Chapter 1

This is the second story in my anthology “The Devil Made Me Do It.” There are more stories to come, I hope you enjoy!

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It had been a long day at the gym when I finally locked the doors behind me. It was almost midnight, much later than I normally left, but I decided to accommodate a client's rather hectic schedule. Sometimes, as a personal trainer, you had to make sacrifices. Even if it meant I would be lucky to get five hours of sleep tonight.

I was halfway across the parking lot before I noticed the woman leaning against the streetlight. She straightened her skin-tight, red leotard top before approaching me. As we stepped closer to one another I got a better look at her. She had a voluptuous figure, not particularly athletic but definitely sexy. Her tight top and skirt left little to the imagination. 

Her long, straight, jet-black hair complemented her bronze complexion - she might have been Mexican or Columbian. Gold jewelry adorned her neck and wrists, gleaming in the light from the street lamp. Her ample chest bounced slightly with each step forward. When she was practically at arm's length I got a good look at her face. She was very attractive, and expertly made-up. She smiled, and the lights highlighted her strong cheekbones.

"Excuse me, Robert?" she asked. Her voice was sultry and deep.

"Can I help you?" I tried to maintain eye contact, mentally commanding my eyes not to wander down to her cleavage.

"I certainly hope so. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"Well, I'm just on my way home-"

"May I walk with you?" she interrupted. Her large, dark eyes sparkled.

"Sure, I guess so."

I walked on, my new companion matching my stride.

"My name is Ornias. I visited your gym today. It's the fifth I've been to this month. I'm searching for a very special kind of trainer. "

"Really? And do you think I am that ‘special’ trainer?"

She glanced over at me, smiling. "I'm not sure, but maybe you are, Robert." I must have been imagining it, but her gaze seemed to feel warm on my skin.

"Please, call me Bobby. Everybody else does."

"Bobby, what I saw today was quite impressive. You were at the gym when it opened, you worked out for two hours. I saw the incredible amount of cardiovascular work you did, your coworkers told me you do it every single day. Very impressive!" I shrugged. "And then your work in the weight room was equally impressive."

"I like to stay fit, I enjoy it. Surely you must have come across others who felt the same way at the other gyms?"

"Ah, yes, of course," she purred, "but not with your dedication. I saw how you worked with your clients. From the oldest, frailest, most morbidly obese clients, to the youngest, fittest athletes, your dedication and enthusiasm was clear. You are a very special person, Bobby. You're not just a trainer because you CAN be - you really want to be. You could very possibly be the perfect trainer."

"Well, I don't know about that. That’s flattering, and I do love my job. A lot of people exercise because they feel they should, but I really do enjoy it. But I don't understand what this has to do with how I can help you - are you looking for a trainer?"

She placed a hand on my arm. We stopped and I turned to face her. Every time our eyes met I felt like I was being overcome by her beauty.

"I have a proposition for you, Bobby. Look at me," she said, holding out her arms and tilting her head to regard her own body. It was a great excuse for me to take in her sexy figure free of guilt.

"I don't understand, Ornias," I said, struggling slightly with her unusual name, "you look fine."

"You're very kind," she said, a crooked smile spreading across her lips. "I think it's obvious that I could stand to lose at least thirty pounds."

I shrugged, glancing at her rounded hips and full cleavage. "I think you look lovely the way you are," I replied, and I meant it. "But I understand if you have a goal you'd like to meet. Would you like me to be your personal trainer? That's no problem, I can make room in my schedule. Just call the gym in the morning, they'll hook you up."

She laughed and shook her head. It sent a shiver up the back of my neck. "I'm sorry, Bobby, I appreciate the offer, but I'm just not a 'work out' type of person. Walking, like this, is about as close as I get to exercise."

"Then I'm not sure there's anything I can do for you." I started to turn away, but she grabbed me by the arms and pulled me back.

"But what if there was?" she asked. Her brow creased and she looked serious.
"What? I... I don't understand..."  I tried to back away, but her grip was surprisingly strong.

"What if you could work out for me?"
I tilted my head, no doubt my face showing my confusion.

"You like working out, right?    Wouldn't it be great if you could work out FOR me? Then I wouldn't have to."

"Even if that was possible, which it isn't, why would anyone want to do that?" I asked, still completely confused.

Ornias held my gaze captive, her smile grew wider. "For a fee, of course."

I shook my head, turned away. "But that's impossible. It's like a fairy tale." I continued walking.

"Let me prove it to you, Bobby. Imagine what you could charge someone - someone like me - if you were willing to do the work for them. You wouldn't just be there to motivate them, teach them, you could really help change them."

I stopped. When I turned to face her, she stood with her hands on her hips, her expression serious.

"How are you going to prove this is possible?"

She smiled and sauntered toward me. The sway of her hips was very distracting. She walked right up to me, her breasts practically touching my chest. I felt her hand through my T-shirt on my solid, hard abs.

"I'll be your proof. You can lose my thirty pounds for me." Her eyes were cold, but her serious expression melted into a grin. "Are you interested?"

I laughed. "Sure, I'll bite. What do I need to do?"

She leaned in closer, her hand still on my stomach. Her eyes gradually closed. She kissed me, and as our lips touched, it felt somehow electric. I couldn't help but press into her kiss, not quite sure what we were doing. After what seemed like minutes, but was probably only seconds, she pulled away.
My eyes opened as Ornias stepped away from me. "That was nice... But what do you need to do now?" I asked, a little dazed and aroused from her kiss.

"We're done," she said. "See?"  Raising her arms, she posed in the glow of the streetlights. I thought perhaps it was my eyes playing tricks on me, but somehow she looked a little more slender. The width of her hips seemed to have diminished somewhat, and her full bosom no longer stretched the limits of her top as it had before. The outward curve of her tummy was no longer noticeable.

"I don't understand..."

She stepped back toward me, took my hand in hers, and brought it up to my stomach, under my T-shirt.

"See?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

The familiar hardness of my abs was gone. Under my palm I felt a small cushion. My free hand also reached for my stomach, and between my fingers, I felt a soft roll of flesh.

"What the hell?" I grumbled.

"Don't you see? Just through that single kiss, you've taken my fat away from me. I guess I should thank you." Her smile looked sinister in the half light.

"You mean this fat on my stomach came from you?" I cried, incredulous. "How? How is that possible?"

"It's a gift, Bobby. If you accept my proposition, that gift can be yours."
She cupped my face in her hands. My hands were still pressed against the new layer of padding around my waist. Was I dreaming? Was this magic?
"I'll be in touch," she said, her voice soft.   
I was too busy considering this sudden acquisition of mass to even hear her. I looked up as she walked away, disappearing in the darkness.



Back at my house, I stripped off my top and marched into the bathroom. I examined myself in the full-length mirrors. Sure enough, my chiseled midsection was gone, a smaller layer of soft flesh having grown over it, seemingly in an instant. I prodded and poked at it, barely able to believe it was real.

How could this be? I didn't believe in things like magic and the supernatural, but I couldn't come up with a rational explanation for my evening encounter. Was this strangely-named woman a witch of some kind? Was I drugged? Did she really lose the weight that I now carried?

The next morning I increased my cardio regimen, determined to lose my mysterious new pounds. I made sure to wear a loose T-shirt to hide my figure and avoid any uncomfortable questions.