Too Much of a Good Thing

Written By: Jaryd Porter

I scooped out the last of the mac and cheese with my fingers, then dropped the empty tin pan onto my belly. Dozens of licked-clean pans clattered onto the carpet around my bed. Mac and cheese, creamed corn, baked beans, tacos, taco salad, loaded nachos, loaded baked potatoes–load it all up!–and I wanted pie. Load me up!

More! Apple pie. Sweet, flaky crust. Hot, sticky filling. Melted over my tongue. I shoveled, scooped up whatever poured down my lips and sucked my fingers clean before licking the tin. My belly quivered over the edges of the bed, dangling, sloshing.

More and more! Reese's Cups by the handful. Sweet chocolate, oozing peanut buttery filling. Better than sex and I love sex. German chocolate cake. I feasted with my hands, belly drooped onto the carpet. Sucked coconut frosting off my fingers. Yelps, squeals, and oinks–a pig in heat. Peanut butter fudge. Tacky to the touch. I didn't finish swallowing before gorging on more. I devoured red velvet cupcakes and peach cobbler, frosting and filling dripping down my slope in warm globs. Gravity squeezed me. Heart drowning beneath the sea of fat. Gurgling, rippling pains. I swelled in agonizing pleasure. The house whined. The floor sank. Sopping explosion between my legs. Too stuffed, I couldn’t stop.

And as I chugged a bucket of melted triple chocolate ice cream, pain stretched like an invisible zipper coming undone. POP! Exploding across the walls, my skin draped over a sopping pile of unrecognizable, masticated deliciousness. My last squeal echoed in the room as my goo dripped from the walls and ceiling. In the echo of my demise, the house collapsed. Tired of holding in too much.

Jaryd Porter is a writer from Lawrence, Kansas who writes about identity, perception, and intersectionality. His previously published works include “Hell Enough” at The Core Review, “Brother From Another” at Your Impossible Voice, “Obama Black” at Fleas on the Dog and Fiction on the Web, “That Sinking Feeling” at JAKE, and “Dance of Hours” at Feign. His story "Oncoming" appeared in Issue 2 of Slash Magazine.