CHAPTER 95: ROBIN (1)

Jack was walking across the quad on the way to meet with Robin for their lunch date when he spotted her ahead of him, rushing in the same direction.

He walked faster to catch up to her, but slowed down when he got closer just so he could enjoy the view.

She was wearing a white crop top with black leggings that showed off her shapely ass. It was round and perky and just begging to be squeezed.

Her hips were wider than Madison’s but narrower than Miranda’s and with her athletic thighs and petite stature, she reminded him of Judy Hopps from the movie Zootopia. All she needed was the ears and the tail.

"Robin," he said as he came up beside her.

"Eeep!" she squeaked at his unexpected arrival. Then she saw who it was and said, "Jack! You startled me!"

"Sorry," he chuckled. "I saw you rushing along and thought we might as well walk there together."

"Oh! Yes. I like that."

They fast walked in silence for a few moments before he said, "You look good."

"Thanks," she said. "I worked really hard to get fit, and I’m so glad I did. I would have been embarrassed for you to see me before."

"But I did see you before. Remember? I even asked you out. If I was focused on appearance, I would never have approached you with that hideous orange hair."

"Oh, my god! Don’t remind me. I don’t know what I was thinking. Why did you even ask me out?"

"I’m not sure. Part of it was that I thought you were brave to dye your hair to look like a traffic cone."

She sputtered, "Traffic cone?!"

Back then, she was carrying more weight on her hips, so the bright orange hair and her shape almost made her look like a traffic cone.

"Isn’t that what it said on the box?" he teased. "I imagine the sales blurb on the box said something like, ’Stop traffic with your new astonishingly orange hair!’"

She slapped his arm and tried to glare at him. "Stop it, that’s not funny," she said, while trying not to laugh.

"Right, anyway, beside the traffic stopping hair, there was just something about the way you carried yourself that...I don’t know, resonated? Maybe? It was like something was telling me we could connect. Sorry if that doesn’t make sense."

"No, it does. In a way. And you really didn’t care that I was a fat tub of lard?"

"You were not a fat tub of lard. I mean, sure, you were a little heavy, but not that much. Nothing like Baleen Bailor."

Eileen Bailor was an extremely overweight girl that had earned the unfortunate nickname Baleen Bailor, named after the baleen whale. He didn’t know who started it or why, but the nickname had spread like wildfire.

"Oh shit, I forgot about her. Would you have asked me out if I was that heavy?"

"No. No, I would not. Every man has his limits, and she crushes mine. A little heavy isn’t a problem if it’s the right person, but past a certain point, it just becomes a huge turnoff."

Most guys, himself included, could appreciate a fit girl with some junk in her trunk, thicc, but not too thicc. But some guys liked girls so thicc they were hella thick, with an ass so big it had its own zip code, and he was not one of them. And he saw no reason to lie to Robin about it. If she got offended by his honesty, then he’d just move on.

"Huh." she said, like he’d surprised her.

"Not the answer you were expecting?"

"No. I was kind of expecting you to do the typical guy thing and say it wouldn’t have mattered how much I weighed. I mean, it’s a safe lie, because I’m fit now."

Yes, you are, he said to himself. He really wanted to grab her ass. It was a work of art.

"I guess I’m not a typical guy, at least not in that way."

"So, does that mean you’ll never lie to me?"

This seemed like a dangerous question to answer. He would lie, if needed, to protect his secrets. But saying that could just prompt her to ask what kinds of secrets he was talking about. So, instead of answering, he turned it back on her.

"Can you say that you’ll never lie to me?"

"Oh. Um, I guess the question was a little rude."

"Yes, a little. Think about all the reasons you might have to lie to me and consider that I might have some of the same reasons to lie to you. We all have things we don’t want to tell others. And sometimes saying ’I’m not going to answer that question’ is worse than lying because it just invites greater curiosity."

"Huh, I...never thought about it like that. But it makes sense now that you say it. How did you get to be so wise?"

He had never considered himself wise, and wasn’t sure he was willing to accept her claim now. He, Fran, and Jacob had had many interesting conversations over the years, and he was realizing he might have learned more from them than he initially thought.

"I guess I had good parents."

He noticed her slump in on her self slightly when he mentioned good parents. He wondered if there was something wrong with hers.

She was silent for a few minutes and they were nearing the restaurant when she said, "I lost my mom to cancer. And my dad buried himself in a bottle. So for the last few years, I’ve been living with my grandparents."

So, she also lost a parent. Maybe that was what he had sensed in her, a common pain of loss.

"Did, or do, you like living with them? Your grandparents?"

"Yes. They’ve been real nice. They were the ones that got me hooked on Krav Maga. My grandpa works at the Krav Maga Academy and still helps train police and FIS agents. It’s amazing to watch a sixty-two-year-old man just destroy a cocky twenty-something police officer."

"That’s cool. I’d like to watch you train sometime. I’m interested in learning several martial arts and Krav Maga is one of the ones that interests me."

"Really?" she sounded excited. Then in a teasing tone, "It doesn’t bother you that I could kick your ass?"