very distorted view, ‘cause what you’re seeing is not what I’m seeing. You’re not fat, or chubby, or whatever else you like to call yourself. You’re beautiful, Keegan. And before you argue with me, I’d like to believe that I’m a pretty good judge on what’s hot and what’s not. You, my friend, are smokin’.” His eyes ran the length of me while he gave me a wickedly handsome smile.
    I felt like I wanted to go hide under a bush. I had no doubt my face was bright red, and I really wasn’t sure how to respond to his misguided compliment. “Ummm…thanks?”
    “You say that like it’s a question.” He placed both of his hands up on my shoulders. “So you’re not one hundred pounds soaking wet and as tall as a skyscraper. You have something else that those girls don’t have.”
    Now he’d piqued my curiosity. “And what would that be?”
    “Tits and ass,” he said it with a casual shrug.
    I laughed. “Maybe. But it’s just unfortunate that my curves also come along with a hefty spare tire.”
    He glanced down at my stomach, and all I wanted to do was cover it up. “Once again, you’re seeing shit that just ain’t there. But now it seems I’m on a mission.”
    “Oh God, should I be worried?”
    “Definitely,” he chuckled. “I’m going to prove to you that you are a desirable woman. I can’t stand that you have such low self-esteem when you are a freaking ten on my hot meter. It must be fixed.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You’re barking up