Dinner at Kaylee's

One of the reasons why I accepted Kaylee’s offer to come to dinner was because I knew her mother was out of town on business. It wasn’t that I hated her or anything, but damn if she didn’t make me uncomfortable. Not to mention whenever I saw her, I couldn’t unsee the way she looked back in the hotel room. Kaylee still had the edge in looks of course, but her mother’s strength went beyond simple attractiveness. There was a commanding aura around her that made her impossible to ignore. Kaylee had that to some extent, but her mother had perfected it with time.

“So? What do you think?” Mr. Webb asked as he leaned towards me with an excited expression on his face. I was still in the middle of chewing my first bite. His enthusiasm surprised me.

“G-good,” I managed with the back of my hand against my mouth. “Really good.” I chewed quickly. “This is restaurant quality. This isn’t something I usually get, but it’s definitely better than the standard fare.”

There was a proud look on his face as he settled back in his chair. “That’s great to hear! This is on the menu then.”

My eye caught Kaylee’s and I quirked my eyebrow up in question.

“His restaurant,” she explained with a smile. “Dad’s being an idiot though. I keep telling you, you’re making your menu too broad with too many specialized ingredients. Pick some core ingredients and build around them.”

By his expression, Mr. Webb had heard all this before. “And as I was saying, this isn’t the final menu. It’s only recipes good enough to be considered.”

“You say that, but we both know you aren’t going to cut any when it comes time.”

He waved her off and cut off a piece before stabbing it with his fork.

“I think I should stop coming over for dinner. At this rate, I’m going to gain fifty pounds before graduation.” My eyes moved over to the deserts waiting on the island. “Especially if you keep making those.”

“You ever think about hitting the gym?” Mr. Webb asked as he prepared another bite. “I feel like I’m getting a bit pudgy myself with all this cooking I’m doing. It would be good to get back into things and I would love a gym buddy.”

Still chewing, I had a few seconds to think. It was hard not to notice Kaylee’s interest in my answer. There was a certain curiosity in her gaze like she was trying to picture me with a toned and muscular body. I’d mostly gotten over my insecurity regarding my average body, but I recognized the gap between Kaylee and me. Ignoring characteristics of attraction, she was in peak physical condition. Basketball and a workout routine kept her in great shape. As for me, I was relying on a youthful metabolism a little too heavily. I was ten or fifteen years away from a dad bod at this rate. I didn’t doubt Kaylee’s attraction to me and our relationship was based on a foundation deeper than physical attraction, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t room for improvement or a reason to be complacent.

Besides, I enjoyed hanging out with Mr. Webb.

Swallowing my food, I nodded. “I think I’d like to try that.”

“I approve!” Kaylee said, blushing when I looked over at her. “Uh… Did I say that out loud?”

Mr. Webb seemed happy too. “Well, we can work out the details later. I’ll look around at some local gyms. It’s been a while.”

“I can ask Liam which one he goes to.”

“The more the merrier.”

The conversation drifted to other topics as we ate, but my mind wandered a bit. I knew I wasn’t going to be some buff god like her father used to be or even Sean. But I could afford to lose a few pounds. There were a dozen reasons why this was a good thing, but only one dominated. The topic hadn’t come up yet, but it was only a matter of time before Kaylee asked about sleeping with other guys—and if things continued as they were, sooner rather than later. I knew things between Kaylee and I were solid now and it was doing wonders to my confidence, but it was inevitable that I would compare myself to them in some ways. It was stupid because I knew the guys weren’t a threat, but that didn’t stop the needling voice in the back of my head. If Kaylee was going to be sleeping with stupidly attractive guys in the future, I needed to get to the point where I was confident and comfortable with where my own body was at.

The more I thought about it, the more I found myself wanting to give it a shot. While Kaylee was a big driver of this new desire, I found that it wasn’t only about her. This was about trying to be the best form of myself and she gave me the motivation to push myself to be that.

Our eyes met and she smiled at me, oblivious to my private thoughts. There was a familiar glint in her eyes, as if urging me to eat because I would need the energy for later.

I really needed to work on my cardio…