Coed Turned Housewife, Ch. 2 - "Chelsea's First Time(?)"
The second in a series about innocent Chelsea Pelham and her handsome professor, Dr. Mark Benning.
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Instead of sleeping that night, Chelsea Pelham thought for hours about what to do. She already knew Dr. Benning's lab was doing something abnormal to the young women who worked there. She herself experienced a freakish breast growth - from A-cup to DD's - in only a few short months.
Now, in the lab that afternoon, she had secretly overheard him encourage a grad student to collect data on breast growth - even if it meant drugging the girl. Dr. Benning had point-blank encouraged the student to commit a date-rape, practically! Chelsea blushed thinking of the word "rape." She had never discussed such things with her friends at the Christian student center.
If Chelsea became a whistle-blower on Dr. Benning and told the administration what she had overheard, she didn't think they were very likely to believe her. The publicized purpose of Dr. Benning's lab was to study frog ovulation. Currently only bawdy student gossip connected the Benning lab to the dozens of large-breasted girls who were beginning to populate campus.
In fact, just that week, Chelsea's current crush Joey had teased her about working in the "Big-Titty" lab. Chelsea like Joey a lot, but she was devout, a virgin, and scared of dating after years of wide-eyed Young Life conversations had convinced her that sex only comes after marriage. She always kept Joey at an arm's-length, but they had kissed (quickly) on the mouth a few times and exchanged a few midly flirtatious texts. She always sent him a little kiss-face emoji with a nice pink flower, which he answered with a purple eggplant that she didn't quite understand the meaning of. She thought it was funny how much he loved that specific vegetable.
Lying in bed for hours that night, her chestnut hair streaming around her pillow and onto the swollen breasts that strained against her flannel nightgown, Chelsea decided she needed to speak to Dr. Benning directly and confront him with her suspicions. She would secretly record his response in order to get the administration to take her seriously. She knew that if she confronted him, he had to make some kind of compromising admission. She knew that what his lab was doing was wrong, unethical, and probably illegal.
Emailing Dr. Benning the following morning, she requested a meeting with the handsome young PhD for that afternoon. He quickly emailed a meeting invite, which she accepted. On approaching his office door at the appointed time, she was surprised to find him standing by the locked door with his briefcase.
"Miss Pelham, Chelsea, there you are, right on time. I wonder if we can make this a walking meeting to grab a bite to eat? I haven't had time for a break all day and am starving. Are you hungry? Can I help carry your bag?" She was put off-guard by his chivalry, but had actually skipped lunch as well. She agreed to go with him.
They chatted politely until they reached a diner near campus, where they slid into a small booth. As the waitress set down their cutlery, they both ordered sodas. "Make mine diet, please," requested Dr. Benning. The waitress nodded and walked away.
Chelsea made a face. "How can you drink that diet stuff? It tastes like nothing but chemicals!"
Dr. Benning grinned. "What's wrong with chemicals? They're my livelihood. Besides, I have to preserve my youthful figure."
Chelsea flushed remembering that so-called "youthful figures" were just what she had come to corner him about. She reminded herself nervously that she was there to get him on record with damning evidence of his wrongdoings, but she didn't feel comfortable confronting him just yet about the topic. This was not going exactly as planned. Besides, she needed to activate the voice recorder on her phone. She excused herself to go to the restroom.
When she returned, she sat down and nonchalantly took a long sip of her soda. "Ew!" She exclaimed with real disgust. "They must have mixed them up. I think I'm drinking the diet!" She looked meaningfully at Dr. Benning's soda, and he blandly took a small sip from his straw.
"Nope, mine's diet too. We can get you another one?" He scanned the crowded diner. "Might be a minute though. Looks like she's the only server on duty."
Chelsea gave a defeated groan. "It's fine, I'll just sip this yucky chemical cocktail." A smile played about Dr. Benning's lips that made Chelsea feel a little uncomfortable. His eyes twinkled mischievously and she felt a little self-conscious as he watched her sipping her drink. The fries seemed extra salty that day, and she had quickly finished her diet soda and ordered another drink, this time making sure the order was for the regular type of cola. The waitress insisted she had not made a mistake previously, but said she would make sure to bring the right kind the second time around.
After they had eaten most of their burgers and fries, Chelsea began valiantly to try to bring up the subject of the lab assistants' breast growth. Something was wrong, though. She found herself increasingly tongue-tied and having difficulty keeping her train of thought. She brought up the lab several times, but Dr. Benning deftly turned the conversation back to her each time, learning about her family background, her parents' careers, her religious beliefs, her nebulous career ambitions. He seemed to draw out of her more information than she wanted to reveal, and she found herself blurting things out without her usual poise and reserve.
"So, why are you at the university?" He finally asked. "Your plans seem fuzzy."
"I don't know exactly. I guess to study," Chelsea said thickly.
"To study, or to meet boys?" Dr. Benning teased with eyebrows raised. He wasn't much older than a boy himself, so his question came off as a little flirtatious. Chelsea would have ignored it normally, but her social graces seemed to have left her.
"Well, I haven't met any yet. I'm a virgin until marriage." She blurted unthinkingly.
His eyes flashed. "That's an old-fashioned approach. I'm sure you'll change your mind, though, they all do." He glanced around the room casually. "Miss Pelham, I think we're done eating and I sense you still haven't said what you came to say to me. Let's continue this conversation across the street, where it's a little more private."
Chelsea gazed through the glass window to the location he indicated - Euphoria, a swank bar she had never been in.
"Ok, but you know I'm too young to drink." She slurred thickly. "I've never been in a bar." She didn't think to question it further. Was it abnormal to go to bars with professors? What would her friends from church think? She couldn't stop to question the implications, as Dr. Benning ushered her out into the late afternoon sun.
Walking into Euphoria, few patrons were inside the cool, modern bar. A bartender dressed in black was drying glasses at the end of the bar, ignoring them. No waitress greeted them. It felt intensely private, almost desolate.
