Chapter 1

*One Year Later*

Sophie woke up to the angry pulsing of her alarm clock. 5:10. She had already hit snooze once, but getting out of bed was the last thing she wanted to do. It was getting harder every day.

She growled a little, contemplating throwing the clock out the window but thinking better of it, and slowly willed herself to move. “Hot shower, hot shower, hot shower….” That did the trick. She trudged into the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothing behind her as she went, and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She wasn’t thrilled by what she saw, but she wasn’t disgusted, either. That was pretty typical. Her brown hair was easily her best feature, at least in her eyes. It was so thick that she could barely get a hair tie around it twice, and it pretty much did whatever it wanted. Lucky for her, it usually looked pretty cute, draping down to her shoulders in a fluffy cut that, in the right light, emphasized her natural red highlights. What she really loved was the way the color set off her eyes. Her eyes were, on any given day, a mix of gold, hazel and forest green, complimented by the ring of brown that encircled the iris. She smiled and watched them light up, despite the dark circles that her recent sleep patterns had created. Satisfied, she let her eyes wander down to her creamy shoulders, her ample breasts, her soft stomach. She was by no means thin, but her wide hips emphasized her hourglass figure in such a way that she never seemed to look as heavy as she was, something she thanked her lucky stars for on at least a weekly basis. It wasn’t that she was fat, but 165 pounds on a 5’2’’ frame gave her a very plump look. She gave one last glance, rolling her eyes at her own vanity, and stepped in to the shower, reveling in the scalding hot water. She had slept too late to enjoy it for long, but damn if she wasn’t going to enjoy it anyway.

****************

Adam nibbled on his breakfast slowly, preoccupied more by the beautiful woman sitting across the table from him than the food itself. She looked up from the paper she was reading and gave him a mock-reproachful look before picking up his fork and feeding him a bite.

“Mmmm….” He closed his eyes in ecstasy and she giggled softly.

“You’re cute.” Her light English accent caressed the words as she set down his fork.

“And you’re stunning.” He gave her his best seductive look and offered her a kiss. To his chagrin, she declined.

“Adam….” She folded up the paper and turned to face him. “Look, sweetie…You’re cute. I’ve enjoyed this weekend, but…” She looked at her watch. “Oh dear, would you look at that? I really must be off. It’s been fun, honey, it really has.” She kissed him on the cheek and strutted out, her short skirt swirling around her perfect thighs.

He sighed and took a sip of coffee.

Another hotel room, another old flame, and another lonely night. Oh well.

His phone rang. He ignored it. If it was important, they’d leave a message.

He walked into the bathroom, took a hot shower. He loved showers. They gave him time to think, time to escape. Even if only for a short while, he didn’t have to deal with his problems until after he was dressed again. He washed his hair, rubbing a little bit of shampoo into his beard as well. He hated the beard. It never seemed to grow in evenly. Even worse, it was constantly flecked with gray, making him look ten years older than he was. But in the fashion of fat men everywhere, he kept it to distract from his growing double chin.

His phone rang again in the other room.

He lathered up his belly, hating how much surface area there was these days. The last several months saw his weight balloon from a disgusting 248 pounds to a grotesque 282. The end of season three saw a break from eating challenges; the weight came without them, no matter how he tried to keep it off. He finally gave up worrying about it. He was fat. May as well get used to the idea.

The phone was ringing off the hook.

“Fine!” He slammed the water off and grabbed a towel. It just barely fit around his waist, but he didn’t care. Who was going to see?

He threw open the bathroom door and ripped the phone off its charger. The calls were from his manager, Eileen.

“Adam? Oh thank god you finally picked up…look…I’ve got some news for you…”

“Okay, shoot.” He wasn’t excited to see where this was going.

“Well…I’m just going to spit it out. The producers have been talking it over and, well-”

“They’re not cancelling the show….” He closed his eyes and clenched his free hand into a fist. This couldn’t be happening….

“No, no, not cancelling, hun. It’s just…they want to take a different approach.”

“Great. So…I’m still fired.”

“No! Hush and let me finish, you idiot.”

Adam chuckled a little. Eileen was the best.

“They’ve proposed a new layout, you know, just to keep things fresh. Rather than you going around and doing all of these eating challenges, they’re going to open it up to the viewers, have them send in tapes of their hometowns. You’ll get to help pick the best ones, and then travel there to do some sampling, and then they will do the challenges.”

“But why?”

“Like I said, they just want to mix it up, keep it interesting.”

“But the fans love it-”

“Okay, Adam, look…I’m going to level with you. They’re worried about you. You’ve really been…well, I’m sorry to say, honey, but you really put on some weight in the last season, and they’re concerned for your health.”

So there it was. Everything kept coming back to his goddamn weight.

“I work out twice a day and survive on rice and broccoli when I’m not competing! What else am I supposed to do?”

“I know, I know! Calm down! It isn’t your fault, and the producers know that. That’s why they’ve proposed the new layout. They’re just looking out for you, honey, really. So, c’mon, what do you think?”

“I…I don’t know. I’ll have to think on it.”

“You don’t really have a choice in the matter, Adam. It’s already been proposed to the Travel Channel execs. They want to meet with you this afternoon to film a casting call. Can you be in Chelsea in an hour?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Great. Well, I’ve got to run, love. Hang in there, alright?”

“Thanks, Eileen, see ya.”

Great. Just fucking great.