chapter 5

Over the next several weeks, May would come to find much support from Cedric. Her relationship with Donte also flourished. They grew closer as they baked and hatched new recipes together.

One day after work, Donte pulled May aside into his office and closed the door.

“May, I wanted to talk to you about your performance. You’ve been doing very well here; so well, in fact, that I have an offer for you.” Donte handed her a flyer and sat back in his chair. “You don’t have to give me an answer now, but please consider it. You’d be perfect for it.”

May took the flyer and scanned the first line.

“Plus-size modeling...?” May thought out loud, blushing immediately. “You think I’m... pretty enough to be a model?!” She looked farther down the flyer. “All you can eat during photo shoots... frequent, members-only VIP events... sizable bonuses for said events... Donte...!” May felt incredibly touched that he would think of her for something like this.

“You’re a very attractive woman, May. I’ve noticed you’ve put on some weight since you started this job and it truly, truly suits you. Anyone would be lucky to have you.” He smiled brightly at her, leaving her feeling encouraged and confident.

“Thank you so much! Um, I’d like to take this opportunity, for sure! How do I...?” May gripped the flyer tightly as if it would fly away.

“I can contact the organizer right away and send you the details via email. I must warn you though, some of the events can be a little out there. I hope that’s okay.”

May felt encouraged by Donte. “I can handle it!” She asserted cheerfully.

“One last thing. If you take this job, you likely won’t be able to keep up your position here. Is that okay?”

May felt a bit jarred- she hadn’t considered this possibility; however obvious it was. She looked down at the table between them.

“If it were me, I’d take this offer. You won’t get a chance like this again, May. This bakery isn’t going anywhere; we’ll be here if you need us again.” Donte smiled encouragingly at her.

“I’ll do it!” May declared.

--

May rode the light rail to her new workplace a week later. She arrived dressed in her most comfortable yet fashionable clothes. It was a smaller, sort of nondescript building near the edge of town. The signage above the automatic front doors read “Callista Photography”. She headed inside and was met immediately by the company assistant, Margo, who she’d spoken on the phone to earlier that week.

“You must be May! Oh, you’re gorgeous! Please, come in. I’ll show you to your dressing room.” She said quickly and ushered May along. Margo was herself quite overweight, and walked fast for her size, her wide hips swaying from side to side. May came to understand after walking through the first part of the building that many of the people here were either overweight or very, very obese. She felt relieved to not be the biggest girl in the room, but also excited to be around other fat girls like her.

They came to a small section of the building with 4 dressing rooms, but only two of them had a large, star-shaped placard and a name on it. Margo opened the door to May’s room and pushed her inside. She motioned for her to have a seat on the comfortable, wide couch inside while he sat on the other side of it.

“It’s so nice to finally settle down and talk to you. Have you ever done this type of modeling before?” She asked. Her tone was friendly and upbeat.

“No, I haven’t. I have no idea what is going to happen, if I’m totally honest!” May admitted nervously.

“Don’t worry! This job is easy peasy! All you have to do is take the pose the photographer asks of you and be still for a few seconds. It goes by so fast, you won’t even realize it’s over! Then you get to eat tons of snacks and talk to the other girls! You’ll love it! They always have a great spread here.” Margo’s explanation encouraged May. “Makeup and costume will be here soon, so just hang out for a little bit. Don’t worry, May. You’ll do great!” She chirped just before running out the door.

~

Made up like she’s never been made up before, May walked into the photo room to be with the other model. May was dressed in a very flattering pink and white two-piece swimsuit. The swimsuit exposed quite a bit of her very chubby belly and emphasized her large chest and bottom. The other model she had been paired with was simply enormous- a true landscape of a woman with rolls and folds galore, and low-hanging belly that jiggled and swayed as she walked. May learned that her name was Sam.

The photographer took several warmup pictures of May alone before May realized this was not just a plus-size model shoot, but a fetish shoot. She was asked to be photographed around food, eating food, touching her flab, and wearing other revealing outfits which emphasized her biggest assets and belly.

May did not feel unwell or upset upon this realization; she felt sexy, and it allowed her to let loose. She began to smile and have fun during her solo shoot and the photographer loved her playful energy. Later on during the shoot, she was asked to pose with Sam in various positions.

The photographer’s deep voice called from behind the camera. “Can I get some pictures of you both on the couch, please? Sam, will you lean against the arm rest, and can someone bring May those specialty cupcakes?” The photographer motioned for everyone to get into position. “May, can you grab Sam’s belly hang and hold on to it while feeding her a cupcake? Try to have fun with it, be natural!”

May blushed as an assistant handed her a large, vanilla cupcake with strawberry swirled frosting. Wearing lingerie which pinched her body in all the right places, she crept up on all fours to Sam and sat timidly in front of her, offering the cupcake in her left hand and reaching over to grab Sam’s hanging gut.

“May, can you get closer?” The photographer asked. May gulped as she made direct eye contact with Sam, who gave her a chuckle. “It’s okay, sweetie, I know this is your first time. I do really want that cupcake, so please feed it to me!” Sam opened her mouth in preparation to take a bite of the cupcake. May inched closer and closer as the photographer patiently waited for the perfect shot. Finally, May pressed herself up against Sam’s flabby body. In that moment, she felt so small compared to Sam’s monstrously obese form. She was the biggest person May had ever seen, but being pressed up against her felt so right.

“So soft...” May whispered as she held the cupcake to Sam’s mouth and grabbed an overflowing handful of belly fat. Her face continued to flush for the rest of the shoot, but the photographer was quite pleased with her performance.

He approached her immediately after the shoot as May and Sam were still sitting on the couch. May was shocked as he approached her, having not realized how big of a man he was from behind the camera.

“Hello May, I haven’t introduced myself officially yet. I’m Dov, the photographer here at Callista Photography. How did you find your first shoot?”

May paused, feeling a bit intimidated at the large, rather bear-like man towering above her. He seemed to sense her trepidation and crouched down to be at her level.

“Sorry about that. I don’t always remember how big I am!” He apologized sincerely, rubbing the back of his neck.

May let out a nervous laugh before clearing her throat and answering. “Um, it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. I’ve never modeled before, so I didn’t know what to expect.”

“You’re a natural, May! I was really impressed. Not to mention, your form is quite pleasing, aesthetically speaking. It’ll be interesting to photograph you as you get used to the job. I hope to see you blossom here.”

May’s eyes widened at the compliment and she tried not to make eye contact. “Th-Thank you!”

Dov chuckled. “Help yourself to some snacks, if you’d like. We’re all done for the day, but I’d like to take you and Sam out to dinner tonight to celebrate your first day of working together. Are you free?”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure-”

Suddenly May felt a chubby hand on her shoulder. “No pressure at all, honey, but it’d be nice to get to know you outside of work. It’ll make for better chemistry at events if we get practice in now!”

May turned to see Sam’s large figure still sitting beside her, an encouraging expression on her face.

“Okay!” May felt her mouth smile on its own as the three of them worked out the details of when and where. May had never met so many friendly people, and her confidence was beginning to grow.

~