Chapter 1

Late one morning, on a warm summer Saturday in Las Vegas, Patrick O'Leary was awoken by the ringing of his cell phone...

"Pat-honey! I tried texting you earlier. Are we still on for lunch?"

It was his ex-girlfriend---Patricia---who had just returned from her dream vacation to Ireland, spent with her older sister.

"Sure, yeah", he replied. "I'm sorry, I'm just waking up...was out with the guys last night."

"Okay, hey, no problem!"

Patricia had some nervousness in her voice. She continued...

"My sister is coming, too, okay?"

It wasn't okay, mainly because there was never a time when her sister Susan wasn't off-putting and miserable, but Susan’s presence was an insurance policy for Patrick, because it guaranteed the conversation would focus on their trip, and wouldn't get too personal.

"Yeah, fine", Patrick replied. "Golden Nugget, right?"

"Yup! We'll be there in 45 minutes!"

"Okay! I'll meet you by the pool."

Patrick ended the call, placed the phone back onto his night table, and let out a sigh of frustration.

They separated over a year ago, but never fully parted ways, and days like this weren't easily avoided. They were rare, but still, he couldn't refuse her desire to remain in touch. Of all the women he'd known by his age of 37, Patricia was, by far, the sweetest. An hour at lunch was the least he could do for the many kindnesses she'd shown him during their time together, and deep down, a small part of him wished for those kindnesses to continue.

At times like this, Patrick's mind often drifted to the Looney Tunes shorts he loved as a kid, and imagined a cartoon heart with his name on it, getting mercilessly stomped into the dirt by Daffy Duck. It wasn't because he liked to sleep around, nor was it because Patricia was a bad person. In fact, it was all the opposite. It was because Patrick was a feeder, and so deep into the lifestyle that it literally and figuratively outweighed his dedication to an unwilling partner.

It was a troublesome dichotomy. The 325 lb Patricia was career-driven, innocent, generous, thoughtful, responsible, and gorgeous---which, given Patrick's dating history, seemed to be an impossible combination---but, as the old cliche goes, it was too good to be true. The world of feedism was strange and scary for her, and for Patrick, a denial of his kinks was akin to living a lie.

Once that door to feedism had been opened, there was no closing it. Patrick had admired fat women since he was young, and the websites and social media groups dedicated to feedism were eye-openers for him. His days of dating miserable chunky girls were seemingly over, because once he had access to beautiful women who enjoyed getting fatter, the dam stymieing the flow of this river was destroyed, and Patrick vowed no one would ever rebuild it.

For a gal like Patricia, who kept out of these social circles, he relied on the gentle side of feedism to plump her up. Once she finally gave in, it resulted in adoration greater than anything she'd experienced before. It was both odd and new for her, but it always led to a passionate evening, so she'd entertain his kinks. It resulted in a gain of maybe 20 lbs, and family criticized her while friends reminded her to look at the salads section on the menu at any dinner.

While Patrick freshened up, Daffy Duck reminded him of all of this, literally every step of the way. The Golden Nugget casino was nearly a mile away from his apartment, and he had more than enough time to get there on foot. Thoughts and memories occupied his mind with each step he took, but he'd occasionally get distracted by smiling eyes on Fremont Street.

Patrick was an attractive man, and he knew it. Standing at 5'10", weighing in at 200 lbs of solid muscle, and having a full head of brown hair that was kept from covering his handsome, clean-shaven face, he still had a good chance of finding the kind of relationship he was looking for, and there was no better atmosphere to continue his search than the Las Vegas nightlife, where everyone somehow felt more inclined to mingle.