Chapter 4: Giving Thanks (Part 1)

“Jess! I’m home!” Ashley bustled through the front door of their apartment, arms draped in grocery bags. She shivered the cold air off and proceeded to place the bags on the counter while working to get off the heavy winter coat she wore. It was one of the first truly cold nights of the year in Sterling, only a few days before Thanksgiving. The harsh November night made everyone bundle up and brace for the elements. There was a sharp piercing breeze that cut through you like a knife, and snow flurries were expected later that night. Ashley had gotten this Friday night off, a rarity for the assistant manager of the Bull’s Eye. She had done so at the expense of working on Thanksgiving Eve, the Wednesday before the gluttonous holiday. It was common practice on Thanksgiving Eve to reconnect with old friends and get absolutely hammered before dealing with the nuances of family drama. While Sterling was obviously a college town, there was still a sizable population of locals and people who stayed on campus for Thanksgiving break, so downtown was still pretty busy this week. Ashley’s boss had asked her to stay for Thanksgiving Eve, as a first real test of Ashley’s leadership potential. Knowing the sacrifice of not seeing her family, she accepted the offer and promised a booming success.

So this Friday night, the last day of classes for Sterling University, Ashely had asked off to celebrate with her roommate and soon-becoming a best friend, Jessica, and her boss thought this was a reasonable trade.

The plan was for the girls to go to dinner and then go barhopping to let loose and have fun celebrating getting to this point in the academic year. Ashley had gone to the grocery store to stock up on all the necessary foods for a corpulent homemade Thanksgiving dinner. It was just going to be the two of them this year, since Ashley couldn’t justify only going home and making the five-hour drive for only a day or two tops. Jessica, not wanting Ashley to be home alone for Thanksgiving, talked to her family about staying at Sterling and going home for Christmas. Her parents were obviously disappointed but understood. With their plan for the week set in place, Ashley got home right after Jessica to start preparing for their wild night ahead.

“’Min here!” Jessica called out from her bedroom. She wanted to look amazing tonight, but all of her going out clothes were meant for warmer weather, and she hadn’t checked on her winter party clothes since last February at least. Jessica was going through her messy closet, pulling out clothes that looked like they had shrunk. She was getting frustrated at not being able to find anything cute to wear, but not at the cause of this situation. See, Jessica was either in denial about her figure, or she didn’t care. Jessica, for her part, was living a very hedonist lifestyle. Being naturally lazy, she was not one for exercising or sacrifice. Ever since Ashley got promoted, she took a more invested role in taking care of the house.

That included stocking up on groceries and making every meal every night. Jessica never had to lift a finger when Ashely was around. Jessica was living in paradise! She felt a little bad at first, but Ashley practically begged Jessica to take care of her, how could she say no? Jessica didn’t have to think too hard about anything. When she wanted to eat, the snack cabinet was always stocked. She wanted a drink to take the edge off? Ashley always had at least a twelve pack of beer in the fridge or a bottle or two to make a cocktail. Jessica spent her days not working simply lounging around, eating and drinking to her heart’s content. Her only real obligations in her life were classes, Sunday brunch with Ashley, and Friday nights with her boss, Amber. Ever since that first night in September, Amber had made it a point to make their little adventure a more common occurrence, and even though it was a little odd and borderline unprofessional, Jessica had so much fun that she couldn’t say no. Jessica was not the one for a long-term relationship, but she still met boys on dating apps or at the bar. Sometimes she’d bring them by for a quick fling, other times she’d be gone for the night. But Jess always planned those rendezvous around her Friday nights and Sundays.

Again, it was either her denial or laissez-faire attitude, but her glorious lifestyle was having its way with the poor girl’s figure. Normally after her freshman year she would gain a steady ten pounds per year. Her body had the whole year to adapt to the extra poundage, and it was gradual so the changes weren’t so striking. However, since this year started and she has lived with Ashley, she has already put on almost three years of fat in just three months! Jess started this year as a chubby 170 pounds, but now she’s ballooned to 196 pounds. Her clothes were constantly struggling to contain Jess’s added inches, her big Buddha belly was popping out of the bottom of her shirts. Her pants were painted on at the best of times, and she had busted half of her buttons. She was growing faster than her wardrobe could adjust. Her face was starting to puff out and lose its slender edges, with a double chin and chubby cheeks making themselves at home. Her tits, which were now borderline F cups, were bouncing out of her bras and she had to routinely manually stuff them back in to remain decent. Her arms were getting flabbier and were being constricted by some of her sleeves now. But the most damning evidence of her recent explosion was the new development of stretchmarks. They were popping up all over the poor bloated beauty. They were most evident in her lower belly, hips, and thighs, with little red tallies a token to each new pound she put on. But recently she had started seeing them on her big tits! When she saw those, Jess had to face the music.

She did an in-depth inspection of her new figure one weekend, and truth be told, she didn’t hate what she saw. She wasn’t a fan of the stretchmarks by any means, but she LOVED her boobs, and she honestly loved eating to excess and moving the bare minimum. Plus, she was still getting attention from boys, so they still found her attractive enough (it didn’t hurt that she was pretty easy too, she chuckled to herself). All in all, with some more investment in lotion and bigger clothes, Jessica Marshall could be happy as a fat girl.

In the other room, Ashley was having a similar inspection of her body. She was a couple years older than Jessica, being 24 as opposed to 22, and Ashley had never felt better about her body. Now that she had a semi-normal schedule and wasn’t working until 3am every week, unless it was an emergency, she had found time to got to the campus gym again. That, combined with the running around and stress of life as a manager, and the blonde had dropped down to 124 pounds. She hadn’t been under 130 since before Jake and Minday, her parents’ feeders, had moved in with them when she was a freshman in high school! She took stock of how loose her clothes were fitting now. Her pants always needed a belt now, and those were starting to get too big.

Ashley’s face was angelic, with no signs of a double chin, and her cheekbones were more pronounced now. Her arms were toned and her legs were lean. Her booty was rock hard and her tits, while smaller than she liked, were perky and barely needed a bra. And for the first time she could remember, her abs had some definition in them. Ashley was proud of the work she had put in to be this healthy. She would allow herself to cheat a little bit at her weekly brunch, but otherwise she ate clean and barely drank anything other than lemon water. She felt full of energy and was on top of her game at the bar. But there was something missing. Something Ashely couldn’t quite put a finger on. She looked down at her watch and snapped out of her reflection to quickly put together a cute outfit for tonight.

Ashley emerged from her room like a model onto the runway. She had curled her platinum blonde hair and put on her heart-breaker red lipstick. Her lips matched her button-down red shirt that had frills on the sleeves, Despite the cold, she left the top button undone and wore a push-up bra to give the illusion her girls were bigger than they were. Her shirt was tucked in to a pair of tight black leather pants that hugged her perfect pear-shaped ass. She wore a pair of black high heels to put together her killer ensemble. She smiled to herself thinking about tonight when she called out to her roommate. “Jess, are you ready to go?”

At that instant, the door opened to Jessica’s room, and out she came. Since she was rapidly outgrowing her wardrobe, Jessica had to be creative with what she wore tonight. She was wearing clothes that Ashley didn’t even know she had. Jessica came in looking divine, to her credit. She wore a grey skirt that pressed up against her lower belly, giving it that cute bulge. She wore a pair of black tights that were a little too tight but still did the job. She wore a burgundy V-neck tucked in to her skirt, showing off her never-ending cleavage, and topped it off with an orange cardigan. Jess wore some high heels to give her ass a little boost. Ashley was stunned, she never knew Jessica could dress up like this. Ashley was impressed, and more than a little turned on with how she looked. “Wow, Jess, you look incredible!” Ashley truthfully gushed.

“Me? What about you? You look stunning! Who are you trying to impress, huh?” Jessica laughed. Ashley’s cheeks were thankfully concealed by a little blush, otherwise Jess would have noticed her blushing hard.

“Heh, nobody really, I just figured it would be a nice change, ya know?” Ashley played it off. In truth, Ashley was trying to impress Jess, who wasn’t getting any of the many hints Ashley was throwing at her. Ashley had seen Jess come home with random guys or grind on and tease some lucky guy at the bar, and every time Ashley felt a little more dejected. She knew Jess wasn’t looking for anything serious, and she didn’t believe that Jess was even a little bi-curious, but Ashley couldn’t help who she fell for. ‘Maybe one day I can find a cute girl to fatten up.’ Ashley thought to herself.

The girls grabbed their things and headed out to a local restaurant that was pretty elegant for a college town. It was called St. Elmo’s, and it fit the bill for a place to get tipsy with some fine appetizers before going out on the town. It was very similar to a speakeasy, as when you walked in it was one open ovular room. The bar lined the wall, extending three quarters around. The bar was a fine wood, maybe mahogany, with stone walls in the backdrop. There was a row of stools, along with smaller tables that only fit a handful of people. The center of the room, the main attraction, was a piano and a microphone stand, as they would play light jazz and sing. The room was low-lit, and the music was close but not so loud to still hold intimate conversations. The place was well-esteemed, and the aura of the place made it a very romantic favorite, especially among lovers young and old. When Jessica suggested this place for a pregame, it caught Ashely off guard. Maybe Jess was picking up on some hints, Ashley hopefully thought.

But as soon as they walked down the stairs to the bar, Ashley knew the culprit and mastermind behind this setting. Jess led the way towards the bar, and she picked up a little bit of speed as they saw a strawberry blonde subtly wave the duo down. So this was the famous Professor Amber Kane that everyone gushed about, Ashley thought to herself with a hint of jealousy. Jess jogged over to the small table where Amber sat cross-legged, swirling what was left of an espresso martini. Once Jessica got within a few steps of her, she tossed the few sips back and got up to greet her protégé. Ashely immediately saw why everyone was going crazy about her. She stood up and showed off her svelte body. Amber dressed to kill tonight, wearing a sparkling dark green dress that hugged every womanly curve she had. Her perky C cups were squeezed tightly, almost poking out the top of her v-line. Of course, her waist was slim and trim, making her womanly hips even more exaggerated and alluring. Her dress left little to the imagination, inviting you in to grab hold of her hips and watch her perfectly perky ass bounce with each step or sway when she walked. To get the heart racing even more, her dress had a glaring slit that sprung up to mid-thigh, showing off her silky-smooth legs. As jealous as Ashley was, even she had to admit that Amber looked damn good.

“And you must be Ashley! Jessica here has told me sooo much about you.” Amber’s sultry bedroom voice broke her out of her internal envy.

“That’s me. And likewise, Jess talks about you too. Good to put a face to the name.” Ashley retorted. Picking up on the hint of jealousy (or anger?) Amber smirked. “Same here, and what a pretty face it is.” She was determined to win over Ashley, so she was laying it thick with compliments. “How about some drinks, hmm?” Jess quickly agreed, “and maybe some food too? I’ve been starving all day trying to fit in this tonight!” Amber’s steely gaze lightened at the sound of Jess’s struggles. “Aww, really? That’s so sweet! You didn’t have to do that for me?”

“I wanted to, when you mentioned coming here I knew it was a fancy place, so I wanted to look nice for a change!”

“And you look stunning, Jess. Truly. But you look amazing every day!”

Ashely was getting pretty tired of the compliment fest and decided to go to the bar and order a round with some appetizers. She went up to the bar and ordered two more espresso martinis and a glass of wine for herself. “Put it on the Kane tab, please and thank you. And can we do two orders of bruschetta? Thanks.” Ashley walked back before the bartender could respond.

She sat down as the two were laughing about something that happened in class. As Ashley sat down, the laughter faded, and Jess and Amber were all smiles. “So” Amber cut in to ease the tension “Jess here tells me you’re a bartender at the Bull’s Eye? How exciting!” Ashley smirked, “Well I just got promoted to assistant manager a few weeks ago, but yeah it’s pretty great.”

“Ohh, sorry, well congratulations! Cheers to your promotion!” Amber proposed. Ashley could at least appreciate the effort Amber put forward and clinked her wine glass with the two sugary cocktails and took a healthy swallow. “I don’t know how you work there. I’d be taking shots between orders like nothing just to deal with drunk annoying customers haha!” Amber giggled trying to relate. Ashley chuckled at the thought of little miss perfect stumbling around and trying to deal with all the chaos. “I wish we could, but we’re not aloud to drink on shift sadly.”

“Aww, that’s too bad. I’m sure guys are buying you drinks all the time, being such a gorgeous girl and all.” Ashley actually received the compliment well and blushed a little bit. “Heh, thanks. But please, I’m nowhere near your level.” Ashley returned the compliment. Amber, who was used to getting compliments and shrugging them off, took Ashley’s to heart. She knew Ashley was a little frosty towards her, so for her to pay a compliment opened the door for Amber to wiggle her way onto Ashley’s good side.

“Thanks sweetie, but please, you look incredible!” Jessica, who was feeling a little left out, butted in. “Here’s to three gorgeous girlies!” The girls started loosening up with the drinks flowing. Jessica was chugging down espresso martinis, giving her a jittery edge to offset her drunk drowsiness. Amber was steadily gulping them down, not outpacing Jessica but having enough to be loose and chatty. Ashley, trying to retain her health kick she’d been on, was slowly sipping on her red wine. The girls had all agreed to split a round of appetizers before going to the next bar for a heartier dinner.

However, they all lost track of time as their conversation evolved. They were getting to know each other and were telling stories from growing up and their adventures at Sterling. Ashley’s resolve had slowly crumbled as the food was just so good! The elegant finger foods were light and so flavorful, Ashley couldn’t get enough! None of the three girls could. Soon, they looked down and had a pile of plates on the tiny table. Together they had cleared eleven drinks and seven plates of appetizers. They breathed a collective sigh as the true amount of food and booze settled into their stomachs. Amber insisted on paying the tab, despite Ashley’s stern protests. Amber agreed that Ashley can pay for the next bar, which she surprised herself by eagerly agreeing. The waiter came and collected the check, and Jessica heaved herself up from her chair and walked to the bathroom, leaving her two fastest-growing closest friends, as well as being her boss and roommate, together at the table.

Once Jessica went down the hall and was out of earshot. Amber deeply exhaled. “Ohh my God, I don’t know how she does it!” Ashley looked over confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, she just puts it down like nothing! She just eats and drinks, eats and drinks! And she acts like nothing’s wrong, I mean she still looks incredible, but there’s no way this hasn’t affected her, right? I mean look at me! I was sooo skinny, but ever since we started doing this weekly hangout, I’ve been ballooning. I must have put on at least ten pounds!” Amber was going on in vivid detail about her recent gains. Ashley was about to slap Amber, there was no way she could be serious! “You’re kidding, right? You look like a model!” Amber smiled but huffed out a breathy “But not for long.” Amber paused, causing some thoughts to build in Ashely’s twisted mind. Still daydreaming, Amber added “If I keep this up, I mean. Heh. I can barely fit in this dress. My boobs are killing me from being squeezed like this. Not to mention, my ass and thighs have a little more jiggle if you catch my drift.” Ashley looked closely at her new, dare she say it, friend, and was starting to see some tell-tale signs of a recently expanded figure.

Amber’s breasts looked too good, and Ashley saw the strain her bra must be going through. Amber’s hips and ass were stretching the dress out and backwards, and her thighs did look a little less toned. But the kicker for Ashley was the way Amber was cradling the place where her belly would be. There was a tiny bump bulging the dress forward, and Amber couldn’t keep her hands off of it. Ashley remembered Amber always stroking or caressing it while the other hand picked up her glass or a bit of food. Ashley was starting to get skeptical. Did Amber, the flawless model, secretly like her belly? Or at least stuffing it like crazy once a week? Who knows, maybe her weekly “meetings” with Jess were some sort of cheat day for her. But Ashley now picked up on how Amber only wanted to talk about her slowly growing figure, putting extra emphasis on her new curves and the faintest hint of her tummy. Ashley was starting to get a little aroused at the thought of the perfect Professor Kane secretly being a feedee. God, that would be rich, Ashley thought.

Before the conversation got any more explicit, which is where Amber seemed to want to take it with Ashley, Jessica came back from the bathroom with a new energy. “Alright girls, you ready to tear the top off this town?!” Ashley looked at Amber, who was still her post-stuffing haze. “Let’s do it!”