Jen leaned across the small table between us, her eyes alight with mischief. "He's totally been eyeing you all night," she giggled.

I think in her drunken state she thought she was being discrete while glancing at the man, but in my sober eyes she was ogling him. not because he was all that attractive, but more because she was so damn optimistic for me. I also knew that he was staring in our direction, sure, but he was most certainly not looking at me. How could he be when I was sitting across from a goddess? With minimal make up and a normal v-neck tee shirt she was still one of the most eye catching women in the restaurant.

I wasn't unattractive, necessarily, but I couldn't hold up a candle to a woman like her. I felt like I was the epitome of average with my shoulder length blonde hair, almost grey blue eyes and a normal body. I wasn't thin and tall like Jen. I was a normal height that looked okay in heels and with being shorter I was also wider. I had thick thighs that were laced with stretch marks and fairly large breasts. I wasn't jealous of my sister though, never had been. I would never be a pageant queen and I would never fit into her little dresses, but I also never struggled to find pants that were long enough for me. While she always hated being flat chested I got to enjoy being a little more busty. While she could never eat enough to put on any weight I could never lose enough weight to go down a pant size despite my balanced meals and daily work outs.

And while she got all the attention- from both respectable and the creepy men- I got to drift around under the radar. Because of that I said nothing and took a heavy drink of my craft beer.

Jen twirled her little umbrella in her frilly pink drink, then peered at my half empty glass. "You can have more. Richard is going to be driving both of us home whether or not you're trashed so you might as well enjoy it."

"I know, it's not that. I'm just not really in the mood," I replied.

Jen finished off her drink and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before speaking again. "If you're worried about money it's on me and you can always ask me for a little bit of financial help. Oh, speaking of which, I talked to a couple of my coaches from the pageants and they would love some head shots for their girls. I know that portrait photography isn't exactly your thing, but it's here in Calgary so you don't have to spend money on gas and it's a quick way to make a few hundred."

"Right, yeah that's perfect. I feel like I don't really have the choice to be picky about what I'm doing. The problem with pageant portraits is I have to spend so much time editing them. Time on site is pretty low and fairly easy work, but it's everything that comes after. Besides, sport is what I'm known for."

"Well, this can tide you over for a little bit and when you start getting more calls for the same people then you can tell my girls to find someone else."

""I actually already got a call back from Western Snowboarders."

"Shut up, that's great! What will you be shooting next time?"

"They want to pair the action shots I got of the snowboarders with some pictures for an interview they will be doing, so basically portrait photography," I said with a shrug.

"Hey, it's a start right? You just have to get your name out there and people will start taking notice again."

"It'll never pay as good as the hockey team did though."

"That's not the point of this, is it? You just need to make enough to be self-sufficient. Living on a tighter budget is better than living with a serial cheater." Her eyes widened with realization when I winced at her words. "Sorry, Pen, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you can't worry about whether or not this is going to sustain the lifestyle that you want in the long run. Right now you just have to get your feet back on the ground."

"I know what you meant and I know that you'd never want to hurt me. It's still hard to hear sometimes, that's all. Totally not your fault," I promised, laying a hand on top of hers.

"Now come on, we are here to find you a new man, one that will make you forget about that dickhead."

"Jen, please," I groaned, poking at my left over fries.

"It's time for you to get back on the market. Then I won't have to take you out for fancy dinners, some guy will do it for me."

"Oh get over yourself," I laughed, "Even when I was with Connor we had weekly outings. You'd miss the hell out of me if I had to cut our time short."

"That's not the point. so what are you looking for? Are you shooting for the opposite of Connor or is there comfort in familiarity."

"Wow, I'm just surprised that you could say that without slurring."

But she wasn't paying attention to me anymore. Those glowing eyes of hers seemed to light up even more when she stared behind me and I knew who she was looking at.

"Richard, you're early," she said with a fake pout.

"Actually I'm late, love," he corrected, approaching our booth with his hands in his pockets and a small smile on his lips.

"How about you sit with us while we have one more?" Jen pleaded, poking out her lower lip. Her begging was unnecessary. Richard was the calmest, most giving man I had ever met. If she wanted to stay here until midnight she would just have to say so. Hell, if she wanted to buy the place he was shrug his shoulders and laugh while signing away their money.

But I wasn't Richard.

"It's late, Jen. I have the interview with the three snowboarders tomorrow. Last time I worked with them it ended up being a lot longer of a day than anyone had anticipated so I better get my sleep."

"But we haven't even found you a man to go home with," she argued.

"We don't need to. At least, not tonight," I assured, patting her hand.

And Richard, the kindest knight, swept in to save me as he often did with my optimistic sister. He took her hand in his and eased her of the booth seat.

"I know that when you drink you have the world's smallest bladder. You go to the washroom and I will try and find a suitable man for your sister," he suggested, his lips close to her ear.

"That is a good idea," Jen giggled, then darted towards the restroom.

"You are a saint," I sighed as I collected my belongings.

"No problem, now let's go pay before she notices that we played her like a fiddle."