Cassie's Bears

Chapter One

Black, Luna - Cassie's Bears [Avid Ménage, Alternative MMMFM Paranormal Romance, Reverse Harem] Chapter One

I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t know what to think. When you lose a lot of weight, you think you are going to feel loads better about your self-esteem, and I took it even further than that with a complete makeover as my gift for losing it and graduating college. Yet, I still saw a chubby nerd when I looked in the mirror.

I had opted for a plain red t-shirt and some cut-off shorts that were much shorter than what I was used to, which my roommate Carmen insisted on. See, she was my roommate not just because she had a large bedroom and master bath we got to share for relatively cheap in a nice area but also because of the ad she put up on f******k. I thought that if anyone could get me out of my shell and into the real world of a 25-year-old, it was a model and professional cheerleader.

"Stop fussing over yourself, I’ve got to get there and you do not want to be left behind," I heard her call to me from the bedroom where she was choking up the small living space with this spray she had to use to make sure her tiny outfit stayed in place.

She was a cheerleader for the 49ers, a pretty famous football team for me to have heard of them. I wasn't into sports at all, couldn’t understand them and certainly would make a fool of myself attempting to play. However, Carmen had front row access to watch a bunch of hot and successful men that she was contractually not allowed to touch. She was doing me a favor that a new roommate would not typically do by getting me out of the house, scoring me free tickets to a big game, and introducing me to a man on the team while she went out with another. A double date. It would be a night full of new experiences.

I sighed and plucked my invisible retainer out of my mouth, the last lingering implement of my days as the nerdy girl I used to be. I was leaving my former self way behind and slowly getting into the new me. I didn’t want anyone else to see the girl I loathed for all those years in middle school and high school, and then she even followed me to college. It was like I was trapped in someone else's body the whole time. I had wanted to be a big-time makeup artist and do things for Hollywood and big theatre productions, but I was told over and over again that a girl like me belonged somewhere that had nothing to do with looks. No one would believe some fat girl with glasses and curls could make them look pretty. Funny thing was the joke was on them now.

I nodded to myself, running my hand through my silky, chemically straightened dark hair, knowing for sure I had accomplished what I wanted with that. It was time to step out there and believe in myself. Believe that I deserved a man if I wanted one and that I didn’t need one, I didn’t need to settle because I didn’t look like other girls. I would never be a Carmen, but I could be proud of being a Cassie.

I came out of the bathroom and looked at Carmen timidly. I didn’t know how she could show so much skin and be so comfortable, but she did it for a living. Though I couldn’t deny that she had little to be ashamed of. She was gorgeous in that kind of way that only women who were thin and yet had full breasts and ass could be. When I first met her and told her about my weight, she had told me that she used to have trouble getting modeling jobs because of her curvy shape but that now she found photographers that loved her unique shape. It was all about perspective. I envied that outlook in her and always strived to be a little more like that each day. Baby steps, though.

"Look at you!" she hollered in that Texas accent she had. That was where she had grown up before coming out here to follow her dream just like I had. California was the place to be, but damn was it expensive. It was why we literally shared a room. We had two other roommates in another bedroom in our apartment as well. We mostly left each other alone, though.

She ran her hands through my hair, and I tried not to flinch. I was still getting used to the lack of personal space. It was just her personality though. “I am still so jealous of your hair!” she exclaimed. I had lost count of how many times she had said it. Her hair was a dirty blonde color, long and a little on the dry side. I thought it went well with her skin tone though and didn’t understand why she would want to look anything like me.

In my head, I chastised myself for that downer thought again. A technique Carmen herself had taught me. She had done more for me in a couple of months than having a shrink my whole life had done and I was so grateful to have found her.

"Oh sorry." she said, realizing she was in my bubble of sorts and jumped back. "You ready to go?"

I nodded, unsure if my mouth would betray my nerves worse than my sweating thighs in this silly pair of shorts. I followed her out to her car, which she let me drive as she put her makeup on in the mirror. I cringed at the way she did it as an amateur makeup artist. It was so heavy and dollish, it looked ridiculous, but that was the requirement for her job. I had never asked, but I doubted any of them with their skimpy outfits and plastered smiles enjoyed that part of it. It was a job, and it was the kind of job that could be a launching pad to acting and modeling.

I let her dictate directions through her preoccupying routine as I had never been to the stadium before, much less anywhere important in the area. I had been on a couple of hikes, short ones, in the glorious natural areas around here, but that was my limit. I was currently selling a couple of makeup brands and had people meet me at the apartment or at the Starbucks down the street that I could walk to go over products. In short, I needed to get a life.

I scoffed at the thought and kept driving until we hit a wall of traffic. I shouldn’t have been shocked about the backed up traffic, especially for a big game like this, but I came from a small suburb in a place without a football team. Sure, the boys would be rooting for someone on game nights, but they would be doing it from home rather than taking to the streets. It wasn’t the big American stereotype that everyone spoke about all the time.

I sat back in my seat and turned the radio down as there was nothing on. I waited as we crawled towards the stadium inch by inch, my nerves on edge. I couldn’t tell if it was due to the traffic or because of the implications of what would happen after the game. I tried to remember the last time I met a guy and it went well, and I couldn’t. Even if we made it to a date, it always went poorly. He had bad manners, already had a girlfriend and wanted a side piece, or he asked me to lose weight.

“So, tell me again who it is I’m meeting?” I prompted, giving Carmen a quick glance to see that she was finally done with her makeup and was sitting back in her seat as well, looking all porcelain and Barbie pink.

“Don’t be so nervous, you’re gonna love ‘em!” she exclaimed. “Their names are Barry and Finn. Finn will be my date since he’s from the Raiders and not off limits. Barry is like his best friend. I guess they got scouted by the same college when they were younger and all that. He’s the quarterback for the 49ers right now. Hasn’t been for very long though. He's young and cute and they’re both gentlemen despite what they do for a living,” she explained.

“You mean like pummel other men,” I said sarcastically.

Carmen pretended to be offended, but I could hear the laughter creeping up in her voice. “Oh, they are not all like that. Besides, football can be entertaining, and if it’s not, just watch us.”

I shook my head, letting out another giggle at her suggestion before we finally found ourselves inching into the parking lot.

It was so crowded that traffic had to be directed, and the drivers were being told to park in specific spots. Carmen rolled down her window and waved, blowing a kiss at one of the men directing the traffic. He nodded and ushered us towards a reserved area of the lot for the cheerleaders and such. Just then, it felt like a blessing being with her.

It didn’t take long from that point to get inside as people were milling about and deciding on what snacks to gorge themselves on during the game. I had to part ways with Carmen to find my seat since she had to catch up with the other cheerleaders. My seat was a pretty good one too, on the home side and not too far from the field. I would be able to see everything, even if someone decided to stand up and scream with one of those big foam fingers. Not that I was a particularly short woman, but I was still short enough to have had issues seeing over heads in the past.

As the players came onto the field I couldn’t help but scan over them and try to make out features, wondering who it was I would be going out on a date with after the game. It was so funny to think I would be going out with the quarterback of a professional football team that very evening when I was so used to all the awful dates I’d had in the past.

I got settled in and waited for the action to start, hoping I wouldn’t look like an i***t not understanding everything that was going on around me.

I tried to watch it all so I had something to talk to this Barry guy about, but I was so lost. I thought I caught I good glimpse of him on the field a few times, assuming I was right about what the quarterback's job was. Damn it, if the date ever went further than this one night, I would have to go watch a YouTube video about football or something.

As the game wound down, the 49ers won and I cheered along when everyone else did.