chapter 1

He sat back down on the couch, plate in his hand.

‘Don’t you get bored of sit ups?’ he asked, as her head bobbed back up from the floor.

‘Well,’ she replied, as her head disappeared back down again before reappearing. ‘When you’ve abs like mine, you’ve gotta keep ‘em worked.’ She reached over to the coffee table and placed another cookie on his plate.

‘Same here,’ he remarked, picking up the cookie with a wicked grin on his lips and popping it in his mouth.

‘Don’t you think that’s a bit much?’ she asked, as she glanced at his plate. ‘You know that cake’s meant to serve six, right?’

‘I have six abs.’ He peeled up his shirt and showed off his newly fattened belly. ‘And to keep them all covered, it only serves one of me.’

‘C’mon babe.’ She flipped herself over onto all fours and began some leg raises. ‘Whilst I approve of your methods, you can always pig out in other ways. I mean, this is just obscene.’ She winked at him as she placed another cookie on his plate and he dutifully popped it in his mouth as if on cue.

‘You’re right.’ He stifled a belch as he chewed his cookie. ‘My diet has been getting a little rich of late. I’ll have to have words with my personal chef.’

‘Well she’ll have you at “four-oh-oh” before you know the way you’re eating!’ she said, with a sly grin, as she crept over to kiss at his knee. ‘Especially if you keep this kinda pigging up.’ She looked up at him.

‘Got any cream to go with this?’ he asked, raising his half empty plate and displaying the remains of his cake, which was a thick, gooey mix of chocolate and fudge.

‘Sure.’ She smiled sweetly at him and got up to her feet. ‘I guess it was time you asked.’

And within a few minutes she was back by the couch, tray in her hand. On it was a carton of heavy cream for him and a protein shake for her, as well as a generous slice of her freshly baked blueberry pie.

‘Here,’ she said, grabbing the spoon from his hand and sliding the thick wedge of blueberry pie onto his emptying plate. ‘If you’re really in the mood for pigging, then you’re gonna have to try this.’ She patted his belly. ‘It’ll do some wonders for your waist.’

He licked his lips as he glanced at the pie. He always had a weakness for them, or so she had learnt. But before he tried it, he opened the heavy cream and took a swig, before lathering the rest greedily over his cake.

‘Go on,’ she gestured, expectantly, motioning to the pie with her eyes. ‘I dare you to give it a try, although judging by your size, I’m not sure one slice will be quite enough.’

He sniffed at the pie tentatively.

‘Don’t worry,’ she continued. ‘It’s an all butter base, what’s not to like?’

‘Will it really harm my figure?’ he asked, looking knowingly at her.

‘I expect so.’ She puffed out her cheeks. ‘Not that have much of one these days, unless we’re talking on a spherical scale.’ She then dropped to the floor and entered a plank position and held it in tight.

‘Didn’t you bake brownies this afternoon too?’ he asked, looking across at her, now somewhat confused.

‘Eyes are as big as your stomach it seems,’ she replied, with a grin. ‘I promise you can have a few of those later,’ she added, as she switched over into a side plank to face him. ‘But only if you can finish your pie first. C’mon, quit stalling on me. I want your verdict, especially as it looks like you've eaten a few before.'

He kicked off his shoes and put his feet up on the coffee table. Watching her work out like this every night was hard work.

‘That sounds like a challenge to me,’ he observed, as he sank his spoon into the pie and prepared himself for a bite.

'Hey.’ He grinned at her as he chewed. ‘This is actually rather good!’

‘Well don’t act so surprised!’ She rolled her eyes at him before returning to her back to try some sit ups again.

‘Extra butter in the filling?’ he asked, as her head bobbed back up from the floor.

‘Cream,’ she corrected him. ‘Although butter’s a good guess.’

‘Extra sugar too?’

‘Of course! Lots!’ she said, with a sly grin. ‘Not like you need it of course.’ Her head bobbed back down again.

After another few spoonfuls he sighed contentedly and let out an almighty belch, which caught them both by surprise.

‘Excuse me.’ He giggled and patted his gut. ‘Must be a little rich.’

‘Or perhaps you just overate?’ She proffered, with a smile so sweet it could out sweeten the pie.

‘Did you simmer the blueberries in wine?’ He asked, as he swatted her hand away from his belly as she crept across the floor to try and give it a quick pat.

‘Good guess,’ she said. ‘You’re certainly getting good at this game.’

‘But you’re not quite right.’ She winked at him. ‘Perhaps next time.’

‘I guess practice makes perfect.’ He grinned back at her and raised his almost empty plate. He then loosened out what was left of the cords on his sweatpants.

‘Another slice?’ she offered, encouragingly. ‘I can bring some brownies with me too, but you’ll have to promise to do some sit ups to earn those.’

‘Deal!’ He exclaimed, not thinking clearly. ‘I’ve been looking forward to those brownies all night.’

‘You’re making short work of that cake and pie too,’ she giggled, as she got up and shuttled back to the kitchen again. ‘You’re getting very hungry these days, I’m actually struggling to keep up!’

And soon enough she reappeared from the kitchen, she slid over another generous portion of blueberry pie onto his now empty plate. And in her other hand was a plateful stacked full of brownies, which she sat down on the coffee table before him.

‘Now finish your pie,’ she said, before picking up a brownie and taking a bite. ‘And we’ll see how many sit ups you can do for these, and I reckon you can probably have a brownie reward for each one.’ She took another bite of the brownie and grinned at him. 'They’re certainly worth the calories, that’s for sure.’

‘Okay,’ he muttered, already preoccupied by his second slice of pie, and not really thinking about what he was agreeing to.