chapter 3

A week later Matt left for Saudi. Before he left, cold sober, he looked us both in our eyes and said, "Remember that you both promised. Jeff, keep on her about diet and exercise, and Kelly when you need to get some, Jeff's your guy." So we both agreed as the Uber driver pulled up. Kelly gave him a big hug and kiss, and gave him a brother's hug and off he went to the airport.

"So, uh, Kelly, I guess it's time to go to the gym?"

"Really, Jeff? My boyfriend just left for six months and you think I should go work out? What I want right now is a beer and a plate of nachos. C'mon, let's go to the brew pub." Well, I'd tried, but Kelly is a strong willed woman, and there was no sense in starting the six months off with a fight. So we went to the brew pub.

Kelly ordered an IPA and the fully loaded nachos. They arrived piled high with meat, cheese, and pico. Kelly tore into them. "Hey, I deserve a little comfort eating, okay? It's not like one platter of nachos is going to make me a blimp." We had another round of beers and ordered burgers with fries. Another round of beers with the burgers, and one more afterwards. When we left, I was stuffed and little buzzed. I could tell that Kelly was, too. I was a little worried that Kelly would demand the other part of our promise, that I would be her sex toy. It seemed disrespectful to Matt to start that when he had only been gone a few hours. Fortunately, Kelly didn't make any kind of approach like that. I was grateful, but also found myself feeling just a little bit disappointed. Yes, she was too thin for my taste, but watching her gorge had been a turn on. I told myself firmly that she was my brother's girlfriend, and promise or no promise, I shouldn't be banging her. Unless it became absolutely necessary.

The next day I went to work and so did Kelly. I was glad to see her carrying her gym bag with her. I really didn't want to be a nag about working out, so I was relieved that it looked like she was going to hit the gym on her own. That evening I got home before Kelly, and when she arrived I was happy to see her in gym shorts and a t-shirt. "How was the workout, Kelly? Get a good sweat going?" As I said that, I noticed that she didn't seem to be sweating much. Maybe just a little, but not like she'd really hit it hard.

"It was a pain in the ass, as usual," she answered as she got a beer out of the fridge. "Chicken for dinner? I'll make some new potatoes to go with it." I had planned to just have vegetables with the chicken. I should have said something to her about potatoes not being on her diet, but being a nag just wasn't in me that night. I really am a lot better at encouraging a girl to eat more anyway.

That's how it went for a while. Kelly would go to the gym a couple of times a week, but wouldn't look like she'd had much of a workout. After the third week, she was going to the gym maybe once a week, if that. If we cooked at home, she liked to add some kind of potatoes to the dinner, and she usually had some ice cream ("It's a treat for working out today") after dinner. Often she would say she wanted to eat out ("It was a rough day. My treat.") Sometimes we'd watch some TV after dinner. Kelly was usually down to her panties and a tank top by that time. Once in a while Matt would be able to Skype to us. He always asked how the diet and exercise were going, and Kelly always told him that it was going fine. I wasn't going to rat on her. Besides, she hadn't gained any weight that I could see. As long as she was still thin when Matt came home, I didn't think I needed to say anything.