Chapter 2

The parched browns of dry grass and gleaming glass of skyscrapers rolled past as Kimberly Sommerfield maneuvered her black SUV towards Green Hills Mall. She was incredibly glad she had decided to go with a light colored summer dress with the day turning out as hot as it had. It definitely didn't hurt that the white of the dress set off her lightly tanned skin.

That morning she had taken a look at herself in the sundress paired with conservatively heeled white sandals and been truly surprised how much her still new gym routine had done for her lithe figure. At twenty three years old, standing at an impressive totally average height, light brown hair, and tiny A-cup breasts, she needed all the help she could get in the looks department. Her blue eyes were the only thing that she felt was very striking about her but those tended to get ignored since she generally wore glasses. She never could stand contacts and tried very hard to find and wear stylish frames.

Still, things could be worse. She could still have that damn lisp she'd had when she was a kid.

Belatedly, she realized that the murmur of conversation from her passenger had stopped. She scrambled for a new topic to get things going again.

"You're not getting a case of cold feet are you, Tracy?" She risked a glance over at her flawlessly light brown skinned and best friend since college Tracy Smith.

Tracy's full, pillowy lips curved into an attractive frown. "No ... no cold feet. I just wish that I hadn't, like, found myself in a family way before the wedding. I'm going to look huge, Kim!", she said as she gestured to her obviously swelling stomach. "My Nana, you know how religious my Nana is, was soooo pissed when she found out that Dean and I were pregnant and not even engaged. I heard a ringing noise in my right ear for a full month after that phone call!"

Tracy giggled at her own story and Kimberly joined in in spite of herself. Kimberly was actually quite jealous about Tracy's upcoming nuptials. Not over Dean Hammond, great guy though he was. The 32 year old plastic surgeon was definitely not her type though he did have a certain handsomeness about him. What she was jealous about was that someone, anyone, had swooped in and swept her friend completely off her feet while Kim couldn't seem to form relationships lasting more than a handful of months. Kimberly's accounting career and somewhat room filling personality tended to discourage a huge number of suitors and drive away the ones who stayed.

After a few more minutes of dodging other cars on the highway, the pair pulled into Green Hills Mall. Once Kimberly had helped her much shorter and curvier friend out of the car, the two started off to the main doors then veered directly toward the maternity section. Kimberly couldn't help but notice how perfectly round her friend's perfectly rounded, impossibly pert ass was and how good she looked in the baggy blouse and pants combo she was wearing. Normally she'd be wearing some sensible flats, but was apparently seeking comfort for her poor feet with some nondescript sneakers. Some girls, thought Kimberly, just had all the luck. Even her boobs looked incredible! They had swollen from full B cups to C's since her pregnancy had really gotten underway. This woman was the same age as Kimberly and yet everything always fell her way!

"I really appreciate you coming with me, Kim. I just would never know what would look good on me with me being as big as a house", said Tracy. Her bubbly and genuine personality made her a hard person to resent in any way.

As they went through rack after rack of stretchy fabrics and flattering garments, they chatted about old times. How they met at a party at the Alpha Tau Omega house in undergrad and immediately bonded over their similar backgrounds. Each of them came from poorer backgrounds, but had managed to be valedictorians of their respective graduating high school classes. Kimberly had been the captain of the dance team while Tracy had been the leader of the cheer leading squad. Surprised and pleased by this almost instant connective, the two had then remained friends as Tracy transitioned to nursing school and Kimberly to get her Master's in Accounting. Tracy had plans to return to nursing after a few years off to raise her child. Kimberly had to admit that Tracy was one of the hardest working women she knew.

The two women were, for better or worse, a package deal. As she had explained to Dean when they had met if you bought one you ended up getting both.