Bellflower Part 17

In this quick installment, the sisters go to check in on Courtney, who's been "working from home" for several days. Oh & Penny seems awfully eager to try out a new cheesecake recipe.

Was hoping to post some more art before putting this up, but this came together just a little bit quicker. Another shorter midweek chapter, but I feel like it's worth it. Moving forward I hope to do more like this. Hope you enjoy!

|||||

17

|||||

“Ummmm, Penny…?” She called out almost a bit sheepishly, a more surprised than upset. “Where did this come from?” Her heavy arm lifted the small plate she had suddenly noticed sitting next to her on the side table. To the left of the loveseat. Upon it, sat a particularly perfect looking slice of cheesecake that almost seemed as if it had practically come to life, straight off the cover of some sort of baking magazine. A thick, strawberry glaze had been drizzled over it, complete with real chunks of strawberry.

“Is it not to your liking, Miss Courtney?” The AI worried. Or at least seemed to worry, as much as its programming would allow.

“Um… -urp- no.” She smirked slightly, her eyes still pointed at the plate. It was calling to her, sitting there just so temptingly. “That… that’s definitely not it. At all.”

“I am sorry, perhaps I should have told you sooner, but I was hoping to surprise you. I saw this recipe trending & know you have quite a fondness for strawberries. I thought you would perhaps like to taste test it.” A mechanical arm presented her with a fork. Courtney accepted it, albeit slightly reluctantly.

“Oh, I… just after that huge dinner you went through all the trouble of making for me…” She said wincing in the direction of Penny’s hanging monitor. Which was true. She had just finished polishing off quite a huge meal. One consisting of a large helping of Chicken Piccata along with a creamy polenta & most of a loaf of lightly toasted garlic bread, all made with what to her seemed like Michelin Star-style quality. But it was also A LOT. Even for her. These days. She had been sitting there, full & reeling, in the black Marulla sweats that she had just been given from work that somehow already didn’t quite fit her properly, leaving a bit of belly hanging out. She had hoped to let her meal digest for a bit. But it seemed like her robotic assistant had other plans.

“You know it is never any trouble for me at all.” Penny perkily chimed. “And I can happily put that in the refrigerator for you, if you are not quite ready for i…”

“No!” Courtney promptly cut her off. “I… I’ll make this exception! Just this once!” She playfully decried, like she was doing her a favor. Instead of completely caving to the sheer power of its immaculate presentation. Something about the way the light hit the translucent, gooey glaze, as it very gradually continued to drip towards the plate in slow-motion. And besides, it wasn’t like she wasn’t hungry after all. Just… mostly sort of full too. Which is why she needed to take a bit of a deep breath before plunging the side of her fork through the cake, careful to include at least one strawberry.

The stylized face didn’t change, but the AI it represented watched eagerly as Courtney’s pudgy arm lifted the fork towards her plump lips. They opened wide, only to restrict behind the business end of the fork, making it so nothing on it could escape.

“Mmmmmmmmmmmhmhmhm.” Her neck rolled back a little, as she shut her eyes in pure ecstasy. The end of it devolving a bit into a muffled chuckle.

“I take it you enjoy?” The robot followed up.

“Mmm Very much so.” she managed, working its moist, fluffy goodness around in her mouth. She had tasted a lot of sweets in the past few months but this? This might be her new, all-time favorite. Or at least top five. Easy. “Oh gawd.” She bellowed, downright desperate to scoop another scoop. “It’s sooo good.” As full as she was she couldn’t have helped it if she even tried. She NEEDED more. Huge dinner or not.

“That’s good.” Penny seemed to purr. “That’s really g…” Penny abruptly stopped all on her own, mid sentence. 

“Mmmm. Penny…?”

“You have some visitors.” The AI said kind of flatly. Courtney could barely let out a “huh?” before there was a sudden knock at her door. It was on the softer side, but distinct enough.

“Wh-Who…?” She worried a little.

“It appears to be Miss Holly. And I believe Miss Rachel is joining her.” Penny’s usually chipper tone had faded a bit. She sounded a bit dismayed by their arrival, alerting her tenant in a way that seemed more matter of factly. But Courtney didn’t seem to take much notice of this tonal shift.

“Oh.” She was at first pleasantly surprised, the lips of her chewing mouth pressed up tightly at the corners into a smile. But almost as sudden, she was hit by a wave of self-consciousness. She lifted the plate holding the remaining half of her cheesecake, careful to balance it as she awkwardly leaned with a slight grunt, as much as her increasingly round frame could in her already overburdened loveseat. Reaching to the side, she attempted to pull the front of her riding sweatshirt down to cover her belly. It was a struggle, & ultimately futile. And when getting it from the side didn’t seem to do the job, she tried reaching towards the front. The problem there was that it was just a little too far out of her reach.

“Shall I tell them you are... indisposed?” Penny offered delicately. Almost as if that was the outcome the AI seemed to favor.

“No, I don’t... want to be rude. I just…” She tried once more. To yank her midriff closed. Just a little more, she struggled. She couldn’t let people see her just letting it all hang out. Even if Holly was a close friend. It was… embarrassing. But there just seemed to be too much belly. And it was taking way, way too much time & even more energy, fidgeting the way she was. All while balancing her plate covered in such delectably creamy, strawberry goodness. There was another knock. “Jus… just a minute.” She called out, her mass settling back as she wobbled into a more mutual position. She looked up at the monitor. “Can… can you maybe just… put me through to them?”

“If that is what you want to do.” Penny cooed. There was a bit of caution to it, as if it was something she wouldn’t have suggested. But she was obligated to do as she was instructed.

Holly, having taken the lead, stood by the door. She was still uncertain about dropping in like this, but the barbecue struck her as something of a decent motivator. With an impatient lean, she shot a glance down at the plastic bag of ribs she was holding. Rachel, almost eclipsed behind her sister’s wide hips, noticed her staring at them, wantingly. But she also wanted to remind her sister why they were there in the first place. Suddenly, the touchscreen on the door blipped on, revealing a tight, live feed of Courtney’s smiling face. In fact it was so tight, you could hardly make out the edges of it. But from Rachel’s perspective, she couldn’t quite tell if that was just the angle, or because maybe her cheeks were just the pressing out the slightest bit… further. Even fatter than she’d seen them last Friday. 

“Hey girlies! What’s going on?” she said perkily, before putting another scoop of cheesecake past her lips. “Mmmmmmmm. Sorry, I don’t really have my face on.” She continued, acknowledging her lack of make-up & the tight shot. But Holly was kind of jealous with how remarkably unblemished & smooth it was naturally. Especially considering her diet. It just seemed like she had a few more freckles than usual, like she had usually been trying to blend most of them out.

“Oh. I-i-it’s fine.” Holly said a bit timidly. When Rachel had talked her into this, she hadn’t been quite sure what to expect. But seeing her so happy? It was almost a little off-putting. “Listen, we were just getting off work for the day, & …”

“Oooh, Rachel! How are you liking it so far?” Courtney almost absent-mindedly, in trying to be thoughtful, rudely cut Holly off.

“Oh. Um.” Rachel stammered. She leaned into view, assuming some unseen live camera was giving Courtney a view of her & Holly as well. “So far so good. Thanks. A lot to write, but Dawn & Trudy seem pretty fun, I guess.” She gave a slightly beleaguered thumbs up & grin.

“Good! Good.” the girl’s round face on the touchscreen trailed, shoving another forkful of cake into her maw. After half a beat of silence, Holly tried to continue on with her train of thought.

“Anyway, so we just wanted to check in on you.” She applied a worried smile. “It’s been a couple days & you haven’t been in. To the office. I mean. So we figured we’d stop by & check on you. See how you were doing. Even bring some dinner if you were interested?” She raised the white paper bag to shoulder level & gave it a little shake, causing it to swing pendulously, almost hypnotically.

“Ooooooooh.” Courtney gasped. “What did you bring me…?” As the words left her mouth, she was a little embarrassed at just how greedy it might’ve sounded. But it slipped & there was no going back. Even despite her already full gut. And world-class, amazing cheesecake still in hand. She just always had the room.

“Ribs.” Holly flashed a devilish grin.

“Oh!” Courtney lit up. But then her belly let out something of a gurgle. Almost loud enough for them on the other end to hear. “Ohoooooh.” Her excitement suddenly shifted into more of a whining wince. Besides, what was she going to do? Let the two of them come in, let them see her sitting here with her monstrous gut hanging out for all to see, & only pig out on MORE? No. She had to think better of this. “I… already… well… sort of ate dinner, already.” She stammered awkwardly. “A huge one too.” Holly, slightly shocked by Courtney’s show of restraint didn’t seem to want to press the issue, given the situation her friend seemed to be in. Besides, if anything that just meant two huge orders for her! Her eyes moved from down on the bag up into what she thought was the camera.

“Dinner? Already? It’s just a quarter past six.” Holly, put on a smile, trying to muster up a joke. “What are you doing? Turning into some kind of old lady?”

“Har HAR!” Courtney sarcastically bit back, wagging her nose. “No, I was just... a little… Mmmmmmm… peckish earlier. So Penny offered to feed me a little earlier.” She seemed almost a little ashamed to admit. “And I was, well, just a little too hungry to say “no.” Hearing this, Rachel couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Both because of course Penny would. But now also, if Courtney actually was going to turn down ribs, that meant she felt obligated to have what would’ve been heaping share, lest her sister tackle the whole massive order on her own. Her original plan had been to try to limit herself to just the extra, small side order of mac & cheese. Didn’t hurt that standing here, in such tight proximity to Holly, she was starting to feel absolutely famished.

“So that’s your desert?” Holly inquired, noticing the cheesecake. Even just seeing it mushed sloppily into forkfuls, she could still sense how creamy & delicious it was. She had to fight off salivating. Courtney’s utter joy wasn’t helping any either.

“Omigod! It’s soooOoo good.” Her sing-song chirp gradually turned deep & guttural.

“So… no ribs then…?” Rachel felt bad pressing. Pushing more off on Courtney, while selfish & partially defeating their whole reason for “checking in on her,” was something she saw a bit more as a self-preservation tactic.

“I mean, I don’t mean to be rude. Mmmm,” She followed up with another scoop of cake. “And you girls drive the hardest bargain.” She cooed wistfully before pausing. It seemed like she was still trying to decide on the matter, & having the most difficult time with it. Her neck & shoulders swayed independently of each other, as her eyes floated upwards in deep thought. She was still mulling it over. “But… I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass.” She reluctantly settled on. “Besides, I’m already almost done with my desert!” Fat, sausage like fingers lifted a mostly clear plate with the slightest dab of cake left into view of the monitor frame.

“Okay then, Courtney,” Rachel interjected with a small sigh. “Then I guess we’ll be leaving you to it. Glad to see that you’re at least… in high spirits.” It was awkward but she didn’t know what else to say. She glanced over at Holly.

“Are you… at least going to be coming in tomorrow?” Holly asked bluntly. “I mean, Deidre? The others? We’ve been… a little worried.”

“Worried?” She laughed, but Rachel notice her cherubic cheeks redden a little. “Nothing to worry about. I’m fine. Really!” She said it in away that almost seemed more eager to convince herself than them.

“So then you’ll be in, right?” Holly pressed further. Courtney reared back a little. Rachel wasn’t too unfamiliar with serious Holly but it seemed a bit new to her friend. “I can even drive if it’ll help. Want us to text you in the morning?”

“Um.” On the other side of the door, her demeanor changed slightly. Her perkiness had suddenly turned a little pensive. She looked past her the camera in Penny’s monitor towards the bulge of her expansive belly, jutting out far in front of her. She already felt terribly guilty, not opening the door, letting them in. And turning down their generous offer of barbecue? But looking at herself, she started to question if… if it was even… possible. Since coming back late Friday evening, the only times she managed to get up, were to only make it a few yards to the restroom. And even those took so much out of her. And now, she realized she had totally left Holly hanging. “Court…?”

“No promises, but… I’ll see what I can do.” She sighed reluctantly. It seemed like the best, safest answer she could offer. And it seemed to make Holly smile. The first glimmer of one that seemed genuine this whole time. And infectiously, Courtney started too. But then she noticed an arm offering up another slice of cheesecake, smothered in strawberry glaze. “Oooooooooh.” She cooed.

“What is it?” Rachel asked. From their perspective, it was happening off screen.

“Oh, um, nothing.” Courtney looked down the barrel of the camera again with a sheepish grin. She suddenly seemed a little rushed. “I-I gotta go. Hopefully we’ll talk… tomorrow?” The sisters heard what sounded like a fork hitting a plate. The same noise they had heard just before each of Courtney’s scoops before.

“Yeah. Talk to you tomorrow.” Holly said, still smiling a little.

“Good night!” Courtney lifted a forkful of cake into view, just as the monitor blipped back off. But the loud, almost orgasmic moan that ensued after what seemed like the inevitable bite she was about to take was clear as day through the door.

“Let’s… um…” Rachel nodded, feeling a little awkward, hearing just how into that cake Courtney was. Holly slowly followed suit, her smile slowly fading with a series of sighs, as both women made their way towards the elevator. Once they were on, Rachel hit the button before Holly finally seemed ready to make something of a stunning admission.

“I hate to say this but…” She paused. It seemed almost a bit difficult for her. “But maybe you were right.” They turned to face each other. “Maybe she DOES have a problem.” Rachel’s eyes tightened into a long clench before blinking back open & catching her sister’s again.

“And to be clear, this is directed way more towards you than as any sort of dispersion towards her & her condition right now, but: “UH DUH, DO YA THINK?!” She hollered, suppressing as much “I-toldja-so” laugh as she could.

Holly’s brow dipped into an angry expression. And even after delivering it, Rachel felt pretty bad. She realized how immature & straight-up insensitive a reaction it was, especially given Holly’s reluctance to even do this in the first place. Still, her eyes turned forward again towards the elevator door. She was just happy her sister was finally, maybe, just coming around to the idea that something was definitely fucked here in this stupid building! She kind of wanted to brag about it, shove it in Penny’s face, knowing that bitch was listening in. But she settled on a restrained grin. 

In the end though, the joke ended up being mostly on her. Not only was it Holly’s turn to watch whatever dumb shows she wanted to watch, but her speculation about the ribs? It played out pretty much exactly as she expected. Watching a seemingly helpless Holly pile them up on her already full plate, she felt some kind of sisterly obligation to make her own sizable dent. Even if only to prevent Holly from overdoing it, yet again. And to be clear, as she kept trying to tell herself, this was in no way just an excuse she was making to justify trying to satisfy her own ravenous hunger. This was her, helping her escape a perilously obese fate! Like Courtney’s!

Either way, an hour later, she slouched turgidly on the couch, slowly nursing the last of the small mac & cheese she had originally ordered for herself. The one that she had originally intended on being her entire meal. Hardly able to move, now she was the helpless one. Forced to watch vapid, plastic thirty year olds on this show that were supposed to be college freshmen for a fourth season, give the most stilted line reads imaginable, in what was supposed to be a drama about campus life. Between the cringey nature of Holly’s show & her stuffed belly, in that exact moment, she sort of wanted to die.

“Are you going to finish that?” An eager Holly pointed at the now mostly cold paper cup of macaroni. Rachel must not have noticed that after the ribs & the cornbread were all gone, she had been eyeing it for the past ten minutes. They were both already sporting food babies, albeit one a bit flabbier than the other, but still, Holly showed little to no signs of stopping. Mooshing through the cup with her plastic cup one last time, a disgusted Rachel eventually flapped it towards her sister’s general direction. “MMMmmm, thanks!” Holly snatched it away quickly, leaning into devote more of her undivided attention towards the show.

“Euuunnngh.” Rachel moaned softly, her head rolling towards the ceiling. She desperately needed to get out of here. Just then, she heard Holly scraping the bottom of the paper cup. She had downed the mac & cheese in seconds. Even with it being all gross & cold. The very idea of it almost made Rachel want to rush to the bathroom & lean over the toilet. Then, almost as if on cue, Penny chimed in.

“Hope you girls do not mind,” She started. Rachel looked over to see two mechanical arms carrying two plates of what looked like… cheesecake? “I noticed Miss Courtney enjoying this so much & figured I would try out this same recipe.”

“Oooooh!” Holly cooed. “Penny, you’re the best!!”

“Hhhheeeeennnnnnnnnnnuuuuugggghhhhh!” As loud as it was, it was all Rachel could possibly offer in disagreement.