Kaiden didn’t have a perfect stomach, a perfect body. In fact, he had the furthest thing from it. But he’d busted his butt to lose over a hundred pounds and finally take back his life. He really believed he’d finally feel comfortable in his own skin once he lost the weight. And most days, he really did, but with such a drastic loss of weight, Kaiden’s skin didn’t shrink with the rest of him. The corset vests wouldn’t tighten the saggy skin, but they helpedgive him the waist and illusion he craved. The look he longed for after years of dieting and exercise.
There weren’t many people who knew Kaiden before the weight loss. Sure, former classmates, but he didn’t hang out with any of them. Old co-workers from the ghost of retail past. And, of course, there was his family, but they knew so little about him in general, he doubted they understood the effort he put into his health journey.
Dylan knew Kaiden at his highest and his fittest weight. The thing that always kept Kaiden close to his friend was how Dylan’s attitude never changed. He didn’t get nicer the more weight Kaiden lost. Most people weren’t directly rude to him when he was fat, but they did pretend he didn’t exist. Not Dylan, though. He didn’t see Kaiden in a new light all of a sudden. It was comforting knowing Dylan always appreciated him, always saw him for who he was, and always knew how to drag his introverted friend out of his shell.
Kaiden was the introvert who desperately craved being an extrovert, whereas Dylan seemed like the extrovert content with the life of an introvert.
Having spent most of his life hiding under baggy clothes and long, unkempt hair, Kaiden now went the extra mile to stand out. Hair always styled, makeup flawless but not extreme, outfits ridiculously sexy, and even his nails were perfectly polished and on point. All the same, despite peacocking most days, he shied away from the attention he craved. A true enigma, perhaps.
“Aren’t you looking all snazzy?” a raspy voice called out, drawing Kaiden’s gaze.
Rus approached with a woman.
“This is my friend Daysha.” Rus gestured to the woman beside him.
She wore a white dress, accentuating her dark brown complexion. The dress was tight at the top and flowy at the bottom, cut off at her knees. Daysha had a crimson belt that Kaiden suspected was supposed to match her bright red heels and fingerless gloves.
“Love the look,” Daysha said, eyeing Kaiden up and down.
“Thank you.” He blushed. “Right back at you.”
“Yeah, it’s really cool.” Rus nodded. “I thought that whole thing was for the fundraiser, but it’s really…yeah.”
“I’d ask you to use your words, sweetie,” Daysha said, rolling her eyes so rapidly her lashes fluttered. “But given you’re the last living grunge in the world, we can’t expect much.”
“I was being nice.” Rus’ jaw dropped, and Kaiden couldn’t tell if he was actually offended by Daysha’s comment or if the two were joking.
Rus did look like a slacker, wearing a faded band shirt with bleach stains, tight jeans with frayed rips at the knees and thighs, and aggressively large combat boots. Were his feet actually that big?
“The corset thing is cool,” Rus said, turning to make a face at Daysha, who merely pursed her lips and side-eyed her friend.
“It’s not for everyone,” Kaiden replied, understanding his corset vests received more crinkled expressions of disbelief than smiley faces of flattery, but he loved the confidence that came with wearing one. Sure, anxiety too, but Kaiden could never shake away the anxiety. He might as well throw a little confidence in there, too.
They all made their way into the long line of Himbos, paid their cover, and flocked to the bar. Even by nine, the crowd had swelled, making the wait for drinks chaotic. Rus ordered a blue motorcycle and seemed to regret it from the first sip, so hegrabbed a beer to join the nasty gin cocktail. Dylan didn’t order since he never drank. Daysha got a cranberry vodka and ordered a second one before the bartender walked away.
“Whoa.”
“It’s been a week,” she shouted over the music. “The semester just started; it shouldn’t be this stressful.”
“Oh, yeah, for sure.” Kaiden nodded in agreement, not knowing a damn thing about semesters or college coursework or any of that headache.
He turned to grab his vodka water and squeezed a fruity blue raspberry flavored spray into the drink. He was about to drink his calories tonight and then some. He also suspected that after a sugary buzz of booze, he’d be convincing Dylan to take him for two-in-the-morning pizza. So, being sensible, he kept his calorie count safe during the drinks. Hopefully, he’d dance away his deficit.
The group slowly made their way to a couple of free seats, including a couch that Rus leapt onto, securing a space for him and Daysha.
“So, are you two, you know, like an item?” Kaiden asked.
Rus snorted, pointing a thumb at Daysha. “Am I dating her? No.”
“Like I’d date some scrawny, pasty boy with so many anger issues even the drywall punching Kyle’s of the world would be shocked.”
The way she rolled such a convoluted insult out so quickly took Kaiden a moment to piece together. He still didn’t understand the full context, but he laughed with everyone else.
“Like you’d date any boy,” Rus quickly countered.
“True, but come on, if I were going to date a guy, I’d have standards.” Daysha waved a hand, gesturing to all of Rus. “I can do so much better than this tiny tyrant.”
“Not tiny where it counts,” Rus boasted.
