Darlene was busying herself with the shelves, pretending to dust. Not that she usually put much effort into dusting, but it was obvious when she wasn’t even trying.
Wayne gave her her space. He knew what had happened without her having to say it, though he also knew he couldn’t ignore it forever. He didn’t know the specifics yet, but the story was always the same. She and Flynn had been fighting again.
Eventually he ran out of things to do that didn’t involve her, and since they hadn’t had a customer all morning, it was getting hard to pretend nothing was wrong.
“Hey Darlene, everything okay?”
“Of course.” She said flatly, putting the unused duster down with a loud clack and walking into the back, before she stopped and put her hand on the door frame.
Framed against the midday sun she hung her head.
“Everything… except that Flynn and I seem to fight every time we’re alone.”
“I’m sorry.” Wayne said. There wasn’t much much more he could say.
“It’s not your fault. I just wish… I wish Flynn could be more like you, Wayne.”
He winced. Those words always hit him like a shard of ice in the heart.
“You’re calm, and kind, and…”
Wayne could only stare at her lithe, shapely figure from behind as she tore his soul asunder for the hundredth time.
“Sorry, listen to me rambling on. You’re so sweet… but we’ve got work to do.”
“Well, not much,” Wayne corrected her, swallowing the lump in his throat, “we didn’t get a single customer yesterday, and it doesn’t look like today will be different.”
“It’s a shame. If only we had something to bring more customers in.”
Darlene leaned back against the door frame in thought.
“Maybe that weird plant in the basement would get their attention…” he mused, sarcastically, before reaching up to grab the feather duster so he could do the dusting she had pretended to do.
“Huh?”
“Oh, right.” He tapped the side of his head. “There’s some weird plant budding downstairs. Never seen anything like it.”
“Can I see?” She asked, eyes lighting up, her quarrel seemingly forgotten.
Some time later, the pair were still marvelling over the odd bulb protruding from the pot he’d left the night before.
“Hmmm, well it’s not a fly trap. You’re right.”
“Some weird kind of pitcher plant maybe?”
“Maybe, it’s a bit small for a pitcher though. The bulb ends near the head.”
They perused their aging and outdated books once more, both relaxing in the dim basement and the sweet, saccharine smell that had begun to fill it. It was cooler down here in summer, and Wayne was pleased to see that Darlene seemed far more relaxed now.
He grinned over his book, but was too distracted to notice the plant itself was equally interested. Had it had eyes one could have sworn it was looking between the pair of them with an intelligence that no plant should possess. It was grinning. Its pudgy, thick lips curling maliciously.
“Well I’m stumped.” Darlene surrendered, dropping her book to her lap. “It might be some weird crossbreed, but between what?”
“No idea. We haven’t had anything carnivorous here in months.”
The pair looked down at the innocent looking bulb. It ‘looked’ back at them.
“Well, it’s not getting any sunlight down here. We might as well take it upstairs.” Darlene said, not sure what else to do.
Lifting the pot gently she took up with her, placing it in prime position by the window and next to the open door.
“A strange new plant… it might get some people’s attention.”
The plant’s fragrance soon caught the wind as a gentle breeze blew through.
“You think so?” Wayne didn’t sound convinced. “I’m not sure a single weird plant is going to get anybody to-”
“Hi!” A voice came from the door, making both Darlene and Wayne jump.
Standing before them was a man in smart dress, no doubt on his way to work.
“It smells amazing in here. What kind of plant is that?” He asked, leaning over to take a closer look and taking in a deep, scented breath.
“Oh uh… we’re not sure.” Wayne admitted, wringing his hands behind his back.
“Huh. Well…” the man inhaled, a broad smile on his face as he took another deep breath, moving his face close to the purple-lipped plant. With a delighted shiver, he stood upright. “I need fifty dollars worth of roses for my wife if that’s okay.”
Darlene grabbed Wayne’s hand in excitement.
“Of course it is!” Wayne practically stumbled back, going to help Darlene prepare a bouquet.
“Can you break a hundred?”
“Oh… uh… no. Sorry.” He winced, looking into the register and seeing nowhere near enough change. He realised there and then that they might lose the biggest sale all month.
“Well…” the man sighed again, inhaling that delightful scent. “I guess I’ll just take 100’s worth.”
Darlene stared at Wayne in amazement, and he eagerly motioned her towards the back room.
“Of course, sir!” She said giddily,
Wayne grinned in amazement, opening the till and lifting the tray so he could hide that precious sum beneath it. Darlene returned a little while after with an overflowing bunch of blood red roses, ornamentally embellished with bows, ribbons and sprigs.
“Thank you so much sir! I hope she loves these.”
“I’m sure she will.” The man grinned, before making his way out. “Oh excuse me.”
A woman in a feathery hat entered just as he left.
“My my what is that fascinating plant in the window?” She asked.
Wayne and Darlene beamed at each other.
***************
Wayne was sat at the same old, dark oak table in the basement where he’d first found the plant, mixing a brew of everything he could think of that a plant could want. No matter what he tried, the plant seemed so frail, so weak, and it seemed to shrink by the hour. It had been days now and this plant had made them more money in that time than they’d made in months combined. He simply couldn’t let it die.
As he poured a little of the blend he’d made into the soil, he watched in angst as the plant’s vines feebly wriggled.
“Come on, you must eat something…” he sighed.
Wayne marvelled as the plant bulb, about six inches across, slowly parted its lips as if to respond to him. Not that a plant could speak, Wayne reminded himself.
Unsure what else he could do, he dipped his finger into the mix and let a drop fall into the plant’s ‘mouth’. It seemed to stir a little at that, so he tried it again, and kept his finger just above the lips.
In moments the plant snapped up, having latched onto his fingertip and squeezed its lips shut around it. Wayne recoiled in shock, tugging at his finger, but the plant held on stubbornly. Its thick, plush, pillowy lips seemed to cling to his finger as if they’d die without it.
He recoiled, but froze, not wanting to damage the plant when it was already weak. He flexed his fingertip slightly within its lips and didn’t feel any burning sensation, so he at least concluded it didn’t contain any acidic enzymes. Though he did feel an odd… tingling sensation.
Then something moved inside, and he panicked once again. Something had caressed his fingertip. Like a… tongue almost. He managed to tug his finger free at last, leaving a long, thick, slimy string connecting it to the plant’s lips.
The liquid had a purple tinge that clung to his skin no matter how he wiped it, merely spreading further and further over his skin as he did so.
“What on Earth…” he murmured as that same tingle spread to every spot the purple slime touched. “This better not be poisonous.”
Shaking his head, he collapsed back into a chair and stared at the ceiling. He breathed in the sweet air, sweeter than it had ever tasted. Even with so many flowers in the store the air down here was so refreshing now.
He was alone in the store. Darlene had gone home. No doubt by now she and Flynn would be…
He cursed, closing his eyes, wishing he hadn’t conjured the mental image of what those two would be doing by now. He opened one and peeked down a few moments later, realising he was sporting a truly monumental hard on. Why was he hard now?
It wasn’t from thinking about Flynn and Darlene, was it?
Idly, he rubbed the purple slime between his fingers, the gentle tingle there growing and spreading as his skin absorbed it. Slowly, his cock got harder, throbbing more and more.
With a resigned shrug, and not for the first time, he found himself jerking off in the basement of a run down plant store. He wasn’t sure why he had suddenly become so aroused, but being a red blooded male he wasn’t one to pass up a perfectly good erection.
Things had changed so much in just a few days. The days seemed brighter, the air itself almost smelled sweeter. He soon forgot about his jealousy.
As his wrist moved in a motion he’d practiced for many years, and was by now much an expert in, he wasn’t as alone as he suspected. The plant’s bud peeked out from above the pot and was drinking in the scene with gusto.
Despite his insistence that he had stopped thinking about them, Wayne’s casual masturbation soon became fraught with images of Darlene. He winced with subdued guilt. Normally his fantasies deliberately strayed away from her out of embarrassment, yet now he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
However the longer he lay there, breathing in that sweet smell, the more relaxed he became. What was the harm? With a deep sigh he came to peace with the fact that if he was going to jerk off he wasn’t going to be able to do so without thoughts of Darlene.
Slowly he became more willing to explore the idea. In his mind’s eye she was there with him, he was the one holding her the way Flynn did, tugging her to his side as she giggled and kissing her so passionately.
The old wooden chair beneath him creaked as he leaned back slightly, letting himself indulge both physically and mentally. He was surprised to find his mind wandering, his image of Darlene began to morph ever so slightly. She became a little taller, a little broader. The way - if Wayne was honest with himself - he wished more girls could be.
On some level he distantly wondered if he had always felt that way, or if it was just a fantastical spur. Had he always been so into big girls? It was hard to remember, but the sudden throb in his cock as he imagined Darlene just a little bigger, a little thicker, was hard to ignore.
His arousal was growing a little faster than it should have been, breath getting a little quicker, a little tighter all a little too fast. Yet he was far too preoccupied with the matter at hand to notice. In his mind’s eye Darlene was reaching towards him with amorous intent. Her eyes were filled with an indescribable hunger… and an odd purple tint.
Far from odd, he found it utterly entrancing.
He focused for a moment on the plant, which was now directly facing him, as if watching intently. With a grimace he felt a slight pang of anxiety as he took in the plant’s sumptuous lips. Something about them was undeniably erotic, yet the thought seemed so odd, so alien, it temporarily threw off his concentration.
Yet as his eyes drifted closed, suddenly it was Darlene calling to him so temptingly with those same purple lips, curled in the same knowing, sultry, come-hither smile. He exhaled at last, this new aspect of his fantasy - albeit odd - finding far more purchase in his mind.
Darlene curled a finger at him, raising her eyebrows suggestively, and he needed no further encouragement. As he fell into her open arms he loved how Darlene was, at least in his fantasy, far more assertive. She smiled. She knew what she wanted and she wanted it from him. Rather than the meek figure he saw cowing to Flynn’s endless pressure she was far more in control.
She looked him dead in the eyes with those purple orbs of hers and licked her lips, just as a few feet away the plant bulb in its pot did the same.
Darlene, or at least he thought it was her, was pulling open her top to reveal her breasts - much larger than even the well-endowed Darlene in reality could boast of. With a delicate hand she cupped the back of his neck reassuringly and pressed his face into that pillowy soft canyon and purred in delight as he nuzzled affectionately into her forgiving flesh.
Hand moving at a frantic pace now he was breathing heavily, leaning over the table without thinking. Just inches away from him the plant bulb stretched out, tiny clouds of purple mist emanating from it and directly into his face as his glazed expression zoned out - too fascinated with the contents of his head to care what was happening just a short while away.
“Cum for me.” He heard the whisper from within his mind, or at least, he thought he’d only imagined it.
Darlene was beckoning him now. In his mind it was her hand around his cock rather than his own. She was so eagerly stroking him now, cooing sweet nothings into his ear as she kissed it, pressing his face deeper and deeper into her cleavage.
She smelled so sweet. So inviting. She was so large, so beautiful, so soft. Everything about it was driving him wild. Hell, he’d never jerked off so enthusiastically in his life. This was the kind of fantasy he’d have flashbacks to for days to come.
Yet as his fantasy grew more bold, so too did Darlene. Her body kept growing larger, bigger and bigger, assets growing, thighs thickening as her breasts swole, filling more and more of his view. Soon she wasn’t just larger than him, she practically towered over him.
Throwing his head back, Wayne groaned in ecstasy as his excitement finally became all too much. Panting with exertion he stood up, resting one hand on the table as he struggled to stay upright, never having felt such a sexual thrill in his life.
She kept growing, and growing, and growing… and she would grow, and grow, and grow…
He barely noticed as the plant’s sausage-thick purple lips parted just enough to encompass the tip of his cock. Yet the sheer exhilaration, the adrenaline coursing through him, was more than enough to overcome any disconcertation from the odd feeling of those plush, wet lips squeezing around his head.
Only when a tongue lapped across and encircled his head did his eyes flash open for a brief moment in surprise, but he was far too close to stop now. The electric ticklish feeling of that tongue fluttering directly under the head of his cock was all it took to send the poor lad careening over the edge into a truly stomach-cramping orgasm that nearly sent him collapsing to the floor.
Luckily he was able to hold on to the table for dear life, just about keeping himself upright as the plant eagerly and greedily sucked down every single rope of cum.
Wayne collapsed on one side, shoulder against the table as the plant kept up its merciless milking with those slick purple lips, bobbing up and down over his head as his hand kept stroking until it hurt, yet even when he pulled his hand away the plant was far from satisfied, moving frantically back and forth as if to wring every last drop from him.
Wincing, he fell back and - with a sickeningly wet pop the plant begrudgingly released his cock.
Panting in exhaustion, he felt his head swaying from side to side as he leaned back. He’d never felt an orgasm that powerful in his life. His thoughts were all over the place but he tried to piece them back together.
Yet as he slowly regained his wits and his breath slowed, his eyes fixated upon the plump purple lips of the plant as it licked them with an equally lilac-coloured tongue. Had what he thought just happened been real? The purple tinge to the head of his cock was a dead give away.
At that moment, both he and the plant locked eyes - at least metaphorically in the plant’s case - as a droplet of white seed that had somehow escaped its voracious sucking lips.
The plant ‘looked’ up at him, licked its lips again, then dove down to slam down and slather the table in a passionate kiss that made Wayne’s chest tighten at its sheer eroticism.
“No way…” he whispered.
Before his eyes he saw the plant shudder. Its leaves seemed greener, its stalk thicker, its bulbous lips fuller and more lush. Panting softly, having recovered at least enough to stand, he leaned in a little closer to look - only to snap his head back when the plant pursed its lips and lunged in for a kiss.
“So… that’s what you eat.” Wayne mumbled, a mix of post-orgasmic shame and embarrassed realisation washing over him.
Chewing his fingertip Wayne wondered what to do. It took him a moment to realise which finger he was chewing. The purple substance tasted so sweet, and he pulled his mouth away. Looking down, he saw a purple stain on his cock as well now. The tingling there continued.
This plant was beyond strange. Then again… it was the only thing keeping the lights on. In fact, it might be enough to turn the business around. Hell it could do even more than that. He thought about how much money it had brought in already, and wondered just what the potential for this thing was.
A little shiver went up his spine, and a tingle in the back of his mind made his still-softening cock unconsciously twitch a little. The only way to keep the plant alive would be to feed it. If he wanted it to grow… he’d have to feed it alot.
The only place he could do that was at home.
He breathed deeply, trying to reach a decision, and with each sweetened breath the choice seemed clearer, even as his mind felt foggier. Dropping his fist to the table silently he’d made up his mind. It wasn’t as though he had a long commute, he thought, chuckling to himself.
Wayne lifted the plant’s pot up and headed upstairs to his apartment above the Garden of Eden, holding it at arm’s length as he did so. Despite it lacking eyes, he could swear it was staring at him.
Hungrily.