Chapter 5 - stresses

Things were looking tense the next time Mel saw Ethan out with his girlfriend, Kimmy. She could see Ethan trying to be affectionate with her, but many times Mel witnessed her shrug him away, as if they were half-way through an argument.

“Is everything alright with you and Kimmy?” Mel asked as Ethan came up to chat with her. Everyone else was now on the dance-floor and it was the first time she had been alone with him all evening.

Ethan shrugged and Mel took it as a sign that he didn’t want to talk about it. “What happened to you anyway?” he asked, noticing the fact that Mel was on crutches, her foot in a cast.
Mel sighed, having to recount, yet again, the embarrassing story of how she had dropped a weight on her foot in the gym.

“Ouch!” Ethan winced. “How long have you been in that cast now then?”

“Six weeks,” Mel shot back with frustration. She couldn’t wait to be properly back on her feet again.

“So… you haven’t been able to exercise properly for six weeks?” Ethan asked curiously, his eyes travelling down to Mel’s middle.

Mel knew exactly what Ethan was looking for, but for some reason, the feeling excited her. Her body was getting checked out by Ethan for signs of growth. “Yeah,” she sighed, rubbing her stomach. “The doctor told me to expect a little weight gain,” she explained casually, knowing how arousing such words would be for a man like Ethan to hear.

“Really?” Ethan responded excitedly, raising an eyebrow and putting his drink down, as if to better commit to the conversation. “And have you gained weight as well?” he questioned, his tone light and breezy, despite the serious interest he clearly had.

Mel thought on her feet. She liked getting this much attention from Ethan. “Oh, hell yeah!” she exaggerated. “I haven’t stepped on a scale, but I can feel the difference,” she lied, sliding her hands across her butt and then onto her stomach that she was trying to subtly push out a little. She doubted that she was up any more than a couple of pounds, but she was sure that a guy like Ethan would be bound to enjoy it.

Ethan wore a wicked grin on his face. But then he turned around and glanced at his girlfriend ignoring him from across the other side of the club. “I think Kimmy is going to finish with me this weekend,” he sighed, sounding depressed.

“Oh no!” Mel cried, trying to sound sympathetic, despite the elation that she felt that Ethan might soon be single. “How come?”

Ethan huffed in annoyance. “She wanted to do this boot camp thing to lose a bit of weight. She left the application at my place and I… somehow lost it,” he explained, unsuccessfully making himself seem less guilty. “She sort of blames me for her current weight.” He looked around the room and then back to Mel. “And she may have a point…” he finished, sounding just a little bit regretful.

Mel sympathised. “You were just trying to show her how much you cared about her,” she offered, trying to think of an excuse for Ethan’s blatant overfeeding of his girl.

Kimmy was now looking incredibly bloated. The fat was everywhere on her body: her face, her arms, her legs, her butt, her tummy. There was no doubting that she was a fat girl now.

“She’d have hated the boot camp anyway. You probably did the best thing throwing the application away!” Mel joked.

Ethan nodded, not seeming to realise that he was admitting his guilt for deliberately getting rid of the papers. He stood a little taller. “Yeah, you’re right!” he nodded. “She’s trying to get fitter because she wants to join the police force. But I think joining the force seems pretty dangerous, don’t you?” he asked. “She tells me that I don’t support her.”

“Don’t the cops just gorge themselves on donuts all day?” Mel joked, conjuring up that stereotypical image. “I’m sure you were just training her up for that!” she laughed, making Ethan smile. “At least, that’s my kinda training anyway!” she continued, jovially rubbing her own stomach; almost daring Ethan to gaze admiringly at it as she pushed out.

The two shared a look that made Mel’s heart flutter. There was a spark! She could feel it. They both could!

But, as if he had suddenly become aware of his feelings, Ethan seemed to shake himself; making his excuses and returning to his moody girlfriend’s side.