chapter 3

As we were driving, he asked me what type of music I listened to. I told him the truth, I listen to everything. He smiled and said he did too. He turned on his playlist. Every time he talked to me, in turned toward him. I love looking at him. His gorgeous face, strong hands and his very round belly. I still couldn't believe I was in his car. He told me that he had wanted to ask me out for a while but he was also shy and he didn't want to be unprofessional since I was a customer. I smiled and said it definitely wasn't unprofessional and I understood shyness. When we got into the city, traffic was crawling. He asked if I minded parking and taking the train the rest of the way. I didn't mind so we parked in a lot near the train. Jean-luc slid his seat back the whole way, got out and fixed his shirt and jacket. Then he came around to my side of the car, opening my door and offering his hand. I gladly accepted. He was so handsome I had actually touched him. I could feel my cheeks flushing. We took our time walking to the train. When we got on, it was standing room only. Jean-luc made room for me to stand in front of him so I could hold on. I had my back to him and I could feel his belly on my back. It felt amazing and it sent a chill of excitement through my whole body. I could feel his breath in my hair. I looked up and smiled at him. He smiled back with his absolutely perfect teeth. When we approached our stop, Jean-luc passed me, grabbing my hand and guiding me out of the train with him. He made no attempt to let go of my hand as we walked the block to the restaurant. My hand felt so tiny in his, just like how small I felt walking beside him. I was barely 110 pounds after a big meal and I was walking alongside a gorgeous obese man.

When we arrived, our table was ready. Jean-luc placed one hand on the small of my back and ushered me in front of him to follow the hostess. I swear every time he touches me it's like I'm being shocked. We were led to a corner booth. The hostess pulled out the table so we could slide in behind. Due to Jean-luc's belly, the table was pretty far away from me but I didn't mind. I liked sitting this close to him. He asked if we should share a bottle of red wine. I smiled and said I would like that. He ordered us a bottle of a nice Pinot noir. As we sat there he smiled and asked me tell him about myself and he promised to tell me his story. I quickly ran through my boring life. Small town girl from the Midwest, gymnast through high school, good student, assistant marketing manager in the fitness industry, 26 and never married. He thanked me and asked me to show him some gymnastics some time. I said maybe someday and then told him it was his turn. He promised to tell me his story after we ordered some appetizers. He asked what I wanted and I told him to surprise me, I eat everything. He ordered a double order of calamari, the fried cheese, and the olive tray. I was so excited to finally watch him eat.

He then told me his story. He was born just outside of Paris, France. His father owned a bakery and his mother was a teacher. They moved to America when he was 10. His father ran a very successful bakery in the city for years and his mom taught in the public school system. He was now 30 and had attended culinary school in France. Sadly, his dad passed away 4 years ago. They sold the bakery for quite a profit and his mom gave him the start up money to open his cafe. He has also never been married. Due to his shyness, he never had a lot of luck with girls. He said when he came back from school in Paris, he worked at the family bakery and took care of his dad when he got sick. After his mother insisted he open this place and follow his dream, his whole life had revolved around making his business a success. Just then the appetizers arrived. Jean-luc offered to serve me some of everything. I nodded as he placed spoonfuls of food on my plate and refreshed my wine. As he started to eat, he said that spending so much time and energy on his cafe came with a few consequences. He patted his belly and I almost passed out. He said that for over 3 years, he spends the day at the cafe, tasting things all day and eating a big lunch. Then by the time he gets home at night, he eats a large comforting dinner and indulged in some wine or beer. He admitted that he had not been to a gym since before culinary school. I smiled at him, thinking that he was absolutely perfect. Before I realized it, he had eaten all of the appetizers.
I told him I knew about the note. He said he was so thankful that she gave that to him. He said he didn't think a petite beauty like me would want someone who weighed nearly 300 pounds. I swallowed hard. Oh my gosh, 300 pounds. I knew it! I told him that at first I was angry about the note but I liked him so much, I was actually thankful she did it. I told him I found him very attractive. I couldn't believe those words came out of my mouth! He smiled and blushed a little. When our entrees came, the portions were huge. Jean-luc had ordered lasagna and I had shrimp alfredo. He also ordered a veal Parmesan because he insisted I needed to try it. The food was so delicious. I slowly ate and kept watching him. He even eats in a sexy way. It wasn't too fast but certainly he was enjoying it. He cut off some of the veal Parmesan and offered it to me on his fork. I leaned in and tried to be seductive as I ate the food from his fork. I smiled and said he was right, it was amazing. I made it about 2/3 through my pasta. Jean-luc finished his lasagna and about 90% of the veal. He put a small piece of the veal Parmesan on my plate and said we'll take that to go. I was so full.

I couldn't help but wonder if my handsome date could eat more. When the dessert menu was offered, I told him I could only eat a little of something. My previous question was answered when he ordered the cannoli, cheesecake and tiramisu. He said he couldn't decide and then he looked down at his belly, laughed and said,"I think you can see how I have gained all this weight." I blame the wine for my next statement. I blurted out, "I have enjoyed seeing your gain over these past few years. You look really good now." He just said, "Well ok then." When dessert arrived, he told me to take at least one bite of everything. He offered me bites on his fork again. I did eat one bite of everything. It was all so good. Jean- luc finished our desserts and asked for the check. I thanked him for dinner, telling him it was delicious. He asked me if I wanted to go and listen to some jazz at a club he likes nearby. Of course!

After paying the check, I noticed that he got up a little slower than he had earlier and I swear his belly was sticking out even farther now. He grabbed my hand and the to go bag and we left the restaurant. He said the jazz club was only a few blocks away so I said we could walk. We walked slowly, hand in hand, both of us with full bellies. When we got there, the man at the door recognized Jean-luc and gave him a hug. They exchanged some conversation that I couldn't hear and then he led us to a table that wasn't far from the stage. Jean-luc pulled out my chair and settled himself into these low, wide chairs. His belly looked bigger on a low chair. He asked what I wanted to drink and I requested a cosmo. Time to switch to vodka. Jean-luc had a scotch and water. He told me he was only having one so that he would be totally fine to drive home. He said he came here often and he confessed that he occasionally sat in when they needed a trumpet player. I was so excited by the image of him playing the trumpet, I'm not even sure why. As the band started, our drinks arrived. I slid my chair closer to his and he put his arm around me. He still had muscular arms somehow. It felt so good around my shoulders and I had a great view of his belly from here. A few people started slow dancing. I asked him if he liked to dance. He replied that it had been a long while but he did like it. Then he asked me to dance. I took a big sip of my cosmo and accepted. When we got on the dance floor, he pulled me close until I was against his belly. He smelled so good and his strong arms held me close but my favorite part was his belly. It was full of food now and harder than it was earlier on the train. He obviously had rhythm and was a great dancer. I wanted to lay my head on his shoulder but due to our height difference, it landed on his squishy chest. He dropped his head down and kissed the top of my head, leaving his head like that. We danced for two songs and I whispered that I could do this all night. I didn't realize he heard me until he said, "me too."

We sat back down and I was on cloud nine. A few songs later the bass player said they really wanted to play some trumpet songs. He smiled at Jean-luc and said if his lady wouldn't mind, could they borrow him for a song or two... I nodded my head and smiled. Jean-luc smiled and said he'd be right back. I was so excited to see him standing up on the stage. Someone handed him a trumpet and he played a few notes to warm up. They played back to back songs. I was so excited to see this. He was really talented. I couldn't help but wonder what kissing those lips would be like. After the two songs, Jean-luc came back and sat with me, ordering a water and another cosmo for me. I told him how much I enjoyed seeing him perform. We stayed until the band stopped. I was feeling the night's drinks and had switched to water. I told Jean-luc that this had been the best date of my entire life. He squeezed my hand and said,"Me too." We slowly walked to the train station hand in hand. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.