The Blind Date

"Ow, fuck. Hot," she hissed, jamming her fingers in her mouth. The corners of her mouth curled upward in a smile as she sucked on them. After a moment, she pulled them out of her mouth and wiped them off with a napkin. "So worth it, though."

"If you say so. I'm going to let them cool down a bit," I said.

"Suit yourself," she said, blowing on the two cookies sitting on her plate. Seeming satisfied that they were cool enough, she tentatively poked at one of them; it was evidently cool enough for her to grab, since she shoved the whole damn thing into her mouth at once before chewing it up and swallowing it.

"You weren't kidding about being hungry, huh?"

"I never kid when it comes to food, Matt," Rose said, with a smirk. "But I also just want to feel like myself again."

"If I can ask...why does looking that way bother you so much?" Rose grabbed another cookie and took a bite of it.

"A couple of reasons," she began, after she swallowed her bite. "I mean, for one thing, we're out in public." She leaned in a bit closer, her voice dropping to a hushed tone. "You saw how that guy looked at me earlier. It may not bother you, but some people aren't as... accepting as you." She finished up her cookie and grabbed another one, speaking between bites. "I just feel sort of... exposed... right now, looking like this. This is more of a 'lounge around on a weekend and binge TV shows' look for me," she said, the corners of her mouth perking up into a grin.

"That makes sense. You mentioned another reason?" I asked, grabbing one of the cookies and taking a bite. "Oh my God, these are so good. Thanks for getting them."

"I know, right? You're welcome. I can eat a lot, so I usually buy enough for leftovers later on. I didn't want you to have to pay for the whole dozen," Rose said, grabbing a couple more cookies from the box, having finished off the two on her plate. "Anyway. Your question. I mentioned that I had baggage earlier." I nodded, listening intently. "So, my last relationship was kind of a mess, too." She started in on another cookie. "I was with this guy who was a Pollyphile. We had a lot in common and, like, obviously he was into me, so it was nice at first, but that didn't last long. Turns out, the guy was a huge control freak."

"That...doesn't sound good," I said, frowning as I took another bite of my cookie.

"Nope. So, anyway, he basically wanted me to look a certain way all the time, do whatever he wanted, et cetera, and if I refused, he'd get pissed. After a while, things sort of came to a head. I was tired of going along with his shit, so I... just stopped. Stopped changing myself for him, doing what he wanted...you can imagine how that went over." Rose finished off her third cookie and tore the fourth one in half.

"Probably not well," I said, as I finished my cookie and grabbed another from the box.

"Yeah, no. He never hit me or anything, but... well, he found other ways to hurt me." she said quietly, her gaze drooping down to the table. "Anyway, yeah. So I'm still learning to...be okay with looking like this again. Around other people, I mean."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," I said. "You shouldn't feel bad about how you look."

"I know, Matt. I'm...okay," she replied, cramming one of the halves of her cookie in her mouth. She took a moment to chew, then swallowed before speaking up again. "I'm starting to be, anyway; it's a process...cookies definitely help."

"That they do," I said with a grin, as I started in on my second cookie. The conversation lulled for a bit, and Rose finished off the last bit of her cookie, then wiped her hands with a napkin. She grabbed her purse off the floor and opened it up, taking a small package of makeup wipes out of it.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go freshen up and... change," Rose said as she slid her purse back under the table. "I'll be back in a bit."

"That's fine. I'll be here," I said. I thought she would head into the restroom, but she just stood there for a moment, staring at me.

"Thanks for...being honest with me," she said.

"Oh, of course. I didn't want you to think any of it was your fault. Sorry for making you worry, Rose."

"You're fine, Matt," Rose said quietly, her lips curving upward slightly into a weak smile as she walked over to the restroom and ducked inside, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I thought about what Rose had said earlier, about her ex being a Pollyphile. Thinking about my unexpected... reactions tonight, I wondered if I might be one. It would definitely explain some things, especially when it came to my ex. I started to feel a malaise creep over me as I thought about her, and I tried to push the thoughts away. Instead, my thoughts drifted back to Rose, who was currently in the bathroom...changing. My face grew so hot it was liable to light on fire, and I felt my dick start to harden again in my jeans, unbidden. I shook my head and tried to shove those thoughts away, too, taking another bite of my cookie. Suddenly, my attention was drawn to the entrance as the door chimed again, and my stomach dropped when I saw my ex-girlfriend, Cait, come through the door. The cookies currently sitting in my stomach definitely weren't helping anymore.

She was the last person I wanted to see tonight, but clearly, my eyes didn't get the memo, tracking her confident stride as she marched up to the counter, her black leather boots clacking on the tile floor. She was dressed in black leggings and a red crop top that barely contained her ample cleavage. The long, blonde locks she had when we were together had been sheared off into a pixie cut. I wrenched my eyes away from her and buried my face in my phone to try and distract myself, but it was no use; My resolve died away instantly as soon as I heard her voice as she placed her order at the counter. A tangled knot of emotions settled in my brain, leaving me feeling conflicted and frustrated. As much as I wanted to focus on how much I hated her, a tiny part of me recalled the happier moments we had shared together as I heard her voice. My feelings for her were long-dead, but even still, I couldn't help but feel a little wistful. It was a knee-jerk reaction; a specter of the feelings I used to hold coming back to haunt me, unwelcome yet frustratingly unavoidable. I laid my head down on the table, praying that she wouldn't notice me. My heartbeat pounded in my throat as I heard the thumping of her boots getting closer and closer.

"Matt? Is that you?" I heard her ask. I slammed my eyes shut and willed her to just fucking leave, not that it did any good. "That is you, isn't it?" I didn't respond. When she spoke again, her voice was hard: "Are you really just going to ignore me?" There was the Cait I remembered. I was almost grateful for the reminder that she was, in fact, still terrible. After another stretch of silence, she let out a sigh. When she spoke up again, her voice was calm. "Listen, Matt... I'm actually glad I ran into you — I've been wanting to... talk." Tentatively, I raised my head up and turned to face her, my lips pursed. I tried my best to keep my composure as my eyes locked with hers.

"There's nothing for us to talk about," I said coolly. I had cut her out of my life completely after our breakup, and I was keen on keeping things that way. "Please, just go away." Cait's mouth curled into a frown, and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Look, just hear me out, okay? I came over here to apologize, Matt," she said, with a huff. "I know I...messed up, okay? I'm...sorry." I raised my eyebrows at that; it was the last thing I expected to hear from her. Regardless, I really didn't want to deal with her any longer, especially when Rose could come back any minute now.

"Okay," I said, my voice flat. "Bye."

"That's really all you have to say?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yup. Look, Cait. I'm kind of in the middle of something, so please... just leave us alone."

"Us? Are you here with Ryan? Where is he?" she asked, glancing around the store. Her eyes found their way to the bathroom door and she smirked. "Did he get hammered and toss his cookies again?"

"No, I—" I started, but then let the words die off. It really wasn't any of her business what I was doing here. "It doesn't matter."

"Look, can I just say what I came here to say? Will you at least let me do that?" Before I could even open my mouth to tell her no, she continued on anyway. "I wanted to apologize, yes, but I also wanted you to know that I've thought about it a lot, and...well, I was hoping we could maybe...get back together?" Her lips curled upward in a hopeful smile as she finished the question, letting it hang in the air between the two of us. For just a moment, I thought about how happy that smile used to make me - but then I remembered how things ended between us. Or rather, why I had ended things with her.

"Are you kidding me?! Of course not! You fucking cheated on me, Cait. You—" I said, my voice rising. I fought to keep my composure, even though everything in me wanted nothing more than to scream at her. I knew it wasn't worth it - she wasn't worth it. I took a deep breath and spoke softly, willing myself to be calm despite the turmoil roiling inside me. "—you made your choice."

"I made a mistake," she said, her voice strained. "I shouldn't have done what I did, but...we can start over...right?" There was absolutely no way in hell that was ever going to happen.

"Why should we, Cait? Why would you even want to?! You made it abundantly clear how you feel about me!" I snapped.

"Because I... miss you, Matt. You're a good guy." she said. I grimaced at how empty the words sounded coming out of her mouth. She leaned in a little closer, and when she spoke up again, her words were hushed. "Anyway, surely, you've gotten over your little...anxiety... problem by now, Matt — It's been months, after all." I felt like my face was on fire as I glared at her, but I didn't reply. "I mean, you have, right?"

"We're done here, Cait," I hissed, the words dripping with disdain. "Just stay out of my life." Cait's features hardened into a scowl. She looked like she was about to give me hell. Before she could say anything, though, our attention was drawn to the restroom door as Rose stepped out of it, looking exactly as she had back at the bar, red curls and all. Well, not exactly. She had used the wipes to clean the streaks of eyeliner from her face, but she didn't touch up the makeup around her eyes. That didn't matter much to me, though; she still looked beautiful without it. Rose looked over at our table and her face hardened when she saw Cait standing over me. She marched over toward us, staring daggers at my ex all the while.

"Who the hell are you?" Rose asked icily as she shoved past Cait and slid into the seat across from me.

"She was just leaving," I snapped, scowling at Cait. She looked from Rose to me, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Oh, I get it. You're on a date, aren't you?" she asked. Her scowl twisted into a devilish grin as she looked over at Rose. "You must be the new girlfriend, then?" Rose's face turned crimson, and she glanced over at me, then back at Cait.

"What's it to you?" Rose hissed as her irises darkened, becoming gray as gathering storm clouds just for a moment before turning blue again.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just a little surprised," Cait said, smirking. "I know Matt likes girls with a little more up top," she motioned toward her chest, where her cleavage was practically spilling out of her top.

"Oh, do you, now?" Rose asked, as she looked at me from across the table. "You should have told me, babe." She looked up at Cait wearing an impish grin of her own. A look of confusion flashed across my ex-girlfriend's face, but then her eyes widened as she stared down at Rose. I followed her gaze to Rose's chest and saw that her tits were actually growing, slowly but surely. I watched as her black tank top was stretched tighter and tighter as her breasts creeped forward, inch by delicious inch. I felt myself turn crimson as my cock responded in kind, growing harder as my heart began to race in my chest. I watched, entranced, as the amount of cream-colored cleavage packed into her poor shirt grew and grew until her boobs had nearly reached the table. They had surpassed Cait's at this point, and it was a miracle that her bra had somehow managed to hold them in. Seemingly satisfied, Rose turned her gaze back to me as her grin widened. "Better?"

"Uh-huh," is all I could manage to say. Rose turned back to Cait, who was just standing there, stone-faced.

"You were saying?" Rose asked, her voice smug. Her question seemed to snap Cait back to reality; her smirk from earlier was gone, replaced by a deep scowl as her cheeks reddened.

"You think you're so fucking clever, don't you?" she said, starting to raise her voice. "You're not allowed to do that shit in public, you know. It's disgusting." The two employees looked over at the commotion happening at our table as Cait continued her tirade, turning her attention on me. "And you, I'm sure you got a kick out of her little show just now, didn't you, Matt? I saw you drooling over there. No wonder you couldn't get that tiny dick of yours up for me; Sorry I can't pump up my tits like that fucking—"

"—Hey! You need to leave," the employee who was in the kitchen earlier said, having ducked out to see what was happening. Cait looked down at Rose and sneered.

"You heard him. Get out of here." Neither of us said anything, too stunned to move.

"Not her, you," the employee said. Cait's sneer turned back into a vicious scowl as she whipped around. I kept my attention focused on the exchange unfolding in front of me.

"Me?! I haven't done anything wrong!" Cait whined indignantly.

"Really? Because you're the one causing a scene here, not her. Now, leave."

"She blew up her—" Cait, stopped herself, and her cheeks turned red again. "—her breasts out in public - that's a crime! She's the one who needs to be thrown out, for... for disturbing the peace! Look!" She jabbed an accusatory finger at Rose, and we all looked in her direction. Somewhere amidst the chaos, Rose must have shrunk her chest back to its usual size; the only evidence that remained of her little show, as Cait had put it, was a bit of stretching in her tank top. Rose just sat there in silence, her lips pressed in a thin line. Cait's face hardened into a scowl when she saw that nothing was amiss. The employee let out a sigh as he flicked his gaze back toward Cait.

"Ma'am, if you don't leave, I'm going to call the police."

"Well, what about my order?" she asked, fuming.

"You'll get your money back. Just get out... and don't bother coming back." Cait looked absolutely livid. I thought she might try and stir up trouble again, but thankfully she just stormed out of the building in a huff. Rose and I said nothing, just stared at each other as heat blazed in our cheeks.

"Wow, she was...certainly something. You guys okay?" the employee said. I looked across the table at Rose. She didn't say anything, just nodded.

"We're fine, thanks," I mumbled. The guy nodded and headed back behind the counter, leaving the two of us alone once again.

"We should go," Rose muttered, still red-faced. I got up from the table and grabbed the box of cookies as Rose gathered up her purse and slung it over her shoulder. As we were heading for the door, the clerk who had taken our order earlier called us over to the register. As we both walked up to the counter, there was a paper bag sitting on the counter.

"Here's some extra cookies... for the trouble. They're chocolate chip," the clerk said, clutching the bag and holding it out to Rose. "And I just want to say, I'm sorry about earlier. You just kind of caught me by surprise, and...um, anyway, here you go. I hope you guys have a good rest of your night," he said.

"Oh... Thank you," she said, clearly taken aback as she took the bag from him. We left the store without another word and headed out into the night. We walked in silence, following the sidewalk for a bit until I finally spoke up as we passed under the glow of a streetlight.

"Rose, can we stop for a second?" She nodded but didn't say anything further. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry about that...about her."

"I'm...fine, Matt. Don't worry about me. I've heard far worse before. Honestly, I'm mostly just glad I didn't get us kicked out with my little stunt back there. That was really stupid of me to do out in public, but she was pissing me off. It's not really a good excuse... at all, but still. I'm sorry. That won't happen again, I promise."

"Is it bad that hearing you say that makes me a tiny bit disappointed?" I asked, smirking. Rose chuckled.

"Oh? I thought you were the responsible one, Matt," she said, with a sly smile. "Let me rephrase. That won't happen again...out in public. That was way too close of a call. I'm lucky I was able to shrink down while everyone was distracted."

"Yeah, how did you manage to, uh, shrink down so fast, anyway? It seemed like the rest of the stuff you've done tonight has been slower, right? I was so focused on everything else that I didn't even notice until Cait pointed at you." Rose's lips curled into a smile as she pointed to her hair. I saw a few stray white curls hiding amongst the red ones.

"I basically just... sped up the process a little. Had to burn a shit-ton of calories to do it, but it was worth it," Rose, said, as she opened the bag of extra cookies and grabbed one. "I'm going to need a few more of these." She took a bite out of the cookie and swallowed it before speaking up again. "So anyway, how are you holding up, Matt? That was the infamous ex, right?"

"What gave it away?" I asked, bitterly. "Her comment about the size of my dick, or the scathing review of my sexual performance?" Rose ran a nervous hand through her curls.

"She's a fucking asshole, Matt. Don't let her get to you," she said, taking another bite.

"She's not entirely wrong, though, Rose," I said, glumly. "I mean, okay... My dick isn't tiny. I mean, yeah, it's a little below average, but tiny is definitely hyperbolic. It's more like... smedium."

"What the fuck is smedium?" Rose asked, chuckling, as she finished up her cookie and grabbed another from the bag.

"You know, like...on the small end of medium...smedium. It's...a thing, Rose."

"That is definitely not a thing," she said, grinning. She started in on her second cookie, taking a large bite out of it before swallowing it. "But whatever, man, sure. And the other thing? About your, uh...performance?" I didn't say anything, just shrugged.

"I don't really know what to say. Cait and I had sex, but she...never seemed to be satisfied with it. I don't know, I guess maybe that got in my head, or something? There would be times where it just... wasn't happening for me, especially toward the, uh...end of our relationship. And by that point, I could tell it wasn't really working between us, and I wanted to make things work, but I didn't really know what to do about it. It didn't really matter in the end, though," I said, shaking my head.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, looking confused. She finished up her cookie and rolled the bag closed.

"Oh, shit, sorry. You're missing some context here. She cheated on me. Because of the, uh... grievances, she aired earlier. She went and found someone who was a better fit," I spat.

"Oh...damn. If she wasn't happy, why didn't she just end things? Wow, she really was not great, was she?" Rose asked. I shook my head and let out a sigh. "Well, I'm sorry you had to go through that," Her voice was sullen, but it wasn't long before the corners of her mouth twisted upward into a smile. "Man, now I feel slightly less bad about showing her up earlier, as petty as it was. I mean, did you see her face? She really didn't like the fact that I had bigger tits then her."