For most of his life, Caleb Miller had always been far more confident than a man of his stature would have suggested.
As a (mostly) grown man who liked comics, video games, and regularly hosted DnD campaigns online with his similarly nerdy friends, he was surprisingly popular with the “normies”. He was likable, good at his job, and was generally just considered a really fun dude—if a little shy, sort of like the pet introvert. After high school and throughout college, he’d slowly started to come out of his shell more.
Overall, good dude!
If he’d have had one complaint, it’d have been that he’d always been a little on the soft side. That was what held him back. Well, that and a few bad breakups with some high school girlfriends. But who didn’t have baggage from when they were younger? He only ever really had a problem with his weight when it came to comparisons to other dudes. Otherwise he was largely content in his rather sedentary life.
Perhaps a bit too content.
Ever since he’d moved out of his parents’ house and into the dorms, he’d let himself go a little bit. He’d started to wear his hair a little long and he’d managed to grow a respectably bushy beard, but most importantly, there was no one there to reign him in on his worst habits.
Game, snack, sleep. Lunch, comics, sleep. Campaign, snack, game.
He’d come from a comfortably middle class family with an understanding mother and a geeky dad, so they’d never really worked hard on instilling a “stop” switch on their son’s lazy lifestyle. He’d been chubby his whole life anyway, so he was more or less accustomed to the outcome of laying around and snacking all day, but once he hit college and there was no one around to tell him to go to bed or chide him about his eating habits, Caleb started to put on even more weight.
Two hundred and forty pounds of softboi chub, Caleb was like a fluffy marshmallow—and again, he was more or less okay with that. Not great, not horrible, but he ultimately wouldn’t have minded shedding a few extra pounds if he could.
Which he totally could have.
If he was “one of those gym guys.”
It was going through the motions of this sedentary routine, though, that would ultimately change his life for the better. If he hadn’t been there at the comic shop that Wednesday, and if he hadn’t found himself a little hungrier than normal, he might have carried on life as he had been.
But a whiff of peanut butter had caught his attention.
His favorite flavor—how could he not finally check out that bakery? He’d been saying that he’d do it for months—every Wednesday, when he picked up his comics, as a matter of fact. They’d opened up two spaces down from his home away from home, and given his penchant for sweets it was almost a miracle that he hadn’t stopped by before then.
“Cutie Pie’s, huh?”
Putting his comics in the car (until he could bag them and board them later) Caleb walked the parking lot until he was face to face with the glass double doors. Inside was your standard bakery fare—a display counter with all of what they offered, bright LED lights to make everything look pretty and tasty, and a little table with two chairs to sit at. No one was behind the counter, but even from outside he could hear rustling in the back room.
Taking a step inside, the smell of peanut butter became even stronger. A low “mmm” escaped him as he came fully inside the shop, the bell chime sounding above him.
“Hey, welcome to Cutie Pie’s!” a voice sounded from the back, “Be out in just a minute!”
Nodding approvingly, he took a few steps around the counter to examine what had already been prepared. Cupcakes, hand-made donuts, profiteroles and rice krispy bars. There was a fridge with cakes that had been made—presumably by order, judging by the names on them—and a Coca-Cola cooler with Pepsi products inside.
Finally, he came across what had to have been the source of the smell—an empty space for Peanut Butter cookies.
“Hey—uh, ‘scuse me?” Caleb asked loudly, “These peanut butter cookies… are y’all out?”
“Comin’ right up, sir!” the woman said from the back room, “Just gettin’ them out of the oven right now!”
And sure enough, there they came. Right out of the oven, steaming hot. But as much as Caleb’s favorite flavor was peanut butter, they weren’t the reason he was staring.
The woman behind the counter smiled in his general direction as she placed the sheet on the counter to let them cool. She was thickset, with wide hips turned towards him and a large chest that hugged her bright pink Cutie Pie’s top tight. Blonde, wavy hair and big blues eyes, Caleb could certainly see how this bakery got it’s name.
“You’re gonna need to let ‘em cool for a little bit.” She said, turning back around to the cash register, “Is that alright with you?”
There was a noticeable, distinct pause between the two of them as their eyes finally met. Some immediate, undeniable spark between them. Caleb’s nerves began to flutter deep inside his stomach as the corners of her mouth began to turn upwards into a smile.
“Hun?” she finally asked
“What?” he blurted out, “Oh, right, no sure that’s, um…”
He gulped, his eyes wide. She’d called him hun! Was that flirting? Was she flirting with him? Why would someone like that flirt with someone like him? He hadn’t even worn a good outfit today—maybe he could come back later this week on Friday and—
“Yeah.” He said, inner monologue still running long, “That’s cool, yeah.”
Another small pause. Her smile pursed as she sounded a little chuckle to herself. She leaned a little closer onto the counter, soft stomach pressing onto the back of the display case. Planting both her hands on the counter, she continued.
“It’s, uh… gonna be about twenty minutes.” She said in a low voice, “You, um… you maybe wanna hang out here for a while?”
She flashed her pearly whites and tucked her hair behind one ear.
“Yes.” He answered with an awkward amount of precision and emphasis, fully erect against the display case, “I-I mean, yeah, I wouldn’t mind.”
“Cool.” She extended on arm to shake hands, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Same.” He shook her hand, “My name’s Caleb.”
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