Chapter 1

Sean jogged the last few blocks to Golden Joe's Restaurant. He was running late and would be the last to arrive. Sure enough, all three of his friends were already seated. Damien was talking on his cell phone.

"Uh-huh, I won't be too late, baby," he cooed into the reciever. "Miss you, too, uh-huh. Kiss, kiss."

Sean dropped his gym bag and sat down, smiling at Al and Peter. He took a deep breath of the delicious smells in the air.

The four young men had been friends since meeting in their first year at university. Al and Sean had shared a room in residence, while Damien and Peter had lived across the hall. Though they all ran with different crowds, they'd bonded over a shared love of video games, late night pizzas and the all-you-can-eat buffet at Golden Joe's. That bond had grown and deepened as they'd worked their way through tough classes, disasterous relationships and all the challenges of young adulthood. Though they had finished university three years ago, they still maintained a monthly meet-up at Golden Joe's, to catch up and chow down.

Sean, at 5'10", was the only muscular one of the group. He worked as a gym trainer. With his wavy golden hair, his tan and his fit body, he was probably the most stereotypically good-looking of the boys. Peter was taller, with a cute face and curly hair. He weighed in around 275 pounds, with a soft, doughy belly, wide hips and a double chin. Al was fairly short, at 5'5". He'd been rail thin when they'd met, but over the years had filled out a little and now had a soft little starter belly. Damien, with his dark, floppy hair, was pretty in an anime, teen-vampire-movie way. He stayed slim by way of a ferocious metabolism.

He hung up the phone with a snap.

"Damn!" he growled.

Sean saw Al flich and looked at his meek friend with concern. Was he getting worse? But Damien derailed this train of thought quickly.

"This girl is dropping pounds the way a gambler drops coins in a slot machine," he declared. He thumped Sean on the shoulder. "And you are not helping things. Why did you tell her you'd help her come up with a work-out regimen? Is getting a new client for your gym that important? You know how I feel about this."

He crossed his arms.

"Kiyana asked me about it!" he said in protest. '"What was I supposed to say, no I can't help you get fit, Damien doesn't like it?"

"She should know this already, if she's ever seen any pictures of your ex-girlfriends," said Peter. "Have you told her?"

Damien shuffled his feet.

"It's only been two months since we met," he said. "And she knows how I feel about her body, believe me. I have to keep telling her she definitely turns me on."

Damien was a magnet for fat chicks. He swore he never slept with any woman who weighed less than 200 pounds, and the bigger, the better. Sean thought Damien could probably meet a fat girl at a supermodel convention. His current girlfriend, Kiyana, had weighed about 265 when they met, but she was on a big diet and exercise kick and had lost 7 pounds already. The thought made him frown.

"She'll catch on if she finds out about Trudy. And Tyleesha. And Lilli," said Al thoughtfully.

"Oh, the redhead from Iceland?" put in Peter. "I liked her. She had a great laugh."

"And curves to die for," said Damien, miming a very ample hourglass shape.

"Don't forget Heather," said Sean. "She needed a mobility scooter to get around."

"She was too much hotness for two legs to handle," said Damien loftily.

Al was counting on his fingers.

"Then there was Brenda..." he said.

"God, she was like 50% tits," said Peter, wrinkling his nose.

"A guy like you just cannot appreciate what a guy like me can do with a really nice big bouncy set of breasts," said Damien.

"Nope," said Peter. "The mind boggles."

"Then there was Alice and Mikayla and, um, that girl with the rainbow tattoo..."

"Mo?" said Damien. "She was just trying out the other side for a change."

"And Carly, gosh, she was cute-"

"She was a light-weight," said Damien, waving away Al's words. "Barely two hundred, soaking wet. If she hadn't of had those dimples, I'd never have gone for her."

The litany continued as the four made their way to the buffet to load up their plates for the first time. The fact was, Damien had been with lots of big women. They never lasted long. Somehow, through a magic Sean had never understood and frankly envied, Damien managed to be on friendly terms with all his exes.

"God, have you been with every straight fat chick in the city?" said Peter .

Damien considered this question for a moment.

"I've never been with your mom," he said. "But that's out of consideration for you, Petey, because your mom's got a great, wide a-"

"Augh, shutupshutup!"

The bantering conversation continued as they ate. Sean was concentrating on his food, savouring each bite of the crispy, flavourful deep-fried eggroll. Golden Joe's buffet night was the one time when he allowed himself to break his diet. He chewed each bite slowly, watching longingly as the others filled their plates again and then went back for thirds.