Culinary Librarian - 3 - The Chief Office of Fats

The chief office of fats and oils is to store energy and heat to be used as needed, and constitute the adipose tissues of the body. Examples: butter, cream, fat of meat, fish, cereals, nuts, and the berry of the olive-tree.

-Fannie Farmer, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1896

Sonya had been digesting on the couch at home for three hours and still felt like a goose undergoing gavage. She had tried all the usual tricks: antacids, lying on her left side, sipping water to try and aid her digestion. The water was the worst idea–she only felt more bloated, the contents of her stomach sloshing loudly every time she shifted.

Now she was lying flat on her back, watching Great British Bake-Off and massaging her vastly overfed stomach. As uncomfortable as she was, she regretted nothing. Well, almost nothing–she was a little put out that she hadn’t thought to ask for some of the leftovers. What she failed to consider was that, even if Magnolia had possessed the presence of mind to offer some to her, Sonya hadn’t left much behind.

Sonya could still taste everything. She felt like the worst kind of glutton, especially with her stomach wobbling so high above her. She was too full to eat anything, but some part of her still wanted more. Her stomach ached and felt hot to the touch, but the thought of a few more bites of turkey or another thick slice of cake sounded divine. She almost considered texting Magnolia and asking her to bring food… and then she let out a huge belch and recalled the state she was in. Best to save such indiscreet antics for a later date. She wasn’t quite ready for Magnolia to see her so relaxed. A lady had to keep some secrets, right?

She burped again, sighing at the relief it brought. God, she felt good. Warm and full and happy. Though after another, smaller burp passed her lips, she realized she wasn’t all that full. Not too full to eat more, anyway.

She kept her position on the couch, one hand still gently massaging her belly as she used the other to scroll through her favorite food delivery app. It was Thanksgiving, so options were limited, but she wasn’t feeling picky. The little, greedy voice that lived inside her head only really cared about one thing: having as much food as she could get her hands on.

The rational part of her brain tried at first to get her to abandon her plan to order an obscene amount of food. She had eaten plenty, and there was already stuff to eat in the kitchen, even if it wasn’t much. Ten minutes before, she’d been so stuffed she could barely move! She might as well not eat for the rest of the day. Especially with how tight all her clothes were getting. She’d already pushed her sweater dress pretty far, and nothing else in her wardrobe had nearly as much give.

But she kept scrolling, salivating a little as she looked at all the pictures and read mouthwatering descriptions. Why not order a whole bucket of french fries? Or a burger with six patties on it? A milkshake would go great with that–why not get two?

Every time she added another item to her order, she felt a thrill of pleasure. She was still stuffed, her belly rounding out hard from beneath her breasts, pressing her down into the couch, and she wanted more. She wanted to feel as full as she had when she waddled from Magnolia’s apartment to her car. She wanted to eat until she couldn’t get down another bite.

A flush crept up her chest and her breathing started getting heavy. Her endless milkshake fantasy popped into her mind again, this time with a very scantily clad Magnolia presenting them to her. She adjusted the fantasy a little, adding in some of the food currently in her cart. She felt herself getting turned on. She imagined Magnolia holding a giant burger to her lips and taking a huge bite, making her clit throb.

That was a dangerous thing to play with. She had already been turning to food for stress relief, as all the ripped seams on her work skirts would attest. Adding sex into the mix…

…was way too hot to pass up.

She could always be good later. (She tried not to recall that she’d been telling herself that same thing for months now.) She finished her order and then waited very impatiently, her stomach gurgling quietly. She would only do this once, just one last ridiculous takeout order, and she would make it worth it.

***

By the time Monday rolled around, Sonya looked like she would need to be rolled around soon.

Her belly had not been empty since she left Magnolia’s on Thursday evening. A steady flow of delivery orders charged to her credit card, along with a frivolous trip to the grocery store and a visit to her favorite bakery that sold pastries that were somehow dirt cheap and also tasted like manna from heaven, had ensured she wanted for nothing.

She had no excuse for herself. She had allowed her appetites to rule her for four days straight, and would’ve been lying if she said she didn’t enjoy every second of it. It wasn’t like this was her first time realizing eating was a pleasurable experience. Even before she’d really started putting on weight this past semester, she hadn’t exactly been thin. She studied food, for god’s sake! Sonya had never been the type of person who turned down a good meal, and she had the curves to prove it.

This was, however, the first time she had let things really get away from her. She was aware that part of it was stress fucking with her hunger and fullness signals and messing with her pleasure center. But there was something else there, too. She’d had partners who incorporated food during sex, but always in a way that focused on the sex rather than the food: licking whipped cream off of strategic body parts, eating strawberries as foreplay, that kind of thing. Orgasming while shoving the last bite of a huge burger into her mouth, her stomach aching wonderfully and terribly, was an altogether different kettle of fish.

She planned to do some research later, certain that she wasn’t the only person who had stumbled upon whatever this particular fetish was.

Any research would need to happen after work, though, and only if she could manage not to die of embarrassment during her shift. She was running late, for one thing. Sonya was never late to anything, ever. But her stomach was still bloated from her days-long binge, and getting dressed had been a nightmare. She had been forced to settle for a pair of leggings that only just barely fit, the waistband slightly too tight as it pinched into her bulging gut. On top of that, she didn’t have a single blouse that she wasn’t nearly bursting out of. Sonya liked to show off some cleavage, but even she had to admit that her shirts made her look a little too busty to be work-appropriate. That was how she’d wound up pairing her leggings with an oversized university sweatshirt she normally only wore around the house on the chilliest days. To no one’s surprise, even the sweatshirt was tighter than she remembered it being. When she looked in the mirror, she couldn’t believe how much she looked like a chunky undergrad who had gotten a little too cozy with the campus meal plan. New clothes would fix that, but she didn’t even know her proper measurements anymore. She’d already been well into plus sizes, and most of the companies she relied on capped out their offerings at a size 22, maybe 24. Given how tight her leggings were, she could only hope she was still small enough to fit into size 24 skirts. With the way her ass was jiggling, she figured the odds were unfortunately slim.

She didn’t even bother properly doing her makeup since it would look so incongruous with her outfit. She took some time to plait her long hair into messy double french braids and called that enough. Some degree of presentable, even if she was far below her own standards of how she needed to be dressed for work.

Walking onto campus, she did her best to be invisible. Faculty and staff tended to dress casually, but an outfit as slouchy as the one she was wearing would be frowned upon. Even though she’d skipped breakfast, her binge hangover and still-bloated middle meant she was breathing hard by the time she made it to the back room of the archives.

She chided herself as she began her work day. She really needed to get it together. She’d completely let herself go the last few months, and while she didn’t really have an issue with being larger, she did recognize the additional constraints her weight gain would have on her wallet, her wardrobe, and probably other things she hadn’t had time to consider.

It took her a while to get into the swing of things that day. Her mind kept drifting back to Thanksgiving, to Magnolia, to different cravings. And just when she was able to focus, she got a text that set her mind spinning again. “This might be a little soon, but I found this amazing duck recipe and I’m dying to make it for you. Dinner Tuesday?”

You enabling little charmer, Sonya thought with a smile, right before she messaged Magnolia back saying she couldn’t wait.