The Quarantine 15: Chapter 13

8.5 months of Quarantine

“We’re so glad you could join us for Thanksgiving,” Danny said as he brought Alex and Amir a glass of spiked eggnog. “You two catch up here on the couch and dinner will be served in ten minutes.”

Alex nervously sipped his eggnog while confronting the fact that he was easily the fattest guy in the room. Danny and Amir hadn’t lost any weight since Alex saw them so many months ago on Fourth of July, in fact they had each puffed up a bit more, but Alex had gained considerably since then. He now owned an entirely new wardrobe all the way down to socks and underwear. Going into the office left him no choice but to abandon his lifestyle of elastic waistbands and actually find some clothes that fit.

As he sat in Danny and Amir’s cozy apartment, Alex wore a pair of dark blue jeans that were appropriately snug around his thighs and rump. On top he had a long sleeve shirt that was covered by a form fitting chunky knit sweater that clung to his oozing love handles and robust midsection. In the past month he had grown a short-cropped beard in a failed attempt at masking the ring of fat that had swelled around his jaw and neck.

The overall effect was that of a soft and fuzzy dough ball which seemed to suit Alex. The rich earth tones of his bulging sweater heightened his perceived cuddliness and comfort, while the extra weight suited his face with an air of dignified masculinity. Despite Alex’s insecurities, both Danny and Amir found themselves strangely entranced by the new extra large version of their friend.

Amir’s belly had similarly expanded outward in recent months, though overall was less substantial than Alex’s generous overhang. Unlike Alex, Amir’s face stayed relatively thin which made his gut seem oddly protuberant. Danny had also gained a bit of weight that firmly clung to his waist and ass in the matter of an ex-jock who was struggling to keep up his gym routine. He seemed particularly proud of it too, wearing excessively tight clothes that accentuated his curves and trotting around in a faggy manner that caused the extra weight to bounce.

As they were seated at the table and began to pile their plates high, conversation turned to politics. All three men were relieved by the recent election results, though Amir was still highly critical of the new president-elect. Danny asked how Emilio was fairing, considering he was now residing in a red state. Alex realized he wasn’t quite sure of how Emilio was doing and this thought refused to leave his mind for the rest of the meal.

An hour later and all three men were stuffed to the gills. Their stomachs swelled with an abundance of food and drink yet they still picked at the food on the table, unable to stop themselves. Alex couldn’t remember the last time he was this full, which was considerable given the rate with which he regularly stuffed himself.

Excusing himself from the table, he waddled to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His physique had become so rounded that it looked as though he were about to go into orbit. Alex took a selfie in the bathroom mirror, and then another from a lower angle that accentuated his girth. Nervously, he sent the image to Emilio with the text: “Overdid it tonight, hell overdid it this year. Hope you’re having a good one. I’m thankful for the time we had together.”

When the message notification popped up on Emilio’s phone he was already fast asleep, sprawled on the couch with his shirt riding up. Thanksgiving had been an excuse for Emilio to abandon all inhibition and go completely hog wild. His stomach gurgled uncomfortably as the tryptophan induced coma left him snoring with his mouth wide open. His parents watched disapprovingly.

In the two and a half months since Emilio had moved back in with his parents he had indeed lost a good amount of weight. Thirty pounds to be exact. He was now looking less fat and more chubby. His stomach shrunk considerably, his overhang receding into a squishy pooch around his waist. His ass, on the other hand, remained plump and juicy. This was due in part to the fact that Emilio was now hitting the gym routinely every morning with a special focus on his glutes.

He also did cardio per his parents’ demand and some light upper body training. Despite his initial resentment towards his parents' fatphobia and the frustration of having others dictate your body type, Emilio was feeling good. Routine exercise had boosted his mood and he did enjoy seeing muscle gains, even if they were at the expense of his hard earned chub.

That being said, Emilio’s piggish desires to stuff himself never fully subsided. He’d occasionally gorge on a fast food run but these were less satisfying than the home cooked meals he became accustomed to living with Alex. For this reason, Thanksgiving presented the perfect opportunity to throw his diet to the wind and give in to gluttony, especially since his plus-sized extended family would be joining them. Thanksgiving was the only day his parents could not comment on his intake without insulting multiple other family members.

When his aunts and uncles and cousins began arriving at their house Emilio felt solace. For the first time in months he wasn’t the fattest guy in the room. This was followed by mild anxiety over the knowledge that much of his extended family regarded the coronavirus with skepticism and were taking little to no precautions. At this point, Emilio himself didn’t even know what to believe. All he knew was that he wanted to eat.

As the family piled their plates high with gravy soaked fixings Emilio’s mouth began to water. The first bite of food set his senses on fire. After savoring the first delectable bites his pace quickened. He wanted more. All he wanted was delicious food in his mouth and for his stomach to have that uncomfortably stretched feeling it used to have with Alex.

Emilio bowed out of the dinner table conversation, completely consumed by the food in front of him. He lost count of how many plates he consumed, scooping more food in front of himself whenever a spot on his plate cleared. Greg and Susan watched in horror as their son transformed into the greedy glutton they had presumed lurked inside of him but had yet to meet. Susan was disgusted while Greg was genuinely shocked. Even some of his overweight family members were taken aback by his feasting.

Emilio was completely oblivious to their reactions as he became enslaved to his appetite. He didn’t slow down with dessert, tossing back glasses of wine between greedy mouthfuls of delectable treats. At this point Emilio's stomach was looking noticeably distended. He was the only one at the table whose pace had not slowed. Even his fattest uncle was looking woozy as Emilio ploughed forward.

As people began disappearing from the table Emilio abruptly stopped eating. He snapped out of his fiendish feeding haze and looked around wearily. His stomach felt on the verge of tearing. Without a word, he stood up and sauntered over to the couch where he plopped down and promptly fell asleep.

“That was shocking,” Susan said to her husband.

“I am without words,” Greg replied.

Several hours after all their guests had left Emilio was still asleep on the couch. He groggily opened his eyes to a dark and empty living room. Clutching his phone, he opened Alex’s message. The visage of his love, a good deal fatter, particularly in the face and neck, greeted him. Alex grinned and sat up for a closer look. As he did so the button of his denim pants shot across the room and clanged against the metal window frame. His own gut fell forward as he stared at Alex’s generous sloping belly with glee. He had forgotten how much fun gaining weight could be.