Mushrooms Ch. 02

"Good luck, Jerome," I muttered at the steak. "Or perhaps good luck April," I added with a snicker. I wasn't sure who I felt sorrier for, her or him. About the time I got my steak done and started frying a few eggs for good measure, a banging noise began up above me, right where April's room was on the upper floor. If I wasn't mistaken, that was the sound of a headboard taking an absolute hammering, not to mention April.

My keen ears picked up feminine moaning, and insistent demands that she be fucked harder. The banging intensified as I stared up at the ceiling, and still April urged the man on. He's going to shatter her pelvis, at this rate, I thought wryly as I plated up my food and ground some salt and pepper over it. Oh well. She's asking for it, I suppose. I'd always had a feeling she would be as bossy and obnoxious in bed as everywhere else, and it appeared I was right.

My mind began to throw up pictures of a naked April taking a pounding, and I started to grow excited. Finishing up as quickly as I could, I headed up to my room to eat. The banging went on for some time, louder up here than downstairs, but before I had even taken a second mouthful, it stopped suddenly. I frowned as raised voices floated down the hallway. April was shouting.

"Get out!" she cried angrily.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Jerome said hotly. Standing, I moved to my door and cracked it open to hear better.

"Just get out!" April repeated. "I don't want you here!"

"Crazy bitch!" Jerome yelled. "You bring me here to fuck and you kick me out before we even done?"

"Just go, Jerome!"

I tensed. What if he didn't want to leave? I was no fighter. I quickly scanned my room for something I could use as a weapon. My eyes fell on the steak knife lying on the plate on my desk. Stabbing him with that would probably just make him mad, but it's all I've got. I grabbed it hurriedly and moved back to the door to keep an eye on things. I had no idea what I was going to do if things got ugly.

April's door was snatched open, and Jerome stalked out, still buttoning his jeans, his shirt slung over a shoulder. He was muttering under his breath about 'crazy bitches,' and 'white girls.' I thought he was going to leave, but instead he turned back, a dark look on his face. I couldn't see April from here.

"You better watch yourself, bitch," he warned, pointing a thick finger into the doorway. "You on thin ice with me."

"Fuck off!" she spat. I thought she sounded a little scared. "Go, or I'll call the cops!"

Jerome glared into the room, and for a moment I thought he was going back in there, but he spun and started in my direction, where the stairs were. He saw me eyeing him through the slightly open door and smirked. "See something you like, white boy?" he said arrogantly as he started down the stairs. "She all yours," he added over his shoulder. "I'm done with the bitch."

My hand tightened on the knife handle at my side and remained that way until I heard him leave through the front door. Asshole. Coming out of my room, I went to April's door. She was standing in the middle of her room buck naked, both hands over her face as she gathered herself. I quickly stepped to one side, so she was out of sight.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked tentatively from the hall.

After a moment, she answered in a shaky voice. "Yeah."

"What happened?"

"I don't know," she said. "I just didn't want him here."

I frowned. "He hurt you or something?"

"Um, no," she replied. I thought she sounded confused. "Look, I'll be fine, okay?" Suddenly she was standing in front of me, still in only her tanned skin. "Thanks for checking on me." Her eyes were large sapphires, pulling at me like powerful magnets. Her gaze dropped to my hand, where I still clutched the knife, and her fine eyebrows rose. "You were going to help me," she said with a bright smile. I'd never seen a genuine smile from her before. At least, not one directed at me. It made her even more beautiful if that were possible.

"I... suppose I was," I admitted, feeling foolish. "Though I doubt I would have been much good." She was much closer, now, her breasts almost touching my shirt. I could feel her warm breath on my face. She was going to kiss me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Heart racing, I leaned in as she did, our lips parted.

The front door opening snapped us out of our trance. April blinked a few times and then seemed to realise she was out in the hallway naked. She darted back into her room, but not before shooting me a regretful look. I went the other way, slipping back into my own room and locking the door. That had to be Becca coming home at this time, and I did not need her suspecting anything was going on with April as well as Maisy.

What am I going to do? I can't just start sleeping with all of them, can I? April was certainly more than tempting, but Becca... So sweet and kind and caring, but I just wasn't attracted to her.

The mushrooms could solve that. A sly voice said in my head. All you have to do is leave one out where she can find it, and the rest will take care of itself. I firmly took that voice and squashed it. I would not be effectively drugging someone to get my way. I was not a predator.

With a sigh, I resumed my lunch. The rest of the day was uneventful. I heard April leave shortly after the altercation with Jerome, and whatever Becca was doing, she was doing it quietly, possibly in her bedroom or the living room. I was beginning to get good at gauging what was happening in the house using only my hearing. A door opening here, a chair sliding on the floor there, a plate or cup clinking on a surface.

It was after dark when Maisy finally came home. I had already prepared for our foray up the mountain by dressing in full-length cargo pants and a light sweater, with some good sneakers on my feet. The mountain trails could get slippery. We exited the house unseen, with April and Becca both in their rooms.

***

Becca watched Brian's car pull out of the driveway from her bedroom window. She'd kept the lights off so Brian and Maisy wouldn't know she was watching. When the Fairmont was out of sight up the road, she moved quickly and as quietly as she could. First, she went to Brian's room, telling herself it was not just so she could feel like she was near him. It had been the hardest thing conceivable to lie, last night, to pretend she was happy just being friends when the truth was the opposite.

Closing his door quietly behind her, she began to hurriedly, but meticulously, search for anything that might be the source of the differences she'd noticed. She looked for pills, creams, even syringes, in his cupboards, under his bed, on his desk. She found nothing. There was one drawer in his desk that was locked, the key nowhere to be found, but she resisted the urge to jimmy it open with something; he would surely know someone had been here. Besides, it might have sensitive information, like his clients' personal details or something.

Leaving Brian's room unsatisfied, she crept across to Maisy's, listening carefully for any indication April might come out and catch her in the act, but all seemed quiet behind April's door. Once in Maisy's neat and tidy room, she searched again, and again found nothing. She was just about to leave when she saw a small satchel in the bottom of the wardrobe, tucked down into the corner where she almost overlooked it.

Frowning, she bent and scooped up the satchel and undid the zipper. Her eyes widened when a blue glow shone from inside. Had Maisy left some kind of glowstick in there? Peering in, Becca saw a small, clear plastic container, and inside was the thing which emitted the glow. Eyes alight with curiosity, she picked up the container with a trembling hand. It was a mushroom, bell-shaped and about five inches long. Could this be the thing that was changing Brian and Maisy?

Trying to breathe steadily, she dropped the satchel and pulled open the container. Immediately, a pungent, sweet scent hit her nostrils, making her gasp. Warmth flooded her body, and at the same time, goosebumps peppered her skin. This was it! She'd found it! She picked up the glowing fungus in trembling fingers. It felt like a normal mushroom, but that glow was something she'd never seen before.

This has to be it, she thought excitedly. It can make me beautiful. But how do I take it? Should I eat it? What will Maisy say when she finds it gone? Her mind felt fuzzy, all of a sudden, as if her thoughts did not want to form. Everything became irrelevant but for the mushroom in her hand, so sweet, so tempting, so pretty...

Shoving the satchel back into the wardrobe, she went back to her own room and locked the door. Before she even thought of it, the mushroom was in her mouth. All of it. The taste was amazing, like the sweetest fruit imaginable. As soon as it touched her tongue, her body burst into flame -- or at least, that's how it felt -- and she was pulling her clothes off frantically, suddenly unable to bear the feeling of them touching her skin.

Naked, she lay on her bed and writhed as pleasure wracked her, wave after cresting wave tossing her about like a dinghy in a sea storm. She wanted to make noise, to cry out her ecstasy, but her throat was tight with the bliss. Sweat broke out of every pore, leaving her body slick on her sheets. With no end in sight, the rapture went on, until she finally lost consciousness.

*

Day Seven.

Saturday.

Becca lurched awake violently in the early hours of the morning, her throat burning. Throwing herself to the side, she vomited noisily onto the floor. Her stomach turned itself inside out, twisting in her gut as it tried to empty her of every meal she'd ever eaten. Then the shaking started. Quivering like a leaf in a high wind, she hugged herself and curled into a ball as every muscle in her body spasmed, contracting and releasing involuntarily.

She wanted to cry out, to call for help, but she had as much control of her voice as she did the rest of her body. What had she done? She'd poisoned herself and she was going to die, alone in her room, with no one to help her.

***

I awoke Saturday morning to a delightful sensation; Maisy was between my legs, devouring my cock. She flashed me a wicked look when she noticed me watching, grinning around my shaft. Lying back, I let her work her magic. The trip up the mountain last night had been much the same as the first two; find the cave, breathe in the spores, shag like rabbits for a few hours, then come back down.

This morning, I felt wonderful quite apart from what Maisy was doing to me. I knew without looking in the mirror that the changes had resumed. My sheets were soaked with our combined sweat, but we didn't care; we were used to it by now. I was buzzing with energy, my limbs and joints feeling restless, as if they wanted to be moving rather than laying down. My hips were lifting to meet Maisy's bobbing head. I glanced down to watch the awesome sight of my cock disappearing into her mouth, slick with her saliva.

My pubic hair was almost completely gone, now, only a few sparse strands clinging to the skin around my loins. I didn't think I would miss it. One less thing to have to groom.

I love sucking his cock! Maisy's voice said in my head. Anytime, anywhere, I don't care! I chuckled at her lusty enthusiasm, freshly bolstered by our latest dose. It was quickly working out that it was easiest to read her thoughts when there were high levels of emotion in play. The more emotion, the easier the read.

I was also finding I enjoyed being dominant over Maisy, and she responded readily to it. I took a handful of her thick brown hair and pushed her head down until the crown of my dick slipped into the back of her throat. I groaned at the sensation, and she did, too, vibrating my sensitive skin.

Take my cock you little slut! I thought at her firmly. Show me what a good little cocksucker you are! She whimpered excitedly and pressed down even further, with no additional pressure required from me. The way her throat squeezed me so tightly had my balls lifting, signalling an impending eruption.

Maisy took it all in stride, remaining locked down over my dick as it began to spasm in her throat. She swallowed steadily as I came, not giving back an inch of my turgid flesh until my orgasm had subsided completely. "Yum!" she said brightly as she sat up on her heels, daintily wiping at her lip with a finger before sucking it clean. "Your cum always tastes so good!" She beamed down at me happily and I returned the smile, unable to curb the warmth I felt inside when she looked at me that way.

Her fine-featured face had altered slightly in the past seven days, though not by much; she had always been pretty. But now her cheekbones were a little more defined, making her eyes appear larger. Her lashes were thicker and longer, her lips perhaps a touch fuller. Lower, her breasts -- formerly almost non-existent -- sat proudly on her chest, perhaps a small C-cup now, perky orbs capped by small pink nipples that met evenly in the middle of her chest, separated by a narrow valley. She could almost give me a titty-fuck without pushing them together. I knew that because last night we had tried.

"Breakfast?" I suggested as I sat up and took her into my arms. I planted small kisses along her jaw and neck to show my appreciation for the morning blowjob.

"I'd love to," she said with a giggle, tickled by the kisses. "But I have work, this morning."

"Damn," I muttered into her soft skin. "I was hoping to feed you, then fuck you some more."

"Now that's what a girl likes to hear," she purred in my ear, then gasped softly when my fingers slipped between her legs and explored the wet folds of her pussy. "Oh, Brian."

I thought those two words, said just like that, were perhaps the most perfect ever uttered. I managed to coax Maisy into one more quick but intense fuck before she left my room to get ready for work. I lay there for a time, staring up at the ceiling while I worked out what I wanted to do until Maisy got back. I didn't feel much like working; it was Saturday, after all. Idly, I wondered if April would be around. If so, I would probably make an effort to be somewhere other than home. Same for Becca, too, though at least Becca wasn't trying to throw herself at me anymore.

With ease, I rolled out of bed and went to my desk to make some notes, not bothering to put clothes on, yet. On a whim, I did another internet search for aphroditus psybecillum transcendia, but found nothing beyond what I had already discovered the other day.

It wasn't until I had showered and gone downstairs that I knew what I wanted to do today. An eager grin crossed my face at the thought. In a sudden rush of confidence, I hurried upstairs to grab my car keys.

Twenty minutes later, I was strolling into the local pancake house. Iris was behind the counter, pouring a man a coffee. She started when she saw me, almost spilling the coffee onto the man's hand before recovering. She apologised and put the pot down before wiping her hands nervously on her apron. She was dressed much as she was last time, all in black, her hair and earrings the same, too.

"Hi, Iris" I said warmly as I approached. "How are you?" I took a seat at the bar, keeping my eyes on her. The energy inside me was humming loud enough I was surprised other people couldn't hear it.

"Hi, handsome," she replied, her eyes locking onto mine. "I'm doin' good. Can I get you somethin'?"

Boldness was filling me, making me want to take risks, to live life, to experience. I shrugged. "Maybe. What do you recommend?"

Iris' lips curved slightly, and her eyes locked onto mine as if I were the only person in the room. Her eyes were telling me exactly what she recommended. From the corner of my eye, I saw the man with the coffee shake his head wryly and move away to give us space. "You flyin' solo today?" she asked, placing both hands on the counter and leaning forward, her earlier nervousness dissipating.

"For now," I replied with a grin. "What time do you finish?"

Her lips twisted in remorse before she answered. "Not until two," she said, her disappointment plain.

The clock on the wall above her head read five after ten. "Well, I was hoping to spend some time with you," I began in a dismayed voice. "But that's almost four hours away. I can't wait that long."

Iris' disappointment deepened. "Sorry, handsome. I got the whole day tomorrow?" She looked hopeful about that, until I shook my head.

"Nope," I said bluntly. "I'm seeing you today." She looked confused, but only until I picked up a menu. "I'm starving, Iris, so I'm going to sit here and devour some pancakes, and you're going to watch me."

She chuckled at that and nodded readily. "Whatever you say, handsome. I seen you eat; you better have enough to cover the bill."

"Of course," I replied in a businesslike tone. I ordered generously; the day after a dose seemed to elicit the most hunger. Iris took it all down carefully and hurried off to the kitchen. She returned quickly enough, and we chatted as much as possible when she wasn't looking after the other patrons. I learned a lot about her over the next couple of hours, about life in her old town, a long way away from here. Iris hadn't taken to school, much, instead leaving early to start making money instead of studying.

"I wasn't book smart," she confessed at one point. "I was more interested in business than study, but I never figured out how to get started, you know? So, I worked a few jobs to get my savings up, but then I lost it all when my ma died. Funeral costs, you know?"

I nodded sadly, and she went on to say that soon after the funeral she packed up and used what was left of her money to move here, where she felt there would be more opportunities. I hoped she was right. Presently, she was working three jobs to build up her savings again, which was much more than most people were willing to do. I had to admire her determination.

Iris hoped to get enough money together to start up a diner of her own. It was one of the reasons she was working here; to learn about the business while getting paid. I thought it was a great idea. Her other two jobs were in restaurants, too.

Eleven o'clock rolled by undetected by me, and it was nearly midday when I realised the time. Iris noticed my eyes flick up to the clock. In fact, for all she said she wasn't smart, she was one of the most observant people I'd met. It only took someone putting an empty cup down across the room for her to get the coffee pot over there pronto. The trait made her very astute at her job.

"You gotta get movin'?" she asked. When I shook my head, she smiled. "You gotta go sometime, don't ya?"

"Sure," I agreed. "But I don't know if I'm ready, just yet. I might want some dessert."

"I don't know where you put it," she remarked. "If I ate what you eat, I'd be big as this diner, and that's for damn sure." She put another menu in front of me.

"What can I say?" I said cockily. "I'm a man with big appetites." Iris caught the double entendre and gave me a look that said she just might want to be the object of one of those appetites. The old me would never have had the balls to be so brazen with a girl, especially one I didn't really know that well, but today I was invincible.

I ordered no fewer than three desserts -- despite putting down four plates already, I wanted more -- and settled back in my seat while I waited, watching Iris do her thing. While she was busy further down the bar serving someone else, I looked around the diner. There were only maybe a dozen people in, but I couldn't help but notice no fewer than three women looking at me. They dropped their eyes or looked away when I made eye contact, but I felt their gazes returning to me as soon as I turned back to the bar.