Martha always told anyone who would listen that she thought she was the luckiest girl in the world. A small legacy from her grandfather meant that she got through college without having to take out even a single student loan. And just as she was graduating with an English degree and absolutely no idea what to do with it, what did she do? She won the lottery. Seriously, she won the actual state lottery. Nine hundred thousand dollars after taxes, just dumped right into her lap.
Not enough for an ultra-wealthy lifestyle; but Martha had lived in Hershey, Pennsylvania her whole life, and she'd always known what she wanted to do for a living if she got the chance. And now, it had happened--she was one of the few, the proud, the chocolate taste-testers! It didn't pay much--just a small stipend in exchange for filling out detailed forms on the taste, smell, and texture of the candy she got from the company--but as far as her sweet tooth was concerned, it was a dream job. She got to eat candy for a living! It didn't make dieting any easier, of course, but Martha had long ago resigned herself to shopping in the plus-size section of the department store.
Yes, Martha had thought for a long time now that she was the luckiest girl in the world. But today, she knew it.
"Let me get this straight, Doctor Tanner," she said. "You're telling me that eating these chocolates will actually make me lose weight?"
Doctor Tanner smiled. It went a long way to relieving the somewhat severe effect of her appearance. She clearly went out of her way to dress professionally, hiding her green eyes behind a pair of thick glasses and pulling her blonde hair back into a tight bun. "Please, Ms Radcliffe," she said, "call me Cassidy. And I'm quite serious. You see, the human brain has developed certain survival mechanisms over the eons, instincts that have helped us stay alive in times when our food supply has been uncertain. Our brains instruct our bodies to find foods that are high in fats and sugars--quick energy in the immediate future that can be transformed into fatty tissue and stored for later use when food is scarce."
"You don't need to tell me about that," Martha said, smiling ruefully and looking down at her own ample belly. "I know all about craving sugar."
"And it's exactly those cravings that I'm talking about," Cassidy said. "You're simply a highly adapted lifeform, that's all. A machine designed to store energy as efficiently as possible. Your mind might know that there's plenty of food in the cupboard, but your body is telling you to watch out because famine could be just around the corner. That's where these chocolates come in."
"What," Martha said, "they're...appetite suppressants?"
"Not exactly," Cassidy replied. She held up her hands, palms out. "You see, there are certain key regions of your brain responsible for regulating your body's input and output. On the one hand, it generates cravings for food..." She lifted her right hand up. "And on the other, it's instructing your body not to use any of the energy it's stored as fat, and keeping your metabolism low." She lowered her left hand. "So suppressing your appetite alone wouldn't do the job, because you'd still have trouble losing the weight you already have."
Martha nodded. "I tried those diet shakes for a month, you know, back when I was in college. They tasted terrible, I was always hungry, and do you know how much I lost? Two pounds."
"That's where the chocolates come in," Cassidy said. "They contain a chemical that stimulates a part of your brain that synchronizes your appetite with your metabolism. So the more of these special chocolates you have," she continued, slowly returning her hands to their old position, "the better your body judges how much you need to eat and how fast it uses up the energy, until--" She snapped her fingers with both hands, and dropped them back down to the desk. "You're at your ideal weight, and your body keeps a healthy metabolic balance. None of the dangers of stimulants, none of the risk of diuretics...the perfect weight-loss program. The only real question is how it tastes...and that's where you come in."
Martha wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She'd actually had dreams just like this, about chocolate you could eat as much of as you wanted without gaining weight, and this was even better. "It sounds..." She fluttered her hands in excitement. "Go ahead and back up the truck, Doc!" she cried out.
Cassidy chuckled. "Well, there are a few formalities to be worked out. Since this is a bit more involved than just adding a new layer of caramel, we'll need you to sign a few extra release forms." She slid a small sheaf of papers across the desk to Martha. "Just standard legalese, nothing to worry about."
Martha skimmed the forms, her eyes glazing over just a little as she tried to wade through the incomprehensible legal jargon. It looked pretty straightforward, just a release from indemnity in the event of any side effects. She looked up at Cassidy. "Side effects?" she asked. "Like what?" She remembered hearing about some of the side effects of that olestra stuff, words getting tossed around like 'anal leakage', and shivered.
Cassidy shook her head. "We haven't noticed any problems in the test animals; but since it acts on brain chemistry, we can't rule out an effect on your moods or your feelings, something subtle that might not show up in a cat or a rat." She reached into her desk and brought out a small leather-bound notebook. "Which is why we'd like you to keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings while you're testing the chocolates, just to supplement the weekly interviews. Anything that you feel is a significant change to your thoughts or emotions, just write it down in here."
Martha took the notebook, then scribbled her signature on the release forms. "Alright," she said. "Anything else I should know?"
"Nothing comes to mind," Cassidy said, standing up and heading over to a refrigerated cabinet. "Of course, standard non-disclosure agreements apply, don't go sneaking this stuff off to other candy companies...or to diet food makers, for that matter." She pulled out a plain white cardboard box and handed it to Martha. "There shouldn't be any side effects from overdosing, but try to make those last all week."
Martha grinned. "If this works, that shouldn't be too hard, right?"
Cassidy smiled right along with her. "Let's hope not. Anyhow, I'll see you next Monday at the same time...oh, and make sure to keep track of your weight. We'd like to know how fast the pounds melt away for the ad campaign."
With a nod and a chuckle, Martha made her way out of Cassidy's lab. She always liked visiting the labs--Martha had never really felt responsible enough to own a pet, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the trip past the rows and rows of lab animals playing in their cages. She pressed her finger to the bars as a cat rubbed up against it, and watched the rabbits for a moment...until she realized just what they were doing, then she blushed crimson and headed rapidly for the door. They were known for it, after all, but still...
When she got home, she tossed the journal by her bed, put the box of chocolates in the fridge (Cassidy hadn't said to keep them cool, but it probably couldn't hurt) and pulled out one for right now. With a slight grimace of anticipation, she popped it into her mouth, fully prepared to have her favorite flavor overwhelmed by yucky medicine. But no, all she could taste was the smooth, rich, sweet flavor of milk chocolate on her tongue.
Martha smiled contentedly. Luckiest girl in the world.
*****
There were twenty-one chocolates in the box, enough to have one with every meal for the next seven days. Which wasn't quite enough chocolate for Martha's tastes, but she had more than enough candy around the house to supplement the miraculous little bon-bons.
And 'miraculous' was exactly the word. By dinnertime on the first day, Martha found enough energy to dust the kitchen cupboards, mop the dining room floor, and finally get around to rearranging the bookshelves in her living room while she watched TV. She remembered Cassidy's comments about metabolism; obviously, her body had decided to turn a little of that fat back into "get up and go", and she was definitely getting up and going. She felt more productive than she had in years.
Even when her bedtime rolled around, Martha felt like she had a little bit too much pep to get to sleep. She lay down in bed, but instead of feeling tired like she usually did, she felt oddly...restless. Like there was something her body wanted to tell her, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Something...
She wiggled around for a moment, suddenly aware of how warm she was under the covers. She felt a strange tightness between her thighs, a sort of... Even in the privacy of her own house and the darkness of her own room, Martha found herself blushing. Was that what it was? She'd never had much of a sex drive, not even when she was a teenager. Chocolate always seemed to last longer, and it never turned you down for a date. But tonight, all this excess energy just seemed to be heading straight to her hips, as it were.
Shy she may be, but Martha wasn't completely clueless. If her body was telling her it had some needs to take care of, she knew how to handle it. She reached down between her legs and started rubbing her pussy, almost shocked at how wet it already was. It felt like she'd needed this all night long, like her body had been just waiting for her to stop fiddling around with the housework and get straight to fingering herself.
"Mmmmnnnh..." Martha's tiny moan sounded surprisingly loud in the empty house, but she didn't care. It wasn't like anyone was going to hear her, she thought as her other hand snaked up to her breasts and began rhythmically pinching her nipples, first one then the other. She could scream like a banshee, moan and whimper and yell in the throes of passion if she wanted. She could do anything, no matter how perverted, and nobody would know. The thought enthralled her and made her fingers piston all the quicker in and out of her slick pussy.
Martha's legs spread wider, now, her body opening up to give her fingers more access to her needy pussy. She heard herself panting loudly for breath as she rubbed her clit with her thumb, and her whole body tensed and relaxed in time with her motions. She felt hot, tight surges of pleasure flowing up from her pussy through her whole body, sensitizing her skin where it brushed against the sheets and making her quiver at the sensations. She clenched her eyes tightly shut, and her hips bucked and thrust upward to meet her hand as she added a third finger and kept pumping away, so close now, so very...
She let out a loud, animal grunt as she came, feeling her juices drench her fingers as her pussy clenched and spasmed around her hand. It felt better than she'd ever remembered before, and the dreamy bliss of the afterglow seemed to cling to her as she sagged back down against the mattress and let herself drift off to sleep.
