Lifetime Supply: Chapter 5

Written by: Gaining Fiction

Lifetime Supply is a collaborative story penned by Gainer Stories and Gaining Fiction. Patrons receive early access to each chapter before release on Tumblr.

“Uh, likewise,” Ryan said, shaking Luke’s hand. “I was just, um… wow, is it hot in here?” he said, suddenly wishing he’d left his hoodie in the car. He was starting to sweat. Of course, that hoodie was the only thing disguising his bulging love handles… without it, Ryan’s increasingly rotund body would be on full display.

“I’m fine,” Jason said, eyes darting around the room. He seemed to look everywhere but at Ryan.

“It is a little warm,” Luke said. He smiled. “How do you two know each other?”

Ryan had spent enough time on the phone with this guy to know that voice well. This was definitely the same Luke. Adesco Luke, who knew more about Ryan’s food preferences than Ryan himself. “Oh, Jason and I—”

“We went to high school together,” Jason cut him off. “We both did track.”

Ryan tried not to scowl. “And then we dated for a few years,” he pointed out. “And we actually met in AV club, while I’m setting the record straight.”

Jason flushed, and Luke gave his boyfriend a sidelong glance. “Oh, you’re that Ryan! It’s great to finally put a face to the stories.”

So you haven’t forgotten about me, Ryan thought. “Good stories, I hope,” he said, taking a much larger sip of his rum and coke than he’d intended. He kept waiting for some comment from Luke, some indication that the hunky brunet knew who he was.

“Of course,” Jason said. He sounded defensive, and Ryan cringed. God, this was torture.  “I’ve told Luke about our hiking trips, the runs we used to go on… Oh, look, there’s Ivan. We should go say hi.”Jason gestured across the room.

“Oh! Sure,” Luke said, no doubt sensing the tension. “Well, it was lovely to meet you, Ryan. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

Ryan cleared his throat. “Yeah, totally,” he said. Jason was already walking away.

Ryan checked out both men as they walked off. Luke’s great legs led up to an even more delicious ass… Jason certainly liked a good bottom. As he checked out their broad shoulders and defined lats, Ryan thought about Jason’s last comment. Was he hinting that Ryan could stand to start running and hiking again?

Racked with frustration and confusion, Ryan decided it was time to go home. The only guys at the mixer who were his type were already taken. He drained his drink and met Ahmed on the dance floor. “I think I’m gonna head out,” he yelled over the music.

Ahmed was pressed up against a petite twink in a crop top and harness, and Ryan knew his roommate wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. “Okay, see you later!” he yelled back.

Ryan could feel Jason’s eyes on his increasingly beefy backside as he slipped out of the venue. He felt relieved to be out in the cool night air, and he realized how much he’d been sweating as he started his walk home.

Regretting not getting a couple of falafel wraps for the road, Ryan’s eyes lingered on the Dairy Queen as he passed. I shouldn’t, he thought. And then he did.

His stomach was packed with ice cream and milkshake by the time he got home, and his anxiety was soothed by that pleasant, overfull feeling. He stripped off his clothes, awash with relief as he let his stomach hang out over the waistband of his undies. He wasn’t hungry—in fact, he was more than a little stuffed, and very bloated—but he ripped into a box of snack cakes as he sprawled out on his bed and fired up his laptop.

Needing to release a little pent-up frustration, Ryan loaded up some porn and rubbed one out. But when that moment of blissful release finally came, he was surprised to find his eyes flutter shut, an image of Luke’s perfect legs flashing across his mind.

Okay, what the fuck, he thought, as he shut his computer and started cleaning up. I really need to get laid.

He woke up the next morning surrounded by snack wrappers, his stomach grumbling like he’d just run a 5K. He plodded to the kitchen, giving his belly a little scratch. His heart nearly stopped when he saw a random guy sitting at his kitchen table, but he relaxed upon recognizing Ahmed’s hookup from the night before. This guy was also in his underwear, and Ryan felt a sting of embarrassment at the contrast between their bodies: he didn’t have an ounce of body fat, while Ryan’s gut poured over his waistband, wrapping into a pair of love handles that forced the elastic waistband of his boxer-briefs to fold over. He tugged on his underwear, conscious of the way his ass fat was pulling fabric away from the front, and the way the leg holes were cutting into his chubby thighs.

“Good morning!” the pretty boy chirped, totally unbothered by Ryan’s half-naked state. “I’m Cory, you must be Ahmed’s roommate!”

This guy was practically vibrating with energy, and Ryan tried not to sigh when he realized that he’d probably be seeing a lot more of him. Cory was just Ahmed’s type. “Ryan,” he grumbled, as he made his way to the fridge and retrieved a pack of bacon.

Ryan’s prediction was correct: Cory became a regular presence around the apartment, and a very loud one, considering the headboard-shattering zoo noises that emanated from Ahmed’s bedroom whenever he appeared.

Ryan had hoped that Cory would at least put a dent in some of the Adesco boxes, but he never seemed to do more than nibble on whatever snack Ahmed picked out. Which meant that most of the processed snacks were still making their way into Ryan’s gut, and adding to the padding around his gut, hips, and thighs.

About a week after the mixer, Ryan got a phone call from Adesco. He was in the middle of an assignment, but decided to take a break and answer it. “Hello?” he said, through a mouthful of snack cake.

“Hi there, this is Luke, your Adesco customer service representative. I was wondering if you had time to give some feedback on your latest delivery?”

Ryan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was reminded of his father’s advice: there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Sure, he was up to his neck in “free” snack food, but he felt more like a guinea pig than a prize-winner. Or maybe just a regular pig, considering how well-fed Adesco was keeping him. “Yeah, sure.”

Luke went through a list of questions: rate this on a scale of one to ten, any feedback on this new item, and on and on. “And how are you finding your experience overall?” Luke asked, finally.

“My… experience?”

“Have you been enjoying your Adesco prize packages?”

Ryan looked down at his stomach, which now pooled out noticeably into his lap. He laid a hand on his chest, which had softened and grown alongside his belly. “Ah, yeah. A little too much, to be honest.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I’ve put on a good 30 pounds, at least. Maybe 40, if I’m honest.”

“Huh,” Luke said. He sounded… interested? Ryan could hear his breathing quicken through the phone, and he decided to keep going.

“Yeah, I’m kind of blowing up over here,” Ryan said. “I mean, I’ve tried to pace myself with all the snacks, but they just keep coming, you know?”

“Right,” Luke said. “So, you’ve been eating most of them yourself, then?”

Ryan smiled, trailing his hand along his stomach. “Yeah, definitely. My roommate helps a little, but I’ve kind of been making a pig of myself these past few months. I’ve had to size up my wardrobe a few times, and, to tell you the truth, I can’t see myself slowing down as long as these boxes keep coming.”

“Oh. Uh. Okay,” Luke said. “Tell me more about that.”

Ryan bit his lip. That sounded more like a comment from a therapist than a customer service rep. You wanna hear all the gory details, Luke?

“Well, I mean, I’ve always liked to eat,” he said. He started to lay it on thick. “But I’ve been getting a little out of control lately. Like, I’m always snacking on something or other. I can’t help myself, really. If I see some of those chocolate half-moons or a bag of kettle chips, it’s like… one second it’s here, then it’s gone, you know? And it’s been going straight to my ass.”

A sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. “Huh.”

Ryan continued, still smiling to himself. He started kneading the ring of fat around his waist. “I was never what you’d call fat, before. My ex and I used to run a lot. But my weight has started to become a… bit of a problem, recently. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you guys are trying to fatten me up.”

“Oh, I’m not—I don’t—Adesco takes health and welfare very seriously,” Luke said. Ryan stifled a chuckle. He could tell Luke was getting flustered.

“Of course,” Ryan said. “But, you know, it’s starting to get a little obvious. This much weight is kind of hard to hide. I was out at a mixer last week, and I ran into my ex. I think it kind of freaked him out, seeing how chubby I’ve gotten. Like, ‘what happened to Ryan?’ It wouldn’t have been so awkward if he hadn’t been with his new boyfriend, who’s a total hunk.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment. “I’m sure your ex wasn’t freaked out.”

Ryan hesitated. He’d been expecting Luke to finally come out and admit that he’d been at the mixer, and that they’d met. He pressed on: “Eh, he can be a little judgmental. He’s kind of a hardbody. And like I said, so is this new guy. I’m sure he was shocked that Jason ever dated a guy like me.”

More silence. “Who knows,” Luke said, finally. “Maybe he’s… more open-minded than you realize.”

Ryan didn’t know what to say to that. Another moment passed, and Luke spoke again: “Well, thank you again for your feedback. We truly appreciate you taking the time to give us your honest opinion, and we’re thrilled to hear that you’ve been enjoying our products.”

I’m sure you are, Ryan thought with a smile.

“We’ll be sending another box, as a thank-you for taking the time to complete this survey. And as always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any comments or concerns.”

They said their goodbyes, and the call ended. Sitting on the couch with his phone in his hand, mostly naked, Ryan was surprised to notice that he was sporting a bit of a boner.

True to their word, another box arrived on Ryan’s doorstep by courier a few days later. And true to Ryan’s word, he had a hard time controlling himself: he snacked night and day, tearing into package upon package of sweet, salty, greasy snack food.

Eating big had become part of Ryan’s lifestyle. He used to eat to live, but now, he lived to eat, spending his extra money on weed and then satisfying his munchies with bag after heaping bag of takeout. All the free snacks had freed him up to spend money on other things—usually more food. And with his sedentary lifestyle, the pounds were really piling on.

His gut was getting noticeably larger with each passing month, while his round, juicy ass and chunky thighs were putting increasing pressure on even his loosest pants. He started getting used to ill-fitting clothes, hiding his unbuttoned pants under a belt that he’d poked holes in to accommodate his added bulk.

Ahmed and Cory were totally nonjudgmental, but neither was much help when it came to the regular deliveries of fattening treats. As the winter wore on, Ahmed kept up his bulk, but he started talking about shifting to a cut before spring. And his regular trips to the gym made his growing muscles more noticeable than his still-expanding belly. Cory, meanwhile, hadn’t gained a pound, although he turned out to have a real talent in the kitchen: it seemed like whenever they smoked a bowl, Ahmed and Ryan lazed on the couch while Cory retreated to the kitchen to make spaghetti, or brownies, or some other rich fare.

Ryan knew his weight was steadily climbing. It was hard to ignore, given the way he found himself bumping into things with his fattened butt, or fighting with every item of clothing in his wardrobe. But he didn’t realize just how much fat he was packing on until well into the winter semester, when he noticed Ahmed’s scale on the bathroom floor. With a nervous sigh, he figured it was time to assess the damage. Just how fat am I?