Size matters, p.1
Size Matters, page 1
Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2022 Sam Crescent
ISBN: 978-0-3695-0512-5
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Audrey Bobak
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIZE MATTERS
Chaos and Carnage MC, 1
Sam Crescent
Copyright © 2022
Chapter One
Maddie French glanced down at her watch to check the time. It was safe to say her date wasn’t coming. He was over an hour late, and she was growing tired of the pitying looks directed her way. She sipped at her water and tapped her fingers on the table. If she ate now, they would all know she’d been stood up. Not that anyone was supposed to care, but she saw the disguised points.
She pulled out her cell phone and checked to see if he’d left her a message, but there was nothing.
Ever since she had shared her picture with this guy she’d been talking to for months, he’d been different.
She ran fingers through her long brown hair, which she’d spent a good amount of time curling so it didn’t just lay flat. This was why she hated internet dating. She never photographed well. Her mother used to tell her often enough that her best features were always hidden. Not that her mother would ever divulge what she considered her best features.
She put her cell phone away and took a deep breath.
This wasn’t the first time she’d been stood up, wouldn’t be the last time either. She could pretend so many things as to why her date didn’t arrive. A car accident. Held up at work. He was helping someone give birth in a subway, but the truth was that it was because of her size.
Her mother had always told her no man wanted a fat girl. Her mother, God rest Delia French’s heart, didn’t mince her words. Some people of Carnage even thought Delia was responsible for putting her husband, Nigel, into an early grave with all of her real talk. No one knew her parents were as bad as each other.
They kept everything real.
Where another parent might tell their child the weight would drop of them as they got older, or that they were beautiful, she wasn’t told that.
Nope.
Her parents told her she was fat, ugly, and that she was going to have to do something to have any chance of having a husband. In fact, Delia had told her she should just accept that she was going to be an old maid. At thirty years old, she didn’t consider herself an old maid, but so far, her parents hadn’t been wrong.
She was overweight.
The world didn’t want to admit it, but size really did matter to a great deal of people. In the small town of Carnage, there was no one who wanted her.
Clenching her hands into tight fists, she felt sickness swirling in her gut. To anyone who looked at her, it was her size-twenty curves that spoke volumes. It wasn’t the volunteer work she did at the local animal shelter or the schools. Nor was it the hard work she put in to every single town fair.
Life after high school should have been easier. Instead, she’d passed through a multitude of jobs, failed her driving license more times than she could count, which meant she walked everywhere, and never had a long-lasting relationship.
Her only boyfriend was in the last year of high school, and he’d dumped her after taking her virginity in the back of his truck. He was a nerd, and no one had paid attention to him. She’d been the fat girl, and as he told her at the time, he’d taken pity on her. Neither of them should have entered adulthood a virgin, and that was his community service to her.
She’d never been more embarrassed in her life.
Maddie glanced around at the couples. It wasn’t even a fancy restaurant. It was a small eating section at the bar in Carnage.
She rubbed her temples and then jumped as she heard the roar of bikes arrive outside.
There was only one bunch of people who rode bikes in Carnage. The Chaos and Carnage MC that lived all around town. They owned several businesses, including this bar, the local mechanic shop, the gym, and a few other places that were way too many to count.
She used to go to school with one of the members, Grant Reynolds. He’d been a popular bad boy, and no one had messed with him because of who his brother was.
As if the thought of him conjured him up, Kirk Reynolds, known only as Bull, entered the bar. He had several guys at his back. Many of them she didn’t know the name of. She had always steered clear of the MC group that filled their town. Women wanted to fuck them. Men wanted to be them. They were the group most people wanted to be associated with.
She knew they helped a lot of business in town. They even offered protection, and in the last ten years, there had been no violence or death brought to the streets of Carnage. She had even seen him talking to the local sheriff, Dylan, from time to time. Not that she was a stalker. She just happened to notice a whole lot of things. People often ignored her presence.
With the MC here, it was time for her to leave. Her parents had always told her never to get muddled up with them.
She finished her water and got to her feet, heading toward the bar about to pay for the few drinks she’d ordered.
A large man stepped in front of her, stopping her from going.
The heavy scent of leather and oil filled her senses. Lifting her head, she came face to face with Bull. His green eyes held a slight glare as he looked at her.
She noticed the scar most people called ugly, but she didn’t think for a single second it lessened his appeal. Some women had said he was ugly. How the scar made them think of some horror movie villain, but they must have seen it when it first happened. Staring at him now, she saw he was a man of substance. Even the way he carried himself, there was an element of power to him no one could detract from.
“Hello, Maddie,” he said.
It didn’t come as a surprise that he knew her name. Bull wasn’t the president of the MC for nothing. She knew he had a very sharp working brain in that skull of his.
“Hello, Bull,” she said.
He glanced behind her. “Where are you going so soon?”
She hiked her bag up her shoulder and forced a smile to her lips. “I’m leaving.”
Maddie went to walk around him, but he grabbed her arm, stopping her. She had no idea what was going on with him. He had never said more than two words to her, and now he was suddenly touching her.
Looking down at his hand on her arm, then up to his face, she waited.
He didn’t let her go.
“Take your hands off me.”
“Most women like it when I touch them.”
She snorted. “I’m not most women.” She pulled her arm away from him. Without another look at him, she made her way toward the counter, where Elizabeth was serving one of the customers.
Normally, she’d leave money on the table, but there had been some kind of theft a few years back so there was a sign that read in large capitals to pay at the counter.
“I’ll be right there,” Elizabeth said.
Bull hadn’t backed off. She felt how close he was.
Seconds passed.
She looked in the mirror overlooking the bar. His biker friends had all taken seats further down, and Bull was leaning against the bar, rather close to her. She had no reason to be gaining this special attention from him.
Elizabeth, fortunately, didn’t take too long. She offered her a smile, and she was glad to have taken it.
“I’m so sorry about that. Your date didn’t show?” Elizabeth asked.
“You were waiting for a date?” Bull asked.
His deep voice carried, and anyone who didn’t know she was waiting for a date would know now.
Maddie forced a smile to her lips. “Yeah, I was. He … didn’t make it.”
“Why?”
She took a deep breath and shrugged. “Don’t have a clue. You’d have to ask him.”
“What’s his name?” Bull asked.
“None of your business.” She wasn’t about to tell Bull anything. He didn’t need any explanation as to why she’d been stood up.
“You haven’t eaten anything,” Elizabeth said.
“It’s fine. I want to get out of here.” There was only so much embarrassment she could handle in one night.
Her bed, a steamy romance book, and chocolate ice cream were all in her future.
“Have dinner with me,” Bull said.
Maddie shook her head. “No thank you.”
“Are you too good to eat dinner with me?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Bull, I don’t know you. I’m not going to eat with a stranger out of pity. I’m not desperate. Besides, your friends are all waiting for you.”
“They can wait.”
Maddie laughed. “Of course they can.” She paid her bill and turned toward him. “Thank you for being … sweet, but this isn’t the first time and I doubt it will be the last time either.” She reached out and put a hand on his arm. She had no clue as to why she did it.
Removing her hand, she kept the smile on her lips as she turned on her heel to leave the bar.
She held on to her ba g, took a deep breath, and looked up at the sky. Were her parents wagging their fingers at her, telling her she shouldn’t have been so foolish?
Tears filled her eyes, and she lowered her head, wiping at her eyes so no tear would fall. She refused to cry.
Taking a step away from the bar, she headed across town, going toward her apartment building that was only a twenty-minute walk away. She grabbed her cell phone and drew up her profile on the dating app. Maddie didn’t take time to think over her decision, she went into the settings and straight to the option to delete profiles, followed by removing her account. Once she had clicked her way through each relevant section, she got the email ping to let her know her account was deleted.
Maddie held her phone tightly as she got to her apartment building. The main doors held a code that each resident was given to be allowed into the building. She typed in her code, and the doors beeped.
She didn’t bother with the elevator after having a bad experience on it the first time she moved in nearly ten years ago. It had broken down while she’d been inside it. For six hours, she had been stuck in that small box, and since then, she had only ever taken the stairs. There had been no further breakdowns, but she wasn’t willing to risk it.
She went to her apartment on the fourth floor, slid in the key, and twisted the doorknob. This had been home for ten years. After her mother’s passing, she’d put her family home on the market. It had sold within weeks to a lovely couple who were starting up a new family. There had been a short time when she had imagined keeping her parents’ home, moving in, and hoping one day to start a family.
She hadn’t wanted to keep a house that was designed for a family when she was a single woman.
Maddie closed the door of her apartment, flicked on the light, and leaned against her door, staring at her small space. This was her space. The apartment was an open plan apart from the bedroom. Her kitchen and living room were easily visible from the front door. Her bedroom was through the main door to her right, and she had an en-suite bathroom.
This was her life.
After putting the keys into the dish on the small cabinet to the right, she hung her bag on the hook she’d installed, removed her jacket, and kicked off her heels. She rarely ever wore heels, often preferring pumps or trainers to anything too high. This was going to be the last date she went on.
She had long grown tired of the crappy ones, or like tonight, the no-shows. She was done attempting to find Mr. Right. He wasn’t out there, and she was miserable constantly being reminded of that fact.
****
Bull watched Maddie go.
He didn’t want to see her leave, but he’d be lying if he said it was a disappointment considering how juicy her ass was. Running a hand down his face, he moved across the bar to where his boys were waiting for him. Elizabeth didn’t keep him waiting long.
“What can I get you boys?” she asked.
They were all older than she was, but she liked to play the role.
“You can tell me, sugar, how long that juicy piece was waiting,” Bull said.
“Maddie? You want to know how long she was waiting for her date to arrive?”
He hated repeating himself, but Elizabeth wasn’t known to be the brightest tool in the box. Some of the boys liked to keep her on speed dial. She liked to play but not to commit, and his boys were down for the playing.
Bull forced a smile to his lips, determined not to ask again.
“Er, let’s see, she arrived just before seven and it’s eight thirty now. An hour and a … er … half,” she said. “It was kind of sad. When she came in, she was all excited. Asked if he’d arrived.”
“Did she give a name?”
Elizabeth sighed then groaned. “She sure did, but I’ve completely forgotten it.”
“Get us a couple of beers, please.”
“Will do. You know it is such a shame. That’s the second date in the last six months that has been a no-show.” Elizabeth shrugged. “Some men.” She tutted to herself and moved away.
“What was that all about?” Rusty asked.
“None of your business.” He took a seat and waited for his beer to arrive. Truthfully, he didn’t know what the thing was with Maddie French. It wasn’t the first time he’d noticed her. He’d been noticing her for a long time but had never gotten the opportunity to act on it, until now. She was rarely alone, which was ironic as all around town, she wasn’t exactly a social bunny. He’d noticed her at a couple of the town fairs and around town. She volunteered a lot, and seeing as he was a social pariah with the Chaos and Carnage MC, they never mixed in the same circles. She never came to the club. Still, he’d noticed her fine curves for many years now, especially her ass in a pair of jeans, not to mention those ripe tits, just designed to have his head nestled against.
“Here you boys go,” Elizabeth said. She placed their beers on the counter. Pat, like always, was quiet.
Bull lifted the bottle to his lips and took a sip. It was nice and cold, which was what the hot summer night required.
He drank several large gulps before he put the bottle down.
“You want any company later?” Elizabeth asked.
He smirked and shook his head. “Thanks, darlin’, but this beer is all I need.”
Elizabeth had been offering herself to him for a long time. He never took her up on it. There was no desire there. She was a little too skinny for his tastes. Unlike some of the boys, he was careful about who he stuck his dick into. He’d seen what happened to his and Grant’s pop for putting his dick in any woman that would have him. It caused nonstop drama, and he had no room for it in his life.
“What about you, Rusty?” Elizabeth asked.
Rusty nearly choked on his beer. “Nah, thanks, sweetheart. One dose of the clap was good enough.”
Pat waved his hand at her.
He lost interest as she went down to talk to Stacks and Rip. Not all of the guys had followed him down to the bar to have a drink. He wanted a change of scenery. Beer was easy to come by at the clubhouse, but for some odd reason, the bar called to him tonight. It was a slow night. Most of the customers sat near the restaurant side. Some couples moved on the dance floor, but all in all, it was very slow. He had no doubt rumors would circulate about his interaction with Maddie. Why couldn’t he get that woman alone? He didn’t like that she’d been on multiple no-show dates. What was her deal?
He took a long sip of his drink, and Rusty sighed.
“Can you believe that chick?” Rusty asked.
“What chick?”
“Elizabeth?”
Bull chuckled. “You took her for a test drive.”
“And got itchy balls because of it. Believe me, she didn’t even call me by my actual name.”
“I don’t want to know what she called any of you. It was bad enough that you had to come into the club and announce you had something wrong with your junk, and the fact it went around the whole club. Fucking gross.” At least he hadn’t been caught with it. The women who circled the club like vultures, he steered well clear of. The women he fucked, they knew the score, and he also made it a habit to never use women who liked to be passed between his men. Again, it was something he learned early in his life as a brother. When he was a young teenager, he’d taken a few girlfriends to the club, and they’d been more interested in gaining the banger’s patch than him.
Not that he had a problem with that. Women were free to fuck whomever they wanted. He didn’t slut-shame anyone. He simply didn’t want to be part of that play.
Finishing his beer, he turned on his stool and looked around the bar. He was a part owner in this place because he’d had no choice but to help out his old friend Thomas who had been pretty desperate after his old man put the profits on a couple of horses that were duds. Nearly lost everything, and Thomas had a family and his mother to take care of.
Bull, being the nice guy that he was, took care of the dad so he wouldn’t be making bets on the lives of his family again, and became a part owner of this bar. It wasn’t a huge profit, but it helped Thomas out, and they’d been friends since they were in diapers.
