chapter 2 - expanding horizons

OCTOBER 2010

"Your gut's coming through the door before the rest of you," Adrian snorted.

"I had a huge lunch," Matt grunted, hands on his rounded belly. "It was amazing. I'm still nice and full."

"I can see that." Matt flipped him off casually on his way to parking his ass on the couch and turning on ESPN, big bowl of potato chips in front of him on the coffee table. It seemed like Matt was eating junk every time Adrian saw him lately. And his not-so-flat belly and softened jawline were showing it. Adrian hadn't been sure how long Matt would actually stick to his ridiculous bet, but his enthusiasm didn't seem to have slowed down. 215 pounds couldn't be all that far away.

"Thought you said you were going to the gym after work," he said. Matt grunted dismissively, mouth full of chips. "Got a pretty full stomach. I'll go tomorrow. Long day at work." Adrian wasn't sure what Matt's long day had to do with the state of his stomach, but this was the second time in the last week he'd decided to skip the gym because he was too full of food.

Adrian was deep into dealing with his work email, ignoring Matt talking loudly on the phone to his buddy Chad - until he heard his sister's name suddenly.

"Yeah, man, I'm free to go mack on some bitches. Dominique broke up with me again. You know, she's gained at least 15 pounds since we started going out. Said something about me being a bad influence. It's too bad she let herself go a bit. I don't know why so many girls have no discipline about keeping in shape."

"Are you serious?" Adrian couldn't help but yell.

"Shit, dude, forgot you were here," Matt called sheepishly.

Adrian had never thought of Matt as a perceptive or self-aware kind of guy, but this was ridiculous.
He knew Dominique could take care of herself, and it was pretty stupid of her to have dated Matt in the first place - but Adrian was not happy. He definitely wasn't going to be giving Matt any fitness tips. It wasn't like it was he or Kate's job to be Matt's diet coaches. Who knows, maybe if he had a hard time getting the weight off, he might learn something after all. And honestly, if he ballooned up to 300 pounds or something, it'd serve him right. Adrian figured he might as well put a few more junk food items on the shopping list. He had a feeling they'd disappear pretty quickly.

APRIL 2011

Matt's weight gain in the last ten months had been impossible to miss, but he hadn't made any announcement about reaching his "goal" of 215 pounds, and he definitely hadn't made any effort to go back to his old habits.

He'd developed some new ones, though. (To be fair, Adrian and Kate had also got into a routine of making sure the cabinets stayed full of high-calorie junk. It was probably the best they and Matt had ever worked together.) It almost seemed like the competitiveness and drive Matt used to show for the gym was being channeled into him stuffing himself with more and more excessive amounts of food. On an average day he'd have a big fried breakfast (accompanied by a "muscle-building" protein shake), pack himself four slices of pizza and a couple of chocolate bars for lunch, get a couple of Big Macs and a large milkshake on the way home, then sit his ass down on the couch in front of the TV with a large pizza and a six-pack of beer and eat until his belly ached. "I overdid it, man," he'd complain to Adrian, burping loudly and gingerly patting his bloated stomach. "I ate soooo much. Just look at this gut. Gotta get back to the gym. Work some of this off before I become a fat-ass for real." Of course, he'd stuff his face just as much the next day, and Adrian didn't think he'd actually dragged his ass to the gym in at least three months.

He was way past 215 now. He had to be. And there was no way he didn't realize it himself. Was there? He'd definitely bought a couple of sets of new jeans, and his current ones were starting to look pretty strained at the hems. He was sporting the beginning of a double chin, some good-sized love handles, and an unmistakably plump belly.

"He's at least 250 now," Kate had whispered to Adrian the other day when Matt was in the other room watching MMA on TV, loudly commenting on what a "pussy" one of the fighters was in between slices of pizza. "You think?" Adrian reflected. "You could be right." "I swear, he hasn't been to the gym in two months, but he still drinks those protein shakes every morning. It's ridiculous." Kate rolled her eyes and Adrian tried to stifle a laugh. "It's not like there's been any muscle-building going on. He's just adding calories!"

"I guess it's technically bodybuilding in a way," Kate mused. "He's definitely adding mass."

AUGUST 2011

Kate had a season pass to Wild Wonder Amusement World, and one Saturday in August she'd suggested to Adrian that they go with a couple of her other university friends on the reduced guest rate. Unfortunately, Matt had overheard. Adrian wasn't thrilled about that, but Kate seemed willing to let him come along and Adrian wasn't going to rock the boat.

After a fun day of lining up for an hour to go on a five-minute ride, Adrian and his friends Lilly and Jason made their way back to Kate's car. She was leaning against it, focused on her phone - and sitting on the pavement next to the car was a very bloated Matt. "Did you get anything to eat today?" Adrian asked sarcastically. "Funnel cake, hot dogs," Matt paused to pat his belly and burp, "couple of burgers, chicken wings, pizza, ice cream..."

"Matt here practically had to be rolled out of the park," chipped in Kate. "I found him on a bench finishing up a bucket of fried chicken." She reached down to help Matt to his feet, as the other three climbed into the car. Lilly and Jason seemed to have been rendered speechless as they watched Matt maneuver himself awkwardly into the car, struggling to stretch the seatbelt around his bulk. "Best day ever," Matt grunted, hands resting on the fat globe of stuffed belly filling his lap. "Couldn't stop eating, man."

"Did you manage to squeeze any rides into your busy eating schedule?" Adrian asked.

"The food was too good, I didn't feel like-"

"You didn't go on any rides?" Adrian interrupted, grinning incredulously.

Adrian hadn't forgotten last year, when he hadn't wanted to go on the giant UberHyperMegaCoaster in the center of the park and Matt had called him a "f*ggot" in front of a line full of preteen children. It wasn't one of his better memories of the last couple of years, and he figured that now he was entitled to point out that it was ridiculous to go to a theme park and do nothing but stuff your face all day.

"Next year you'll probably be too fat to fit on the god damn rides, Matt," he said. "This might have been your last chance - and you decided to stuff your face instead. Great use of your money, man."

Kate stifled a giggle and poor Lilly and Jason had nothing to say.

"Who cares what you think," Matt said lazily. "I feel fuckin' awesome. Just gonna take it easy and digest all this."

Later that night, Matt ordered a large pizza and finished it without offering Adrian or Kate a single slice.