She has told me that. Many times. It’s her constant encouragement before this breakup that makes me want to stick by her, even if she is off right now. She was the only person freshman year who made me feel like it was okay if I tried out for the swim team. I’ve always been chubby, with thick arms and legs, and my stomach sticks out farther than my pecs. I’m fatter than your average swimmer, with way more hair too, and when I showed up to the school’s pool for swim tryouts two and a half years ago, I got a lot of up-downs and guys nudging their buddies in the ribs, smirking behind their hands like, This guy thinks he can swim? Coach even said, “You don’t have the optimal body type for swimming, but . . .”

“You can be thick and swim,” a voice said behind me, and I turned to find Kavya walking through the pool gate. She threw an arm over my shoulder despite having never met me and said, “He’s going to do great. Just wait and see.” She winked at me, placed a hand on her own voluptuous hip, and gave me the infamous “Us curvy kids got to stick together” comment that solidified us as best friends for life.

Coach just shrugged like, Suit yourself, but I could tell he still didn’t believe we’d be able to do it.

All eyes zeroed in on me during my swim, scrutinizing every inch of skin and fat, and the attention was enough to make me want to throw up. But I got in the pool and swam the third fastest of the group, and Kavya was first for the girls. It shut everybody up, but I still get the occasional sneer from other schools or parents at swim meets. Kavya tells me not to worry about it, that I’m a certified cub, and I’ll be a bear with guys knocking on my door in no time. But honestly, I don’t want to just be some fetishized fantasy. I mean, I do want guys to want to have sex with me. But I also want them to see me for me, and I know that Dominic did. Reminding him of that connection will be key to winning him back.

“Earth to Sean!” Kavya waves her arm frantically, the motion so big it grabs everyone’s attention on her side of the street. “Are you hearing me? There’s a cutie who is so under your spell that they’ve stopped staring at a mockup of prehistoric bones so they can think about seeing your historic bone, if you know what I mean. If that’s not the universe trying to help you move on, I don’t know what is.”