MsCezanne's Odyssey

Annie hated Shawn from the minute they met. Shawn was tall, good looking, charming and fit. He exercised regularly, and watched what he ate. Annie had dated men just like him for years, which made it easy to hate him as soon as they met.

Annie herself was a tall woman, good looking, charming and fit. It was only natural for her to date men like her: it's what everyone expected. She was only approached by men like that, and all her friends said she should go out with men like that. For years she endured tedious dates and excruciating relationships because she didn't WANT a tall, good looking, charming, fit guy. She had nothing against tall, charming and good looking. It was the fit she had a problem with.

She couldn't really understand why she didn't like fit men. She certainly never talked about it with anyone. She could just imagine how mortified her friends would be to find out that a woman as 'perfect' as her might find something less common as her perfect match. She'd secretly watch fat men as they went by on the street. She'd peer at the tabloids as pictures of such and such actor gaining 20 or 30 pounds were published and sigh that she had no one to share this with, much less her own boyfriend who fit this ideal.

Shawn certainly didn't stray far from Annie's expectations over the time they got to know each other. They worked in different departments, but Shawn's breaks always coincided with hers. He found plenty of reasons to be wandering by her desk and finding a moment to chat. Annie knew she was the subject of jealousy among the women she worked with. She also knew that Shawn wasn't doing anything wrong per se. He would talk about the round of golf he had on the weekend, or how many reps he was curling, or who he beat on the squash court. He even told her about dates that he went on, always implying that the women never measured up to Annie. He never asked her out directly, but she felt like she was always saying 'no' to him anyway.

Annie's personal life had dried up a little bit. She was tired of dating men like Shawn, but she was having trouble meeting anyone else to date. Whenever she went out, she was approached by the sort of guys she didn't like. On the rare occasions she approached more ideal men, they seemed so awkward, almost like she was putting them on. It was hard to have fun, and she was tired of dates without fun. Shawn always asked about her dates, and she always lied about how great they were, and that she was just having fun, not looking for anything serious.

When Annie finally met Matt at a party, they'd hit it off so well. He was tall, charming and good looking. He was not fit, not by a long shot. Some people might've called him fat, but to Annie, he was just a little chubby. Annie took things slowly with Matt, just being friends for a while. Going out to movies together, going out for dinner with friends.

With the fun back in her life, Annie started dating the charming pretty boys again. She didn't have a lot of fun with them, but it allowed her to keep up appearances, and by actually running into Shawn a few times on his own dates, she hoped that might throw him off.

Annie's plan backfired though. When Shawn saw the men that Annie was 'dating', he just tried harder to win her over. She could see that he felt they were perfect together, and nothing was going to dissuade him.

Eventually Annie decided it was time to date Matt for real. She was worried he'd get all weird for going out with a 'beautiful girl', and he did. Alone they were great, she had a lot of fun, but whenever they went out, he was a nervous wreck, as though someone was going to come along and take her away. What Annie liked best about dating Matt though was that he was so smitten with her, it was easy to get him to eat more. After dating for a few months he really was going from chubby to fat.

Shawn and Annie's co-workers eventually caught on that Annie was dating someone, and they all wanted to meet him. Annie was shy about revealing her secret. For so long she had hidden her desire to date a fat guy, it was just something she didn't discuss. She also knew that if Matt were to meet any of her co-workers, he would probably be scorned right away, which would probably drive him away from her. Matt would remain a mystery man to Shawn.

Over time Matt's self doubts about being too fat for Annie conflicted with Annie's secret desires for him to be fatter, and their relationship came to a crash. Annie was devastated. She'd known that she'd blown it with him, and just wished things had gone differently, but even now it was hard for her to freely admit to anyone what she really wanted out of life.

News of Annie's break-up and subsequent despondency moved quickly through the office. Annie was dreading Shawn's reaction more than most. Again, he was as predicable as clockwork. He was Annie's shoulder to cry on. He was there to tell her how special she was, and how Matt didn't deserve her. He was there to let Annie know it was time to move on to the best: Shawn.

What did surprise Annie was that she said yes to Shawn. Anyone who had seen them interacting was surprised. Even Shawn had grown to accept their relationship as something that would never happen. Annie wasn't sure why she wanted to be with Shawn. It was probably a combination of old habits, and simply no energy to ward him off any more. Things just hadn't worked with her dream man, maybe things would work better with the man she was supposed to end up with.

It took only one date with Shawn for Annie to come to her senses and realise that he wasn't going to be the path to happiness. One thing that surprised Annie about the date was how full she was. She'd gotten into the habit of ordering a lot to eat in order to surreptitiously getting Matt to eat it. Since she wasn't slipping food to Shawn, she'd eaten the whole meal herself, including dessert. Leaving the restaurant she was uncomfortably full, and parted with Shawn, just saying that she didn't want to take things too fast.

The next day Annie was feeling much better about herself. Everyone assumed that dating Shawn had done wonders for her. While it was true that her date had opened Annie's eyes, it had nothing to do with Shawn, but rather the sensation of a full stomach after a meal. She'd always been fit, slim, and athletic. She'd always watched what she ate, and ensured that her exercise would offset any treats she had. As much as she'd been getting Matt to eat, she hadn't realised how good it felt to really eat!

Annie immediately had a lunch date with Shawn. Again she ordered a full meal that left her stuffed and satisfied for the whole afternoon. She went on another date with Shawn and had an eye towards getting the biggest dinner she could. In fact, Annie began dating Shawn often, always ordering a big meal, and always heading home alone, stuffed and satisfied.

Annie enjoyed the feeling of being full so much that she was having bigger breakfasts, picking up snack food to eat in the evening after her dates with Shawn.

It didn't take long for Shawn and Annie's image conscious co-workers to notice that her clothes were getting a little tight. They didn't say anything to Annie right away; she was coming off a big break-up. Shawn didn't want to upset her, and her friends were worried how she might express herself if they took her to task for gaining a few pounds.

Before long Annie's gains were impossible to ignore. Her clothes were straining at the buttons and seams to contain her. Shawn had realised how much she was eating together and wondered if she was eating more when she was alone. He invited her to his place and intentionally made a large dinner. He knew there was enough food to feed four people, but Annie managed to eat for three before they were done.

Shawn finally brought it up, wondering if maybe there was something she was trying to work through. He offered her his support. He offered to help her setup a diet and an exercise plan. He was going to be there for her, and help her work through it.

Knowing that Shawn had noticed her weight gain, and disapproved of it, made it much more fun for Annie. Her appetite increased as a result. She had midnight snacks, she woke up earlier and earlier, hungrier and hungrier. At work she had a stash of snacks in her drawer. She even finally bought a bigger size of clothes because her old ones were just too tight to be comfortable.

Her co-workers couldn't help but notice her flowing clothes. They were concerned that the new clothes were an acceptance by Annie of gaining weight and not losing it. They tried to stop her from snacking at work. Having to sneak her snacks at work made them more delicious to Annie. Even though it was a lot of work to get in her private snacks without anyone finding out, Annie made the time for it, and was soon eating more than she was working.

On their dates Shawn began ordering for Annie, ensuring she was 'eating right'. She still managed to go through basket after basket of bread, sneak food from his plate and generally eat far more than Shawn could notice. She would stop for fast food on her way home, or order ahead to have a pizza waiting when she got home.

Eventually Annie's appetite became un-containable. She would constantly snack at work, ignoring her co-workers protests about what she was doing to herself. With Shawn she'd order for herself, and often insist on visiting buffets. Sometimes they'd even stay in and she'd order a few pizzas. Her weight skyrocketed and she continued to buy larger and larger clothes.

Finally, after three months, Shawn had had enough. Annie had simply gotten too fat that she didn't deserve to date a guy like him. Annie smiled as she finished off her third pizza. That's all she'd wanted to hear.

Labels: annie, FA, fiction, matt, weight gain