One: Kissing a stranger

OPHELIA

Have you ever felt the urgent need to gladly throw yourself into the nearest bush, crawl under a table, or even fake your own death if it meant avoiding one particular person?

Unfortunately, none of those options are available for me when the human I'm trying to run from has already spotted me.

I consider turning around and pretending I never saw Jordan, the one who broke up with me months ago and oh, there's a gorgeous slim lady beside him.

"Ophelia! Long time no see!"

"Jordan! Hi! I didn't expect to see you here." I force a bright smile on my face, pretending I don't feel sick at the sight of him.

The lady beside him smiles too while staring at me but the smile seems just as fake as mine, maybe even faker.

I can't help but let my gaze drift over her figure for a second and I wonder if she actually eats a full meal from how lean she looks, though I can't deny that a part of me wishes that body is mine.

"I didn't expect to see you here either. You don't like parties." Jordan's voice pulls me from my thoughts and I blink in surprise.

"Well..." I clear my throat. "I'm not the same girl I used to be, Jordan. I've changed."

Heat creeps up my face as his eyes slowly travel over my body making me wish the ground would just open up and swallow me whole.

"You haven't changed one bit." His voice carries that awful pitying tone. "Though you've changed in one way and I wouldn't call it a good one. You've put on more weight."

"More weight? I'd say that's an understatement." His girlfriend's eyes sweep over me with obvious disgust. "Jordan showed me a photo of you once. I thought you were big then, but now..." She trails off, pressing her lips together like she's searching for the right word that would hurt the most.

"You look like an ugly whale." She lets out a loud laugh and I grip my dress, fighting back the sting behind my eyes as Jordan joins her laughter and the sound hurts far more than the insult itself.

Once upon a time, I had cried over him. I had loved him, and I had genuinely thought he cared about me but now he is standing there laughing while his girlfriend mocks my appearance.

I suddenly feel stupid for ever crying over him.

"Oh my God, babe, stop," Jordan laughs harder. "You're going to make her cry."

"I'm just being honest."

That only makes them laugh harder, drawing attention from other people outside the party.

I feel like disappearing but unfortunately I can't so I stand there smiling because crying would only make this worse and crying would give them exactly what they want.

"I'm sorry," the lady says between laughs, clearly not sorry at all. "I probably shouldn't have said that."

Then why did you?

"But seriously, have you ever considered joining a gym? I'm actually a fitness instructor. I could help you lose some weight."

"That's so kind of you." My smile widens, probably looking weird. "I'll definitely reach out if I need it."

"Please do," she says sweetly. "Sooner rather than later, because no offense, your size is becoming concerning."

People always say that "no offense" right before saying something deeply offensive.

Jordan shakes his head.

"You know, I genuinely thought breaking up would motivate you to lose weight because if someone had dumped me because of my appearance, it would have motivated me to stop eating."

He has no idea I don't even eat at all.

"Anyway," he says casually, "are you still single?" The humiliation grows worse at that question.

"Honestly, I don't think many guys would go for someone your size."

"You wouldn't want my boyfriend to hear that." The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.

Jordan's mouth falls open.

His girlfriend blinks, and my eyes almost widen because what did I just say?

"Excuse me?" Jordan asks.

"You're kidding right?" His girlfriend bursts out laughing again.

I'm almost tempted to blurt out how horrible her laugh sounds. She sounds like a chihuahua.

"It's not funny. I do have a boyfriend and I was actually waiting for him here before you both showed up."

The shock on Jordan's face is almost enough to make me smirk except I know I'm screwed.

He's going to want to meet this boyfriend and he doesn't exist which means I'm about to humiliate myself far worse than anything they've said tonight.

"Who in their right mind would want to be with a fattie? That makes absolutely no sense."

"Appearance isn't everything." Which is a lie — appearance is actually everything. "We love each other and he makes me happy."

"Great." Jordan smiles.

Oh no.

"Great?" I repeat.

"Yeah." He nods. "I'm glad you found someone else, and I'd love to meet him."

"Uh..."

Think Ophelia!

"Like I said, I was waiting for him, meaning he hasn't arrived yet." I keep my grin fixed in place even though my heart is hammering. "We could always arrange to meet another time. A double date, maybe? Just give me your new number and..."

"Oh, stop." His girlfriend cuts me off. "We all know this boyfriend doesn't exist. Just admit that no guy has so much as looked at you since Jordan dumped your fat ass, and honestly? Can you blame them?"

Actually, no.

"Why would I lie about having a boyfriend? He just hasn't arrived yet."

"So we'll wait."

I nearly choke.

"We?"

"Us." Jordan's girlfriend crosses her arms. "We definitely need to meet the guy willing to date a whale."

Before I can come up with another lie, a black sports car rolls to a stop at the entrance of the party.

Girls begin squealing, phones immediately appear and people start rushing toward the entrance.

Who is inside that car?

A celebrity? A famous athlete? Some influencer?

The driver's door opens, and when a pair of expensive boots hits the ground, a terrible idea enters my head.

With a bright smile across my face, I march toward the car.

A tall figure steps out and for a second, I lose my breath. Whoever this stranger is, he is so attractive.

He glances up, our eyes meet, and I ignore my own brain reminding me that this is possibly the worst idea I have ever had in my entire life.

I close the remaining distance between us, pressing my lips against his.

He freezes and I freeze as well the second my lips touch his. Oh god, what did I just do?

I wait for his hands to shove me back, I wait for the look of confusion that will surely follow this assault from a complete stranger, and the humiliation that would come next, but he doesn't push me away.

Instead, his arms wrap around me and I'm crushed against his solid, hard chest.

His lips are impossibly soft and sweet and the kiss is so gentle that I can't help but melt into him, my body gradually relaxing as the panic inside me fades.

I sigh into his mouth, my hands gripping his jacket then he sucks my lower lip into his, drawing on it with a sound that sends a rush of heat straight to my stomach.

His tongue traces the seam of my lips, demanding entrance, so I open for him instantly, the taste of him making me moan.

He tastes like cigarettes and alcohol and the combination should be bitter and disgusting, but on his tongue? It's intoxicating. I never expected something like that to taste so good.

His tongue curls around mine, sucking it deep into the heat of his mouth and I gasp but the sound gets swallowed by his groan.

He tilts his head, changing the angle and devouring my mouth like he's been starved for a long time, and my body is burning with a heat I've only ever read about in romance novels.

Finally, with a ragged curse, he pulls back. We stand there inches apart, panting.

I look up, dazed, finding his beautiful icy blue eyes locked on mine and my stomach flips about ten times.

My stomach clenches, expecting to see disgust, irritation, confusion or anything, but his expression remains completely unreadable, so I slowly turn around.

Jordan and his girlfriend are standing there with identical expressions of complete shock and my confidence immediately returns even though I notice other people staring with the same looks.

"Jordan," I say sweetly, unable to stop grinning. "Allow me to introduce the guy you insisted didn't exist."