chapter 15

Amy's room was covered in discarded clothes as she tried to find something to wear for her date. She lay on her bed struggling to heave up her loosest fitting jeans. She almost gave up at the depressing sight of her thighs wobbling but still she persevered and finally managed to button them. When she tried to zip them up the button popped open and her belly burst forth onto her lap. She sighed and eventually settled on a dress but covered it with a cardigan in an attempt to hide how flabby her upper arms were becoming.

"I've never been to a games night before so I brought vodka. Was that right?" Amy said, standing in the doorway of Cassie's apartment.

Cassie shrugged. "Beer is more traditional but I guess vodka works too."

"Are we expecting company?" Amy asked.

Her eyes widened at the vast array of snacks that Cassie had layed out: Cheetos, tortilla chips, M&M's, peanut butter cups, chocolate covered pretzels. A rogue thought entered Amy's mind: the image of herself on all fours eating from one of the bowls while Cassie stood over her. She shivered and with effort repressed the troubling thought.

"Yeah... I might have gone slightly overboard with the snacks."
"Slightly," Amy agreed.

The door buzzer of Cassie's apartment went off and Amy looked at her questioningly.

"Oh, I ordered pizza too. I hope you like pepperoni."

Cassie returned accompanied by the wafting aroma of cheese and bread. She held a large pizza box and two bottles of beer.

"I don't really drink beer," Amy said.
"Come on, it's girly beer."
"Bleugh, tastes like frat boys," Amy said as she took a swig.
"You went to college in England, what would you know about frat boys?" Cassie said, giving her arm a little playful shove.

Despite her protests Any still drank the beer and as she drank her eating became less inhibited. She took a big handful of Cheetos and licked the synthetic orange dust from her fingertips then nibbled the chocolate off peanut butter cups before devouring the peanut butter within.

Meanwhile Cassie busied herself turning on the console and putting in a disc. The words "Mass Effect" flashed up on the screen accompanied by futuristic music.

"OK, what am I doing?" Amy asked, grabbing the controller.

"You're a hero called Commander Shepard who has to make major decisions and save the galaxy from a race of sentient machines called Reapers. It's basically my favourite game ever."

"Major decisions? I'm not sure the Galaxy is safe in my hands."

Cassie laughed. "Then maybe we should start with pizza."

Amy looked down at the large pizza and saw the oil from the pepperoni pooling out onto copious amounts of cheese. To her surprise Cassie brought a slice of the pizza to her lips and through the warm haze of alcohol she felt powerless to resist taking a bite. The gesture felt oddly intimate, especially when she realised that Cassie's other hand was resting on her leg, her fingers lightly brushing her inner thigh. Cassie shoved more of the pizza into Amy's mouth a little more forcefully than she was expecting.

Amy blushed and averted her gaze as she struggled to chew the big mouthful of pizza. "Maybe we should play the game."

After almost an hour Cassie groaned. "We've been on the character creation screen for ages. Can't we just play the game?"

"Just another minute," Amy insisted. "Her face still looks like melted plastic and some of these hair options... Sheesh."

"It doesn't matter what she looks like," she sighed, she tried to grab the controller but Amy swatted her hand away. "Actually, I have a better idea. Wait a second..."

While Cassie disappeared into the kitchen Amy grabbed another slice of pizza. She realised that over half of it was gone but she didn't care. She was enjoying herself too much, she could worry about counting calories tomorrow.

Cassie reemerged carrying the bottle of vodka and two shot glasses. "My college roommate invented a game called Drunk Souls. Basically the only rule is you play Dark Souls and take a shot every time you die."

Amy grimaced as she downed her third shot of vodka. She had barely been playing the game for 20 minutes and already she'd walked off a cliff, been set on fire by a demon and been stabbed to death by skeletons. "I haven't played many video games but do I really suck at this or is this game super hard?"

Cassie chuckled lightly. "You caught me. The thing with Dark Souls is that you die and then you die again. And then when you're done with dying... You die some more."

"You set me up!" Amy cried with mock outrage. She poured a shot of vodka and slid it over to Cassie. "It's your turn."

"I really like spending time with you," Cassie said, the alcohol making her a little bolder.

"I really like you too."

She was so close to Amy that she could have kissed her but still she searched her eyes uncertainly. It was Amy who leaned in and kissed her. She felt Cassie's lips press against her's, dry at first then soft and yielding. Then her tongue still hot with the astringent burn of vodka.

Soon she felt Cassie's hands pulling at her dress, gentle but insistent. Amy reached across to turn off the lamp beside them but Cassie stopped her.

"I want to see you."
"Please, Cassie. I don't like the way I look."
"What are you talking about? You're beautiful."
Amy bit her lower lip as Cassie undressed her, revealing the ghostly silver stretch marks that marred her stomach and thighs: her past written on her body.
"See, you're totally beautiful."

Cassie's fingers traced the silvery marks and she grabbed the cute chubby pot belly that spilled over Amy's underwear as she pulled her into another kiss.

Amy closed her eyes tightly and thought: "Don't cry, you f*cking idiot. Don't you dare cry."