Chloe and Rafe
Authors: Moxie North
Copyright ©2014 Moxie North
All Rights Reserved
Kindle Edition
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this book is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction.
The cloud of hair spray corrupting the air inside Chloe’s tiny bathroom was probably bad enough to get a call from the EPA. But every girl knew going out meant big hair. You know, the hair that you could never get away with in the light of day. The overuse of hot rollers and curling irons, along with salon quality hair spray meant Chloe and her friends might have to proceed through doorways this evening sideways.
Not that improbably, considering Chloe and her friends were what you might call big boned, husky, or even pleasantly plump. Chloe on the other hand considered herself spot on. She was 5’6, had long thick legs and was a perfect size 18.
She loved her curves, enjoyed flaunting them and often had men hitting on her in bars. Although this was an awesome ego boost, more often than not, Chloe would let them slip away. No matter how many times she told herself she was a rock star, no matter what size, her self-esteem was constantly being battered by society and it’s ideal of beauty. Her daily affirmations were necessary to counteract two-story billboards showing waifish models in bikinis.
Screw em’, Chloe thought, this is going to be an awesome night. Hot guys, drinks, and big hair. What could go wrong?
Chloe glanced over to her BFF’s, but they really were her sisters in every other sense. Women who had had stood by her since middle school. They were the outcasts, the girls that weren’t great at sports but had always seemed to find their place on the outskirts of the popular to semi-popular crowds. That funny, self-deprecating humor all big girls learned early, from years of taunting.
They were people pleasers and the balance to the skinny pep squad girls who wouldn’t get their hands dirty. They were the girls sitting behind desks raising money for new cheerleader uniforms, helping with the bake sales, and making banners for the football team. Always part of the group as long as they stayed on the edge.
Looking up into the large mirror, Chloe assessed her outfit choice for the evening. Skintight “skinny” black pants with a bit of a metallic sheen to them. They showed off her toned thighs and thick round butt, thanks to her odd enjoyment of elliptical machines. She had on her fabulous new silver strappy sandals that she got half off during a hormonal mid-cycle shopping binge last week. For some reason ovulation made her buy slutty clothes.
Topping off her outfit was a grey one shoulder satin shirt with jet black beading on the front. The top was soft and draped just at her hips, not covering up her hard worked for booty.
Fluffing her brown curly hair, she touched up her mascara, double checked her smokey eyeshadow and decided her ivory skin, dark blue eyes and brown hair made her look like a china doll tonight. Perfect.
Giving herself a smile she glanced over to her friend Nikki and gave her a knowing smirk, which Nikki responded to with a saucy wink. Nikki was the first friend she met in middle school after moving from another state. While standing in the cafeteria, wondering where she could sit and eat without disrupting some unknown middle school hierarchy, Nikki jumped up from her seat and without saying a word dragged Chloe back to her table. She sat and started chatting with her like they were old friends. They were inseparable from that day on.
Nikki was stunning, Chloe had always thought so. She was tall, 5’10 and around a size 16 at her waist. Her backside and thighs were probably ranging around a 20. But with her height she didn’t look disproportionate; she looked like an Amazon goddess. With mocha brown skin that she usually kept tan year round.
She had recently decided to forgo her weave of braids that she had been wearing since high school and go au natural. Chloe loved her hair, black with hints of brown and red. She had these perfect corkscrews that were around 5 inches long. They looked like they belonged on a pixie and bounced when she walked.
Nikki had opted for a knee length black skirt that on her instantly became a mid-thigh model once it had made it over her rear. She topped that off with a black capped sleeve top with hot pink criss-cross ribbon on the front designed to look like corset stays. Nikki kept to her usual low heel sandals, she said that she was tall enough and didn’t need to be cutting her chances more by towering over the guys.
Chloe looked down to the end of the counter and there was Isabella, or Izzy to her friends. Izzy was the quiet friend. The one that was happy staying home and reading her favorite romance novels. She was also the friend that needed to get out and mingle more than anyone. Izzy was 5’4 and hovered around a size 22. She was round, her face was round, her belly was round, and she was soft all over.
With her long blond hair, currently curled and teased she had the look of an over-inflated cherub. Izzy was that girl who had ivory skin all winter then soon as the sun came out was a golden tan. With her cornflower blue eyes and white blond hair she was angelic looking. She was also dreadfully shy and no matter how much encouragement Chloe and Nikki gave her, she had the lowest self-esteem of them all.
But tonight they were going out, they were having fun and if the universe was kind they might actually meet someone. Chloe had gotten talked into buying 3 tickets to a charity event for the local firefighters calendar. The stunningly handsome man that strolled into the office where she worked as a receptionist had her nodding and agreeing without really knowing much about the event.
She could tell you however, that the heavily muscled man, standing in uniform flashing his pearly whites at her, was hot enough to make her burn her own apartment down just for another visit. What she did finally realize, after handing over her credit card number to a virtual stranger, was the local fire district had made a calendar and the proceeds were going to charity. The local pediatric burn unit to be precise, and the men of the calendar were dancing tonight in a hot bod contest, judged by more locals. Actually, they were local business owners that had really bad TV commercials. But it was for a good cause and spending the night drooling over the man candy sounded fun to her and the girls agreed.
“Ready to ogle the fine men of Dept 17 ladies?” Chloe asked.
“Let’s hit it,” Nikki said, tossing her lipstick into her cute sliver clutch.
“Can’t we just stay home?” Izzy whined.
“No.” Both Chloe and Nikki said in unison.
“We are having fun whether you like it or not Izzy,” Chloe snapped.
It really was for her own good. She would never go out and mingle without them.
“Come on ladies, let’s hit some shots before the taxi gets here,” Chloe said, walking down the hall to the kitchen.
Planning ahead she had the glasses lined up on the counter and the lemon drops mixed in a shaker. Pouring a round she handed one off to Nikki who was strutting her stuff from the bathroom. Handing the next glass to the glum looking Izzy, who luckily after a few drinks became the perky, funny girl that she kept hidden inside.
“To an awesome night, and fingers and toes crossed that one of us meets someone we won’t be embarrassed to wake up next to tomorrow!” Chloe said raising her own shot glass in the air.
“Charming,” Nikki smirked
Izzy just slammed the drink back with no comment and pushed the empty towards Chloe for a refill. Another round and the ladies were ready to enjoy some eye candy.
The taxi pulled up at Bunkers, the local hangout for the firefighters, EMT’s and paramedics in the area. Tossing the driver the fare with a nice tip, Chloe climbed out of the car first and pulled her ID out of her purse waiting for the girls to catch up. There was a short line at the door but it seemed like they got there early enough to avoid any hassle getting in.
Walking into the crowded bar, the music was just loud enough you had to yell a bit to be heard, but not so bad as to cause permanent hearing damage. Chloe spotted a table one row back from the temporary stage they had set up. The front row was already full of women that looked like they could use a brownie more than a cocktail. Ahh well, what did they expect, hot guys shaking their booties was sure to draw the twig bitch crowd.
Claiming the high-top, Chloe waved down a passing waitress. “What will it be ladies? We have a special tonight, a bucket of domestic for $15 or wells are $5,” the waitress delivered her speech with a snap of her chewing gum.
“We will take the bucket and a round of vodka tonics please,” Chloe ordered.
“Both?” Izzy tried to whisper.
“Oh girl, you need to lighten up!” Nikki said. “We are going to have fun and that means you too.”
Their bucket of beers and round of drinks was delivered. Nikki offered up a toast, “To my BFF’s and some buff bods tonight!”
“Cheers!” Chloe and Izzy offered with their own salutes.
The lights in the bar lowered at that moment and a voice squeaked across the PA system causing everyone to cover their ears at the awful noise.
“Sorry about that! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Fire District 17 Hot Bods charity fundraiser! All proceeds of our calendar will be going to the Pediatric Burn Unit at St. Joseph’s. But tonight, you get a preview for free. The winner tonight will get the honor of being the cover model for the calendar. Make sure you hoot, holler, and scream for your favorites. Pre-orders for the calendar can be made at the table in the back. Don’t forget they make excellent Christmas presents for Grandma!” The announcer joked. There were screams and whistles throughout the bar.
“Alright, please help me welcome our judges for the evening. First off we have Mark Winslow, you might recognize him as the channel 5 weatherman. He’s predicted that tonight is going to be hot and steamy!” More whistles and catcalls echoed that statement.
“Second we have Casey Boone, owner of Boone Fine Motors at 703 Wilcoff Street. He can get you a deal on convertible to help you cool off after tonight!”
“And last but not least, we have Wendy Acres, who you might recognize as the channel 7 lotto girl. Don’t worry boys; she knows how to handle balls.” A chorus of groans came after that weak attempt at MC humor.
Luckily Chloe and the girls had finished their drinks and popped the tops on their beers and the jokes slowly seemed funnier.
“I like him,” Izzy said with a hiccup and a giggle. Obviously the alcohol was doing its job. Nikki gave her an eye-roll with a knowing smirk.
“Ok, everyone, let’s put our hands together for our first contestant. Manuel is a 6-year veteran firefighter at District 17, he likes jogging, heading out on his boat on his days off, and rescuing pretty damsels in distress. Let’s give it up for Manuel!” The announcer said on a roar.
The lights started flashing, strobe lights kicked on, and someone had installed a disco ball. A bit of overkill but what the heck. Manuel presumably, came strutting onto the stage in a pair of swim trunks, a white tank top, and sunglasses. He started dancing a little awkwardly to the music. You could tell he drew the short straw at having to go first.
About half way through he seemed to loosen up with the encouraging whistles and yells from the ladies in the audience. Coming to the end of his dance, he reached for the neckline of his tank and gave it a tug, tearing it down the front. He exposed a lean flat stomach, that looked like a runner’s physique.
“Not bad,” Chloe offered, clapping her hands.
“Eh, I like mine beefier,” Nikki yelled back.
“I’m not that picky, he’ll do,” Izzy said around the bottle of beer she was nursing.
Chloe waved to the waitress and gestured to the empty glasses and the girls at the table. She got a nod back from the busy waitress.
“Let’s hope the next one has some muscle on him,” Nikki said.
Chloe wouldn’t mind that. She liked her men big and strong. Big arms, broad chest and tight abs always made her tingle.
“Let’s hear it one more time for Manuel!” The MC cheered as the judges held up little white signs with their scores on them.
“Next up ladies and gents, we have Rafferty, but you can just call him Rafe. Rafe is a 8-year veteran firefighter and just completed his paramedic certification. He likes working out and long walks on the beach.” Laughter followed that part, “Hey I don’t make this stuff up! Give it up for Rafe!” the MC cheered.
Loud, pounding music started and a huge shadowy figure made its way across the stage. Chloe couldn’t take her eyes off the mountain of a man that was coming to the end of the stage. As the lights came up, Chloe saw what she would have called her perfect man. If there was a catalog for ordering your heart’s desire, this one would be a top seller.
6’4 at least, dark brown shaggy hair, tanned bulging muscles. He had a line of 5 o’clock shadow gracing his jawline and damn but she wished she could see his eye color.
He stood there not moving for a minute, letting his presence register with the ladies in the room. Then he started a slowing rotation of his hips. The women went wild, screaming and pounding on their tables and the guy had barely moved! A small smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth and his head finally tipped up. And swear to sweet baby Jesus, he looked straight at Chloe.
Chloe felt her breathe catch as this Adonis of a man made direct eye contact with her. Surely he couldn’t see her with all those lights flashing in front of him. He probably just picked a random spot in the crowd to focus on. Except then he winked, turned and started shaking his ass!
Holy crap, the loose pair of PJ bottoms he’d chosen to wear allowed his firm trunk junk to press up against the fabric with each hip twitch. He slowly turned back around and started pulling up the black Ramones T-shirt he was wearing and revealed the most chiseled chest, Chloe had ever seen this close up.
“Is that beefcake for reals?” Nikki squealed.
“Hubba hubba,” hiccupped Izzy.
Chloe had no words, this was spank bank material and she had no intention of missing a second of Mr. Rafe’s performance. Dragging her eyes from the hard planes of his chest, she looked up to see him staring in her direction again.
“No freaking way,” Chloe whispered to herself.
He couldn’t be actually looking at her! Just then he slowly licked his lips and ran his hand down his chest and across his, swear to god 8-pack abs to the waistband of his pants. In one motion he had them pulled to his ankles and stepped out of them. The crowd went nuclear as he stood back up and presented himself in a pair of charcoal boxer briefs that clung to every muscle and his clearly well-endowed package that obviously never gave him a moment’s shame in the locker room.
The bar was deafening as Rafe continued his slow undulation, making his ab muscles ripple. He wasn’t even really dancing as much as simulating a slow, deep screw up on that stage. Made a women have all sorts of ideas about how this man would move the earth if they were ever lucky enough to lure him into their web.
The song came to a close as the cheers got louder. Rafe made one more deep ab roll and pelvis tilt, then reached up and blew a kiss straight towards Chloe. All Chloe could do was blink, her mouth slightly open. She hoped she wasn’t drooling, that totally wouldn’t be cool.
“Damn girl, was that guy working it for you?!” Nikki yelled.
“He totally was!” Izzy said bouncing in her seat.
“He was not, that’s crazy,” Chloe said. “With all those skinny tramps in the front row, there is no way he was checking out the fluffy chick in the second row.” Chloe always resorted to self-bashing when she was embarrassed.
“If he wasn’t dancing for you, why is he making his way over to our table?” Nikki said with a wicked grin.
Holy crap, there he was. Rafe the beefcake, having replaced his PJ bottoms and shirt, was apparently walking with intent straight to their table.
Chloe just managed to set her drink back down without spilling when he made his way through the crowd to them. The MC was announcing another contestant to the cheering ramped up crowd. This caused Rafe to lean close to Chloe’s ear once he reached her side.
“Hi, I’m Rafe,” he said loudly, trying to not yell into her ear.
Chloe was trying to keep her eyes from rolling back into her head as the hot breath from the man-god blew across her ear and throat.
“Uh, hi,” Chloe managed to get out.
Rafe looked down with a smile and said, “Do you have a name?”
Yes of course she did, she just couldn’t seem to remember it at this particular moment. “Uh, um, Chloe, my name is Chloe,” she said.
“Nice to meet you Chloe. I saw you while I was dancing, what did you think?” he asked.
“Good, um you were good,” she stuttered out. Nice one Chloe, hot guy approaches you and the spaz comes to the surface.
“Just good huh? Well I guess I don’t have a chance at the cover.” Rafe said with a laugh.
“Oh no, you were better than good, I mean you were great!” Chloe said trying to recover from bashing this handsome stranger’s ego.
“Well then I have a chance?” Rafe teased.
“Oh, totally, you have a chance.” Chloe offered with a wobbly smile.
This made Rafe smile even bigger. “Would you like to grab a drink at the back of the bar? It’s a little quieter back there. If your friends don’t mind that is.” Rafe asked.
“She’s all yours handsome,” Nikki said before he could even finish. Chloe gave her the bug eyes for that. Izzy, she just nodded and smiled while she blushed.
“Sure, that would be nice,” Chloe had to yell back as the catcalls for the dancer onstage ramped up. She could have a drink with the nice hottie fireman. What the hell, it would be an ego boost even if nothing came of it. Plus she loved the evil glares she was getting from the stick insects sitting around them.
Rafe offered his hand so Chloe could hop down from her barstool. The minute her hand touched his, she felt a sweat break out over her body. He was warm, not just warm, his hands were hot! Like he had been warming them up over a fire. Remembering to grab her purse, she made to let go of his hand once she had her footing, but found it very firmly encased in his.
He didn’t seem to be planning on letting it go. Rafe started towards the back of the bar, Chloe managed to throw a look over her shoulder to her friends and an awkward wave. That was returned with thumbs up and goofy grins from her besties. Apparently they thought this was an excellent step in the evening’s festivities.