Sneakers

Chapter 6 - another confrontation

The next day was the start of Claire & Roger's rare week off together- most of which started off with Claire either spending at the grocery store, restocking the fridge & pantry, or in the kitchen, restocking what little space she had in her growing belly. The butter-cream yellow booty shorts she had on- with the word 'juicy' written across her ample rear in baby blue- had become so small they were hidden under the muffin top she was developing above. The bubblegum pink tube top didn't leave much to the imagination either as her larger breasts filled out most of the top half, her belly pushing up any chance the top had in covering up the bare skin between.

Roger looked up from his paper, practically staring at his partner as she bent over & dug around for a hidden pot in the cabinetry. 'Damn, she's really let herself go!' he thought to himself as her well-defined ass barely hung out from the bottom of her booty shorts, her crack peeking out from the top like she were presenting ass-cleavage to the world. He tilted his head so that he could gawk at the profile her body made from the bent-over angle- a brow arched on his face as he noted how mildly pregnant she looked in having gained so much so soon... he even smiled at her fiendishly attacking the fish & chips they made up for dinner later that night as she licked her fingers of the salt, malt vinegar & tartar sauce that clung to her fingers & stained her riding up clothing. 'I guess I wouldn't mind if she gained a little weight- it certainly feels nice snuggling against at night,' he thought while munching on some coleslaw. 'But she shouldn't be going THIS fast- it can't be good for her. Maybe she'll listen to reason tonight, over the movie.'

"What ever happened to 'you're beautiful just the way you are'?" Claire cried, her eyes glowing red from the tears streaming down her face- make up smeared tissues in a tightly grasped hand. She grabbed another tissue & blew her nose, then reached for the popcorn sitting next to her, butter glistening off each kernel she popped in her mouth. The movie went on for what seemed like hours- especially to Roger, who had little interest in 'Soap Opera: the Movie'. 'Just another of her chick flicks, I guess,' he thought, reaching for what little was left of the popcorn.

"Darling," Roger hinted, "maybe you should reconsider this whole losing weight thing. I mean, we've been through 3 bags of popcorn already & I've barely gotten a handful." Claire munched away on her bite, a disgusted look on her face that Roger knew meant 'no'. He sighed, glugged down the last of his soda, & went to bed, knowing full well she'd do even less in 'this' emotional state- 'she's gotta know this isn't good for her... ah well, who am I to stop her, I guess,' his thoughts trailed off as he drifted to sleep.

"Oh, no... out of popcorn again," Claire realized as the last buttery finger grazed the empty bowl. She noticed more tears were falling from her face as she realized the soda was gone too. Why did she care all of a sudden? For that matter, why was she still hungry? Confused & frustrated, she went to bed- upon trying to snuggle with her man, Roger huffed in his sleep & turned over. 'Am I being that pig-headed about all this?' she thought. When she tried holding him again, her hand was swatted away. 'He must be really upset if he's still acting like this in his sleep... I'll just have to try losing- for him.' With a last attempt at kissing Roger on the cheek, Claire turned over & went to sleep.

The next morning, Claire got up early for a jog in the park across the street- she grabbed a few granola bars from the cupboard & a water bottle before she left. Halfway through her jog, however, she couldn't help but grab a couple hot dogs on the corner. 'I need the protein anyway,' she thought as the last bite bulged in her cheeks. When Claire came home, she jumped in the shower to cool off- the warm water relaxing her supple body, trickling down every curve diligently. When Roger finally woke up, Claire was in the living room like he'd left her last night- only, this time, she was wearing these pink & gray sweats, working out to her old Jane Fonda videos. He smiled, having hoped his talk really had done the trick- as he went to take his own shower, Claire opened another bag of lo-cal cheese crackers, having already mindlessly gone through two bags. By the time dinner rolled around, Claire was starving- she'd barely picked at her salad earlier that day, yet couldn't understand why she didn't feel much different. She tried to take a small portion of the lasagna Roger had made, even if she wanted to eat it all, he'd be so disappointed in her & she couldn't stop now, so her plate stayed fairly empty- her stomach complaining as they both went to bed.

"I'm proud of you for surviving today, sweetie." Roger encouraged. "I know this probably took a big toll on you- but you'll feel so much better later, I promise."

That night, Roger got frisky- he started cuddling Claire, then let his hands & lips wander, feeling over every curve he was so convinced would be lost... then he paused. 'If she's going to lose all her curves, does that mean her boobs & butt go, too?' he thought with enough concern Claire stopped.

"You okay, hun? Because we can stop if you want."

"NO- I mean, I'm fine. I just can't believe how much progress you're already making." He pinched her lovehandles playfully. "Just look at that fat disappear!"

"I know you want me to do this, but I've got to know- if I did get bigger, even having been through every diet in the book, would you still like me?" Roger looked at her in disbelief- less because she asked, more because she was waiting for an answer. What could he do? He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but how could he lie about his preferences in women?
"It doesn't matter, I guess. It's not like I'm trying to stay fat anyway," Claire awkwardly giggled, half-heartedly attempting to convince herself the same thing. With that, she kissed his cheek & went to bed- his lack of response had really gotten to her, so sex was the last thing on her mind. Roger just sat up in bed, dumbfounded. His libido shot, his girlfriend asleep, & his interests put into question. He shrugged- 'I'll see how the next few weeks go- this regretful feeling has got to pass sometime." And just like that, he was asleep.