Chapter 4: Wonders Never Cease

Beams of light poked through Johnny's eyelids. He reached up to rub them, adjusting his body to sit up and stretch out. Their hospital stay had been a nice change of pace, but he and Amber were starting to get homesick. The pair's recovery had been going swimmingly, so much so that they were going to be headed home this afternoon, in the new car provided by those strange men from a week ago.

On the matter of those strange men, Johnny hadn't heard from those men at all, sans the arrival of their new car, a current year version of their old totaled car that was by all accounts fresh off the assembly line. There was no note, no trace of the men who had offered to buy said car, but Johnny and Amber had both checked and didn't see any outstanding charges to their names. This, and the fact Johnny hadn't heard from the mysterious voice since the men had been there seemed to indicate that he had been reacting adversely to an odd situation.

As the morning went on, the two lovebirds met up and were given a rundown by a nurse on what to look out for as they headed home. Any possible health concerns, warnings about delayed responses to the trauma they suffered, it was all in one ear and out the other for these two. They were simply excited to get home, Johnny so he could get back to working and truly supporting himself and Amber, and Amber so she could start finding new ways to appreciate life.

Stepping outside for the first time in almost a month, the two stopped to take in the fresh air. Johnny reached over to grab Amber's hand, and while the two had spent plenty of time together in the hospital, feeling her hand in the warmth of the sun for the first time in forever was indescribably satisfying for him. Feeling her squeeze back, he smiled and started towards their new car, and new lease on life at home.

Driving back, Johnny and Amber began to talk more about their plans, both for themselves and each other. Johnny talked about work, and trying to be more responsible in general to ensure the two would be able to truly have a future together. Amber discussed how her realization in the hospital, that until that night she had never really let loose before and enjoyed herself. She was living for others, her family, or friends, or bosses. Her near death experience had "enlightened" her, in her own words.

Her first request for her new lifestyle was to get some fast food. Johnny couldn't help but chuckle at her seemingly benign ask, teasing that next she'd try putting milk in before cereal. Amber gave a sarcastic laugh, telling Johnny that these things required build up, and he would start to see more drastic changes soon.

Amber had been complaining about the hospital's food the entire time they were there. Johnny didn't mind it as much, but he did sympathize with her in that it was much blander than they were used to both at home and when they went on dates. When he pulled off the exit towards her favorite burger place, he pulled into the drive through expecting her to request her traditional order of a single burger, fries, and a soda.

Instead, Amber's order far exceeded anything he had ever seen anyone order. 3 triple burgers, 3 large fries, and a "bottomless" soda, a giant 128 ounce drink that was so cartoonishly large the company primarily used it for gag gifts. Johnny turned with a surprised look on his face to his smug girlfriend, who simply replied that he hadn't seen anything yet.

Opting not to eat in the car, Amber began really playing up to Johnny how she was going to eat every bit of food she had ordered. Johnny poked back, saying that he looked forward to her finishing off her leftovers in a week from now. She flicked his ear and the two laughed at each other, enjoying the smell of the food and the anticipation of arriving home together.

When they pulled into their apartment, Amber gathered up all the food in her lap and asked Johnny to help her carry it in. Johnny offered a hand, but she asked him to come over to her door for help. When he did so, she gave him big puppy doll eyes and asked him to carry her inside. Johnny rolled his eyes and smiled, grabbing her gently out of her seat and lifting her up. Her gentle giggles made his heart flutter, and looking at her beautiful eyes light up seeing their home made him want to swoon.

The apartment was just as they'd left it, surprisingly. Amber had a friend that had offered to house sit for the two, but they didn't have anything pressing they truly needed taken care of, so she had only come over a couple times to make sure their mail was taken care of. Johnny set Amber down on their couch, and she in turn spread her food out on the table in front of her. She rubbed her hands together with a wicked grin and licked her lips, lunging at the feast in front of her.

Johnny was so sure she wouldn't surprise him, he had walked off to check the rest of the space, examining their room, the kitchen space, their laundry room and so on. He was so glad to be home, so thankful to be with his lovely girlfriend once again. The events of the past month had been hard on them both, but the two had come out stronger for it. There was no amount of words to describe the welling up of emotions he was feeling.

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud belch, unmistakably Amber. He quickly walked back into the living space, only to see his girlfriend leaning back on the couch chugging the giant soda she'd ordered. Looking in front of her, one of the three burger wrappers was opened and empty, and on top of that was a half eaten container of fries. Even if he wasn't sure she would eat everything, this was still and impressive amount to put away, and so quickly too.

Amber gasped for breath after taking away the drink from her lips. Her voice was different from how it had been in the car, less playful and more lustful. A voice he had heard and enjoyed many times before, but never with food. Amber had never been a huge health nut, but she had kept a soft slim figure the entire time they'd known each other. This was new for him, and he wasn't sure how he felt seeing it.

When she reached to grab a handful of fries and shoved them in her mouth, he could only stare as he watched her not only chew the unusually large amount of food, but swallow it effortlessly. Johnny could only stare speechlessly.

Amber took notice of her boyfriend's eyes on her, and decided to tease him. She stood up and waltzed over to him, pressing her body into his, asking if he liked what he saw. Johnny could only stammer as he felt a completely new sensation against his body. A belly, her belly, was now bloated and squishing against him. He looked into her eyes, which were staring into his own with a deep look of desire, a look he should've been used to by now, but feeling her new bloated body was creating a swirl of emotions for the young man.

The young woman, sensing the apprehension, grabbed her boyfriend's collar and brought Johnny over to the couch with her, and offered him a deal. If she managed to eat everything, he would have to do whatever she wanted for the next day. The man was thoroughly befuddled at this point. Where had this come from? He had never seen this side to her before, both the assertiveness and the eating. He couldn't think straight, he didn't know what to say to her.

"I will never take this woman and her life for granted again."

His words echoed in his mind. His resolve came back to him. If this is what Amber wanted, then it was what he wanted too.

He put his hand on Amber's belly, and teased her that she had already eaten so much, playing into their banter from earlier. She responded by grabbing the second burger and taking a big exaggerated bite out of it. Johnny's hand never moving from her stomach, the sensation of her skin tightening under the strain of two triple burgers, fries, and already large amount of soda was electric. He didn't know want to do, how to react to what was going on.

Until Amber let out another, much larger belch. Her belly relaxed a bit, and Johnny, noticing this, took both of his hands and started to rub it. Amber in turn started to moan softly, gently directing Johnny between bites of her food where to rub and how intensely she wanted them.

Johnny's movements became more confident with each motion, starting out unsure of what was even happening, but quickly realizing how into this Amber was and wanting to please her. By the time she had finished her second burger and fries, her leggings were truly squeezing her belly in a way that cut into her skin. Her breathing was clearly uncomfortable, though she seemed too distracted with her food to notice.

He reached down and gently pulled her leggings down, under the curve of her visibly distended belly, and could only marvel at the shape of it. Her formerly flat stomach was now unmistakably round and taut. Gently poking at the skin, it was visibly straining under the incredible amount of food she was putting down, though Amber continued to eat as if she was starving. On the third and final burger, Johnny's initial apprehension was slowly being replaced by excitement and...arousal?

The two had always been madly in love with each other since they started going out. They'd kiss, make out, pinch, squeeze, and grope each other whenever they could get their hands free. But this? Johnny had never been opposed to bellies, but Amber had never accentuated hers before, and especially not like this. Was this truly what she wanted? What he wanted?

Another burp brought him back to earth, Amber's heavy breathing and tight stomach indicating she was almost at her limit. She turned to Johnny, whose eyes were locked intently with hers, and she asked him if he could feed her the last of the fries and soda.

Johnny obliged with a nod, grabbing the fries and gently feeding her a couple at a time. She didn't complain, munching them down at a speed he had to quickly adjust to keep up with, but after another couple of minutes, she had eaten all of the food in front of her. All that was left was the soda.

Grabbing the large container, he gently tilted it towards her lips, allowing her to sip it slowly. His other free hand slowly drifted to her belly, rubbing it once more to try and relieve any stress. Hearing her gently moan as his fingers caressed her told him that was the right thing to do.

With one last gulp, she gasped as if coming up for air, and it was over. A meal capable of feeding a family, entirely in her stomach. Johnny could only stare incredulously at her, her stomach rising and falling as she took short, strained breaths.

Amber poked his shoulder and he turned to see her with a weak smile on her face. Her eyes smugly said "Told you", but when she went to open her mouth, the two were greeted with another large burp. Johnny laughed, but when he saw her face light up with embarrassment, he leaned in to rub her new food baby, and deeply kiss her, reassuring the two of them that no matter how things changed, their feelings for each other never would.