Chapter 2 - meet ericka

After a tour of the site, Jared unpacked a bit then headed to the food hall. He hadn't eaten yet, so he couldn't wait to see what the food options were. Jared loved food, but he was always sensible about how much he ate. So when he saw the sprawling buffet in front of him, he strategized what looked good and how much he could eat within his daily limit. He got a modest plate of a variety of foods, then sat down to eat.

The food hall was pretty packed with people. Jared found the last empty table. When he was a few bites in, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, is that empty seat across from you taken?"

Jared was caught off guard. The voice was female, with an American accent. He turned to look at her. She stood smiling with a little salad plate and a hydroflask of water. She was average height, with soft brown hair, and the cutest little belly. She definitely wasn't fat, in fact she was hardly even overweight, but she carried most of her heft in her belly area. Jared couldn't take his eyes off of it for a moment. But he quickly came to and smiled. "It's all yours!"

"Thanks!" she said. "By the way, I'm Ericka. Today's my first day. I just came over from the US, so I'm sorry if I'm a tiny bit jet lagged. Have you been working here for long?"

"No, today is my first day too!" Jared smiled. They both ate their meal and chatted about their excitement for their new jobs. Jared finished his plate pretty quickly, and noticed that Ericka had barely touched her salad. "Not too hungry today?"

Embarrassed, Ericka admitted she was trying to cut back a bit. She said she used to model then kinda gained the freshman 15 in college, so she wanted to use this as an opportunity to get her old body back. She was excited about the gym, the volleyball courts, and all the healthy food options.

For some reason, Jared felt a bit sad when she talked about this. He thought her extra pudge was adorable, but he totally understood her dilemma. When they finished, they both got up and headed back.

While walking back to his room, Jared couldn't stop thinking about Ericka. Her body was just so... wow. How could he even describe it? It was like all of the embarrassing features a girl could have were slapped onto a tiny frame, but she almost wore them well? He was confused why he liked it so much. He could just imagine how her belly must feel - round, wobbly, yet firm and squishy. It didn't follow any rule of physics, or any societal beauty standard. It was its own thing, and he was entranced.