Chapter 2 - leaning

"That's not a muffin top." She bit her lip with a smirk, a devious look in her eyes.

Allie stood in a pair of jeans that, well, used to fit. She had somehow, with much effort and a few too many grunts, pulled them over her thick thighs and sucked in her gut enough to close the topmost button, but to say they fit was a certainly long shot.

"That's like if someone took a muffin tin and decided to pour all the batter in one mold. And when it inevitably ran over, they just continued to let the batter pour." She slowly glided toward Allie with graceful, long steps.

Allie ran a hand down her front, following the wide arch her belly made and eventually cupping where the skin spilled over pants.

"Well, who's fault is that?" she mumbled.

With that, her lover fell to her knees before her. She ran her hands from Allie's love handles to the near-bursting pants buckle, enjoying the weight of the overhanging belly before her.

She leaned forward and, ever so gently, ever so slowly brought her tongue around Allie's navel.

Allies whole body shuttered, and everything seemed to jiggle as it did. The jiggle echoed to the place between her legs in a way that made her groan.

"Guilty as charged," came the reply, warm breath cascading over Allie's girth before lips kissed where the tongue had tested first.

"But then, I don't think my victim was in any way unwilling." Allie's lover then bit, softly and playfully, upon her hanging stomach, with brown eyes gazing mischievously into hazel.

Allie's body wanted to explode with pleasure. She had to grasp the dresser to keep herself from falling to the ground, her breath deepening, giving over to the sensations sending fire through her body and awakening the ancient beast that was her loins.

Allie fought to stay present, to remain in the moment, to allow the build more time so the inevitable release would be mind-altering.

'Focus,' she thought to herself. 'You can do this. Get your-'

*~*~*~*


"-ass together! You died again!"

"Maybe if you didn't yell at your teammates, they'd play better." Allie plopped down on the couch next to Dylan with her latest crafting project; a scarf with the Maverick's signature purple and blue color scheme.

"Maybe if my roommate had joined the team instead of acting like a grandma I wouldn't need to yell." Dylan scowled as he gripped the controller harder.

"Hmmmm. I prefer more pleases when someone begs me to do something. And less insults."

"Shove it," Dylan threw down the controller as the game ended. He crossed his arms, leaning back with a huff.

"Well, how was the first day?"

"Fine."

"E veryone nice?"

"Enough."

&quo t;Anyone hot?"

"I'm not going to look for someone to date while I'm working."

"That's not a no..." Dylan took a swig of beer with a grin.

"Shove it." Allie rolled her eyes.

"Who is she?"

"There is no 'she.'" Allie got up to turn on the water heater.

"Allie. Shea. Morris. Have the tides changes? Is the one who has caught your fancy... a he?!"

"Puh-lease, Dylan. Roger. Martin." Allie scowled as she picked out a tea bag from the cupboard. "I'm as gay as girls come. Pun intended."

"Oh, ha ha." Dylan snorted without humor as he started another round of his game.

Allie watched him run around the map, hiding and shooting as he went, while she waited for the water to boil.

"I just am worried that I picked the wrong show, that's all," Allie muttered.

"The wrong show? You're joking," Dylan scoffed. "How could a summer blockbuster with a budget larger than the combined incomes we'll make in a lifetime about a chick kicking serious bad-guy ass - sorry, not just a chick, but your favorite bad-guy ass-kicking chick - the wrong show?"

"It's still pretty obscure. Her first edition came out in the 70's trying to capture the feminist and civil rights movement in their hay day but it never seemed to grab the interest of the main comic fans. Who knows if today's audience is gonna care."

"Please tell me more things you've told me dozens of times."

"You asked how my first day went," Allie mumbled as she poured the now-boiling water into her mug.

"I wanted fun gossip, not comic trivia. Besides, at least you have a good job. Hell, a job."

"Oh no. That means your audition didn't go well, did it?" Allie rejoined Dylan on the couch, carefully keeping her tea from spilling.

"No. The casting people looked as bored as I am when you talk about comics in the 1970s and one of them took a phone call in the middle of the whole horror show."

"I'm so sorry. That sounds so rough. But hey, you got in there and did your best. Something's gotta take at some point." Dylan glanced gratefully over at Allie and she smiled encouragingly.

The game continued and Allie watched for a while before taking out her laptop to bum around online. She jumped between a few of her favorite sites before noticing one of her oft-frequented forums mentioned the movie she was working on. She absentmindedly found herself jumping on the IMDB page, curious to see what was out there. There, siting at the top of the page, was Tiffany Johnson as Kendra Knight. Allie clicked to her page.

She scrolled through the roles Tiffany had played. She had started out a child actress in a sitcom, playing the cute daughter of the main characters. When she hit her late teens, the movies picked her up, and she had done well as supporting characters then as the lead in smaller films. Maverick was her first leading role in a big blockbuster. Allie wondered if she had taken it just for the fame or if she even liked anything about comics...

The related news box caught her eye; a headline about her being cast as the Maverick, a headline about child actors who had grown into successful adults ('So far as we know...' Allie smirked), one about how Tiffany's love life seemed a tragedy.

Confused, Allie clicked on the last one.

'Revered as a child actress gone right, Tiffany Johnson seems a charming and mature woman on screen and in interviews. But perhaps not in person,' the article read. 'Why is it that this once adorable and kind-hearted young girl turned confident and strong young woman has never once been spotted with a beau?

'We at Close to the Camera have notice that every rumor of her spending time with one boy or another has seemed to lead to nothing, every hint at romance seems nothing more than a wish for gossip. What is Tiffany hiding?

'"She's honestly really work focused," an anonymous source close to Tiffany tells Close. "She's not warm hearted or really all that likable. She just, you know, works a lot."

'Is this what keeps her from the dating scene? Is the girl who charmed America actually an ice queen? Is she simply too closed off for any man to-'

Disgusted, Allie slammed down her laptop and watched Dylan take out the enemy players as she fumed.

She couldn't believe that any article would have been written like that about a guy. So what if Tiffany likes her work; she was in her early 20's, let her enjoy her work before settling down! If she even wants to settle down ever.

Allie thought about Tiffany's kind look as she let Allie take the salad. How could that young girl be called an ice queen?

Allie was still miffed the next day on set. She found herself recounting it to Cathy as they prepped.

"Ok, calm down, Sheryl Sandberg. You wanna help Tiff lean in? Why don't you take her this vase." Cathy handed her the break-away vase that Tiffany as Kendra was supposed to break over the bank robber's head.

Allie turned away before her cheeks got too red. Maybe she was making a bigger deal about it than it was worth. It was just a stupid article on the internet.

She stepped up to set, vase in hand, and waited as the director told Tiffany how the next bits of action would go.

"What are you doing here?" a voice hissed behind Allie, who jumped. She turned to find James looking grouchy behind her.

"Um, I was just-"

"Don't just stand on the set, we've got a lot to do to make our day."

"I think she was just getting that for me, actually."

James' face fell into surprise as Tiffany walked forward with a kind smile.

"Uh, yeah. Here, Ms. Johnson." Allie handed Tiffany the vase with a tight smile, eager to get away quickly to avoid more of James' anger.

"Oh, please, call me Tiffany. Or Tiff. Or TJ. Whatever, just not 'Ms.'" Tiffany winked.

"Ok. Thanks, Tiffany."

"And, what's your name?"

"Um, Allie. Allison for... long, I guess."

"Well, thank you, Um, Allie." Tiffany grined and Allie gave a small laugh. Tiffany turned back to the director and Allie turned to leave, but not before noticing the sour look on James' face.