Chapter 1 - appealing to chubby chaser in me

My name is Megan, and I first met Stan when we were assigned to play on the same mixed double tennis team. All the other tennis association teams had played together in previous seasons, but Stan and I were singles looking for partners to play.

Looking back on it now, we are both just so fortunate to have been matched up with each other. Maybe it was something decided by the Fates.

Stan seemed to be a very shy backward person, about 5'11" and weighed about 180 pounds. He had dark hair that was long and quite shaggy and beautiful, especially as he whipped his head about to rush a ball. I really enjoyed playing tennis with him, but I enjoyed the post-game activities even more.

You see, Stan liked eating and drinking after a match. He liked it a lot. And by a lot, I mean he was positively gluttonous. His favorite meal after a match was ribs and beer in a frosty mug. This may make me seem like a sicko, but I enjoyed watching him eat, well, maybe more than just enjoyed it. It was fascinating to me for some reason. I guess I have always liked men on the plump side, and watching him eat and drink with such gusto kind of turned me on. As we ate and drank, the initially shy Stan started to open up and reveal himself - a little at first, then more as he became more comfortable talking to me.

Our after-game sessions became a regular thing, and I really looked forward to them. I often fantasized about Stan getting fatter -- like that was going to happen. He was quite athletic, and the tennis matches kept him from gaining even an ounce.

Within a couple months, I learned that Stan had been raised by very critical parents. This seemed the reason for his insecurity and shyness. He had moved out of his parents' house right after finishing college with a radiology assistant's degree. He moved in with his college girlfriend Jill to help make ends meet. Jill was lazy, and she went from one job to another, sometimes being unemployed for weeks at time. She never helped around the house and just played video games, surfed the Internet and watched TV all day long. Stan was unhappy about this, but he was too insecure to do anything about it. And Jill, I think, was an overbearing bitch, making Stan do all the chores and provide their living expenses.

Stan and I began playing more and more tennis together. He said it was his only time to relax. He became more self-confident while playing, eating and drinking, but still, inside I could tell he was just a little insecure boy. He seemed to become an emotional wreck every time he had to go home to Jill.

One day while playing tennis, Stan twisted to hit the ball with his backhand and fell down. The ACL in Stan's right knee had snapped. After visiting the doctor, Stan scheduled knee surgery. While sitting in the waiting room the morning of his surgery, I discovered how much I really cared for Stan. And how little Jill cared. She didn't even come to support Stan in his time of need, and I had to give him a ride home, stopping first at the pharmacy for his pain meds.

The next couple of days, Stan started to withdraw from me. I felt my heart breaking, not that I told him about it. He was Jill's, after all. I phoned him repeatedly and talked with him, but he just seemed absent in some way, not the warm, confident tennis player I had grown to love. Yes, love! I realized that I was in love with another woman's boyfriend, and I didn't know what to do about it.

When I finally saw Stan a few days after surgery, he seemed angry at the whole wide world. Without invitation or announcement, I visited him at his home, and Jill quickly went into their bedroom to watch TV, slamming the door behind her. Stan did not talk much during my visit. He seemed so guarded. I left unsatisfied, feeling that my friend had emotional damage on top of his physical damage. And I felt Jill was to blame.

In the weeks to come, he shut himself off from me and the rest of the world. It became more and more difficult to reach him. I would leave messages with Jill or on the voice-mail, but I did not hear from Stan. Jill told me to quit calling in the evenings, that Stan had switched to the night schedule at the hospital, so he could go to physical therapy during the day.

Finally, I just gave up. I quit calling. He was Jill's, and even if that was miserable for him, what could I do about it?

Then, about six months later, Stan called me out of the blue. He had gotten his invitation to the annual tennis award dinner. He asked if I was going. I had not planned to go, but I changed my mind for a chance to see Stan again and talk with him. He asked if we could go to the dinner together. I accepted the invitation, and I felt my heartbeat increase.

When he picked me up at my apartment, he really looked great. He was wearing a loose-fitting three-piece dark blue suit with pinstripes. He was all smiles and seemed quite at ease with himself - actually, more than I had ever seen. As I looked closer, his face looked fuller, his cheeks rounded and he had the definite start of a double chin. This was definitely a development which appealed to the chubby chaser in me.