Bree thought it was a simple, but brilliant plan. So much so she now wished it was her idea. The appeal was it was up to her- the effort and reward, the time it took- it could all happen to suit her.
It had started after the Christmas holidays. Bree had bumped into Charlie while shopping for groceries, and noticed how lean and fit he was looking. For her part, she felt overweight, the legacy of two weeks with her boyfriend rained in at a beach resort, with too much good food and drink on hand.
A week later she rang Charlie at work and asked did he have some time for his buddy. It was part of the special friendship they had. Either one could call on the other for a buddy session, confident that anything said or done went no further. They were the rules, and over time the freedom to confide in each other had helped so much neither was about to break them.
Bree was unsure why it worked so well. At 45, Charlie was more than twice her age, yet they could communicate and flirt and solve each other's problems with unthreatening ease. The idea of a relationship between them never came up. She sometimes wondered why. Perhaps it was because they were not prepared to risk what they had going. In any event she was very comfortable with her boyfriend, and Charlie loved his solitude.
They agreed to meet at Bree's after work. When Charlie arrived Bree was finishing up in her vegetable garden. They went into her lounge, and she fixed him an orange juice with ice, before dashing into the shower to clean up. When she came out, still drying her hair, Bree was wearing an oversized T-shirt and cargo shorts. Charlie looked up. Bree could look good in anything, he thought to himself. She was tall, perhaps five eleven, and what he called willowly for want of a better word. Definitely not supermodel thin- though she had the face for the job. From previous sessions, he was well past thinking what could possibly be going wrong in her life.
After some idle chat, Bree got around to telling him she was feeling fat, and wanted to lose some weight this year. But she had said the same thing to herself last year, and the year before, and wanted to know how he was able to keep so thin. Charlie protested she didn't look at all overweight. "You haven't seen what's under these baggy clothes" Bree replied.
Charlie thought a moment. " Why not try this- set yourself a clear goal, and plan to reward yourself when you reach it."
"I do that each year", said Bree. "I just can't stick to it."
"Well I know of something that might work" said Charlie. "Why not go shopping at the sales for a sexy dress you wouldn't ordinarily buy. Get it a size or two too small- so that if you keep to your plan, you get to wear it out. And you get to decide when and where."
"I don't know. I'm not sure Adam would be too keen on the idea."
"Don't be so sure" Charlie replied. "Get him involved in the plan. You might be pleasantly surprised."
"He's not that keen on other men looking at me. And I'm not much for giving them an eyeful."
"But you don't have to" Charlie argued. "It could be a long dress, perhaps backless, and you could wear nothing underneath. Now if only Adam and you knew, he'd be climbing the walls to get you home." Bree was pensive for a moment. "I'll have to think about it. For now your job is to tell me what exercises to do."
"OK" Charlie answered. Take a STAB test."
"What?"
"S-T-A-B. A Stab test."
"What the hell are you talking about, Charlie?"
"Next time you've got your gear off in front of the mirror, check them out. Shoulders, Tummy, Arse, Boobs." See what needs some work on it. And let me know. Then we can target some exercises to get you into that dress."
"Its that simple?" wondered Bree.
"Not quite. You will also have to get some basics right- diet and general fitness. But if the fat is sitting somewhere, and there's some toning to be done, we can sort it out."
"Mmmm- sounds promising."
"Oh. And there's one more thing. You tell me what you decide. So if you bale out, you're not just letting yourself down."
"I knew it was too good to be true" Bree laughed, playfully flicking Charlie with the towel. "So when do we get started on the exercises. And I'm promising nothing about the dress yet."
"Just as soon as you tell me how the STAB test went."
Bree rose to gather the glasses they had been drinking from. "This is a buddy session, isn't it," she called from the kitchen.
"Sure is" Charlie said. " It's our secret plan. At least until you tell your boyfriend."
"So let's get started now."
Charlie looked up in time to see Bree strolling towards her bedroom, tossing the T shirt behind her as she went.
Later, the sound of Bree summonsing caused Charlie to stir.
"What do you think?"
"Think about what?" he replied.
"Come and see for yourself."
Charlie rose and entered her bedroom. Bree was standing in front of a full length mirror, wearing a brief two-piece swim suit he hadn't seen before.
"Hmmm. Let's see" he said, doing his best to sound unaffected by the view he was getting. "Shoulders- need to be broader. Bit hunched, don't you think?"
"That's OK for you" she retorted. "Look what they have to support."
He dropped his eyes to see her put her hands under her bikini clad breasts, and lift them. They were larger than expected, much larger, and sporting quite a tan.
"Looks like it didn't rain all the time you were at the beach" he joked.
Bree laughed. "Don't go changing the subject." You wanted to know where the extra weight goes, and now I'm telling you."
"That's no real problem, as long as they can look after themselves. We wouldn't want you tripping over them."
"No chance of that yet." She reached behind her back, and unclasped the top of her bikini. As it fell, she shifted her hands to the front, placing them strategically over her nipples. "Now they are on their own. Still holding up OK, don't you think?"
