~BBW, ~SWG, Romance - Tom and Jenna sort through their private "weighty affairs" against the backdrop of the Nereid Invitational
The Nereid Invitational always was the biggest competition in high school women’s water polo for the area, outside of the division championships, and as a result just about every team worth their salt showed up for it. The team, considering their stellar season thus far, had every intention of competing vigorously this year.
Over the course of the season, Jenna had become an integral part of their offense and she was now getting quite a bit of playing time as a result. She really enjoyed being an important part of the team, getting the thrill of competition. Much more pressingly, perhaps, was that Jenna was hoping that all of the physical activity might work off some of her new pounds.
Hitherto, Jenna had avoided her scale. It was out of a lack of caring about her weight, rather than a fear of it. However, her See’s Candies pig out on Boxing Day had caused Jenna to worry a bit about her recent eating habits. With some trepidation, Jenna stepped on the scale and waited to discover the exact extent of her gains.
When the needle finally stopped at 161 pounds, Jenna’s jaw dropped in shock. She’d broken through that 160 barrier that had seemingly been the only thing standing between her and out-and-out fatness. Jenna just couldn’t believe what she saw, but she knew her eyes weren’t lying. Her Christmas indulgences had apparently caught up with her and they’d made Jenna downright fat. Not chubby. Not Plump. Fat.
Jenna was suddenly flooded by remorse and guilt for all of the snacking she had done over the holidays. Except, as Jenna reflected, it hadn’t just been during Christmas. With horror, Jenna realized that snacking was now part of her way of life. It seemed like she was always digging into some form of junk food, whether it be chips, cookies, chocolate, ice cream, or any number of other tempting treats, no matter what she was doing. Jenna realized that she’d eased into a life of gastronomic indulgence without even thinking about it, and she was shocked that she’d allowed it.
Had Jenna not been dating anyone, she probably would have been simply ashamed of her lack of self-control, but the first thought that flew to her mind was what Tom must think of her. She knew that he couldn’t be too repulsed by her—after all he had been really affectionate lately—but there was no way he couldn’t have noticed.
He must be trying to just be nice to me, Jenna reasoned to herself as she walked away from her scale, still shocked at her weight, I guess that just goes to show how much he does love me. He’s always so good like that. How did I get so lucky?
Though she’d assured herself that Tom still did love her in spite of her size, that didn’t mean that Jenna was happy with the current state of affairs. It was precisely because Tom loved her that she now felt the need to be on better behavior when it came to eating and her weight. Jenna wanted to look her very best for him, and that meant dropping some pounds.
I’ll cut back on my snacks and that’ll help me lose some weight so I’m not such a cow. Plus with the Nereid Invitational coming up, I’ll be playing a lot of water polo, so that’ll help me drop some pounds too. And if Tom likes me now, just wait ‘til he gets a look at me when I’m thinner!
***
Tom had been doing quite a bit of thinking himself as the Nereid Invitation approached. At Thanksgiving his relationship to Jenna had been transformed by the realization that he found the robust Jenna attractive. When Christmas had rolled around, the feeling was just as strong, but Tom still hadn’t sorted through his feelings after watching Jenna stuff herself with chocolates. The situation as a whole wasn’t helped by the fact that he didn’t want to bring up the subject for fearing of offending his dream girl.
Every time that Tom saw Jenna after Boxing Day, he only fell more and more in love with Jenna and every aspect of her fat figure. In fact, he couldn’t resist touching her at every opportunity, giving her gentle squeezes whenever he felt confident enough to do so. Though it was sheer euphoria to take Jenna’s flab in his hands and give a quick squeeze, he was afraid that at any time Jenna might ask the dreaded question of, “What are you doing?” It was a question that Tom knew he wouldn’t have an answer to, even though it was the subject of a great deal of his thought.
Tom found Jenna so beautiful that every moment he was around her he wanted to tell her everything, how wonderful she looked with all of her extra pounds, how each one made her more and more gorgeous, how every morsel that passed her lips only seemed to add to her beauty, all of this and more. And yet at the same time Tom was restrained by outright fear of the shock that would most certainly cross Jenna’s face at hearing his insane ramblings. He could almost see her running away in terror when he’d finished talking, never to be seen again.
So Tom had decided to do what he’d done ever since Thanksgiving: say nothing at all. It was enough that he found Jenna beautiful as she was, and she seemed perfectly happy with herself these days, so there was no reason to rock the boat. Tom decided that he would just have to keep all of his deepest emotions for Jenna pent up and unexpressed. Part of him felt like doing so wasn’t being totally honest with Jenna about his love for her, but Tom kept it hidden all the same.
I’ll just keep complimenting Jenna like I’ve been doing before, telling her how beautiful she is whenever I can. That’s all true, Tom reasoned to himself, I don’t have to tell her why I find her so beautiful. Besides, Jenna’s always looked happier when I tell her how beautiful she is. And when she’s smiling she looks so gorgeous it almost melts my heart…I know I should tell her, but I just can’t. I love her so much I can’t lose her.
Though these worries had the potential to cast a slight shadow on Tom’s time with Jenna as his unspoken feelings for Jenna pushed upon his consciousness, Jenna was the sun to his world, dispelling all shadows. As a result, Tom was only too glad to root on Jenna and the rest of the girls at the Nereid Invitational that week.
***
One thing became very evident as the tournament progressed: Jenna was perhaps one of the best water polo players in the division. Only Nina Hampton’s arm rivaled Jenna’s for strength and accuracy in shooting among the RFK girls, and there were few others on the other teams who even came close to either of them. Despite her added bulk (of which Nina had an equal amount, if not more), Jenna was still fast moving through the water to a loose ball or dashing down the pool on an offensive rush. She had grit and determination, both of which were valiantly displayed in scraps with opposing team members. Though she was fierce and competitive, she never got too into the game, like many of her opponents did. All in all, Jenna was perhaps the best player on the Robert F. Kennedy High School women’s water polo team, and Tom was proud to be her boyfriend.
Though he’d socialized extensively with the water polo team during lunch at school (as well as some of the other boyfriends like Liam and Chris), he hadn’t really interacted with them in the environment of a game. Tom would watch them warm up for the game, play, and then trot to the locker room to towel off and get changed. However, the format of the tournament was such that the girls had downtime between games and there was no sense in changing out of their swimsuits if they were just going to play again in an hour or so. As a result, the towel-wrapped team clustered together in between games and Jenna encouraged Tom to come over, even though none of the other boyfriends were around.
What Tom discovered was the fact that Jenna was an integral part of the camaraderie of the team. Even after the team had dropped a game during the tournament, though not one that would eliminate them from the playoffs, Jenna was still upbeat, joking and kidding around with the other girls. Her laughter rang out frequently from the middle of their group. Even though he’d known she was a good player (and at the tournament she was looking like a great player to say the least) Tom didn’t appreciate until then just how important his girlfriend was to the water polo team.
Still, it was a long day at the tournament and the playoffs were ramping up. RFK had gotten to the semifinal round and was engaged in an epic battle with Madison High for the right to play Central, who had easily dispatched all of their opponents, in the championship. Tom was so engrossed in the game that he didn’t notice Emily Nyberg until she sat down next to him.
“I’m so glad I’m not too late!” Emily said, out of breath, “I wish I could have gotten here sooner. I told Jenna I was going to come to the game, but I just couldn’t get here until now. I was scared they wouldn’t be playing anymore.”
“No worries, they’re still going strong, though this is looking like it could be the hardest game they’ve had all day,” Tom said.
Emily nodded and the pair watched the game in silence until a time out after a string of goals by Madison broke up their rapt attention.
“You know, I wanted to let you know that I really admire you,” Emily said breaking the silence now that the game had paused.
“Really?” Tom said in surprise, “Why’s that?”
“Well, you never gave up on Jenna,” Emily said, “I mean, everyone knew you’d had the hots for her for years and she never gave you the time of day, but you still kept on going. I mean, I don’t know many people who’ve ever done that. Everyone else just moves on. It’s really sweet, I guess.”
“I dunno. I mean, isn’t it kind of stupid to have that much of a crush on someone? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that I stuck with it,” Tom said, admitting the truth now that he had gained happiness with his goddess, “But really, anyone who pines away that long for someone who never even gives you a chance…there’s probably something wrong with them.”
“But everything did work out in the end, so it wasn’t all bad,” Emily said.
“Yeah, it did,” Tom said, “It’s just that there are days I think about what would have happened if Jenna hadn’t warmed up to me like she did. I guess I probably would have still had a crush on her until we graduated and then I probably would have never seen her again, so with luck I would have met someone else and that would have been that.”
“Well I’m glad she did give you a chance. You deserved it and obviously you two are wonderful together,” Emily said, “It’s just a shame that Jenna and you didn’t get together sooner. I mean, I wish there was some guy who was so in love with me that he was like you.”
“Excuse me? You’re Emily Nyberg. You’re like the perfect combination of brains and beauty—outside of Jenna of course,” Tom said with a grin, “Please don’t tell me that you don’t have guys lining up left and right for you because I know that’s not true.”
“Well, yeah, but none of them are like you are to Jenna,” Emily said.
“Have you given any of them a chance?” Tom asked.
“A couple of times.”
“And it didn’t go well?” Tom inquired.
“Not really,” Emily half mumbled.
“Well, just keep trying,” Tom said, “That’s sort of the way it goes. I mean, it’ll click at the right time. If things are right, it’ll work. Just give them a chance. Maybe you’ll be surprised by someone.”
“You trying to remind me of a certain someone?” Emily asked with a smile.
“No. Just a very handsome man who happens to have a girlfriend, so you’d better not get your sights set on him or else you’re going to be very disappointed,” Tom said with a wink, “Seriously though, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that none of this is easy. I mean, it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park to have the biggest crush on the most popular girl in school and not get a word of encouragement from her. And hey, if it worked out for us, it’ll work out for you too.”
“I certainly hope so.”
“I know so.”
“Oh my word,” Emily exclaimed as she suddenly became aware that the water polo game had started up a while ago without either of them noticing, “Look at the score. What happened?”
Madison had continued their drubbing of RFK and had now opened up a huge lead on Tom and Emily’s team. It was a lead that proved insurmountable. In the end, RFK was eliminated from the Nereid Invitational by a score of 12-9. It kept them from a rematch against Central, one that the girls were confident they could have prevailed in after giving Central a real run for their money the last time they met.
Tom and Emily met Jenna after the ceremonial handshake at the end of the game and immediately poured out their condolences to her.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jenna said with a shrug, “We just got a little too out of sorts when it came to defense and that’s the way it goes. This might even help motivate us for the playoffs when it comes around. But more importantly, thanks for coming out you two! I’m glad you came Emily, even if you only got to see me lose.”
“Well I’m glad that I got to see you play. You did great and Tom tried to teach me everything that was going on,” Emily said, “Would you and Tom like to get some dinner with me once you’ve changed? It feels like we haven’t talked in ages and you’ve got to be starving.”
“That sound good to you?” Jenna asked Tom.
“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Tom assented.
“Let me just get changed and Tom and I can meet you…where do you want to go?” Jenna asked.
“Ummm…the Blue Plate Diner isn’t too far away. Does that sound good?” Emily asked.
“It sounds great! I love that place!” Jenna said, “Meet you there!”
She gave Tom a quick kiss on the cheek and then scampered off to the locker room, looking forward to a good dinner.
Little did she know how much Tom was looking forward to it, too.
***
When Jenna and Tom arrived at the Blue Plate Diner, Emily had already gotten a booth and they joined her. Jenna was so hungry that she immediately scanned the menu to see what she wanted to have. The Blue Plate Diner was the sort of place that made feel good food like grilled cheese sandwiches, tuna melts, and everything else you expected to find at a diner, and Jenna was so hungry that she thought that it all looked good.
As she scanned the menu, Jenna suddenly remembered that she was trying to watch what she ate so she didn’t add any further to already her prodigious bulk. She’d been trying to limit herself at dinner (though she still took healthy portions because she had to eat) and had cut back on dessert (Jenna couldn’t just give it up entirely) and snacks (sometimes when she got back from water polo practice she just needed a little something to eat, even if it did turn out to be chocolate chip cookies and not an apple).
As hungry as she was, Jenna wanted to try her best to restrain herself, especially since Tom was sitting right next to her.
“Can I have an egg salad sandwich?” Jenna asked when the waitress asked for her order.
“You want fries with that?” the waitress asked.
The answer to such a question was usually automatic for Jenna, which made it all the more surprising when she said, “Ummm…fresh fruit please?”
Tom was flabbergasted, to say the least. No fries?! That’s not like Jenna at all! Tom thought, In fact, egg salad isn’t much like her either. What’s going on with her? I think I heard her belly growling earlier and Jenna doesn’t hold back when she’s hungry. Something’s not right here…
Now that their orders were in, the trio fell to talking about the tournament, but quickly moved onto other more general topics of conversation. As they chatted, Tom took in his girlfriend as she sat next to him in the booth. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt that was a little tighter than it should have been, showing off the voluptuous curve of her bust as well as the jiggling curve of her gut. Jenna was also wearing light gray sweatpants that weren’t as loose as most girls wore them, but Tom liked how Jenna’s clung to her legs, showing off the fullness of her thighs. Her slightly damp hair, nearly dry, almost seemed to make Jenna prettier by mussing up the perfection of her round, chubby cheeked face by a smidge.
Unable to resist, Tom snaked an arm around Jenna and drew closer to her. His hand came to rest on the roll of Jenna’s belly, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Jenna herself. She actually wished Tom had put his arm somewhere else, for it only served to remind her of her extra weight, but she always loved it when Tom put his arm around her, and she quickly forgot about any objection to it as she luxuriated in the protective arm of her boyfriend.
When dinner came, Jenna ate her egg salad sandwich without as much enjoyment as she usually had in a good meal out. Though it wasn’t a bad sandwich, she sort of wished she had the greasy tuna melt that Emily had ordered or the pot roast with mashed potatoes, both covered in thick gravy, that Tom had gotten. They both looked so much more delicious than her egg salad sandwich and bowl of fruit.
Tom knew his girlfriend well after their months of dating and he picked up on the fact that Jenna, usually never happier than when she was enjoying dinner out with him, definitely lacked her usual gusto tonight. Naturally, Tom was worried that Jenna might have put herself on a diet to try and drop some pounds—pounds that were precious to Tom—by trying to eat less, but he couldn’t be sure. If Emily hadn’t been there, he would have casually asked Jenna why she hadn’t gotten fries or if she was enjoying her sandwich, but the Nordic girl’s presence deterred any frank conversation between the couple.
Therefore, Tom decided to take a different tack. When the waitress asked if anyone wanted dessert, both Emily and Jenna declined (once again an oddity for the buxom blonde), but Tom immediately said he thought a brownie sundae sounded great. The waitress headed off with the order.
“You two can share if you want,” Tom said.
“Oh I couldn’t,” Emily pleaded sitting back.
“Maybe one bite,” Jenna said. The idea of dessert obviously sounded good, but Tom could tell she was trying not to get too excited about the prospect of dessert lest her enthusiasm carry her away.
Dessert arrived with a hot brownie covered in scoops of cold vanilla ice cream, all of it covered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce with a delectable cherry at the pinnacle of it all. The waitress had prudently brought two extra spoons, knowing full well people have a tendency to share dessert, regardless of who ordered it.
Tom set the tone by digging right in. After his first bite Tom said, “This is great, you should really have some, girls.”
“That’s all right, I’m full,” Emily said waiving off.
“Jenna, you’ve got to have some,” Tom said, turning to his real target, “This is great.”
“Okay,” Jenna said after a moment’s hesitation, “but only a bite or two. I really couldn’t eat much more.”
Only one bite was needed to hook Jenna. The luscious brownie with all of that ice cream and extra chocolate was so delicious that Jenna nearly swooned. It had been so long (and by that she meant about four days) since she’d had something so tasty. It dispelled any notion of restraint and Jenna dove into the sundae, completely forgetting Tom was the one who had originally ordered it. Of course Tom was all too happy to let Jenna have at it, relieved to see that she still had her old appetite. It wasn’t that Tom was maliciously trying to fatten up his girlfriend, but he was concerned that Jenna was neglecting the truly pleasurable things in life and wanted to do everything he could to see that she enjoyed life to the fullest.
Emily didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the moment, only noting as she talked with the lovebirds that Jenna was enjoying dessert.
***
The Nereid Invitational always was the biggest competition in high school women’s water polo for the area, outside of the division championships, and as a result just about every team worth their salt showed up for it. The team, considering their stellar season thus far, had every intention of competing vigorously this year.
Over the course of the season, Jenna had become an integral part of their offense and she was now getting quite a bit of playing time as a result. She really enjoyed being an important part of the team, getting the thrill of competition. Much more pressingly, perhaps, was that Jenna was hoping that all of the physical activity might work off some of her new pounds.
Hitherto, Jenna had avoided her scale. It was out of a lack of caring about her weight, rather than a fear of it. However, her See’s Candies pig out on Boxing Day had caused Jenna to worry a bit about her recent eating habits. With some trepidation, Jenna stepped on the scale and waited to discover the exact extent of her gains.
When the needle finally stopped at 161 pounds, Jenna’s jaw dropped in shock. She’d broken through that 160 barrier that had seemingly been the only thing standing between her and out-and-out fatness. Jenna just couldn’t believe what she saw, but she knew her eyes weren’t lying. Her Christmas indulgences had apparently caught up with her and they’d made Jenna downright fat. Not chubby. Not Plump. Fat.
Jenna was suddenly flooded by remorse and guilt for all of the snacking she had done over the holidays. Except, as Jenna reflected, it hadn’t just been during Christmas. With horror, Jenna realized that snacking was now part of her way of life. It seemed like she was always digging into some form of junk food, whether it be chips, cookies, chocolate, ice cream, or any number of other tempting treats, no matter what she was doing. Jenna realized that she’d eased into a life of gastronomic indulgence without even thinking about it, and she was shocked that she’d allowed it.
Had Jenna not been dating anyone, she probably would have been simply ashamed of her lack of self-control, but the first thought that flew to her mind was what Tom must think of her. She knew that he couldn’t be too repulsed by her—after all he had been really affectionate lately—but there was no way he couldn’t have noticed.
He must be trying to just be nice to me, Jenna reasoned to herself as she walked away from her scale, still shocked at her weight, I guess that just goes to show how much he does love me. He’s always so good like that. How did I get so lucky?
Though she’d assured herself that Tom still did love her in spite of her size, that didn’t mean that Jenna was happy with the current state of affairs. It was precisely because Tom loved her that she now felt the need to be on better behavior when it came to eating and her weight. Jenna wanted to look her very best for him, and that meant dropping some pounds.
I’ll cut back on my snacks and that’ll help me lose some weight so I’m not such a cow. Plus with the Nereid Invitational coming up, I’ll be playing a lot of water polo, so that’ll help me drop some pounds too. And if Tom likes me now, just wait ‘til he gets a look at me when I’m thinner!
***
Tom had been doing quite a bit of thinking himself as the Nereid Invitation approached. At Thanksgiving his relationship to Jenna had been transformed by the realization that he found the robust Jenna attractive. When Christmas had rolled around, the feeling was just as strong, but Tom still hadn’t sorted through his feelings after watching Jenna stuff herself with chocolates. The situation as a whole wasn’t helped by the fact that he didn’t want to bring up the subject for fearing of offending his dream girl.
Every time that Tom saw Jenna after Boxing Day, he only fell more and more in love with Jenna and every aspect of her fat figure. In fact, he couldn’t resist touching her at every opportunity, giving her gentle squeezes whenever he felt confident enough to do so. Though it was sheer euphoria to take Jenna’s flab in his hands and give a quick squeeze, he was afraid that at any time Jenna might ask the dreaded question of, “What are you doing?” It was a question that Tom knew he wouldn’t have an answer to, even though it was the subject of a great deal of his thought.
Tom found Jenna so beautiful that every moment he was around her he wanted to tell her everything, how wonderful she looked with all of her extra pounds, how each one made her more and more gorgeous, how every morsel that passed her lips only seemed to add to her beauty, all of this and more. And yet at the same time Tom was restrained by outright fear of the shock that would most certainly cross Jenna’s face at hearing his insane ramblings. He could almost see her running away in terror when he’d finished talking, never to be seen again.
So Tom had decided to do what he’d done ever since Thanksgiving: say nothing at all. It was enough that he found Jenna beautiful as she was, and she seemed perfectly happy with herself these days, so there was no reason to rock the boat. Tom decided that he would just have to keep all of his deepest emotions for Jenna pent up and unexpressed. Part of him felt like doing so wasn’t being totally honest with Jenna about his love for her, but Tom kept it hidden all the same.
I’ll just keep complimenting Jenna like I’ve been doing before, telling her how beautiful she is whenever I can. That’s all true, Tom reasoned to himself, I don’t have to tell her why I find her so beautiful. Besides, Jenna’s always looked happier when I tell her how beautiful she is. And when she’s smiling she looks so gorgeous it almost melts my heart…I know I should tell her, but I just can’t. I love her so much I can’t lose her.
Though these worries had the potential to cast a slight shadow on Tom’s time with Jenna as his unspoken feelings for Jenna pushed upon his consciousness, Jenna was the sun to his world, dispelling all shadows. As a result, Tom was only too glad to root on Jenna and the rest of the girls at the Nereid Invitational that week.
***
One thing became very evident as the tournament progressed: Jenna was perhaps one of the best water polo players in the division. Only Nina Hampton’s arm rivaled Jenna’s for strength and accuracy in shooting among the RFK girls, and there were few others on the other teams who even came close to either of them. Despite her added bulk (of which Nina had an equal amount, if not more), Jenna was still fast moving through the water to a loose ball or dashing down the pool on an offensive rush. She had grit and determination, both of which were valiantly displayed in scraps with opposing team members. Though she was fierce and competitive, she never got too into the game, like many of her opponents did. All in all, Jenna was perhaps the best player on the Robert F. Kennedy High School women’s water polo team, and Tom was proud to be her boyfriend.
Though he’d socialized extensively with the water polo team during lunch at school (as well as some of the other boyfriends like Liam and Chris), he hadn’t really interacted with them in the environment of a game. Tom would watch them warm up for the game, play, and then trot to the locker room to towel off and get changed. However, the format of the tournament was such that the girls had downtime between games and there was no sense in changing out of their swimsuits if they were just going to play again in an hour or so. As a result, the towel-wrapped team clustered together in between games and Jenna encouraged Tom to come over, even though none of the other boyfriends were around.
What Tom discovered was the fact that Jenna was an integral part of the camaraderie of the team. Even after the team had dropped a game during the tournament, though not one that would eliminate them from the playoffs, Jenna was still upbeat, joking and kidding around with the other girls. Her laughter rang out frequently from the middle of their group. Even though he’d known she was a good player (and at the tournament she was looking like a great player to say the least) Tom didn’t appreciate until then just how important his girlfriend was to the water polo team.
Still, it was a long day at the tournament and the playoffs were ramping up. RFK had gotten to the semifinal round and was engaged in an epic battle with Madison High for the right to play Central, who had easily dispatched all of their opponents, in the championship. Tom was so engrossed in the game that he didn’t notice Emily Nyberg until she sat down next to him.
“I’m so glad I’m not too late!” Emily said, out of breath, “I wish I could have gotten here sooner. I told Jenna I was going to come to the game, but I just couldn’t get here until now. I was scared they wouldn’t be playing anymore.”
“No worries, they’re still going strong, though this is looking like it could be the hardest game they’ve had all day,” Tom said.
Emily nodded and the pair watched the game in silence until a time out after a string of goals by Madison broke up their rapt attention.
“You know, I wanted to let you know that I really admire you,” Emily said breaking the silence now that the game had paused.
“Really?” Tom said in surprise, “Why’s that?”
“Well, you never gave up on Jenna,” Emily said, “I mean, everyone knew you’d had the hots for her for years and she never gave you the time of day, but you still kept on going. I mean, I don’t know many people who’ve ever done that. Everyone else just moves on. It’s really sweet, I guess.”
“I dunno. I mean, isn’t it kind of stupid to have that much of a crush on someone? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that I stuck with it,” Tom said, admitting the truth now that he had gained happiness with his goddess, “But really, anyone who pines away that long for someone who never even gives you a chance…there’s probably something wrong with them.”
“But everything did work out in the end, so it wasn’t all bad,” Emily said.
“Yeah, it did,” Tom said, “It’s just that there are days I think about what would have happened if Jenna hadn’t warmed up to me like she did. I guess I probably would have still had a crush on her until we graduated and then I probably would have never seen her again, so with luck I would have met someone else and that would have been that.”
“Well I’m glad she did give you a chance. You deserved it and obviously you two are wonderful together,” Emily said, “It’s just a shame that Jenna and you didn’t get together sooner. I mean, I wish there was some guy who was so in love with me that he was like you.”
“Excuse me? You’re Emily Nyberg. You’re like the perfect combination of brains and beauty—outside of Jenna of course,” Tom said with a grin, “Please don’t tell me that you don’t have guys lining up left and right for you because I know that’s not true.”
“Well, yeah, but none of them are like you are to Jenna,” Emily said.
“Have you given any of them a chance?” Tom asked.
“A couple of times.”
“And it didn’t go well?” Tom inquired.
“Not really,” Emily half mumbled.
“Well, just keep trying,” Tom said, “That’s sort of the way it goes. I mean, it’ll click at the right time. If things are right, it’ll work. Just give them a chance. Maybe you’ll be surprised by someone.”
“You trying to remind me of a certain someone?” Emily asked with a smile.
“No. Just a very handsome man who happens to have a girlfriend, so you’d better not get your sights set on him or else you’re going to be very disappointed,” Tom said with a wink, “Seriously though, if I’ve learned anything, it’s that none of this is easy. I mean, it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park to have the biggest crush on the most popular girl in school and not get a word of encouragement from her. And hey, if it worked out for us, it’ll work out for you too.”
“I certainly hope so.”
“I know so.”
“Oh my word,” Emily exclaimed as she suddenly became aware that the water polo game had started up a while ago without either of them noticing, “Look at the score. What happened?”
Madison had continued their drubbing of RFK and had now opened up a huge lead on Tom and Emily’s team. It was a lead that proved insurmountable. In the end, RFK was eliminated from the Nereid Invitational by a score of 12-9. It kept them from a rematch against Central, one that the girls were confident they could have prevailed in after giving Central a real run for their money the last time they met.
Tom and Emily met Jenna after the ceremonial handshake at the end of the game and immediately poured out their condolences to her.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jenna said with a shrug, “We just got a little too out of sorts when it came to defense and that’s the way it goes. This might even help motivate us for the playoffs when it comes around. But more importantly, thanks for coming out you two! I’m glad you came Emily, even if you only got to see me lose.”
“Well I’m glad that I got to see you play. You did great and Tom tried to teach me everything that was going on,” Emily said, “Would you and Tom like to get some dinner with me once you’ve changed? It feels like we haven’t talked in ages and you’ve got to be starving.”
“That sound good to you?” Jenna asked Tom.
“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Tom assented.
“Let me just get changed and Tom and I can meet you…where do you want to go?” Jenna asked.
“Ummm…the Blue Plate Diner isn’t too far away. Does that sound good?” Emily asked.
“It sounds great! I love that place!” Jenna said, “Meet you there!”
She gave Tom a quick kiss on the cheek and then scampered off to the locker room, looking forward to a good dinner.
Little did she know how much Tom was looking forward to it, too.
***
When Jenna and Tom arrived at the Blue Plate Diner, Emily had already gotten a booth and they joined her. Jenna was so hungry that she immediately scanned the menu to see what she wanted to have. The Blue Plate Diner was the sort of place that made feel good food like grilled cheese sandwiches, tuna melts, and everything else you expected to find at a diner, and Jenna was so hungry that she thought that it all looked good.
As she scanned the menu, Jenna suddenly remembered that she was trying to watch what she ate so she didn’t add any further to already her prodigious bulk. She’d been trying to limit herself at dinner (though she still took healthy portions because she had to eat) and had cut back on dessert (Jenna couldn’t just give it up entirely) and snacks (sometimes when she got back from water polo practice she just needed a little something to eat, even if it did turn out to be chocolate chip cookies and not an apple).
As hungry as she was, Jenna wanted to try her best to restrain herself, especially since Tom was sitting right next to her.
“Can I have an egg salad sandwich?” Jenna asked when the waitress asked for her order.
“You want fries with that?” the waitress asked.
The answer to such a question was usually automatic for Jenna, which made it all the more surprising when she said, “Ummm…fresh fruit please?”
Tom was flabbergasted, to say the least. No fries?! That’s not like Jenna at all! Tom thought, In fact, egg salad isn’t much like her either. What’s going on with her? I think I heard her belly growling earlier and Jenna doesn’t hold back when she’s hungry. Something’s not right here…
Now that their orders were in, the trio fell to talking about the tournament, but quickly moved onto other more general topics of conversation. As they chatted, Tom took in his girlfriend as she sat next to him in the booth. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt that was a little tighter than it should have been, showing off the voluptuous curve of her bust as well as the jiggling curve of her gut. Jenna was also wearing light gray sweatpants that weren’t as loose as most girls wore them, but Tom liked how Jenna’s clung to her legs, showing off the fullness of her thighs. Her slightly damp hair, nearly dry, almost seemed to make Jenna prettier by mussing up the perfection of her round, chubby cheeked face by a smidge.
Unable to resist, Tom snaked an arm around Jenna and drew closer to her. His hand came to rest on the roll of Jenna’s belly, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Jenna herself. She actually wished Tom had put his arm somewhere else, for it only served to remind her of her extra weight, but she always loved it when Tom put his arm around her, and she quickly forgot about any objection to it as she luxuriated in the protective arm of her boyfriend.
When dinner came, Jenna ate her egg salad sandwich without as much enjoyment as she usually had in a good meal out. Though it wasn’t a bad sandwich, she sort of wished she had the greasy tuna melt that Emily had ordered or the pot roast with mashed potatoes, both covered in thick gravy, that Tom had gotten. They both looked so much more delicious than her egg salad sandwich and bowl of fruit.
Tom knew his girlfriend well after their months of dating and he picked up on the fact that Jenna, usually never happier than when she was enjoying dinner out with him, definitely lacked her usual gusto tonight. Naturally, Tom was worried that Jenna might have put herself on a diet to try and drop some pounds—pounds that were precious to Tom—by trying to eat less, but he couldn’t be sure. If Emily hadn’t been there, he would have casually asked Jenna why she hadn’t gotten fries or if she was enjoying her sandwich, but the Nordic girl’s presence deterred any frank conversation between the couple.
Therefore, Tom decided to take a different tack. When the waitress asked if anyone wanted dessert, both Emily and Jenna declined (once again an oddity for the buxom blonde), but Tom immediately said he thought a brownie sundae sounded great. The waitress headed off with the order.
“You two can share if you want,” Tom said.
“Oh I couldn’t,” Emily pleaded sitting back.
“Maybe one bite,” Jenna said. The idea of dessert obviously sounded good, but Tom could tell she was trying not to get too excited about the prospect of dessert lest her enthusiasm carry her away.
Dessert arrived with a hot brownie covered in scoops of cold vanilla ice cream, all of it covered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce with a delectable cherry at the pinnacle of it all. The waitress had prudently brought two extra spoons, knowing full well people have a tendency to share dessert, regardless of who ordered it.
Tom set the tone by digging right in. After his first bite Tom said, “This is great, you should really have some, girls.”
“That’s all right, I’m full,” Emily said waiving off.
“Jenna, you’ve got to have some,” Tom said, turning to his real target, “This is great.”
“Okay,” Jenna said after a moment’s hesitation, “but only a bite or two. I really couldn’t eat much more.”
Only one bite was needed to hook Jenna. The luscious brownie with all of that ice cream and extra chocolate was so delicious that Jenna nearly swooned. It had been so long (and by that she meant about four days) since she’d had something so tasty. It dispelled any notion of restraint and Jenna dove into the sundae, completely forgetting Tom was the one who had originally ordered it. Of course Tom was all too happy to let Jenna have at it, relieved to see that she still had her old appetite. It wasn’t that Tom was maliciously trying to fatten up his girlfriend, but he was concerned that Jenna was neglecting the truly pleasurable things in life and wanted to do everything he could to see that she enjoyed life to the fullest.
Emily didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the moment, only noting as she talked with the lovebirds that Jenna was enjoying dessert.
***
