chapter 3 - vacation time

APRIL 2012

As usual, Matt was spending his evening on the couch. His T-shirt strained over his oversized middle, revealing the dent of his deep navel and failing to cover the lower surface of pale, fat belly overflowing into his lap. Adrian had the Red Sox game on and was struggling not to stare.

"I've got a week of vacation coming up," Matt said with his mouth full. "Can't wait to get in some good eating."

"Great idea," Kate interjected, looking up from her laptop. "You need it. Been wasting away the last few months." Adrian choked back a laugh.

"Yeah, I've porked up a bit. So what?" Matt paused to stuff a few more chips in his mouth. "I could get ripped in a few months if I wanted."
Adrian snorted and had to fake a cough. "I just don't feel like it yet."

"A few months? Are you sure?" Kate asked in a level tone. "It's not practical for most people to lose more than a couple of pounds a week over a long period of time. Might take you a while."

"I'm not, like, huge," Matt protested.

"What are you weighing these days?" Adrian asked. "Seems like you've made a lot of progress on that bet you suggested."

"Aw, shut up," Matt grunted, grabbing another handful of chips. "Dunno. Haven't weighed myself in a while."

"Why don't you weigh yourself at the end of your vacation?" Kate asked slyly. "Get some perspective on your progress."

"What's in it for me?"

Kate paused for a few thoughtful seconds, glanced at Adrian consideringly, and then looked back at Matt and his belly. "Adrian and me bring you as much food as you want all of next week. Don't worry about going to pick up takeout or anything. We'll take care of that. Then we see how much you weigh at the end of it. Adrian, that sounds good to you?"

Adrian was nodding before his rational brain could decide whether this idea made any sense.

"What if I want to eat for 15 hours straight?"

"Deal." Adrian didn't know if Matt noticed the almost predatory glint in Kate's eyes. "Can't wait for the weigh-in.

"Gonna really pig out," Matt gloated. "Best week ever, coming right up. Hope you two suckers like going to the grocery store."

It turned out that buying enough junk food to satisfy Matt was a hassle, but not really very complicated. All they had to do every day was have Adrian make a grocery store run for the usual junk, and then Kate would stop by half the fast-food drive-thrus in town and bring back more junk. As long as Matt had food in front of him, he wasn't real picky.

Which was a good thing, because he threw himself into eating as much as he could, and within a couple of days Matt had a routine down. He'd waddle out of bed, take a shower, then park himself on the couch, turn on the TV, and start eating. He'd lapse into a brief food coma when his belly reached capacity, then get right back to eating as soon as he opened his eyes. After a while he'd groan, burp, proclaim himself stuffed, and doze off, and the cycle would repeat. Matt didn't move from the couch all day long except to go to the bathroom - and he was so full all the time that he needed Kate and Adrian to help haul his fat ass to his feet just to do that. He'd waddle to bed laboriously in the evening, swollen with food like an overfed tick, and collapse on his back, his fat stomach stretched to the max and looking like a small mountain. His grunts of stuffed discomfort would gradually fade away into snores, and the next morning he'd waddle to his feet and start it all over.

"You got an estimate for what our friend's weigh-in's going to look like?" Adrian asked Kate over the breakfast table on Wednesday morning. (They were enjoying oatmeal, grapefruit, and coffee, while Matt was parked in front of the TV stuffing his face with takeout from IHOP.)

Her brow furrowed in concentration. "325," Kate finally said. "That's too conservative," Adrian told her confidently. "He's definitely fatter than that. I'm going with... 351."

"Wow. That's bold." Kate grinned. "I will not even be mad if you're right, though. Fuck, with the way he's eating, he could be 325 now and 351 by Sunday."

If Matt heard them, he was too busy eating to offer his own estimate.

"Don't wanna get up," Matt grunted to Adrian later that evening. He dazedly rubbed the fat sides of his bloated gut and burped. "Just wanna sleep here. Feel like I weigh a ton." His stomach gurgled ominously, struggling to digest the five or so oversized meals and countless snacks he'd packed into it that day. "No problem," Adrian replied, trying not to laugh. "You've eaten more in five days than Kate does in a month." He felt very sure this wouldn't be the last time Matt ate himself too full to move.

Then Adrian heard the sound of Kate's high heels clicking in the doorway. "Went to Dunkin Donuts," she called to Matt. "Thought you might want a midnight snack."

"He's looking pretty full up," Adrian laughed. "Not even planning to get off the couch tonight."

"Damn. He does look full. They'll still be here in the morning, Matt. Don't feel like you have to have any." She turned to Adrian. "There's 2120 calories in this box. Wonder how long they'll last." She set the box of donuts down next to Matt.

It only took him a few seconds to reach for one, grunting and belching with the effort. "I can't... uggh... stop eating," he grunted, mouth full. Kate and Adrian paused there, watching in awe as Matt kept stuffing his face past all common sense.

"I'm gonna burst," he moaned, stuffing his third donut in his mouth.

(More chapters to come. Comments/suggestions always appreciated! :))