Chapter 3 - Rounding Out The Day

When Isaac woke up from his nap, the first thing he noticed was the smell of chicken. Then, the relieved pressure inside his stomach—a sweet relief. He put a hand on his belly now and found that it had give again… into a thicker layer of chub, possibly, but it no longer touched a painfully stuffed stomach below.

He raised up the recliner and, with a little extra effort, hoisted himself from the chair. Isaac figured that he could get a little more writing in before Celeste called him to dinner, so he resettled in his desk chair and rolled closer to the computer. A blank word document stared at him from the screen, but fueled on digesting carbs and inspiration he began to write.

As Isaac typed, he realized his arms had to squish slightly into his sides to type. This wasn’t necessarily unusual, but it just felt oddly tight compared to normal. He figured it was the food, but had to force himself not to think about it too hard in order to keep himself focused.

It seemed, for the first time that day, that he was actually making progress! His fingers flew across the keys, switching between plotting notes and narrative writing at interval to keep his mind extra engaged. Isaac had long researched methods of improving writing and finishing manuscripts, and he was determined to make his first foray into authorship the best he possibly could. Besides, even if the book was only for him and Celeste, he would be happy knowing that he wrote his wife the best book possible.

He only stopped when Celeste came back up the stairs. “Hello love,” she trilled. “How’s it going up here? I could hear the keys clicking as I walked up the stairs, so that must’ve a good sign.”

Isaac turned in his chair to face her and gave her a big smile. “Actually, you’re right,” he said with a nod. “It is a good sign—because I DID start writing.”

“Oh, that’s so exciting!” Celeste hopped up and down a little, clasping her hands with delight. “I’m so proud of you, Isaac, you’re taking the first steps of your dream!”

“Well I couldn’t do it without you,” Isaac winked, blowing her a kiss. “That lunch must have finally turned my brain on, because I had some totally crazy dreams and I knew I was ready to start.”

Celeste “caught” the air kiss and pressed it to her heart. “Stop, you’re too sweet,” she giggled. “I’m just so glad to see you happy.” The smile lessened a little as she said, “You were never this bright coming home from TalkFloor each day. I would support you in anything, but I really am glad you decided to step down there.” Celeste suddenly seemed to realize herself and she cleared her throat. “U-um! Anyway.”

Isaac couldn’t help but feel charmed at her sentimentality. Celeste was always his cheerleader, but sometimes he forgot how hard it was on her to be supportive of the grumpy and unfulfilled man he was at TalkFloor.

“I thought you might want to get your shower in now,” Celeste continued, “since dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes or so. I know you always like a hot shower at the end of the day to relax, so why not treat yourself? I bought that soap you like, Peppermint Vanilla Kiss.”

“Hah, you know me better than I know myself,” he laughed. “Sure, I‘ll hop in the shower. What are you cooking?”

She just put a finger to her lips and shook her head. “It’s a surprise.” With that, she took off down the stairs, leaving him alone in the loft again.

Isaac stood up from his desk chair and stretched his arms over his head. He felt his tank top clinging to his stomach as it rose with his breath. Looking down on it, he was surprised to see that the stretch took his belly from fully covered to half sticking out, exposing his warm skin to the air. He tugged to pull it down half-heartedly, but found he really didn’t care—it had just never happen before. Gut-first, he waddled down the stairs and headed for the bathroom.

Celeste briefly caught sight of her bloated hubby as he went by, and couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride and warmth seeing his belly proudly leading his way. He didn’t even have it covered, just letting it hang out and not even worrying. “I love him,” she thought to herself with a smile, before returning to her cooking.

Isaac made it into their aqua-tiled bathroom and grabbed a towel from the rack. He started the shower and began letting it warm up. As it became slowly steamy inside, he stripped off what little clothes he wore that day and dropped them into the hammer. He caught sight of his plump figure in the massive lit mirror and couldn’t help but be taken aback.

He had sauce from lunch all across his face first of all, but he also seemed to have a dribble of sauce that fell between a pair of squishy pecs. In the mirror he could also seen his plumpness better than sitting on the loft recliner, as his stomach seemed to round out from right under his ribs to above his pelvis. Isaac genuinely thought his belly looked like a third-trimester pregnancy tummy, which made his cheeks flush with embarrassment.

Now he turned away from the mirror and stepped into the water. The warm spray felt amazing on his skin, and Isaac relished the feeling of washing away all the sauce and sweat from the day. He took the shampoo and began to lather it into his long black locks, scrubbing his scalp extra well for exfoliation. The soapy rinse water cascaded down his back and over his shoulders, streaming across his stomach. The feeling tickled slightly over his warm, swelled gut.

Hair washed, he took the Peppermint Vanilla Kiss (courtesy of Celeste) and began to lather it on his arms, chest and belly. Isaac felt a tingle of heat down his back and across his skin as he lovingly lathered his fat body, and enjoyed the supple softness of his skin under his fingers. It was as if he felt more full and round with soap and water to enhance the existing softness.

Isaac cupped his arms under his stomach and gave it an experimental heft. There was definitely ample flesh for him to lift, and it spilled slightly over his arms underneath. The thoughts that entered his mind were… aroused?

He shook his head and immediately let go of his belly, feeling it bounce and jiggle as he dropped it. Isaac quickly finished cleaning himself and rinsing off, then turned off the shower and stepped out. He went to wrap himself in his towel, but found it didn’t quite meet in the back and a bit of his butt was sticking out behind him. Oh well.

When he made it to the bedroom, he tossed aside the towel and grabbed a pair of stretchy pajamas. He figured Celeste wouldn’t mind, considering they had both basically been in pajamas and loungewear all day. Then he toweled off his hair as best as he could, hoping not to have it drip all over his shoulders and soak the nice clean pajamas during dinner. All clean and dressed, he made his way back to their kitchen for the THIRD delicious, home-cooked meal.

By the time he made it to the kitchen he found Celeste serving two plates of food. “Hi honey, take a seat,” she said. “I hope you’re ready for deliciousness!”

“Like there wasn’t any today already,” he chucked weakly.

Celeste set a huge plate of deep brown chicken, veggie fried rice, and crispy spring rolls in front of him. He gulped—that serving was gigantic, but it looked fantastic.

“Korean barbecue chicken with root vegetable fried rice,” she said proudly. “The spring rolls ARE from a box, but I’m just getting started! Maybe next time I’ll make them from scratch.”

Isaac forked a bite of chicken and put it in his mouth. Savory, a touch of sweet, and more melt-in-your-mouth tender than he had ever tasted.

“The secret is a marinade,” Celeste said, noting the expression on Isaac’s face. “I’ve had that baby in sauce since breakfast. All that moisture and a little tenderizing, and voila!”

“It… is… awesome,” Isaac said, truly at a loss for words. He took a big bite of the fried rice, and the salty umami washed over his palate. But being root vegetables, Isaac tasted carrot, beetroot, and radishes, which added an earthy sweetness to the oily favorite. And the spring rolls from a box were already a guilty pleasure of his, just adding to the absolute indulgence this meal was for his tastebuds.

As he had twice today, he began to dig in like a man starved. The juicy chicken was just perfect with the rice and rolls, and it felt like he simply inhaled the plate. At some point Celeste set a large mug of tea within his reach, which was the perfect palate refresher to make each bite taste freshly delicious again.

He made an effort to eat cleanly this time, and found that every spare drop of sauce and food made it to his mouth without exception. He loved Celeste and wanted her to see that he could still be civilized at least!

The plate in front of him was suddenly empty, his fork clattering against nothing. Isaac looked up at Celeste, who had been watching him eat as she slowly ate her own meal. In fact, she wasn’t quite halfway done.

“Want seconds?” she asked with a smile. “There is plenty more where that came from.”

Despite himself, Isaac nodded with a hungry smile. Celeste swept up his plate and filled it with more—maybe even more than his second portion had been. His mouth watered.

“Eat up, beautiful,” she said as she placed it down. “And don’t forget to leave room for dessert.”

Oh god, dessert. He only heard this as he began to dig in, and was suddenly aware of the fullness that settled into his belly again. Isaac could feel the tension when he leaned down to his plate and compressed his belly between lap and chest, and the subtle inching of his shirt and waistband away from each other with every bite.

With his mouth full, he asked, “Whaff’s deserff?”

Her eyes lit up. She crossed to the fridge and pulled out what had to be a 10” cake, a dark cookie crust with a thick layer of chocolate on top and adorned with plump red raspberries. “Cheesecake,” she sing-songed. “Double chocolate raspberry, your favorite.”

“That IS going in my belly,” Isaac thought. “I don’t care. I have to eat it.” But as he thought these things, the vague question of WHY rose to the surface. Instead of thinking too hard, he chose to ignore it.

He patted his full stomach, a hefty and deep noise. “Goodness babe,” he said, staring at the cake. “I don’t know if I have room for that.”

“Oh come on,” she said. “Please? I made it just for you.”

Isaac said, “Let’s see how I feel when I finish my plate.”

The second plate went slower this time, perhaps because he was aware that he was now growing full but still contemplating the cheesecake. Should he really push it? Celeste really wanted him to try it, after all, and one little piece of cake couldn’t hurt too much… Right?

And at the end of his second plate, Isaac’s belly was now just big enough to have pushed apart his shirt and waistband to expose a sliver of thick pudge. They weren’t yet tight, but he thought that was only a matter of time. Isaac pushed his dinner plate away and smiled at Celeste.

“Thanks so much for the good meal, baby,” he said. “I would love at least a little slice of the cheesecake, I mean I have to taste it at its freshest right?”

Celeste looked as happy as a kid on Christmas. Not skipping a beat, she grabbed a new fork and plate, then grabbed a cake server to cut into the confection. However, this was not “a little slice” type of cut, this was an “I love cheesecake” type of slice. It must have been a quarter of the entire thing!

Isaac stared at it for a long moment, admiring the artistry of the raspberry gems and the drizzled chocolate sauce. He picked up his fork slowly, dug into a bite, and put it in his mouth. He knew it would be amazing, but THIE amazing? It was like the richest chocolate, fluffiest cheesecake, and ripest berries all in one. As much as Isaac had HOPED to savor it, he just wanted more and more of these in redid Lee flavors in his mouth. Sure, the cake sat pretty heavy in his gut, making him feel notably fuller with every bite, but Celeste would be able to see that he loved it.

So when his fork finally hit the plate again, Isaac just leaned back with a groan. He really looked, and FELT, like he was easy seven or eight months pregnant. The gap between his garments had widened, now a thick and pinch-worthy stretch of gut. He put both hands on the side of his belly and clutched it.

“Oh my god Celeste,” he moaned. “That was amazing but I am… so, so full now. I feel like a big Thanksgiving turkey.”

Celeste came around the counter and kissed Isaac. “You’re my little butterball turkey,” she giggled. “I love that you’re really enjoying my cooking.” She put her hand on the exposed underside of his belly and began to gently rub it. “You look so good right now, Isaac,” she purred in his ear. “Wanna take things back to bed and… see what happens?”

Isaac felt the heat rise in his loins at her sultry words. He nodded to her, and moved to stand from the chair—but found he was pinned on his first heft. Celeste simply offered him a hand, and he pulled himself up with her support. When standing, Isaac unconsciously arched his back to support the weight. He looked simply massive with his hand propped in the small of his back, other hand absently rubbing the side of his gut.

Celeste jogged back to their bedroom and got the bed made up, her hair tied back, and a little perfume on by the time Isaac had waddled back to their bedroom. He flopped heavily onto the bed, tight belly jiggling. She crawled up on the bed next to him and slowly began kissing his neck.

Isaac shivered. Oh, they would be having a GOOD night.