Chapter 2 - lunch date [part 1]

Charlie spent fairly long hours in his new company's office during his first week of induction training. However, there was plenty of time in the evenings to grab dinner and drinks with his fellow new starters, and to swipe through the newly-downloaded dating app. For the first couple of days he didn't have much luck. He quickly learned to distinguish the fake profiles and those published by call-girls, and while he right-swiped a few slim, pretty-looking girls, none of those conversations went far and he didn't see any bigger girls whom he found attractive.

Things changed on Thursday evening. Sitting alone in his hotel room and absent-mindedly flicking through profile pictures, he suddenly paused. Her name was Melissa; her blonde hair was in pigtails, and she had a beautiful face and a glittering, cheeky smile. Most exciting of all, there was a hint of a double chin and an out-of-focus suggestion of generous cleavage. Charlie eagerly tapped on her name to see her profile. Skimming through some fairly ordinary-looking likes and dislikes, his eyes came to rest on one line listed under hobbies: "Dieting - unsuccessfully!"

Without further hesitations, Charlie swiped right and crossed his fingers.

By the time he went to bed that night, Charlie and Melissa had arranged to meet her for lunch the following day. He had to travel back home in the evening, but his training was due to finish by midday, so he had the afternoon free. Melissa suggested a barbecue restaurant in the centre of town, and the date was made.

*****
Charlie's Friday morning training session overran slightly, so he was 10 minutes late arriving to the restaurant. Hurrying out of the cab and through the doors, he scanned the room for his date. Melissa was not difficult to spot. She sat on a bar stool at the counter of the open kitchen in the centre of the restaurant, her golden-blonde hair in those same pigtails, a plate of cheese and bacon-covered fries in front of her. She didn't see Charlie, and as he approached she dug into the plate with her fingers and lifted a sheaf of chips, trailing cheese and sauce, to her lips. She was a voluptuous vision of excess, her pale yellow T-shirt straining to contain her plump curves, and her bare thighs overflowing the metal stool beneath overworked hotpants. As she pushed the fries into her mouth, her eyes opened and saw Charlie standing in front of her. She turned pink and smiled with recognition. "I'm so sorry," she said through her mouthful of food, "I couldn't wait - these are just so good!" She licked the molten cheese from her fingers and hopped down from her stool, hastily pulling down her T-shirt to cover her stomach, which poked out over her waistband and jiggled enticingly in front of her. They introduced themselves and Charlie inwardly thanked Rob. Melissa was short, plump and very pretty, with a mischievous smile and a cheerful attitude, although for fleeting moments she seemed a little uncertain. For Charlie, it was lust at first sight. There was something so fresh and girlish about her manner, combined with that hint of insecurity; on some level it made him want to ravage her, despoil her, be cruel to her...

Charlie joined her at the counter and let her order starters, as she seemed to be very familiar with the menu. They ate delicious slow-cooked beef brisket and burnt ends with corn-bread, as well as sharing the remainder of her fries. Charlie ordered a round of beers - his training was finished for the week, and Melissa, it turned out, was catering manager at a swanky out-of-town hotel, and not due at work until the evening. As they clinked glasses, again Charlie thought he sensed a certain hesitancy in her manner; but a split second later she showed him that dazzling smile again.

Soon the starters were finished, and they were offered a seat at a table by a waitress. She was the same height as Melissa but with olive skin and dark hair; flat-chested and very slim apart from a round rump which Charlie found it hard not to stare at in her tight black jeans. He caught himself, and realised with a jolt how long it was since he'd last slept with Suzi. The waitress ushered them towards a table, but Melissa piped up: "Oh, could we sit in one of the booths instead, please?" For a second the pert-bottomed waitress paused, and Charlie saw her eyes flicker from Melissa's plump midriff to the booth, as if performing a mental calculation. "Er... are you sure?" she said, and Charlie though he caught the slightest suggestion of a sneer. "Some customers find our booths a bit of a tight squeeze."

Melissa was already on her way, sucking in her stomach so that she could inch between the table and the red vinyl seat before plumping triumphantly down. She released her breath, and her big belly swelled out until it touched the table-edge. Charlie noticed a hint of a dimpled smile at the pretty waitress's thinly-veiled insult.

As Charlie seated himself, he could see that the waitress was trying to conceal a look of half-amused disdain. She consciously lowered her finely-plucked eyebrows and asked what the pair would like to order.

"Let's see..." said Melissa thoughtfully, looking intently into Charlie's face rather than at the menu, as if to gauge what he was thinking. After a few seconds she seemed to decide, and without further hesitation reeled off: "I'd like the Double Cheese-Stuffed Burger, a BBQ Pulled-Piggy Sandwich, the Mixed Ribs Basket and sides of coleslaw, jalapeno poppers and another Bacon Cheese Fries, please."

Charlie assumed that she was again ordering for both of them; the waitress thought the same, thanked her and began to turn away.

"Oh, excuse me," interjected Melissa. "Aren't you going to take my date's order, too?"

This time the waitress couldn't hide her incredulity as she stared down at the tubby girl, who smiled sweetly back at her. The waitress turned to Charlie and said "Of course, sorry sir. What can I get you?"

Charlie ordered a burger and sides, and smiled at Melissa as the waitress retired. "That was some order - you certainly have an appetite!" As he spoke, couldn't help staring at her round stomach, which pressed against the table as she sat forward in her seat.

Melissa's eyes followed his, and suddenly that self-consciousness was there again in her manner as she gave a little "Oh!". There was an awkward pause. "I'm... sorry if I've seemed a bit insecure with you," she began falteringly. "But I think we're getting on well, so I feel like I can tell you why I'm nervous..." Horrible thoughts ran through Charlie's head. Was she married or something? She continued, "The fact is, I've only been on a few of these Sparkr dates so far, and none of them has gone well at all. Every single time, the guy has spent a bit of time with me and then made some excuse to leave." She paused. "I know it's because of my weight. Most of them tried to be polite, but there was one guy who took one look at me, said 'you really need to update your profile photo, fatty', then turned around and walked out."

Charlie was lost for words. Melissa put her hands on the sides of her stomach and gave it a gentle squeeze through her yellow T-shirt. "So please be honest... if you want to leave now that you've seen how big I am, I'll totally understand." She stopped and looked anxiously into his eyes.

Charlie had been taught never to make any comment on a woman's weight, even if it was meant to be a compliment, but she had asked him directly. And again, her softness and vulnerability gave him the urge to hurt her a little. He found his voice and said "Listen, Melissa. I won't lie, you are easily the fattest girl I've ever been out with."

Her pretty face blushed red and her eyes dropped to her jutting belly, still held between her hands; she looked thoroughly crestfallen, as thought she might burst into tears.

"But don't worry," he continued softly, "I like it."

She looked up, her cheeks still deeply coloured, and gazed cautiously into his eyes again, trying to decide whether or not he was mocking her. Then in an instant, the bright smile returned and she giggled, "Well then, Charlie, I think we're going to have some fun together!"