[AlexG]

Part Four

By the time Jake was halfway home he was hard pressed not to believe that he was the victim of some peculiar practical joke. All the clothes he had put on before leaving home for his shift at the hospital had been comfortable and well fitting. Now, as he drove home through the last flurries of snow that had fallen for most of the day, he found himself spending as much time trying to make himself comfortable in his denims as he did paying attention to the road. A light ahead changed from green to red, giving him another opportunity to improve his comfort. He shifted in his seat and tugged at the legs of his pants. Surprisingly, his pantlegs seemed to grip his thighs more tightly than ever, to the point where it was hard to move easily. Adding insult to injury the thick seam running along his crotch impinged on his intimate equipment again.

Jake grunted in exasperation. He was becoming really annoyed now. The tightness of his clothing was far too sudden for him not to have noticed before. Unlike the majority of his colleagues he had paid notice to the medical literature explaining the circulatory problems that often occurred in men who wore too-tight underwear, to his wife’s occasional amusement—she had used the occasion of jockey underwear ads on television to tease him affectionately about his preference for boxers—and his clothing reflected his choice of comfort and health over style. There was no way he would ordinarily wear such a tight, revealing pair of pants.

Jake recalled how the staff physician’s locker rooms at Mercy were famous for a history of pranksmanship that was widely held to be the champion of local hospitals in their area of Chicago. He himself had been a participant in one particularly sophomoric episode–cutting away the seat of the surgical scrubs belonging to Mercy’s Nursing department head, a vague, very overweight woman whose elephantine proportions was an endless source of crude jokes amongst the various wards. He must have been chosen as the latest victim of a prank, whose sophistication—where could someone have found clothing that matched mine so well, he thought—made it well-thought out. Yes, that had to be it. Jake growled deep in his throat as he put his car in gear again, wiggling his toes inside his shoes as he did so. He had to smile wryly at the ingenuity of the gag victimizing him—he never would have thought to work it out so well himself. He decided that his next priority would be to find out who had favored him so well and perform a counter-gag. Such things became legends in places like Mercy, but it would do him no harm—he only had six months to go before he completed his residency, after all—and it would be very satisfying to stick it to the characters who had inflicted this increasingly uncomfortable joke on him. He shook his head and almost laughed aloud as he worked his car up through its gears on the slick street. Wait until Karen sees this, he thought. She’ll bust a gut.

On arriving home Karen had shed her soiled uniform. A quick shower erased the stink of engine coolant from her skin, then she donned fresh clothing and walked her uniform the several blocks to her favorite dry cleaners. The taciturn, efficient staff of that establishment took one look (and sniff) of it and had frowned at her in near-unison for such scandalous treatment of her clothing. Even the owner, Mr. Mui, had walked stiff-legged out from behind the storefront and examined her stained blouse with arthritic fingers.

‘Ah, Iwasaki-chan, I think this will no come out,’ Kwok said as stentorously as his scratchy voice allowed. He sniffed at the fabric while his fingers rubbed its texture, his nose wrinkled. ‘This is good quality wool, you know.’

‘It’s Matthews-chan, now, Mr. Mui,’ Karen gently corrected the elderly man. ‘I’m afraid there was a traffic accident and I got coolant on my uniform. Is there anything you can do?’

‘Ah, yes, of course, of course. We will do our best, but you will not be able to get it today.’

Karen smiled in real relief. Even with a Chicago PD uniform allowance maintaining a proper working wardrobe was expensive and she knew there was little in Jake’s and her budget for replacing a full set of work clothes. Kwok had echoed her smile and bobbed his head in the affirmative. Then he stopped and looked her up and down. His mouth had opened as if he was about to say something else, then he bobbed his head again and began to bark orders to his staff. She was swiftly presented with a claim check and a promise that her uniform would be ready in three days, and she turned to step out the door.

Karen found herself feeling curiously out of sorts as she returned home. The sensation became so strong she stopped in mid-stride and looked around while trying to sort out the cause of her unease, pulling up the collar of her turtleneck closer to her throat as she did so. Their particular neighborhood in Cicero was agreeably quiet, and the sidewalk was largely empty, as was the street. Snow was still falling, though the wind had eased considerably, heralding that this first winter storm was coming to an end. She twisted her shoulders to seat them more comfortably in her arms of her coat, her eyes darting across her surroundings. A flicker of motion caught her attention. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see the tail of a dark-colored coat swiftly disappear into the doorway of the deli she had passed by moments before. She oriented herself in that direction. Was there someone standing just inside the store, looking out at her? A curtain of damp covered the broad windows of the deli, blurring its occupants, and she could not see clearly. Karen shifted her weight to lift her booted foot from the ground, then paused. It wasn’t fear she felt but something else—a sense of expectancy, of alertness, like she could never remember feeling before while off-duty—

Karen snorted aloud in relief. That was it. It was her being sent home early from her shift that was throwing her off. She shook her head as she realized that she had never left a shift early before. She must still be in ‘cop mode’, as Jake half-jokingly called it when she was in uniform. Karen inhaled the cold air deeply, dispelling the feeling that had cuffed at her moments before. The bright colored Christmas lights and profuse ornaments that decorated the windows of all the stores along both sides of the block helped cheer her. Flakes of snow were coming down from out of the sky, swirling in random patterns in the air and damping out the typical noises of the city. Everything around her seemed somnolent and peaceful and merry. She turned back for home, pulling at the hem of her coat to settle it back over her hips. It must be close to two, she reflected. Time to grab a bite to eat—at the thought her stomach growled in agreement—and then maybe some early Christmas shopping for Jake. The idea of buying a surprise for her husband became more appealing with each step and she began to hurry her pace. She did not see a well-dressed figure step out of the deli behind her, silently watching her go.

The wall clock in the kitchen had announced the arrival of the noon hour as she walked in the door of their apartment. Karen’s belly echoed her hunger as she retrieved a head a lettuce from the fridge. She snacked on a leaf of the vegetable as she added tomato, onion and olives to her salad, then topped it with a generous portion of dressing. The salad tasted delicious, even better than average, and Karen made herself another helping. She finished by licking her fork clean and settled herself back in her seat, sighing. It was only three, and she shook her head as she recalled that under normal circumstances an hour or so ago she would probably have been gulping down a McDonald’s hamburger with Charlotte King. Thinking about her usual workaday meal caused her to return to the refrigerator. The deli ham and hard salami beckoned beguilingly to her and she made a quick sandwich, wielding a carving knife expertly as she added more onions and the last few leaves of the near-denuded lettuce core, garnished with the spicy Dijon mustard Jake had introduced her to. The sandwich was perfect—just thick enough to command authority yet lean enough to fit between the teeth. Karen ate quickly, pausing to retrieve the half-full jug of apple cider that was a leftover from Thanksgiving to clear her throat—

‘What the hell am I doing?’

Karen half-choked on the dregs of her sandwich as she voiced her thought aloud. She swallowed, and swallowed again to clear her throat. Scattered in a half-circle around her chair were the remains of the meal she had just consumed—the naked point of a lettuce core, some dabs of mustard on the edge of her plate, the near-empty container of cider, a large bowl that still bore a smear of salad dressing. She had eaten two full helpings of salad and a half-wedge filled with meat and garnish, downing what had to be a quart or more of cider in the process. Unsurprisingly she discovered a prominent bulge pressing out against the weave of her sweater below her ribs. Karen found herself swallowing reflexively as her belly seemed to stretch and settle around her massive meal, bulging out a little more into her line of vision. She found herself wondering if such a tremendous helping of food would come back to haunt her momentarily—she had never eaten so much in one sitting in her entire life. What was I thinking? she thought as she stood as quickly as her distended condition would allow. God, I hope I don’t barf this up. Her belly seemed to shift slightly as she came erect, drooping clear of her ribs, easing the unnerving sensation of pressure in her middle. Karen rubbed at her middle, feeling its contents slosh about inside her. She belched, and the sense of fullness eased still more. She looked down again. This time her vision was interrupted by two more bumps that appeared above her belly, pressing out roundly from her ribs. Karen tried to squelch the sudden shock she experienced at seeing two obvious—and very female—breasts pressing against her sweater.

Karen raised two tentative hands up to her chest. The round flesh pressed comfortably into her palms, warm and firm. She poked at herself experimentally, wincing at the sting of prodding herself too hard. This was even more incredible than her pigging out—she looked like she had jumped a cup size since waking up this morning. But, it made no sense. Karen was well acquainted with her physical appearance. She usually wore bras only for appearance’s sake, as her slim, well-toned figure rarely needed support. Why was she suddenly so visible up top? She tried cupping each breast in her hands but they were just too small to fit fully. A giggle popped out of her throat as she twisted her sweater tighter against her newly obvious assets—even her nipples were more prominent, just visible against the tautness of her sweater.

‘Wonder what Jake would think?’ she said softly, then shook her head. She had stopped growing ten years ago. Her ancestry and her own experience told her that her front assets were never going to grow beyond what she had achieved by her sixteenth birthday. Jake had never made her lack of breasts an issue—in fact, his delight in her smallness and sensitivity made their lovemaking even more pleasurable. She pressed her hands against her bosom and was rewarded by the sensation of her nipples pushing back against her palms. It didn’t feel like water retention, or swelling. They felt warm, and solid, and completely real.
‘Where did you two come from?’ she murmured. The prominence of her belly became apparent as she squished her feminine assets against her ribs. God, her belly really stuck out from all that food. Karen was dumfounded that she could eat so much. Was it because she had been sent home early? Since when did going on an eating binge make her boobs bloat up?

‘If I keep this up I’ll be fat as a pig,’ she said to herself. Buying Christmas gifts for Jake was going to have to wait. She needed to get away from her kitchen and sweat these remarkable bulges off her body. Karen quickly cleaned the detritus of her repast and dashed into the bedroom. She stopped once, blowing out her cheeks in real surprise as both her belly and boobs wobbled on her from her motion.

‘This is nuts,’ she muttered. Time to go get some exercise, to distract herself from her inexplicable expansion and to consume the mass of calories she had just eaten. She dug out her bodysuit and running shoes from her side of the closet.

The parking lot of the Ballys on Mayfield Avenue was icy and mercifully uncrowded. Karen parked deliberately, gathering her exercise bag and shoes as she slipped out of her Blazer. Once inside the vestibule the décor was a combination of stark white walls and fluorescent pink-and-blue striped wallpaper covered by a scattering of office prints, with a few plants in tubs as a nice gesture. The vestibule was overheated, and it felt good.

‘Hi, Karen.’ Maura Pearson was at her usual place behind the reception desk, dressed in her typical skintight leotard and wearing a warm, friendly smile. Immediately behind her a broad glass view window was set in the wall, revealing the co-ed gym area. There seemed to be more people than Karen would have thought from the number of cars outside—presumably some patrons had walked in instead of driving in the bad weather. Hopefully there wouldn’t be a long wait to get to the exercise machines.

‘Let’s see,’ Pearson said, her chin pointing at the computer terminal atop the desktop. Her leotard was extraordinarily snug against her ripe frame, leaving little to the imagination. Karen absently tried to recall if she had been so big the last time. Memory suggested that Pearson had her boobs enlarged again. Those things look like they could explode any time, Karen thought. Her eyes strayed down to her own frame. Her belly was still there, though it was not half what it was before. Her other two surprises were also still present, half hidden in the wrinkles of her top. She had to restrain herself from tugging her sweater taut to see if her new breasts were still as big as before.

‘You were here…early November,’ Pearson continued. ‘Your membership expires in a month. Would you like to renew it now?’ The hopeful note in her voice was not lost on Karen. She shook her head.

‘Not right now, thanks,’ she replied. Pearson half-shrugged and returned to the display.

‘Is your husband with you?’ she asked. Karen shook her head. Jake had joined the health spa in order to be with her as much as possible when they were dating. Karen grinned internally as she recalled the faux growls he would utter under his breath every time another male patron would glance her way. Pearson tapped briefly at her terminal, then reached under the counter and presented Karen with an oblong key decorated by a long, fire-engine-red handle.

‘Okay, you’re all set,’ she intoned. ‘Locker 43A.’

‘Thanks, Maura,’ Karen replied. She slung her back over her shoulder and pointed herself towards the utilitarian gray door to the women’s locker room. The space was thick, courtesy of the steam from the adjoining shower area, and heavy with the perfumes of different shampoos and other beauty aids. Karen had spent too long standing in her heavy, oversized boots—they clung to her feet and she had to tug at them to get them off. As she dressed herself in her bodysuit and leggings she found herself pausing more than once to look at her garments before donning them. It was curious that the stretchy lycra of her suit seemed more springy than usual. A bigger surprise was just how tight her running shoes were—it almost felt like she was wearing two pairs of ankle socks rather than one on her feet. She wriggled her toes, then loosened each shoe’s laces and flexed her arches, then pulled the laces tight again. There, they were a little more comfortable, but not much. Karen grunted as she stood upright and flexed her feet again. With her shoulders back the bodysuit gripped at her with unfamiliar force, and she pulled at its inner corners to ease her discomfort. The thing must have shrunk in the wash, despite the judicious use of cold water and mild detergent. Karen sucked in a breath to dispel her vexation, then headed out onto the gym floor.

Her first stop was the waist-high handbar that ran along one wall of the gym. Karen had not enjoyed a systematic workout in some time and she knew from experience that she needed to start slow. She began to twist her hips and back, gently at first, then more forcefully. Her body limbered up with agreeable swiftness, and she bent to touch her toes. A ripple of surprise went through her at the ease with which she could place her palms on the tops of her shoes. She repeated the stretch, more slowly. This time she did not stop until her hands were resting on her feet and her elbows touched her knees.

‘You are in the zone fast today, girl,’ she murmured to herself. Straightening, she continued her limb-loosening routine, stretching each muscle to its limit. The resulting warmth that ran under her skin was pleasant, and she headed into the exercise area with a confident spring in her step.

‘Hey, look,’ a voice called out. ‘It’s Karen!’

Sally Garner appeared in Karen’s vision, wearing a fabulously loud two-piece and a genuine smile. Immediately behind her was the tall, rail-thin countenance of Billie Winwood, her teeth startlingly white as she grinned. All three had met at the spa and become fast friends. Karen stopped in shock at the gentle roundness that began just below Garner’s navel. As her mouth dropped open she saw Garner’s smile became impish.

‘See what happens when you don’t come to the spa every week?’ she asked brightly. ‘It’s a girl.’

‘You guys!’ Karen replied as she offered Garner a hug. ‘Why didn’t you tell me? You were hiding this from me all this time—’
‘Blame me,’ Garner replied. ‘I just thought I was getting fat until I realized I skipped my monthly bill. Joe is really being wonderful about it all—he’s already started setting up a nursery for her.’

‘Speaking of which, where’s your husband, Karen?’ Winwood asked. ‘You have a real doctor in the family yet?’

‘This is his last year,’ Karen replied. Their conversation continued even as Karen took up a pair of 15-pound free weights and started doing arm curls, moving slowly and deliberately, permitting her muscles to warm to the task. It seemed to take no time at all for her to graduate to bigger and bigger weights, and she increased her rate of repetitions as well.

‘Whoa, slow down there,’ Winwood said suddenly, her voice hoarse. Karen turned to see her with a pair of similarly-sized free weights in her hands. Winwood was panting from her exertions and a trickle of sweat was beginning to discolor her suit. ‘Boy, for a month away you sure haven’t lost any of that strength of yours.’

‘That’s what you get for trying to keep up, Billie,’ Garner chuckled from her place on a nearby bench. ‘Karen must be getting a workout every time she puts on that police uniform of hers.’

Karen looked at the weights in her hands. She gaped at the numbers molded on the side of each metal mass. She had been doing arm curls with sixty-pound weights—more than twice her usual. Karen returned the weights to their places and flexed her arms experimentally. She felt nothing that could serve as a warning that she had overdone it—no feeling of strain, no rigidity, no twinges of pain. She curled her arm and stared at the sudden bulge of real muscle that appeared under her skin. Those muscles didn’t feel stressed at all—in fact, they felt good and solid on her bones.

‘Come on,’ Garner said, hopping lightly to her feet. ‘Let’s do the stairs.’

Karen managed to put the vision of her swollen arms out of her head as she began thrusting her feet against the Stairmaster’s pedals. It was astonishingly easy and she sped up her repetitions again, moving faster and faster, her lungs sucking air down her throat, her pulse pounding. It felt really good to extend herself like this, pushing her body to its limits—

‘Karen?’ Garner’s voice penetrated the aura of well-being that surrounded her. Karen stopped abruptly, almost throwing herself off-balance on the exercise machine’s pedals. Both her friends were resting atop their own Stairmasters, staring at her. So were several others in the gym area, Karen realized with a start.

‘Honey, are you all right?’ Winwood asked solicitously. Her face was furrowed with real concern. ‘Did something happen?’

‘Huh? What do you mean?’ Karen asked.

‘I mean, I’ve never seen you pound on the Stairmaster like that before. I’ve never seen anybody go that fast before. Now, I know it’s real stressful being a cop and all—my brother’s in the 7th District, he tells me about it all the time. Well, I just thought maybe something bad had happened and you needed to work it out.’

‘No, nothing happened,’ Karen replied. She remembered the accident she and King had been at only a few hours before, and blushed. ‘Well, I did rescue someone from a car that was in an accident, but it was no big deal. I’m fine.’

‘I know what it is,’ Garner offered, her impish grin in full force. ‘It’s that police gym you’ve been going to. You’ve been exercising with all those men. Wait ‘till I tell Jake.’

Winwood smiled, and then burst into giggling as Karen blush deepened. Karen joined in the laughter for a moment, then inhaled deeply and sighed. As her eyes strayed down her frame she felt her throat tighten. Her new, boobs were still there. Snugly wrapped in her exercise suit they looked even bigger than before. Her belly was gone, completely and totally. She looked as though she had not eaten anything at all just—she stole a glance at a clock decorating a nearby wall—an hour ago. Then her eyes strayed further down. This time she could not help the loud intake of breath. Something was different about her legs. They looked funny—longer, thicker, with real muscle showing through the mesh of her stockings.

‘What—’ she began, then stopped. Both Garner and Winwood were still looking at her curiously. A few of the male patrons were also looking in her direction, some with open admiration on their faces. She tried to fashion a smile on her face but managed only a weak grin. Winwood had followed where she looked.

‘Marriage agrees with you,’ she said, her grin undiminished. ‘Nice to see you put a little meat on those bones. Wish I could—I keep eating and eating and don’t gain a pound.’

‘Don’t remind me,’ Garner said, rolling her eyes. She patted her belly. ‘At least being pregnant entitles me to eat what I want without worrying about it.’

Karen felt her mood lighten with the conversation. She stepped off the Stairmaster—and stopped again. This time it was not surprise she felt, but a second’s flash of vertigo. Something was wrong, something she couldn’t put her finger on right away. Then, the level of the adjustment handle on her Stairmaster caught her eye. It looked—lower. Karen stared at it for a few seconds while she tried to sort out why the handle—and the exercise machine, and everything else around her—seemed strangely diminished or foreshortened. Her shoes demanded her attention again as well by gripping her feet with sufficient force to mash her toes. Garner was saying something to her but Karen didn’t hear it. She felt herself go hot all over again at her friend’s curious expression.

‘I think I’ve overdone it a little,’ she offered. She shook her head, and a strand of her hair fell into her eyes. ‘Maybe I should shower and go home.’

‘Shower?’ Winwood replied. ‘Honey, you haven’t broken a sweat yet.’

Karen shifted uncomfortably on her feet. It was true, she realized—normally she would be drenched after doing as fierce a workout as she apparently had done. But, right now all she could feel was a small patch of damp under her arms and down her chest. Karen found herself struggling against the sense of disorientation that kept rising up to distract her.

‘I—I better go,’ she muttered, and turned for the locker room door.

The sense of bewilderment that had harassed her at the gym stayed all the way home. Everything seemed strangely shrunken or lessened. Her denims clutched at her hips and butt with a force she never would had credited them with before, and her sweater now pressed tightly enough against her ribs to make breathing difficult. Boots that had been comfortable before were now remarkably snug, even tight—everything she had worn seemed to have shrunken on her in the space of less than two hours. Karen tried to shake off the curious disorientation that kept demanding her attention, but she found herself losing to it more and more as time went by. Her legs refused to cooperate with her when she stepped into her Blazer, forcing her to shift her seat back one setting. She seemed almost unnaturally clumsy and unsure of herself—pushing the accelerator almost to the floor at the first traffic light, bringing the Blazer to a sliding stop with just normal pressure on the brake. Karen felt a peculiar sense of relief at the encroaching darkness as she found herself on the road to the apartment—something told her that she would present an unusual sight, with her overtight clothing gripping at her silhouette. A hope formed in her thoughts that once she was inside her own home everything would start to make sense once again, and she stepped as quickly as her tight boots would allow down the steps into the co-op complex.

She quickly closed the front door to the apartment and blew out her cheeks in relief. She turned in the hallway, reaching out to snap on the light as she did so—and her confusion only became worse. She found herself shaking her head in an effort to clear her vision. Everything looked—smaller, even in her own home. She moved gingerly to the nearest dining room chair and gasped in surprise at how much lower it felt to sit in it. Her boots gripped her feet with real clout and it took strength to get them off. Karen continued to remove her clothing, not stopping until she was naked. She collected the pool of cloth around her feet and stepped through the apartment to her bedroom. The dresser half-mirror was convenient and she stepped in front of it, dropping her clothes on the bed as she did so—

‘Oh, my God,’ she breathed. A changed Karen Matthews looked back out at her. Her normally slim form had sprouted, somehow. The first thing that caught her notice was her hair. Unbound it normally hung almost to her shoulders—now it fell just below them. Her shoulders looked curiously broader and rounder, sloping down to two long, lithe arms. And her chest now bore breasts that would definitely overwhelm any foundation garment she could try to cover them with. So amazing was her sudden development that it almost hid how—extended—her ribs now looked, molding smoothly to a slim, flat waist. Another shock was how much wider her hips looked. And her legs—they never had such obvious muscle on them before, gorging and flexing with each tiny movement she made.

Karen lost all track of time as she stood before the mirror, looking at herself. For the first time she began to feel real anxiety, and even fear as she examined her image in the glass. She could almost see something happening to her body—a shimmer under her skin here, a gentle, subtle swelling there, all changing her size and shape, little by little. The image she saw seemed to be rising ever so slowly in the mirror, too—she actually looked like she was growing taller, right before her own eyes. It was impossible. It had to be impossible. Her body couldn’t be changing like this. No one’s could!

The soft jangling of keys caught her attention. The sound came from the front door.

‘Karen? I’m home.’

It was Jake’s voice. Karen tried to form words of welcome, to move from the spot she had been rooted to for she had no idea how long. A loud thumping made itself heard down the hallway. Karen managed to tear her eyes away from her transforming image just as Jake entered their bedroom, a pained, puzzled look on his face.

‘You wouldn’t believe what happened to me today—’ he began, then stopped, staring. Karen’s eyes roved up and down his frame. What she saw compounded her anxiety into a species of dread.

‘Oh, God,’ she breathed. ‘You, too, Jake. You got bigger, too.’

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[AlexG]

Part Five

“Oh, my God, Jake,” Karen breathed, her hands to her mouth. “You, too. You got bigger, too.”

Karen’s hands began to shake. Jake stared at her, his expression dumfounded. The cloth of his dress shirt was obviously snug on his arms and torso, outlining his shoulders. His neck filled his collar to capacity, pulling against the restraint of his top shirt button, wrinkling the fabric across his front. Jake began to raise his arms towards her. His wrists seemed to shoot out from his cuffs, revealing his watch and the gold bracelet she had given him on his birthday. Her eyes traveled down his frame, and she gasped. His trunk and legs looked almost ridiculously swollen within the grip of his jeans, with masculine bulges that left little to the imagination.

“What’s—what’s happening to us?” she asked. Her voice cracked as a sob of fright worked it way up her throat. The sound broke the spell Jake was under. Instantly he stepped into the bedroom. In one smooth motion he seized the quilt from atop their bed and wrapped it around her nudity, then his voice filled her ear, soft and reassuring.

“Honey, no,” he whispered. “Come on, let’s sit you down here. Now, take a deep breath. That’s good. Are you all right? Do you feel all right? Don’t cry. Talk to me, Karen. What’s wrong?”

Karen tried to gulp down the tightness that had risen to seize her throat. Jake’s hand rubbing her back felt good—ordinary,

heartening, familiar. His other hand seized hers, gripping it tightly, his thumb stroking her fingers.

“Well, you don’t feel warm,” Jake continued. “Not surprised, with you hanging out in the altogether. Do you feel dizzy at all? No? Your heart is pounding. What’s got you so upset, sweetie? Look, let’s get you back to the hospital. You may be suffering a reaction from exposure to that coolant—”

“No, Jake.” Karen looked into her husband’s eyes. She felt her vertigo return, and it took a few seconds for her to recognize why—she did not have to tilt her head near as much as she had before when she sat next to Jake. Like she should have had to, she thought. As their eyes met she saw Jake’s expression flicker for just a moment. The surprise that filled his eyes confirmed everything to her. Somehow her body had enlarged, grown bigger, enough for Jake to see. The thought made her dizzy and she shook her head to clear it.

“No, Jake,” she repeated. “No, it’s not the accident this morning. It’s me. It’s my body. I don’t know how, but I got bigger.”

“What?” Jake looked at her. His eyebrows drew together. “Karen, what you’re saying makes no sense. Do you have a headache? How about—”

“No, Jake,” Karen replied. Her tone was loud and short. She shook her head again. “No, it’s not from the accident. I think it began in the hospital. I noticed that my uniform didn’t fit me right, but I thought that maybe the coolant had caused it to shrink. Then, when I put on some other clothes they didn’t feel right, either. I’ve eaten enough food for three people today, I was able to curl sixty-pound weights, and I’m too big for my bra. Something’s happened to me. I’m scared, Jake.”

Karen felt her throat tighten once more. This time she let the sobs come out. Jake wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. Karen buried her face into his chest.

“It’s going to be okay, honey,” Jake said softly. Her offered her a gentle kiss on her head and squeezed her in his arms. “Well, I can tell that you took a shower after you got home. Let’s go over everything that happened.”

With Jake’s encouragement Karen recounted the day. She felt the tension in her throat and neck ease as she recalled every event that she had experienced after the accident. Jake kept a neutral expression on his face, his eyes narrowing only once as she told him how strong she had seemed at the Bally’s.

“I don’t know how many reps I did on each machine, Jake,” she said. “All I know is I was able to outdo anyone else in the place and I didn’t feel like I was exerting myself at all. I was able to curl sixty-pound weights, Jake. I’ve never been able to curl sixty-pounds weights before.”

“You didn’t feel any stress at all?” Jake asked. Karen didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed at his professional demeanor. He was talking to her like she was one of his patients, not his wife.

“No,” she snapped. Jake immediately softened. He rubbed her back again.

“Sorry, darling. I’m just trying to make sense of what happened. So then, after you left Bally’s you felt like your clothes had shrunk?”

“Not just that, Jake. I looked—different. When I got in my car I had to push the seat back. I seemed to have no control over my strength. Everything felt so—light, and weak. Small. Then, when I got home and got out of my clothes, I saw myself in the mirror. Jake, I look completely different than before.”

“I don’t know, darling,” Jake replied. His smile was genuine. “You look the same to me.”

Karen stood up. Turning, she faced her husband directly. She shrugged her shoulders and the quilt fell from her upper body.

“Do I look the same, Jake?” she said.

Jake’s smile faded as his eyes traveled up and down her torso. He started visibly as his eyes fixed on her breasts. She saw him swallow.

“Um, where did those come from—” he blurted out. Karen looked down at herself. She could not help the gasp that escaped her. Her breasts were clearly larger and rounder than before, standing out high on her chest. As the cool of the room touched her skin she felt her nipples erect. Karen stared at herself. She could see her chest quiver as her heart began to beat strongly again.

“Oh, God,” she murmured. “I’m bigger again.”

Jake rose to his feet as well. He drew the quilt up over her shoulders again.

“Well, there’s got to be an explanation for it—” he began, then stopped as he noticed just how hard Karen was staring at him. “What is it?”

“It’s you,” Karen replied. “You don’t look as tall to me as you did before.”

Jake looked quickly down at himself, then at her. His eyes widened.

“It’s funny, Karen, but you do look taller,” he said slowly, his voice rich with uncertainty. “Not a lot, but—no, there’s no way. This makes no sense at all.”

“Tell me about it.” Karen felt a curious sense of relief at her husband’s grasp of the changes she had gone through. Her wry tone of voice seemed to shake Jake. Then the tautness of his won clothing drew her attention again. “You’re bigger, too.”

Jake stared at her for a moment, then he grinned and shook his head.

“Naw,” he snorted, gesturing down at his over-tight jeans. “I think I was the victim of a practical joke at work—”

As Karen looked hard at him his voice trailed away. She reached up and tugged at his collar, then drew up his hand. His wrist showed almost to halfway up his forearm.

“Yes, you did, Jake,” Karen announced softly. “You’re bigger, too.”

At his wife’s terse pronouncement Jake felt his control begin to slip. His conviction that he had been the victim of some special practical joke was quickly fading, to be replaced a vague, disagreeable unease. When he had first walked into their bedroom he had been shocked to see Karen standing before the mirror, stark naked, her face screwed up in distress. Now he found himself staring at his own image with a similar look on his face. He looked at his wife again. There could be no doubt that Karen did look taller than he could remember. The quilt did little to hide how long her legs suddenly looked, or how there were two undeniable full, round breasts poking out from her chest. Even her hair looked different—longer and fuller than before. Even her face had changed slightly, perhaps a little longer, a little broader in cheekbones and jaw. He felt the muscles of his jaw tighten as Karen lifted his hand and the cuff of his shirt seized around his forearm, stretching the fabric of his shirtsleeve taut against his arm. Now it was his turn to shake his head.

“No, it’s not possible—”

“Okay, then, button your collar,” Karen retorted. Jake tried to raise his hands to his neck but his sleeves clung tight, restricting his motion. He shrugged his shoulders, tried shaking his arms to spread the fabric further down his arms. This time he was successful and he grabbed collar button and eyelet to draw them closed in a motion so familiar it was automatic.

But, not this time. Jake grunted as his stiff collar pinched his neck uncomfortably. The button slipped from between his fingers. He grabbed it and tried to close the gap again, and again he failed. Jake suddenly realized he was holding in his breath as he struggled with his collar. As he exhaled he found his eyes traveling back to his reflection in the mirror. This time he saw himself go white.

“What in hell—” he began. Every part of his body not covered by cloth looked swollen with flesh. His neck had changed tremendously, filling his collar until it was broader than his head. His shirt was drawn into his armpits by shoulders that pulled the cloth so tight that his sleeve creases disappeared. His shirt was tight across his chest, outlining suddenly-prominent pectoral muscles. His denims pinched every part of him from his waist down, gripping his thighs, outlining broad, long calves, and revealing a full inch of his ankles. Even though he was standing erect his male equipment was being squeezed to the point of real discomfort—a discomfort he had not felt a few moments before.

Jesus Christ, Jake thought. He looked like a full-grown man dressed in a teenager’s clothing. He found himself looking up and down his image over and over again. Karen’s reflection appeared next to his. Her expression looked as worried and uncertain as his own.
“What’s happened to us?” he whispered. Karen shook her head.

“I don’t know, Jake,” she replied. “I don’t know. Is it—is it possible for adults—for us—to grow like this?”

Jake shook his head. “No, not like this. There have been instances when people have had growth spurts after puberty, but it happens gradually, normally. This is incredible.”

He felt Karen’s hand reach down to his own and grip it tightly. He wrapped both his hands around hers and she touched his arm with her free hand. She looked lost and frightened, and Jake drew her closer for comforting. Karen leaned her head against his arm, breathing deeply. For a few moments neither spoke.

“Darling, how do you feel, otherwise?” Jake asked suddenly. Karen looked up.

“What?”

“How do you feel?”

“What do you mean?”

Jake looked down at himself again. His eyes fixed on his two hands. He loosed one from around Karen’s and held it up in front of his face, turning it this way and that. Karen followed his motion.

“I mean, I don’t feel any different than before,” Jake said slowly. “I’m not tired, or sore, my joints don’t hurt. I’m not even particularly hungry and I haven’t eaten anything since noon.”

A loud noise from his middle belied his statement. Jake snorted at the sound.

“Well, maybe I’m a more than a little hungry,” he continued. “Do you feel any different, Karen? I mean, do you feel tired, or sore?”
“Of course I feel different, Jake,” she replied, a touch of asperity in her voice. “Look at me. I’ve just managed to outgrow about everything I own.”

“That’s true,” Jake said softly. Karen shook her head and offered him a smile in apology for her tone. She looked down at herself again. A sigh escaped.

“No,” she said finally. “No, I don’t feel different. Jake, this is amazing. How could we just grow bigger like this? What could have caused it?”

“I have no idea,” he replied. Something tugged at a corner of his mind. He tried to corner the stray thought that seemed to elude comprehension, and failed. It darted about inside his brain like a zephyr, fleeting and insubstantial, but it seemed important—

“Jake? Honey, what is it?”

Jake was startled. “Wha—I’m sorry, darling, what?”

“You had this look on your face I can’t remember seeing before. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Jake emphasized his reply by squeezing her hands again. “I guess I was just following a chain of thought and it broke in the middle.”

He shifted on his feet. His denims seized the opportunity and clutched at his crotch even more, making him wince. It didn’t take long for Karen to realize why.

“Here,” she offered, “why don’t you get out of those clothes before you really are hurt. I’ve got to try to find something to wear.”

Jake could never have imagined getting out of his own clothes could be such a struggle. He broke the buttons in both cuffs trying to undo them and then reached for the buttons running down his front. For some reason he found the going slow and clumsy and he broke off two more buttons with his efforts. As he finally freed his torso from its cover the apparent size of his hands and fingers struck him. He shook his head, and looked at his hands again. It must have been an illusion, he thought, as they looked as normal as his apparently expanded dimensions permitted. He turned to his denims. It was easy to undo the waistband, then he fumbled for the zipper. An explosion of fabric coincided with the sensation of release as he tugged it down, freeing his masculinity from its snug prison. Jake was astonished—his equipment thrust out from between his legs to form a hillock barely covered by the thin cotton of his boxers. He sighed from the cessation of the discomfort that had harassed him, then looked again. This definitely was no illusion. He heard a soft intake of breath, and turned. Karen had paused in her rummaging through her side of their dresser. She was staring at the spectacle between his legs, her eyes wide. Jake went crimson with embarrassment. He struggled his denims free from his butt, pausing to stop his underwear from following in the same course, then wriggled his pantlegs from around his thighs and stood to kick his denims off.

The pajamas draped over the chair beside the dresser were the first articles of clothing that fell under his eye. He moved to retrieve them. Halfway to the chair his masculinity threatened to escape from the vent in his underwear, and he stabbed his hands downward to arrange himself more properly. The repair worked for a few more steps, then half-failed. Jake quickly grabbed up his pajama bottoms, shucked off his drawers and slipped them on. The springy fabric was close but comfortable and he sighed in real relief. A low-voiced curse drew his attention to Karen. She was in the process of pulling on a pair of panties when the quilt had fallen from her shoulders. Jake felt a flood of emotions rack him as his eyes followed his wife’s undergarment up her legs. He almost succeeded in squelching the strangled noise that erupted from his throat as Karen squirmed her briefs over her rear and hips. God, her butt looked incredible, firm and big and round in the clutch of her panties. His body reacted to the sight by flooding his nether region and he quickly found himself squirming again.

Karen dug further into her side of the dresser. She tried on first one bra, then another. It became clear that both her ribs and bosom had outgrown her foundation garments and she tossed them aside with an audible murmur of frustration. Her next choice, a cutoff T-shirt, was better. Karen sighed much like Jake had done when he had dressed himself more comfortably. She turned towards Jake.

“That’s better—Jake? Oh, God, Jake, you’re big.”

He looked down. Two broad bands of visible muscle now flowed from his breastbone up and out to his shoulders and his belly was striated by more muscle. God, where did all this come from, he thought. More muscle stood under the skin of his arms, rounding out his shoulders, rippling along his sides.

“You’d think I’d worked out my entire life with all this,” he said wonderingly. He half-fell onto the bed with more force than he intended and almost bounced back up. At his exclamation Karen came to sit beside him, lowering herself more deliberately.

Jake turned to face her fully. Again he was overtaken by just how much more she had changed. His own eye told him that she must have gained a couple of inches in height on him. Her facial features had changed subtly, giving her a more oval, heart-shaped appearance. Her neck had lengthened, sloping smoothly down to shoulders that bore round muscles. Her belly, half-hidden by her T-shirt, was flat and rippled with muscle like his own. Her hips looked broader and rounder, and her legs looked like they went on forever, covered by new, more powerful flesh. And her breasts—God, she looked like she had grown more than a full cup size since this morning. A small sound escaped her throat. Jake looked up. Karen had followed his gaze. She wore a curious, uncertain expression.

“It’s funny,” she spoke up. “When I was little I dreamed of growing big and strong so I could do all the physical things I wanted to do. Now I wish I was back to the way I was. Why did this happen to us, Jake?”

“I don’t know, honey,” Jake replied. “I just don’t know. If it’s an illness it’s like nothing I’ve ever heard of before. It’s funny, and I don’t know why, but I keep thinking that I’ve seen this before.”

Karen was startled. She nodded. “Yes! I do, too. But I don’t know why, either.”

Jake took her hands in his. They were as soft as he remembered, and enticing, and feminine, and completely desirable.

“No matter what happens to us, darling, I’ll always love you,” Jake whispered. Karen looked directly into his eyes. For one long moment no words passed between them. Then Jake saw her eyes soften.

“I love you too,” she said. Jake found his eyes drawn down to the two mounds on her chest. Karen saw where he was looking, and a blush blossomed on her neck and chest.

“Here,” she whispered. She took his hand and slipped it under the hem of her T-shirt. Jake felt the soft warm flesh of her breast fill his palm. It was incredibly arousing, and his erection surged once more. Karen pressed his palm into her new breast. Her eyes half closed and she let out a long, slow breath.

“That feels good,” she said unnecessarily. Jake moved his hand and felt her nipple slip across his palm. Karen sighed again, more dreamily.

“Jake, I—I’m not sure,” she said uncertainly. Jake nodded with great regret and withdrew his hand from under her shirt, opting to kiss her instead. Her lips tasted wonderful, better than he could ever remember. He felt Karen hesitate for a moment, then she leaned into his kiss, cautiously at first, then more forcefully. Jake’s heart began to hammer in his chest as he felt her hand come up and caress his belly, then move upwards. It took all his self-control to keep his hands from wandering under her T-shirt again. He used them instead to stroke the sides of her jaw. Karen murmured in genuine pleasure as he did so and redoubled her pressure on his mouth. Jake felt her tongue slip out and caress his lips. He obeyed her unspoken command and opened his mouth, then offered her his own tongue. She sucked on it, her hands touching him on his shoulders and down his arms.

“Jake, I need you,” she whispered. Jake answered her by kissing her chin, her jaw, her ear. Karen moaned softly and guided his hands back to her breasts. This time he teased both her nipples, drawing a gasp from deep inside her. She began to hum with pleasure. Jake found himself losing his control to his engorging organ. He took Karen’s hands in his, guiding them down to his crotch. As Karen touched his erection she broke their kiss. Her eyes were wide.

“God, Jake, you got big there, too,” she said, her expression marveling and curiously urgent. She tugged at the waist of his pajama bottoms. Jake obligingly lifted his buttocks and she stripped his bottoms to his knees. Freed of cover his erection seemed to explode outwards, stabbing towards his chest. He echoed the gasp that he heard come from his wife. Big wasn’t the right word—he was huge. His organ swelled even more as he watched, throbbing to the pounding of his heart, a hot pole of blood-saturated muscle. Karen looked entranced. She stood slowly, turning to straddle him as he sat on the bed. She pushed gently at his shoulders, and Jake slipped onto his back. With him lying flat his organ looked even bigger. Karen took it in her hands. She squeezed once, gently, and it throbbed. Jake groaned at the sensation. She bent down and blew gently across its tip, and Jake found himself digging his toes into the carpet in response.

“Darling, I need you,” he heard himself say. Karen smiled, a small, almost girlish smile. Then she slipped her thumbs into her panties and drew them down. She slipped atop the bed, maneuvering her crotch up against the head of his shaft. Jake almost shouted as she took him in both her hands and guided him inside her, pressing herself slowly down, drawing his erection inch by inch into her womanhood. Jake had never felt anything like it. Karen was hot inside—hot, and tight, and pulsating. He felt his manhood respond by swelling even more, filling her tighter and tighter. Karen leaned forward. Her hands snatched up his, guiding them back to her breasts. Jake began to knead her bosom, squeezing and fondling.

Karen began to moan, louder and louder. Jake felt her breasts grow warm against his palms. Her nipples were so turgid they were almost hard. He felt his own sex throb even bigger, drawing a shout from his wife. She hit bottom, and cried out in sheer animal delight. Then she began to rock up and down on his shaft. Slowly at first, then faster. The sensations were more powerful than any he had ever experienced before, and he felt his own orgasm rise. As he peaked he felt his manhood engorge more than ever before and Karen made a long, soft sound deep in her chest. Then, he orgasmed, sending what seemed to be an endless explosion into his wife.

Jake had never felt so spent in his life. He opened his eyes to see his wife lying atop him like they had done the night before. She was asleep, her arms curled around him, her breasts two soft mounds against his chest. He looked around. Somehow they had managed to get themselves fully laid out in bed. He managed to get the blanket pulled over them both before a warm, enervating sleep overtook him.

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[AlexG]

Part Six

Jake woke with a start. His eyes felt gritty, and the same sensation greeted his tongue as he worked it around inside his mouth. Trying to free one hand to rub his eyes led to the discovery that the bed sheet was wound tightly around his middle and he had to struggle to free his arm. He applied his fingers to help clear his eyes, and then looked around.

He was lying on his belly in bed, alone. The light filtering in through the cover of the window curtains told that it was daylight. He turned to the alarm clock on his nightstand. It raised its hands and swore that it was past seven. Jake groaned and yanked his other arm free, then freed himself from the tangle of bedclothes. As he did so something drew his attention. It was the sound of running water being turned off. Karen must have just finished her shower. She was later than her usual, Jake reflected. He rubbed at the stubble on his chin, pausing in surprise at the forest of whiskers under his palm. His memory of the previous night seemed elusive.

After he got home-

Oh, God. Jake groaned. His eyes snapped wide open. What had happened last night? All he could remember was a sudden, overwhelming craving for sex, and reaching out to Karen to satisfy it. He could distinctly recall pulling her on top of him, and then things became hazy. What had he done? Karen had always been a willing bed partner, but they both enjoyed their lovemaking more when it was a joint effort and Jake had never forced himself on his wife. Had he broken that compact last night? A ripple of anxiety went up his spine, making him shiver. He found himself wishing that he could remember their lovemaking-if that’s what it had been. Why couldn’t he remember? He never had a problem recalling any of their previous trysts but last night’s eluded him completely. It had all begun with their discovery about how their bodies had somehow become bigger-

Jake stopped. He turned over on his back, pulling the bed sheet down to his waist as he did so. One look down his torso told him that what he and Karen both had experienced yesterday had not been an illusion or a dream-all of him was definitely bigger, more solid, more defined. Immediately below his chin real pectoral muscles rose up from either side from his breastbone, covered by dark hair that looked thicker than he ever had seen before and was surprisingly curly. More hair, just as dark but finer looking in texture, covered the two chiseled, developed arms that bordered his ribs and rose up to broad shoulders. Jake raised his head to see cords of flesh bracketing his middle. He lifted his shoulders off the bed and the muscles across his belly seemed to explode under his skin, rippling and nearly doubling in size. Jake found himself gaping at his own physique. How could he have grown so much, so quickly? Even his trips to the local health spa had never brought any increased muscle definition on his body (to his more vigorous wife’s occasional amusement), and now overnight he looked like he had turned into a lifelong athlete.

‘What’s going on-‘ Jake began, then stopped. His voice. What happened to his voice? It sounded deeper, more tonal than normal. He tried clearing his throat, and hummed softly. No, that new character was still there. His voice had changed, too? He felt his throat, and swallowed experimentally. His adam’s apple didn’t feel any different under his fingers. Jake began to lift his hand away, but accidentally thumped the underside of his chin instead. He grunted in surprise and lifted his hand in front of his face. Seeing how it had changed was more shocking than anything else he had noticed so far-it was big, with long fingers, and so thick it could almost be described as meaty.

‘What in hell is happening-‘ he began.

‘Jake?’ The soft, almost timorous nature of Karen’s voice was a warning, but Jake could not help goggling as he turned to face his wife. Karen was standing at the threshold of their bedroom, dressed in her kimono-style bathrobe, a damp towel held limply in one hand. It was obvious that she was bigger, too. Her formerly ample wrap now clung to curves that seemed to have appeared on her overnight, clinging to her two now-prominent shoulders, molding around two substantial mounds that stood on her chest. The collar of her robe was pulled away from around her neck, revealing a neck that now sported a gentle rise of muscle that molded subtly up to her hairline and down below her collarbones. Karen dropped the towel, drawing Jake’s attention further down. Below the sash tied around her waist her hips sloped out with a confidence he had never seen before, expanding under the thin fabric into two long, rounded thighs. Karen had followed his gaze. She nodded as if numb.

‘I know,’ she said softly. ‘I’m-I’m bigger now than I was yesterday.’

Jake looked down at himself again. To his embarrassment his manhood had snapped to attention, swelling with a haste he would hardly had credited himself with before and visibly tenting his cover. He slipped to the edge of the mattress and thrust his feet over the side. Another surprise greeted him as his feet thumped the floor much faster than they should have. He heard himself exclaim and looked down. Even his calves and feet had joined in, growing longer and thicker than before. Jake looked down at himself, his mind in a whirl. Then he looked up at Karen. She slipped onto the bed beside him, her hand seeking his. Jake seized it like a drowning man seeking a lifejacket. The familiar warmth and pressure of his wife’s grip was a welcome anchor, allowing him to close his eyes for a few seconds so he could sort out his thoughts. It’s some kind
of illusion, he thought. There’s no way I could have gotten so big, so fast. There’s no way either of us could have grown like this. It’s some kind of dream.

‘It’s real, Jake,’ Karen whispered. ‘I grew bigger. I think both of us grew during the night.’

Jake opened his eyes. Karen was staring at him. Her eyes were big and round, and for the first time since he knew her Jake saw real fear in her expression. He quickly wrapped both his hands around hers and returned her squeeze while trying to form a smile on his face. Her reaction told him that he was only partially successful. She looked down. Jake followed her gaze. God, her hand had disappeared completely inside his own, they were so big. He released her. Karen rose from her seat beside and turned to face him.

‘I overslept,’ she began, then stopped and shook her head. Her motion drew Jake’s attention to her hair. Even that had grown visibly longer, and it looked thicker, too. ‘When I woke up I found I’d changed more. After last night-‘

‘Last night?’ Jake asked. His throat seized on the last word, choking him. He had to swallow to clear it away. He licked his lips and turned so he was looking directly at his wife, and swallowed again. ‘Karen, did I-did I do something last night? To you? I’m not sure what happened, what I did-I -I’m sorry, I can’t remember-”

Jake stopped. Karen’s expression had changed from anxious to annoyed. She stared at him for a moment, hard. He felt his guts turn to ice under her gaze. Then, her face softened. Jake’s surprise rose to a peak as he saw her eyes brighten with tears. She shook her head and returned to her seat beside him, her arms snaking around him. Her squeeze was strong enough to crush the air out of his lungs. Jake grunted in surprise. He found his arms reaching around Karen and he returned her hug gratefully. Karen squeezed him in her arms again, then looked up into his eyes.

‘You don’t remember what we did last night?’ she asked softly. Jake shook his head. To his utter astonishment a grin appeared on her face. She loosed her hold on him long enough to smooth away the frown that had wrinkled his face and shook her head again.

‘All these things that have happened to us, and you’re worried about last night,’ she mused. ‘What happened last night was incredible. You’ve never disappointed me in bed, Jake, but last night was amazing.’ Jake was astounded by Karen’s reply, and his face showed it. Karen saw his reaction and shook her head again. ‘The minute you walked in the door last night I wanted you,’ she continued, her voice low but clear. ‘I think I was so distracted by what’s happening to me at first I didn’t realize the feelings I was having for you. Then, when you told me that you would always love me no matter what happens I could see how you felt about me in your face. The feeling became so strong I almost couldn’t control myself. When you touched me here-‘ Jake watched her move her hands to her breasts. She cupped them briefly, pressing the thin fabric of her robe around them. Jake gulped again-she was big, now- ‘I lost all control. I just had to have you, right away. If you hadn’t told me you needed me I would’ve jumped your bones on the spot anyway.’ Genuine surprise creased her expression as she looked down at herself.

‘I’m so big,’ she murmured. Her voice sounded like a little girl who had received a real surprise on her birthday. Jake was so relieved by her description of what had happened the night before he almost didn’t hear it. He swept his arms around her and hugged her tight to him.

Karen felt a curious surge of emotion as Jake slowly set his feet on the floor and wrapped the bedsheet around his middle to cover his nudity. He gulped and looked up at her. Karen nodded encouragingly, and she saw him set his jaw in determination. He leaned forward, then rose erect. Karen’s eyes had already told her that her husband would be taller than normal, but she still found herself gasping in surprise as she saw just how much taller he now was. Jake blinked,

then looked down at her. His face went white, then red.

‘How-how much do you think I grew?’ he asked softly, his voice rich with emotion. Karen took a step towards him. Her step took her a little closer than she had expected. She went hot all over as her breasts pressed up against Jake’s chest. Why did she react so strongly to the feeling of brushing up against him? She jerked back, shaking her head, then looked directly into Jake’s eyes. The feeling in her neck told her he was even taller than she had first imagined.

‘I don’t know, Jake,’ she whispered. She dropped her eyes as the blush grew in her cheeks again, this time in embarrassment-she didn’t have to look to know that her nipples had swelled at touching his bare skin. To distract herself she pointed over one shoulder towards the blank part of the bedroom wall behind her.

‘I measured myself against the wall there when I woke up,’ she continued. She experienced the surprise she had first felt upon waking this morning anew as she remembered what she had found. ‘I’m five foot six, now, or maybe a little more.’

Jake’s astonishment was honest and profound. He looked at the scratch that was visible on the otherwise unadorned wall, then down at her.

‘You’re five-six? But, that would make me-‘ Jake fumbled for the hardcover book Karen offered him, and the pencil defeated him completely. It was no surprise that his hands were shaking-hers had rattled just as badly when she made her first measurement-and she grabbed his hand to squeeze it reassuringly as she took the pencil away from him and helped him settle the book atop his head. Karen heard herself gasp again as she saw her own measure nearly disappeared behind his shoulders. She reached up and made the mark, then took the book from her husband’s hands. Jake put out his hand, pressing it out against the wall. Even though his hand was obviously bigger in proportion to the rest of him it did not span the gap between the two marks. Karen grabbed up the tailor’s tape measure she had retrieved from her sewing kit and spread it up the wall. It was a fix-foot tape-and there was still a gap between its end and Jake’s measure.

‘What-‘ Jake began, then choked. The tone in his voice alarmed Karen, and she turned to face him fully just in time to see his skin go completely white. Her own anxiety vanished as she saw Jake’s eyes half-close and his mouth go slack. As he began to sway on his feet Karen dropped both book and pencil and grabbed at him with both hands-

Karen felt something crackle from her fingers as she touched Jake’s arms. Her body’s first instinct was to pull her hands away, but instead her hands did the opposite, seizing his arms firmly and holding on. Her eyes darted quickly from her one hand to the other as the curious buzzing sensation continued, then grew stronger. It was not painful, or unpleasant. The memory of brushing her fingers against Jake’s throat and hearing him hum in response came into her mind unbidden, and she was so diverted by the thought that she did not see what else was happening until Jake’s biceps began to vibrate. Her gaze focused on him and her mouth fell open.

Jake was growing, right before her eyes. She saw and felt his arms broaden in her grip, his body swelling, rippling, getting bigger and thicker with every second that passed. The rippling spread from his arms into his torso. His ribs visibly pushed out from his body, then back in, broadening and deepening his chest. As if keeping up with their neighbor his shoulders followed suit, lengthening and spreading, drawing his arms out from his body. He seemed to rise slowly into the air, and the bedsheet he had tucked around his middle fell free. She looked down to see his legs stretching and solidifying, the muscles in his thighs and calves shuddering as they expanded. His spine was next, audibly popping as it grew, making him even taller, increasing the span between his hips and his bottom ribs. A sudden surge between his legs caught her attention as his manhood exploded outward into the biggest erection she had ever seen Jake boast and leading her eyes to two incredibly large-and growing-symbols of male virility weighing in his sac.

‘Jake-‘ Karen blurted out.

She lost what little control she had over her voice as Jake began to grow again-not up this time, but out. The growth seemed to start from his middle and work its way outward, flowing under his skin like water. First his abdominal muscles pushed out, gaining definition with each second that went by. The growth rose up into his chest, flooding his pectoral muscles, pressing out the hair growing out of his pores. Then his shoulders joined in, the trapezoids and deltoids throbbing as they became bigger, more solid, stronger. Karen’s eyes darted downwards to see the muscles in his thighs and calves flourishing, stretching his skin. A small sound escaped his lips, drawing her notice to the beginnings of a cleft that suddenly formed on the point of his chin.

Karen couldn’t believe it. My God, she thought, he’s got to be a head taller than he was a minute ago. Jake had stopped growing now, and stood towering over her. A mess of emotions was swirling inside her-confusion, wonder, uncertainty, even a tinge of fear for her husband, and herself. Why? How? How is this happening? The thoughts chased each other around inside her skull. A curious, sibilant rustle drew her attention to Jake’s forehead just in time to see his head hair sudden fall down across his forehead nearly to his eyes and over his ears. His whole body shuddered, then the newly-bigger muscles under her hands relaxed. He gasped, sucking in a great breath of air, then exhaled slowly, deliberately, as if savoring the air he had just inhaled. His weirdly blank expression faded, the muscles in his face and jaw relaxing, and his eyes closed. He blinked once, then again, and his eyes opened. A fleeting look of-satisfaction? bliss?-crossed his face, then he seemed to focus. He looked down at her, and did a double take. Karen saw him swallow, his jaw working as he tried to form words.

‘Karen, I feel funny-‘ he began. She felt his elbows begin to bend in her grip as he raised his forearms. A thrill-ride sense of fear seized her throat as she looked down to see his hands-his great, big hands-rising to touch her arms and a voice in her head was shouting at the top of its lungs. If he touched her like she touched him-

She did not finish her thought. As Jake’s fingers brushed her elbows she felt that same curious, almost electric vibration explode up her arms to invade her body. The sensation rushed through her, filling her entire being. It was not painful, not at all-instead it was pleasant, and exciting, and wonderful. Karen heard herself suck in a breath of her own as the feeling seemed to coalesce in her belly, then spread out to fill her completely. It was like the second wind after the best workout she had ever had, and eating chocolate ice cream, and getting a real, terrific surprise on Christmas, and the contentment of the perfect dinner, and collaring a bad guy when nobody got hurt, and the total satisfaction of having climaxed when making love to Jake. At the thought of making love with her husband Karen felt her most private parts instantly warm and swell and twitch. She could not remember feeling so ready and wanting sex so badly before. A feeling of cracking and popping deep inside her body startled her, and she realized that her bones must be growing like Jake’s had. Almost as an afterthought she saw Jake and her surroundings swiftly shrink before her eyes. It seemed to take only a few seconds for her previously towering husband to diminish to a half-head taller than she, or less. A feeling of restraint across her chest drew her attention down. She was mildly frustrated at not being able to move her head to see herself fully, but the appearance of a broad, tightly bound bulk spreading across her front between her arms warned her that her other feminine assets had joined in the growth parade once more. How big am I now, she wondered with a curiously detached sense of amusement. Just as she thought she would never stop rising higher into the air, the growth stopped. Strangely, she felt a ephemeral sense of disappointment that the incredible euphoria she was experiencing was going to come to an end when she felt a shudder roil through her entire body and she realized that her body was not done growing yet. The sudden heat that rose deep in her belly startled Karen for a moment, then it enervated her. She almost felt sleepy as the powerful warmth coursed through her veins. For a moment she thought she was being filled up with warm water everywhere in her body. Then the curious bloating sensation was replaced by a new feeling. For the space of a heartbeat Karen felt confused by the sensation even as it made every muscle in her limbs and torso vibrate. Then, she realized what she was feeling was power. Raw power, filling her body, rearranging her, making her body stronger and stronger. Where before she felt sleepy, now she felt energized, powerful, enhanced. The world seemed to dance around her, and go unfocused-then it cleared. Karen felt as though she were waking suddenly from a short nap. She blinked her eyes once, then again. A new warning echoed inside her and she opened her mouth to fill her lungs with air. The breath she took in made her dizzy, but only for a second. She inhaled deeply, again and again. After a few moments she became aware of two hands gripping her arms. Jake was still standing right before her, just like before, his expression surprised and fearful and worried. She tried to smile to reassure him, but he only looked more worried.

‘Karen? Honey, are you all right?’ he asked softly. Karen felt surprise at his voice. Why did he sound so low, and so loud?

Automatically she nodded in reply, and found her vision blocked by an annoying tuft of hair that appeared from out of nowhere. She shook her head to clear the hair away and her vision expanded more. Jake looks small, she thought for a brief moment. She looked around at her surroundings. Everything in their bedroom was intimately familiar, yet it all looked different. Everything looked strangely smaller and further away. Jake was naked, a handspan or two away from her, his size making him the biggest physical presence she could see. Karen drew in another breath. Something seemed to grip her chest and belly, restraining her from inhaling. She looked down, and instantly felt color rise up her throat. Her breasts had ballooned within the confines of her robe, pushing out enough to open her housecoat almost to her sash and revealing the most extraordinary amount of cleavage she had ever seen on any woman, forget ever even imagining herself sporting such a display.

‘Oh, my God,’ she breathed. ‘Jake, I grew again. We both grew again.’

The next few moments were a blank to Karen. She stood, facing her husband in their weirdly shrunken-looking bedroom, holding one another’s arms. She would remember later just how incredible Jake’s expanded body looked. It almost disorienting, how different everything was. Karen began to recover her wits first. She noticed that Jake was blushing under her gaze. Without a word she stooped to retrieve his bed sheet cover, wrapping it around his waist. Her touch seemed to wake her husband, and he swiftly took over the task of knotting the sheet around his tight waist. As he tugged the knot taut a loud, guttural noise erupted from his midsection. After all the incredible things that had happened to them this morning it was such an ordinary sound it was startling. She stared at him for a moment, torn, then a grin crossed her face. Another moment, and she had to stifle a giggle. Jake blushed bright red, then shrugged and echoed her grin.

‘I guess it’s not surprising,’ he said. ‘After what just happened I ought to be starving.’

‘What did happen?’ Karen asked. Jake looked directly into her eyes for one long minute. He shook his head.

‘I have no idea,’ he replied, looking at his hands. He swallowed. ‘I’ve never felt anything like it before. Such power-‘

‘Power?’ Jake looked up sharply. His face was a study in wonder.

‘You, too?’ he asked, unnecessarily. ‘You felt it, too?’

‘Yes,’ Karen replied. ‘I’ve never felt anything like it before, either. Jake, what’s happening to us?’

Jake was just opening his mouth to reply when a loud thumping interrupted him. Both he and Karen spun on their heels towards the source of the noise. Karen felt every nerve in her body go to full alert and she cocked her ears to listen. The noise repeated itself again. This time they both recognized it.

‘The front door-‘ Jake began. Karen looked over her shoulder at the bedstand clock.

‘But, it’s not eight o’clock yet,’ she said. ‘Who would be knocking at our door?’

The thumping returned, louder this time. A muffled, accented voice made itself heard.

‘Hello, this is Shop-n-go. We here with your order.’

‘Shop and Go?’ Jake wondered. ‘I didn’t order-‘

‘Hey, is anybody in there?’ the voice asked, even more loudly than before. ‘We got your priority delivery. Hello?’

Karen felt her teeth go on edge. Whoever it was at the door, they were making enough noise to wake their neighbors-something she did not want to happen. Jake was looking around helplessly. It was easy enough to follow his thought-at his new size he would have to answer the door in the near-buff or not at all. She would have to see who it was. Out of long habit she turned to give herself a cursory inspection in the nearest mirror before stepping out to answer the door.

‘Ohmigawd,’ she blurted out.

For an instant she refused to believe that it was her own reflection in the glass. Could that be her, that tall, voluptuous woman in a ridiculously small robe, with the waist-length hair and the hourglass figure, the broad, muscular shoulders, the big outthrust boobs, the thighs ripped with visible muscle? Karen almost lost her balance as she stared openmouthed at herself. She did not hear the increasingly impatient delivery boy outside until Jake touched her shoulder. She turned to see him offering her a pair of his sweatpants. Karen shook off her bemusement and quickly slipped on the pants. They came up easily-until they reached her hips. It took a couple of healthy tugs to pull the stretchy fabric up to her waist. As she knotted the drawstring closed she became aware that her ankles were completely uncovered almost up to her calves, but it could not be helped. She pulled her robe as tightly closed across her front as she could and made her way to the front door.

The delivery boy was dark-complected and wore a sour expression. At the door opening he stopped blowing on his hands to warm them and turned to face her.

‘Hey, we got your delivery here-‘ he began. He focused on Karen. His mouth fell open. Another delivery boy, bearing a cardboard box with the caption FOXY LETTUCE grossly stenciled on its sides, snarled at his comrade before looking at her. He too stopped dead. ‘Madre Mio,’ he breathed softly.

‘Yes?’ Karen asked. At another time she would have been flattered to be such a source of distraction, but now she was embarrassed and discomfited. The first boy’s cheeks twitched, and he pointed down at his feet, where another cardboard box law on the threshold to their home.

‘Uh, we got you’re delivery here,’ he said.

‘I’m sorry, but we didn’t order anything,’ she replied. The boy nodded, as if expecting her response, and dug into the pocket of his worn leather jacket.

‘You Matthews? This stuff is for you. The guy who ordered it said to give you this.’

The envelope was made of heavy-grade paper and felt rich under her fingers. The return address was for some law firm from the East side of Chicago. The address read simply, Mr. And Mrs. Matthews.

‘Look, lady, d’you want this stuff or not? We got other deliveries to make,’ the boy said. Karen looked in the carton. It was packed full of food, of many different varieties. Looking at it reminded Karen that she was suddenly very hungry. She nodded, and opened the door just wide enough to let each deliverer in one at a time. Both boys dropped their burdens, then stopped to leer at her for a moment before being shooed out the door. She was about to close the door when a scuffle of feet drew her attention to another delivery. This time the man wore the familiar gray uniform of a Federal Express deliveryman and he carried the clipboard common to his trade.

‘Are you Mrs. Matthews?’ he called out as he hastened to her door.

‘Yeah, and she’s a piece, man,’ one of the grocery boys said in reply. The FedEx man ignored them and stepped as quickly as the snow-coated conditions allowed to the half-open door, where Karen stood dumbly.

‘Are you Karen Matthews? Is there a Jacob Matthews here?’ he asked. Karen nodded. The man positively beamed and gestured over his shoulder. Karen looked up to see another FedEx man struggling with a tall carton on a handcart.

‘Can you sign here, please?’ he asked quickly, thrusting his clipboard at her. Karen’s hands worked on automatic pilot and two more, considerably bigger cartons were added to their hallway. Karen found herself staring at the bulks filling the vestibule as if in doing so she could divine their contents. A gentle touch on her shoulder drew her attention to Jake, who had materialized behind her.

‘What is all this?’ he asked. Karen shook her head and looked at the envelope in her hands. With a shrug she dug her finger into one corner and tore it open. The note inside was short and also handwritten. As she read it she felt the blood drain from her face.
‘Karen? Karen, what is it?’ Jake asked. Karen looked up at her husband.

‘Someone knows what’s happening to us,’ she finally said.

To be Continued . . .

**********

That’s all there is, remains incomplete, but leaving the reader wanting still more. B)

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[AlexG]

That’s all there is, remains incomplete, but leaving the reader wanting still more. B)

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[Nick Furry]

Excellent story. Where the rest of it?

[AlexG]

Excellent story. Where the rest of it?

Didn’t you read the disclaimer notes at the beginning of the story and at the end? B)

I said, its remains incomplete = unfinished –
Hi-Standard never returned to publically complete the work on the ZZZ forum or anywhere else, so far as I know.

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[FfejL]

Thanks for posting it, AlexG!

[crimson_e_86]

I can’t believe I’m just finding this topic. I found more of AlexG’s old M/F growth stories from the old version of this site. Is it okay to put the links in this topic, AlexG?

[AlexG]

I can’t believe I’m just finding this topic. I found more of AlexG’s old M/F growth stories from the old version of this site. Is it okay to put the links in this topic, AlexG?

Since that would be on topic w/ this thread, I don’t see why not. B)

So old they’re new again – especially to readers that are unfamiliar w/ my work(s) from wayback in the day. 😉

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[crimson_e_86]

Just adding in an Admin Notice –
the following stories are index-classified as ***NOT SAFE FOR WORK***

**********

OK, I hope I’m doing this correctly. With AlexG’s permission, here are the stories. And showtime…

EXPANDED HORIZONS
Tales of the Multiverse
A Fantasy GT/GTS/Muscle Growth Adventure Story
By Alexander Germain © 2000 – alexgermain@yahoo.com
Excerpted from “Who’s In Charge?” © 2000

Chapter One

The Multiverse – Place of The Capital
Zone White – The Alliance of Good Gods and Goddesses
Executive Sector – Office of the General of the Guardian-Knights

“Sir, we’ve discovered a slight oversight by your predecessor.”

The man he was addressing was possessed of a flaming red beard and seated behind an impressive looking desk. In appearance he looked something like Jesse Ventura, but much larger in size then that mere Mortal for he was a God.

“Oh, nuts not another one,” the General of the Guardian-Knights, God Red Malone sighed. “What is it this time – a Monster Black Hole that was not turned off or perhaps Super Mega Nova that’s gotten out of hand?”

“No sir, nothing like that on the Disruptive Disaster scale,” the Lieutenant laughed nervously.

“Ok, shoot what is it?”

“Although all the official paperwork is in order, apparently he failed to carry through on the appointment of a local Guardian-Knight God for Universe 54, Local Galaxy Code: Milky Way, Sector 17. Actually to be fair, it’s a Sector we in Accounts and Acquisitions failed to follow up on until now.”

“Refresh my mind, where is Sector 17?” Red Malone frowned in thought.

“It’s a rather small, out of the way planet on the fringe of that Universe’s Milky Way galaxy. The area is part of Humanoid space. In particular a region called by the local inhabitants: The Solar System.”

“Quaint and charming – I haven’t heard that name used in a very long time. What’s the name of the world these beings live on?”

“The inhabitants call it Terra, but it’s also known as Earth in the Multiverse catalog, sir.”

“I prefer the first one, Terra has a good sound to it. I assume they are not space faring yet?”

“No sir, Fission Atomic on the edge of Fusion. The discovery of hyperdimensional power – Stargates – seems to be suppressed by certain controlling elements within their society.”

“By Zed, they are a bit backward, for a Humanoid race,” commented Red Malone. “So there’s no local Guardian-Knight God to protect them?”

“Yes sir – I think they really do need one and soon,” the Lieutenant said, looking very concerned. “They are still suffering under tribal warfare and regional conflicts. A Guardian-Knight God, based that world be able to maintain the peace and help guide them forward. In fact they don’t even have any special beings on their world as of yet.”

“You just said ‘yet’ with abnormal emphasis, care to clarify that?”

“They seem to think such don’t exist, except as part of their local believe systems, you know the drill. Some of us visit such worlds as tourists and by intent or accident and the locals start worshiping us. However, from our Intel we know that several Terran individuals and groups are on the verge of the Knowledge of Growth and Hyper-Mega Growth. Of course, we as Gods and Goddesses know them all. DNA tampering, Radioactivity, Formulas, Potions, Magic, Objects of Enhancement, Hyperdimensional Remolecularization – plus countless more too numerous to list.”

“Incredible, well that’s got to be taken care of in short order. If one, or some of them become Giants, Giantesses or even Megas they will act as dictators over their people and they will never progressively grow into an adult species. Pardon the pun Lieutenant.”

“Of course sir,” he smiled.

“Whoever we pick, he will be almost invincible against any of these moral Giants, Giantesses, Megas and especially a match for Evil Gods/Goddesses of the Consortium who might show up and raise a ruckus with the inhabitants. If we’ve overlooked Sector 17, so have they. We must be on the scene first with our people to prevent it. Do you have any appropriate Terran male candidates for the enhancement to God Guardian-Knight level? We must be careful on who we make a Guardian-Knight, once done, he’s permanently changed.”

“Quite right – and yes I do sir,” the Lieutenant pulled out a file folder and handed to the Red Malone. “If you look at the top of the list, I think the first one would be our best choice.”

“Hmmm, single though he does have a current girlfriend, lives in the most technological advanced country, very ethical, honest, honorable, somewhat tall in height, wishes he were physically larger, intelligent, young and has a thing for buffed muscular females. Nice, he sounds perfect. In fact he seems to be a lot like us.”

“Indeed sir, that’s what I thought.”

“Well – its a good thing he into buffed muscular females, because when the Goddesses demand a local administrator for Sector 17 they are going to have to get along with each other.”

“Oh, I’m certain he’ll get along with her.”

“Speaking of which, do you have a file on local female candidates? I know they are going to ask us for one.”

The Lieutenant pulled out another file from the briefing dossier. He opened it to the appropriate paperwork, read it for second and smiled a smile of humorous foreknowledge.

“Yes sir I do. You might be surprised as to who’s first on the list.”

He handed the General the file and waited for his reaction. It didn’t take very long.

“By Zed!” Red Malone said looking closer at the document. “Are you certain this is correct?”

“Yes sir, it was formulated by Intel Staff reports and the Guardian-Knight Intel Analysts fed the data into the God/Goddess-Hood – HAIL 10000 Supermega Computer. No chance of a goof.”

“I don’t think this has happened in a very long time but if that’s the best pair for candidates it told us about, then only Zed Him/Her-self could know of a better one. I will see that the male is transformed as of now.”

After a few moments pause of concentration to double-check the HAIL 10000’s candidate, he next requested permission from higher up to perform the Godhood transformation. Once Red Malone got it, work began on enhancing the subject. Then with this completed they resumed.

“Very well, what is done is now done. He’s on his way to Godhood. Hope he enjoys the transformation, I feel a bit drained – but it will pass shortly.”

“As do I sir, but what about the female?” the Lieutenant asked.

“Oh, in about a day or so I fully expect to have a visit from the Head Civil Administrative Goddess. She will give the order and this one,” he pointed to on the list, “will also start transforming into a Goddess. Now as to the issue of tutors . . . given that Sector 17 is directly adjacent to the Domain of God AlexG and Goddess DeniseH, that locale henceforth is to be assigned to their jurisdiction as a Trust Protectorate of their Realm. The two of them are very skilled in guiding newly made Superbeings in finding their destinies and I’m certain they’ll have the young God and Goddess of Terra readied for their responsibilities in record time.”

To be continued . . .

[Author]

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