chapter 1 - continued

The body that she had for 23 years was still clearly there. She had simply added another layer of soft flesh over it. The extra weight appeared to all be on the outside of her core, as though it was between the real her and her skin. As they walked along, she told him about her trip, people she had met, places she had gone, and things that she had seen. “What about meals that you have eaten,” Eric teased.

“You’ve been reading my e-mails. You know that I have expanded my experience with food dramatically. You had to expect that I would have put on a pound or two,” she answered, sounding a little bit defensive.

“Of course,” he responded, “I was just joking. So you put on a few pounds. You know I always thought you were too skinny.”

“But, now do you think I am too chubby?” she asked.

“Too chubby for what?” Eric countered.

“For you. You know what I mean. Are you disappointed? Does it bother you that I may have gained a little weight?” she continued.

“Not at all. I am so glad you are home. I think you look great. I am just making fun of your clothes being so tight,” he answered.

“I have to admit I was a bit worried,” she said softly looking down and cradling her gut, “I am sure that a lot of it will simply fall off since the excursion has ended. But I do have to admit that I kind of like not feeling like a stick. The men in Italy actually seemed to pay more attention to me with each extra pound I gained.”

“I am looking forward to paying more attention to you, too,” Eric exclaimed, “I want to do a bit of exploring myself. It is all-new terrain. It’s my turn to take a trip through new lands.”

They reached the car and Eric put the bags in the back. Before getting in the car, they hugged again and he continued his exploration with their lips locked, while his hands found her love handles. Eric made a mental note that these could prove very useful later. He opened the door for her and she got in, and then walked around and got in the driver’s side. Sitting next to her, he noticed that her rounded form was even more dramatic when she was sitting. Her belly was a distinctly rounded ball filling her lap with her breasts propped proudly above. If the added weight-challenged her previous pertness, the combination of thicker thighs and pronounced belly seemed to be helping her breasts defy the effects of gravity.

Feeling a bit awkward, but unable to prevent himself from taking a risk, Eric turned towards Colette and, smiling, asked, “If it is not too weird a question, I am wondering, are your pants actually fastened?”

She laughed and hefted her gut so that he could see that they were zipped, but that the button had been replaced by a couple of safety pins linked, struggling to hold the two sides together. “The button popped off this morning as I was getting ready go,” she explained. “This was the only thing that I could do, since none of my other pants was a possibility, and I didn’t want to wear my sweats which now barely stretch around my curves. They look like a second skin. The embarrassing thing was I set off the metal detector at the airport and had to show the officer that it was the safety pins holding my pants closed.”

Eric reached over and started to caress her belly, which he was surprised felt very pliable and soft. Although she looked inflated, her skin was supple with a kind of gelatinous feel, almost like a water balloon. Clearly bloated from the steady stream of extra calories that she had consumed, her skin had give and was not taut. As he massaged her belly, he started feeling the response growing in his pants. Eric could tell that this was turning her on, as well, and she shifted position to create some room between her thighs and gut.
It felt great to be able to touch her and he started looking forward to getting her home so that they could make up for lost time.

Eric started the car and turned back to her, asking with a grin, “Are you thinking what I am thinking?”

Colette smiled and answered with enthusiasm, “I sure am. Let’s go eat! I am starving! I haven’t had anything since the plane, and you know how skimpy those meals are.”

While that was not what had been on Eric’s mind, he smiled, as Colette reached across herself to fasten her seat belt, adjusting the strap so it could find its way over her belly, but not squish her breasts. “So, the adventure continues,” he thought to himself.

Eric pulled out of the parking space and they headed to her favorite steak house. He figured maybe it was time for her to rediscover American cuisine. He also toyed for a moment with the idea of picking up some things on our way home. Doesn’t America have the best ice cream? Did he have ice cream in the freezer? Eric took a deep breath and made a mental note that he should take it easy. He figured that might not be the right time for him to display his inner secrets.

It started to drizzle and Eric turned on the windshield wipers. They pulled to a stop where the light had turned red. Eric's Honda SUV had a small quirk that caused a bearly perceivable rocking motion in time with the wipers. Eric glanced over at Collette and noticed that the gentle motion had her wobbling ever so slightly. It was apparent that her body had the consistency of a water balloon and had assumed harmonic motion with the motion of the car. Coupled with the fact that Eric had not seen Collette for three months, let alone been this closer to her, the faint jiggle of her ripe body forced him to make an adjustment in his pants. He tried to be nonchalant, but he thought he noticed a slight smile turn up the corners of Collette's lips.