Chapter 2 - Sushi and Beers

It wasn’t long before Makoto returned with their drinks. He had learned to carry three pints in one hand while carrying what was probably one of their appetizers in another. “Leah, what I said before…” he stumbled for words, “What I meant was… I mean, I would really like it if we could catch up sometime” he said sheepishly, his cheeks turning a bright red for the second time. The question took Leah by surprise. She hadn’t talked to Makoto in years, let alone see him. He was a stranger! He could have been anyone! He could have been… Leah’s mind trailed off as she caught his honey coloured eyes starring into her soul. He could have been many things. But he certainly couldn’t have been more attractive. Holy fuck was he hot.

“I’d love to!” said Leah, the words escaping her mouth before she could do anything about it. A wide smile began to grow on Makoto’s face. “That-that’s awesome!” He said, eagerness building in his voice. “Let me give you my number” “That would be great!”

Leah took her phone out and added Makoto as a contact. “I’ll text ya!” She said, while lifting up the beer glass to her mouth. “Cheers!”

Once the Japanese server was no longer within ear-shot, Kita spoke up. “Damn Leah! Look at you go! Spends 5 minutes with a hot server and you’ve already got a date planned.” Leah blushed at the comment. “I mean, I have technically known him for years” “Please. You may have known him for years but you haven’t seen him in years. Would have been different if you were hanging out with him every other day.” Kita did have a point… so Leah just shrugged in surrender. “Fine, fine. You win. I lose. Why don’t we just enjoy our appetizers now, huh? They’re gonna get cold on us”.

Leah was just about to eat when Kita raised her glass. “To Leah and her hot date”. “To Leah and her new date!” followed Kylie. Leah just giggled and raised her glass. “You guys are ridiculous” said Leah. “That’s part of the fun” replied Kita, “Better to be completely ridiculous than completely boring!” “No denying that. Cheers girls!” “Cheers!”

After a couple drinks, some laughs, and a hearty meal, the girls paid their bills and stumbled their way out of the bar. They weren’t drunk by any means, but they all were a little tipsy. That said, it was a good thing no one drove to the bar. Driving home in their state probably wouldn’t have been the wisest decision. Instead, they all went their separate ways; Kita taking the bus, and Kylie calling a cab. Leah, on the other hand, did neither. She decided that she would walk home in an effort to burn off some of the calories she just consumed.

On her way home, Leah stopped by a grocery store close to her house. Her grocery run started with a small list of items that she knew she needed.

Cleaning supplies
Spaghetti
Eggs
Ground beef

But as she strolled through the store, her shopping cart was getting fuller and fuller with unplanned goodies.

Chocolate
Ice cream
Pizza pockets
Pop tarts
Nutella

These were items that she almost never bought. Had she been sober, she wouldn’t have even thought about buying them. But the beer had clouded her judgement causing her cart of goodies to continued to grow.

Chips
Coke
Candy
Donuts
C innamon buns
Cookies

It wasn’t until she reached the cash register that she realized she might have over done it. But it was too late to turn back now. Her groceries were already on the conveyor belt. And she wasn’t one to ask the cashier to put them aside because she “changed her mind”. Cashiers didn’t get paid enough to care. So, the only option was for her to buy them. She’d just have to pace herself. Maybe give a few to the neighbours.

As the cashier began putting her groceries in a bag, Leah’s mouth began to water. “Maybe I’ll just have one cinnamon bun when I get home” she thought to herself. “Just one. One won’t hurt. I can have one, can’t I?”

“Just one more. One” she thought as she put the fourth cinnamon bun into her mouth. She had been telling herself “one more” since the first bun. She didn’t know who she was trying to fool. It would hardly be surprising if she managed to finish the whole box that night. Usually she was pretty good with snacking but tonight was different. Tonight, Leah was happy. She was tipsy. And most importantly, she was hungry. Hungry for more than a lame ass meal. A soup and salad wouldn’t do it tonight. Cinnamon buns? Hmm. That was a different story.

Leah quickly found herself tearing through her fifth bun. By the fates she needed to get this under control. This morning she was complaining about wanting to diet. Now she was eating her fifth cinnamon bun? Ughh. Leah grabbed another cinnamon bun to help her deal with her frustrations. It may not have helped her lose weight, but it helped her calm down. As she finished her 6th and final cinnamon bun, Leah grabbed the empty cinnabox and threw it out. She wasn’t proud of the fact that she had just finished a full box of cinnamon buns. But her diet didn’t need to start today. Not really. She could start it tomorrow. Regardless, today was almost over and she would be needing to start dinner soon anyway. Yes. Tomorrow, Leah’s diet would start. Tomorrow was a new day. Tomorrow brought promise and joy. Tomorrow brought donuts and chocolate, and -
“Fuck!” she cried as her mind wandered back into forbidden territory, “Can’t I just go a day without eating sweets? Just one damn day!?” If it wasn’t for her blasted grandpa and his sweet tooth. If it wasn’t for her coping method of eating food when she was down. If it wasn’t for her complete and utter lack of self control.

“Diets suck” she thought as she turned on her kitchen stove. “Diets really really suck”

----------------------
A week had past and Leah had started talking casually to Makoto. Or… romantically talking to Makoto. Titles never seemed that important to Leah. Casually or romantically, it didn’t matter to Leah. When it came down to it, talking was talking. Unless sex was involve. That was a different story.

While talking, Makoto had invited her on a date multiple times. And eventually, they managed to arrange a date. Today was that day. It would be a casual date. Or a romantic one. Hardly mattered. A date was a date no matter how you looked at it.

She would meet him at a bar called the Phantom. It was a good bar with cheap beer. Wasn’t too noisy. Had a good atmosphere to it. A good choice for a first date, Leah reckoned.

One thing that bothered Leah about this whole fiasco was what to wear. It had been so long since she’d been on a date. She hardly remembered what it felt like to be on one. Not only that but she hadn’t dressed up in a long time. Sure, there was the odd occasion she would dress in business casual attire for work. But a date was a whole different thing. What to wear?

Leah pulled out a few pairs of jeans that she thought were cute. She decided to go with a high waisted one that had a few rips on it. Great. Easy enough. Now for a shirt. It was hot out which meant she should go for a short sleeve shirt. Maybe a crop top? Leah pulled out a few tops from her dresser. There was a white Levi’s shirt that stood out to her. Perfect.

Leah grabbed the jeans and slid them up past her ankles. They were tight jeans. Designed that way. Although they did feel… tighter than usual. Leah battled to pull them past her thighs. Every inch was a celebrated victory. It took a solid 5 minutes to finally pull them past her thighs, over her ass, and bring them up around her waist. Buttoning them wasn’t as hard but it still wasn’t a walk in the park. Leah sucked in as she yanked the fabrics of her jeans together. And with a big heave, Leah managed to button up her pants. She exhaled and her soft, doughy tummy jettisoned out, clinging to her pants like a child might cling onto its mother.

“Good. The hard part’s done” huffed Leah, out of breath from the sheer task of putting on some pants, “Now the crop top”. Leah picked up the crop top and slide it down, over her head. She pulled it down and the shirt ended just past her tits. “Good enough”.

Leah checked the time. It was still early. Still another hour to kill before she had to leave. “Lots of time to relax” she thought, “I guess I could throw on a show and-“ *Grrr*. Her belly growled, causing her to lose her train of thought. “And eat a pop tart or two” she continued.

Leah grabbed her half eaten box of pop tarts, and opened the first package. She turned on the TV and sat down which caused her belly to form a small roll over the helm of the jeans. Leah however, was preoccupied with other things. Her mind began to wander. She became lost in her show and her pop tart.

It wasn’t until the box was completely empty that Leah seemed to regain consciousness. Somehow, she had managed to eat the rest of the pop tarts. Without fully realizing what had just happened, Leah picked up the box to further examine it. It was indeed empty. “When did I…” her mind trailed off again. “Shit!” Leah grabbed her phone to check the time. But instead she was welcomed only by a text.

“I’m here” *Sent 6minutes ago*

Had she really spent the better part of an hour eating pop tarts and watching TV? Leah looked down to see her stomach outstretched and bloated. “Shit!” she repeated, louder this time. She quickly grabbed her phone and sent Makoto a text.

“Sorry! I’m running a little late. There in 10mins!”

The blonde girl grabbed her beige heels with haste then ran out the door.