~BBW (Multiple), Romance, ~SWG — The story of three college students during one semester.
Golden State University, founded in 1870 on the San Francisco Bay, is, in many respects, a typical American university. It has a lively social scene, politically active student groups descended from the university’s legacy of 1960s liberalism, academic excellence in almost every department, Greek life, numerous extracurricular activities, and a long athletic tradition—even if it’s not always been a winning one.
Most importantly, Golden State is home to all sorts of students. There are bookworms, student-athletes, sorority sisters, fraternity brothers, hippies, suit-wearing business majors, slackers, surfers, political activists, gamers—and that’s only just a few examples. People from all races, religions, and stations of life can be found at Golden State University. This story is about just a few such people and their lives in the course of one fall semester.
***
Sophomore Kelly Wesson was about as excited as little kid on a sugar high that Saturday in late August when she moved into the Theta Iota Nu sorority house. After having spent a year in the dorms, life in the house was everything that she hoped it would be. She already felt so close to the other sisters who she’d gotten to know last year when she’d pledged Theta. Everyone was so glad to see her, mirroring Kelly’s own emotions after the long summer break. Kelly really felt like she belong here.
Kelly was precisely what one would expect when it came to a Golden State sorority sister. Not only was she peppy, but she was downright hot. She had a svelte figure that had the right curves to make her more than appealing to the boys. Her butt had just enough padding to fill out her hip hugging jeans without making her bootylicious. Kelly’s respectable breasts (though not as large as some of the other girls in the house) proudly curved beneath her tight pink polo shirt. Below them was a nonexistent belly, as flat as a ruler. Truth be told, Kelly had, through frequent trips to the campus gym, shed five pounds from her physique last year to work against the freshman 15 and the buffet style dining halls. It had worked admirably and now she was a full fledged member of the coed pantheon known as sorority sisters.
One of Kelly’s greatest features was her face, which was kind and smiling nearly all of the time. Her brown hair reached well past her shoulders and behaved however Kelly cared to style it. For move-in day, Kelly had no need to look too impressive, so it was its natural wavy self today. Her blue eyes sparkled all the time, set off against her clear, fair complexion. She had a thin nose that fit her perfectly, but it didn’t get much attention as it was often hidden behind her dazzling smile. Several boys in the dorms last year had caught a fatal glance of her pearly whites and were instantly lost to Kelly’s charm. Though Kelly had resisted the urge to get involved a relationship (after all, one of the older girls in the house named Kara had said, “Why own when renting is so much more fun?”), she was hoping that maybe this would be the year she’d pull down a tasty boy for herself.
Key in those plans was her ex-big sister, Emily Archer. Last year when Kelly had been a pledge the two had been paired together and Kelly had found Emily’s guidance in every area relating to college life indispensable. They had instantly become close friends, hitting up various parties together, taking a class or two with one another just so they could study together over the course of the semester, and talking late into the night more than one day a week. It had been an easy decision for Kelly and Emily to decide to room together in the house this year. Emily was starting her Junior year and had lived in the Theta house last year with some of the other sisters, but she was more than willing to room with her former little sis this year.
Kelly looked at the clock she’d recently hung on the wall. She would have thought Emily would have shown by now. She was usually very prompt. Then again, Kelly had gotten to the house some time around the break of dawn in her excitement to move in, and Emily had never been a morning person, so perhaps her nonappearance wasn’t so surprising.
“There you are girl!” said a very familiar voice from behind Kelly.
Kelly turned around was immediately engulfed in a big hug before she knew what hit her. That wasn’t exactly a figure of speech, for Kelly Wesson didn’t quite know what had just hit her.
Her big sister was…well, bigger than Kelly remembered.
Now, truth be told, Emily hadn’t been the thinnest girl in the house last year, but no one would have called her fat. She had larger curves than most of the other girls, but that only meant she had larger breasts (and everybody knew that boys were suckers for a great set of those) and curvier hips (if the boys weren’t into your boobs, they probably went for your butt). No one really cared if Emily had a little bit of a belly on her. No one even really noticed.
But now no one could ignore the fact that Emily Archer was fatter than when she left for the summer.
Emily’s bust, which had been impressive last year, was now gigantic. Kelly wasn’t even sure she’d ever seen a set like them before. They were almost certainly the biggest pair of any girl in the house (though the Thetas weren’t exactly a large chested crowd like the Double Delts were). Her hips, which previously had been pleasantly round, were now out-and-out wide. Her thighs, which had never been Emily’s strong point, seemed to strain the seams of Emily’s jeans. Kelly couldn’t even figure out how Emily was able to get into them at all. Resting above the waistband of Emily’s jeans was a belly that hedged on being a full blown gut. As Emily embraced her little sis in joy for a second time, Kelly could feel how soft and doughy it was. Though it didn’t jut out as far as Emily’s boobs did, it was threatening to do so. Both her belly and hooters stretched her t-shirt so far that Kelly was surprised that all of her torso was even covered. Emily’s upper arms were also visibly fatter, jiggling with Emily’s every movement. In her shock, Kelly thought that she might be half Emily’s size—though that was somewhat of an exaggeration.
Even Emily’s beautiful face had grown rounder and softer. Once it had been a paragon of beauty, but now those once well-defined cheekbones had been transformed into chubby cheeks. Her green eyes were still set beneath perfect eyebrows and despite all of all the expansions of Emily’s physique they hadn’t lost their bright sparkle. Likewise, her friendly smile was unchanged, though her rounder face made it look a little less dazzling than Kelly remembered. Her straight golden hair framed her face nicely, but it didn’t do anything to make Emily slimmer. The only bright point—if Kelly could call anything a positive about the situation—was that Emily didn’t have a double chin, or even a hint of one, to go with her rounded face. That would have just been entirely too much for Kelly to handle.
Even so, Kelly was lucky that Emily had embraced her so quickly. It meant that her roommate didn’t see the look of shock on her face at discovering Emily really was still her big sis.
“I’ve missed you so much!” Emily said as she pulled apart from Kelly, “How was your summer?”
“Great!” Kelly said with more enthusiasm than she felt. She was still reeling from the sight in front of her. This couldn’t be Emily. This just wasn’t possible.
Unfortunately for Kelly, Emily knew her well. She knitted her brow. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kelly said, quickly groping for an explanation, “Just a little tired from getting all moved in, you know.”
“Already? Come on, I know you’re super excited for what’s going to be an awesome year!” Emily said brightly, “Don’t worry, once you’re all set up I just know that you’ll feel awesome.”
The pair began to get caught up in the work of moving in, talking about their respective summers as they did so. Kelly talked about spending her summer down in Orange County, having fun and relaxing. For her part, Emily had worked as a receptionist over the summer.
“It was a great job,” Emily said as she unpacked her bags, “I just had to sit up front, greet visitors, and answer the phone. It was sooo easy!”
Kelly stole a swift glance at her roommate. No wonder she’d put on so much weight with such a cushy job. Kelly wondered if Emily had the benefit of a daily box of donuts in the break room as well.
As their conversation continued, Kelly found that she was beginning to adjust to Emily’s weight. She was still the same peppy girl that she’d known and loved last year…just bigger. And once she was used to that fact, there wasn’t really any problem with it as far as Kelly could see. In fact, things were going to be great, just like she’d expected.
Emily left to bring up a couple of boxes from downstairs, but Kelly wasn’t alone for very long. Pretty soon Erica Feldman, President of Theta Iota Nu, stopped in to see how she was doing.
“I’m so excited that you’re going to be living in the house this year!” Erica said as she hugged Kelly, “It’s going to be so much fun!”
Erica was a waif of a girl. She looked as thin as she could be. As far as physique went, Erica was most analogous to a pencil. Though she had breasts, they were woefully small, and her butt was nearly nonexistent (though her wise choice in jeans helped to at least give the illusion of one). Her brown hair with the hint of some red highlights—certainly not natural—framed a thin, sharp face that was beautiful, though in a different way from either Kelly or Emily. It was further set off by her long neck, which only made her face look slimmer. Needless to say, no one who met her was surprised to learn that she hailed from Beverly Hills. Rarely did Erica ever have a hair out of place, and all of this made her a perfect President for the Thetas.
“I’m so looking forward to this year!” Kelly said, “I think it’s like the first time ever I’ve been excited for school to start.”
“Well we’re going to have plenty of fun events, just you wait and see! You won’t be disappointed!” Erica said, “Say, is Emily here? I see her stuff, but I haven’t seen her yet.”
“She’s just grabbing a couple boxes or something,” Kelly said.
“And here I am!” Emily declared from the doorway, having just put down a couple boxes of her things to embrace Erica.
“It’s so good to see you!” Erica said eagerly hug Emily.
But Kelly saw the look that flickered across Erica’s face as she caught her first glimpse of Emily Archer. It was not a look that said she was pleased to see Emily—or more precisely the new, fatter Emily.
Kelly suddenly realized that this might be a bit more of a problem than she had thought.
***
“Laaaadies and genetlemen! Welcome onto the court YOUR Golden State Griiiiiizzzzzzleeeeeees!”
With that characteristically enthusiastic introduction, the Golden State women’s volleyball team ran onto the court dressed in their blue and gold uniforms to the cheers of the few hundred fans assembled inside Ross Pavilion.
“Here’s the starting lineup for your Grizzles. At setter, Aisling Harker. At middle hitter, Jean Hargrave. Also at middle hitter, Ann Seyfried. At outside hitter, Molly O’Banion. At opposite hitter, Hannah Davis. At libero, Jill Reynolds.”
There were cheers for each member of the team, especially from the students who had assembled for the game, all of roughly equal enthusiasm. Still, the roar was noticeably stronger for Molly O’Banion than any other player on the team.
After brief warm ups and a cursory handshake at the net, Golden State lined up against Putnam University of Ohio. Putnam got to serve first and, with a monster flying leap and hit, the ball was in play and the game underway. Accordingly, Jill Reynolds dove in the backcourt to receive the mighty serve. Then it was Aisling’s job to set the ball high in the air. She coordinated the offense for the team, and as her nimble fingertips launched the ball into the air, she was shouting to her teammates in their specialized volleyball jargon while the Putnam girls on the other side of the net—who of course had no idea what was being said—prepared their defense against the twin threats of O’Banion and Davis.
They knew from scouting that Molly O’Banion was the larger threat and accordingly they lined up two defenders at the net across from her. It was a futile attempt, for Molly left her feet and smashed a hard spike right through the fingertips of the leaping ladies onto the hardwood court.
“Point, Grizzlies!” came the announcement as O’Banion landed on the court to the applause of the crowd.
A handshake all around was shared by both teams—one in congratulation, the other in consolation—and Golden State was given the ball.
The attention, both from the crowd and the opposing players, given to Molly O’Banion was warranted for she was the star of the team. O’Banion, a Junior, was well on track for the school record in kills. She’d been named a second team All-American as a Sophomore last year and had been first team all-conference as well. Though not the captain of the team (that honor belonged to Jill Reynolds, Senior and one of the conference’s best liberos), Golden State wouldn’t be challenging for the conference title this year if they didn’t have Molly, and everyone knew it. This included the other teams who often knew that the ball was being set up for Molly’s massive kills. Still, there was little many of them could do when Molly slammed the ball down with impressive force.
Naturally, she was a very tall girl—6’ 2”, in fact, and that was in bare feet. Like many other tall girls, Molly was built on a different scale from other women. Some tall women were lean and willowy. They usually became models, or sometimes trophy wives. Molly was not one of those women. Molly was built more like a Valkyrie—broadly and sturdily. It was this size that gave Molly so much power when she spiked the ball across the net for a kill.
As a result, Molly was no dainty flower. She was a full figured woman. Her breasts, C-cup to a decent estimate, were probably the largest on the team (her male peers who showed up for games debated this point as Hannah Davis sported an impressive pair as well) and as she jumped for yet another kill they bounced even within the confines of her sports bra. Molly also sported more than a bit of a belly. It was something between a pot belly and a jelly belly. The layer of flab around her midsection pressed against her jersey, calling attention to itself. All of the girls’ jerseys were tight to ensure that they didn’t get in the way of their play, but Molly’s clung closer than any other girl’s.
There is one staple of the volleyball uniform that is indispensable and is probably also the reason why men attend women’s volleyball: spandex shorts. These shorts are more like modified underwear than anything else. They cover the hips and an inch, maybe two at best, of thigh and are as tight as can be. Needless to say, when a player would bend over and await a serve, men in the stands craned their necks to take in the sight. And with regards to Molly O’Banion, what a sight it was. She had wide, smooth, curvy hips that looked all the larger next to her teammates who didn’t really have any hips to speak of. Most impressive was her bouncing butt, which jiggled furiously within their tight shorts as Molly ran about the court. Their undulations were hypnotic and would have entranced more people if there wasn’t a silly game of volleyball taking place all around it. Molly’s thighs did their fare share of jiggling as well, and those spandex hot pants showed off plenty of Molly’s smooth, plump things. There was plenty of inviting meat on Molly’s legs, but they didn’t slow the star volleyball player down a bit.
Molly’s beauty wasn’t solely confined to her physique. Indeed, if you asked most people on campus who knew Molly what was the most distinctive thing about her, nineteen out of twenty people would have immediately responded her hair. Molly was an eyecatching redhead. Her wavy hair mingled copper and scarlet together seductively. Her clear green eyes would be charming if you happened to run into Molly at a party, but right now they were intense and focused as she stared down the court as the next ball was served into play. Molly had the sort of fair skin that usually comes with such red hair, skin so milk white that she could have given Snow White a run for her money. As a whole, Molly had a face that many people thought was rather attractive. More often people just said, “Molly’s such a sweetheart.”
Right now, the girls of Putnam University had nothing but loathing for #14 O’Banion. Just when they thought they knew where she’d be coming from, the ball would be set up for Davis or Hargrave or someone else and they’d be caught flatfooted and unprepared. Simply put, the Golden State team had too many threats, and they used them all.
All things considered, Putnam put up a good fight, but eventually fell three games to one to the Golden State Grizzlies. The customary handshake was repeated and then the Ohioans were more than happy to head back to the locker room and start the journey home as the Golden State girls headed to their own locker room, flush with victory to the applause of their peers, alumni, and all around volleyball fans that came to games to marvel at the skill level displayed by the Grizzlies.
***
“You know, I kind of felt sorry for that one girl when you spiked the ball right into her face,” Jean Hargrave said.
Molly winced as she ate her Chinese food. “I said I was sorry to her after the game,” she mumbled through her noodles.
“Yeah, well now she’s going to have a black eye or something like that,” Jean said as she flipped through the channels on the TV looking for something good on, “Good thing you didn’t hit her in the nose or else there would have been blood everywhere.”
“You make it sound like I enjoy doing that,” Molly said.
“Well there was that girl from Serenity Valley who you knocked in the forehead—”
“That was last year! I’ve been good since then!”
“And you drilled the ref that one time Freshman year,” Jean listed off.
“You don’t even want to go into your freshman year,” Molly said, “And I’m not even talking about volleyball.”
“Don’t you dare bring up Neil!” Jean warned.
“Or what?” Molly asked with a smile.
Jean just grabbed a throw pillow and whacked her roommate with it. The conversation was emblematic of their joking relationship that the two had had since they lived on the same floor Freshman year. Golden State University liked to put athletes near one another so they would have a support network since balancing practice, games, travel, lecture, papers, and tests (not to mention having a good time, which the University was always cautioning their athletes about since they were “highly visible members of the student body”) could get hectic and it helped to have someone nearby who understood the pressures that beset a student-athlete. Though Molly had roomed with a soccer player her Freshman year and Jean had been with a field hockey player, sharing so many practices brought them together as a matter of course. Their proximity to each other only helped them get to know each other even better, and it made sense that they would live together when they moved out of the dorms at the end of Freshman year.
Their modest two bedroom apartment was similar to that of other college students. It was generally well kept (though neither of the girls would even claim it was immaculate), divided into a living room, a small kitchen, two bedrooms, and one bathroom. It was a respectable apartment that was big enough to give them each space without being too large that it was excessive.
“Nobody would like you if they knew how mean you were to me,” Molly said teasingly.
“Everybody would hate you if they knew how mean you are all the time. They just ignore it because you’re so damn pretty,” Jean said in the same vein.
Jean was no slouch herself. She was just an inch shorter than Molly, but bore little other resemblance to her roommate. Jean fit the mould that described many other tall girls in that she wasn’t thick, but sinewy. Her limbs coursed with strength, which made her an excellent defensive specialist and surprise attacker from time to time. Like about 75% of all women who play collegiate volleyball, Jean was blonde and tan. When placed next to fiery haired, fair skinned Molly, the two couldn’t seem more different. Where Molly’s thighs were plump, Jean’s were firm. Molly carried extra junk in the trunk, but when Jean put on a pair of jeans it was hard to even find her butt sometimes. Molly’s stomach was round and soft, Jean’s was firm and flat. Molly had luscious breasts and Jean…well, her apples were well short of Molly’s melons. Despite their physical differences and the occasional argument, Molly O’Banion and Jean Hargrave were wonderful friends.
“Wait, since when did we get BBC America on our cable package?” Molly asked as Jean paused while flipped through the channels.
“Beats me,” Jean said, reading the show description, “And what kind of a name for a show is Barristers?”
“Looks like another one of those law shows,” Molly said before Jean moved onto the next channel.
“Well, I’m going to meet Alex,” Jean said, handing the remote control to Molly now that she’d finished her lo mein, “Have fun.”
“You always see Alex after a game,” Molly said with a roll of her eyes, “What’s up with that?”
Jean just smiled as she threw a sweatshirt on. “We’re both in a good mood after a win, you know. And most times after a loss too.”
Molly knew exactly what she meant. “Oh come on Jean! After every game?!”
“Hey! It’s not my fault Alex gets so turned on by watching me play. I can barely keep him from chasing me into the locker room and ripping my clothes off right there,” Jean said in her defense, “If I hadn’t told him how hungry I was after a game he wouldn’t even let me come back here and relax with you.”
“Well get going,” Molly said, “And say hi for me. Tell him he never comes over anymore.”
“We can fix that. He’d love to stop over after a game sometime,” Jean said with a big smile.
“Oh anything but that!” Molly said with a joking roll of her eyes.
Jean laughed as she gave a final goodbye and shut the door behind her, leaving Molly alone in the apartment. Molly sighed and settled in to unwind by watching some TV. Unlike Jean, who it seemed had endless energy, even for extracurricular activities with her boyfriend after a game, Molly was simply beat after volleyball. She left all she had on the court and it showed not just in the numbers she posted but also in the fact that she didn’t do anything for a good couple hours after a game. Heaven help her if she had reading for class that desperately needed to be done. Only about half the time could Molly discipline herself into getting her work done the night after a game. Still, she kept above a 3.0, which was considered quite good for a student athlete.
Molly was wearing, as she always did, sweats bearing the label of Golden State Volleyball, especially because the university gave the girls more than a plentiful supply of such gear. Beyond that, they were just outright comfortable and Molly loved nothing more than the warm, fuzzy feeling of a clean sweatshirt and sweatpants after a game. Only during the hot days of summer would she eschew them for lighter apparel. Many student athletes were similarly supplied with like apparel and wore them on a regular basis. As a result, it was a well known fact among Golden State undergrads that the easiest way to spot an athlete was to look for the person wearing Golden State sweats.
Like other athletes, Molly’s choice of clothing wasn’t just limited to lounging about her apartment. Quite often she wore sweats to practice and class. It was indicative of the fact that Molly didn’t put much effort into her wardrobe. Unlike many other girls who spent most of their mornings agonizing over what to wear to class or weekends shopping in San Francisco trying on dozens of outfits, Molly simply went with whatever felt comfortable. This did not always flatter her figure—in fact, it rarely did.
No one had really noticed that when Molly was on the volleyball court, dressed in her sleeveless jersey and tight spandex pants, few people had anything bad to say about the outside hitter—and not just about her skill as a player. Her male classmates freely made comments amongst themselves about how great Molly looked. Yet those same people easily passed her over when they saw her around campus when her baggy sweats hid her voluptuous figure. Molly wasn’t all that heavy, but the sweats hinted to the contrary.
But this was the furthest thing from Molly’s mind. Tonight, she just wanted to relax and revel in the afterglow of a victory.
Golden State University
By Id
By Id
Golden State University, founded in 1870 on the San Francisco Bay, is, in many respects, a typical American university. It has a lively social scene, politically active student groups descended from the university’s legacy of 1960s liberalism, academic excellence in almost every department, Greek life, numerous extracurricular activities, and a long athletic tradition—even if it’s not always been a winning one.
Most importantly, Golden State is home to all sorts of students. There are bookworms, student-athletes, sorority sisters, fraternity brothers, hippies, suit-wearing business majors, slackers, surfers, political activists, gamers—and that’s only just a few examples. People from all races, religions, and stations of life can be found at Golden State University. This story is about just a few such people and their lives in the course of one fall semester.
***
Sophomore Kelly Wesson was about as excited as little kid on a sugar high that Saturday in late August when she moved into the Theta Iota Nu sorority house. After having spent a year in the dorms, life in the house was everything that she hoped it would be. She already felt so close to the other sisters who she’d gotten to know last year when she’d pledged Theta. Everyone was so glad to see her, mirroring Kelly’s own emotions after the long summer break. Kelly really felt like she belong here.
Kelly was precisely what one would expect when it came to a Golden State sorority sister. Not only was she peppy, but she was downright hot. She had a svelte figure that had the right curves to make her more than appealing to the boys. Her butt had just enough padding to fill out her hip hugging jeans without making her bootylicious. Kelly’s respectable breasts (though not as large as some of the other girls in the house) proudly curved beneath her tight pink polo shirt. Below them was a nonexistent belly, as flat as a ruler. Truth be told, Kelly had, through frequent trips to the campus gym, shed five pounds from her physique last year to work against the freshman 15 and the buffet style dining halls. It had worked admirably and now she was a full fledged member of the coed pantheon known as sorority sisters.
One of Kelly’s greatest features was her face, which was kind and smiling nearly all of the time. Her brown hair reached well past her shoulders and behaved however Kelly cared to style it. For move-in day, Kelly had no need to look too impressive, so it was its natural wavy self today. Her blue eyes sparkled all the time, set off against her clear, fair complexion. She had a thin nose that fit her perfectly, but it didn’t get much attention as it was often hidden behind her dazzling smile. Several boys in the dorms last year had caught a fatal glance of her pearly whites and were instantly lost to Kelly’s charm. Though Kelly had resisted the urge to get involved a relationship (after all, one of the older girls in the house named Kara had said, “Why own when renting is so much more fun?”), she was hoping that maybe this would be the year she’d pull down a tasty boy for herself.
Key in those plans was her ex-big sister, Emily Archer. Last year when Kelly had been a pledge the two had been paired together and Kelly had found Emily’s guidance in every area relating to college life indispensable. They had instantly become close friends, hitting up various parties together, taking a class or two with one another just so they could study together over the course of the semester, and talking late into the night more than one day a week. It had been an easy decision for Kelly and Emily to decide to room together in the house this year. Emily was starting her Junior year and had lived in the Theta house last year with some of the other sisters, but she was more than willing to room with her former little sis this year.
Kelly looked at the clock she’d recently hung on the wall. She would have thought Emily would have shown by now. She was usually very prompt. Then again, Kelly had gotten to the house some time around the break of dawn in her excitement to move in, and Emily had never been a morning person, so perhaps her nonappearance wasn’t so surprising.
“There you are girl!” said a very familiar voice from behind Kelly.
Kelly turned around was immediately engulfed in a big hug before she knew what hit her. That wasn’t exactly a figure of speech, for Kelly Wesson didn’t quite know what had just hit her.
Her big sister was…well, bigger than Kelly remembered.
Now, truth be told, Emily hadn’t been the thinnest girl in the house last year, but no one would have called her fat. She had larger curves than most of the other girls, but that only meant she had larger breasts (and everybody knew that boys were suckers for a great set of those) and curvier hips (if the boys weren’t into your boobs, they probably went for your butt). No one really cared if Emily had a little bit of a belly on her. No one even really noticed.
But now no one could ignore the fact that Emily Archer was fatter than when she left for the summer.
Emily’s bust, which had been impressive last year, was now gigantic. Kelly wasn’t even sure she’d ever seen a set like them before. They were almost certainly the biggest pair of any girl in the house (though the Thetas weren’t exactly a large chested crowd like the Double Delts were). Her hips, which previously had been pleasantly round, were now out-and-out wide. Her thighs, which had never been Emily’s strong point, seemed to strain the seams of Emily’s jeans. Kelly couldn’t even figure out how Emily was able to get into them at all. Resting above the waistband of Emily’s jeans was a belly that hedged on being a full blown gut. As Emily embraced her little sis in joy for a second time, Kelly could feel how soft and doughy it was. Though it didn’t jut out as far as Emily’s boobs did, it was threatening to do so. Both her belly and hooters stretched her t-shirt so far that Kelly was surprised that all of her torso was even covered. Emily’s upper arms were also visibly fatter, jiggling with Emily’s every movement. In her shock, Kelly thought that she might be half Emily’s size—though that was somewhat of an exaggeration.
Even Emily’s beautiful face had grown rounder and softer. Once it had been a paragon of beauty, but now those once well-defined cheekbones had been transformed into chubby cheeks. Her green eyes were still set beneath perfect eyebrows and despite all of all the expansions of Emily’s physique they hadn’t lost their bright sparkle. Likewise, her friendly smile was unchanged, though her rounder face made it look a little less dazzling than Kelly remembered. Her straight golden hair framed her face nicely, but it didn’t do anything to make Emily slimmer. The only bright point—if Kelly could call anything a positive about the situation—was that Emily didn’t have a double chin, or even a hint of one, to go with her rounded face. That would have just been entirely too much for Kelly to handle.
Even so, Kelly was lucky that Emily had embraced her so quickly. It meant that her roommate didn’t see the look of shock on her face at discovering Emily really was still her big sis.
“I’ve missed you so much!” Emily said as she pulled apart from Kelly, “How was your summer?”
“Great!” Kelly said with more enthusiasm than she felt. She was still reeling from the sight in front of her. This couldn’t be Emily. This just wasn’t possible.
Unfortunately for Kelly, Emily knew her well. She knitted her brow. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kelly said, quickly groping for an explanation, “Just a little tired from getting all moved in, you know.”
“Already? Come on, I know you’re super excited for what’s going to be an awesome year!” Emily said brightly, “Don’t worry, once you’re all set up I just know that you’ll feel awesome.”
The pair began to get caught up in the work of moving in, talking about their respective summers as they did so. Kelly talked about spending her summer down in Orange County, having fun and relaxing. For her part, Emily had worked as a receptionist over the summer.
“It was a great job,” Emily said as she unpacked her bags, “I just had to sit up front, greet visitors, and answer the phone. It was sooo easy!”
Kelly stole a swift glance at her roommate. No wonder she’d put on so much weight with such a cushy job. Kelly wondered if Emily had the benefit of a daily box of donuts in the break room as well.
As their conversation continued, Kelly found that she was beginning to adjust to Emily’s weight. She was still the same peppy girl that she’d known and loved last year…just bigger. And once she was used to that fact, there wasn’t really any problem with it as far as Kelly could see. In fact, things were going to be great, just like she’d expected.
Emily left to bring up a couple of boxes from downstairs, but Kelly wasn’t alone for very long. Pretty soon Erica Feldman, President of Theta Iota Nu, stopped in to see how she was doing.
“I’m so excited that you’re going to be living in the house this year!” Erica said as she hugged Kelly, “It’s going to be so much fun!”
Erica was a waif of a girl. She looked as thin as she could be. As far as physique went, Erica was most analogous to a pencil. Though she had breasts, they were woefully small, and her butt was nearly nonexistent (though her wise choice in jeans helped to at least give the illusion of one). Her brown hair with the hint of some red highlights—certainly not natural—framed a thin, sharp face that was beautiful, though in a different way from either Kelly or Emily. It was further set off by her long neck, which only made her face look slimmer. Needless to say, no one who met her was surprised to learn that she hailed from Beverly Hills. Rarely did Erica ever have a hair out of place, and all of this made her a perfect President for the Thetas.
“I’m so looking forward to this year!” Kelly said, “I think it’s like the first time ever I’ve been excited for school to start.”
“Well we’re going to have plenty of fun events, just you wait and see! You won’t be disappointed!” Erica said, “Say, is Emily here? I see her stuff, but I haven’t seen her yet.”
“She’s just grabbing a couple boxes or something,” Kelly said.
“And here I am!” Emily declared from the doorway, having just put down a couple boxes of her things to embrace Erica.
“It’s so good to see you!” Erica said eagerly hug Emily.
But Kelly saw the look that flickered across Erica’s face as she caught her first glimpse of Emily Archer. It was not a look that said she was pleased to see Emily—or more precisely the new, fatter Emily.
Kelly suddenly realized that this might be a bit more of a problem than she had thought.
***
“Laaaadies and genetlemen! Welcome onto the court YOUR Golden State Griiiiiizzzzzzleeeeeees!”
With that characteristically enthusiastic introduction, the Golden State women’s volleyball team ran onto the court dressed in their blue and gold uniforms to the cheers of the few hundred fans assembled inside Ross Pavilion.
“Here’s the starting lineup for your Grizzles. At setter, Aisling Harker. At middle hitter, Jean Hargrave. Also at middle hitter, Ann Seyfried. At outside hitter, Molly O’Banion. At opposite hitter, Hannah Davis. At libero, Jill Reynolds.”
There were cheers for each member of the team, especially from the students who had assembled for the game, all of roughly equal enthusiasm. Still, the roar was noticeably stronger for Molly O’Banion than any other player on the team.
After brief warm ups and a cursory handshake at the net, Golden State lined up against Putnam University of Ohio. Putnam got to serve first and, with a monster flying leap and hit, the ball was in play and the game underway. Accordingly, Jill Reynolds dove in the backcourt to receive the mighty serve. Then it was Aisling’s job to set the ball high in the air. She coordinated the offense for the team, and as her nimble fingertips launched the ball into the air, she was shouting to her teammates in their specialized volleyball jargon while the Putnam girls on the other side of the net—who of course had no idea what was being said—prepared their defense against the twin threats of O’Banion and Davis.
They knew from scouting that Molly O’Banion was the larger threat and accordingly they lined up two defenders at the net across from her. It was a futile attempt, for Molly left her feet and smashed a hard spike right through the fingertips of the leaping ladies onto the hardwood court.
“Point, Grizzlies!” came the announcement as O’Banion landed on the court to the applause of the crowd.
A handshake all around was shared by both teams—one in congratulation, the other in consolation—and Golden State was given the ball.
The attention, both from the crowd and the opposing players, given to Molly O’Banion was warranted for she was the star of the team. O’Banion, a Junior, was well on track for the school record in kills. She’d been named a second team All-American as a Sophomore last year and had been first team all-conference as well. Though not the captain of the team (that honor belonged to Jill Reynolds, Senior and one of the conference’s best liberos), Golden State wouldn’t be challenging for the conference title this year if they didn’t have Molly, and everyone knew it. This included the other teams who often knew that the ball was being set up for Molly’s massive kills. Still, there was little many of them could do when Molly slammed the ball down with impressive force.
Naturally, she was a very tall girl—6’ 2”, in fact, and that was in bare feet. Like many other tall girls, Molly was built on a different scale from other women. Some tall women were lean and willowy. They usually became models, or sometimes trophy wives. Molly was not one of those women. Molly was built more like a Valkyrie—broadly and sturdily. It was this size that gave Molly so much power when she spiked the ball across the net for a kill.
As a result, Molly was no dainty flower. She was a full figured woman. Her breasts, C-cup to a decent estimate, were probably the largest on the team (her male peers who showed up for games debated this point as Hannah Davis sported an impressive pair as well) and as she jumped for yet another kill they bounced even within the confines of her sports bra. Molly also sported more than a bit of a belly. It was something between a pot belly and a jelly belly. The layer of flab around her midsection pressed against her jersey, calling attention to itself. All of the girls’ jerseys were tight to ensure that they didn’t get in the way of their play, but Molly’s clung closer than any other girl’s.
There is one staple of the volleyball uniform that is indispensable and is probably also the reason why men attend women’s volleyball: spandex shorts. These shorts are more like modified underwear than anything else. They cover the hips and an inch, maybe two at best, of thigh and are as tight as can be. Needless to say, when a player would bend over and await a serve, men in the stands craned their necks to take in the sight. And with regards to Molly O’Banion, what a sight it was. She had wide, smooth, curvy hips that looked all the larger next to her teammates who didn’t really have any hips to speak of. Most impressive was her bouncing butt, which jiggled furiously within their tight shorts as Molly ran about the court. Their undulations were hypnotic and would have entranced more people if there wasn’t a silly game of volleyball taking place all around it. Molly’s thighs did their fare share of jiggling as well, and those spandex hot pants showed off plenty of Molly’s smooth, plump things. There was plenty of inviting meat on Molly’s legs, but they didn’t slow the star volleyball player down a bit.
Molly’s beauty wasn’t solely confined to her physique. Indeed, if you asked most people on campus who knew Molly what was the most distinctive thing about her, nineteen out of twenty people would have immediately responded her hair. Molly was an eyecatching redhead. Her wavy hair mingled copper and scarlet together seductively. Her clear green eyes would be charming if you happened to run into Molly at a party, but right now they were intense and focused as she stared down the court as the next ball was served into play. Molly had the sort of fair skin that usually comes with such red hair, skin so milk white that she could have given Snow White a run for her money. As a whole, Molly had a face that many people thought was rather attractive. More often people just said, “Molly’s such a sweetheart.”
Right now, the girls of Putnam University had nothing but loathing for #14 O’Banion. Just when they thought they knew where she’d be coming from, the ball would be set up for Davis or Hargrave or someone else and they’d be caught flatfooted and unprepared. Simply put, the Golden State team had too many threats, and they used them all.
All things considered, Putnam put up a good fight, but eventually fell three games to one to the Golden State Grizzlies. The customary handshake was repeated and then the Ohioans were more than happy to head back to the locker room and start the journey home as the Golden State girls headed to their own locker room, flush with victory to the applause of their peers, alumni, and all around volleyball fans that came to games to marvel at the skill level displayed by the Grizzlies.
***
“You know, I kind of felt sorry for that one girl when you spiked the ball right into her face,” Jean Hargrave said.
Molly winced as she ate her Chinese food. “I said I was sorry to her after the game,” she mumbled through her noodles.
“Yeah, well now she’s going to have a black eye or something like that,” Jean said as she flipped through the channels on the TV looking for something good on, “Good thing you didn’t hit her in the nose or else there would have been blood everywhere.”
“You make it sound like I enjoy doing that,” Molly said.
“Well there was that girl from Serenity Valley who you knocked in the forehead—”
“That was last year! I’ve been good since then!”
“And you drilled the ref that one time Freshman year,” Jean listed off.
“You don’t even want to go into your freshman year,” Molly said, “And I’m not even talking about volleyball.”
“Don’t you dare bring up Neil!” Jean warned.
“Or what?” Molly asked with a smile.
Jean just grabbed a throw pillow and whacked her roommate with it. The conversation was emblematic of their joking relationship that the two had had since they lived on the same floor Freshman year. Golden State University liked to put athletes near one another so they would have a support network since balancing practice, games, travel, lecture, papers, and tests (not to mention having a good time, which the University was always cautioning their athletes about since they were “highly visible members of the student body”) could get hectic and it helped to have someone nearby who understood the pressures that beset a student-athlete. Though Molly had roomed with a soccer player her Freshman year and Jean had been with a field hockey player, sharing so many practices brought them together as a matter of course. Their proximity to each other only helped them get to know each other even better, and it made sense that they would live together when they moved out of the dorms at the end of Freshman year.
Their modest two bedroom apartment was similar to that of other college students. It was generally well kept (though neither of the girls would even claim it was immaculate), divided into a living room, a small kitchen, two bedrooms, and one bathroom. It was a respectable apartment that was big enough to give them each space without being too large that it was excessive.
“Nobody would like you if they knew how mean you were to me,” Molly said teasingly.
“Everybody would hate you if they knew how mean you are all the time. They just ignore it because you’re so damn pretty,” Jean said in the same vein.
Jean was no slouch herself. She was just an inch shorter than Molly, but bore little other resemblance to her roommate. Jean fit the mould that described many other tall girls in that she wasn’t thick, but sinewy. Her limbs coursed with strength, which made her an excellent defensive specialist and surprise attacker from time to time. Like about 75% of all women who play collegiate volleyball, Jean was blonde and tan. When placed next to fiery haired, fair skinned Molly, the two couldn’t seem more different. Where Molly’s thighs were plump, Jean’s were firm. Molly carried extra junk in the trunk, but when Jean put on a pair of jeans it was hard to even find her butt sometimes. Molly’s stomach was round and soft, Jean’s was firm and flat. Molly had luscious breasts and Jean…well, her apples were well short of Molly’s melons. Despite their physical differences and the occasional argument, Molly O’Banion and Jean Hargrave were wonderful friends.
“Wait, since when did we get BBC America on our cable package?” Molly asked as Jean paused while flipped through the channels.
“Beats me,” Jean said, reading the show description, “And what kind of a name for a show is Barristers?”
“Looks like another one of those law shows,” Molly said before Jean moved onto the next channel.
“Well, I’m going to meet Alex,” Jean said, handing the remote control to Molly now that she’d finished her lo mein, “Have fun.”
“You always see Alex after a game,” Molly said with a roll of her eyes, “What’s up with that?”
Jean just smiled as she threw a sweatshirt on. “We’re both in a good mood after a win, you know. And most times after a loss too.”
Molly knew exactly what she meant. “Oh come on Jean! After every game?!”
“Hey! It’s not my fault Alex gets so turned on by watching me play. I can barely keep him from chasing me into the locker room and ripping my clothes off right there,” Jean said in her defense, “If I hadn’t told him how hungry I was after a game he wouldn’t even let me come back here and relax with you.”
“Well get going,” Molly said, “And say hi for me. Tell him he never comes over anymore.”
“We can fix that. He’d love to stop over after a game sometime,” Jean said with a big smile.
“Oh anything but that!” Molly said with a joking roll of her eyes.
Jean laughed as she gave a final goodbye and shut the door behind her, leaving Molly alone in the apartment. Molly sighed and settled in to unwind by watching some TV. Unlike Jean, who it seemed had endless energy, even for extracurricular activities with her boyfriend after a game, Molly was simply beat after volleyball. She left all she had on the court and it showed not just in the numbers she posted but also in the fact that she didn’t do anything for a good couple hours after a game. Heaven help her if she had reading for class that desperately needed to be done. Only about half the time could Molly discipline herself into getting her work done the night after a game. Still, she kept above a 3.0, which was considered quite good for a student athlete.
Molly was wearing, as she always did, sweats bearing the label of Golden State Volleyball, especially because the university gave the girls more than a plentiful supply of such gear. Beyond that, they were just outright comfortable and Molly loved nothing more than the warm, fuzzy feeling of a clean sweatshirt and sweatpants after a game. Only during the hot days of summer would she eschew them for lighter apparel. Many student athletes were similarly supplied with like apparel and wore them on a regular basis. As a result, it was a well known fact among Golden State undergrads that the easiest way to spot an athlete was to look for the person wearing Golden State sweats.
Like other athletes, Molly’s choice of clothing wasn’t just limited to lounging about her apartment. Quite often she wore sweats to practice and class. It was indicative of the fact that Molly didn’t put much effort into her wardrobe. Unlike many other girls who spent most of their mornings agonizing over what to wear to class or weekends shopping in San Francisco trying on dozens of outfits, Molly simply went with whatever felt comfortable. This did not always flatter her figure—in fact, it rarely did.
No one had really noticed that when Molly was on the volleyball court, dressed in her sleeveless jersey and tight spandex pants, few people had anything bad to say about the outside hitter—and not just about her skill as a player. Her male classmates freely made comments amongst themselves about how great Molly looked. Yet those same people easily passed her over when they saw her around campus when her baggy sweats hid her voluptuous figure. Molly wasn’t all that heavy, but the sweats hinted to the contrary.
But this was the furthest thing from Molly’s mind. Tonight, she just wanted to relax and revel in the afterglow of a victory.
