Learning Curve (BBW Romance) by Adriana Hunter

 
     
    Susie Cartwright walked into the hospital
wearing pale green scrubs, a smile on her face, and carrying a
jaunt in her step. She flashed that smile to everyone who passed by
her like a warrior holding a shield aloft—to the receptionist, to
the various people walking or milling about in the halls, and to
her co-workers in the locker room.
    She kept her smile fixed firmly in place as
she made her rounds, as she talked to patients, monitored vitals,
administered prescription doses. Even when she was chattering in
ICU with the severely ill she didn’t let up at all, her
cheerfulness almost stoic in nature.
    When it was time for her break, she kept the
smile on even then as she walked into the break room. Seating
herself at one of the small, round tables, she pulled a sandwich
from the paper lunch bag she’d brought up and wondered how she was
going to keep the smile on between bites.
    Her best friend, Callie, entered the room,
her scrubs bright pink, and her blond ponytail flouncing behind as
she took the seat opposite her.
    “ Well look at you, Ms.
Cheerful! Everyone’s been talking about how happy you look today. I
take it that your date went well last night?”
    The smile plummeted faster than the blink of
an eye, and Callie’s blue eyes widened as Susie’s face crumpled.
She quickly ducked her head down; out of the sight of the other
medical staff sharing the break room with them, but not before
Callie saw the tears shimmering in her green eyes.
    “ He stood me up, Callie,”
she whispered as Callie dug a Kleenex from her purse to hand to her
friend.
    “ I’m so sorry,” Callie
soothed, stroking the back of her friend’s hand. “What an
asshole.”
    “ It’s the third time this
month,” Susie said bitterly, dashing tears away with her Kleenex.
“I’m completely hopeless. I’ll never find a decent man. At least
not until I lose forty pounds or so.”
    “ Don’t say that,” Callie
admonished, gripping Susie’s hand tightly now. “You’re funny,
smart, and beautiful. There are tons of men out there looking for a
woman with the inner spirit you have.”
    Susie finished wiping her face, then pulled
out her compact and began to fix the eye makeup she’d smudged.
Callie noticed her face was a bit pale beneath the blush she’d
applied earlier. “But none of them are looking for a size eighteen,
are they?” She shook her head, chestnut curls bouncing around her
round face. “I was there for several hours. By the time I gave it
up the waiters were giving me sympathetic looks and I’d gone
through two bottles of red. I just feel so worthless.”
    “ Where are you finding
these men?” Callie wanted to know. “There are plenty of men who
like their women with a little more meat on their
bones.”
    “ I’ve been going to the
clubs with Shannon,” Susie admitted, referring to one of her other
friends.
    Callie frowned. “A meat market? Seriously?”
She shook her head in disgust. “Listen, I have an idea about how
you just might be able to meet the kind of man that you deserve.
Why don’t you come over to my place after work tonight?”
    Susie sighed. “I don’t know, Callie. I’m
pretty hopeless at this point.”
    “ It’s never too late to
find love, honey,” Callie insisted, digging out her make up bag.
“Now, let’s get you cleaned up.”
     
    ****
     
    “ An online dating site?
Are you serious?”
    “ C’mon, Susie,” Callie
cajoled as she guided Susie to the chair in front of her computer
desk. “You don’t have to sound so horrified.”
    “ What do you mean?” Susie
demanded as Callie fired up the Internet browser. “Haven’t you
heard all the stories about serial killers and rapists who stalk
the Internet for their victims?”
    Callie rolled her eyes. “The statistics on
that kind of thing are virtually unheard of on the more reputable
dating sites.”
    “ But what’s the point? How
is this any different than meeting guys in bars?” Susie asked as
Callie typed in