Autumn (Chapter 7) (Patreon)

Chapter 7

Autumn and Mike moved into their new Apartment at the end of January. It was a modern building, it was huge, and compared to Autumn’s old place it was a palace. It was on the seventh floor of an eight story building, but the apartment itself had two different levels, with carpeted stairs going up to a master bedroom and an office on the top; and a living room, spare bathroom and bedroom on the bottom. The two floor loft style design gave the main living room incredibly high ceilings for an apartment, making it seem posh and spacious. It also came with a parking spot in an underground garage, which Mike used for the Honda he bought from his dad, and it had free motorcycle parking in a designated area.

At just under 3 grand per month it was significantly more expensive than what they were used to, but with Mike no longer paying for a place of his own it was easily affordable between the two of them. Especially considering Autumn changed companies at the beginning of February, moving from Linkedin to Oracle, and received a big bump in pay, while still being able to work remotely.

Mike punched in the electronic code on their front door then went up the stairs after returning from work. He found Autumn laying in bed gently stroking Samson’s furry neck. “All done?” he said.

She sat up and moved her laptop to the side. “Been done for about a half an hour.”

“Did you stay in bed all day?”

She yawned and stretched out her arms. “Yeah, my neck starts to hurt if I sit at the desk for too long.”

Her feminine movements pumped energy throughout the entirety of his body yet somehow her voluptuous curves also rendered him paralzed with lust. “Up for going to the gym?”

She made a face of disgust. “Uhhh…I need to eat something first.” She tossed the comforter aside and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. She was wearing only makeup, pink panties and a white camisole with a black bra visible beneath, which seemed to be her usual outfit as of late. “Do you have anything planned for dinner?”

Mike was surprised. In the weeks leading up to the move Autumn talked incessantly about how she couldn’t wait to get into a workout routine, lose weight and get back in shape; but now she seemed apathetic and disinterested. They had been living in the new digs for 5 days, and in that time they had only been to the gym together once, as Autumn was so sore the day after the first time, she hadn’t been able to muster the will to go back.

“Umm, not yet,” he said. He sat down beside her, noticing the alluring deep creases she’d recently developed where her thighs folded into her hips. “But there’s that weird German Turkish place downstairs I’ve been wanting to check out.”

She leaned forward and arched her back, causing her cute little belly to poke out beneath her shirt and making her hip-cleavage more pronounced and distinct. “What do they have?”

Mike shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s like gyros, sandwiches and fries and stuff. That sound good to you?” He didn’t think that she would want fries, as she had explained to him that she planned to cut fatty foods out of her diet, but he figured he’d at least put out the offer. She surprised him again.

“I don’t care, but I need something before I pass out.”

“Didn’t you get lunch?”

“I just had a slice of pizza delivered, but that was over 4 hours ago.”

Mike turned his head and for the first time noticed the small open pizza box on the nightstand. There was nothing in it except a long curved strip of crust surrounded by grease stains. “Rocco’s?”

“Yeah but their slices aren't as big as I remember them being.” She shifted her hips toward him and playfully nudged him in the side. “Can you just go please?”

“Alright alright.” He decided not to say anything about getting a delivery charge from a pizzeria that was literally directly across the street from their building. Instead, he kissed her, went down the stairs and out the door. He knew that a hungry girlfriend after a long work day was not someone to be questioned.

Despite his lack of enthusiasm about Autumn wanting to lose weight, he still respected her desire to do so and was willing to support her in such an endeavor, but now he was confused. She wasn’t going to lose anything if he kept bringing her takeout every evening, especially if she was ordering pizza by the slice for lunch, but he wasn’t going to argue with her either.

He brought back two lamb and beef sandwiches and a big order of fries. The food was delicious, and the sandwiches were dripping with creamy sauce, middle eastern style spices and vegetables, and the fries were sprinkled with feta cheese. Mike hated feta so Autumn ate most of those in addition to the rest of her hearty meal.

Was it just him or was her appetite getting bigger?

After dinner Autumn squeezed herself into a pair of yoga pants, put on her purple Balenciaga athletic sneakers and a big fluffy faux fur coat and they went outside through sliding glass doors to their private little balcony for a cigarette.

“So much for not smoking on the porch,” Autumn said.

Mike got up from his collapsible metal chair and peered over the railing. He looked down at the busy city street below, then he looked left, right and up. “I’m sure it’s fine, definitely seems private enough. Nobody else would be outside when it’s this cold out anyway.”

“I don’t mean that, I just mean like it’s going to be harder to quit when it’s this easy.”

Mike sat back down. “Well in the old place it was even easier.”

“I know but we really weren't supposed to be doing that. It was more of just a bad habit that I started because I was too lazy to go all the way outside. Didn’t want to have to deal with bums.”

Mike took a short puff and gazed at her inquisitively. “How long have you been smoking?”

“Ohhh, almost, wait… seven years I guess.”

“What made you start?”

“When I was in college I did a quarter in Delhi.” She took a long slow drag and blew ribbons of carbon monoxide into the crisp evening air. “Seemed like everyone (cough) smoked there and I was curious. Told myself I wanted to fit into the culture.”

Mike loved watching her smoke. Something about that repetitive motion of caressing her mouth with her manicured index and forefinger, then pressing her lips with the cigarette, inhaling from the ember then exhaling and blowing out of her pursed lips. She was putting pleasure before health, and it was oddly sexy on a primal level. “That’s right I forgot you went to India, that’s so cool that you did that.”

She shrugged, expressionless. “Yeah I guess. Been smoking ever since though.”

“Did you ever quit?”

She rolled her eyes. “Dozens of times. How about you?”

“Did I ever quit?”

“No, when did you start?”

“College, same as you.” He gave her a crooked smile. “But I blame it on too many Humphrey Bogart movies. Watch like two or three of those in a row and you’ll find yourself buying a pack of cigarettes without even knowing why.”

“It’s so unhealthy though, we’re going to need to stop eventually. Hopefully the gym will help.”

“Yeah.” He took another puff, then extinguished it in the bowl they were using as an ashtray. “You about ready?”

“No.” She sighed deeply. “I’d much rather have a glass of wine instead, but I definitely need to get my butt in gear before it gets any bigger.”

Mike gazed into her gorgeous eyes. Her face was illuminated from the lights coming from the bedroom on one side, and the highrise apartment building on the other, and with her fur coat and the contrast of the night sky he thought she looked like some sort of elegant ice princess. He rose. “Why does it turn me on so much when you talk like that?”

She stood as well and put out her cigarette. “Oh I don’t know. Probably because you like me.” She stopped for a moment, then smiled. “And you’re deeply in love with my ass.”

Mike blushed. God she was such an incredible tease.

They rode the elevators down to Anytime Fitness. It was so easy and convenient, being able to access the gym without even needing to go outside. Autumn did the same routine she did last time. She was not a runner, and perhaps being unwilling to push her cardiovascular system to anything close to strenuous, she hung out on the stair-stepper and maintained a slow and steady speed. Mike found it interesting that she chose that machine yet she would never take the stairs in the building, always using the elevator.

The gym was fairly quiet and Mike did mostly bodyweight exercises, focusing on dips and pullups, trying not to get distracted by the sight of his girlfriend slowly wiggling her hips on her high pedestal that was the stair machine.

No wonder they call it a stair master. When you see a girl like Autumn on that thing, wearing yoga pants and a tank top, you can’t help but stare.

Just a handful of minutes later Autumn came down from her conveyor belt podium, sweating and breathing heavily. “Are you (pant) done yet?”

“I can be.” Mike let go of the overhead bar and planted his feet on the springy foam mat. “You don’t want to do anything else?”

“No, I’m (gasp) exhausted.” She fanned herself with her hand. “I’m so out (pant) of shape. I’m more winded now than I was when we went on that hike last summer.”

“You’re doing great. It takes a while sometimes to get back into it.”

“I think I’m ready for a bath and that glass of wine now.”

Mike smiled. Her face was flush and her breathing was labored, but goddamn if she wasn’t the most beautiful sight in the world. “You deserve it.”

Things went on like that like over the next month or so. Autumn went to the gym a few times per week, but her job at Oracle was proving to be more taxing than her previous position. She got up early and worked straight through until 5, and when she was done she usually had enough energy to eat dinner and not much else.

By the time March came around however, she seemed to be making progress with her workouts. Her legs were getting stronger, and her nicotine impared lungs regained some of their capacity to transfer oxygen to her bloodstream, as she had successfully cut back on the cigarettes, smoking less than a pack per day for the first time in over a year. Her weight had stubbornly leveled off in the one hundred and eighty pound range, but she had been able to tone up her arms and waist, at least a little.

Just as she was starting to settle into a healthy and balanced routine of work and exercise, news reports came in that 21 people on a California cruise ship had tested positive for something called the coronavirus, and the entire world changed, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

The first thing to close was Anytime Fitness, as nothing is more of a breeding ground for a virus than a public gym. The second was Mike’s job.

The whole campus where he worked shut down completely. Nobody knew for how long, so Mike was kept on retainer, which basically meant he would continue to be paid his full salary just to stay home. Oracle on the other hand, fortunately or unfortunately, was ahead of the curve. As Autumn already worked remotely, her job went on like it was business as usual.

Mike felt bad that he had unlimited free time, while Autumn still had to wake up early and slave away in front of her laptop, so he did his best to make her days as easy and comfortable as possible.

“Oh wow, this looks amazing,” Autumn said as she sat up in bed.

Mike handed her a huge plate of food and a fork, then set a steaming mug of coffee next to her on the nightstand. “Most important meal of the day right?”

“Right.” She smiled and wiggled her hips beneath the down comforter. It was her all time favorite breakfast. A big fluffy German pancake smothered in melted butter and real maple syrup along with two strips of crispy bacon on the side. Her boyfriend knew her well. “Maybe it’s not such a bad idea, having you home all day. A girl could get used to this.”

He grinned.  “Enjoy it while you can. I’m sure I’ll have to be back at work within a week or two.”

She took a bite. “You (chew, chew) think so?”

“I’m guessing.”

She licked her lips. “Okay, then I’ll be sure and take full advantage of it.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and caressed the bare skin of her upper arm. “I live to serve you.”

She took another bite. “Hopefully (chew, chew) the gym opens back up soon.”

“I’m sure it will.” He continued to fondle her squishy arms and shoulders, then looked at the rays of light making their way in from the huge bedroom windows as the sun began to rise.  “Good thing we got this place when we did. Would’ve been pretty cozy if we had to shelter-in-place in your old apartment.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t have been able to practice much guitar.” She was only half way paying attention to him, as she seemed to have one eye on her breakfast, and the other on her laptop screen.

“You gotta get to work?”

She sighed. “Yeah, I should.”

“Okay, I’ll let you be.” He stood up. “I’ll head over to Whole Foods later, text me if you think of anything we need.”

“Sounds good.” She shoved another forkful of pancake in her mouth. “Oh (chew) before I forget, (chew) can you grab some of that ice cream I like?”

“Which one is that again?”

“You know, the Turkish Coffee one.”

“Sure.” He leaned in and kissed her syrupy lips. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

The beauty of Whole Foods was that no matter what Mike bought there, Autumn somehow seemed to approve of it, whereas if he went to Safeway or QFC, she’d accuse him of buying too much unhealthy junk food that was going to make her fat.

At Whole Foods however, he could buy things he knew she loved, and would actually eat.  Tiramisu cake, chocolate croissants, pistachio macarons, peanut butter cookies, and cheesecake of any kind, just to name a few of her favorites.

When he returned from running errands, he went upstairs to check on her. She was still in bed, and to his astonishment, her breakfast, which he knew was way more food than she would ever eat in one sitting, was actually, completely gone. He tried his best not to act surprised.

“Did you like your breakfast?”

“Yes, it was good, you know how to make that well.”

He didn’t think that anyone could possibly still be hungry after eating such a carb heavy, high calorie meal, but he decided to press his luck anyway. “What can I get you for lunch?”

Her eyes flashed towards him. “Are you kidding? I’m still full from breakfast.”

He stepped forward and took her plate and fork away from the nightstand. “Okay, well, let me know if you get hungry.”

“Don’t worry about me, I can fend for myself.”

He looked at her lovingly. “I know, I just like to take care of you.”

“I appreciate it.”

The alarm went off early the next morning as usual. Autumn pried herself away from Mike’s spooning clutches and turned it off. She rolled over in bed and pressed herself into him as he gently kissed her neck and caressed her thigh and hip. He loved cuddling her. She smelled so delicious and sweet and her body was so warm and soft to the touch that he would’ve happily laid in bed with her all day if he could.

She yawned and gazed at him dreamily, slowly trickling her finger along the hardened muscles of his chest. “I’m hungry.”

“Okay baby.” He put his hand on the side of his head and propped himself up. After the previous morning’s lavish meal, he knew that she would probably want something healthy and light, or maybe a soy latte and sandwich if he was lucky. “I can head out and grab something from Uptown Espresso.”

“No.” She spoke with a sensual coo, almost a pout. “I want what you made me yesterday.”

He sat up. “German pancake?”

She nodded. “Mmhm.”

He was shocked. The huge skillet sized pancake with strips of bacon on the side was a breakfast fit for an old time Bavarian lumberjack that burned 7,000 calories a day chopping down beech trees; not a work from home girl who spent most of her time in bed. Did she really want that two days in a row? He did his best to act nonchalant, smiling at her affectionately. “Your wish is my command.”

The coronavirus continued its worldwide spread as March turned into April, and the Washington State government was closing down restaurants, bars and even schools. Things were getting worse, not better, and for Mike’s job, which originally seemed like it would be closed for a short hiatus, now appeared to be turning into a long term shutdown with no end in sight.

There was only so much guitar Mike could practice and only so many pushups and situps he could do before it all got repetitive and mundane. He needed to find other ways to fill his time, so he started getting more into cooking and baking.

He had perfected the Dutch Baby or German pancake to an exact science, as he had begun to make it for Autumn almost every morning. He was not a breakfast type of guy himself and rarely ate anything before noon, but his pancakes must have been beyond delicious because Autumn amazingly never seemed to get tired of them.

Day after day, morning after morning it was the same routine. Mike would wake up, preheat the oven,  mix up a batter of eggs, whole milk and white flour, then melt a half a stick of butter in a 12 inch cast iron skillet. He would then pour the mixture over the melted butter, put the skillet in the oven, then fry up strips of bacon on the gas stovetop as the fluffy pancake baked.

When it was done he’d cut it into segments of 4, put it on a big dinner plate and drizzle it liberally with maple syrup; and along with two pieces of bacon and mug of coffee with steamed half and half, he’d carry it up the stairs, so Autumn could eat in bed.

The amount of fat, sugar and carbs that his girlfriend was consuming every morning seemed unfathomable to him and he kept waiting for the day when she’d tell him she wanted something lighter, or that she was sick and tired of the same old breakfast, but she never did.

It wasn’t long of course, before all this eating and complete lack of physical activity, began to take its toll on Autumn’s figure. Perhaps it was the shelter-in-place, or the quarantine and 6 feet apart mandates, or maybe it was just the end of the world type of atmosphere that hovered over the city, but whatever the reasons, Mike was surprised that Autumn didn’t seem very concerned, or even aware that she was piling on the pounds at an admittedly rapid rate.

Did she not care?

Maybe, like a frog in boiling water, she just didn’t think about it. She saw herself in the mirror everyday, and it’s not like she looked any different from one day to the next, not even necessarily one week to the next. Let a month pass however, and there were significant, eye-catching and obvious changes taking place. Not just in appearance either, in her demeanor and personality as well. It seemed that as she got curvier, she also became somehow girlier; her movements slower, more sensual and more feminine and her voice breathier.

She didn’t know the numbers because she had stopped weighing herself all together, but if she had she would’ve found that by the end of April she was 191 pounds, and by the end of May, (with Mike still not back at work) she was up to a whopping 197.

Mike loaded the dishwasher then ran upstairs like a twelve year old boy. He found Autumn in the bedroom, struggling to fit into a pair of skinny jeans. Reminiscent of the last time he saw her trying to squeeze into too small jeans, he could tell right away it was going to be a losing effort, so he spoke hesitantly. “Do you like em?”

She gave him a look. “Yeah, (gasp) but, I don’t think they’re the right size.” She was pulling hard on the waistband and gasping from the effort, pants still below her hips. “This is why I (pant, gasp) can’t buy anything without trying it on first.”

“They won’t let you do that now, I don’t even think you can take stuff back once you wear it anymore.”

She glared at him. “I know.”

“Can you return stuff online?”

“Maybe.” She managed to slowly slide the jeans over her butt, then, with her back turned and a bend in her knees, she tried to fasten the top front button. “It’s just so hard (gasp) to find clothes that fit my body shape.”

Mike stared at her like a stoner in a dispensary. It had been a while since he had seen her in jeans and he was having trouble believing his eyes.

The progress she had made at the gym back in late February and early March was long gone, and it seemed that she was now passing the point of soft and curvy and crossing into big territory. It was clear she was continuing to gain weight in the places that she always did. Her upper arms, her breasts, maybe a tiny bit in her face and neck, a little in her tummy,  but mostly in her hips, thighs and butt. And what a beautiful butt it was, especially in those jeans.

But when did it get so huge?

And when did those hips get so wide?

As Mike’s eyes zoned in on the overstuffed taught denim of her back pockets, his mind flooded with obsessive torturous yearning. He put his hand to his mouth to make sure there wasn’t any drool.

“Looks pretty amazing from the back,” he said.

“Yeah, but look at the front.” She turned toward him, still tugging with both hands, trying to close the gap of the unzipped fly to no avail. She let go and flung her arms up in frustration. “Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to do this right after dinner.”

They had just finished eating a home cooked feast of chicken alfredo pasta, but Mike knew that one meal wasn’t to blame for what he was seeing. Her stunning hourglass figure was filling out in an awe-inspiring fashion. Her boobs were definitely bigger, and her proportions were more amplified. She had real honest to god thunder thighs, and the denim around her hips looked to be on the brink of splitting at the seams. Her waist was more than just soft now too, and she was starting to get a pretty substantial belly. It was indisputable, especially with the way it was spilling out and filling the void of her unzipped pants like rising bread dough in an undersized loaf pan.

“Do you need help?” Mike stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her from behind and grabbed the tops of her jeans with both hands, pressing himself into her big soft ass like a magnet on steel.

“No!” She wiggled away and plopped down on the edge of the bed. The force of her body caused the springs of her old queen size mattress to squeak like a rusty door hinge.  “Uhh, who am I kidding? There's no reason for me to be wearing jeans anyway. It’s not like we can see people or go anywhere so I might as well just be comfy.”

He smiled and sat down beside her. “Good idea, no pants are the best pants.”

His eyes drew downward. He couldn’t get over how enormous her thighs looked when she was sitting.

Why was that so incredibly sexy?

She pursed her lips seductively, then moistened them with her tongue. “You’d like that wouldn’t you.”

“Of course.”

“I can always just keep wearing leggings and dresses.”

Mike's heart felt like it could beat right out of his chest in such a way that he hadn’t experienced since he was a teenager. Her tummy, now with a deep-set, hollow looking belly button, was protruding onto her lap and oozing over unfastened pants and yet he wasn’t the least bit repulsed. On the contrary he could think of nothing he’d rather do than kiss it, squeeze it, knead it, and bury his face in it until he couldn’t breathe.

What the hell was happening?

What were these sensational feelings that were pounding and electrifying his body?

Why did Autumn’s weight gain turn him on so much and make him crazy with wild lust?

Why did he find himself wondering what she would look like if she gained even more weight?

What was it about a woman with curves that was so fucking sexy?

“Come on, let’s get these things off you,” he said. He stood and began peeling them down the swollen flesh of her legs. “They’re really nice jeans, maybe get the same ones and just go up a size.”  Once off completely, he brought them over to the Amazon box in the corner of the room.

He folded them and glanced at the tag on the inside of the waist.

Size 14.