Chapter 36: Pondering
The smell of coffee beans and sex was a thick, conflicting perfume in the storage room air. Ellie’s breath slowly steadied, the frantic hammering of her heart settling into a heavy, ominous drumbeat against her ribs. The physical euphoria was receding, leaving behind a sticky film of sweat, release, and a cold, sharp clarity.
Mona shifted against her, a slick, uncomfortable sound as their skin peeled apart. She turned, leaning back against the sacks, her gaze languid and satisfied as she took in Ellie’s dazed expression. “See?” Mona said, her voice hoarse. “You didn’t need it. Not really. It’s in you now.”
Ellie looked down at her own body. Her softened cock, still thick and heavy against her thigh, glistened with their mixed fluids. It was bigger. Not by much, but undeniable. The growth had been slow, organic, a direct answer to a taunt. A power she’d triggered herself. The realization was more terrifying than any forced change The Hummingbird had wrought.
“How did you know?” Ellie’s voice was a rasp. She finally voiced the question burning through the haze. She fumbled for her jersey, pulling it over her head, the fabric clinging to her damp, oversized breasts. “How did you know I was a librarian? How did you know I’d be here, this morning?”
Mona smiled, a lazy cat’s smile, as she reached for her own dress. She stepped into it slowly, not bothering with underwear. “A little bird told me,” she said, her tone deliberately light, evasive.
“Don’t,” Ellie snapped, a sudden flare of anger cutting through her post-coital numbness. She straightened up, her new height and presence making the cluttered room feel smaller. “Don’t do that. I just fucked you in a storage closet. The least you can do is not treat me like an idiot.”
Mona’s smile didn’t falter, but her eyes hardened slightly. She zipped her dress up, the sound loud in the quiet. “Fine. You have a pattern. You come here every Tuesday and Thursday before your shift. You order a latte, you sit in that corner, and you read for exactly forty-five minutes. You’re a creature of habit, Ellie. It wasn’t hard to find you.” She shrugged.
The explanation was simple, logical, and utterly chilling in its implication of observation. Ellie felt exposed, tracked. “Why? Why were you looking for me?”
“Because I like you,” Mona said simply. She stepped closer, her fingers brushing a stray strand of auburn hair from Ellie’s forehead. The gesture was almost tender, but her words were not. “But what’s happening to you is even more interesting.”
She pulled her hand back, her expression turning speculative. “What you did just now… that was you tapping into the reservoir.” Her eyes gleamed. “Imagine if you had that magical toy in your hand, and you willed that growth. Not just a little thicker, but longer, wider, until you could split a woman in two with it. Until you could fuck that deep, greedy cunt of yours properly.”
Ellie’s mouth went dry. The graphic description wasn’t just vulgar; it was a blueprint. It mapped her deepest, most shameful physical yearning onto a plan of action.
“It's... at home,” Ellie whispered.
"Good." Mona finished dressing, looking every bit the composed, middle-aged woman again, the only evidence of their tryst a slight flush on her neck. “I have a friend. She’d like to meet you.”
Suspicion coiled in Ellie’s gut. “What friend? Another ‘curious’ observer?”
“Her name is Cassandra. And she’s not an observer.” Mona’s gaze was direct now, all pretence of laziness gone. “She’s a... participant.” She checked her watch. “Your shift starts soon. Mine does too. Think about it. Tonight. Come to my place. But…” She let her eyes drag slowly down Ellie’s body, a frank appraisal. “…maybe don’t wear a cardigan."
“And bring the toy.”