The Bet
by TR

My friend Carl had recently hired an incredible cook. Carl and I got into an argument about whether his cook was a better cook than me--I'm a restaurant consulting chef, and I write cookbooks.

We gave a party to resolve the issue. I set up one buffer table, Carl's cook the second. We invited a bunch of friends and got them to sample as much food as possible. Then we had all the guests vote.

It was five for Carl's cook, five for me, and nine abstentions---a dead heat!

It was frustrating--we'd bet quite a bit on the outcome. Carl and I started arguing again.

"Your cook can't be that great," I joked, "Look how thin you and Carol are!"

"He cooks us great diet meals," said Carl, "but if he wanted to he could fatten us up. Hell, he could fatten up the Taylor twins."

Ashley and Lila, their mouths full of hor d'oeuvres, looked up sheepishly as he said that. It was kind of a running joke that the two identical twins were always eating, though they were quite slim.

"No way," Ashley said finally, "we have high metabolisms."

I looked at them for a minute. They always got invited to all the parties, because they were so beautiful. But unfortunately they were kind of crabby and stand-offish, as if they were so into being twins that they looked down on anyone who wasn't one of them.

"I don't know about Carl's cook," I said, "but I could fatten you up easily, if I put my mind to it."

"No you couldn't, " said Lila, "though I wish you would try."

Both girls laughed at this.

"There you go, " said Carl, "that's the perfect contest. I'll feed one twin, you feed the other. After, I don't know, a month, we'll weigh them. I'll bet my twin gains more weight than yours."

Everyone laughed uproariously at this absurd idea, the twins more than anyone.

"That makes sense, " I said, "they're identical twins, so the only variable will be the cooking...you're on. Which twin do you want?"

"Take your pick."

"I'll take Ashley, " I said.

"Excuse me?" said Ashley, laughing, "Hello? You're presuming a hell of a lot here! Why do you think we'll cooperate?"

"Well, " I said, "that's part of the challenge, isn't it? We have to cook such tantalizing food that you come over and eat every day, and go on eating even if you start gaining weight."

"Exactly, " said Carl, "and no bribing allowed, by the way...the food alone must tempt them."

"I agree, " I said.

"But we _do_ need their cooperation to some extent. We have to weigh them, after all."

"Oh, right, " I said, "what would you girls charge to allow yourselves to be weighed, once when the bet starts, and once a month later?"

The two looked at each other in amazement. They were just starting to realize that Carl and I were serious.

"That's all we'd have to do?" asked Lila, "weigh ourselves?"

"Right."

"We wouldn't have to agree to eat anything?"

"Nope, " said Carl, "but just remember, Lila, my cook will feed you anything you want, anytime of the day or night, for the duration of the bet."

"And you can eat at my place anytime, " I told Ashley.

"Okay, " said Lila, "our weighing fee is a thousand dollars apiece, each time you weigh us."

"Are you actually considering this?" Ashley asked Lila.

"Why not?"

"But they're just joking."

"Here, " I said, making her out a check for two thousand dollars, "here's your weighing fee in advance. That's how serious I am."

Ashley gaped at the check. Carl made out one for Lila.

We started the next day. Since the twins liked to eat together, we arranged to feed them three meals a day, alternating between my house and Carl's.

We started out at Carl's house. The girls wore bikinis to be weighed in (a compromise between modesty and accuracy).

They were slender, but not skinny. Their bodies were nice and curvy, and fleshed out enough so that their ribs didn't show.

Lila weighed 130, Ashley 129.

"Don't worry, Ashley, " I joked, "you'll soon pass her up."

"Forget it, " said Ashley, "I'll see you in a month. I'm not eating a bite here."

"I thought you said it would be fun."

"But the more I think about it, the more it seems creepy. I kind of feel like you're using us...I don't like it."

"Don't you want to even try the Lobster Meridian? I've been working on it all day."

I'd noticed at a dinner party a few months earlier that Ashley couldn't get enough Lobster Meridian.

It stopped her. She turned around and eyed it pensively.

Lila had already started in on the spread that had been laid out for her.

"Well, " said Ashley, "I guess a meal or two wouldn't hurt...but I'm not going to gain weight, I hate to tell you."

She sat down and started in on the Lobster Meridian.

For the first few days of this strange bet the girls, Ashley especially, tried to act blasé, showing up late and eating lackadaisically, as if they were just going through the motions out of obligation.

But they never missed a meal. And they loved the food and the attention, and soon found it too much trouble to contain their enthusiasm. Soon they were showing up eagerly several minutes early, to wait impatiently and eat rapturously when they were finally served.

Carl and I naturally tried to figure if they were gaining any weight, and, more importantly, whether one was gaining more than the other.

But they stayed quite slender. They typically wore t-shirts and cutoffs that showed off their figures pretty well, so it would have been apparent if they had put on weight.

Still, I didn't give up hope--I noticed that their capacities were increasing.

Carl's feeding practice was to surround Lila with numerous platters overflowing with fattening food, much more than she could ever eat at a sitting--I guess his theory was that way she could eat an enormous amount without it ever seeming like an enormous amount. And if she wanted anything that she hadn't been served, Carl would have it prepared for her as soon as possible.

My method with Andrea was more subtle. I fed her one dish at a time, and even kept her waiting a bit between courses. I figured she'd eat more if I strung the process out a bit, and made each meal like an epic adventure where she never knew what was coming next. I saved the more enticing, original dishes for the end, coaxing her to eat more and more with the promise that she would be rewarded by ever more exotic eating experiences.

This was much trickier than Carl's method--if I timed things wrong, or happened to serve something she didn't like, she would become bored and leave without eating all that much. So at first, Andrea ate less than Lila.

But as I strove ever harder to pique her appetite, carefully monitoring her response to each dish, composing symphonically intricate combinations of taste and timing, she plainly started enjoying the experience more and more.

When we started out, they both took about fifteen minutes for breakfast, half an hour for lunch, and just a bit over half an hour for dinner.

After a week, Lila was spending an additional five to ten minutes at each meal. Andrea, on the other hand, was still spending fifteen minutes for breakfast (she didn't have the patience for a strung-out procedure in the morning, so I just fed her normally), but almost an hour for lunch. And dinner would take an hour and a half.

"Oh my God!" she said one evening, "Tacquitos!"

It was the ninth day of the bet. She'd been eating for almost an hour and a half. Tacquitos were one of her favorite dishes, but I hardly ever served them.

"You sadist, " she moaned, patting her bloated belly, which strained painfully against her cutoffs.

"Those look awfully tight, " I said, "why don't you unbutton them?"

"I guess I'd better, " she said, following my suggestion and letting her belly ease out, "though it really screws up my denial!"

She grinned and started on the tacquitos.

"What, have you been telling yourself you could do this without gaining weight?"

"Yes, " she said, "but actually, gaining weight itself doesn't bother me--mmmmm, Jesus, these tacquitos are even better than last time..."

"Gaining weight doesn't bother you?"

"...um, no, it's just all the smug expressions and smartass remarks I'll get as soon as everybody _notices_ I'm gaining weight."

"Oh, that's easy, " I said, "just tell them you're getting fat on purpose."

"What!?"

"Well, if you get fat involuntarily they'll feel smugly superior, feeling like they have more will-power and self-control than you do. But if you get fat intentionally, what can they possibly say?"

"They'll say I'm out of my mind! Why would I want to get fat?"

"I don't know. Think of something. How much weight have you gained, anyway?"

"You want me to weigh myself _now_? Have you forgotten about the thousand-dollar weighing fee?"

"Oh yeah. Well, I guess I'll just wait till the end of the month."

"Oh well. Anyway, that's it for the tacquitos. What's next?"

I brought out some brandied bon-bons, which she devoured with enthusiasm.

"What a great appetite you have tonight!" I said.

"I know!" she said happily, "unbuttoning those cutoffs really helps. You'd better get started on the next course..."

The next day she kept her cutoffs buttoned all through breakfast and through lunch until her sister left.

"Ooof!" she said when she finally unbuttoned them, "I'm going to have to get some new clothes."

At dinnertime she had to unbutton them by the second course.

"Putting on a little weight?" teased Lila when she noticed.

"Well, I'm still a bit bloated from lunch--I ate really well at lunchtime. But I've probably put on some weight. Don't tell me you haven't."

"Maybe a few pounds, " admitted Lila, who, though she wasn't quite keeping up with Andrea, was eating extremely well.

A few minutes later Lila unbuttoned her cutoffs too.

"Oh, that feels much better."

By the end of the third week it was obvious that they'd both filled out a bit. And if they stood next to one another, you could tell that Andrea had filled out the most. In desperation, Carl tried to copy my slow feeding method, but Lila wouldn't put up with it--she was used to stuffing herself on whatever she wanted, and wouldn't eat at all until she got it.

One night, at a party, I overheard someone talking to Lila.

"You and your sister are the lives of the party!" he said, "you seem so much more cheerful and, well, _nicer_ than usual..."

"Yeah, " said someone else, "what gives?"

"I don't know, " said Lila, "maybe it's just that we're finally getting enough to eat..."

It was true...their dispositions had improved remarkably. I was even starting to _like_ them. Especially because they were getting sexier every day they way they were filling out.

One evening I made a pass at Andrea, who seem shocked.

"Don't be ridiculous!" she said.

"Why is it ridiculous?"

"Well...uh...we've known each other for years, and we never...it's just too weird to start doing that at this point!"

She left in a huff. But she wasn't too upset over it--she came back the next day with a better appetite than ever.

"Who do you think is going to win?" I asked Carl. It was the day of the final weighing. Carl and I were waiting for the twins to show up.

"I don't know, " he said, "you may have been ahead there for a bit, but Lila's appetite has been really good this week. We might be in for a surprise."

The twins had been wearing baggy clothes lately, so it was hard to tell who was heavier--but when they showed up in their bikinis, there was no doubt.

Lila's bikini was tight, and little bulges of fat formed at its boundaries. There was a slight jiggle to her flesh as she walked which hadn't been there before.

But Andrea's bikini was so tight she had to hold on to the top so her breasts wouldn't pop out. She had bulges in all the same places as Lila, but they were clearly more pronounced. And while Lila stomach had acquired a noticeable softness, Andrea had the beginnings of a cute little pot-belly.

"Sam? Oh, Sa-am!"

I had been so absorbed in gaping at Andrea I hadn't realized they'd been talking to me. The twins laughed.

"Are you going to go get the scale, or what?"

"Is it really necessary?" I said, "It's obvious that I've won."

"I paid a thousand dollars to weigh Lila, said Carl, "and I'm going to weigh her, damn it."

Lila stepped daintily on the scale, which registered 143.

"That's thirteen pounds, " said Carl, "not bad."

Then it was Andrea's turn. With trepidation and an embarrassed smile, she stepped on the scale.

"148!" I exclaimed, "Nineteen pounds! Pay up, loser!"

Sourly, Carl started making out a check.

"You little piggy, you!" Lila said to Andrea, laughing, "Not that I'm a model of restraint, " she added with a sigh, patting her slightly-pudgy tummy, "I'm glad this is over. My boyfriend has been complaining."

"What?" said Carl, "you have a boyfriend?"

"Yep."

"And you don't?" he asked Andrea.

"Nope."

"That's not fair!" he said, "my twin has been under pressure to keep her weight down, and yours hasn't!"

"I don't think it made any difference, " said Lila.

"But how can you me sure? This cancels the bet!"

"No way!" I said, "our bet has no provisions about boyfriends. How could it? We can't cage them like lab rats. Besides, I won by a big margin. The boyfriend can't have made _that_ much difference."

"Well, " said Carl, "I'll pay you, but only if you agree to swap twins and repeat the bet for another month."

"Oh yes!" chorused the twins. They turned to me and pleaded with me to agree.

"But I thought you just said you were glad it was over, " I said to Lila.

"I was trying to talk myself into being glad, but really, this has been the best month of my life. I _love_ eating this wonderful food!"

"Me too, " said Andrea. She patted her little tummy for emphasis, "if that isn't already obvious. And I'm curious about Jake's cooking. Lila's been raving about it all month."

"But you're going to get fat!" I said.

"You forget, " said Lila, "we have high metabolisms. As soon as we quit eating here we'll get back to normal in no time."

"Oh, like it even matters, " said Andrea, "who cares about getting fat, when you can eat like we've been?"

"I thought you were worried about what other people thought."

"Oh! I've been using your advice. Whenever anyone says anything about my weight, I act like I've been complemented and tell them I'm so happy I've finally been able to put on a few pounds. It completely baffles them!"

"And Lila--what about your boyfriend? I thought he doesn't like your weight gain."

"That's his problem!"

I shrugged.

"Well, it's okay with me."

We resumed feeding the twins the next day.

"How come you let _him_ feed you one dish at a time?" complained Carl to Lila as I started feeding her my way.

"That's the only way he'll do it, " said Lila, shrugging.

Carl and Jake tried feeding Andrea using my method, but they didn't have it down. She ate so little that Carl reverted to his normal style, and let her eat whatever she wanted.

The twins ate better than ever, and were happy as clams.

The month was over. Carl looked glum as the two plump girls arrived to be weighed. They looked identical again, with matching pot-bellies, love-handles, chubby thighs, rounded bottoms, and lovely, jiggly breasts.

"New bikinis?" I observed.

"We couldn't fit in the old ones if you paid us, " smiled Andrea, gingerly stepping on the scale. It stopped at 160.

"Twelve pounds, " sighed Carl, "not that great."

"I think it gets harder to gain as I get fatter, " consoled Andrea.

Lila weighed 161.

"My God!" she said, "Eighteen pounds in a month? I didn't realize I gained _that_ much!"

Carl grumpily wrote me out another check.

"You sure you don't want to swap us and do it for another month?" asked Andrea, "your cook is getting pretty good, Carl. He may catch up with Sam."

"Forget it!" said Carl, "you just want Sam to feed you for another month."

"Either one can feed me any time, " said Andrea.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. Very soon after we stopped feeding the twins their old crabby personalities came back.

But the big surprise was the lawsuit they served me and Carl with.

"Wow, " my lawyer said when I brought him the case, "you're being sued for manipulating the plaintiffs into getting fat against their will, damages in the amount of 200 thousand...this is a new one on me."

"But it's not true!" I said, "They were willing!"

"Can you prove it in court? This might be rough...if they can get the sympathy of the jury...you might want to just settle. Especially since Carl already has."

"Yeah, but he's rich! What did he settle for?"

"Oh, he paid the full hundred thousand. So now it's you they're after."

"But I can't afford that!" I moaned, "It'll completely bust me!"

I called up the twins that evening. Andrea answered.

"I can't talk to you about the case, " she said, "my lawyer said absolutely not."

"Well...actually, I just wanted to invite the two of you over for dinner."

"Dinner? What for?"

"I don't know...for old times sake, I guess."

"But we can't do that..."

"Sure you can. Don't worry, we won't talk about the case."

"Forget it."

"Okay, but I think I'll make it anyway in case you change your mind. I've got a new tacquito recipe I want to try."

I heard her gasp softly.

"No way..." she said.

"Whatever. Seven o'clock, if you change your mind."

They showed up at seven on the dot.

"I don't know what you're up to, " said Lila, "but whatever it is it won't work. We're not going to talk about the case."

"Fine, " I said, "just have a seat. Everything's ready."

They ate with great gusto, occasionally moaning softly with pleasure. We made a little small talk, but mostly they just ate.

Finally they got up to leave.

"Will I see you at lunch tomorrow? Noon?"

They looked at me in amazement.

"No way!" said Lila, "we'll see you in court."

But of course they did show up for lunch, as well as dinner, and lunch and dinner the next day.

By that time their personalities had changed back to pleasant again.

Half an hour into dinner Lila looked at her watched, quickly said goodbye and raced out.

"God, he'll kill me if he finds out I was here, " she said.

"What's she talking about?" I asked Andrea after she left.

"Her boyfriend--she promised not to gain anymore weight."

"I see. Have you lost much weight?"

"Not much. Actually, we're not try--oops!"

She looked at me, startled.

I smiled, somewhat bitterly no doubt.

"I imagine you have to keep your weight up for the trial, " I said, "it would be hard to convince a jury that you'd suffered damages if you got thin again."

Andrea winced.

"I can't talk about it, " she said.

"I know...but Andrea, this will break me! Even if I win the trial, the legal costs are outrageous."

"It's Lila, " said Andrea, "she needs money--she wants to get married. I don't mind that you fattened us up. I was just mad that you stopped..."

"I thought you two were loaded."

Andrea shrugged.

"Not really. We inherited that house, and enough to get by on, but we have to be pretty careful with our money if we don't want to dip into the capital."

Suddenly I had an idea.

"I know!" I said, "Let Carl settle with Lila, and I'll settle with you."

"You mean Lila gets Carl's hundred thousand? What do I get?"

We met with the lawyers the next day.

"Let me see if I understand" said the twins' lawyer, "Lila gets the hundred thou (less my fees), but Andrea pays my fees out of her own pocket? And she gets fattened up _more_?"

"Right, " said Andrea, "Sam has to feed me for five years or until I gain sixty pounds, whichever comes first."

"Why until you gain sixty pounds?"

"I want to make sure he has an incentive to feed me really well, " said Andrea with a grin, "this way, the better he feeds me, the sooner he gets out of the contract."

"This is the craziest thing I've ever heard, " said her lawyer.

"That's irrelevant, " said my lawyer, "a settlement is a settlement."

A condition of our contract was that I got to weigh Ashley whenever I wanted to. I weighed her the next day before lunch (I'd decided to just feed her lunch and dinner--she never had much of an appetite for breakfast anyway).

"Wow, only 152, " I said, "have you been on a diet?"

"No...but if it's not your cooking, it just doesn't seem like it's worth eating."

I served her the first course--she ate ecstatically, giving out little gasps and moans of pleasure.

"I've missed this so much!" she said.

I weighed her two weeks later.

"God, you look so good in that bikini, " I told her, "I should weigh you every day, so you'd wear it all the time."

"You're just saying that, " she said, smiling and getting on the scale.

"165--all right, a new record!" I said, "no, I'm not just saying that. I prefer heavier women."

"Well, I guess that's not too surprising, " said Ashley.

"And I like helping them get heavier..."

"Well then what are we waiting for? I'm hungry!"

She was too...she was so eager to start eating that she didn't even bother to change out of her bikini.

Her appetite was terrific. She ate steadily for almost two hours.

Finally she sat back and sighed happily.

"I want to try something, " she said, "could you weigh me again?"

She was five pounds heavier from all the food she'd eaten. Her belly was noticeably bigger. I couldn't help but gape at it.

"You like my tummy, don't you?" she said.

"Yes, " I said.

"Do you want to touch it?"

"God, yes, " I said, fondling it gently.

She touched my raging hard-on through my pants.

"Wow! You really like it!" she said.

"Why are you teasing me? I thought you weren't interested!"

"Well, I didn't tell you the truth, exactly, " she started kissing me.

"What was the truth?" I said after some terrific kisses.

"Well, I was kind of interested, but Lila had a crush on you, so I felt like I couldn't respond."

"What! But I thought she had a boyfriend!"

"Oh, no, we made up the boyfriend...we hoped Carl would react the way he did and you two would want to feed us for another month. Anyway, by the time she _really_ got a boyfriend, I was so fat I thought you wouldn't be interested."

"Boy, you sure got that wrong, " I said, unhooking her bikini top, "Oh wow...your tummy isn't the only thing that's grown..." I said, awed by her luscious breasts. We made love...it was incredible.

It was a little over a year later. Ashley waddled up to the scale and peered sadly over her now ample pot-belly as the scale climbed to 213.

"Well that's it, " I said, "sixty pounds. The contract is fulfilled."

"Why did I say sixty pounds?" she moaned, "I should have said a hundred...or one-twenty, maybe. Yes, that would be about right. Sure you don't want to keep fattening me up, just for fun?"

"No time, " I said, "I've spent a year now fattening you up...it was fun, but I've got to make some money."

"Have you got a job yet?"

"Well, I've got a couple of consulting things that may happen in a couple of weeks or so."

"What if I pay you to keep fattening me up? With incentives of course, for every pound..."

We talked about it, but she couldn't afford to pay me as much as I wanted to make.

"How about until you find a job?"

"Sure, " I said, "why not?"

Lila came by the next day as Ashley was stuffing herself on lasagna and french bread.

"Looks good, " said Lila enviously, "but you're getting awfully fat, girl."

Ashley shrugged.

"If I had it to do over again, I would in a minute. Have you forgotten how good this food is?"

"No, " said Lila, smiling, "I don't blame you. But wait a minute...aren't you about done with your contract? You must have gained pretty close to sixty pounds by now."

"Sixty-three as of this morning. The contract is over--now I have to pay him."

"Really? How much?"

"Well, I pay him my weight twice a week, and a hundred-dollar bonus every time I gain a pound."

"Is that all? Hey, I'm in!"

"Really?"

"Sure!"

I had been listening in on this.

"But what about your boyfriend, Lila?" I asked her, "or does he like fat girls?"

She hadn't married the guy she'd been with during the lawsuit and had actually had two or three boyfriends since then.

"Gee, " she said, pretending to ponder, "lousy sex, fantastic food, lousy sex, fantastic food...how will I ever decide?"

"Do it, Lila!" said Ashley, "just think, we can be identical again!"

"I don't know if I'm going to get that _fat_, Ashley, " said Lila laughing, and sitting down at the table and looking at me.

"Feed me!" she said.

"We have to weigh you first!"

She was down to 132. She returned to the table and eagerly started feeding.

"Oh, Jesus!" she gasped. Then she turned to Ashley, "Maybe I will get that fat, after all."

"If you do have trouble with your sex life, I'll share Sam with you." said Ashley.

"What?" I said, not believing my ears.

"Why not? We've shared boyfriends before."

Lila looked at me appraisingly.

"Is he any good?" she asked.

"Are you kidding? He's great!"

The twins weren't into orgy scenes--and neither was I--but they didn't mind playing certain games...I loved to start making love with Lila and then having Ashley replace her in the middle, so I could pretend my slim lover with the flat tummy and tomato-sized breasts had suddenly become fat, with a large belly and breasts like honeydew melons. Or making love to one sister as I watched the other eat.

The first week alone, Lila gained five pounds and Ashley six.

"Jesus, Ashley!" I said, "I thought you were reaching a plateau!"

"Well, I've been holding back for some time now...I was putting off gaining the sixty pounds. But now I can eat all I want!"

"I'll never catch up with you at this rate, " said Lila, playfully poking her sister's fat belly.

"Yes you will. I've decided to start taking it easy."

"I thought you were going to start taking it easy, " I asked Ashley an hour later, as she polished off the tenth course of her lunch. Lila had had to quit after eight courses.

"Maybe tomorrow, " she said, contemplating her distended belly, "But now I want another course. Your cooking just gets better and better. I just don't want to stop eating."

"I can't wait until my appetite is as good as yours, " said Lila enviously.

"It's like anything else, " said Ashley, starting on her eleventh course, strawberry shortcake, "you just have to practice!"