Looking at the plastic bag full of chinese food, Cameron knew he had to call Sharon out. This was her dinner as well as his but he felt a reluctance. An anxiety that he had never felt with a woman. He might have felt nervous, a sense of uncertainty with women after high school. But once he knew that woman liked how he looked and his chosen profession, that had gone away. This gut-wrenching, sweat-inducing apprehension was new though.

A flash of creamy white expanse of thigh, full breasts and he shook his head. He knew who it was and when he had seen it but he still couldn't believe the strength of his attraction to her. He who had been "The model-killer" by his teammates and friends. His distinctive preference of models and women who could have been models had been noted by the press and every person who followed football. He liked their sleek body, their height and their sexual drive. In a pinch, he'd go for women with model-like physique. Blond, brunette, redhair, none of that mattered.

So why was a short, fat woman making his dick twitch?

Groaning, he tried to get his dick to behave. It didn't help that his mind was intent on engraving Sharon's body into his brain.

"Why didn't you call me when the food arrived? I'm starving."

Turning his body towards the dining table and making sure his hardon was not noticeable, he hurriedly took out the food.

"I wanted to get everything ready before I called you. You know, to apologise for, you know, just now,"he said as he opened the boxes. Realising what he just said, he almost crushed a box of chow mein. Why did he have to bring it up? Now, she was sure to know that his mind had been on her. In the towel. She must be thinking he wanted her. Which he didn't. Or maybe he was overthinking it.

"I'm sure you must be used to walking in on women in lesser cover than me,"she said with a blush as she set the plates and cutleries on the dining table. Blushing? His eyes were fixed on her red cheeks and widened when they turned brighter under his gaze. "Cameron, is everything alright?"

"Y-yeah,"he said, taking a seat across her. She began serving herself some fried rice and pork but his mind was light years away from dinner. He was having an internal breakdown. He was horrified to realise that he was delighted about her interest. No, no, no. He didn't want her to like him. He had to do something. "So, Sharon, what's your opinion about exercising?"

"Not a big fan of it. Why?"she asked as she shoved a heaping spoonful of rice into her mouth. Like a glutton, he hurriedly tacked on in his mind. Her cheeks were bulging with the amount of food she was eating. He should be disgusted. He liked the refined manners of his dates. Their elegance and grace. Thus watching Sharon's ungainly enjoyment of the food should be a turn off. He shouldn't be liking the way she taking delight in her food.

"Cameron, are you sure you're alright? Your staring is starting to creep me out."

Startled out of his thoughts, he realised he'd been looking at her and commenced eating. What was wrong with him? Even though he had never taken note of his date's eating habits, he was sure he had not watched them like he was watching Sharon. Meals were just a way to get to know them better and to set the stage for seduction. The meal itself wasn't the star of the show. But, with Sharon, he had the feeling that the meals would always be the highlight. And, for some reason, he liked that.

"You're being too quiet,"Sharon suddenly said, setting down her cutleries. She was looking at him with concern and he was sure she was going to keep asking until she got to the bottom of whatever was affecting him. He didn't want her to delve into it. So he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I was just thinking about the gym at the other side of the building. Scott told me that it can only be accessed by the penthouse occupants and we could use it if we wanted,"he said. He was glad when her face scrunched up. He had successfully diverted her mind away.

"Why would that make you go so deep into your head?" He had to stifle a curse. She was not distracted. Luckily, she was clearing the table. He was going to stop her, telling her he hadn't had his fill when he realised all the boxes were empty and that she had refilled his plate when it was empty. He had been absently eating anything that was placed on his plate. He couldn't believe he didn't remember that. Shocked, he was only able to watch as she dished out ice cream for the both of them. "Anyway, can I have Matt's number? I really need to talk to him before Ames think to check out my story."

"Sure,"he said, taking the bowl of smores ice cream. He took a big bite of ice cream, to give him time to think when she looked at him expectantly. He knew she wanted the answer for her previous question. Suddenly, he felt inspired. "Anyway, I was wondering whether you'd like to work out with me. You know, with your excessive ice cream intake and the food that you cook, it has to add up."

"W-what are you talking about?" He hated the way her voice broke and her pushing away her bowl of ice cream but he had to create some distance between them. Their two days acquaintance was becoming more than it should be.

"You know, now that you're working with Matt, I'm sure you'd like to fit in. And all the women are avid gym goers. This would be a great opportunity for you to, you know, slim down and make some friends."

"I don't need to slim down to make friends b-but I'm sure your heart is in the right place. Let me t-think about it. Good night, Cameron,"she said softly and got up from the table. Her slumped shoulders made him feel like a monster and her forgotten bowl of ice cream made him feel like punching a wall.

But he got what he wanted. Right?

-------@@@@-------

Setting the time on the slow cooker, Sharon bit her lip as she thought about the meal she was making. It was full of veggies, nutritious and something new. She was sure it was delicious but she knew that the only reason she was trying out this dish was because of what Cameron said last night. She was sure he didn't mean it but he had pushed and prodded a wound that had barely begun to scab over.

Her weight and shape of her body had been a point of contention between her and her ex. It had all started after they had slept together, which had taken her a good amount of time before she had given him her virginity. It had been painful as expected but she had expected them to grow closer. However, he'd begun acting weird the very next day. Like he didn't want people to know that they were together. Their relationship had been shady from the start and his continued evasions had hurt her. Even now, although she was glad to find out that the impact was lesser now.

Sighing, she leaned against the counter and couldn't help but draw a parallel between him and Cameron. Both had wanted to distance themselves from her the moment they'd seen her unclothed. Or almost unclothed in Cameron's case. He'd tried to dress it up as concern about her health but once she had been able to think about, she saw it as a bid to push her away. And she would respect his wishes. She just wished that it didn't hurt.

They had known each other for forty-eight hours at most. It had taken her six months before she even went out on a date with her ex. And the hurt he'd inflicted was only a fraction of the hurt that she was feeling when she realised what Cameron was doing. Maybe it was a compounded effect since she was still recovering from her break-up, if it could even be called that. Or maybe she had trusted him a bit too fast for such a short acquaintance. All she knew was that she couldn't stay at the same place as him. She needed to distract herself. Occupy her time.

Since she had a meeting with Matt later in the afternoon, after Cameron had graciously slid his number under her door, she had used up an hour or two readying her lunch and dinner. She still had two hours left before she had to leave. Her mind reminding her of the gym Cameron had mentioned, she sighed and decided that this was the time to check it out. There were some merits to his words.

------@@@@--------

Her thighs and arms screamed with pain as Sharon walked out of her room. She knew she shouldn't have gone all out in the gym but she had been filled with anger and determination when she'd seen the machines. She felt so angry that she was allowing people, especially men, put her down like that. Why was it so easy for her to take their words to heart? She knew her body was never going to be like those models that Cameron liked, the ones she'd looked up online, but she was determined to love her body. She didn't know how working out was going to help but at least she was doing something.

And now, she was off doing something about her job situation. Tugging on her gloves, she was mentally checking whether she had everything in her bag when a voice stopped her.

"So you ready to go?"

Having not expected the voice, she stopped right beside the kitchen island and her eyes turned to seat that faced the hallway. She was surprised to see Cameron dressed to head out. And he looked so hot with his messy hair and golden stubble covering his jaw and chin. He was wearing a leather jacket, covering his shirt which were stretched over his wide shoulders. She didn't know how he could so put together since she knew he'd taken less than ten minutes to get ready when she still felt like a kid playing dress up even though she'd taken at least half an hour to put on her makeup and do her hair.

Scowling, she demanded,"Where are you going?" She refused to move when he stood up and moved towards her. She tried not to stare at the long expanse of leg that were tightly encased in a pair of dark blue jeans.

"I'm going out and since I'm going out, I can drop you off at the office,"he said, resting his fists on his hips. She folded her arms.

"Well, thank you but I don't want to inconvenience you. So I'll be going there myself. I have to learn how to get there for my morning commute,"she tacked on, her brain having supplied that at the very last minute. That was inspired and true. But it seemed that Cameron was not accepting that. His brows were drawn together and his head was shaking.

"What? With all the weird people and rats? I don't think so. I'll send you to work. And I'll send you to the meeting with Matt. So come on." When she just stood there, still scowling at him, she was surprised when he grabbed her arm. She was even more surprised when he leveled determined eyes on her. "You can come with me of your own free will or I can drag you to my car. Take your pick."

She was confused. She knew she'd read him right last night. He wanted to distance himself from her. Why else would he say those hurtful things? He, who knew women, must know that a woman's weight was a sensitive subject.

But the way he was acting now was saying something else. It was as if he was trying to erase the distance he'd created last night. And she didn't know how to react. But facing his implacable face, she knew she didn't have a chance to reject his offer.

So with a fierce scowl, she nodded her head and her further bewildered when she thought she saw his shoulders relax in relief.