The Quarantine 15: Chapter 7

3.5 months of Quarantine

Each subtle bump that Asia’s car drove over sent reverberations through the wad of fat resting on Alex’s midsection, reminding him of his quarantine weight gain. The thin fabric of his wife beater clung to his body like a second skin. He felt constricted and exposed, the sides of his fleshy chest sagging out of the tank top. His chubbiness was visceral and at the front of his mind. He was worried about meeting up with people who had only known him as a slender otter. 

The roommates were headed to snack on the beach with two couples. Rachel was Asia’s close friend and she was bringing her boyfriend Tyrell. Danny and Amir were initially Emilio’s friends but had grown close to Alex over the years as well. It was Danny and Amir who Alex was most nervous about meeting. The two men were typical gym gays with perfectly sculpted hairless bodies that they loved to show off in form fitting clothes. Surely, Alex assumed, they would be judgmental of his and Emilio’s weight gain. 

Asia parked and they began to plod across the sand to find their friends. The boys felt immediately assaulted by the heat. The sweat caressing the curves of Emilio’s bulging bubble butt caused his basketball shorts to dampen against his skin, while sweat stains were already expanding below Alex’s armpits and lower back. It was a long walk that would have been difficult on flat ground, but the sand created more of a work out than the two chubs were prepared for. Exhausted, they finally arrived at the spot. 

The friends greeted each other jubilantly. Everyone was ecstatic to finally interact with someone new although their social skills had dampened awkwardly from the months of solitude. Alex and Emilio spread out their blanket, struggling to bend over with their bellies in the way, while Asia was fully set up within a matter of minutes. Both boys felt self conscious by their obvious lack of physicality, but when they sat down they were pleasantly surprised. 

“I’m glad we’re not the only ones with the quarantine fifteen!” Danny joked. 

“Oh you noticed,” Alex ironically retorted and rubbed his belly as though he were pregnant. 

“My god almost four months with no gym, it’s driving me crazy,” Danny continued. “There’s only so much you can do from home. And with this one cooking all the time,” Danny motioned to his partner, “it’s been the perfect storm.”

Danny was not lying. For the first time since Emilio had known him Danny’s starkly athletic body had begun to soften. Sure, he still looked fit, but his arms no longer bulged with muscle and his pecs were no longer chiseled from stone. Instead, a little bubble of fat sloped outwards from beneath his chest. His UnderArmour shirt perfectly contoured the puffiness at his midsection that became ever more apparent as he sat cross legged. Emilio even noticed a slight softness under Danny’s chin. 

“What can I say!” Amir laughed. “There’s nothing else to do besides cook. And I’m sure you can tell I’ve been eating more than Miss Skinny Mini over here,” Amir patted the gut hanging over his waistband. 

Indeed, Amir was outpacing his partner in more ways than one. Both Emilio and Alex were struck by how different he looked. Not only had Amir gained at least thirty or so pounds, most of it straight to his gut, he was also densely hairy. Emilio had never realized that Amir must have been waxing and shaving scrupulously all these years. From the way Amir lounged on the beach blanket, his arm propping him upright and his legs stretched out, the boys could get a detailed view of his body. 

His stomach spilled forward at the waist and hung suspended by the fabric of his tank top. Amir’s arm pressed into his fleshy side illustrating the droop of his chest and the side rolls that had developed since his gym going days. Moreover, dark hair trailed from his armpits to his chest, shoulders, back and neck. Alex was relieved to have a hirsute counterpart on the beach, especially one who was only about fifteen pounds shy of his own weight. 

“Oh lord! You boys have no idea what it means to gain weight,” Rachel chimed in. “You call that fat? I’ve put on fifty pounds already!”

Completely oblivious, both Alex and Emilio were shocked to notice just how plump Rachel had grown. She was easily outpacing all of them and was already digging into a pack of Milano cookies. 

“Can’t say I mind,” Tyrell chuckled and slapped his girlfriend’s ass. “You all should go easy on yourselves. These are tough times and we gotta find comfort in something, am I right?”

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

“Besides,” he continued, “I’m finding comfort in having a little extra to hold onto at night. It’s fun having the extra wobble in the bedroom .” 

Alex and Emilio bit their tongues. While in full agreeance, they avoided weighing in at the risk of exposing their newfound romance. 

“Honestly, I agree hands down,” Danny said. “I know you’ll be surprised to hear it, but this dumb little circuit gay has been super into Amir becoming a cuddly daddy bear. Sorry if TMI but a fat ass is way more hot to play with.”

Alex smirked at Emilio upon hearing this comment while Asia watched with suspicious eyes. She was the only one who hadn’t gained weight in quarantine and was frankly bored by this conversation. She was about to change the subject when Amir spoke up. 

“Speaking of, not to put you on the spot Emilio, but damn. Congrats on the ass gains. You could make some definite dough online with that booty. To say it’s poppin’ is an understatement.”

Emilio blushed and shifted awkwardly on his ample rump. While he was proud of his bubble butt, he hadn’t anticipated that it would grow quite so large in only a matter of months. Having someone other than Alex acknowledge this fact left Emilio squirming. 

“I mean yeah, the quarantine weight is no joke. It’s a struggle to fit this thing into any of my pants these days. But who needs pants when you’re lounging around the house anyway?”

“True that,” Danny continued. “I keep wondering what’s gonna happen when bars are allowed to reopen? All the gays are gonna be struggling to fit into their itsy bitsy shorts and tanks.”

“Will every bar be a bear bar now?” Alex joked. 

“We need a new term for a chubby twink,” Amir suggested, “because they’re going to be swarming the gayborhood. Can’t say I’m not looking forward to it,” he smirked. 

Finally, Asia changed the subject from their collective weight gains. After debriefing about their thicker bodies the whole crew felt comfortable breaking into the food they packed. Rachel and Tyrell had sub sandwiches, chips, and a seemingly never ending supply of cookies emerging from Rachel’s purse. Danny and Amir had packed meatball subs and homemade protein bars that they dug into with gusto. Sadly, however, Alex and Emilio had deferred to Asia who packed a light spread of veggies and crackers. 

Their stomach’s still yearning for more, the boys hatched a plan. They would excuse themselves to use the bathroom in the parking lot and on their way hit up the hot dog stand for something filling. As the roommates plodded across the beach Danny and Amir took in Emilio’s ass from behind, the two globes of fat undulating beneath his silky mesh shorts. The fleshy top half of Emilio’s ass was now exposed above the constricting elastic waistband. Sand clung to the hairs trailing from his lower back down to his crack, unnoticed by Emilio himself who was too busy traversing the sand and maintaining his breath. 

When they finally bit down on their hotdogs piled high with toppings the boys felt a wave of relief wash over them. A hearty meal brought them a sense of peace and comfort. Unfortunately, their rapture was disturbed by an email notification on Emilio’s phone. He nearly dropped his precious food as he read the email. 

“The org lost more than half of its funding,” Emilio said distantly, his eyes glued to the screen. “I’m… unemployed. They’re laying off a majority of the staff.”