Autumn (Chapters 1-15) (Patreon)

Chapter 1

Mike sat on the cement stoop and looked at the apartments across the street. The building directly in front was his, but the old brick one to the left was where Autumn lived.

He took another drag off his cigarette. It was an early afternoon in May and the sun was shining through his short, dirty blonde hair and bouncing across his handsome face. He’d only moved to the neighborhood a week ago, but he thought by now he would’ve seen her, at least once, but he hadn’t. Not one time had he witnessed her come out of her apartment, not even for a cigarette.

Did she quit?

She’d been trying to give up smoking back when they worked together. That was over four years ago. Of course, he had seen her since then. They went on a date, well sort of…but still, even that was a few years back.

God.

She was really beautiful, why the hell didn’t he pursue her further?

Perhaps he thought she was too good for him. Maybe he had become so accustomed to not getting what he wanted, that when he did, he sabotaged himself.

Was it fear of success?

Fear of loving, or the responsibility that comes with being loved?

Whatever the reasons, he wanted another chance, and every time he went over to that stoop for a smoke, he’d kept an eye out. Countless girls came in and out of her building and whenever he got excited that one of them might be her, he was left disappointed. From a distance, it was hard to tell.

Maybe that’s her! No, too tall.

Is that Autumn? No, not pretty enough.

Is that-no, too short.

Maybe…nah.

He’d probably have a better chance of spotting her if he focused more on men and if their heads snapped around when a woman walked by. That woman would no doubt be Autumn Murrell.

Aside from her looks, and though it seemed superfitial and dumb, one of the things he liked about Autumn was her size. She was around 5 feet 5 inches tall and 130 to 140 pounds, a perfect match in his mind, for his 5 foot 11, 165 pound frame. She hit all the checkmarks of the ideal girlfriend that he’d always fantasized about.

Maybe that was it.

Maybe she was too perfect and hit too many checkmarks.

He looked at his phone. He thought about texting again but he didn’t want to come across as needy or overzealous. He hadn’t planned to move in right next door, but when he saw the location and the available studio apartment, he took it without hesitation. He didn’t have time to be choosy. Living in the building next to Autumn was just a happy coincidence and that was all.

He took a final puff on his cigarette, stomped it out on the sidewalk then grabbed the pack out of his jacket pocket but it was empty.

Shit.

It was a short walk to the corner mini mart. Just down the sidewalk and across the street. The place had the selection of a small gas station, but he could buy cigarettes there and it had become his main grocery store.

He turned down the aisle and scoured the cold cases for his usual drinks. He grabbed a couple of Red Bulls, cradled them in one arm and headed toward the front checkout counter. He stopped.

There was a girl in his way.

Not just any girl either.

Although her back was turned, he could tell this was a very attractive, and very shapely young woman, and she wasn’t hiding much in her black tights and green camisole.

Was it her?

No, it couldn’t be.

This girl had some hips on her and Autumn never had quite that much junk in the trunk. She turned and tossed back her shoulder length, reddish brown hair. “Mike?”

His knees suddenly weakened and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. “Autumn?”

He blinked and did a double take. She was more beautiful than he remembered, and with the way she filled out those leggings, she was a bit curvier than he remembered too. She looked like she was closer to one hundred and sixty pounds than to 130. He was prepared for that though.

Part of what had rekindled his interest was that according to Facebook, she had put on a little weight, and there was something about a woman with curves that excited Mike like nothing else. Perhaps because all of his ex-girlfriends had been so slim and bony.

From what Mike gathered Autumn had broken her foot or something a while back and there were a few photos of her online with friends at an outdoor country music concert. She was sitting on the grass next to a pair of crutches, wearing cutoff jean shorts that displayed softer, chubbier legs. An understandable and slight weight gain that was no doubt the result of her injury. Autumn was many things, but fat, or anything close to being overweight or out of shape was never one of them, or so he thought.

Standing before him now she flashed a big smile. “Hey, I thought that was you! Sorry I didn’t get back to you, I’ve just been really busy.”

Mike’s heart thumped and he tried his best to keep his gaze from lowering too far south of her alluring neckline. 

Since when did she have breasts like that? 

“That’s okay. How have you been?”

She shrugged, then gestured at her leg. “I’m alright, still limping around a little.”

“Yeah, I saw that.”

“Next!” the small Asian woman behind the counter said.

Autumn turned with her bag of cheetos and iced tea and went to check out. She asked for a pack of American Spirits and paid. Mike followed behind and did the same, trying hard not to stare too longingly or obviously at her butt.

They stepped outside and slowly started walking together toward home.

“So which building are you in?” Autumn said.

“That one.” Mike pointed across the street. “The blue one with the white…pillars.”

She had a slightly amused expression on her face. “Wow you really are right next door.”

He shrugged as the walk sign came on. “Yeah, it was a good price.”

She continued to move gingerly, trying not to put too much weight on her foot. “I think you’ll like living on the hill, it’s a fun neighborhood, great restaurants all around this area.”

“I’ll bet, although I hope you haven't had to walk too much with that foot.”

“I manage just fine.”

They approached their buildings. “We’ll have to grab coffee and catch up,” Mike said.

She smiled. “I’ve got a meeting right now but I’d love to have coffee with you. I’ll text you when I’m free.”

“Ok Autumn, sounds great.”

“Bye Mike. Good to see you.”

“You too.”

Goddamn she was beautiful. 

He packed his Camels against his palm as she walked away.He could hardly believe how much bigger and rounder her ass was. Gone was the cute little barista girl that he had known and in her place was a stunning and fully grown sophisticated woman of substance. He actually felt a little intimidated by the shapely contours and curves of her alluring figure. 

Chapter 2

The coffee shop was adjacent to a small art theater and Autumn walked through the doors the next afternoon. She saw Mike standing in line with nobody behind him. He looked good. When they used to work together at Starbucks, all the girls had crushes on him and she was no exception, although she would never reveal that.

Mike turned and smiled. “Hi.”

“Hey.”

He inspected her. She was dressed in a pair of high waisted jeans and a cute black shirt with sleeves so short that they barely covered her narrow, yet softened shoulders. Her upper arms were so much more fleshy and plush than Mike remembered, a clear indicator of her recent weight gain. “What do you want to drink?”

“I’ll get it.”

His smile dimpled. “No, it's on me. You walked all the way over here, it’s the least I can do.”

She looked at him blankly, then shrugged. “Okay.” Her long dark eyelashes fluttered in thought for a moment. “I’ll have a soy chai, twelve ounce.”

“You got it.” Mike got a little lost in her gaze. Her chocolate eyes were stunning and they complimented her fair skin and beautiful auburn hair perfectly. It seemed she had spent a little extra time on her makeup that afternoon and he took notice. He wasn’t the only one either, as he caught the bearded barista checking her out pretty hard as well. “Go ahead and find a table, I’ll bring it over.”

“Okay.”

Steam rose and hissed from the espresso machine as the hipster behind it prepared the hot beverages. When the drinks were ready Mike put the lids on and walked them over to the small round table next to the window where Autumn was sitting.

“Thanks,” she said.

“My pleasure.” He took his jacket off and sat across from her. “So what happened to your foot?”

She brought her Chai to her nose then set it down. “It was an ankle fracture, kickboxing training at the gym.”

“Really, kickboxing?”

“Yeah, messed up my knee too, but that’s pretty much healed now.”

“That’s too bad.” Mike nursed his Americano carefully. He was nervous. This was what he had been hoping for since he moved. A chance to sit down and have coffee with Autumn. Now it was actually happening and he desperately wanted to make the most of it, but her fuller figure and haughty beauty was not exactly doing anything to put him at ease. Was she always this gorgeous?  “Cool that you were kickboxing though, I’ve always wanted to try something like that.”

She adjusted her hips in her seat. “So, when did you move again?”

He cleared his throat. “Just about a week ago.”

“Why the hill?”

“I just needed a place. Took one of the first apartments I saw.”

She gave him an expressionless and prolonged stare as if she didn’t believe that was the whole story. “Breakup?”

“Yeah.”

“Doing okay?”

He sat up straight and looked her in the eye. “Oh yeah, it was my decision and it was the right thing to do, so it’s good.”

“What happened?”

His americano was beginning to cool down and he took a sip before he spoke. “I don’t know.” He paused, searching for words. ”She was a little bit older, I think we were just in different places in life, wanted different things.” He looked out the window at the busy city street, then back at her. “How about you? You got a boyfriend?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Went through a breakup a few months ago.”

“Do you mind if I ask what happened?”

“I don’t know.” She took a sip of her Chai. “We went to Hawaii together, got in a big fight and split up when we got back.”

Mike figured she was single but he was relieved all the same when he heard her say it. He had gone through her Facebook and Instagram accounts and had seen a picture or two of the guy he assumed she was talking about. He was young and handsome, seemingly much more like himself than the huge bodybuilder guy he knew she dated a few years prior. “What was the fight about?”

She sighed again. “I wanted to go out to nice restaurants and enjoy myself, he didn’t want to spend money.”

Mike nodded. “Oh.”

“I was like, okay, we’re here, we’re not here very often, I want to go out and have fun…but he wasn’t into it. He said he didn’t want to waste money on needless stuff and said I was too bossy.”

Mike shook his head, although he knew from his experience of working with Autumn, that she most definitely had authoritative aspects to her personality. “It’s not bossy to want to go out to a nice restaurant.”

She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way that Mike found incredibly sexy, but then again, everything she did was sexy. Just watching her lips move seemed to mesmerize him.

“I know,” she said.

“Relationships are hard. I feel like the closer I get to 30, the heavier everything feels.”

She slid her butt to the back of her wooden chair causing it to groan and squeak beneath her weight. “Well you gotta work at them, and you have to be with someone who is willing to work.”

“For sure.” He looked into her eyes and then down at her drink which she was clutching with both hands. Her hands were small and delicate and her nails were manicured a creamy sea-green color. “Are you lactose intolerant?”

Her head tilted upward. “Why because of the soy?”

He was testing her. “Yeah, just curious.”

“Not really, it's just that regular milk upsets my stomach sometimes.”

“So many people around here are gluten free or vegan these days.”

“Omigod yeah.”

“But you’re not?”

“No, I don’t give into trends that easily.”

“I like that.” He smiled. She had passed his test with flying colors. He had dated girls in the past that seemed to be allergic to everything, had multiple dietary restrictions and he found such things to be difficult to navigate during the courting phase of a relationship.

They sipped their beverages and made small talk for a while longer and then Mike said: “Got any pets?”

“Yeah, I have a cat.”

“Boy or girl?”

“Boy. His name is Samson.” She pursed her lips for a moment and smiled through her eyes. Her facial features were delicate and feminie, much like her hands. Mike always thought she looked a bit like a redheaded Scarlet Johansson, although that description didn’t do her justice, as she was more classically beautiful than any movie star or model that he had seen, and he found it alluring and intriguing that despite the weight gain, her gorgeous face seemed to have remained unchanged and unaffected by the extra pounds, at least in comparison to her hips. She moved her chair backwards a little. “You wanna meet him?”

“Yeah.” He took a final swig of his coffee then stood up. His eyes drew down towards her legs which were packed so snuggly in her stylish jeans. Still in her seated position Mike had a clear view of her hips and thighs. She was even bigger and curvier than he had initially realized. He had always known Autumn to have a small, tight little hourglass figure, but looking at her now she seemed more bottom heavy and pear-shaped, much to his delight. He watched as she scooted back her chair further and placed her hands on the table. “Need help?”

“I can manage,” she said in a haughty if not breathy voice. With a little more effort than he was expecting, she heaved herself up carefully. Mike moved a chair out of her way to clear a path then grabbed her Chai. It was empty.

“I’ll recycle these real quick,” he said.

She nodded then focused her attention back on walking without putting too much weight on her foot. Mike held the door open and they headed outside.

He kept in stride with her and they crossed the street and continued to walk slowly until they were in front of her building. They stopped.

Mike put his hands in his pockets as a cool breeze chilled the air. “You uh, want a cigarette before you go?”

“I’d need a jacket.”

“You can wear mine.”

“No, it’s okay.” She paused for a moment then smiled at him. “We can smoke inside.”

“You can smoke in your apartment?”

“Not really, but I do sometimes. I just turn the fan on and try to blow it out the window.”

“Okay, sure.”

He followed her to her front door. Her building was old and quaint, probably 1890’s construction, he thought. She led him inside to a small maroon carpeted lobby, then around the corner to the left. She took keys out of her brown leather handbag and unlocked the door to her ground level studio. They went in and a black cat with a lion’s cut greeted her cautiously.

“Hey buddy, how are you?” She stroked his furry mane and ran her fingers down his little shaven body. Mike crouched down and brought his hand to the cat's mouth, only to be shunned. Autumn smiled. “Don’t take it personally. It takes him a while to warm up to strangers.”

Mike smiled back then stood up and looked around. Out of the handful of years that he had known Autumn, he had never been in her apartment before. Somehow, it was exactly as he pictured. It was not a big place and there was a queen size bed in the center of the main room. To the right there was a blank canvas propped up on an easel, and behind that was a black leather sofa in front of a wall mounted flat screen TV. On the other side of the sofa there was a small desk with an open laptop computer.

“How long have you lived here?”

“Almost five years, ever since I graduated from college.”

“You work from home?”

She draped her purse over the side of a chair and turned towards him, her stylish heeled boots creaking the old oak flooring in the process. “Mmhmm.”

He took his jacket off and hung it on the coat rack against the wall near the front door. “You like that?”

“It’s a little stressful, but it’s been nice with the leg and everything, not having to commute.”

He followed her around the bed and through an open doorway where there was a small kitchen. Her place wasn’t exceedingly clean, but it wasn’t overly messy either. A candle sat on the table of a tiny breakfast nook, and more than a few dirty dishes were piled in the sink. “How have you been getting food and stuff? I’d think it would be hard to lug grocery bags all the way from QFC with your injury.”

“I manage,” she said blankly. “I usually get Amazon Fresh deliveries or take an Uber.”

“That’s good.”

She took an empty coffee mug from one of the cupboards, placed it on the table, then turned on the kitchen fan which was built into the ceiling. “What about you?”

Mike sat down in a chair next to the table. “What do I do for groceries?”

She shoved the kitchen window upward, then took out a silver cigarette case and opened it. “No, what are you doing for work these days?”

“I just finished a big video editing contract, but got hired at the Google Campus up in Fremont with a facilities company, JLL it’s called.”

She placed a cigarette between her lips and Mike lit it for her with his zippo. “Wow, that’s cool, I love Fremont.”

“I actually start on Monday. We’ll see how it goes I guess,” he said before lighting one himself. “So what are the best places to eat around here?”

Autumn leaned her butt against a small wooden ledge that was part of the wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. She really did have an amazing body. Her thighs and hips were shapely and substantial; and while her waist was still small, there was a bit of a soft belly roll poking out just above the high waistband of her jeans causing her black top to ride up slightly toward her breasts.

“There’s a lot of good places to eat around here,” she said. “There’s ramen, Little Woody’s, Fogan Cocina across the street, tons of great Thai places as well.”

“I’ve been getting Hot Mama’s pizza sometimes, it’s not bad.”

“Yeah that place is good but I tend to gain weight if I eat that kind of stuff.”

Mike's heart skipped a beat after she said that. She said it almost as if she was unaware that she had already gained weight. Of course, to be fair, she had seen herself everyday for the past four years while he certainly had not. To Mike, her curvier, more voluptuous appearance was obvious, but perhaps in her mind she looked the same as she always did. She was a mystery to him and a bit of a walking contradiction. Just the fact that she smoked cigarettes seemed to go against her progressive, intelligent and adventurous personality; but it was something Mike always liked about her as it told him she wasn’t quite as rigid and stuck up as she appeared.

He remembered when they went on a date a few years back. She made a big deal over the fact that she had skipped out on the gym in order to meet with him. She was pretty fit then, and while very cute and attractive, she wasn’t what he would call curvy, and she was never a girl with overly prominent T and A. Looking at her now it was evident, and with her injury understandably so, that she hadn’t set foot in a gym in quite some time and she had T and A in abundance.

Mike flicked ash into the coffee mug and gazed up at her slowly and lustfully. He cleared his throat. “You look great.”

“Thanks.” She took a short puff on her smoke and looked back at him. His tight shirt showed off his broad shoulders and lean muscular arms. His piercing blue eyes brooded at her so longingly that they nearly took her breath away. “You too.” There was a moment of silence that to her felt like an eternity. “Still have your motorcycle?”

“Yep, still got it,” he said proudly. “You don’t have a car right?”

“No. Like I said I take Uber, there’s no place to park around here anyway.”

“Right.” He flicked more ash into the mug.  “I uh…I know you probably got a few more hours of work but we’ll have to do this again sometime.”

She stood up straight as her eyes brightened. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

He took a final drag on his smoke then stabbed it out. He rose. “Alight, I should get going.”

“Okay,” she said.

He took a step forward and they gazed at each other face to face. She was so young and ripe for the taking. Her lips were full and plump and looked so delicious Mike could hardly stand it. He thought about grabbing her and kissing her right then and there but his nerves held him back. “Call or text anytime, you know I’ll always be close by.”

She smiled in her understated way. “Yeah I know where you live.”

He walked over to the front door, unhooked his jacket and put it on. “See you later Autumn.”

“Bye Mike.”

Chapter 3

The attraction between Mike and Autumn was strong and magnetic, but there was also a sense of fear that kept them wary. Mike still had his ex fresh in his mind and her memory weighed on his conscience. He had already gotten what he wanted in some ways. He had proven to himself that Autumn was available and interested, but when it came to moving forward, he felt somehow scared and blocked, as he knew the great responsibility that comes with love and a relationship. It was easier for him to dream about her at night and picture her magnificent body naked from the comfort of his solitude than to actually make it a reality.

Autumn was wary because she had been burned and lied to by men in the past. She was a hopeless romantic, too pretty for her own good and deep down, she was lonely. She liked Mike but she wasn’t entirely sure if she could trust his intentions. He was so good looking that she found herself questioning whether or not he was a player, or if he was capable of being a one woman man.

They did not see each other the following day, nor did they call or text. It wasn’t until a few days later that Mike received a message from her, asking if she could come over. He jolted to attention and quickly cleaned up and organized his tiny, sparsely furnished apartment before trudging down the stairs. He opened the door to his building and she was standing there on the moonlit steps. He could tell instantly that she had been crying.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

She looked at him wide eyed and with a serious expression on her face. “Can I come in?”

“Umm, yeah of course.” He opened the door wider then stopped. “Do you want to have a cigarette first?”

“No, I’ve been chain smoking all afternoon, I really need to quit.”

“Okay.” He nodded and she stepped inside. She was dressed in black yoga pants and a matching zip up jacket that looked like it was purchased 15 pounds ago. “There’s stairs, are you going to be able to…”

“I can manage.”

There were two flights of stairs to get to Mike’s second floor apartment and Autumn went up the steps one by one, slowly and carefully. By the time she reached the top he noticed that she was slightly winded from the excursion.

“Is that hard?”

“It’s (pant) not too bad.”

He opened his door and they went in. “Sit down, get off your feet and make yourself at home.”

She collapsed on his small Ikea sofa and looked up at him with sorrow.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s my Dad,” she said. “He’s been having heart problems and I just found out he’s in the hospital.”

He sat down in a chair directly across from her. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

She scrunched her nose and sniffled, then wiped some of the smudged makeup from her eyes with a tissue that she took from her purse. “I’m just scared.”

“He’s down in Oregon?”

“Yeah, I wish I could be there. I’m just having trouble picturing him…that way, you know?”

Mike nodded with an understanding that she found comforting. “Yeah. My dad had a heart attack a few years back. Had to have open heart surgery.”

“Really?” She scooted herself forward a little, unzipped her jacket and took it off. Beneath, she wore a black spaghetti strap top that also seemed to be a bit too small. “Is he okay now?”

“Oh yeah, he’s good, better than he was before.” He stroked his chin and gazed at her. Even in her distressed state she looked amazing. Her breasts had certainly grown over the past few years and the tightness of her shirt squeezed against the softness of her sides, causing little rolls of fat to form just above her armpits. “It’s hard seeing your parents get older.”

“Yeah I’m not used to it. I don’t think I’m ready for it.”

Mike was having trouble keeping his eyes from drawing down to her legs. Her thighs were so much thicker and shapelier than his ex’s, and found them to be wildly and refreshingly attractive. “It’ll be okay.”

“Thanks,” she said softly. “Sorry to come over like this, I’m a bit of a mess.”

“It’s okay, I’m glad you came.” He was getting the feeling that the health problems of her dad were a little less serious than she was making them out to be and perhaps her show of affliction was more of a test, or just an excuse to see him. Not that he thought she wasn’t being truthful, it was just that the vibes she was sending him seemed a little more flirtatious than sorrowful.

“I guess I just needed to talk about it with someone,” she said.

“I’m glad you chose me.”

“Me too. It’s weird seeing your parents get older.”

“Yeah, it’s hard.” He stood up. “Um, can I get you anything?”

“No, just...” She closed her eyes as if she was on the brink of tears.

Mike stepped forward and sat down beside her on the couch. “It’s okay, come here.”

He put his arm around her shoulder, pulled her close and she nestled her head against his chest. The comfort of his embrace felt so natural and loving that she thought she could dissolve in his arms if she let herself. She slowly lifted her head up and stared directly into his eyes with her nose just inches away from his.

Mike’s heart rate accelerated. He didn’t hesitate a moment longer. He did what he had always wanted, yet failed to do since he met her. He leaned in and kissed her full lips, softly, gently and passionately.

It was like a huge weight was instantly lifted from their shoulders as she melted into him and kissed him back. His hand shifted from her shoulder down to her waist and he pulled her tight to his body. She felt heavier than he expected, but she felt wonderful.

“I just wish everything wasn’t so hard,” she cooed after their lips parted. “Work, family, love…it just…” She hesitated for a moment, turned away, then looked at him with a hint of a smile. “It makes me wish I could just be a housecat.”

“A housecat?”

“Well…yeah.”

“You mean like, never have to worry about anything, not have to work, just lay around and sleep and have someone else feed you?”

She sniffled again, then let out a cute giggle in spite of herself. “Sounds pretty great right?”

“It does actually.”

She looked down for a moment, suddenly feeling silly for breaking down and expressing her vulnerabilities like that. “I’m sorry, I’m okay really.”

He placed his hand on her knee. “You got nothing to be sorry about.”

“Thanks.”

They talked for a while longer until there was a moment of awkward silence, as neither of them were quite certain of what to do next. “I know it’s a long way down those stairs, but are you ready for a cigarette now?”

She let out a breathy sigh and looked at him lovingly. “Sure.”

Mike sprang to his feet and helped her up with both hands.

He lingered behind as she went down the stairs. She really did have quite a spectacular ass. It was big, as round as it was wide and it jiggled and bounced with every sexy feminie move she made. He had noticed that she left her jacket back up on his couch, but he didn’t say anything as the way she looked from the back in those tights and that revealing top was almost too good to be real. Her body was incredible, and if she had left her jacket off on purpose, he couldn’t blame her for wanting to show off. She wasn’t fat and he wouldn’t even call her chubby, but she certainly had an abundance of curves in all the places that made Mike’s head spin and his stomach flutter.

Once outside she took a cigarette out of her purse and he lit it for her. He then lit his own and gracefully hoisted himself up onto the concrete ledge that separated the sidewalk from a little garden strip of the apartment building across the street. He watched as she attempted to do the same.

With her hands on the top of the ledge she tried to lift herself into a sitting position. She kicked her boots against the short wall just inches above the ground as she struggled to get up next to him. She failed and lowered back to the ground with a gasp.

“Oh God, (huff) you made that look (pant) so easy.”

He reached out his hand. “Here I’ll hold that for you.”

She gave him her cigarette and tried again. “Come (gasp) on.” Her little heeled boots came back down to the sidewalk as her second try resulted in the same way as the first. She was a little out of breath, and looked frustrated and confused. “Shit, (huff) what the hell!”

It was clear, and also incredibly hot for Mike to see Autumn coming to the realization that she was no longer quite as light and athletic as she once was. No doubt that once her ankle was healed completely she’d be anxious to get back in the gym so she could shed the extra 15 or so pounds she’d gained over the past several months.

He jumped down. “Let me help you.” He placed the cigarettes carefully behind his ears, bent over then cradled his hands together and she stepped on his open palms and finally climbed up.

“Fewww! God I’m so…”

He jumped back up next to her and gave her back her smoke. “You’re so what?”

“Nothing.” She looked at him and sighed. “Thanks for your help.”

“My pleasure.”

She smiled then took a short drag and blew smoke into the clear night sky.  “I’m glad you moved here.”

“Me too.” It was a little chilly. He took off his coat and draped it over her exposed shoulders.

Chapter 4

Autumn slept at Mike’s place that night, but they did not make love. They just laid in bed spooning and she fell asleep in his arms. Mike loved the way she felt sleeping next to him. The way her ass dominated his pelvis and filled up his crotch, the way her waist was soft and supple against his hands, and the way she somehow smelled like a delicious combination of cake and flowers.

He went to work the next day with a newfound happiness and purpose that he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world and as soon as he was off he wanted to see her again. She said she was at Little Woody’s, the burger joint that was only about a block away from where they lived. He found it interesting that she went ahead and got dinner on her own, and he liked it. Autumn was always that way. Independent, self-sufficient, she didn’t need to wait for anyone. If she wanted to do something, she would do it.

Mike walked into the small casual restaurant and found her sitting at a table by herself, with a half-eaten cheeseburger and a little carton of fries in front of her. He greeted her and ordered something for himself, but she ended up polishing off all her food before he was even a few bites into his burger.

She was wearing blue jeans and her thighs spread themselves out wide and full in her seat. They were thick and substantial and along with her hips they made her waist look quite narrow, especially with the way she was perched so proactively on that chair. She had a style that Mike was loving more and more. Everything about her from the way she dressed, to the cool, sexy and unapologetic way she spoke, to the way that she ate.

Mike’s ex would never eat a huge greasy burger on her own like that, and even if she did she would never finish the whole thing. Autumn on the other hand seemed to just eat because she wanted to, and never once did she appear self-conscious about it.

They strolled back to her place afterwards as rain began to trickle down from the darkening sky. Once inside her apartment Autumn turned her kitchen fan on, took out a cigarette from her fancy little case and lit up. Mike lit one too.

“I think it might be time to do these dishes,” he said, gesturing toward her sink.

Her eyelashes fluttered as she stared at him expressionless. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll do them eventually.”

“No way, I would love to do them for you and keep you off your feet.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not helpless you know.”

“I know, but I’m still going to do them.”

She took another puff on her cigarette, then coughed a few times. “God I really need to quit smoking.”

Mike leaned forward in his seat. “Why?”

“Are you serious?” She raised an eyebrow. “It’s so bad for you.”

“It’s just a simple pleasure.”

She scoffed. “That’s one way of putting it. More like a compulsive addition that turns your lungs black and gives you cancer.”

He smirked. “Cigarettes are old fashioned and romantic.”

“Right, if that’s what you gotta say to make yourself feel better.”

After they were done smoking, Autumn went to lay down in bed and watch TV. Mike, being true to his word, did her dishes and cleaned up her kitchen, even disposing of the cigarette butts and taking out the trash. When he was finished he laid next to her.

“We should get something for dessert,” he said.

She was lying on her side with her head on one of her many pillows. “Dessert?”

“Yeah is there anything fun around here?”

She propped her hand against her temple and sat up a little. “I usually try to stay away from sugar, especially at night.”

Mike stared at her with a yearning that was palpable. She looked like a beauty queen posing for a photo, with her torso slightly bent and her ass sticking out behind her. “I’m still a little hungry, I should go grab something,” he said. “When you do eat sugar what do you get?”

She gazed at him lazily. “There’s Cupcake Royale.”

“Where is that?”

She yawned cutely. “I think it’s on like…10th and Pike I wanna say.”

“What’s your favorite cupcake?”

“I'll go with you.”

“You sure you’re up for walking that far?”

“It’s not that far,” she said. “Besides, it will be good for me.”

“Are you doing physical therapy or anything?”

“I was, but not anymore.” She curled her feet beneath her thighs and sat up. “I’m on my own now.”

Mike rolled over to her side of the bed and gently took her hand. “Okay, let’s go, sounds like it stopped raining.”

Having Autumn walk with him was not what he had in mind, as he would have happily ran there and back just to let her relax, but she seemed insistent. When they reached the place Mike noticed the store’s slogan: ‘Cupcake Royale. Does a booty good.’ He couldn’t help but wonder if this cupcake bakery was part of what contributed to the growth of Autumn’s rear end, but he kept that thought to himself. She liked chocolate and he bought her a cherry chocolate cheesecake and a salted caramel. He got a donut for himself and took it all to go. They walked slowly back to her place, and when a homeless man bombarded them from a darkened alley, her hand slipped into his.

She made him a cup of tea and they ate and talked and smoked in the kitchen. They couldn’t keep their eyes off each other and before too long they found themselves back in bed laying next to one another.

“Mmmm, come here,” she cooed. She lazily ran her fingers up his arm and underneath his shirt. “Do you work out?”

“Sometimes, a little bit.”

“You have a nice body.”

“Thanks, so do you.”

She rolled onto her back, her head elevated by two pillows. She sighed as if she needed to get something off her mind. “Tabitha, one of my best friends, always wants me to go to the gym with her. She’s got like, basically a six pack, and super toned arms and everything, I’m just like, yeah…no, that’s just not really my body type anymore.”

Mike scooted himself closer, finding it fascinating that she felt the need to tell him that. “I love your body type.”

She ran her hand over his chest. “Well that’s good.”

He pressed himself against her and gently caressed her thigh. “I am obsessed with your body.”

“I’m glad.”

He unbuttoned her jeans, crawled on top and lovingly kissed her belly. She had a mostly flat stomach but it was also soft and slightly pudgy, especially in the area around her deep-set belly button. He kissed her lips and began fondling her waist with his hands, slowly working his way up towards her breasts.

She stopped him. “Do you want to…”

“I don’t have any condoms.” He tilted his head and kissed her neck, just below her ear. He looked back up into her eyes. “Should I go get some?”

“It’s up to you.”

“Umm, okay so…” He gazed at her with a longing that seemed to burn and throb through his entire body. She felt so soft and looked so voluptuous with her jeans undone and her blossoming breasts pushing against her low cut v-neck shirt. “I’ll just go do that.”

Her brown eyes glowed. “I’ll be waiting.”

He sprang out of her apartment like a rocket, ran over to the corner mini mart and was back in no time. He kicked off his shoes and pounced back on top of her, picking up right where he left off. He kissed her lips, her neck, her chest, her breasts, and began peeling off her jeans, which turned out to be tighter around her thighs than he realized.

She sat up and took her top off with her legs hanging over the side of the bed and her back facing him. He was completely inthralled by her raw natural beauty. Her hips looked so wide and feminie and her weighty ass sank deliciously into the push mattress. She was wearing a black thong and she had small and cute little love handles that poured slightly over the sides of the fabric. He leaned forward and unsnapped her bra. She gasped with delight and turned around with her boobs hanging free. She flopped them in his face and savored the feeling of his stubble rubbing gently between them. He stripped himself of his clothes then let her crawl back on top. He grabbed her ass with both hands, shook and jiggled it. It felt so big and moved and wobbled as if it was somehow separate from the rest of her body.

He had never been with a woman this curvy before and his hands could not keep up with the nagging lust that had taken over his mind. He slipped off her skimpy panties, tossed them on the floor, pushed her off and kneeled erect on the mattress. He straddled her with his thighs on either side of the narrowest part of her body, her waist. He took the condom, opened it, then handed it to her with his raging boner on display. She slowly unrolled it onto his rock hard and magnificent penis, her pussy getting soaking wet in the process.

“I want you,” she said. “I want you inside of me.”

Mike collapsed himself back on top of the warm softness of her body. He smelled her sweet perfume and kissed her neck again. For a short moment his nerves overtook him. He was falling in love with this woman. In the past his attraction to Autumn was merely physical. It was only her bossy personality and arrogant know-it-all attitude that caused him to keep his distance. Now he didn’t give a shit. He wanted her and he wanted her more than anything, and not just for one night.

He wanted to please her and his nerves only came from the fear of not giving her the most amazing sex of her life. He blocked those feelings aside and let his unrelenting carnal desire take over. All it took was one more look into her seductive dark eyes and sensuous full lips. He squeezed her with his strong masculine hands and he slipped inside. She moaned and gasped as he thrust rhythmically back and forth. He grabbed her ass and went in deeper and harder until her moans and gasps turned to squeals and screams. He waited patiently for her orgasm, before he finally unloaded himself.

They smoked a few cigarettes in the kitchen with the afterglow shining from their eyes. She was naked and her body looked flawless and perfect. It occurred to Mike that he had never seen a woman so voluptuous in the nude before, and watching Autumn moving around with her soft wide hips, big ass and full breasts, only served to reinforce what he’d been missing out on his entire life. They crawled back in bed together and he noticed that she had a bit of a lingering cough.

He kissed the bare skin of her upper arm. “You alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” she said defensively. “I cough sometimes when I’m sleepy, don’t worry about it. My blood sugar feels a little low though.”

Mike didn’t hesitate to get up and grab the salted caramel cupcake he had bought for her earlier. “Here you go.”

“Oh god, that’s not exactly what I meant.”

“Do you want me to get you something else?”

“No, this actually looks pretty good right about now.” She took it out of the small box and sheepishly licked some frosting off the top. She turned to him like she was looking for approval. “Sorry. I eat in bed sometimes, it helps me sleep.”

“I don’t mind at all, I do the same thing.” He rested his head against her shoulder and lightly caressed her breasts. “Sleep is important and you gotta wake up pretty early right?”

She took a bite of her cupcake, this time more unapologetically. “I do (chew) tomorrow, I need to get up for east coast time.”

“We better get some rest then.”

She finished chewing. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Can you go to the fridge and grab me one of those orange sleep drinks?”

Mike sat up. “Neuro sleep drinks?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

He got up and headed toward the kitchen. “I drink those too, thought I was the only one.”

“Guess we have a few things in common.”

“Guess so.”

He brought her the drink and held her as she ate the rest of her dessert. He let her fall asleep in his arms before he drifted off himself.

They were together nearly every day during the following couple months. Mike would wake up early, and, rain or shine, ride his motorcycle to work, then head back to her place almost every evening. She liked having him around. He cleaned, he did the dishes, did laundry, and happily went on grocery runs for her whenever she needed anything. He even cooked for her, although most of the time they would order takeout, which Mike would usually go get himself to avoid delivery and doordash expenses. He had known Autumn to be a bit of a foodie. Perhaps the reason she was always so dedicated to the gym was because it allowed her to eat what she wanted while still maintaining a svelte size 6 figure. With her injury however, working out the way she used to was out of the question, which was why she had graduated to a size 10 by the time Mike came back into her life. Now that they had begun a relationship, and had been together for two months, even her size 10’s were feeling snug.

“Have you been washing my clothes on hot?”

Mike put his phone in his pocket and turned her way. She was standing next to the bed struggling to fasten the top button of her jeans, the same ones she wore on their first coffee date. “Umm, I don’t think so, I usually just do the normal cycle. Why?”

“Because these pants (gasp) used to fit.”

He stepped forward and inspected her. The short sleeves of one of her favorite black shirts looked even shorter as the plushness of her upper arms seemed to be pushing them further towards her shoulders. Her jeans looked painted on, and the seams of the denim were pulled tight over her long legs, especially in the hip and thigh areas.  “Did they shrink?”

She faced him and showed how she could no longer close the gap of the fly over her softening midsection. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

Mike shrugged, acting clueless. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I did anything. I usually just throw stuff in the washer and press start.”

She glared at him like he was stupid, then sighed. “It’s okay, I probably just need to get back in the gym.”

“You think your leg is ready for that?”

“Yeah my leg is basically healed, I just need to ease myself back into a routine at some point.” She tried to button her jeans one more time but failed miserably. “Okay these pants are not happening today.”

“What’s wrong with that dress you had on earlier?”

Autumn had been taking to wearing dresses most of the time during the work week because they were stretchy and comfortable while still being presentable enough for video calls.

“Did you like it?”

Mike’s eyes widened playfully. “Did I like it? You looked incredible in it.”

“Really? I thought it was a little revealing.” She gave him a little smirk as she started to peel her jeans down towards her thighs. “But then, I guess that’s why you like it.”

He glanced at his phone again. “Well put something on, Uber will be here in 20 minutes.”

“You know we could just walk.”

“In heels?”

“Okay, good point.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and continued to undress. “Just give me a sec.”

Mike went outside for a smoke to let her get ready in private and when he came back his jaw nearly hit the floor.

“Jesus Christ, you look amazing.”

“It’s not too tight right?”

“Does it feel too tight?”

“I mean it’s stretchy but….” She tugged on the straps of her dress and gave him a little spin. “It’s not like it’s leaving much to the imagination.”

That was an understatement. It was a knee length body-con little black number that clung snugly to every alluring curve of her womanly figure. Mike was surprised. Although he had been with her nearly everyday, or maybe because of that, he hadn’t quite realized that her body had changed since they started dating.

She looked bigger, and it wasn’t his imagination. It made perfect sense. Her lifestyle consisted mainly of sitting in front of her laptop, whether it be in bed or at her desk. As far as Mike could tell she got almost zero physical activity throughout her work weeks, especially since he had entered the picture and started doing her chores and errands.

She hadn’t stepped on the scale since her last doctor visit, but if she were to weigh herself now she would’ve found that she was 168 pounds. Her thighs were thick and untoned, her cute feminie knees were less defined and slightly dimpled. Her breasts were larger and her bras were tighter. It was her rear end however, that Mike could not pry his eyes away from. She had great genetics, perfect bone structure and was very well proportioned; but it was clear that most of her weight was continuing to settle in her hips and butt. Mike had never before seen her ass look so big, so round, or so spellbinding.

He was speechless for a moment and blinked his eyes a few times to bring himself back from his lust fueled stupor. “Just, um, throw a jacket on or something.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah I’m sure.” He drew closer and took in the dazzling sight that she was one more time. She was such a hottie and such a knock-out, and even though he could see the outline of a softer waist and a deeper-set belly button through the thin fabric of her dress, he wouldn’t change anything about her. She was absolutely perfect, and suddenly the idea of her wanting to get back in the gym saddened him. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek so he wouldn’t smear her lipstick and his hand drew to her hips as if beyond his control.  “I mean I can’t wait to strip it off you later tonight, but I’m sure.”

“Uh, whatever.” She pushed him away playfully as her phone buzzed. She looked at it quickly. “You're in for the softball game tomorrow right?”

“Yep, I’ll be there. You gonna play?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it would be smart for me to test my leg like that just yet, but I want to see you play.” She took her white bomber jacket off the coat rack. Mike noticed there was a little more jiggling happening when she moved than there used to be.

“Alright, let’s go,” she said. “I’m starving.”

He smiled, gazing at her deepening cleavage and then into her eyes. “Me too.”

Chapter 5

Mike was in his own apartment fingering his guitar when he glanced at his phone and realized he was almost late for the softball game. He threw on some hiking boots and a sweatshirt, grabbed his glove and headed out the door.

The game was at a city park only about 4 blocks away, but running short on time, and perhaps wanting to make more of a dramatic introduction to Autumn’s friends, he took the motorcycle.

He parked between some cars on the side of the street and hopped off. A few heads turned beyond the chain link fence and Mike scanned the faces until he saw Autumn, sitting next to someone in the dugout. It was late July and the day could not have been more beautiful. The whole city seemed to be out and about. Couples were having picnics, moms were pushing strollers, and a few homeless men were sitting in the park bleachers, passing a bottle around, hoping to catch a glimpse of some eye candy, as well as a softball game. Walking toward the field Mike saw a few people playing catch just beyond the first base line. He entered through a gap in the fence. He had arrived just in time.

Autumn turned and leaned forward in her seat. She was dressed in capri style blue jeans, white Chuck Taylor hightops, a t-shirt with three quarter length sleeves and a Seattle Mariners baseball cap. Mike was surprised about the jeans because he didn’t think she had any left that still fit, but apparently he was wrong, well, sort of. “Hey look who it is,” she said. “Thought you were going to flake out on us.”

Mike smiled and shrugged. “Sorry, I lost track of time.”

Autumn shifted her hips around on the bench and gestured to the guy sitting next to her. “Okay, just a few quick introductions. This is Corey, one of my best friends.”

Mike stepped forward and looked down. The guy was in his mid to late twenties, right around his age if not younger. He had a slim build, and a dark beard shaved clean at the neck. They shook hands. “Hi Corey, I’m Mike.”

Corey smirked arrogantly. “Nice to meet you.”

“And this is Sydney,” Autumn said. “Mike Sydney, Sydney Mike.”

Sydney smiled, her eyes beaming with kindness. She was about the same height as Autumn but she was round and chubby and looked to outweigh her by a good 50 pounds. “Nice to meet you,” she said.

Autumn, still seated, continued as another friend entered the dugout. “And, there’s Tabitha.”

Tabitha stepped forward and adjusted her flowery trucker hat. “Hi you must be Mike, I’ve heard about you. Good we can finally meet.”

Mike remembered Autumn mentioning Tabitha before. She was the gym girl with the abs and she certainly looked the part, wearing high waisted leggings and a loose top that flattered her well-defined arms and tiny waist. She was very attractive, but when compared to Autumn she looked quite plain. “Yeah likewise,” Mike said.

An umpire in a baby blue shirt, which he wore over his chest pads, called out from home plate. “Visiting team ready?”

Autumn stood. “Yep, we’re ready.”

Mike watched his girlfriend with extreme pride and admiration. Damn she looked good in jeans; and nobody could pull off that cute and sporty baseball-cap-look the way she could.

“Okay, let’s play ball!” the umpire said.

The game went on as expected. No one was very good but some were more competitive than others. When it was Mike’s turn to bat, he felt the need to show off his skills and do something impressive.

“So are you serious about this guy?” Tabitha said. She was sitting next to Autumn on the bench, watching as Mike stepped into the batter’s box.

Autumn shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe.”

“He’s super cute.” Tabitha gazed over her shoulder at the street behind them. “Cool motorcycle too.”

Autumn rolled her eyes. “Let’s see if he can hit.”

The pitcher delivered the ball with a slow underhand lob. Mike geared up, swung with all his might, but struck nothing but air.

Tabitha smirked. “Oohh, strike one. Literally.”

Mike gritted his teeth, embarrassed. Even Corey had been able to put the ball in play, and Mike refused to be shown up by the likes of him. Whether he was really one of Autumn’s best friends or not, Mike didn’t like the way Corey had been eying her, and it caused a sense of jealousy to rise up within him.

He kicked his shoes into the dirt and tightened his grip on the wooden handle. Unlike most of the people there, Mike played ball in high school, and he was good, at least he used to be. Although, hitting a 40 mile per hour softball was a lot different than hitting a 90 mile an hour baseball.

The pitch came in and Mike drew his elbows back, shifted his weight to his right foot, and swung again. This time he made solid contact right on the sweet spot and the ball jumped off his bat like a rocket. It sailed high in the air and it landed on a Honey Bucket just beyond the boundary of the field, a home run.

Tabitha rose to her feet. “Woah, nice!” She turned to Autumn. “Okay, maybe I approve of this guy.”

Autumn stood as well, but maintained that haughty look of indifference on her face, a look that she seemed to keep as the game went on.

In the 4th inning, a guy on the team had to take off early, leaving them a player short, and Autumn volunteered to take his place.

“You sure you gonna be okay?” Mike said.

Autumn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I can at least stand in the outfield.”

Mike smirked. “Okay, just take it easy, watch out for sprinklers and stuff.”

In the top of the 6th, Tabitha hit a ground ball up the middle and ran gracefully to first base. She was quick, agile and moved like a gazelle. Next it was Autumn’s turn. Although she was right handed, she batted from the left side and Mike had a clear view of her backside as she stepped to the plate.

With a slight bend to her knees she reached back her arms and awaited the pitch. Mike clasped the chain link fence with both hands and watched her closely. Goddamn she was a sight. Her hips and thighs filled out those jeans marvelously and Mike had never seen her ass look so good. Was it really that big or was it something about those jeans? He was utterly enthralled by her. The whole concept that a hot girl could actually gain weight like that was new to him, and he found it fascinating. Autumn was just so much of a good thing, it didn’t seem fair to other girls.

After letting the first ball go by, Autumn swung at the second and hit a dribbling grounder down the third base line. She dropped the bat and ran towards first as the pitcher cut off the ball.

Watching Autumn run was something of a spectacle all to itself. To put it mildly, she ran like a girl. Her wide hips and bottom heavy figure jiggled and gyrated in a hypnotizing fashion, and despite the way she frantically swung her arms, it appeared she was moving in slow motion, as if her body could not keep up with her mind’s expectations.

The throw to first was high and floated clear over the fielder's head, hitting the fence behind him, allowing Autumn to trot into first safely. Corey was up next and was somehow hit by a pitch which loaded the bases for Mike.

Mike belted a line drive that was hit so hard it bounced off the wall in right center. Tabitha scored, Autumn rounded third and she scored and so did Corey. Mike flew around the bases with speed that was far superior than anyone else at the game, and with a wild throw to the plate, he scored as well. It was a base clearing, inside the park grand slam and the team cheered like it was the world series.

After a few high fives, Mike entered the dugout and found Autumn sitting back down on the pale aluminum bench, trying to catch her breath. Tabitha sat to her right and Sydney sat to her left.

Tabitha raised a fist in the air. “Way to crush it slugger!”

“Thanks,” Mike said bashfully. He turned to Autumn. “How’s your leg holding up?”

She fanned herself with her hand. “It’s fine, I’m just (pant) not used to running like that.”

“Don’t push it too hard, be careful,” Mike said.

Autumn rolled her eyes. “Noted.”

Tabitha grabbed her phone and started taking selfies. Mike observed the girls as he paced around in the dugout. He knew that all three of them were more or less the same height, but the shapes of their bodies were vastly different. Autumn’s hips spread out significantly wider than Tabitha’s, and they were actually almost as wide as Sydney’s, despite Sydney outweighing Autumn by quite a lot. Mike also noticed that Autumn sat higher than Tabitha, solely due to the fact that she carried so much more weight in her thighs and butt. Autumn was the prettiest one too, on either of the teams by far, and Mike found it refreshing that the prettiest one was also the curviest, and he felt incredibly lucky that she was his.

They all socialized after the game albeit briefly, while some other teammates loaded up the equipment, before going their separate ways.

“That was fun,” Mike said, turning toward Autumn as they made their way to the street.

“Yeah, you’re pretty good there with your home runs and everything.”

“Chicks dig the long ball right?”

Autumn glared at him. “Chicks?”

Mike swallowed nervously. “Sorry…umm, women appreciate the, long ball.”

She punched his arm playfully. “Okay stop it.”

He smiled. “You’re not bad yourself.”

“Ooooh, I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “I was in much better shape the last time I played.”

He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close as they continued to walk. “You did great. You probably just haven't built back all your leg strength quite yet.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

They stopped in front of Mike’s motorcycle and Autumn fiddled with her purse.

“Are you hungry?” Mike said.

Autumn lit a cigarette. “Yeah, I could eat.”

Mike opened up the back storage container of his bike and put his glove inside. “Let’s get out of this place, go somewhere fun.”

She took a short puff from her smoke. “What, like take an Uber?”

“No way, we’ll take the bike.” He smiled, placed her glove next to his, then pulled out a black, faceless half-helmet. “Still got an extra one.”

She bit her lower lip and gave him a look that just about made his heart melt. “Okay.”

He let her finish her cigarette, then mounted his bike and she climbed on behind him. His motorcycle was an Aprilia 850, and though it was a sportbike, it had room for two and a decent backrest attached to the storage case.

He had given her a ride on the same bike before, but that was a few years ago. Now, the suspension sagged beneath her weight, and the bike felt heavy in a way Mike wasn’t used to, but he relished in the sensation of her body clasping snuggly behind him. Her breasts pressed against his back, her thighs straddled his narrow hips and the feeling of her closeness sent a wonderful shiver up his spine.

He fired up the engine. “Okay, just don’t fall off.”

“Okay!”

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist as they rode away. With it being such a nice summer day, he took her on the most scenic route he could think of. They went through the highrises and skyscrapers of downtown, then across the West Seattle bridge all the way to Alki Beach. He parked in front of Duke’s seafood restaurant and they got off.

“This okay?” he said.

She unbuckled her helmet and brushed back her hair. “Yeah, looks good to me.”

Mike put his name in at the restaurant but it was busy and there was a 20 minute wait time. They went out and sat on a bench that overlooked Puget Sound and smoked cigarettes as they waited. Ferries gilded slowly along the water and people on the beach began staking out campfire spots. It was a warm evening, but that didn’t stop Mike from holding Autumn tight and close to his body. The sun calmly sank just above the Olympic Mountain range in the west and highlighted the city’s skyline to the east while wandering wisps of a breeze stirred romance in the air.

Autumn tilted her head up from Mike’s shoulder. “Still nothing?”

He glanced at his phone. “Not yet.”

She stood up and put out her cigarette. “I’m just gonna go check.”

Mike watched as she went so confidently toward the restaurant just on the other side of the paved bicycle path. He loved the way she walked. Shoulders back, head high, with a little wiggle in her hips as she so elegantly and dramatically did something as simple and mundane as place one foot in front of the other. Even in her jeans and baseball cap, she had a way of standing out in a crowd, and the heads of strangers turned as if the spell of passing beauty was too strong to ignore. Just moments after entering the restaurant, she came back out and waved at Mike to come in.

He sprang up and scurried toward her.

“Is it ready already?” he said, surprised.

“Yeah, come on.”

“How’d you get a table so fast?”

The corners of her lips turned upward seductively. “I have my ways.”

“Right.” He knew exactly what she meant. He had forgotten that doors open up a little quicker and tables become miraculously available when in the presence of a gorgeous woman.

She ordered fish tacos and clam chowder with a glass of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, and Mike got the fish and chips and a cup of coffee. He watched as she so expertly crushed oyster crackers into her bowl and listened to the way she analyzed and judged her tacos like a professional critic. Despite her denunciations, she was hungry and finished off her entire meal well before he did.

“I hate it when I eat everything and the other person still has lots of food on their plate,” she said. “I need to get better at slowing down and savoring each bite.”

“You can have some of my fries if you want.”

She smiled. “No, that’s my problem. Everything tastes so good I want it all at once and I end up eating too much.”

Mike set his coffee down. “I like that you’re not afraid to eat.”

As he finished speaking, a grossly overweight woman squeezed her massive body directly behind his chair, then carefully navigated herself toward her table in front of him. Autumn couldn’t help but notice the way his gaze drew toward the woman’s massive hips and billowing breasts.

Autumn locked eyes with Mike, then gestured toward the woman. She leaned forward and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Can you imagine being that big?”

Mike was taken aback, as he knew she had caught his wandering eye in mid wander and he was anticipating a scolding. He was unsure how to respond. “Um, no, but I’m not a woman.”

Autumn took a few fries from his plate. “I mean like (munch, chew) what do you see when you see someone like that?”

Mike looked at her curiously. “I see a woman, who clearly enjoys food.”

Autumn smiled, much to Mike’s surprise. “Yeah, me too.” She leaned in closer, still whispering. “I know it sounds terrible, but when I see someone who’s really hugely fat like that, I don’t think…like, oh, that’s too bad...” She bit her lower lip as if deep in thought before she continued. “I think more like, how…delicious, it must have been, to get there.”

Mike’s face erupted in an ear to ear grin, as the words she was saying conjured up a million thoughts in his brain. “I like the way you think.”

She shrugged sheepishly before stealing a few more fries. “I don’t know, (chew, munch) food is definitely my biggest weakness. I eat when I’m depressed, I eat when I’m happy, I eat when I’m bored.”

Mike chuckled. “That’s better than being the type of person that’s always on a diet, treating their body like it’s some sort of enemy.”

“I guess so.” She took a sip of her wine. “You don’t mind that I drink, do you?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. Just because I don’t drink anymore doesn't mean I can’t enjoy it through you.”

He stared into her eyes. Her hat was off and her beautifully layered hair was tied back in a messy ponytail that was somehow both chic and wildly sexy. If his relationship with Autumn was budding before, now it was blooming and becoming solidified. He met her friends, she had ridden on the back of his motorcycle, and he had yet to find anything about her that he didn’t like. He never met a woman who could be so casual and unassuming, yet so severely fememine and elegant at the same time.  He had a feeling that the face staring back at him was a face that he’d be seeing again and again, for a long time.

Autumn ended up finishing the rest of Mike’s fries and after he got the check, they rode back to her place in the magic hour of the setting sun.

They were almost always together as the summer unfolded, and spent a lot of time outside, taking advantage of the long days and perfect weather. With her injury healed, she tried to make a conscious effort to get more physically active, and at least get her body back to a place where she could fit into her jeans comfortably. Mike rented a canoe a few times and they had fun paddling around Lake Washington, and they even went on a couple of short hikes in the Cascade mountains. She also participated more in the softball games and by the time August ended, she was able to button her pants with ease and had gotten her weight back down below 160 pounds without having to sacrifice dinners out, or any of her favorite foods.

However, all good things must come to an end and so too did the weather as August became September and September became October. The morning air turned crisp, and the melancholy of the fall season harmonized life with nature like a second spring where every leaf becomes a flower. The sunny Saturday motorcycle rides and the warm evening walks were replaced with pumpkin spice lattes and movie nights on the sofa with soul warming comfort foods, and Mike got the feeling that Autumn’s days of being able to squeeze her hips into her size 10 jeans without difficulty, might be short lived.

Chapter 6

Autumn awoke to the sound of her alarm blaring on the nightstand. She rolled over wearily and turned it off. She wanted more than anything to stay in bed and go back to sleep as waking up early seemed to be getting more difficult as of late. The door to her apartment opened, and she could see Mike’s silhouette in the darkened entryway. He turned on the bathroom light then walked her way.

“Here you go babe,” he whispered, placing her latte and hot breakfast sandwich on the table next to bed. He leaned in and softly kissed her cheek. “Just one more day to go.”

She sat up a little, stretched her arms and yawned as the wonderful smell of espresso and crispy bacon hit her nose. “Thank you baby, yeah I can’t wait.”

“Okay, gotta run. Have a good day.” He kissed her again, this time on her neck while running his hand over her hip and giving it a squeeze. “I love you.”

She yawned again, gazing at the outline of his face. “I love you too.”

He smiled then went out the door and off to work.

She cuddled with her cat Samson for a few moments then flung her legs over the side of the mattress and turned on a light. After using the restroom, she grabbed her warm beverage and toddled over to the breakfast nook in the kitchen and lit up her first cigarette of the day.

She took a sip of her drink. It was a creamy and delicious 16 ounce triple shot vanilla soy latte. Mike was so sweet. He’d been going to the cafe across the street nearly every morning during the past month and buying her a coffee and a bacon egg and cheddar sandwich. Autumn appreciated it, as she was a big believer that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.

Mike had practically moved in with her by this point, but she enjoyed having him around. She wasn’t the type of girl that needed a man to be happy, but she had to admit living with him was quite nice. When she was single she had to fend for herself and make her own breakfast, usually something like a bowl of oatmeal with yogurt and berries on top.

She flicked ash into the mug on the table and took another sip of her beverage. It was sweet. She hated to think about how many calories it contained, and she kept thinking she should tell Mike to just get her plain soy lattes instead of vanilla, but it tasted so good she kept putting that off.

She sat up straight and tugged downward on her white camisole. The skimpy top was a bit skimpier than it used to be. She placed her hand on her stomach and felt the roll of fat that was protruding over her underwear. She sighed. All that wining and dining with Mike, the stress of working a demanding job, and the complete lack of exercise during the last few months were taking their toll on her figure.

After finishing her cigarette she went to the bathroom, jumped in the shower and got ready for the day. She slipped on a clean pair of panties that felt way too tight as the elastic fabric dug uncomfortably into her belly and hips. She gazed into the mirror.

She was gaining weight again.

She stepped on the scale.

172.8.

Shit.

She knew she had put on a few pounds, but she wasn’t expecting to be over 170. It was frustrating because she had done so well over the summer. The last time she weighed herself was in August when she’d gotten back down to 157.

It was now late November.

Did she really gain almost 16 pounds in 3 months?

She investigated her reflection. She had never seen her body look so voluptuous before and she wasn’t used to it. For most of her adult life she had stayed within the one hundred thirty to one hundred forty pound range, and when she was a cheerleader in high school she was in the 120’s.

Looking at herself now she was amazed by the sight of her boobs and hips. She had never been this curvy, nor had she ever been this heavy.

It was too much.

With a naturally petit figure and bone structure, a number like 172 was alarming.

No wonder none of her clothes fit.

She went to her dresser and squeezed her topless body into another camisole that clung to her like a second skin. She didn’t feel like wearing a bra, they were all too tight anyway.

She went back to the bathroom, fixed up her hair and makeup, then crawled back in bed with her laptop. She unwrapped the sandwich that Mike brought and the smell made her mouth water and also seemed to somehow erase the depressing memory of stepping on the scale just moments prior.

She took a big bite.

It was still warm and was like heaven on an English muffin. So cheesy and buttery and toasty and greasy. She knew it must be packed with fat that she certainly didn’t need, but it was so early in the morning that she felt justified in eating it. After all, breakfast was the most important meal of the day.

Around noon she set her laptop aside and forced herself out of bed. She was hungry again. She went to the kitchen and looked around for something to snack on.

God.

Why did she let Mike do all the grocery shopping?

The man ate like a 14 year old boy.

There was a pack of blueberry muffins, a whole thing of jumbo sized croissants, a family sized bag of potato chips, a tray of black and white cookies, three slices of cake in the fridge and half of a cherry pie on the counter.

How the hell did he stay in such great shape with all of this food around?

Did he have the metabolism of a hummingbird or something?

She turned the fan on and lit up another cigarette. She really needed to stop smoking so much inside, but with the window cracked she could hear the rain falling on the street. It had been raining all week, and really all month come to think of it. No wonder she was gaining weight. With the dreary fall weather she rarely went outside, especially when she had a boyfriend that so happily ran around and got her everything she needed.

She looked at the plastic container of croissants as her tummy gurgled. She wanted one bad, but she couldn’t rationalize indulging in that amount of empty fats and carbs, especially with the knowledge that she was now over one hundred and seventy pounds.

After all, things were going so well, and having turned 27 in October, she was happier than she had been in a long time. In the past she thought all her relationships had been too one sided, always feeling like the guy was way more into her than she was into him; but with Mike it felt equal. She had no doubt that he adored her, just as she had no doubt she was in love with him. The last thing she wanted was for him to lose interest over something as stupid and trivial as her weight.

Mike finished responding to his last email, then ran down to the campus gym to blow off some steam. It was all part of his after work routine. 50 pushups, 50 pullups, 50 situps, and 2000 meters on the row machine. He could do it all in less than 30 minutes and he liked feeling all pumped up and ripped when he returned to Autumn in the evening. Although she would rarely say anything, he knew she appreciated his lean, strong, masculine physique, and the idea of being able to impress a woman like her, motivated him to be his best like nothing else in the world.

After a quick shower in the locker room, he hopped on his motorcycle and rode home. When he unlocked and opened the door to the apartment, he was greeted by the sight of his beautiful girlfriend, standing next to the bed, wearing nothing but panties and a tiny spaghetti strap top.

“Why hello there,” he said, smiling. He gazed at her longingly. He had of course been aware that her body had been going through some changes, but he was no less amazed looking at her now. He wondered if other guys in his situation would be cornered or distraught if they saw their formally classically hot girlfriend gain as much weight as Autumn had, so early on in a relationship. For Mike it was the opposite. Perhaps it was because he had never dated a curvy woman before, or perhaps he was simply discovering things about himself that he was previously unaware of, but whatever the case, and whatever was going on with Autumn’s weight, he was loving everything about it. “I like your outfit.”

She scrunched her nose in disgust, but in a way that he found incredibly cute. “Thanks but, it’s not like I have much of a choice.”

Mike tossed his gloves off, hung his rain dampened jacket on the hook against the wall then stepped towards her. “How do you mean?” He put his hands around her waist and drew her close, awestruck by how far her butt jutted out behind her.

“Because hardly anything fits me anymore!” She pushed him away and wiggled toward the kitchen. She held her hand up to signal that she wasn’t in the mood for any of his consoling comments. “Don’t even say anything.”

He followed her to the breakfast nook with his eyes tightly fixated on her ass. Her hips were significantly wider than her shoulders and he had never seen her butt look so full and prominent before. He couldn’t get enough of the way each oversized cheek wobbled and jiggled with every step she took. “I’ll go shopping with you if you want.”

She lit a cigarette and sat down. “Yeah I should probably bite the bullet and go up a size. I could use a wardrobe upgrade anyway.”

Mike lit his own cigarette and sat across from her. “No sales tax in Oregon.”

Autumn paused for a moment and blew thick gray smoke in the direction of the window. “Good point.”

He was hardly listening, as he was so distracted by her naked legs and the way she was so provocatively perched in her chair. He was astounded by how much wider her thighs and hips looked when she was in a seated position like that. She caught him staring and he turned away. He noticed the crumpled paper bag on the counter. “Potbelly for lunch again?”

“What?”

He pointed. “Potbelly sandwiches.”

Her long eyelashes fluttered expressionless. “Yeah, I just did Doordash for lunch because it’s so rainy out there.”

“You don’t need to do that you know. There’s plenty of food here, we should try and use it up, save money.”

She giggled abruptly with a cute and quiet femine snort. “Whatever, I make a lot more than you do.” She puffed on her cigarette and waved her arms as she spoke. “But also, I can’t just keep eating all the crap you get, that’s why my clothes are so tight.”

He gave her a crooked smile and his eyes drew towards her thighs again. She really did have an incredible body. “What’s wrong with tight clothes?”

“Stop it. You have no idea how easy you men have it. You can probably just buy the same size jeans over and over on Amazon and never have any problems.”

He leaned in and touched the bare skin of her knee. She was right of course. He had been buying the same Levi 501’s with the same size 30 waist for years. “That’s because a man’s body is just for working and getting around and stuff. Your body, on the other hand, is a work of art.”

She quivered pleasurably from his gentle touch. “A work of art huh?”

He drew his hand back and nodded while maintaining eye contact. “A beautiful work of art.”

She shifted her hips in her seat, causing the chair to creak and groan beneath her. She smiled cooly. “Mmm, I kind of like it when you put it that way.”

There was a moment of romantic silence, as they both stared at each other lustfully.

Mike cleared his throat. “I’m starving. We should eat before I take the bike up to mom and dad’s.” He stood and stabbed his cigarette out. “Little Woody’s alright with you?”

She sighed. “Yeah, that’s fine. But you don’t need to get me fries, I really think I need to slow down with all the eating.”

His head spun toward her. “What? Thanksgiving is tomorrow.”

“I know! All the more reason I need to watch it.” She took another puff on her cigarette. “I haven't even met your parents yet and I’ve already gained like the relationship 15 or whatever.”

“Well you’ll meet them this weekend.”

Mike stopped in the kitchen’s doorway as if the last thing she said suddenly registered in his brain.

The relationship 15?

He turned and spoke without thinking. “Did you weigh yourself?”

She gave him a death stare and pointed her cigarette at him. “Don’t even think about asking me.” She put her smoke out, but quickly lit another. She glared at him, still standing there like a little kid waiting for some sort of approval. “Aren't you supposed to be getting food?”

After dinner Mike made the 30 minute ride north in the dark of night to his parents house in the suburbs. He parked his motorcycle in their four car garage and exchanged it for his Dad’s Honda CRV. The next morning he drove with Autumn down interstate 5 to Beaverton, a town just outside of Portland, where Autumn’s parents lived.

Mike met Autumn’s dad, Gary, who seemed to be doing better after his health scare earlier in the year. He was a fairly large man in his late 50’s, just over 6 feet tall and at least 200 pounds. He was soft, clean shaven and overweight, with a substantial beer gut protruding over his belt. Autumn’s mom, Patty, was small, mousy, and slightly chubby, but also very pretty like her daughter.

Autumn was one of two children, as was Mike, and her older brother Steven had also made the trip to Oregon for Thanksgiving. He was married and brought with him his wife Julia, and their two small children, Lily, age 4, and Noah, age 2, all the way up from their home in Los Angeles. Steven was handsome, slightly built, and somewhat nerdy, but he bonded effortlessly with Mike as did his wife and parents.

Autumn made it through the family holiday without receiving any comments about her weight, other than her mom telling her several times that she looked very happy. Her parents seemed thrilled with Mike, and Autumn was thankful that she didn’t have to answer a million questions about her love life for once.

On Saturday, Mike and Autumn drove back north, and she finally got a chance to meet Mike’s parents, John and Debbie, as well as his younger sister Megan, her husband Kevin and their two kids, Liam and Willow.

For Mike, the meeting of the parents was a big deal and it was good to get it out of the way. His mom and dad loved Autumn, just as he knew they would, and, coming from a similar upbringing, she fit in with his family seamlessly.

The month of December had never seen Mike and Autumn so happy. Their love for each other had not wavered in the slightest and if anything, it was getting stronger by the day. They began to talk more about the possibility of getting a bigger apartment and moving in together officially. The eight month lease on Mike’s place expired in January, and Autumn had the option to renew her lease in February. Getting rid of Mike’s studio was a no-brainer, as he hardly used it, but for Autumn, giving up her apartment took more convincing.

She had lived there for almost the entirety of her adulthood, and she was grandmothered in with a cheap fixed rent that was hard to let go of. On the other hand, even she had to admit that her place was far too small for two people, not to mention it was a ground level unit in the heart of the party district that was becoming increasingly noisy and even potentially dangerous as Seattle’s homeless population swelled.

It wasn’t until Mike’s dad offered to sell him the Honda for a family rate that Autumn became more serious about moving. As much as she loved riding on the back of Mike’s motorcycle, she could only do that for a few months out of the year, and the idea of having full time access to a car sounded nice. Of course, that meant that they would need parking and that was not an option if they stayed put.

“Did I hear that right, you guys are moving to Belltown?” Tabitha said as she sat down next to Autumn on the sofa.

Autumn took a sip of champagne. “Yeah, Mike found a really nice place, seems too good to pass up.”

It was December 31st, and Mike and Autumn had gone to Tabitha and her boyfriend’s apartment for a new year’s eve party. There were about 20 people there, including Sydney and Corey, as well as a few others from the co-ed softball league.

“Where is it exactly?” Tabitha said.

Autumn slid her butt toward the back of the couch. She looked exceedingly beautiful that night. Her skin-tight long-sleeve beige bodysuit was tucked beneath high waisted white jeans and the outfit highlighted and worked in perfect harmony with the alluring feminine contours of her body. “Over on 2nd and Wall, right near The Whisky Bar and Rocco’s, it has a view of the Space Needle too.”

“Ooohh, Rocco’s pizza!” Tabita leaned forward and put her hand on Autumn’s forearm. “Better watch out, that could be dangerous.”

Autumn looked at her curiously. “Why would that be dangerous?”

Tabitha jolted backwards, smiling wide in her bubbly sort of way. “Are you kidding? That’s the best pizza in the city, I’d probably be going there everyday if I lived that close.”

Autumn rolled her eyes; the glitter of her earrings clashed on the surface of her face. The notion that living next to a pizza joint would be dangerous for her size 2 friend was laughable to her. “Well, Mike and I are getting a gym membership.”

“Omigod yay! I’m so excited your leg is finally better and we can workout together again. What gym is it?”

“Just Anytime Fitness. It’s actually right on the bottom floor of the building so I’m going to have no excuses.”

“Good for you.”

Autumn looked down at her thighs, feeling a little self conscious sitting next to her friend who was obviously much smaller than her. Her mind wandered for a moment as she remembered a time, not too long ago when her and Tabitha were the same size.

Despite good intentions, the month of December had not done Autumn’s waistline any favors. It was just too busy and hectic, with too many temptations in the form of delicious Christmas treats, decadent desserts and lavish holiday meals. Instead of losing weight as she had hoped, she ended up gaining an additional 6 pounds since Thanksgiving. She could feel it too. Her size 12 jeans had been slightly loose around the waist and snug at the hips when she bought them a few weeks ago, and now they already felt uncomfortably tight all over.

“I know,” Autumn said, running her hands over the sides of her hips. “I definitely need it. I’ve been gaining weight lately.”

Tabitha shrugged, unsure of what to say at first. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that Autumn was looking a little fuller and curvier than usual. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just relationship weight and you look great. I mean really, you look so happy you’re like glowing.” She froze for a moment and her eyes suddenly widened. “Wait, you guys aren't pregnant are you?”

“Oh my gosh, no! I’m drinking aren't I?” Autumn was abhorred that Tabitha would even think such a thing. Had she really put on so much weight that people thought she looked pregnant? It wasn’t like she had a belly or anything, well, not really. She gulped the remainder of her champagne to drive the point home. “We haven't even been together for a year and you know I don’t have interest in having kids anytime soon.”

“What about Mike?”

Autumn glanced at her boyfriend. He was over near the kitchen chatting with his friend Cameron. She smirked and lowered her voice to a whisper. “He seems to agree with pretty much anything I tell him.”

“You got him wrapped around your little finger don’t you.” Tabitha turned her head toward Mike then looked back at Autumn and giggled. “You did good, he’s definitely a keeper.”

“I know.” Autumn was beginning to slur her words. Wanting to feel skinnier than the way she thought she looked, she’d been abstaining from consuming anything other than champagne all evening, and it was finally catching up with her. “Don’t ever tell him I said this but, he’s like perfect.”

Tabitha sat up straight and animatedly fanned herself with her hand from the sexual undertones of her friend’s last remark. “Is it getting hot in here or something?”

Autumn playfully pushed Tabitha’s arm. “Stop it.”

“Okay okay, don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.” She shot Mike another quick glance. “But seriously you two are so cute together, you’re like the best looking couple I know.”

“Thanks.”

“Omigod what time is it?” Tabitha peered at her phone then sprang to her feet. “Quick, we need more champagne!”

Autumn rose as well, but at a much slower pace than her agile and limber friend. She calmly sauntered toward Mike in the kitchen with her empty glass in hand.

Corey was in the other corner of the kitchen standing next to his friend Landon, watching Autumn’s every move from a short distance. “Damn,” he whispered. “Is it just me, or is Autumn starting to get thick.”

“It’s not just you,” Landon said. His eyes darted back and forth like he was paranoid of someone overhearing. “She’s so hot though. If they break up, she’s mine.”

Corey scoffed. “In your dreams.” He continued to gaze lustfully at her and the devastatingly gorgeous outfit she was wearing as her healed knee-high Italian leather boots clicked across the laminate wood flooring. Despite weighing 178 pounds, she didn’t look fat, but rather just slightly soft and ultra curvy. Her legs were poured into those pristine white jeans, and together with her tucked-in body suit, they had a shapewear type effect, shrinking her waist and pushing her boobs up and out in a spectacular fashion. “Jesus. If she farts them boots gonna fly right off her feet.”

Landon laughed, but the idea of a woman as beautiful as Autumn actually farting was somehow mind boggling to him.

His laughter was quickly drowned out by Tabitha yelling to the entire room. “Okay everybody! It’s 11:58, make sure you got enough champagne!”

Autumn, who was oblivious to Corey and Landon on the other side of the kitchen, looked at Mike seductively and held out her glass. “Refill please.”

Mike smiled and grabbed the open bottle of Taittinger Brut from the counter. “Yes ma’am.”

Autumn watched as he filled her clear chalice nearly to the brim with the golden liquid. “You got your Martinelli’s?”

He held up his cup. “Yep.”

“Okay, come on, I want to see the show.” They locked elbows and she pulled him in the direction of the living room windows.

Tabitha’s apartment was in the lower Queen Anne neighborhood, not far from the Seattle Center and the traditional fireworks display that was about to shoot out of the Space Needle. Mike and Autumn leaned against the glass and looked up in anticipation.

“This is going to be a great year baby,” Autumn said after taking a small sip of her drink.

Mike put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I think so too.”

Autumn loved the way her body seemed to meld and dissolve so easily into his. His broad shoulders, narrow hips and v-shaped torso fit like a puzzle piece against her more bottom heavy hourglass figure. They were by far the best looking people in the room, and even though Autumn was now slightly heavier than Mike, they really did look like a perfect pair that was meant to be together. Tabita wasn’t kidding when she said they were the cutest couple she knew.

Autumn gazed up at Mike with love beaming from her eyes. “I’m excited about getting a new apartment.” She placed her free hand on her hip and stuck her butt out a little. “I’m excited we’ll be able to go to the gym together too and I can lose some of these holiday pounds.”

Mike gave her a half-hearted smile. Her words were delicious yet unswallowable. His eyes went from her beautiful hair, which she wore down, to her breasts, which looked as large as he had ever seen them, to her still relatively narrow womanly waist and the way the top front button of her jeans seemed to be hanging on for dear life against the softer flesh of her lower belly. She looked so attractive and voluptuous he could hardly stand it. “You know you don’t have to workout or lose anything to impress me. I think you’re perfect just the way you are.”

She smiled, pressing softly into him. “You’re really sweet, you know that?”

“I know.”

Tabitha started yelling out a countdown for all to hear as the final seconds of the year ticked away. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy New Year!”

Everyone kissed their significant others, let out their celebratory cries and clanged glasses in a toast to the end of 2019, and the promise of 2020, but something was off.

Mike stared at the Space Needle. It was still and quiet.

“Where the hell are the fireworks?” Corey said from across the room.

Tabita pressed her face against the window. “Did something go wrong?”

Autumn turned to Mike. “Check your phone, see if there's news.”

“Shit,” Mike said. “We’re only seconds into 2020 and already we got problems.”

“Bad omen?” Autumn said.

Mike smiled in his calm and comforting way. “Don’t know. Could be bad, could be good, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

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 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 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 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 taut 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.

Chapter 8

Mike may not have been much for breakfast, but he made up for it by being a dessert fanatic. With COVID-19 still spreading like wildfire, and a return to work nowhere in sight, he had gotten in the habit of not eating anything during the day, and consuming all of his calories in the evenings.

He liked this routine because it made Autumn less self-conscious about matching him in portion sizes at dinner time, and it seemed to give her a sort of self-appointed permission to indulge in dessert every night guilt free, if for no other reason than the fact that her slim, trim boyfriend was indulging right along with her.

After all, if he was eating it, how bad could it be?

It didn’t matter that they didn’t always like the same things. Mike was a big fan of pie and stuff like self-serve donuts, while Autumn, in her sophisticated way, was more fond of ice cream, chocolate, cream puffs, cheesecake, cupcakes, or any cake for that matter; and although she was consuming a massive breakfast each morning, Mike liked to make sure that she still had her dessert, every night before bed. After all, seeing her gain weight was becoming an obsession, and he wanted more.

Autumn scraped another forkful of creamy cake from her little plastic container and took a bite. “All of these (chew, chew) Planet Earth shows are really just about sex.”

Mike set his half eaten slice of cherry pie down, scooted to his right and put his arm around her shoulder. “Animal instinct I guess.”

It was now July, and they were enjoying another quiet night together in front of their fairly new Philips 65 inch flat screen after a dinner of takeout Thai food. They already burned through their favorite British TV dramas and were left with mostly nature documentaries, travel and cooking shows.

Autumn pointed with her free hand. “The females don’t even have to do anything. Look, see they just sit there and wait while all the males fight over her.”

Mike turned the volume down a few notches then gave her arm a loving squeeze and smiled. “Just like humans.”

She continued to clean the bottom of her container with her fork as if she was trying desperately to get every last morsel of whipped cream into her already bloated looking belly. “Not really.”

“What do you mean?”

She licked her lips, leaned forward and put her now empty container on the coffee table in front of her. “Are you kidding? Girls are always in the gym, trying to change their bodies, all because they’re competing with each other to attract men.”

Mike stared at her like a man in a trance. It hadn’t gone unnoticed to him that she was eating much faster than she used to. Her body had become accustomed to a diet of high glycemic foods which no doubt caused fluctuations in her blood sugar, creating a vicious cycle of a subconscious, yet constant craving for more carbs.

The extra ten pounds or so that she had added to her figure in the past month, was to Mike, very much evident. Dressed in skimpy loungewear shorts and a matching spaghetti strap top, she was leaving little to his imagination.

“Yeah but girls don’t need to,” he said. “ They only think they do because society makes them think that. You know, because society can make money off people’s insecurities and stuff.”

She tossed a wisp of hair away from her face and batted her eyelashes. “Do you really believe that?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

She curled her legs beneath her butt and adjusted her posture so that she was facing him more directly. “Do I need to workout? Do I need to lose weight to attract you?”

Her thighs were squished together and her shorts were riding up her hips. Mike remembered when those very same shorts fit her the way they had been designed, loose and lax. Now they were so small that the hems were digging into her flesh like a second skin. He  lowered his head and kissed her just above her knee like a man in deep worship. “I think you know the answer to that. You don’t need to do anything.”

“Really?” She slid backwards, placed her hand on her belly and looked at him blankly. “Because I think I’ve officially gained the corona 15.”

He gazed into her eyes, recalling a time not so long ago when she complained of the relationship 15. “You look beautiful.”

“I need to get some exercise.” She unfolded her legs and let her butt plop back on the leather surface of the sofa, causing the cushion to make an airy noise of deflation.  Her belly puckered into overlapping rolls. “Can we go for a hike this weekend? It would be nice to get out of the house and see some nature.”

His shoulders slumped at the idea that she still had a desire to lose weight, but he supposed that was inevitable, whether he wanted it or not. “Um, yeah sure. If that’s what you want to do.” He gawked in lustful admiration at the way her newly developed love handles were poking out and over the sides of her shorts. “You wanna take the car or the motorcycle?”

“Uhhh, car.” She scrunched her nose cutely. “I need jeans for the motorcycle and I still don’t have anything that fits. Another reason why I need exercise.”

“Come here.” He put one arm around her waist, the other beneath her knees and attempted to pull all 209 pounds of her onto his lap. She felt heavier than he expected, but he managed.

“I want a cigarette,” she cooed.

Her big ass dominated his much narrower pelvis and he grabbed the outer sides of her butt cheeks with both hands. He savored the sight and feeling of it. He couldn’t imagine her getting any bigger than she was now, and he knew full well that before long the pandemic would end, gyms would reopen and she’d be back into some sort of workout routine, but goddamn, he was going to enjoy this sense of heaven while it lasted. “Okay baby.”

He took her to Denny Creek trailhead the following Saturday. Just an hour's drive east on Interstate 90, it was a popular hike due to its gentle, family friendly grade and the spectacular waterfall at the end.

It was a warm day, but the canopy of the old growth forest kept them in the shade for the most part. Mike found Autumn’s walking pace to be almost unbearably slow, but he did his best to stay by her side and help her along.

After a quarter mile, Autumn stopped and took a deep breath of the clean mountain air. “Mmmm, it smells so good out here.”

Bright green ferns, salmon berry bushes, and pink, yellow, and purple wildflowers surrounded them in every direction while sharp rays of light shot through outstretched branches of Douglas-Firs and Western Hemlocks above.

Mike slapped a mosquito away from his arm, and adjusted his backpack. He looked straight at her. Her brand new Lululemon camo pattern leggings highlighted her alluring shape beautifully, and to him, she looked like a dream. “Yes, breathtakingly gorgeous too.”

She rolled her eyes at him dismissively. “I’m excited to see this waterfall, how much further?”

“It’s not far.”

They continued their slow trudge upward over exposed roots and rain-rounded rocks. Autumn had been a fairly decent hiker, at least, she did okay last summer, but Mike was amazed by how different she was now. With no gap between her thighs, her walk had turned into a sort of lumbering wiggle, and she was moving so slowly that little kids, dogs and families were passing them at seemingly every turn, and it wasn’t long before she needed to stop completely.

“Can I (gasp) have some water?” she said breathlessly. She was panting and sweating and her face was flush.

Mike unzipped his backpack and handed her a 24 ounce bottle of Smartwater. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I (pant, gasp) just need to catch my breath.” She took a big drink. “Are we close?”

He shrugged then turned his head toward the traversing trail that zigzagged uphill and disappeared into the trees. “Maybe another mile.”

She fanned herself with her free hand. “Are you kidding? I feel like we’ve (gasp) been walking forever.”

An older couple appeared from around the bend and Mike led Autumn towards a mossy boulder off to the side to let them pass. The couple, a man and a woman, looked to be in their 70s, but they were fit and trim and moved quickly with relative ease.

“Hello,” the older woman said in a cheery voice.

Mike gave her a nod. “Hi.”

Autumn stared at the old woman with what Mike thought was a look of contempt before sitting down on a clean, shelf-like piece of granite. She took another sip of water and watched the couple dissolve into the thick forest ahead. “God, (pant) it’s like everybody has turned into professional hikers all of a sudden.”

Mike gave her a few minutes before he helped her up and they pressed on. He loved walking behind her. She had naturally wide hips, a small waist, and narrow shoulders simply due to the genetic makeup of her bone structure; and now with the extra pounds these alluring features were just that much more amplified. She was extremely curvy without being very strong, and because she stored so much of her weight in her butt and breasts, she was able to maintain an hourglass figure even at high body-fat percentages.

After another quarter mile or so, they reached a wooden bridge that crossed the babbling brook the trail had been following from the beginning. Autumn was visibly exhausted.

“You know, (gasp) maybe I don’t (pant) really need to see the waterfall,” she said matter-of-factly. “This is pretty enough right here.”

Mike put his hands on the knotty log that was the railing of the bridge. “You sure? It’s not that much further.”

She sighed. “I know but my feet hurt, (gasp) and my neck is sort of acting up again.”

Mike looked at her, his eyes kind and sympathetic. Her outfit didn’t hide much of her most recent weight gain, and he noticed that she was constantly tugging on the waistband of her leggings, as if pulling them upward would disguise the fact that she was getting a belly. “Okay, we can just head back I guess.”

By the time they got to the car Autumn felt weak, and completely drained. Mike gave her the bottle of water then took her cigarettes out of his backpack. He placed one between her lips and lit it for her.

Autumn took a puff with a worried look on her face. “Oh my god (cough, gasp) I’m so out of shape.” She leaned against the Honda as if her legs were too tired and sore to support her own weight. She sucked on her cigarette like a lollipop and exhaled repetitive clouds of smoke into the air. “We really (cough) need to quit smoking.”

Mike lit one of his own. “Easier said than done.”

“Maybe it’s just (pant) that my blood sugar is low, I feel a little dizzy.” Her breasts heaved from beneath her low cut black tank top with each labored breath she took and the late afternoon sun beamed across her radiant skin and auburn hair, like nature itself was trying to highlight the rare beauty that she was.

Mike could not articulate the reasons why; but he found himself extremely turned on by the way Autumn struggled so mightily with the short hike, so much so that she was unable to even finish. Perhaps it was all the panting and heavy breathing, or maybe it was just refreshing that such a normally self sufficient woman, actually needed his help for once.

“Drink water,” he said. “We can stop at a drive-through on our way home.” He put his arm around her, she was sweaty and her skin was cool to the touch. “Sound good?”

She gazed at him blankly, then discreetly plucked a wedgie out her leggings and nodded. “Yeah.

Two months later, Sydney was waiting for Autumn to finish her cigarette in a parking lot near Shilshole Bay and Golden Gardens park in the northwest corner of Seattle proper. It was a gorgeous September day, and the sky was so clear that the Olympic mountain range was completely visible beyond the silvery blue water of Puget Sound.

“You don’t smoke in the car?” Sydney said.

“God no,” Autumn said. “It would get all gross and stinky and Mike would probably kill me.” She took a final puff, tossed the used up filter on the asphalt, then stomped out the glowing cherry with her heeled boot. She opened the door to the CRV and climbed in.

Sydney got in on the passenger’s side. “Like I was saying, I think sleep has been the hardest part for me during this whole thing. I’m tired during the day and then I just toss and turn all night.”

Autumn shifted her hips in her seat and shut the door. She started the engine and turned toward her friend. “Mike’s been buying these CBD gummies.”

Sydney stretched the seatbelt over her hips and belly. “Do they help you sleep?”

Autumn flipped down the overhead sun visor, checked herself in the mirror, then flipped it back up. “They work really well actually, you should try it. Helps with my anxiety too.”

Sydney pointed at the bright red warning light shining from the dashboard. “Um, I think you need to put your seatbelt on if you want that beeping to stop.”

Autumn grabbed the metal latch plate to her left and looked around for the buckle to her right. “Yeah I know I just can’t find it.”

Sydney's eyes drooped towards Autumn’s hips. She had seen her friend a few times since covid hit, but she was no less surprised looking at her now. She had gained so much weight, one look at her butt and that was obvious. Her purple leggings hid nothing and she was sporting a pretty substantial belly that started just below her breasts and pushed its way onto her lap, and yet it somehow still looked tiny in comparison to her hips and thighs. “I think you’re um, sitting on it.”

“Oh am I?” Autumn tilted her buttcheek up and felt around the seat with her hand. “Let me just…”

Sydney reached in and grabbed the buckle. “Here, got it.”

Autumn contorted her neck, took the buckle and finally managed to click herself in. “Thanks.”

Sydney's eyes darted over her friend’s body and the way it jiggled from the effort. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, yeah, CBD might be good for me. I tend to just pig out on comfort food to deal with my anxiety.”

Autumn backed out of the parking lot. “I do that too. I’ve gotten so out of shape since this whole thing started. Mike took me on what he said would be an easy hike, and I seriously felt like I was going to die.”

Sydney shrugged. “Whatever, everybody is gaining weight these days. How could you not?”

Autumn’s eyelashes fluttered in their typical expressionless way as she took a right on Seaview Avenue. “Gaining weight is one thing, but I’ve literally outgrown my entire wardrobe.”

She immediately felt a little silly for saying that out loud, knowing that Sydney had been overweight her whole life. Out of their little group of friends; Sydney was usually described as the fat one, while Autumn was the hot one, just as Tabitha was the skinny one; and the last thing she wanted to do was to make Sydney feel even fatter by complaining of her own body issues. The reality was however, that Autumn’s own weight was no longer all that far off from Sydney’s. Autumn wasn’t fully aware of this of course, partly because the two girls had such different body types. Sydney was more apple-shaped and top heavy. She carried a lot of fat in her face, neck, shoulders, breasts and stomach, while Autumn was almost the exact opposite, with the exception of her breasts.

“Oh please you wear it super well and you’re so pretty you can hardly notice,” Sydney said. Her face turned sour. “Besides, who cares about that stuff anymore anyway? There was no softball this year, everything is canceled, Donald fucking Trump is the president, and with the riots and people dying all over the world, worrying about weight seems like such a meaningless first world problem.”

“You’re probably right.” Autumn stopped at a red light and rolled her window down a crack. “I just think back to when I lived on the hill, I was walking everywhere, and now I barely even move. Especially with the way Mike’s been waiting on me and treating me like an invilid.”

Sydney raised an eyebrow. “Sounds pretty nice if you ask me. You should enjoy it while you can.”

“I just feel bad for him,” Autumn said. “He’s been so sweet, and he probably expected me to stay the same size that I was when we started dating. I can only imagine what he must be thinking now.”

“Has he said anything?”

Autumn tilted her head. “No, that’s just it. All he does is compliment me. He hasn’t criticized my weight at all, not even once.”

“Of course he hasn’t.” Sydney adjusted her posture, turning herself slightly toward Autumn. “How could he with the way that booty of yours.” She raised her eyebrows and smiled. “He probably loves it.”

Autumn’s eyes widened slightly. “It seems all I do is work, eat and have sex.”

“Really…” Sydney smiled. “I've been meaning to ask you…how is he?”

Autumn gave her a quick glance and pursed her lips coyly.

“Come on,” Sydney said. “Here I am, single and bored out of my mind, the least you can do is give me a few details.”

Autumn sighed, then smirked. “He’s really good. He's really…passionate.”

“Big penis?”

There was brief silence, then Autumn broke into a mischievous smile.

Sydney rolled her eyes. “Oh God. I’m so jealous of you sometimes.”

Autumn turned the wheel and went left onto Holman Road. “Speaking of big penises, do you have time for a Dick’s burger?”

“Omigod, I always have time for a Dick’s burger. I wasn’t going to say anything but all that talk about gaining weight made me super hungry for some reason.”

“Oh my goodness,” Autumn said with a giggle. “We are so bad.”

After dropping Sydney off at her place in the Green Lake area, Autumn came home to an empty apartment. Mike was still out on a motorcycle ride with a friend and wouldn’t be back for another hour or so.

Autumn, still a bit full and bloated from the greasy deluxe double cheeseburger and fries from Dick’s drive-in, poured herself a big glass of red wine and plodded up the stairs towards the master bedroom. She felt heavy and lethargic.

Were the stairs getting steeper?

She drew a bath, and as she waited for the tub to fill she noticed the scale beneath the towel rack in the corner. She’d been ignoring it like it was a parking ticket she had no intention of paying. The last time she weighed herself was in February, back in the pre-covid days when she and Mike were working-out at Anytime Fitness on a semi-regular basis. She was 179 then, but that was a good seven months ago. 179 seemed like so much at the time, and she shuddered to think of what the numbers might say now.

It would definitely be more, she knew that much; the tightness of her latest pair of size 16 jeans was proof enough, and yet she was still curious about what the actual numbers might say in an odd and masochistic sort of way. It was in her head now, and despite constantly trying to suppress and ignore it, weight was always at the forefront of her thoughts and the only cure for that was to face reality head on.

She took a big long sip of her wine, set the glass next to the sink, and stepped on the scale.

Chapter 9

Mike came home later that evening. The apartment was dark and quiet. He flipped on the lights, set his helmet down next to the shoe rack that displayed Autumn’s vast array of boots and high heels; hung his jacket on the wall hook, then went upstairs.

He found his girlfriend laying in bed, deep beneath the covers. He carefully moved her knees, sat down beside her and ran his hand gently through her soft hair. “Hey.”

Still with her head on the pillow, Autumn shifted into almost a fetal position. Her eyes remained closed.

Mike gave her shoulder a nudge. “You okay?”

She grabbed the corner of the comforter and drew it up so it covered her entire body from the neck down like a cocoon.

Mike leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “What’s wrong?”

She opened her eyes, let out a disgruntled sigh, then squeezed her eyelids shut again.

“Are you hungry?” he said. “There’s cake in the fridge, I can bring it up for you if you want dessert in bed.” He slowly pulled the blanket off. She was naked except for a pair of beige panties. Her body was tense and her hands were balled into fists. He stared at her, confused. “Does that sound good, cake?”

She opened her eyes.“No Mike!” She sat up abruptly, swinging her legs over the edge of the mattress and shoving her pillow aside. “No more cake. No more desserts all the time!”

Mike stood. “Hey, what’s the matter with you, what’s wrong?”

She sniffled and glared at him. “Everything.”

His eyes, as if beyond his control, dissected her body from head to toe. She was clearly upset about something, but despite that, or perhaps because of it, she looked unbelievably gorgeous to him. Her naked breasts were an exhibit of youth and beauty and beneath was a soft round tummy that spilled over her panties like a ball of pudding. Although her belly wasn’t small, it was dwarfed by her ass and thighs and her hip cleavage had become a fully formed and distinct thighbrow of symmetrically folding flesh spreading wide across milky white skin. He stepped forward cautiously. “What does that mean?”

With her arms at her sides, she clasped the bottom sheet of the bed with both hands and sniffled again. “Nothing. Nothing is wrong and everything is wrong.”

He sat next to her again. “Baby, have you been crying?” His voice softened and he stretched his hand around and placed it on her far right hip. She had become so broad that it was getting to be a bit of a reach. His eyes drew downward to her pudgy sides and subtly budding back-fat. He had never realized it before, but her waist in her sitting position was actually quite a bit thicker and bigger around than his own, maybe even twice as big. “Why? Come on, talk to me.”

“Nothing, I just…” She became silent for several seconds, then turned her head so she could look him straight in the eye. “I weighed myself.”

Mike inspected her face nervously. He swallowed, then shrugged. “Okay…well, so what.”

“So what?” She stood, then spun back around to face him. “I’m two hundred and sixteen pounds. That’s what!”

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks.

Two hundred and sixteen pounds?

Was she serious?

Goddamn that was a lot of weight.

He didn’t know how to respond, so he just sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds before muttering, “Umm, well…”

She stomped her bare foot on the carpet like a child that didn’t get their candy and her entire body jiggled in rippling waves. “Two hundred and sixteen pounds! I couldn’t believe I was over 200, let alone 216.”

Mike stared at the brown leather of his boots for a moment, then slowly looked up. He examined her closely.

Two hundred and sixteen pounds.

He was having trouble believing it himself.

Could she actually be that heavy?

He found it baffling because she really wasn’t a big person. Her bone structure was truly quite petite. She had small elegant hands, small dainty feet and ankles, a small ribcage and narrow, almost fragile looking shoulders. Her facial features too were smallish, slight and delicately feminine. She had accumulated so much fat in her breasts, hips, and ass however, that they were not small in any sense of the definition, yet they were equally as womanly and feminine as the rest of her exquisite characteristics. She still had her hourglass, coke bottle shape, but he noticed that from her side profile, her belly looked much more prominent than it did when she was facing him head on.

He cleared his throat and spoke without a thread of conviction. “Maybe the scale is…broken?”

“It’s not broken Mike, I checked like 4 times!” She crossed her arms beneath her tits. “I’ve gained over 30 pounds since January and this fucking year isnt even over yet! Do you realize what this means?”

“What?”

“It means that I’m clinically overweight.”

Mike thought about that for a second.

Clinically overweight? In his opinion, and despite maintaining a curvacous, hourglass shape, if she was really two hundred and sixteen pounds it was more likely that she was now clinically obese.

He had anticipated this moment for some time. The moment when she’d come to realize how big she had truly become, and in all honesty he was surprised that it hadn't come sooner. He did his best to console her, wishing he could somehow make her feel as beautiful as he thought she was. “Well you look great I mean…”

“No I don’t look great Mike! I’m fat. I can’t find any clothes that fit me anymore, I can’t even walk up the stairs to the bedroom without getting out of breath and it’s all your fault!”

“What did I do?”

Her eyes bored into him, penetrating and severe. “You’re constantly buying desserts, constantly bringing me food and constantly encouraging me to eat.”

“Well I just… want to take care of you. My love language is acts of service.”

“Don’t throw my love language stuff back at me.”

“Sorry.” He rose and drew closer, wondering if maybe she was going through nicotine withdrawals or something. “You want to go outside? Do you need to put some clothes on?”

He reached his hand toward her waist but she spun away and collapsed back into bed.

He gazed at her and pulled his hair subconsciously with both hands. He sighed. “I’ll…be outside.”

He already smoked two cigarettes when the door to the balcony opened. Autumn, wrapped from head to toe in a plush fluffy blanket, stepped outside and squeezed herself between the railing and the small round table. She sat in the collapsable metal chair across from him.

She seemed to be empty handed so he pulled out one of his own cigarettes, leaned forward, placed it between her lips and lit it for her.

She took a long, soothing drag, then stared at him silently for a moment.

“I’m sorry I got upset,” she said, finally.

“It’s okay.”

She paused and took another drag. “It was just that the number was so shocking. I can’t believe how much I’ve let myself go.”

Her hair was wavy, slightly tangled and looked wickedly sexy as did the pouty part in her luscious pink lips.

Goddamn she was good-looking.

Even with all of the weight she put on, her face had changed very little, and from the neck up there was scant evidence of the bountiful and ample curves that lay below.

“I’m sorry too,” he said. “I think you’re every bit as beautiful as you were the day I met you, but I suppose it doesn't matter how beautiful I think you are.”

Her eyes, still slightly puffy from the tears, flashed into his. “Why not?”

“I mean, well…I want you to feel beautiful too.”

“I do feel beautiful, and I appreciate how much you love my body…” She trailed off as a police siren wailed in the distance.

Mike sat up straight and lit a third cigarette. There was a ponderous moment of silence. “You remember that time back in the Starbucks days, when it was black Friday and they were doing the Christmas tree lighting? I had to go get more supplies or something…”

“A DSL?”

“Yeah I had to do a DSL and there were so many people outside I could barely get through the crowd with my little cart or whatever, and I can’t remember why but you were outside too and the lights were on and Christmas music was playing and everything…”

“I remember.”

“You came to tell me something. We were like right next to each other and there were so many people we could hardly move and I thought…what if I just kissed her right here?” He smiled in a subdued and melancholy kind of way. “Thought it would be super romantic, like in the movies or one of those famous black and white photos.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know, got scared I guess. You were always so hard to read and I didn’t know how you would react. Thought you were too pretty for me.” He flicked ash into the bowl on the center of the table. “What would you have done? Would you have kissed me back?”

She was smiling through her eyes. “Yes.”

“Damn. I wish I would have.”

“I wish you would’ve too.” She adjusted her blanket so it covered her naked shoulders. “Look, I am very grateful to have you and I’m grateful for the way you’ve stood by me and the way you’ve taken care of me during this whole crazy year…” She paused for a moment, searching for words. “But I feel like my weight has gotten out of control, and it’s really not healthy for me to be this big.” She placed her cigarette between her lips, sucked in her cheeks then exhaled a mist of smoke. “I don’t know, (cough) maybe It’s just that you’re in such great shape and I’m starting to feel kind of… self-conscious.”

“Okay first of all, I am not in great shape.” He held up his burning cigarette. “And second of all, isn’t that part of what makes attraction so beautiful? The contrast…the differences in our bodies is what attracts me to you.”

“I know but I’ve never struggled with my weight like this before, and I really need to put a stop to it before I get any bigger.”

As much as he hated to admit it, he knew she was right. He felt as though he was playing with house money anyway, as he never really expected her to put on as much weight as she had. Two hundred and sixteen pounds was a lot, especially considering she had gained so much of it relatively quickly. It was her body, her decision, and he respected that. Besides, she was such a knock-out that she could be stunning at any weight, and even Mike, in all his blind lust, could acknowledge that there was a point where perhaps a woman could become too curvy, and he knew that Autumn was probably on the cusp of reaching that point, if she hadn’t passed it already.

He looked into her eyes and nodded. “I love and adore your body, and I think you are just spectacularly beautiful but, I understand what you’re saying, and I will support you in any way that I can.”

She leaned back in her chair. “Thank you.”

He paused for a long moment. “Do you ever miss having a job where you actually go into the office?”

She scrunched her nose. “Not one bit.”

“Guess you were already used to it, and now the whole world’s doing it.”

“What about you? Have you heard any more news with your work?”

He shook his head. “Nope, looks like we won’t be going back anytime soon.”

“God, it’s so crazy they’re still paying you.”

“I certainly can’t complain.” He shrugged. “Are you getting sick of me being home all the time?”

She puffed on her cigarette. “No, I like it, and I’m kind of dreading the day when you have to go back.”

“Me too. We’ve done okay with this whole corona thing so far, could be a lot worse, so many people are struggling out there.”

“I know. This year has felt like 5 years. I was thinking about when we lived on the hill and it seems like that was so long ago.”

“I know what you mean. Feels like we’ve been together forever too. In a good way.”

Her head became still and she stared at him long and hard. “What kind of a relationship do we have?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, all our circles of friends have like shrunk, we don’t even really see family anymore and, sometimes I feel like we’re the only two people on earth.” Her eyes drifted toward the vast illuminated skyline of the city for a moment, then she looked back at him. “But we never talk about what like, we’re actually doing.”

He leaned forward and gazed at her as the feeling of romance waxed heavy in the evening air. “I know that I love you.”

Her eyelashes fluttered and her lips parted slightly before she spoke. “I guess what I’m saying is that I want to feel secure in this relationship. I don’t really see a point in getting married, but I need to know that we’re committed.”

He extinguished his cigarette and his eyes beamed into hers. “I am committed. I don’t want anyone else but you.”

She smiled, her gaze warm and melting. “Same here.”

Chapter 10

Things were different during the following few days. Autumn was different. She was less affectionate, and refused her bacon and German pancake breakfasts in the morning, and didn’t seem to eat much of anything during the day aside from picking at fresh fruit and having an occasional Greek yogurt.

Mike even caught her exercising a few times in the bedroom, doing things like pilates and body-weight lunges through an app on her phone.

That was a sight to see, to say the least.

He decided that if she was serious about getting back in shape, then he would get serious too and try to step up his game. He brought out his old home pull-up bar and installed it in the doorway of the guest bathroom downstairs.

“Oh wow, there’s no way I could do that,” Autumn said.

Having just finished a short workout herself, she watched from behind as he gripped the bar, slowly lowering himself down, then shooting back up in explosive bursts of strength. His shirt was off, and she admired the way his hardened back muscles, biceps, and shoulders bulged and contracted with each movement.

He looked hot, like really hot.

He let go and placed his feet firmly on the tile flooring of the threshold. He turned around. “I could help you try, if you want.” Her hair was drawn back in a loose ponytail and she was dressed in black leggings and a baggy t-shirt, cut short at the waist. “Come on.”

She shook her head, but stepped forward so she was directly beneath the bar. She rolled her eyes. “I have no upper body strength.”

“Can you grab it?”

She lifted herself to her tippy toes and reached up her hands. She could barely get her fingers around the foam covered grips.

Mike bent over and wrapped his arms around her thighs, smooshing his head against her butt in the process.“Okay, ready?” He heaved her upward, lifting with his legs as she pulled with all her strength. She felt extremely heavy, somehow much heavier than he anticipated, but he managed to get her chin just above the bar. He lowered her down slowly, then let her hang for a second.

“This is actually (pant, huff) a good stretch for my back,” she said, gasping from the strain of her weight. She tried to pull herself up with her own power, but couldn’t move an inch. “God, I can’t believe (gasp, pant) you can do this.” She let go and lowered her sock covered feet back onto the solid floor. “I think (pant, huff) I’ll let you do your exercises (pant), and I’ll stick with mine.”

Mike gazed at her lustfully. She was driving him crazy with that outfit and that hair and the sexy way she was panting and trying to catch her breath.

Why the hell did her labored breathing turn him on so much?

He reached out his arm and gently caressed her waist with his fingertips. She was sweating and her body was warm. He gestured toward the upstairs loft. “Are you doing okay up there?”

She stayed at arm's length, and did not draw closer to him like she normally would. “Yeah why?”

He shrugged and spoke hesitantly. “I don’t know, just seeing if you're hungry or if you need anything.”

She crossed her arms and turned away. “No! I’m not hungry and you don’t need to keep asking.”

“Alright alright.”

Her eyes darted over his naked, pumped up torso, then she glared at him like a teacher reprimanding a student. “Don’t worry about me.”

He nodded and gave her a dismal smile of defeat. “Okay.”

Before she weighed herself, Mike and Autumn made love nearly every night, sometimes twice a night, but since then their sex life was nonexistant. It had been 3 days now, and Mike was starting to worry.

Was she losing interest in him?

Had she become ashamed of her curves, ashamed of her body?

He didn’t like it, but tried his best to be understanding and supportive. She seemed hellbent on overhauling her entire lifestyle and he knew how difficult that could be.

But God. He missed her.

He missed their evenings together on the couch, watching conversation stimulating TV shows and movies while he held her in his arms and she ate creamy rich desserts without a care. He wondered if she missed it too.

In all honesty he really did want to support her in her desire to shed some weight, but why did it have to come with the attachment of abstinence and with her being so cold and distant?

Later that night, Mike laid in bed twiddling his thumbs thinking about it. The toilet flushed and Autumn finally emerged from the bathroom. She was wearing a black thong, but had thrown on a loose fitting t-shirt as if to hide herself.

She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment with her back turned. Mike marveled at her shape from behind, and the way her hips sunk into the mattress. His dick was throbbing. The lack of physical contact was killing him. He reached for her.

“No, please. I’m tired and not in the mood.” She swiveld her legs on top of the bed and laid on her back with her knees bent and the covers off. Mike couldn’t help himself and reached for her again, trickling his fingers against her thighs. She could feel his burning desire and she turned and looked at him sourly. “Come on. It’s hard for me to get aroused when I don’t feel sexy.” She sighed and stared back at her knees. “I don’t even recognize myself anymore.”

How could she not feel sexy?

Weight gain or not, she couldn’t be unsexy if she tried.

He laid on his back and bent his knees as well, mimicking her position exactly.  Dressed only in boxers, he compared his thighs to hers. His were thin, toned, and hairy and there was a huge gap between them, while hers were squished together, flawless, silky smooth, plush, and seemed to be twice as big as his in every direction. “You have very nice legs,” he said.

She stared at the ceiling, let out a disparaging gasp and without a trace of enthusiasm said, “Thanks.”

He shimmied his hand between them and caressed the softest spot of her inner thigh, gently and lovingly, then he drew his hand away. “I’m sorry, I’ll let you sleep.”

“No.” She turned, her mood suddenly different. “That actually feels really good.”

Damn.

Was he actually getting somewhere?

Did she feel as sexually deprived as he did?

He put his hand back and continued. Her skin was like butter.  After a while he moved from her crotch to her belly. He rubbed it, slow and prudent. “Does that feel good?”

Her pelvis shifted. Her eyes were closed and her lips were parted. “Mmhmm.”

“I love your belly.”

She opened her eyes. “You do?”

“Yeah.” He sunk his fingers deeper into the flesh around her navel and massaged her like he was worshiping a deity. “Do you feel safe with me?”

She gasped, feeling wonderfully woozy and dreamy from his masculine touch. “Yes.” She became still for a moment, then looked at him skeptically, yet also with a lusty trace of hedonism. “Why do you like my legs so much?”

“Because they’re sexy and shapely and soft…and because they’re yours.”

She looked back to the ceiling. “Do you think I have… thick thighs?”

Okay. Where was she going with this?

“I think you have amazing thighs, perfect thighs.”

She turned and stared at him, somewhat serious. “But do you think they’re thick?”

His eyes darted from her legs to her face, still unsure of what she was getting at. “Umm…yes.”

“Mmmm,” she cooed with a sound of deep pleasure.

He looked at her, confused.

He couldn’t comprehend how her moods could change so quickly, but he understood what went through a woman’s mind like he understood a foreign language. He sat up, then got on all fours and crawled on top. He lifted her shirt, lowered his head between her spreading legs and kissed her belly. “Do you like that?”

“Mmhmm.” She had an odd expression on her face and softly squished and jiggled her legs against his sides. “Do you think my thighs are…chunky?”

Her words sent shockwaves of excitement from his stomach to his throat. Now he was really confused.

How could she go from crying her eyes out over her weight, to vowing to diet and exercise, to getting turned on by receiving verbal confirmation that her thighs were thick, within the time span of a few days?

Was it simply because he had made her feel safe somehow?

Had it all been just some sort of test?

“Umm…do you want me to think that?” he said.

“I want your honest answer.”

He grabbed the thickest part of her left thigh. It was so big that even his two large hands couldn’t come close to going all the way around it. “Yeah, I love your chunky thighs.”

A tremor went through her, and she wiggled and sank deeper into the mattress. “Oooh, baby.”

He continued fondling her doughy flesh and the way she was reacting encouraged a boldness in him. “I love how thick and lush and chunky they are.”

She melted. “Mmmm, ooohh god, Mike!”

He was hard as a rock.

He pulled her panties off, then stripped himself of his boxers. He lunged back on top and put his lips to her belly again; then let himself fall into her breasts, and kissed her neck. After several minutes of poking and teasing her clit, he slipped inside of her effortlessly. He rocked back and forth for a while as she gasped and moaned with delight, groping his ass with both hands.

After several minutes, he rolled off and helped remove her shirt. He laid on his side, shoved his arm beneath her waist then pressed himself into her and kissed her on the mouth.

God.

The bare skin of her belly felt so delicious as it oozed against his abdomen.

With some effort, he hoisted her on top, and let all 216 pounds of her pin him to the bed. He grabbed her love handles, shoved her chubby torso closer to the headboard, then slid back inside of her warm moist pussy and continued thrusting into her as the steady rhythm of sex took over.

He could tell she was very aroused, but with the heat of the room, and the added weight, she was beginning to sweat profusely, and Mike was having trouble getting her to climax. All of the usual dirty talk wasn’t working and after a while she was gasping for breath and getting nowhere. He decided to try something audacious, something different.

He gazed up into her steamy, sex-starved eyes and said, “You want me to make you breakfast tomorrow morning, help keep those thighs nice and…chunky?”

She almost squealed. “Ohhh…yes (pant) baby.” She gave him an exceedingly sexy and pouty look, then brought her rocking cadence to a stop. She gazed at him, her eyes beseeching and pleading. “I’m (gasp) hungry right now, (pant, gasp) can you get me some cake?”

He grabbed her by the shoulders. “You want cake right now?”

She smiled and nodded. “Mmhmm.” She let herself slip away then rolled off and onto her back.

Mike’s eyes were wildly intoxicated and as big as saucers.

What the hell was happening?

He stared at her for a moment, then jolted out of bed and ran downstairs, naked as the day he was born. He returned seconds later with a big slice of cheesecake and a fork.

They didn’t need to explain it, they just knew.

Her lips parted expectantly and he didn’t hesitate to feed her.

“Oh God, (chew, chew) mmm, more.” He kept feeding her and she kept chewing and opening her mouth after each bite and did this until all of the cake was gone. She weezed wearily and licked her lips. “You really (pant) like how…chunky I’m getting?”

He put the empty plate and fork on the end table. “Yeah, I fucking love it.” He mounted her again and slid back inside. He was losing control now and he reached down, grabbed a good handful of her belly and shook it.

She reacted like it was the best feeling in the world. “Oooooh, (gasp) God baby.”

He continued thrusting into her violently, passionately and with reckless abandon. “I love how big and soft and curvy…”

She moaned louder. “Ohhhh, (pant) mmmm.”

Her response to his words astounded him, but in the heat and fervor of the moment, they were so reassuring, and he was so drunk with blinding lust that he decided to go all the way, drawing his mouth to her ear and whispering, “And how… fat you’re getting.”

That put her over the top. Her eyes rolled back, her mouth gaped open and her entire body quivered and contracted in euphoric spasms.

“Ohhh (gasp, huff, pant) fuck, (huff) ohhh God baby (gasp, pant), oooohh, (pant) Mike!”

In the afterglow, she rolled over, still catching her breath. “Oh my (pant) God. That was amazing, I think I orgasmed like (pant) three times.” She slowly sat up. “I feel so ashamed.”

“You have nothing to be ashamed about.” He gazed up at her glossy eyes. “Did you like it?”

She turned her head. “Yes. I did.”

“Then why feel shame?” He sat up as well and rested his back against the headboard. “We’re taught from a young age in this country that sex is sort of bad and taboo, but that’s all wrong. It’s a natural expression of love, and there’s nothing wrong with giving into your sexual desires. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Still with labored breathing she brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. “I liked it when (pant) you fed me.”

“I could tell.”

“Why was that so hot?”

“I don’t know? Food is sexy. It engages all the senses…smell, taste, sight, the sound of your lips…”

“Stop it, you're going to turn me on again.” She gave him a little smirk then got up and went to the bathroom.

Mike collapsed back into a lying position, trying desperately to wrap his head around what just happened.

Was this for real?

Was he dreaming?

He was still wondering about it when she came back.

She looked down at him. “Oh my God babe, you’re still so hard.”

He tilted his head towards his chest. “Yeah I know.”

She got into bed and curled up next to him. “Why are you still so hard?”

“Why do you think?”

She let her naked leg fall between his knees and ran her fingers over the hairs of his chest. “Is it because you love my body?”

He let out a blissful sigh, then smiled. “Something like that.”

She brought her voice down to a slow and sensual whisper. “You love how chunky I’m getting don’t you.”

God that word again.

Chunky.

He looked into her eyes. “I love everything about you.”

With mild struggle, she lifted herself on top of him and kissed his lips. She let all her weight collapse onto his hard, slim body. “Do I need (pant) to let you go again?”

Chapter 11

It was like Autumn had been holding back a secret, and after a year and a half of dating, unleashed it on Mike in a flood of orgasmic bliss. It was magic, and she finally used her magic and it entered his soul and consumed him like a spell.

The question as to whether or not it had been real, slowly dissipated over the following weeks and months. She never said as much, and reserved most of the sexy verbal communication about her body to intimate moments, but her actions spoke louder than her words ever could.

It was what she didn’t say that gave Mike the permission he needed. He went back to making her breakfasts every morning that were calorically dense as a weekend brunch, and she never refused them, and she didn’t say no to cake at night or snacks throughout the day. She stopped criticizing herself, and became much more relaxed and at ease, and confident with her curves. As a result, her weight continued to creep upward.

By October of 2020, she had added another 5 pounds to her overly voluptuous figure, putting her at 221. In November, she had gotten up to 227, and by Christmas time she was 234.

“I got something for you,” Mike said.

Autumn slowly pulled the spoon from her lips and placed it in her carton of McConnell’s ice cream. She took the soft little plastic wrapped cube from Mike’s hand. “What are these?”

“They're like the CBD gummies, but they have a little THC in them. Thought it might help with your foot and neck pain.”

She studied it, then looked up at Mike from her spot on the couch. She put her ice cream carton on the end table to her left, then turned the volume down on the TV. “What about like, you know your sobriety?”

Mike stood next to the coffee table and shrugged. “You took away my sobriety a long time ago.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He gazed down at her and gave her a dimpled grin. “I get a buzz just from looking at you.”

She rolled her eyes at him.

“It’s okay,” he said. “As long as I stay away from alcohol I’m fine.”

“I haven't smoked weed since college.”

“Me neither, I haven't since it’s been legal.”

“Okay I’ll try.” She attempted to unwrap it, but gave up quickly and reached out toward Mike. “Can you open it for me?”

He smiled again and took it from her. “Sure.”

He tore the plastic off, and popped it in her mouth. She chewed and went right back to her snack and TV show. He ate one too, then went to the kitchen to finish putting away the groceries.

He wasn’t sure what compelled him, but he stopped by Shawn Kemp’s Cannabis shop earlier that day while running errands. He planned on just picking up some more CBD gummies, but with his curiosity and a little push from the sales girl, he walked out of there with 100 milligrams worth of THC edibles. Of course, he wanted to try it himself, and he did think it would help the aching neck Autumn had been complaining about, but it was more than that. He was having trouble sleeping, Autumn was too. COVID cases were surging again and the lack of work and social activities were making their world feel much smaller and more enclosed. Both their parents canceled the usual Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings, and it felt, more than ever, that Mike and Autumn had no one to lean on except each other.

She finally rose from her spot on the sofa and brought her empty ice cream carton to the kitchen and placed it on the counter. Dressed for comfort as well as style in green velour joggers and a matching zip up sweatshirt, she looked gorgeous almost beyond Mike’s comprehension.  “What time do you want to leave tomorrow?”

Mike closed the fridge. “Earlier the better.”

“God, I am so looking forward to sleeping in though.” She sighed and watched Mike tend to the boiling pot of water on the stove. “Will dinner be ready soon?”

“About 15 minutes.”

“Okay, I’m going to go outside, want to join me?”

He shook his head. “No you go ahead, I need to keep an eye on this.”

“Okay.” She gazed out at the far window next to the balcony. “Is it cold out there?”

“Not cold enough to snow yet, but it’s getting close.”

She unzipped her top, revealing the skimpy white camisole beneath. Her arms had gone through noticeable changes in the past few months. She had no muscles to speak of, her deltoids were nonexistent, and yet the upper part of her arms were starting to get pretty big and wobbly. She bent over to put on her Pikolino boots, then grabbed her fluffy white coat from the wall hook. She put it on but struggled with the sleeves. It was clearly too small for her now, and there was no way she would be able to actually button it together in the front, not with those perky double D’s exploding out of her chest. She didn’t even try.

Mike noticed that just the simple ordeal of adding a few articles of clothing, had left her slightly winded.  He watched her wiggle away and felt the vibrations of the clicking steps of her heels radiate throughout the floor of the apartment. Her formerly bouncy strut had morphed into a slow and lethargic slog of swaying hips and jiggling thighs, somehow still perceptible even beneath her winter coat.

She was really getting big and bottom heavy.

Was she getting too big?

Autumn was a ridiculously beautiful woman, and Mike had grown accustomed to the pride and status that came with being known as the guy with the crazy hot girlfriend; but would she still be considered hot, even at her current size?

Who was he kidding, of course she would.

But still, he found himself wondering what his mom would say if she saw Autumn now; what his dad would say, what his sister and his friends would say.

A guy had told him once, years ago, not to date curvy women because curvy girlfriends turn into fat wives. He was a dipshit, but maybe he was right.

Autumn was getting fat. She had passed the point where she could just start exercising and drop down to a weight more reasonable for her body type, or to the way she used to be. It couldn’t be good for her to carry around so many extra pounds, but if that’s what he really believed then why did it turn him on so much?

Why had their sex life been so turbo-charged during the past few months?

Why could he not stop fantasizing and wondering, what her ass would look like if it got even bigger, and why was he currently pitching a tent in his jeans just thinking about it?

He dished up a huge helmet sized bowl of penne pasta with chicken and mushrooms, swimming in a sea of buttery parmesan sauce. It was way more than Autumn could eat, but he knew she had a habit of consuming 80 percent of her meals no matter the portion size, as if she thought not finishing everything was somehow more ladylike or something. He turned and gazed across the living room toward the balcony. She was still outside. Looking over his shoulder he grabbed a bottle of olive oil and drizzled it over her pasta dish for several seconds, likely pushing the meal to well over 1000 calories.

When she came back in she squirmed out of her coat, kicked off her boots, and plopped on the sofa. Mike brought her the sumptuous dinner and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Here you go babe.”

“Mmmm, thank you.” She held the bowl with both hands and looked at it wide-eyed. “This thing is huge!”

“Just eat what you can, I made a ton.”

“Where’s yours?”

“Grabbing it now.” Mike went back to the kitchen and made himself a bowl that was less than half the size of the one he made for her. He turned off the lights, then sat next to her on the couch. “We gonna watch Yellowstone?”

“Sure. This is (chew, chew) really good though.”

“Glad you like it.” He reached over her lap and took the remote.

They watched, and ate.

When the episode was over, Autumn leaned forward and put her bowl on the coffee table. It was completely empty.

“Ooooh, (pant) I’m so full,” she cooed in a breathy voice. She placed both hands on her bloated belly. “Ooomf, (gasp) I wish I could take all this, and just like move it to my boobs and ass.”

“But your belly is so sexy.”

“Maybe (hiccup) to you.”

“Who else do you need to impress?” He leaned in, lifted her camisole and kissed her navel.

“You really do like it don’t you.”

He sat back and smiled. “I really really do.”

She curled her feet beneath her thighs, stuck her butt out and batted her eyelashes. “I think you like my butt better.”

He kissed the velvety fabric that covered her enormous round hip. “I love everything.”

“Would you…oooof…(gasp) still love me if I got fat?”

His eyes slowly scanned the buxom contours of her body.

If she got fat?

She was already there. She seemed to be nothing but hips with the sexy way she was sitting.

Yowza. That ass was getting huge.

He smiled. “Of course, there’d just be more of you to love.”

She adjusted her posture and made a face of discomfort as she pulled down on the waistband of her pants, letting her belly spring out freely onto her lap. “Ooohh, (gasp, hiccup) too tight.”

“Maybe it’s time for some new pants.”

She sat up and tried to cross her legs a couple times, but her thigh just kept sliding off and back down into the depressed seat cushion. She gasped and scowled. “Again?”

“Yeah, again.”

She leaned back and threw up her hands. “Maybe I should just let myself go. (pant) You’d probably love that.”

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. He fondled her thighs, then squished and kneaded her belly with both hands. “Yeah, I probably would.”

She squirmed away. “Slow down lover boy, (pant) I need a cigarette before you get me all hot and bothered.” She rocked forward in an attempt to stand, but felt too stuffed and heavy to move under her own power. Mike wasn’t entirely sure if her struggle was genuine, or if she was playing it up for his pleasure, but either way he found the act to be incredibly arousing.  She reached out her arm and gave him a puckering, pouty face. “Help please.”

When they returned from the balcony the THC was beginning to take hold.

Autumn flopped back on the sofa and with tired and glossy eyes said, “I’m hungry.”

Mike made his way toward the kitchen and hung both of their jackets on the wall. “There’s gingerbread cookies, and fudge.”

She made a face. “Uhhh…diabetes in a tin. Is there no cheesecake?”

He walked her way, shaking his head. “No, you finished it this morning.”

She raised her eyebrows. “All of it?”

“Yeah.”

She glared at him and crossed her arms. “Isn’t it your job to make sure I always have cake when I need it?”

“I’m sorry.” He smiled. She always looked so pretty when she pretended to be mad. “We still have that box of peanut brittle. What sounds good?”

“I don’t know, I'm just like starving all of a sudden.”

He shrugged. “Okay so…”

“Just bring the tin of fudge and cookies and, why not… get the peanut brittle too.”

“Okay baby.” He did as he was told and sat beside her as she grazed on the Christmas treats as they watched another episode of Yellowstone. The THC was more potent than he expected, as he could feel the intense hunger rising in his stomach along with a sensation of mind numbing relaxation. He watched Autumn pop fudge into her mouth like they were M&M’s. He reached for one from the metal box on her lap.

“Hey!” She slapped his hand away and looked daggers into him. “Don’t even think about it. Get your own.”

He smiled, drew close and put his arms around her. As ravenous as he felt, he was  more than happy to starve if it allowed her to eat to her heart’s content.  Just the sound of her lips moving aroused sexual thoughts in his brain. He put his hand on her belly and savored the way it moved in and out with each breath. He kissed her breast, wiggled his fingers between her sprawling legs and reduced his voice to a slow whisper. “We’ll have to stop at every fast food place we see tomorrow, so you can just stuff your face for the whole drive.”

Her eyes closed and her neck cocked after biting the head off of a red and green frosted gingerbread man. “Mmmm…yeah, (chew, munch) I’d like that.”

He was somewhat surprised by her overtly sensual reaction. “You would?”

She grabbed his hand and placed it on her belly. “Yeah.” She shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth.

No longer paying any attention to the TV, he brought his lips to her ear. “Keep that belly full, make those thighs even…chunkier?”

She squirmed in her seat like a purring kitten. “Ooooooh, (chew, munch) yes baby, so chunky.” She flopped her arms limply to her sides. “Feed me,” she cooed.

He took a square of butterscotch fudge and plopped it in her mouth.

She chewed quickly like she couldn’t get enough. “Mmmm (chew, chew) more, more,(gasp) more.” He fed her a chocolate one, then another butterscotch, then he broke into the peanut brittle and fed her several big chunks. Her eyes were getting glossier, her breathing was accelerating and her belly seemed to be protruding out in front of her further. “You’re (gasp, huff) going to have to (pant) help me up the stairs after this. Either that or we’ll have to move the bedroom down here.”

He rubbed her belly as if she was carrying his baby. “Stairs too hard for you?”

She nodded. “Mmhmm.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder. “Okay baby.”

“Mmmm, more.” Her lips parted.

He fed her another piece of peanut brittle, then gave her belly a gentle slap, creating enough of a ripple effect to make her boobs jiggle. “You like that?”

She was so blissed out that she answered with her eyes closed. “Mmhmm…yeah, (munch, chew) that feels so good.” She quivered pleasurably from all the things his hand was doing. “Ooohh, mmmm, (gasp) more please.” Her lips parted again in anticipation.

Chapter 12

Autumn unbuttoned her jeans with a gasp of relief.  Placing her hands on her slightly exposed belly, she turned toward Mike who was driving. “Ooohhh…is it (gasp) normal to feel sexier from gaining weight?”

Mike kept his hands on the wheel but snuck a peak at his girlfriend in the passenger seat. Wearing her new size 20 blue jeans and a black tank top, she was distracting to say the least. He smiled. “If everyone looked like you it would be.”

She shifted her hips and grabbed her crumpled Starbucks bag. “I think a little fluffiness and a few extra curves is a major turn on.” She took another bite of her bacon gouda breakfast sandwich. “It makes (chew, chew) me wonder what a few more pounds would look like. Is that weird?”

He let out a short lusty sigh and shook his head in elated disbelief.

God how he loved this woman.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “ I think it’s the opposite.”

“Yes (chew) exactly. Why would (chew, chew) losing weight be sexy? I don’t understand that.”

“You and me both.”

“Gaining weight makes me feel more like, girly and feminine somehow, more powerful almost.'' She shoved the last of the sandwich between her lips with her thumb and forefinger. “It’s (chew, chew) kind of like, addictively liberating.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah.” She nodded and finished chewing. “I don’t know. Who cares? The world as we know it will never be the same, makes me want to be more present in the moment, enjoy what we have right now.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” He put his blinker on and began merging toward the offramp. On Interstate 5, a few miles north of Vancouver, Washington; they were headed to the Oregon coast for a Christmas getaway, just the two of them; but they planned to stop in Beaverton for a quick drive-by visit with Autumn’s parents.

“Where are you going?” Autumn said.

“Burgerville.”

She sighed and held up the paper bag which still contained some cake pops and a cheese danish. “Baby, I haven’t even finished all of this yet.”

He slowed as he approached the intersection and smirked. “What about all that talk about going to every fast food place we see?”

She exhaled in a relaxed and dreamy sort of way. “Were you expecting me to take that literally?”

“Um…were you?”

She let out a cute little snort giggle. “No.”

“Do you not want to stop?”

She placed her hand on his knee and noticed his erection. “I didn’t say that.” She gently rubbed his cock for a moment, then looked at him. “As long as you’re willing to explain to my dad why I’m too full to get out of the car on my own.”

He grinned. The line between sexy teasing and reality seemed to be getting more blurry. “It turns me on when you talk like that.”

“I know. It turns me on too.”

He took a left into the parking lot of a vast strip mall as a few snow flurries began dotting the windshield. “Are you nervous about seeing your parents?”

She gave him a curious look. “Why would I be nervous?”

He gazed at her blankly for a moment. “I don’t know, just because you haven’t seen them in so long.”

She giggled. “I’ve gone longer than this without seeing them before.”

“Right.”

“You mean my anxiety?”

He pulled the Honda into the drive-through line. “Do you even have anxiety? You always come across as tough and confident to me.”

She sighed. “Maybe on the outside, but I might try another one of those gummies. You brought them right?”

He turned toward the backseat. “There in the backpack. You want one now?”

She flashed her eyes at him sheepishly. “Umm, maybe.”

“You like them?”

“I don’t know, they definitely helped me relax.”

“Go ahead, if you can reach them.” He watched as Autumn twisted and contorted her body around, noticing the substantial rolls forming around her sides beneath the fabric of her top. She was really developing a bit of a spare tire around her waist and back. “Take two if you want, I don’t mind driving.”

“Enhh! (gasp) okay.”

“Hello!” Autumn’s mom Patty greeted them from the front door of the big suburban house.

“Hi mom,” Autumn said with a strained smile. It had been no easy task getting her jeans refastened, and they were painfully digging into the bloated doughy flesh of her waist.

“We’ll have to do pretend hugs for now,” Patty said, mimicking a fake embrace.

“Better safe (pant) than sorry,” Autumn said, walking up the wooden steps of the porch with Mike at her side. After everything she consumed on the drive down, she was so full that the act of moving under own power felt difficult, and she was breathing heavily from the simple excursion of climbing the short flight of stairs. “Where’s (gasp) dad?”

“He’s inside,” Patty said curiously. “You can come in but be sure to wear your masks.”

“Right,” Mike said.

Autumn rolled her eyes but promptly put her face covering on and Mike did the same before entering the comforting warmth of the foyer. They went into the spacious living room and found Autumn’s dad sitting on the recliner near the gas fireplace.

He put his newspaper down and rose to his feet. “There’s my pumpkin,” he said with joyous crinkled eyes and outstretched arms. Autumn drew close and they embraced.

Patty looked at them disapprovingly from the kitchen. “Gary, no hugging!”

He squeezed Autumn tighter. “The day I can’t hug my daughter is the day I can’t do anything.”

“How are you (pant) doing daddy?” Autumn said.

“Good, had a check up appointment on Monday, clean bill of health.”

“His cholesterol is still too high,” Patty said.

Gary sat back down in his chair. “I’ve cut out red meat, and am down below 200 pounds for the first time in…”

“Since I met him,” Patty said, still in the kitchen.

Autumn and Mike sat on the sofa. “Good job daddy.”

Mike's brain churned in amusement for a second.

Under 200 pounds?

He’d always thought of Gary as kind of a big guy, but if he was under 200 pounds that meant that he was significantly lighter than his young daughter and that thought somehow blew his mind.

Patty handed her husband a steaming mug then turned to Mike and her daughter. “Why don’t you take your jackets off and stay a while.”

Mike cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward and uneasy wearing his mask inside. “Well, we don’t want to stay too long, still have another couple hours of driving to do and we don’t want to get there too late.”

“At least have some coffee,” Patty said. “Mike, how do you take yours?”

“Black is fine.”

“And Autumn, a little oat or soy milk?

Autumn unzipped her coat and took it off, revealing herself in her jeans and tank top. “Actually I’d prefer half and half if you got it.”

Patty’s eyes became visibly wider at the sight of her daughter’s body. It was her thighs and hips, never before had she seen them look so wide before, and was that a belly spilling over the high waistband of her jeans? “Oh, okay.” Patty stared for a second with an expression of surprise before walking back to the kitchen. Next to the island countertop, she turned her attention toward Mike.  “Brenda next door made a pie, would you care for a slice?”

Mike looked up. “Um…what kind?”

“Pumpkin.”

“Yes please, that sounds great,” Mike said. Having just had a cheeseburger less than an hour prior, he wasn’t at all hungry, but he wanted to be as polite as possible.

Patty turned to her daughter with her eyebrows raised. “Autumn?”

“I’ll have some if you have whipped cream.”

“Ohhh, me too!” Gary said, sitting up.

“No dear, you shouldn’t be having pie at all, let alone whipped cream.”

“Come on mom it’s Christmas time,” Autumn said.

Patty sighed and looked at her husband. “Okay, you can have a small slice, but no cream.” She took the pie out of the fridge and began cutting it up.  “Autumn, you want big, small or medium?”

“Um, just like a normal sized piece is fine,” Autumn said.

Patty made a gesture of passive aggressive disapproval. “Well, okay, if that’s what you want.”

Autumn shot Mike a look, then whispered in his ear. “She makes me want a cigarette.”

Mike smiled beneath his mask and nodded.

Moments later Patty came into the living room and served the refreshments. She then sat down, six feet away. “So how have you two been holding up?”

After taking off his mask, Mike took a sip of his coffee then set it down. “I’m good, but she’s the one who’s been working, I’ve got it easy.”

Holding her plate and fork, Autumn finished chewing. “Mike’s been taking good care of me.”

“Yes I can see that,” Patty said. With her mask still on, her eyes fixated on the girth of her daughter’s exposed arms. “Gary and I have been going on long walks every morning and we just love it, daily exercise is just so important.”

Autumn licked a dollop of whipped cream away from her lips and placed her hand on her boyfriend’s knee. “Mike’s been making me breakfast every morning. It’s so nice having him home, makes my work days much easier. Can I have some more whipped cream by the way?"

"Oh Autumn don't you think you have enough already?" Patty said.

"Umm, no...you only gave me such a little squirt, why would I ask for more if I thought I had enough?" Autumn said.

"Don't worry babe I'll grab it for you," Mike said, rising to his feet. "Alright if I grab it from the fridge Mrs. Murrell?"

"Yes, if you must."

Mike returned with the can of extra creamy Reddi-wip moments later and ejected it on Autumn's pie until it was completely covered. He looked across the coffee table at Patty. “No pie for you?”

“Oh no I couldn’t possibly, have to choose calories wisely at my age.”

“She’ll eat it when nobody’s watching,” Gary said.

“Don’t listen to him, that is not true,” Patty said, embarrassed. They continued to make small talk and Patty watched as Autumn took bite after bite of her dessert until her plate was scraped completely clean, crust, cream and all. Her eyebrows arched in amazement. “My goodness you must have really been hungry.”

Autumn set her plate and fork down and gasped in mild discomfort. The half-pound bacon cheeseburger, chocolate milkshake and basket of fries she consumed earlier had made her full and bloated, not to mention that she had also finished off the two cake pops as well as the cheese danish, but the THC gummies somehow still stimulated her appetite outside the limits of her willpower. She let out a strained breath through her mouth and tugged downward on her top, exposing a few inches of cleavage between her ample breasts. “Brenda’s (gasp) baking is always (hiccup) so good.”

Patty leaned forward, noticing the mellow redness in her brown eyes. “You look a little tired, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, (pant) I’m fine.”

“We should probably get back on the road though,” Mike said. He put his mask on and stood, then helped Autumn up with both hands.

Patty rose as well. “Okay, well it was so nice to see you both, sorry no big Christmas dinner this year.”

“That’s okay, gives us an excuse to do something different,” Mike said. “Change can be good sometimes.”

“As long as there’s not too much change,” Patty said, looking at Autumn and the way she was struggling to get her wobbly arms into her jacket. “I’m sure we’ll all be back to normal next December.”

Mike nodded. “I’m sure. Happy Holidays Mrs. Murrell, Mr. Murrell.”

“Please Mike, Gary and Patty, you’re family at this point,” Gary said.

“Okay.”

Patty walked them to the front door. “Drive carefully, they say it might snow tonight.”

“I’ll be very careful, thanks for the pie and coffee,” Mike said.

“Of course, just let us know when you get there safely.”

Mike waved. “Will do.”

Patty and Gary went back inside after watching Mike and Autumn drive away.

“Nice of them to stop by,” Gary said.

Patty shook her head. “Autumn doesn't look like she’s been skipping any meals, I’m actually a little shocked, she’s really put on some weight.”

Gary shrugged. “She looks great, seems happy.”

“I don’t know, I don’t think it’s healthy for her to be that big, and did you see the way she polished off her pie like it was nothing? It’s not like her to eat so fast like that.”

“Come on hon it’s the holidays during a pandemic, nothing wrong with a little extra winter padding.”

“She’s put on more than a little padding. It’s just a shame because she’s such a natural beauty, I’d hate to see her ruin her figure.”

Gary sat back down in his recliner. “That boy’s definitely in love with her.”

“I know. He worships the ground she walks on, which makes me worry because I know he'll never criticize her if she lets her weight get out of hand.”

“Come on she’s happy and in love, just stop fretting and be glad for them. They’re young, they’ll figure it out.”

Patty sighed. “I’m sure you're right.”

Autumn shimmied out of her jacket while the heater blasted warm air against her feet and chest as Mike merged onto highway 26 towards Cannon Beach.

“It’s too cold and wet to smoke outside,” Autumn said, “are you sure we can’t just crack the window and have one in here?”

Mike turned his head and smiled. Everything she did was turning him on and making him weak in the knees. He was astounded by how sexy her behavior was becoming, and how much her perfect body was blossoming and filling out in every direction. From her ass which was spreading over the edges of her seat, to the way her thighs were poured into those jeans, to her belly oozing out over her sides and jutting onto her lap. He found it fascinating that despite her growing paunch, her upper waist was still retaining its natural girly narrowness. To him, she was flawless, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. “Yeah, go ahead baby.”

“Really?”

“I don’t mind if you don’t.”

She lit up, then started searching her crumbled fast food bags for something to munch on. “Are there no more snacks in here?”

“Are you seriously still hungry?”

She blew smoke out the window, exhaling deeply. “I don’t know, maybe.”

“Let me know if you see anywhere that you want to stop.”

“I’m really craving french fries.”

“Well, that’s an easy thing to fix.”

She smiled and rubbed his thigh. “You’re sweet.”

“So are you.”

Chapter 13

2021 began much differently than did the previous year, for both the world and Autumn in particular. In January of 2020 she felt overweight and lethargic, and was excited at  the idea of moving into a brand new apartment adjacent to a gym, developing  a consistent workout routine and getting back into shape. Never in her worst nightmare did she think that 12 months later, the gyms would be closed and she’d be carrying an additional 45 pounds or so on her already voluptuous figure.

She was now beyond merely out of shape and beyond lethargic, but it didn’t feel like a nightmare. On the contrary it felt sexy, and for lack of a better term simply felt natural. Her eating habits and opulent self-indulgence had increased little by little, each day, each week, each month, so much so that her behavior had become justified and normalized in her own mind.

In reality however, and though perhaps unbeknownst to her, she was addicted to food, completely hooked on the oral fixation of deliciousness on her tongue and the wonderful relaxed sensation of fullness in her belly. These feelings had become so synonymous with intimate desire and sexual pleasure that she now had trouble separating the sense of comfort from food and the perception of arousal that came with it.

As the months passed her bad habits built on one another and it was starting to get out of control.  The more she ate, the more weight she gained. The more she ate, the more her appetite increased. The more weight she gained, the heavier she felt, the heavier she felt, the less she moved her body and less she moved her body, the more weight she gained and so on.

Not only had a compulsive obsession with food taken hold, but she had also become privy to the way she could make Mike conform to her will with just a shimmy of her widening hips and wiggle of her expanding ass. It had not gone unnoticed to her that as her body grew larger and softer, her abilities to make her boyfriend swoon also increased.

For Mike it was all heaven, and never before had felt such a relentless attraction towards a woman and yet despite this, and in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but worry and wonder where it was headed or when it would end. He was well aware that his girlfriend’s broadening proportions were causing her to get easily winded from the slightest of physical activities and had rendered her less mobile and less energetic, and that her daily diet of grossly excessive fats, sugars and carbohydrates was neither healthy, nor virtuous. He was torn between blind lust and unadulterated love like two passengers on a runaway train headed toward some uninhabitable destination as in addition to her caloric surpluses, she was also consuming THC edibles on a daily basis, and smoking more cigarettes than ever, nearly 2 packs per day, significantly more than him and by the month April, the toll of this unsustainable lifestyle of lavishness was obvious.

“Shit,” Autumn said, standing in the lobby of their building. “Are they serious? How the hell (pant) is it possible for both elevators to be out of order at the same time?”

Mike shrugged, holding brown paper Whole Foods grocery bags, one in each hand. “We’ll have to take the stairs.”

Autumn shifted her weight to one hip and swung the leather strap of her purse over her right shoulder. She sighed deeply. “That’s okay, (gasp) I guess the universe is telling me that I need some exercise.” She spoke in a tongue in cheek kind of way, but deep down Mike knew that she must on some level agree with that sentiment. Having been 238 pounds in January, February saw her at 244, in March she was 249 and now in April she was astonishingly over 250. She wasn’t trying to gain weight but with the way she was living the pounds kept on piling on like an unrelenting force that could only be slowed by some serious and drastic changes to her behavior. Changes she showed zero inclination of making anytime soon.

They walked together to the stairwell and Mike opened the door for her, then followed behind as she slowly trudged upward with echoing weighty thuds. It wasn’t long before she was audibly gasping for air from the effort.

“You okay?” Mike said. Autumn slowly placed her fashionable boots on each step, carefully and one at a time as if the task demanded extreme concentration. Getting no response, Mike asked again. “Are you okay?”

She turned and glared at him. “Yeah, (huff, pant) why?”

Mike gazed at her from behind. Her black and white checkered patterned skirt-set was clinging to her oversized curves like a second skin and her dumptruck of an ass had gotten so big that it seemed to take up much of the width of the staircase, or was that just wishful thinking? The recently formed back rolls visible beneath her top most definitely wasn’t his imagination, nor was her girthy, puddling-like upper arms despite being covered in long sleeves. “No reason.”

She went back to hauling herself up, huffing and puffing as she went. Her butt looked so heavy and it swayed back and forth and jiggled like a perfectly formed jello mold with each wobbly laborious movement. After a while she stopped and leaned against the wall. “Hang on, (gasp, pant) I just need to rest (cough, wheeze) for a sec. I think my allergies or something make me like, out (pant) of breath.” Her face was flush and a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. She fanned herself with her hand. “God (pant, gasp, cough) this only the fourth floor?” Her breath was so choked and wheezy that it was making a slight whistling sound from deep in the back of her throat.

“Come on, I'll push you.” Mike put both grocery bags in his right hand then pressed against the warm doughy flesh of the small of her back with his left, and they continued making their way towards their seventh floor apartment. By the time they got there Autumn was so winded she could barely talk.

“Holy shit, (gasp, wheeze, cough) I’m so out (cough, cough) of shape,” she said as she reached in her purse and pulled out her pack of Camels. She had recently made the switch from her usual American Spirits to the more chemically enhanced cigarettes.

Mike scoweld. “You don’t need to smoke now do you?”

“Fuck, (gasp, pant) do not micro mangage me (huff), I’m fucking pissed that we pay all this money for this place and still (huff, wheeze) they can’t figure out how to make (cough) an elevator work.” She had a look of both worry and frustration on her face as she fought to get oxygen into her nicotine and tar inpared lungs as she stormed off toward the balcony.

Mike put the groceries away then went outside to join her. After lighting up himself he said, “Maybe it’s time.”

Autumn took a drag from her second cigarette and gave him a look. “Time for what?”

Mike nodded at her pack, half empty on the outdoor table. “Time to quit.”

She squeezed her brows. “Why (pant) just because I got (gasp) winded from the stairs?”

“I got a little winded too,” Mike said. “I don’t know, the only way we’re going to be able to quit is if we do it together.”

Autumn sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

“What do you say?”

“It’s not going to be easy, (cough) we’ll have to get some patches.”

“Yeah, or a Juul or vape or something.”

She adjusted her posture, but even that was a struggle. Her hips had become so big and blubbery that they were wedged between the armrests of her chair and oozing against the metal like rising dough in a muffin pan, looking like she was a donut away from being permanently fastened to her seat. “I (gasp) don’t know I need to do some serious (huff) mental preparation if we’re going to actually do it.”

“What’s the date today?”

She glanced at her phone. “April 11th.”

“Okay so, you want to say like starting May 1st, no more cigarettes?”

She pursed her lips pensively for a moment. “Yeah, (cough) I could be on board for that.”

Mike gazed into her beautiful coffee colored eyes. “In it together.”

She took a short final puff and stabbed out her cigarette. “Yep, it’s a deal.”

“Okay then.”

She took another smoke from her pack and lit up.

Mike’s eyebrows arched upward. “What are you just going to chain smoke for the rest of the month?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You know (cough, cough) I really don’t need your judgments right now. I feel lightheaded and I (gasp, pant) think my blood sugar is low. I haven't had anything to eat since lunch.”

He rose to his feet. “Okay, umm…should I run over to Roccos and grab a slice or two?”

She fluttered her eyelashes and stared up at him blankly. “If you were smart (cough) you would have done that (huff) already, and if you were really smart you’d get a whole pizza instead of a slice. It’s cheaper (gasp) in the long run that way.”

He shrugged and nodded. “Okay, I’ll be back.” He opened the door to go inside.

“Mike.”

He turned. “Yeah?”

With her cigarette held between the index and middle finger of her right hand, she looked like some sort of exaggerated blown up plus sized version of a young vixon in an old time movie, either that or a curvy redheaded barbie that had let herself go completely. She smoked quickly, almost frantically. “Bring me a (gasp) couple of those gummies before you leave, need to (cough, cough) calm my nerves.”

“Okay.”

He went inside and came back out moments later and placed two gummies between her lips. She ate, put out her smoke, rocked forward and put both hands on the table so that she could get into a standing position. Simple tasks were not as easy for her as they used to be. With a look of discomfort she rose, but the chair was coming up with her.

“Omigod babe, little help?” With her knees and back slightly bent she gave Mike a pouty worried look. She bit her lower lip. “I think (gasp, pant) my butt’s too big for these chairs.”

He swallowed nervously, although he could feel his arousal rising up below his belt. “Oh my goodness, poor baby.”

This, while incredibly hot to witness, had to be one of those harsh reality moments. If this wasn’t the wake up call or the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back that would get her to change her ways and go on a major crash diet then nothing would. As much as it saddened Mike to think that all the sexy fun was over, he knew that it was probably for the best in the long run, and he had mentally prepared himself for an occurrence such as this. He quickly jolted forward and helped wiggle her hips free, letting the chair fall to the epoxy painted floor with a clang.

She stood up straight with a sharp gasp and a toss of her hair. “Babe?”

Mike looked at her attentively and waited for the inevitable speech about how she had let herself get too big and she needed to lose weight. “Yes?”

She stared at him haughtily, almost proudly. “Honey-do list time. Can I (pant) count on you to order some bigger chairs that are a little more comfortable and roomy?”

His jaw fell open. “Ummm, yes, I can do that.”

“Good. (cough) Now run and get that pizza, I need to get off my feet.”

During the rest of the month of April, Autumn indulged in food, cigarettes and wine, well into excess; as if she was trying to squeeze in all of her vices and guilty pleasures before giving up smoking in May. Mike was surprised and actually a little taken aback by her overt gluttony, but he cherished it, nurtured it and encouraged it while it lasted.

It was really fucking hot, whatever it was she was doing, and when the first of the month arrived, she had accumulated another 6 pounds, making her already remarkably plush body just that much more T and A dominant.

Quitting cigarettes however, was no easy task, especially during the first few days. Even with nicotine patches and e-cigs it was a struggle. Autumn was a bit of a terror to be around at first and she to tried to curb her withdrawals by constantly snacking and gorging herself on as much food as she could get her hands on.

Whenever a craving hit, she’d reach for a bag of chips, a box of cookies, a cupcake, or handful after handful of chocolate-covered almonds.

Together, they somehow got past day one and day two, and after much grappling with their own willpower they made it an entire week without so much as one cigarette contacting their lips.

The physical dependency was over, but their bodies, especially Autumn’s, were still adapting to the sudden change. Daily smoking speeds up a person’s metabolism and increases the amount of calories burned by abou 8 to 15 percent. Without cigarettes, one’s body will burn food at a much slower pace and Mike and Autumn were no exception.

They dealt with this problem much differently however. Mike threw himself into physical exercise, replacing tobacco with more pushups, pullups and brisk runs along downtown Seattle’s waterfront streets and parks.

Autumn on the other hand, dove into her work and found that she could focus at her desk for more extended periods of time, as she no longer had to get up and go outside every hour. At least she could do so if she had something to munch on at all times. Not only do cigarettes speed up the metabolism, but they also reduce one’s appetite, and without them, Autumn found that she felt hungry seemingly all of the time and she made zero attempt to hide or suppress this fact.

Mike thought she had been eating a lot and gaining weight at an alarming rate before quitting smoking, but after giving up her cancer sticks, that pace only seemed to pick up steam.

Chapter 14

“She’s not my ex, it was never like that. We’re just friends. I’m like her brother from another mother,” Corey said to his girlfriend Simi.

Simi rolled her eyes as she and Corey approached the apartment building. “Whatever, I’ve seen pictures of you with her.”
Corey glanced at his phone, then shrugged. “Well of course, so what?”

Simi stared at him for a moment as they waited next to the glass front doors. “So…she’s really beautiful. I find it hard to believe that there wasn’t some kind of attraction going on there between you two.”

“Stop it, we just clicked in different ways,” Corey said.  “You don’t have to worry about that stuff, we’re both in relationships now anyway, right?”

Simi sighed in a lighthearted manner. “Right. I know, just curious that’s all.”

The doors opened and Mike stepped outside.

“Hey, happy fourth!” Mike said. “How is it going?”

Corey smiled. “Good. This is my girlfriend Simi.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Mike. Come on up.” Mike led them into the lobby and toward the elevators. He pressed the button to go up and the three of them waited.

“Sorry, only one is working right now, sometimes it takes a while,” Mike said.

Corey put his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “How long usually?”

Mike shrugged. “Hard to predict.”

“We can take the stairs,” Simi said.

“Are you sure? We’re on the seventh floor,” Mike said.

Simi pointed at the fitness tracker around her left wrist. “Fine by me, gotta get my steps in anyway.”

Mike sighed. “Okay.”

He led them to the right of the elevators and through the door to the building’s stairwell and they began climbing upward.

“This is a good way to melt off that quarantine weight. Do this everyday and you’ll be in pretty good shape,” Simi said, somewhere around floor three.

“Does Autumn usually take the stairs?” Corey said.

Mike turned and looked at him blankly. “Not usually.”

When the three of them entered Mike and Autumn’s apartment they were greeted by the smiling face of Tabitha. “Hey, Corey and Simi are here! You're just in time, we’re about to head up to the roof.”

“Where's Autumn?” Corey said.

Tabith grabbed an Oreo from a paper plate on the kitchen counter and took a small bite. “Umm, (munch) I think she’s in the bathroom, she’ll be out in a sec. Omigod, I need to get away from these cookies!”

Simi set her purse down and smiled. “I know right? The struggle is real these days.”

“I really need the gyms to open up again while I can still fit into my pants,” Tabitha said.

Simi gave her jeans a tug. “You and me both.”

Both girls laughed until they turned toward the heavy sound of Autumn’s boots clicking towards them.

“Corey, (pant) you made it!” Autumn said with arms raised.

Corey’s jaw nearly hit the floor. It was as if he wasn’t at first entirely certain whom he was looking at. It was confusing because from the neck up it was definitely Autumn, but the body that laid below was unrecognizable. His eyes darted franctialy and he found himself at a loss for words. “Umm…”

Autumn smiled and turned to the young woman standing next to him. “Hi, (pant) you must be Simi, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Nice to meet you, great place you have here,” Simi said with a big smile on her face.

“Thanks.” Autumn stepped forward and plopped an entire cookie in her mouth like she was on autopilot. “Grab a beer, (munch, chew) make yourself at home, Mike will start barbecuing (munch) soon.”

Corey’s eyes were fixated on Autumn as he was still struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. Her off-red summer dress clung to every inch of her body and it did nothing to hide the amplified curves of her figure. She was enormous. She still had her stunning hourglass shape but her thighs were like tree trunks, her breasts were like melons and she had a soft puffy belly jutting out in front of her as if she was daring someone to ask if she was pregnant. If it wasn’t for the obvious rolls and pudgy love handles around her waist he might wonder about that himself. “I heard you quit smoking.”

Autumn smiled and took another Oreo. “Yep, (munch, munch) it’s been over 2 months now.”

“Congratulations, proud of you,” Corey said, as he stared flabbergasted by her jumbo tits and the amount of cleavage that was exposed between them. “How’d you do it?”

By eating yourself into obesity?

He wondered.

Autumn looked at him curiously, as if she could read his thoughts. “We’ve been vaping, but I don’t (pant) know, I usually (huff) end up reaching for too many cookies whenever I get a craving…as you can probably tell.”

Corey cleared his throat nervously.

“Don’t sweat it…”

As the party moved up to the shared community rooftop deck, Corey found Tabitha alone, looking out across the vast skyline of the city and nursing a Michelob Ultra. “Holy shit, what the hell is going on with Autumn? She got fucking huge!”

Tabitha scowled and brought a finger to her mouth. “Shhhhhh.”

“What?”

Tabitha looked at him seriously then nodded. “She’s gained a lot of weight, that’s for sure.”

“Are you worried?”

“I don’t know, it’s probably just like relationship weight, mixed with COVID, and then quitting smoking on top of that…I guess it makes sense.”

Corey threw up his hands. “Makes sense if she gained 15 pounds or something, not fucking 50 or whatever. She even sounds like she’s out of breath from just talking.”

Tabitha took a short sip of her low calorie pilsner. “What can I say? She seems happy, and honestly she’s such a fucking knock-out that the all that extra weight still somehow looks good on her.”

Corey turned around and peered out at Mike and Autumn who were mingling with Sydney on the far side of the deck. “I wonder what’s going through his head.”

Tabitha followed his gaze and smirked. “Probably can’t get enough of that booty.”

“Yeah, that thing is fucking massive! I thought she was getting big when I saw her at that New Years party a couple years back, but that was because she broke her leg. What the hell is her excuse now?”

“There is no excuse…that’s why it’s so important to workout, we’re not all 22 anymore you know? Please don’t say anything though, I’m just happy she quit smoking. I’m sure she’s aware she needs to lose weight.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but Autumn’s butt is actually bigger than Sydney’s now.”

Tabith lowered her sunglasses. “Damn…you’re right, fucking a lot bigger.”

“Mmm, (chew) Oh my God (pant) that was so good!” Autumn said after she finished her second bratwurst.

Sydney licked her lips and smiled. “Hell yeah it was!”

Autumn placed both hands on the wicker armrests of her seat in an effort to stand. She then grabbed her plate and wiggled back over to the grill without saying a word. She returned a moment later with two more bratwursts and Sydney watched in amazement as she plopped back down and continued eating as if the heavy food was nothing more than a light snack. After finishing her third, all dressed up with ketchup and relish and packed into a bready hoagie bun, she paused and fanned herself.

“Pheww!”

Sydney studied her. “You okay?”

Autumn drained the contents of her beer until it was empty then set it back on the low table in front of her. “Yeah (pant) it’s just so hot, too (gasp) hot for me right now.”

“It’s a little warm,” Sydney said, standing up. “I wasn’t going to have more but since you are I guess I will too.”

Autumn shoved the fourth oversized hot dog between her sumptuous lips then turned to her friend. “Can (chew, chew) you get me another IPA?”

“Sure.”

Later that night, after all of their friends had left, Mike was cleaning up in the kitchen and Autumn was on the sofa scrolling through her phone.

“Oh my God (pant) I look fat in these photos!” she said. “Am I seriously that much bigger than Tabitha?”

Mike closed the door to the dishwasher then walked her way. He leaned against the couch next to her and looked at some of the pictures that were taken during the course of the night.

“You look so gorgeous, this dress is unbelievable,” he said.

“Uhh, no it’s not. I look like I’m fucking 8 months pregnat.”

Mike gently massaged her plush shoulder with the tips of his fingers. “You look so good baby.”

Autumn continued swiping through her photo library. “Oooh, (pant) I look like such a chubby wubby.”

“You look fantastic.”

Autumn gave him a curious glance then took his hand and placed it on her belly, which was folding into rolls and spilling onto her bloated thighs. She held it there for a moment and sighed with pleasure. “Mmm…does that (pant) feel nice?”

He began fondling her fat, softly and lovingly. “Yes, it really does.”

She patted her belly with her other hand and adjusted her posture. “Oooff, (gasp) I know it does, especially because I’m so stuffed. I ate so much tonight baby. I feel like I can hardly move under my own (gasp, huff) power right now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Her mouth waxed sultry. “I never thought (pant)  that I would actually enjoy (gasp) gaining weight like this.” She became lost in the sensualness of her body for a moment, Mike did too. She gazed up at him and saw the look of extreme happiness on his face. “What?”

“Nothing, just…” He trailed off, came around in front of her, bent his knees and buried his face into her pudding-like midsection with only the thin silky fabric of her dress between his mouth and the plush skin of her belly.

“What?”

He came up for air and stared into her gorgeous eyes. “I love you so much.”

Sensing his lust, she played with the ends of her hair and basked in his touch, teasing him, taunting him and testing her growing powers of seduction. “Would (gasp, pant) you love me if I weighed 300 pounds?”

“I would love you if you weighed 500 pounds.”

She mushed her butt deeper into the sofa. “Really?”

He squeezed the sides of her waist and stood. “Yes. I would have a permanent erection, but yeah, I would love you, always.”

“Mmmm…I’m glad you said that (gasp) because I don’t seem to be able to stop (pant) gaining weight.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know because (gasp) I keep outgrowing my clothes.” She arched her back and sat up.  “God, (pant) I don’t even know how much I weigh right now.”

A small smirk formed on Mike’s face. “Should we go find out?”

She tilted her head up and gave him an exceedingly cute, yet slightly worried look. “What if I gained…like a lot?”

He leaned forward and kissed the exposed skin just above her ever expanding and heaving tits. “That would only make me love you more.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yes I’m sure.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Her eyes pierced him exquisitely and she reached out her arms. “Okay, (huff) just help me up.”

Once in the bathroom Mike opened the cupboards beneath the sink and pulled out the scale. He placed it flat on the tile floor then turned to his ridiculously beautiful girlfriend.

She looked at him playfully yet suspiciously. “This is (pant) fun for you isn’t it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because it’s obvious.”

“Is it fun for you?”

She gave him a sly, sexy smirk and then stepped on the scale. It creaked and groaned beneath her bare feet and immense weight and she tilted her chin down, trying to peer over her protruding boobs. She saw the numbers shoot up and dance into the 280’s almost immediately.

Her hands flew to the sides of her face in total shock and surprise. “(gasp) Oh my God!”

Mike crouched down and took a look at the numbers. “285ish.”

“280?”

He looked up. Her blossoming double chin was slightly blocked by her boobs which seemed to be blooming larger before his eyes and exploding out of her skimpy and undersized sundress. “285.”

She looked at him, aghast. “Oh fuck. (gasp) Oh my fucking God, baby!”

He was smiling from ear to ear. He knew she had been eating like a mad woman since she had quit smoking, but 285?

That was fucking huge!

Was she really that heavy?

285 meant that she had put on a good 20 pounds in the last 2 months alone if not more.

“That’s really fucking sexy,” he said.

She stepped off the scale, stretched out her jiggling arms and twirled around in front of the bathroom mirror. “Yeah, it really is, (huff, pant)  I feel soooo sexy, ooohhh God (pant) I fucking love it.”

Mike’s eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. “You do?”

She looked at him as she caressed the sides of her bulging soft hips with her fingertips. “Yeah, I don’t know…they say late 20’s is when a lot of women’s bodies change and (pant) metabolism slows down…but God…why does this (gasp) make me feel sooooo….horny?”

“I don’t know baby.”

She flashed him a devious smile as she wrapped her pinky in the ends of her gorgeous, flowing hair. “Did you notice (pant) the way everyone was looking at me tonight?” Shifting her weight to one hip, she stuck her ass out, a subtle yet provocative movement that seemed to add a good inch of height to the tent in Mike's jeans.  “Do you think (pant) they were shocked, seeing me this big?”

He came closer and put his arm around her waist. “I think people are in awe of your beauty.”

“I think (gasp) they were stunned by how much weight I’ve gained.” She paused and pursed her lips in thought, “and that fucking (pant) turns me on.”

“It does?”

She pointed her finger at him, then placed it firmly in the center of his chest. “Yeah…they probably think (gasp) I’m a fat lazy piggy…and I know it turns you on too.”

She pressed her boobs into him as lightly as a butterfly touches a flower. He could smell the sweet pheromones, perfume and the alcohol on her breath and her alluring scent brought ripples of tantalizing shockwaves down his spine and to his knees. “You do?”

“Mmhm, (pant) of course I do.”

“Do you want to-”

“I don’t want to lose weight.”

He drew his hand away from her fleshy arm and took a step back to get a better view of the complete expanse of her colossal proportions. “You don’t?”

“No I don’t. (gasp, pant) This is by far the most I have ever weighed in my life and I’ve never felt sexier (huff) or more like womanly and feminine.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “I want us to explore our (pant) sexuality more deeply. Life’s too short to have meaningless (gasp) normal sex. Life is too (gasp, huff) short to spend it caring about what other (pant) people think. I want to really find out what makes you tick. I want to get (gasp) bigger.”

“You do?”

She smirked and shrugged. “Yeah…well (pant) maybe just a little bigger.”

He stepped forward and wrapped both arms around her waist, then he let his hands fall across her more than generous backside. “How much bigger?”

Her lips were only inches away from his and they parted in a small coo of a gasp. “Will you (pant) help me gain weight?”

Mike’s heart felt ready to beat out of his chest. He could feel his penis throbbing in agony and rubbing against the denim of his pants. Her words were hitting him like hurricane force winds and excitement was building up inside and shooting his eyebrows halfway to his hairline. It was one thing for them to have fun in bed, making dirty talk about her fat, round ass and him feeding her as an act of foreplay, but this was on a whole other level. This wasn’t just bedroom talk, this was real, carnal, life changing insidious desires that were far beyond Mike’s comprehension of how truly sexy a woman can be. “How can I help?”

She smiled knowingly, then spoke in a slow sensual tone that nearly brought him to his knees.  “Well (pant) you could buy me lots of food, you could feed me in (gasp) bed, you could treat me like a (gasp, pant) princess and make sure I never have to (pant) lift a finger…”

“Just let you lay in bed all day?”

“Yeah, (pant) lay in bed all day and just eat, all day.”

Mike stepped backwards again as if the love and lust that he felt for his girlfriend was too much for him to take standing upright. He stared at her in total awe for a moment. “Who are you?”

She slowly licked her lower lip with her tongue. “Are you surprised?”

He swallowed. “Pleasantly surprised.”

She turned her body around and let her ass fill his pelvis. She backed into him as he cupped her breasts and rubbed himself into her like a magnet on steel. “This is (gasp) what you wanted isn’t it.”

He ran his hands all over her magnificent curves, let his chin rest on her left shoulder then whispered in her ear. “I didn’t even know I wanted it.” He grabbed her hefty hanging belly and squeezed hard. “Do you have a goal weight?”

She wiggled her hips with a happy nestling shift. “(gasp) Hmm…a goal weight? That sounds like (gasp) a fun idea.”

He brought his lips to her earlobe and poked her diamond studded piercing with his tongue. “What’s your goal weight babe?” he whispered.

She turned around. “I don’t know, (pant) I don’t want to get too big.”

His face became serious and eager to please once again. “Right, of course…I mean you know, just for fun, you can always lose it later if it’s too much or whatever.”

“Ummm…well….It would be fun (pant) to just be a total fatty for a couple of months.” Her eyes went to the ceiling as she pondered like the tease that she was. “I turn 29 in October. (gasp) I think I would really love to be 300 pounds on my birthday.”

Mike’s face flushed red and it took all of his willpower not to shout to the heavens with joy. “Really?”

She slammed herself into him like a freight train made of pillows and she let his rock hard manhood grind into her chubby thigh. “Yeah, (pant, gasp)  but then you better help me lose it if it feels like too much.”

He nodded. “Okay deal.”

She kissed him softly and slowly on the lips then looked at him with yearning melting eyes. “This is (gasp) going to be so fun. (pant) There’s cake (pant, gasp) in the fridge, can you get it and bring it upstairs? (gasp, huff, pant)I need to get off my feet and I'm going to slip into something (gasp, huff) a little more comfortable.”

Chapter 15

As the summer of 2021 unfolded, Autumn indulged in food in ways she never had before in her life. It was no longer merely mindless and carefree snacking, it was now purposeful and deliberate eating that was nothing if not unholy gluttony.

“Come on babe, you gotta finish that bacon so I can take your plate and get you some ice cream,” Mike said.

Autumn rolled back in her chair and looked up at him with glazed over eyes. Sitting at her desk in front of her laptop, her breakfast plate was empty save for a thin layer of maple syrup and a lone strip of bacon. Having consumed an entire German pancake and 5 strips of bacon already, she was stuffed to the gills to put it mildly. “Omigod, (gasp) I don’t think (huff) I can handle one (pant) more bite.”

Mike leaned over her and gently kissed her on the side of her neck just below her chin. It was obvious that she was in some discomfort and breathing heavily from simply being so full. “Try and push yourself.”

“(gasp) Okay, (wheeze) but then you’re (pant)  going to have to help (huff) me lay down (gasp) for a while. My last (hiccup) meeting is over at noon.”

“Short day?”

“No, (gasp) just cleared my (pant) schedule, I’d rather be lazy (huff, wheeze) and eat in bed, and this (pant) chair is killing my back.”

“Sounds like a plan.” He picked the thick, floppy, yet crisp baconstrip and brought it to her mouth. She ate slowly and carefully. Her breasts were heaving laboriously from the effort but she managed to get it all down.

She looked at him with worried beseeching eyes. “(gasp) Oooh, holy fuck, (wheeze, pant) I’m sooo (hiccup)  beyond stuffed, I could really (huff, gasp) use a cigarette.”

Mike turned and grabbed the bag of Sativa gummy bears from the edge of the desk. He took one and handed it to her. “Here, this will help your appetite, and help you relax.”

“Okay, thank you baby.” She plopped it between her lips as Mike stood behind and started massaging her shoulders and rubbing the back of her neck with his thumbs. He looked down at the way her perfect body was poured into that chair. Her most recent weight gain had caused a multitude of developments to her ever changing figure. She was now encased in so much fat that her newfound blubber seemed to be fighting for space amongst her luxuriant curves. Soft folding rolls clung to her womanly back and had become so large that they were beginning to droop and sag from the area just below her armpits clear down to lower waist and expansive hips. He drew his hands downward and felt the inviting warm softness of her art-like contours, noticing with pride that both armrests of her office chair were propped up to make way for her now gargantuan ass. She was really becoming more and more bottom heavy and pear-shaped as she continued to put on weight.

Just the feeling of her flesh against his fingertips made him weak in the knees.

He licked his lips and slowed his breath in an effort to temper his raging excitement. “I’ll go get your ice cream.”

Mike stood next to the bed and tightened the brown leather belt around his jeans. He turned towards Autumn who was still sprawled out on the mattress, flat on her back in starfish position, slowly panting like an overfed pig. “Are you sure? I don’t mind going by myself if you need to rest.”

She struggled to move her naked body onto her side. “No, (gasp) I want to come. It would (pant) be fun to pick out all the stuff I like…all the stuff you’re going to feed me.”

She propped herself into a sitting position and flopped her girthy legs over the side of the bed. She grabbed her Juul e-cigarette and began sucking on it frantically like a baby's pacifier.

Mike smiled as the mattresses groaned and depressed beneath her weight. “Whole Foods then?”

She put the Juul back on the nightstand, arched her back and pushed her bloated belly of jiggling blubber further out onto her lap. “No, (pant) let's go to QFC, I want junk food.”

My how things had changed.

He held out his hands to help her to her feet. “You got it baby.”

Mike circled the car around the parking lot but the closest spot he could find was still a good hundred feet from the store entrance. He lifted the e-brake and turned to Autumn who was packed into the passenger seat like an overflowing goddess of indulgence. “You sure you don’t want me to just run in? You can stay off your feet.”

She smirked and released herself from her seatbelt with a breathy gasp. “I appreciate (pant) that baby, but I want (gasp) to do this together.”

He nodded, got out and came around to her side. He opened the door for her and watched as she uncomfortably squirmed in her seat. “Ohhh, it’s getting so hard for you to get out of this car now isn’t it.”

She panted with short girlie gasps and looked at him helplessly. “Mmm, (gasp) I know, but that’s why I have you.”

He clutched her doughlike forearms and aided her to her feet, noticing the suspension of his CRV jolting upward as she exited the vehicle. “Sorry, I couldn’t park closer.”

“It’s okay, (gasp, pant) next time.”

Beneath the fluorescent lighting of the supermarket, Mike pushed the shopping cart as Autumn walked slowly beside. She looked stunning in her new stretchy orange tube dress and matching cardigan and she was receiving more than her share of head-spinning looks from the male customers despite her mask. Mike loved being out in public with her, though it was a rare thing since the start of the pandemic. Just knowing that his girlfriend had both a prettier face and fatter and more shapely ass than any woman they would ever come across made him feel lucky and extremely proud that she was with him. Gone was the wandering eye that he had struggled with in previous relationships. To him there was now only one woman on the planet that he wanted to look at. There was Autumn and no one else. Just as McCartney was saying from the grocery store's speakers, “The way she looked was way beyond compare.”

The cart was already half full with two family sized bags of potato chips, a tray of store made cheese covered mashed potatoes, 4 pints of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, along with 3 bottles of red wine and a two liter bottle of full sugar Dr. Pepper.

Autumn placed her hand on top of Mike’s as he gripped the handle of the cart. “God, (pant) this is so much fun, I wish we would have done this sooner.”

“Me too,” Mike said as he rolled into the bakery section.

Autumn lurched forward at the sight of a large plastic tub of chocolate dipped madeleines. “Oh my God, (pant, gasp) we’re definitely getting these.” She grabbed it and plopped it in the cart, then excitedly turned toward a 24 pack of thick frosted sugar cookies.  “And those too.”

Mike smiled in enchanted disbelief. “You really are enjoying this aren't you baby.”

She turned and looked at him coyly and arrogantly and gave her hair a subtle toss. “Not as much as you.”

“Okay, maybe I can’t argue with you there.”

She wiggled toward him with her arms flung out at her sides as if she was having trouble maintaining her balance. “It’s just (gasp) that I’ve never done (pant) this before. I’ve never (huff) allowed myself to just go crazy and buy whatever I wanted without looking at calories and everything, much less actually trying to find the yummiest, most fattening treats (gasp, pant) I can find.”

“Liberating isn’t it.”

She stepped closer so that her breasts were nearly touching his lower chest. “Extremely liberating, especially knowing how much it turns you on.”

“I don’t know, it seems to me that you get just as turned on as I do. Or is that just my imagination?”

“A lady never tells.” She gave him a prolonged stare then turned toward a big plastic container of glazed chocolate donut holes. “Ooh, we should get more stuff like this, things that are easy for you to feed me, you know in bed.”

Mike leaned forward against the cart. “Fuck me. Are you trying to kill me?”

“Always.” She smiled and then wiggled her way towards the refrigerated display case.  “We’re going (pant) to need lots of cake too, maybe some (huff) frozen desserts as well.”

Mike’s head collapsed in blissful agony. He could not articulate the reasons why, but these recent developments in Autumn’s attitude were severely exciting to him. No longer did he have any concerns about her becoming too fat or too curvy. He was now obsessed with the idea that she was going to get bigger, heavily fueled by the fact that she wanted it too. The whole thing was so beyond sexy to him that he felt lightheaded if he actually thought about it for too long. “Jesus Christ. Good thing I have this shopping cart, cause I don’t think I can stand up straight.”

She turned and drew her eyes below his belt. She smiled. “Oh no, (pant) better save that for later.” She grabbed a full sized black forest cake and put it in the cart with a look of satisfaction on her lips.  “Mmmm, (pant, gasp) I never realized how much of my brain (huff) was consumed with calorie counts and watching my weight until now. (pant, gasp) It feels so good to let that go.”

“Maybe I should try it.”

She jolted forward and ran her fingers against his chest, slowly outlining the pectoral muscles beneath his black t-shirt. “Noooo don’t. (pant) I like you all lean and strong. Remember (gasp, pant) the secret to a happy relationship is making sure that your (huff) woman always gets her way.”

He couldn't help but smile at her. “Oh really, is this a new theory of yours?”

She clung to his shoulders as if to transfer some of her weight away from her aching feet which were crammed into espadrille wedges. “It’s the (pant) oldest theory (gasp) in the world.”

She felt warm, and he noticed that her breathing had already become somewhat labored. “Are you getting tired?”

She rested her head gently against him. “Yeah.”

“Do you trust me to get the rest? You can have the keys if you wanna get off your feet and wait for me in the car.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay, I trust you. But be sure to get some hostess treats and poptarts, I haven’t allowed myself to have that kind of stuff since forever.”

“What kind of poptarts?”

She looked at him like he was the dumbest man on the planet. “Uhh! (huff, gasp) Brown sugar cinnamon of course.”

He smiled. “Okay babe.”
She shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “Don’t fuck this up.”

“I won't.”

“And don’t take (pant) too long because all this (gasp) walking has made me really hungry.”

“I’ll be as fast as I can.”

“Good.”

He watched as she slowly wiggled away and marveled at how differently she moved than when they first started dating. She couldn’t swing her arms the way she used to as her hips pushed them further outward. He doubted that her ass could even fit on the back of his motorcycle anymore, not to mention that her current weight would possibly cause a malfunction in the suspension.

Damn.

No woman had ever looked better walking away from a man.

Once they returned home Autumn went straight up the elevator and collapsed into bed while Mike unloaded the groceries with two separate trips. When he was done he ran up to the bedroom to find Autumn laying on her side with the skirt of her dress drawn up to her waist, leaving a massive dimpled thigh completely exposed.

Since when did she have that much cellulite?

He leaned over her and kissed the flush cheek of her face. She was very warm, as the effort of simply getting out of the car and hauling herself all the way up to the bedroom had left her overheated and exhausted even with the air conditioning humming at 72 degrees fahrenheit.

He squeezed her mountainous hip and gave it a shake, then watched in awe as it continued wobbling well after releasing his hand. Her cardigan was off and her girthy arms looked bigger than ever. He gently caressed her billowing belly which was spilling onto the bedding despite being slightly restrained by the snugness of her dress but she pushed him away before he could proceed further.

“You (pant) didn’t bring me anything?” she said.

“I uh…”

“How dare you (gasp) come up here empty handed, (pant) I told you I was starving.”

“Right, I was just going to ask you what you wanted.”

With her head still resting on the pillow she stared at him blankly. “I want cake.”

“Do you want a slice or-”

“Just (huff) go get it!”

Like a bullet he was down the stairs and back up with a fork and medium sized plate with a huge slice of black forest cake on top.

He sat on the edge of the bed and brought it near her face. “I hope this is enough.”

She shimmied herself up a little, propping her head up with her hand. “Doesn’t really (pant) matter to me, the more I want the more (gasp) times I get to watch you run up and down the stairs (pant) like a crazy man.”

“Do you like that?”

She took a big bite. “Mmm…I(chew) like it when (chew) you bring me cake. What girl (chew) doesn’t love it when a hot guy brings (huff) her food?”

He crawled on top of her, lifted her dress further up her waist and began kissing her thigh.

She rolled onto her back and let her legs spread apart, although her inner thighs were still touching each other simply due to their sheer size. She continued forking more cake into her mouth and Mike could hear from her lip smacking and moans of pleasure that she was already turned on from the food alone.

Was this a thing now?

Despite laying on her back, Autumn’s belly had become so large that it was still protruding upward like a squishy round hill of pudding and Mike couldn’t resist burying his face into it then drawing circles around her bottomless abyss of a belly button with his tongue.

Autumn squealed with delight and continued eating.

He lifted his head up and with bent knees straddled her right thigh. He gave her belly a shake and watched as she continued to stuff her face. “You’re getting to be such a big lazy girl.”

With her gorgeous hair pressed against the headboard and her now more prominent double chin tilted towards her breasts, she licked a smear of chocolate off her lips and paused for a moment. She had a look of breathy orgazmic bliss from ear to ear. “(huff) Enhh…chuunnnky?”

He gave her belly another shake, causing tremors and vibrations throughout not only her whole body but also the entire mattress.  “Yes, maybe a little beyond chunky.”

“I’ll (gasp, huff) have to step on the scale tonight and see if I’ve reached my goal.”

“You haven’t checked yet?”

She went back to eating. “Ennhh…no (chew) never, (chew)I want to be surprised.”

“It’s not even September yet, you still have plenty of time before your birthday.”

“Yeah but (chew, chew) I can already tell, (huff, gasp) it’s going to happen sooner.”

“300 pounds is a lot of weight.”

“Yes, (huff) 300 pounds (chew) would mean that I’m really really chunky.”

He leaned his head closer to her face. “It would mean that you’re fat.”

Her nose scrunched and her lips parted as if his words had made her climax. She nearly dropped her fork.  “Ohh (huff, gasp) baby, say that again.”

“Fat?”

“Call me (pant) fat.”

He grabbed her belly with both hands. “You are fat, and you are getting really fat, I actually can’t believe how big you’ve gotten.”

He spoke with complete honesty, but she reacted as though it was extremely sexy dirty talk and went straight back to eating.

“Mmmm, (chew, chew) god baby don’t stop.”

He tilted his head again and kissed her just below the fattest part of her lower belly. He noticed that she had developed faint outlines of stretch marks in the undercurve area just above her pussy and below her navel. “You’ve turned into such a lazy greddy fatass.”

She convulsed in supreme comfort, wiggling her ass deep into the bed. “Ohhh (huff, gasp) God, yeah, I’m totally a fatass.”

He shoved his face between her now quite portly thighs and kissed her gelatinous pussy as she savored the feeling of his facial stubble against the quivering tenderness of her silky soft bare skin. She didn’t have any panties on. She rarely did anymore when wearing a dress. He poked his eyes toward her blissed out face, peering over her bloated tummy. “You like being called that?”

“(gasp, huff) Mmhmm.”

His eyes rolled back with elation and his voice lowered to whisper. “Fuck me, you are too sexy.” He wanted to get her dress all the way off but she was still making love to her cake like a woman possessed.

“The (chew) softer I get, (chew, chew) the harder you get.” She began eating more aggressively, scrapping frosting off the plate with her fork and shoveling it between her wet lips in frantic repetitive successions. “I love (chew, chew) making you (chew) hard.”

“I love making you soft.”

She finished the last bite and held up her now empty plate. “More.”

He clutched and massaged the fattest part of her right thigh with both hands. It was so mushy that he could sink his fingers deep into her pampered flesh. Her upper legs now had hints of stretch marks too. “Jesus that was fast, you really are a fatasss.”

“More!”

He took her plate and eased himself toward the side of the bed. He gazed at her tangled hair and sexy dark eyes and he felt overwhelmed by her beauty. “Okay baby, I’ll go run and get you another big piece.”

“No!”

With his feet now on the carpeted floor, he paused and turned. “No?”

“Bring (huff, gasp) the whole (pant) cake!”