I smiled at her. I couldn’t help it. She was looking at me and I grinned like a fool.
Come here!
I thought she’d heard me. I thought we had some psychic connection that would walk her straight into my arms. But if we did, it was stopped by the MC. Before I could reach out to her, the bastard stepped between us. He broke our line of sight and ushered her to the waiting area so that the next girl could come on stage.
Heidi turned away, going where she was led. And then she stepped into line beside the rest of the contestants, like a real woman in a group of blow-up sex toys. She put them all to shame, and I followed her, pushing my way through the crowd until I got within reach.
But the audience was thick here and even at my size, I couldn’t muscle my way through. I had to wait ten feet away, my eyes trained on her when everyone else was looking at the stage.
I’m here. Look at me.
She didn’t. Her eyes were focused on the stage where the next woman danced. I waited impatiently. Eventually whomever it was ended her dance and joined the line. A curvy strawberry blonde with a pert nose and big, wet tits. The kind of girl I would normally go for, except the only reason I noticed her was because Heidi obviously knew her. The two women clustered together, giggling in the way girls do when they’re congratulating each other. Strangely, I didn’t mind. Heidi was smiling at her friend. Beaming actually, and the beauty of that happiness was nearly blinding.
This was absolutely crazy. I didn’t even know this woman, and yet, here I was, counting the seconds until the event was over so I could find a way to talk to her. Only two more contestants to go. I didn’t watch. I was more interested in the way Heidi blushed as she talked to her friend. Her cheeks pinked and her lips curved, but she didn’t show teeth. She seemed like a quiet woman, still uncertain of her beauty.
Well, that had to change. And I swore right there I would be the one to show her her real value.
Finally, they reached the end of the contestant intros, but the judging was still to come. All the women were pulled back onto the stage and one by one, they were hit by buckets of ice water while the crowd voted by applause. Heidi didn’t flinch as much as the first time, but she did close her eyes. And as her breasts peaked from the cold, I cheered as if my life depended on it. I sounded like a hound dog, but I couldn’t stop myself.
It took forever, and the results were idiotic. Heidi didn’t win. Some woman with grossly exaggerated attributes had the crowd’s approval. That was because most men were idiots. I watched as Heidi shot her friend a sideways look. The two of them shrugged, then the blonde lifted a pretend glass to her hand. Had they done this for the free margaritas? I would buy them all the margaritas they could handle if only I got some one-on-one time with Heidi.
Then the event was over. The ribbon barrier went down and guys surged forward. Not surprisingly, Heidi and her friend backed away, a little alarmed. But I was determined and pursued them as fiercely as I’d pursued my high school home run record.
Taking the clue from her friend, I nabbed a margarita pitcher. I had to reach over a slower guy, but that was the joy of having athletic reflexes. I grabbed the jug and a couple Solo cups and lifted them high above the crowd’s head. Then I muscled forward until I appeared right in front of them…and completely forgot what I was doing.
I stood there, trying to force my mouth to speak. What the hell was wrong with me?
“Hi,” I finally managed to say. Then I shoved the cups at Heidi. “Drink.” It wasn’t even a question. “Suave” wasnotmy middle name. Fortunately, the blonde gave me a grin.
She lifted the cups from my hand, then helped guide me in pouring. It sloshed as the ice broke, and the friend hopped back with a squeak. So much for athletic reflexes.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. The blonde answered with something, but I’d already turned my attention back to Heidi. “Hi,” I said again. “I’m Rob.”
She smiled, and I loved the smooth perfection of her skin. No dimples, no freckles. A slight tilt to her head that let her straight, dark hair fall slightly to the left. She was stunningly beautiful.
“This is Heidi,” her friend interjected.
“Yeah,” I said. Oh hell. I had to find a way to talk like someone who wasn’t brain damaged.
“My last name is not Va-va-voom,” she said. Her voice was lyrical with mellow notes that I strained to hear above the noise of the crowd. It was like sweet chimes, and I grinned as if she’d given me a World Series ring.
“Yeah, I guessed,” I said.
Her cheeks pinked again, a soft rose-petal flush that I watched with rapt attention.
“You’re beautiful.” Had I just said that out loud? What the hell? “I sound like a creeper. I’m usually much better at this.”
Except, if I was honest with myself, I’d never been good at this. The moment I became the local baseball legend, girls started coming on to me. All I’d had to do was smile and keep hitting home runs. That was easy. But suddenly, I really needed a silver-tongue and discovered that I was completely unprepared.
I was just marshaling brain cells to come up with a real conversation when I got jostled from behind. More guys, some of them aiming toward Heidi. I blocked them. Now that I was face-to-face with her, no one was getting in. But that didn’t stop them from banging into me or angling around to get at her best friend.
“This is insane,” Heidi said.
“It’s great,” the friend replied as she winked at a flirty Hispanic guy.
I realized I had to make a move soon or I’d be shoved out of the way. Even my bulk couldn’t hold off the tide of admirers. So I gestured with the pitcher. “You hungry? There’s a crab shack over there.”
Her gaze shifted to her left, but she couldn’t see anything. She was too short and the crowd too thick. “Really?”
