Chapter 2 - The Trap is Set

It was August, and I was away from home and on my own for the first time, attending college at State U. I was a thin muscular farm boy when the semester started, but that soon changed. Back on the farm, I ate hearty healthy food -- and plenty of it. Strenuous farmwork burned off any extra calories. Without that physical labor at college, by midterm, I gained about 15 pounds, every flabby ounce of it showing on my waistline, especially out front, forming a small dome of belly.

Also, back in high school, I played sports. Even though I am short, I was on the football team because of my speed. I never got to play much in games. However, the workouts from drills and practices helped keep me fit. In college, I was much too small to play. I hadn't even considered it And without the discipline of a fall sport, I was soon ballooning out of my jeans.

Each spring, I ran track team back home, but before October, I knew I'd gotten too unfit to even walk on for a spot on the college track team. I had gotten slower as well as heavier. When my dad called to ask if I was going to try out for the track team, I told him that I wasn't.

"I'm just too busy with my studies, Dad," I lied, looking down at the burgeoning belly sticking out beneath a tight t-shirt. Already, I had quit attending classes, but I couldn't tell him or Mom that. I was becoming a cliche -- a fat ex-jock loser and college dropout!

Imagine! I gained the whole freshman 15 in just eight weeks time! And I couldn't stop. At the same time, I was so innocent and shy around those college girls that I retreated into eating instead of getting a girlfriend or going on dates. Not that any of those coeds expressed much interest in me as I plumpened up. Who wants a fat boyfriend anyway? I actually heard three girls whispering about me and "oink" and giggle behind my back one day in English class. I should have changed my ways right then and there, but I didn't.

I couldn't. I was hooked on overeating.

And I was so lonely. The tune and words to that old song from my parents' youth, "Oh What a Lonely Boy", played in my head as a soundtrack to my new college life. I consoled myself by eating even more. By the middle of September, I had grown lazy and quit going to classes altogether. I was in denial, convincing myself I was living the good life! I sat, played electronic games, watched TV and ate. And ate and ate and ate.

Once my failing midterm grades came out, my parents freaked. By phone, my dad told me to come back home to the farm, that college wasn't for me. But I now had a taste of the big city, and it showed on my expanding waistline. I had grown too lazy for farm work. I didn't want to return to the rural life.

And I was not ready to leave my new lifestyle: The pizzerias, the fast food joints, the drive-through restaurants. The excitement, the malls, the shops, the movies and concerts, so much to take in. I went to those movies and concerts alone, not really hanging around with anyone else, and soon, I rarely left my apartment for anything -- except food.

By November, I resolved to get a job to support myself, and I did. It was the perfect job for a "growing" boy like me -- at the pizza place in the mall food court. And I packed on even more poundage as the fall changed to winter. My little tummy evolved into a full-fledged potbelly even as my arms and legs stayed relatively thin, still fairly muscular even. Love handles bloomed on each side, stretching my pizza uniform and poking over the side of my widening hips.

It was the day before Christmas. That was the first day I saw her. According to the quarter pay scales at the mall restroom, I was closing in on 200 pounds -- 198.5 pounds to be exact -- up from last spring's track weight of 130. My fortune from the scales ominously read, "A stranger will help you expand your opportunities."

Stepping off the scales, I worried that I might keep gaining and never stop. As always, soon I forgot those thoughts, and those worries didn't halt me from eating.

She was working at the bakery across the food court from me. Strange that I had never seen her before. I thought that perhaps she was a new hire or a temporary holiday worker.

The mall had been busy all day with last-minute shoppers, and I was staring at her as I hurriedly ate my lunch -- an extra large pizza with the works. She was so adorable. And I felt so drawn to her for some reason.

I actually caught her eye -- truly just one eye, her right one, deep brown and shiny. Her left eye was covered by the flop of her baker's uniform cap. For an instance, she smiled at me as she turned to serve a customer. I felt shy and looked away. I obsessed about her smile the rest of the day and occasionally glanced across the food court at her.

Later, during my evening break, I again stared at her while eating even more pizza. I took in her beauty as my mouth took in so many calories of bread and cheese and sauces. She was lovely, so lovely, in her baker's outfit, two-toned in white and pink, tight and emphasizing her beautiful firm breasts, thin waistline and lovely hips. She had a pink ribbon tied around her left thigh, ooh, that thigh, so thick and delicious looking. To further enhance the beauty of her legs, her uniform included high tight white boots.

Some picky guys might have thought her hips a bit wide and her thighs a bit too thick for the rest of the package, but to me, they looked delicious. "My best feature are my boobs," she would later tell me. As I later also learned, her breasts are tasty sweet, no doubt about that. However, I was drawn to those thighs the first time I saw them. Her legs were the legs of a dancer, not fat certainly, just a little thick, well-toned and muscular. Like the rest of her skin, the skin on her legs was dark, flawless, so smooth, absolutely perfect.

Her smile was enchanting, with full pouty-type lips. Mmm, I thought about how wonderful to be kissed by such lips. Her right eye was big and intense, and her cherry-red hair was pulled into two ponytails atop her head, the rest of it framing her lovely face. "Everything about her looks so sweet," I thought to myself.

Little did I know how sweet she was -- and how evil as well.

I was mesmerized by her and could not stop staring at her. After a few minutes, as if feeling my eyes upon her, she looked directly at me and winked. I hurriedly looked down, embarrassed to be caught so blatantly staring at her. Her shiny-eyed wink was blinding but also intriguing.

Later, the shops started closing up, and I was the only pizza employee left, cleaning up the oven and counter, shutting things down as a light snow began falling outside the glass doors of the mall entrance.

I was somewhat sad, contemplating the sorrow of spending Christmas alone. I felt really down, as depressed as I ever have.

I was a failure, a college dropout, and now I was alone on the holidays, ashamed to go back home to my family. What would they say about my failures -- not to mention how fat I'd gotten? As if to reinforce my loser image of myself, I glanced at the uneaten pizza slices under the heater lamps, picked one up and absently began to eat it, then another, then another.

My mind drifted as I wiped off the counters with one hand and fed myself pizza with the other. I felt like crying. Just then, I heard someone approaching behind me sweetly whistling along with Elvis's "Blue Christmas" playing on the mall's speakers.

I smelled the strong aroma of baked goods. The aroma made me think of home, and I felt bluer than ever. The tuneful whistling got closer, then stopped, and I heard the sweetest voice ever say, "Hey there, sexy."

I turned around, and there she was, smiling mischievously with white shiny teeth framed by those luscious lips I longed to kiss. She held a huge box of pastries -- eclairs, donuts, cinnamon rolls, long johns -- and a smaller box filled with green and red topped Christmas cookies and chocolate candies. She sat the boxes on the counter in front of me.

"Thought you might like these," she said in a honey-sweet lilting voice. "I see you've got quite an appetite."

(continued)