chapter 1

‘Babe,’ she said, putting down the remote beside her. ‘You know how I’ve been such a good girl this year?’

He placed his book on his belly. The fact he could do that now was proof she hadn’t.

‘Well behaved,’ he said, removing his glasses. ‘But I wouldn’t say good.’

‘Well behaved then,’ she said, with a wry smile, as she placed a hand on his gut.

‘And?’ he asked.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ she continued, patting his belly. ‘About my Christmas present.’

‘Go on,’ he said.

‘Well,’ she replied, 'The perfect present for me,’ she placed a hand either side of his belly, ‘would be to see this blow up another thirty pounds come Spring.’

He took in a sharp intake of breath as she smiled at him.

‘Jeez, thirty pounds huh? … You must have been an awfully good girl to deserve all that!’

‘Oh but I have!’ she exclaimed, crossing her middle and index fingers on both hands. ‘Too good in fact.’

‘Ha!’ he said, lifting his shirt. ‘I don’t doubt it, judging by the size of this gut.’

She clapped her hands excitedly. ‘This is gonna be so much fun!’

‘Woah, woah, woah! Hold your horses now,’ he said. ‘I didn’t say I’d do it!’

‘But I’ve been so good!’ she said, smiling back innocently at him.

He looked at her with suspicion. ‘Is there anything else you want‘?’

She kissed him on the cheek. ‘No, that’s it. Promise!’

‘Thirty,’ she patted his belly in between her words.

‘More.’

‘Pounds.’

‘To get you nice and fat.’

‘Hey!’ he swatted her hand away. ‘Who you calling fat?’

She giggled. ‘You,’ she said, prodding her index finger as deep as she could into his gut.

He looked down, shocked by how deep her finger was sucked in by his flesh.

‘Well, you may have a point,’ he said, clearing his throat. ‘I’ll give you that.’

‘Thirty huh?’ he squeezed her hand, before replacing his glasses on his nose and rejoining his book.

‘Yes, thirty’ she replied.

He smiled contentedly to himself.

‘I’ll think about it,’ he said.

He was such a tease. She could tell from his smile that he was picturing it, how it might feel. Besides, he knew better than to ignore her when she had an idea in her head. She was the dog with the proverbial bone by that point, although he was never quite sure if he was the tail or the dog in this relationship. And she liked to keep it like that.

After a few minutes of silence, he turned to look at her.

‘It’s funny,’ he said, putting down his book a second time.‘You only asked for twenty last year.’

She kissed him on the cheek and smiled at him. ‘Inflation babe.’

‘Inflation.’ She shrugged her shoulders jokingly, ‘What is a girl to do?’

‘Ha!’ he rolled his eyes at her.

‘Even so, that’s quite a rate!.’

‘Well,’ she said, squeezing his belly, ‘as you know. I’m a girl of expensive tastes.’

‘That much I don’t doubt,’ he replied, with a smile.

But he barely knew the half of it of course. He’d be carrying thirty more pounds after Spring by the time next year was out. She would make sure of that.

He began reading again.

‘As I said, I’ll think about it.’

Undeterred, she picked up the bowl of Christmas candies she kept by the couch and hovered them temptingly beneath his nose. The house had been full of them since September. She smiled surreptitiously as the tempting treats caught his eye.

‘Thirty?’ he asked, as he took a candy from the bowl and popped it into his mouth.

‘Thirty,’ she clarified, nodding again.

He picked another candy; then another.

He put his book down again and looked at her with a mischievous grin.

‘I’ll say one thing for sure.’

He pointed towards the gifts beneath the tree.

She clapped her hands excitedly.

‘What’s that?’ she asked.

‘I sure as hell hope you didn’t buy me pants this year.’

She laughed and then winked at him.

‘Don’t you know my pants always come with room to grow?’ she asked.

‘Although these old things are getting rather tight.’

She slipped her fingers beneath his belly and between his belly and waistband.

He licked his lips. ‘Well in that case, you’d better pass me that bowl. So I can grow into next year’s pair, don't you think?’

She obliged, handing him the bowl, and smiling at him playfully. Leaning into his ear, she whispered, ‘Here, do your worst.’

‘I can’t wait to see what the New Year brings.’

She patted his belly then undid the button on his pants before she clambered onto his lap - or what was left of it.

‘Stop it now babe,’ he said. ‘You’re turning me on.’

She raised her arms and pulled off her top, before tickling his chin with her index finger.

‘I think you’re hungrier when you’re horny,’ she said, winking at him.

‘And judging by the size of this gut,’ she said, as she kissed him on the lips, ‘you must be horny a lot!’

'Hey!' His cheeks blushed.

She leant in for a second, longer lingering kiss - the type that would make any boy drool.

‘Plenty more where that came from if you finish that bowl,' she said.

But like always, this boy had no self control. He placed the bowl to one side and lifted her up and threw her back down playfully onto the couch.

‘You can feed me them later,’ he said. ‘But right now I have more pressing things on my mind.’

‘And what’s that?’ she asked, with a devilish smile, as she looked up at him.

‘You,’ he said, placing his lips by her ear as his belly prised her legs apart.

‘Because that’s all I want for Christmas.’

‘Is you.’

She looked up and smiled.

‘Well, come get it big boy,’ she said, patting his belly. ‘At least while you still can.’

He leant in an nibbled on her ear lobe. ‘Tease,’ he whispered, as he traced sweet kisses along her neck.

‘Let’s make it forty instead,’ he whispered, ‘You little tease.’

‘Think you could handle all that?’

Her body squirmed with delight beneath him.

‘I think your gift’s ready babe,’ she panted in his ear, and grabbed at his behind.

‘Come get it while it’s hot.’

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