Chapter 1

Maria Mendez watched the regulars get up and leave with relief. It was one in the morning, it had been a long day, and all she wanted to do was go home. Once the restaurant crowd was replaced with the bar crowd, there really wasn’t much need for a hostess. But, due to her “attitude”, the manager made her stay. He was already walking out the back door, 1:00 AM sharp. Only the bartender Caitlin and two waitresses, who were good friends of hers, were left.

Maria had had a bad couple of weeks. Her first year of college so far was not going well. Difficult classes, too much work, and way too much stress were taking their toll, and she found herself cranky and irritable more often than not. Not that she had ever been a particular cool-headed person, but she was even more prone to get angry at the slightest provocation these days. But by far the biggest thing on her mind today was what she once dismissed as a legend, even ignored without further thought; the college freshman fifteen. Maria came from a large family but had always been relatively slim. While she wasn’t supermodel thin, she also didn’t have any loose, jiggly fat hanging off her. Furthermore, she was stunning in her own right, with beautiful dark skin, long, wavy black hair, and hips that just flared out slightly. But with all the stress of college she could feel the pounds creeping on. It must have been about fifteen by this point. Her stomach was getting puffy with a clear pooch coming over her jeans, a dimpled naval above, and her hips and ass were feeling soft as well. When she walked, she felt a little extra bounce in her modestly sized breasts. So far, as least as far as she could tell, her magnificent face remained untouched.

That morning she woke up feeling particularly bloated and unattractive. When she went into work she avoided her increasingly tight hostess clothes, and instead put on her loosest pair of jeans which practically hid her legs, although her hippiness was still obvious, and a big, loose t-shirt with the bar logo on it. Her breasts and hint of a tummy became invisible unless she was leaning back. She was certain that her dowdy appearance was the reason her manager was annoyed. A hostess should be dressed to draw the eyes, not like it was laundry day.

Her two waitress friends were straightening up around the building. Kathy she had known for years. She was a short, busty, slender girl with a sexy hourglass figure and, like Maria felt she used to be, not an ounce of fat on her except in her shapely breasts and ass. She had shoulder-length layered brown hair and big, bright eyes. She was wearing tight jeans, of course, and a tight dark blue t-shirt that came down over the top of her jeans. Maria, with her current image issues, admitted to herself she was feeling jealous. She was a beautiful, sexy, bubbly student while Maria felt more and more like stressed out cow each day.

Maria met Allison, the other waitress, in college, and found her to be just as frantic about school as she was. The difference was Allison was exceptionally thin and didn’t appear to eat at all. She was taller than the other two and pale, although she didn’t look sickly. She had a gorgeous, small face with an almost pixie-like look to her, chin-length, natural platinum blonde hair. Her breasts were small and her figure slight, though the loose-fitting slacks and clingy white t-shirt complimented her wonderfully, especially with a regular leather belt.

The place was long dead. Only a single man was at the bar. He was a weathered older man with a scruff but handsome appearance, like Gary Cooper playing a mobster. He sat over his drink at the far side of the bar smoking a cigarette. Occasionally Caitlin would stop by and talk to him. Maria thought she looked nervous, but she kept initiating the small conversations herself.

“Maria, closing time!” Kathy said from the bar, “Caitlin’s getting us drinks on the house!”

“It’d better be on the house, nobody’s here and we’d get fired if we paid,” Maria slouched over and sat next to Kathy. Allison came by and sat next to Kathy, looking just as relieved to be off.

“Are you okay? You seem--?” Kathy said.

“Brad’s an asshole,” Maria cut in, “You know what he said to me? He said that I wasn’t dressed ‘attractive’ enough today. Fuck him.”

“You aren’t wearing the usual host clothes,” Allison leaned over Kathy to say.

Maria sighed and hunched over on the stool, her arms crossed, scowling.

After a sigh, she said, “Look, okay, some of my stuff doesn’t fit so well anymore? Okay?” She blushed despite herself at the admission.

“Awww,” Kathy gave her a one-armed hug from the stool, “Don’t let Brad get to you. You always look hot. Right, Allison?”

“Why are you wearing like the extra-large t-shirt?” Allison, apparently missing out on the conversation, said.

“It’s a medium!” Kathy said.

“Oops, sorry!”

“You really know how to pick a girl up, don’t you?” Kathy said. Allison did look sorry.