Part 1 The Ermine Edge Eddie Valentine was a simple ermine, he had shiny white fur, he was at an ideal age for possibilities at twenty five, his body was tall at six foot five, skinny and perfect in his opinion. He had a decent job as a freelance computer programmer and a teacher for computer basics for elementary students. However it was Eddie’s summer of love ever since his eyes fell upon a lovely female fox he found at the new cafe that opened up a few blocks from his apartment. Her name is Kelly Tilba, a voluptuous twenty three year old red fox who attracted a lot of male customers to the cafe for even a fraction of her attention. She’s sweet, kind and always attentive to her customers an ideal waitress. As Eddie woke up out of bed he decided today was the day he was going to ask her out. He had been flirting with her for nearly a month now but today was the day he finally got up his courage. He put on his nicest shirt and pants with a little bit a cologne and his coolest shades over his eyes determined to win the heart of the fair maiden. He left his apartment and began to walk towards the Bursting Buttons Cafe. It was the name of the new cafe that Kelly worked at and there was a reason for the name. Ever since that cafe opened up Eddie noticed how fat all the customers were getting in the time it opened up. One time when he passed by the cafe he saw a poor wolf’s shirt buttons pop right off in the middle of his lunch. That was when he saw Kelly for the first time attending to the wolf. She gave him a replacement shirt, patted his big belly and smiled at him. Apparently this must have happened allot if they needed spare shirts for their growing customers. It was a beautiful day Eddie thought to himself, he picked a yellow flower passing by a garden and tried looking his coolest as he approached the cafe. He could already smell the pastries and the sweets in the air but none of that compared to Kelly’s scent. He turned the corner and saw her working her shift around the lunch hour. She was busy with a big number of customers as usual and allot of them male. It was a city wide rumor that Kelly worked during the lunch hour and nearly every interested male came to lunch at the cafe. It was getting to the point where a line was beginning to form for the sit-ins. Kelly was busy attending to the customers, taking their orders and giving them her attention while her fluffy tail swished in the air spreading her scent. All the males were infatuated with Kelly to the point where they didn’t care if they ruined their figures. Eddie even recognized some guys from the gym he normally went to at night. Some of them hadn’t been coming as often and now he could see why, they were ordering obscene amounts of food in order to get attention from the lovely Kelly. It had gotten to the point where their six packs disappeared under a heavy keg of fat. Their clothes now struggling to contain their heavier bodies as they devoured their meals adding to their waistline. “Kelly! It’s your break time now!” a fat rat chef shouted from an ordering window. “Thanks boss!” Kelly shouted taking off her apron. Kelly had a little speech impediment that made her sound like she had a boston style accent, though it just added to her charms for the men. All the males moaned and sighed as she exited through an employee gate in the outer dining area. “Come back Kelly!” “Oh please baby!” “We need you!” All the males were begging Kelly to come back to personally serve them but she turned around and blew them all a kiss. “I’ll be back my big boys!” she smiled heading off on her break. Eddie saw this as an opportunity unlike any other, rather than eat in he could have her to himself. As she went inside to collect her things she came out with a paper bag lunch and her light yellow jacket. All the males sighed and moaned again as she left but went to eating their highly fattening foods. Eddie walked along with Kelly on the opposite side of the street hoping to bump into her by accident. He looked for an opportune moment to cross the street and hopefully “accidentally” bump into her. As soon as the street was clear he ran across it, slowed down in time and brushed her a bit getting her attention. “Oh hey Kelly,” Eddie spoke casually. “Hi Eddie funny running into you here,” she greeted him. “Well I thought I would take a walk in the park since it was such as beautiful day but not as beautiful as you,” he spoke trying to flirt with her. “Oh you’re bad Eddie,” she giggled, “I was actually on my break so I like to eat my lunch in the park, it calm my nerves down a bit.” “Mind if I join you?” Eddie tried talking suave, “They say eating with company is better for your health.” “Oh Eddie I don’t mind sitting with you, I’ll show you my favorite bench in the park,” she spoke taking his hand. Eddie nearly jumped for joy when she touched his hand. For a month he would run into her any chance he got to try and talk to her in order to get a little closer to her. Now he was in heaven, everything was falling into place. She escorted him to a park bench that was in front of the large decorative fountain in the center of the park. It was right under a large tree and provided a decent amount of shade to keep herself cool while she ate. “This is my favorite spot in the park, “She explained while sitting down, “I get to watch all the people, see the fountain show and I feel the loveliest breeze right here, it’s so peaceful.” Eddie sat next to her and took in the experience with her. He saw children playing in the park, families picnicking, the fountain spraying water and the birds chirping. And best of all the breeze carried with it the scents from all around the park. Kelly sat there taking it all in while unwrapping a sandwich she packed for lunch and a juice box that had grape flavor. “I remember drinking those when I was a kid, been a while,’ Eddie spoke looking at her lunch. “What can I say?” Kelly purred sipping the juice box, “It’s my favorite, always has been since I was a little girl. Would you like a sip?” She handed Eddie the juice box and he nervously took it and realized something, he would be sharing an “Indirect Kiss” with Kelly. He was beginning to sweat as he put the straw closer to his lips. Kelly giggled and shoved the straw into his mouth. “I don’t have cooties Eddie,” she giggled as she let him sip from it and took it back. Eddie’s face fur almost went pink when he drank from the juice box. He knew he had to ask her out now. He looked over to her and saw she was eating her sandwich. “Hey Kelly I was wondering,” he spoke gathering his courage and taking a deep breath, “Would you like to go on a date with me?” Kelly went wide eyed for a moment but was unable to respond due to the food in her mouth. She stuck a finger up telling him to wait a moment for her to finish. He waited eagerly trying to hold onto his patience as he watched her chew the food in her mouth. She finished chewing and swallowed each bite before taking a breath. Eddie was going to ask her again but she began drinking her juice box to wash down the rest of the food in her throat and held her finger up again. Eddie was in suspense now dying to know her answer as she drank the last drop of her juice box. She took a deep breath and looked at Eddie with a serious look on her face. “I’m sorry Eddie but your a little late,” she spoke. Eddie’s world was smashed like a china plate hitting the floor. He slumped down in the park bench awaiting the finishing blow. “You see I do like you Eddie,” His ears perked up. “Your sweet and nice.” His head lifted up. “You tell some good jokes.” His smile was coming back. “And well... you are cute.” His confidence was back. “But I’m afraid that you're not my type,” she finished. Eddie’s heart was ripped apart by her last line and he jumped up. “But what about all those things you told me?” he teared up. “Well that and the contest is coming up Eddie, I need to stay single for it,” she explained. “What?” “Didn’t you see the fliers for it Eddie?” she spoke taking one out of her purse, “The Cafe is sponsoring an Eating Contest next week.” Eddie took the flier and read it top to bottom. The contest was an endurance contest to see who could eat the most without giving up. “But I don’t understand, what does this have to do with you being single?” Eddie asked. “Well I’m the first place prize Eddie, I go on an expensive all day date with the winner,” she explained, “My manager noticed how many customers we’ve been having and he asked me if I would offer a date as first place. So many men entered the contest after that and they’ve been stuffing themselves for a week now preparing themselves for the contest.” That explained why the line for the cafe was so long and so many men were vying for her attention. Then Eddie had an idea... “What if I enter the contest?!” he spoke grabbing her. “Eddie?” “If I enter the contest and win will you go out with me? I mean aside from the complimentary date but also a series of dates?” Eddie begged. “Oh Eddie, you’d do that for me?” she swooned. “I’d do anything for you Kelly,” Eddie confessed. “Could you do something for me now Eddie,” Kelly asked. “Anything Kelly,” he responded passionately. “Could you please loosen your grip, your claws are kinda digging into my shoulders,” she spoke. “OH I’m so sorry!” Eddie let her go making the moment awkward. “Let me walk you back to the cafe,” Eddie offered. “I’d like that,” Kelly spoke walking next to him. As they walked back to the cafe there was something still on Eddie’s mind. What did Kelly mean by not her type? What was her type exactly? These questions boggled his mind as they walked back. When they arrived all the male customers were shouting out for her again. “Kelly!” “We missed you!” “Yeah shes back!” Kelly blushed a little as she was waving hello to her fans. “I gotta get back to my customers,” Kelly spoke, “ Good luck in the contest Eddie!” Before she left she gave him a quick peck on the cheek making him blush turning his face pink. She waved goodbye and returned to her shift at the cafe. Eddie was lost in the moment before he felt the angry stares of the males who were now filled with murderous jealousy. “Um I better get out of here before I get killed,” Eddie spoke turning around. He suddenly walked into a squishy wall until he looked up and saw this wall had a furry face. It was a giant black bear wearing a tracksuit with an angry expression on his face. He was clearly several feet taller since Eddie’s face squished into his belly. The bear had to weigh over a half a ton. His bulky frame was packed into that track suit like an overstuffed sausage. As he leaned over to Eddie’s face he gave a low growl. “What are you doing in my way pip squeak?” he asked. “Oh hey sorry for bumping into you,” Eddie nervously apologized, “I was just about to sign up for the eating contest.” You’re competing? the black bear asked sarcastically, “HAHAHAHAHAHA! He loud so loud his belly jiggled furiously, after he was done laughing he placed a heavy paw on Eddie’s shoulder and growled to him. “Listen up pip squeak, I’ve had my eye on first prize for a long time and nothing's gonna stop me from winning that date,” he growled. He belly bumped Eddie out of his way and walked in front of everyone in line as everyone didn’t mind for some reason. Even Kelly greeted him with a smile after cutting in front of everyone. She set him up with a center table and even patted his big gut before taking his order with a blushing smile. Eddie was confused by the whole thing and decided to go home and figure out how he was gonna win the contest.