A Good Day, and a Great Evening - A Hefty Halloween Story Pt 3

****NOTE****

male x female encounter (make out/romance/"hook-up")

James watched the movie with Vick and Annie, it was a favorite of theirs and they’d always watched it together at least three times leading up to Halloween. The day after the “incident” was the second time since the weather turned toward the spooky.

Today was a rarity in that the three of them all had it off, so they were able to spend it together. James did most of the clean-up in the common area, still feeling guilty about using up all the hot water despite neither of his roomies needing the shower and there having been enough time for the hot water to replenish by now. It seemed to James to be a reasonable enough thing to hang his anxiety on, since he refused to acknowledge the…other thing.

Annie started cooking snacks for Game Night at around noon; the smell of searing beef and baking potato products including but not limited to tater tots filled the house. James did the kitchen cleanup without being prompted once Annie was done putting together the toppings for nachos and some prep for other table food that they would be providing.

He overheard her wondering aloud to Vick once she’d left the kitchen, “What happened to the jar of bacon grease from when I cooked breakfast? I was going to use some of it to start the beef off.”

“Oh, uh, I knocked it over while I was cleaning up!” James said hurriedly. “Wasn’t paying enough attention and bumped the stove. But I got it all up and cleaned the jar.”

“Hm, well that’s a bit of a shame. I always find a little bacon fat really improves a dish.” Annie said, letting her hand trail over Victor’s plump midsection as she walked through the dining area. “You ready to go pick up the rest of the stuff, Vickie?” She went up on tiptoe and kissed her beau on the cheek.

The big man squirmed and fidgeted a little, a positively cherubic smile stretched across his face. “Yeah, hon, let’s go.”

James put an expression of mock disgust on his face despite how happy he was that his friends were so in love, “Barrrrrrf! Get a room!” He called, unable to keep the laughter out of the exclamation.

Annie favored him with a facetious glare of her own, “We’ve got one, it’s upstairs across from yours.” Then she stuck her tongue out at him and sauntered away, leaving Vick to trot after her chuckling.

The two of them left to get the chips and drinks, which left James to his own devices. To be honest, he should have been grading papers or working on his thesis but he couldn’t push his mind in a really productive direction that didn’t involve physically moving and doing something. So he went through the house again, trying to catch any stray dust or low grade material entropy that he might have overlooked when he started to clean after the movie was over.

This search for more mess brought him through the kitchen, where once again there was a jar of grease on the stove. This time it was from the beef which Annie had cooked for tonight’s nachos. James stood stock still, staring at the jar, Annie must have used a couple pounds of pretty fatty meat because this jar was quart sized and nearly full.

The yellowish fat was completely clear. James swallowed and felt his heartbeat beginning to speed up. He could smell it, and it was like all the most delicious beef dishes he’d ever had, if it had been possible to combine all of them into a single fluid essence. As had happened that morning; James felt his legs move unbidden, and his arm extended to take the jar with no input from any rational center of his brain. The glass was still hot, and should have been enough to burn his palm, but James didn’t even feel mild discomfort as he tipped it up to his mouth and began to guzzle the quart of hot grease down.

Horror and revulsion were just the smallest whispers of emotion in his mind as the quart of fat drained into him as easily as if it were water. Though the temperature of it was enough that it should have scalded his mouth, it did not. Almost as quickly as he’d downed the bacon fat that morning, the beef fat was gone. James found himself licking and slurping at the glass for several minutes before logical thought returned to the forefront of his mind.

He was horrified, mortified, disgusted! But just as when he’d gulped down the bacon fat these emotions didn’t feel nearly as important as they might normally have felt. Even as he turned to wash the jar he found himself licking grease from his fingers.

“God, what the fuck is wrong with me…” He muttered to himself as he placed the jar in the dish drainer and washed his face again before going back to the TV room and collapsing onto the sofa. James was visited once more by the visage of his attacker the night before, glittering malevolent eyes set in a pudgy round face. This time, however, panic didn’t return with the vision (at least not at the levels he’d felt before). Instead he only felt confused and frustrated, and increasingly jittery. James rubbed at his face, his brain remarking upon the slightly increased softness of his cheeks but not really registering it, and then stood and grabbed his coat. He had time to go for a drink before game night, and he definitely felt he needed one.

***

He didn’t take his truck, the bar James liked best wasn’t far away and he felt like he might need to feel the cold wind on his face just as much as he felt he needed a strong drink. So he slung his leg over his bike and pedaled off. The ride there was uneventful aside from James trying not to focus overly much on his jeans digging into his midsection. When he got to the place, Porjo’s it was called, he saw a sign declaring that there would be Slam Poetry there that night and James counted himself lucky that he’d gotten there several hours before it was due to start.

Inside there was a crew of people setting up the stage for the night’s event, but other than that the combination bar and café was empty. James sat on a bar stool and ordered a beer before turning to look at the people preparing the stage. There was a plump woman with long black hair that fell around her face and shoulders in loose ringlets, she had her makeup done in corpse white with black lipstick and nearly theatrical eyeliner. James found himself admiring her figure for a few moments before he felt an unsettling flash of hunger, one that was very much like the flash that he’d felt when he’d caught a glimpse of Victor’s belly the night before. Unnerved he turned hastily around and focused on his drink.

James ordered three more beers and drank them pretty quickly, trying to drown this sudden uptick in nerves with the booze. It wasn’t working, and what happened next made the whole situation worse. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find the woman right in his face.

“You should take a picture, sweetheart, it’ll last longer.” She said, crossing her arms over her ample chest. Her expression was hard to read, somewhere between anger and amusement. James was hoping for it to be closer to amusement.

“I…I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to stare!” James babbled, but then a curious sensation came over him. It was as if a misty filter fell over the scene. One he put down to the booze at the time. He felt flushed and his vision wavered a little. The woman was staring at him still, but she didn’t look as angry anymore.

“It’s just, you’re easy on the eyes. That’s all.” James leaned back against the bar and swept a lock of his hair back behind his ear, and though he’d never had much luck in flirting he wasn’t surprised when a little bit of pink crept into the woman’s pale cheeks.

“Well, I’m staying at the hotel across the street.” She said, her demeanor suddenly much less closed off as she fiddled with a lock of her curly black hair. “You could…feast your eyes a bit more there.”

Without knowing why he was doing it, James held eye contact and raised his hand toward her. She put her own on it and he leaned over to plant a kiss on the back of her slightly pudgy hand. She blinked and sighed as his lips pressed her flesh. He felt that warping in his jaw again as he did so, but this time paid it no mind. “I’d love to, my name is James. It’s a pleasure to meet you..?”

“Madeleine,” she responded, her tone husky, “Come to my room, 245 right by the elevator, in 20 minutes, if you’d like.” And then she bustled away back to the stage.

James watched her go, enjoying the sight as the warping sensation in his jaw went away. He still wasn’t completely sure what came over him, but he figured he could use a little more enjoyment today.

***

James nursed his beer for a while; waiting a little more than 20 minutes to leave the bar partially because by the time their “appointment” was growing closer he was having more misgivings about the situation. Though, as he crossed the street it felt like he was moving more on autopilot again; it was something like how he’d felt before drinking the grease earlier. He tried not to think about that as he walked into the hotel lobby and went to the elevators.

When James stepped out on the second floor he rather thought he could smell Madeleine. Room 245 was right where she’d said, nearly directly across from the elevator. He went to the door and knocked, Madeleine threw it open almost immediately. She was wearing the same crushed velvet dress she’d had on in the bar, but it was hanging off one shoulder a bit baring beautiful marble white skin.

“I was wondering if you’d decided against coming.” She said, putting her hand on his chest as she beckoned him into the room. “To be honest, I was wondering why I asked you up here…I don’t normally do things like this.”

“To be honest, neither do I.” James said, leaning in slowly to kiss Madeleine on the lips. She leaned forward and they met in the middle before moving toward the bed. As they made their way, Madeleine steadily removed her dress, and James shrugged out of his coat and broke contact with Madeleine’s lips long enough to pull his shirt off.

Then they tumbled onto the bed, which popped and creaked as the two hefty people plopped onto it. James was atop Madeleine, buzzing from the alcohol and something else, when he felt the flash of hunger again. This time, the logical part of him wasn’t in control enough to recoil. He straddled her as she bared her chest, her expression strangely hazy. James bent over her and began to kiss her neck, shoulders, and chest.

He wasn’t sure when, but eventually he’d started to graze her flesh with his teeth, then he began to nip…and suck. The warping feeling was back in his jaw, James could feel it popping and shifting. He felt sharp somethings sliding up in the new gaps, he bit down on her upper chest and Madeleine moaned softly, twisting under him.

Then he tasted it, it was like the bacon fat and the beef fat he’d consumed earlier in the day…but much more intoxicating in its flavor and the sense of power it brought him. A deep primal part of himself roared to be sated, to consume, and to drain this source as he’d drained the jars.

His rational brain rebelled, remembering Madeleine’s composed sense of confidence… her sense of self. She was a fellow human being…he couldn’t. He wouldn’t… James froze and pulled back, his jaw popping and retracting back to its normal shape. He felt drunk… slow… full… heavy… and tired.

He rolled off of Madeleine, she was semiconscious and at first James couldn’t see a mark on her. But then he noticed the very last place he’d bitten. There was a small ring of punctures, but even as he looked they closed… leaving no trace. Baffled but far too addled to puzzle over it, James rolled to the side and sleep took him as soon as his head hit the pillows.

***

“Hey, lover-boy,” he was awakened by the sound of curtains opening, sudden bright light, and a few gentle slaps around his face. “Wakey-wakey, I’ve got to get back to Porjo’s.”

James jerked upright, he felt different…heavier, but right now he couldn’t focus on that because of the enormous wave of relief that had washed over him to see that Madeleine was no worse for the wear. “Oh, thank god you’re…you’re okay.”

“Yeah?” She gave him a strange look and grinned as she pulled her dress back on. “And why wouldn’t I be? D’you have the kiss of death or something?” Madeleine laughed at her own joke for a few moments before fiddling with the straps and zipper of her dress. She seemed nonplussed by it for some reason. “Damn, this fit perfect earlier…did we stretch it out or something during your hickey fest?”

James who had been struggling back into his own clothing, which was much more ill-fitting than before, nearly fell over at that. “H-hickey fest?!? Wha-what do you mean?”

“Oh, come on, you were trying so hard to mark me up. I don’t usually go for that, but honestly it kinda works for ya, cutie. Don’t feel bad though, I’m surprised you didn’t leave at least one. Look, not a single suction blemish.” Madeleine held her clothing open again, showing James her still immaculate marble skin.

James felt his face go very pink, Madeleine grinned almost wolfishly. “Aww, you weren’t nearly this bashful in the bar.” She walked over to him and cupped his cheek with her hand. He gazed up at her and couldn’t help thinking that she looked…different.

“And, I didn’t even notice how chubby you were before.” She gave his belly a gentle smack, and he felt the ripple run all the way over to the opposite lovehandle. “You look good though, I always did like guys with a little more to hold on to.”

She walked away again muttering to herself about how weirdly her dress was fitting now. Eventually she just doffed it and pulled a different dress out of a suitcase, this one was dark red with black rose patterns. “I guess I can belt this one.”

James looked down and felt his chin squish softly against his chest. He wasn’t necessarily surprised by the sight that greeted him, but to say it wasn’t a shock would be inaccurate. He looked like he was at least 45 pounds heavier than he’d been that morning. “God…no wonder my clothes don’t fit…” He murmured.

“What’s that?” Madeleine said over her shoulder, he glanced back at her and saw she was wearing the second dress now with a black sash tied around her waist. James was struck again by her beauty, and by that sense of differentness. “Never mind, hon. I had a good time.” She leaned over, her black hair falling over her shoulder as she kissed James on the cheek. “I’m in town for a while, you should call me.” She handed him a piece of paper with her number on it and then turned toward the door. “Walk me out to the sidewalk?”

James’s face flushed bright red and he fidgeted for a moment before hopping up and trying to wrestle his pants and shirt back on. Madeleine giggled as he struggled with the jeans and finally managed to drag the denim up over his backside. He pulled the shirt on with less difficulty, but it still showed a few inches of his underbelly.

“I really don’t know how I missed this cute paunch before.” Madeleine said, her tone a little teasing as she prodded the exposed flesh.

James just laughed and said, “Yeah…I guess I gotta…update my wardrobe soon.” Then he took Madeleine’s arm and walked her out through the lobby and across the street to the bar. They parted ways at the bike rack but not before Madeleine gave James another kiss, on the lips this time.

“I mean it, you should call me sometime.” She said, her voice a little husky, as she went through the door and crossed to the stage where her crew was setting up the sound equipment.

***

James rode back home pedaling harder than he really needed to. He’d checked his phone and there were a few messages from Vick asking where he was, but there wasn’t any real urgency to them so that was good at least. It was getting closer to the time they usually started game night, but if James got back quickly he’d have a little time to at least try and process the outing he’d just had. No one was outside when he got back, which was good.

He lifted his bike and carried it up to the porch where he chained it to one of the corner posts and then entered quietly. No one was in the common rooms either, which was better. James hurried up the stairs to his room, only pausing briefly to listen at the landing because he could hear some quiet conversation in Vick and Annie’s room. He quelled his sudden urge to eavesdrop and went into his bedroom where he started up his computer and typed a string of words into the search engine that felt like one of the silliest queries he’d ever thought to search.

“Are there vampires that drink fat?” Search.