Chapter 7: College Girls' Night Out
The private dining room hummed with laughter, the air thick with the scent of garlic butter and molten chocolate. Candles flickered in the center of the long oak table, their light glinting off half-empty wine glasses and the flushed faces of the women seated around it.
Ashley Miller leaned back in her chair, her once-fitted sweater now stretched taut over the gentle swell of her belly. She twirled a fork lazily in her third helping of fettuccine alfredo, the creamy sauce clinging to her lips. "I *swear* this is, like, scientifically addictive," she said, giggling as she licked the fork clean.
Tiffany Ainsworth smirked from across the table, her fingers dragging through the whipped cream topping her tiramisu. "You say that every time."
"Because it’s *true*," Ashley shot back, reaching for another breadstick. The basket had been full when they sat down. Now, only crumbs remained.
John pushed through the door, balancing a tray of cannoli in one hand, his other resting on the small of Brenda Peterson’s back as she wobbled beside him, her hips brushing against the doorframe. "Room for dessert?" he asked, setting the tray down with a flourish.
Brenda collapsed into the nearest chair with a contented sigh, her thighs spreading under the table. "God, I’m *so* full," she groaned, even as she reached for a cannoli.
Fatima appeared behind John, her dark braid swinging as she refilled wine glasses with practiced ease. "You say that," she murmured, pouring a generous splash into Brenda’s glass, "but you’ve been saying it since the appetizers."
Brenda grinned, unrepentant, and took a messy bite of cannoli. Ricotta oozed onto her fingers. "Worth it."
John watched as hands reached across the table, grabbing pastries, fingers sticky with sugar. The girls were a tangle of limbs and laughter, their bodies soft and yielding in the candlelight. Laura, perched on the edge of the table, her uniform skirt riding up her thighs, leaned over to pluck a piece of chocolate from Sophie’s plate.
"You’re *such* a dork," Sophie said, but she was laughing, her blue eyes bright.
Laura popped the chocolate into her mouth and winked. "Your dork."
John’s phone buzzed in his pocket—Maria checking in—but he ignored it. The energy in the room was electric, the kind of warmth that came from shared indulgence. He slid into the empty chair beside Ashley, his knee bumping hers under the table.
"You good?" he asked, low enough that only she could hear.
Ashley’s cheeks pinked. She nodded, her fingers toying with the edge of her sweater. "Better than good."
Brenda kicked his foot playfully under the table. "Stop hogging him," she teased, her voice syrupy with wine. "We *all* want a turn."
The room erupted in giggles.
John smirked and leaned back in his chair, letting the moment settle over him. The way they looked at him—like he’d hung the moon and deep-fried it in olive oil—was intoxicating. Tiffany licked cream from her thumb, her eyes locked on his.
"You’re *evil*," she said, but there was no heat in it.
"I’m generous," he corrected.
Fatima set down the last bottle of wine with a thud. "And we’re out," she announced.
A collective groan rose from the table.
Laura pouted. "But I *need* more."
Sophie nudged her. "You need *water*."
"Boring."
John stood, brushing crumbs from his jeans. "I’ll grab another bottle."
The kitchen was quiet compared to the dining room, the only sound the steady hum of the fridge. He reached for a bottle of red, but a hand caught his wrist before he could grab it.
"Thought you were *busy*," Maria murmured, her body pressing against his back.
He turned, her hips fitting easily against his. "Just getting supplies."
She arched a brow, her fingers trailing down his chest. "Uh-huh."
The kitchen door swung open before he could respond, and Sofia stumbled in, her hair mussed, her lips swollen. "Oh—" She blinked at them, then grinned. "Am I interrupting?"
Maria rolled her eyes but didn’t let go of John. "Yes."
Sofia’s grin widened. "Cool." She sauntered forward, her hips swaying, and plucked the wine bottle from John’s hand. "I’ll take this," she said, winking. "You two have *fun*."
The door swung shut behind her.
Maria sighed, but her hands were already sliding under John’s shirt. "You’re *impossible*."
He kissed her, slow and deep, her body warm against his. "You love it."
She bit his lip, hard enough to sting. "Maybe."
The dining room’s laughter spilled into the hallway, bright and unchecked.
Back at the table, the girls were a mess of half-empty plates and flushed skin. Tiffany had abandoned her chair entirely, opting instead to lounge across Brenda’s lap, her head tipped back as Brenda fed her bites of cannoli.
Ashley caught John’s eye as he re-entered, her fingers toying with the hem of her sweater again. "We were starting to think you got lost," she teased.
He set the wine bottle down with a thunk. "Never."
Laura raised her glass. "To *never* being full," she declared.
Glasses clinked.
John watched as they drank, as their bodies curved into the chairs, as the candlelight played over their skin.
The night was far from over.
The night was far from over.
Ashley let out a long, satisfied groan as she slumped deeper into her chair, her hands instinctively cradling the swollen curve of her belly. The seams of her jeans had given up hours ago, a single button pinging across the room when she’d reached for the last piece of garlic bread. "I think I might actually die," she murmured, but her fingers were already creeping toward the plate of tiramisu again.
Brenda snorted, her own stomach pressing tight against the table as she shifted. "You say that every time. And yet—" She gestured at the empty plates, the sauce-smeared silverware, the wine stains on the tablecloth.
Tiffany let out a deep, guttural belch, barely covering her mouth in time. The sound echoed off the walls, followed by a ripple of laughter. "Jesus," she wheezed, fanning herself. "That one’s been brewing since the risotto."
John leaned against the sideboard, arms crossed, watching them. The private room was a wreck—napkins strewn everywhere, chairs pushed back at awkward angles to accommodate widening hips. Fatima and Laura moved sluggishly between them, their own uniforms straining, buttons threatening mutiny as they refilled water glasses and cleared plates.
"You guys are *monsters*," Laura said, but she was grinning, her hips bumping against the table as she reached for Ashley’s empty wineglass.
Ashley batted her hand away playfully. "Bring more instead of judging."
Fatima let out a breathless laugh, her braid coming undone as she balanced a stack of dirty plates. "At this rate, we’ll need a forklift to get you out of here."
Brenda stretched, her shirt riding up to reveal a soft, doughy expanse of stomach. "Worth it."
Sophie waddled in with a fresh tray of cannoli, her once-lithe frame now lush and heavy, her apron strings digging into her hips. "Last batch," she announced, setting them down with a grunt. "Kitchen’s tapped out."
A chorus of exaggerated groans rose from the table. Tiffany pouted, her fingers already sticky from the last dessert. "You *promised* unlimited."
John pushed off the wall, his grin slow, satisfied. "We did. And we delivered." He gestured at the wreckage—the plates, the crumbs, the way their bodies had filled every inch of space. "Look at you."
Ashley glanced down at herself, at the way her thighs spread against the chair, at the softness of her arms, her belly. She should’ve cared. She *used* to care. But all she felt was warmth, fullness. Something like pride.
Brenda caught her eye and smirked. "You love it."
Ashley didn’t deny it.
Across the room, Laura let out a sudden, surprised gasp as the last button on her blouse gave up, popping off and rolling under the table. "Oh, *come on*," she muttered, but she was laughing, her breasts spilling free, her stomach round and full.
Fatima shook her head, but there was no real annoyance in it. "You’re all disasters."
Sophie plopped down onto the nearest chair, her own belly pressing against the table as she reached for a cannoli. "Disasters who eat good."
John watched them, the way they moved now—slower, heavier, the weight settling into them like it belonged there. The way they didn’t even try to hide it anymore, the way they *flaunted* it. He remembered the first night, how careful they’d been, picking at salads, pretending they weren’t hungry.
Now?
Now they *owned* it.
Tiffany let out another belch, louder this time, her hand pressed to her chest. "Fuck," she sighed, blissed-out. "That’s the stuff."
John stepped forward, his fingers brushing Ashley’s shoulder. "Need help getting up?"
She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed, her lips still glistening with dessert. "What I *need*," she said, her voice low, "is you to stop pretending you don’t want to see how much more I can take."
His grip tightened, just slightly.
Brenda laughed, loud and bright. "God, *yes*." She reached for another cannoli, the filling oozing out as she bit into it. "Let’s see how much damage we can *really* do."
The night stretched on, thick with laughter, with the sounds of tearing fabric, of satisfied sighs.
And John?
John had never been happier.