Chapter 13 - after the ride

Red finished the ride. It was a flat route along a disued railway line which had been paved over, it followed the river and the scenery was stunning, he made a note to go back there at some point. Now, his heart was racing, he was the first one to cross the finish point. It was not a race, but he felt pleased with the result, his colleagues must have got the flashy racing bikes and lycras to show off rather than to be practical.

One of the girls from work who stood by the finish line took his photograph. He was too tired to pose for it, Carla had also spotted him and waved. He took his bike to the railing, chained it up and went to see her.

"Oh wow! Congratulations, you're so fit!" She beamed and threw her arms around him and grimaced. "And sweaty, yuck, go get changed and come meet me at the barbecue!" She tried to wipe her arms on her dress.

"Thanks, you shouldn't have done that, its your own fault."

Carla stuck out her tongue and set off to a grassy verge, where the food was cooking.

Red went to the restroom to change, he was pleased to see a couple of rusty looking showers in there.

Refreshed and changed into jeans and black t shirt, Red went over to meet Carla. He saw others were getting to the finish line, they seemed much more interested in having their pictures taking and celebrating than he did. He was just tired and somewhat hungry from the ride and meagre breakfast.

Carla was working on the burger stand of the barbeque, chatting to another colleague, who was grilling sausages and chicken. Red did not normally eat meat, but the barbeque smelled great so would let himself, today. He picked up a bottle pf cola from the cooler and went to talk to Carla.

"Hi again. Smells good, have you been busy all day?"

"Oh no, this didnt take long to set up, just gossiping mostly. Burger?" She asked, already scooping one up.

"Thanks" he said as Carla had served him.

"Don't forget the extras." She patted the condiment trolley. "Stay and keep me company until it gets busy."

"Sure." he said, putting cheese, onions and ketchup on his bun. He took a bite. "This is good, you cook well."

"Oh, this isn't cooking, its putting meat on fire! Can't go wrong. We have tonnes of them too, so get as many as you like."

"Yeah, I am kind of hungry, I should have had more than toast earlier."

"Oh, sorry, we did sleep in. You can make up for it now!" She hastilly picled out another burger, but Red put his hand on her wrist to stop her.

"How am i going to hold two and eat at the same time?"

Carla looked like she was searching fpr an answer but just shrugged. "Good point."

The two talked about the race for a few minutes, then the other cyclists started coming over.

"Oh, back to work." She said.

"I'll take another burger first." He held out his empty plate.

"Good boy!" She said and handed him another.

Red passed the time making small talk about the race with his colleagues, occasionally breaking to check his phone for news headlines or to pick up more food and drinks. By about Six, people were starting to leave and the crew were packing away the cooking equipment.

Red was sitting alone, playing a game on his phone, when Carla came over. She was carrying a large cardboard tray, covered in tinfoil.

"I stole the leftovers!" she smiled, peeled back the foil. "I'm starving, I haven't had any yet!" She pulled a sad face and patted her stomach. She took one out. "Oh, you want one?"
"Oh no, I had three already and chicken"

"Are you sure? I don't want to waste them! I have ten of them."

"Ten?"

"Yeah, Sofi will want some, she'll be here to join us in a few minutes, I just sent a text."

Red shrugged and helped himself to his forth burger, he thought this is probably not what the nurse had in mind when she suggested he made a few changes. He felt fine eating the burger, maybe it was the exercise, fresh air and these being savoury he felt much more comfortable with this than he had with the milkshake and waffles. He also opted for looser jeans in anticipation.

"pity it's back to work tomorrow." he said.

"Yeah, had a great weekend, not had this much fun in a long time." She wrapped her hand arond Reds back and leaned on his shoulder. "I like you, Red."

Red blushed like a teenager an wrapped his arm around Carla, "I feel the same."

Carla gave him a gentle squeeze. "good!" she grinned, sat up and went back to her burger.

They finished their burgers and Carla helped herself to a second when her car pulled up.

"Hey Sofi, did you win?" asked Red.

"Didn't play... Too weird, won some money tho." She said flashing a few fives.

"Not really in the spirit of things, least you had fun tho."

"Yup. I believed I was promised dinner too."

Carla pulled back the tin foil. "Tah Dah!" She exclaimed.

"You saved me seven burgers?"

"No, they're for everyone! "

"Don't know if I should be disappointed or relieved."

"Oh you're fine, Me and Red were getting through them fine without your help." She gave Red an affectionate squeeze.

Sofi laughed. "You two are bottomless pits." And she helped herself to a pile of three.

They discussed their days, Sofi seemed genuinely impressed about Reds position in the race. She spoke about her day too. It turned out that his friend Scott had asked her out for a drink, but she turned him down. He thought that was probably for the best but did not say anything.

"Four to go, won't last another day." Carla piped up when Sofi had finished her pile, she dished out another one each.

Sofi rolled her eyes, but did not protest. "Thanks hon."

Red felt stuffed already, but enough time had passed for his last one to settle and his stomach was not protesting, it just felt pleasantly taut, this was going to be his fifth now, on top of the other barbeque foods he tried. As he ate, he felt the strain inside more, he could feel vibrations from inside as he tried to digest it, he could feel how much he was bulging, however his t shirt was baggy and it was hard to tell by looking down, he could feel his lower belly push over his waistband every time he leaned forwards to take a bite. Carla's hand was still wrapped around his back, her fingers had crept around to his waist and was reassuringly stroking.

"Last one!" Carla said, once they finished.

Sofi belched a little and shook her head. "No chance!"

Carla turned to Red. "Up to you now!"

Red shook his head. He was too stuffed to move now and really did not want to try. His stomach ached and fell uncomfortably over his waistband.

"Aw, its an unwanted burger." She said.

"You have it then?" Red suggested.

"No! You're the one who's been out riding all day." She put her hands on Reds waist, slid them around to the front, she eased her fingers under his stomach and started fumbling with his jeans button, after a second, they came apart with a satisfying pop feeling and his stomach felt emancipated. "You'll be cycling back tonight so it doesn't matter."

Red glanced at Sofi, looking for support. She shrugged at him.

"Looks like she insists." She said.

Red groaned and took a bite. His stomach strained beyond its limits to accommodate the extra meat. Carla leaned on his shoulder happily. He could feel her arm wrapped around his waist, she surreptitiously slipped her fingers inside his t shirt and was gently ticking his underbelly, it felt soporific.

When he finished, he groaned and Carla rubbed his back and massaged his shoulders.

"It's been great, but we should head home now. Sofi has to get up at 5 in the morning to catch the bus back to work."

They hugged, Carla was gentle, but Sofi's belly was big and as they hugged he felt it put a lot of pressure on his bloated gut.

"Have a nice trip Sofi, nice to meet you."

"You too. I'll be back soon to check in on you guys."

The two girls walked back to their car, Red went to sit down, he needed a few more minutes before he could face a long, slow cycle home.