chapter 3

3 The Stretch

Aaron groaned as he awoke on a rainy Saturday near the end of October. He attempted to sit up but quickly felt a pressure. Aaron fell back onto the sheets, clutching his stomach. A large belch, followed closely by a winding fart exploded out of him as he reluctantly recalled his previous night. Julie had overdone it again, making him a feast of honey spiral ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, and fried pickles. Aaron had wanted to eat a normal portion but the irresistible flavor of the meal melted his willpower instantly. Soon Aaron found himself powerless against the torrent of food Julie was subjecting him to. Aaron ate and ate ignoring his stomach, his libido allowing him to ignore the unpleasantness of a too full stomach to clear the entire table of it's contents. His feasting pushed his stomach further and further, making his once loose jeans pinch and cut into his sides. Noticing this, Julie undid his button and told Aaron to finish up as she started her post meal ritual. Julie moved up and down below the table as Aaron ate, pausing only to encourage him. Aaron felt like he might bust open after his feast, but he managed to cram the rest of the meat into his bloated, taut belly.

Aaron belched again as he remembered his late night feasting, tasting the ham that he had devoured only a few hours ago. Before Aaron would have found it strange, but now he frequently found himself waking up with some food still digesting from the night before. He didn't like to recognize it, but lately he had no problem with the larger meals Julie had been preparing, and his usual mental alerts to let him know he should stop had been drowned out by the pleasure he was experiencing. Aaron's hand lingered on his belly for a moment, as he felt it's flat shape again again. He was sure something was different but it's presence dumbfounded him. It probably wasn't happening to an athlete like him but lately he had been feeling almost... Soft? Aaron felt his hand move over his body, feeling every inch of him. Most parts were as he remembered them, but he could swear his middle was losing its firmness. About a month had gone by since his battle with the pecan pie, and much to his dismay his fitness had slid further and further ever since.

Contrary to his prediction Julie's new hobby continued to grow, which meant an increase in his portion sizes. What had started as simple meals had turned into 3-course, decadent affairs each steadily growing larger after the next. Aaron had eaten all of them, his stomach stretching a bit further each time to accommodate his wife's newfound passions. Despite not being able to move most nights Aaron couldn't bear to ask his wife to cook less. The look of joy on her face when he finished a big meal, as well as the near constant sexual favors she offered had lulled Aaron into overeating nearly every night. Also weakening his willpower was the fact that his work was as busy as ever. Aaron frequently didn't get home until 9, meaning he only had a few hours with Julie. Her cooking had become one of the only times they could be together outside of the weekend, as well as one of the only things Aaron had to look forward to each day.

The other thing that was not helping things was that Jim had scheduled Aaron to meet with clients more frequently than before, insisting on taking them to fancy restaurants with large portions. Their clients were typically from a Slavic country where food was scarce, so every time they would go out with clients Aaron would end up having to eat the entirety of another large meal. The clients would tease him mercilessly if he didn't finish, poking him and going on about how no food was wasted in the old country. Between Julie's extravagant dinners and work Aaron began to feel stuffed and stretched for most hours of the day multiple times a week. And of course on top of all of the increased caloric intake Aaron had still not found time to get to the rock gym, and now he was getting worried. Not going for a couple weeks would make him rusty but overall wouldn't have been that big of a deal. He could have pushed through it in a week and gotten back up to speed soon after that. Aaron looked down and poked his midriff, his finger sinking up to the first knuckle. What would be hard to recover from was not going for over a month and a half, as well as eating more than ever during that time.

Julie assured him that he hadn't gained a pound. She purred that he was sexy and that the extra stress from work was making him self conscious. Julie pointed out that all his clothes still fit, and while that was true Aaron couldn't ignore that he felt off recently. Feeling like doing a bit of investigating Aaron rocked himself out of bed, which felt distinctly harder to do, and padded in the nude to the front of his full length mirror. He turned to the side, and examined his profile. Aaron felt he could see himself stick out a bit further than he had before, his belly and arse had seemed to soften a bit. Aaron turned to face forward, and patted his belly. It seemed softer, but maybe he was just losing it. He had never been fat for comparison after all. Turning to the back Aaron took a hard look at his rear, pinching it and jumping lightly to see if there was much difference. Aaron couldn't really tell and decided to take out his smallest jeans, a size 30, to see if he could still fit. Dread filled his mind as he drew the cloth up his legs, which quickly dissipated after he found they fit just as they always had.

Buttoning his waist and turning in profile Aaron was surprised and relieved to find the pants still wrapped around him as they always had. He chuckled a bit before chiding himself on being too paranoid. "Aaron sweetie!" Aaron heard from downstairs, "breakfast is ready!" Aaron undid his jeans before sliding them back off and pulling his pajamas up his thighs. "Be down in a sec!" Aaron tied his drawstring before he trotted downstairs. A smile crossed his lips, Aaron was pleased this weight gain was all in his head. He couldn't be totally sure without the lost scales, but the combination of the pants fitting and his high metabolism made Aaron confident most of, if any possible weight gain was a figment of his imagination. Feeling confident, Aaron swore to himself that today was the day he would go to the athletics store and get all his gear and get his fitness back on track. Despite this confidence, Aaron couldn't help but shake the feeling of a slight jiggling in his flanks and belly with each step down the stairs.

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