A New Drug (Closed for Alexa2Please)

[EndHits]

Cory Foster held the small, cylindrical inhaler delicately in his right hand. It was the culmination of two years of work; a pharmaceutical wonder that would transform him from lowly graduate student to a world renowned research physician. There would be a bidding war and he would be instantly wealthy. A warm smile crossed his face and he slid a hand through his shaggy brown hair. This medication was going to help people, which was the real reward. He placed the inhaler into its plastic casing and slid it back into the cabinet drawer.

"So it's done," a voice came from across the lab. It was Eric, his loyal research assistant. He was still an undergraduate and rarely sober, but he did his job well regardless. The two men had spent a lot of late nights on this project. "This is a great moment, my friend."

Cory nodded subtly, the smile still plastered on his face. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. We still have to test its effects. We don't know how strong it is, we don't really know how effective it will be. But it'll work. We know that much." He walked across the room extending a hand to his assistant, his friend. "You did well, Eric. Put this on your resume and you'll get into any medical school of your choice."

Eric patted Cory on his shoulder and they made their way out of the laboratory. "Well, when do we begin testing?" he asked mid-stride.

"I actually had Victoria print up some flyers to post around campus this evening. With any luck we can start interviewing potential candidates tomorrow," Cory replied as they rounded the corner of the long university hallway. "Exciting, huh?"

"Incredibly," Eric stopped dead in his tracks. "Cory, we've created a permanent solution to female sexual dysfunction. Think about the kind of money Viagra makes. That's going to be us. The sooner we find a candidate, the sooner we can buy our matching Rolls Royces'."

Cory rolled his eyes and laughed under his breath, continuing down the hallway. "Money is the root of all evil, Eric, haven't you heard? Sex, on the other hand, is the root of all good. And with any luck, that inhaler is going to help a lot of people, have a lot of sex." Continuing the hallway, Cory finally stopped at the front desk. Victoria, their secretary, gave him a brief glance over the tips of her glasses and handed him a stack of flyers. She was an attractive woman in her mid-thirties, but the scowl on her face always scared men away. Cory had learned long ago that she wasn't terribly interested in flirtation, even of the light variety.

"It's all there, Mr. Foster," she said with a thick New Jersey accent.

"Thanks Victoria," Cory grinned and grabbed his briefcase from the wall rack. He turned to Eric. "I know you're planning on going out to celebrate. I'll meet you a little later - I'm gonna post these in a few prime locations."

"No problem, boss." Eric gave him a small salute and walked out the door.

Cory held up the flyer and gave it one final review:

"Are you a woman who finds it difficult to get aroused?
Do you want to take control of your love life?
The University of Columbia's Center for Sexual Health Research is conducting studies of a new medication that could help you with this intimate problem.
You will be monetarily compensated for your time and effort.​

Tossing the flyers into his briefcase, Cory made his way onto campus. The sun was setting and students' were preparing to leave their final classes of the day. Making his way through the dorms, the dining halls, and the student commons, Cory posted the flyers where as many eyes as possible would fall onto them.

 

[Alexa2please]

Alexa winced when she looked at the balance at the ATM. She had withdrawn twenty dollars, and that left her with $1.87 in the bank. Not exactly a fortune. She had spent all summer busting her ass at the restaurant, dealing with surly cooks, stupid dishwashers and the petty, mean, nasty, demanding, idiotic customers, and she had nothing left. She knew she should have picked up a few shifts over christmas break, but the thought of all the perverts just made her sick.

Not that the guys at college were much better, but at least she didn't have to pretend to like them. The simple truth was that ever since she had grown up and her body had blossomed so voluptuously, every single guy she met had been a pervert. Some of them hid it better than others, but most of them couldn't take their eyes off her chest, and they all practically oozed lust. It was repulsive.

As long as she could remember, she had found the whole idea of sex kind of disgusting. The idea that half the people in the world wanted to stick parts of their body into her was simply nauseating, and she was too smart to fall into the romance trap. One boy she had dated, a few times. He took her to the prom, and she had been excited about her dress and how beautiful she looked and how handsome he was. He had kissed her, and that had been tolerable, at least until he shoved his tongue in her mouth and grabbed her breast. He was the nicest, politest guy she knew, and he still wouldn't take no for an answer until she bloodied his nose with a sharp elbow.

That was the end of her love life, and as far as she was concerned, it should never have begun. She sometimes looked at herself and wondered why she had been cursed with a pretty face and pretty blonde hair, not to mention a body that filled men's heads with the most disgusting thoughts. Many of which, they felt the need to share.

She headed for the Dining Hall. At least her fees were paid, so she could eat, but she knew she would need money, eventually. If only she could find something to do other than waiting tables. She saw the flyer as she swiped her ID, and she grabbed it off the wall. Difficult to get aroused? How about impossible? Take control of her love life? If she was in control, there wouldn't be a love life, so yes. Monetarily compensated was the important thing, and if the medication was developed by the University, how bad could it be? She grabbed a salad for dinner and scanned the flyer again while she ate, but it all seemed legitimate.

The next morning, after her 8am English class, she went to the Center for Sexual Health Research, which was appropriately hidden away in the basement of the University Medical and Health Sciences Building. She wore jeans and a university sweatshirt a couple of sizes too big that still couldn't entirely hide the swell of her Fcup breasts. She slid the flyer onto the desk of the scowling older woman in the front office.

"Are you still looking for people?"

 

[EndHits]

Cory rustled through a stack of paperwork, double checking the legality of human testing on his creation. They had filed numerous reports with the FDA and they had all returned positive, but one final glance couldn't hurt them. Sliding them into his top desk drawer, he sipped on his hot cup of coffee. His mind wandered. It was a shame that he didn't have anyone to share his success with, but his research had taken up all of his time. Truthfully, Cory wasn't interested in love, not at this point in life at least. He needed to focus, but too often in his studies of the effects of the drug, he would drift off into fantasy. It wouldn't just create arousal in women, it would create desire: a desire to try new things, to experiment, to explore all aspects of lust. And he would be lying if he ignored his own bodies' response to these possibilities.

A knock came at his office door and without waiting for his answer, Victoria entered. "Looks like we've got one, Mr. Foster. Guess my design skills didn't go to waste."

With sex on his mind, Cory couldn't help but to notice Victoria's particularly short-skirt, highlighting her exquisite legs. He stopped staring before being caught, "Ummm...excellent...excellent, Victoria!" He stood from behind his desk, adjusting his lab coat to hide his arousal. "I'll come out to meet her, just give me one moment."

Victoria nodded and closed the door behind her. Cory took one last swig of his coffee, ridding his mind of erotic thoughts so as to appear professional. Following his secretary into the hallway, he slipped his head into Eric's office. "Get into the lab and prepare the medication, we might have a test subject. I'm going to bring her into my office for the pre-examination."

Eric glanced up with a beaming smile, "I'm on it, man."

Cory hurried to the front desk, but as he rounded the final corner he stopped in his tracks. She was standing in front of Victoria: a statuesque beauty with a voluptuous figure. Her blonde hair flowed down the back of a University sweatshirt - that despite its bagginess, still managed to cling to her perfect breasts. He was in awe. How could someone so beautiful have problems that my drug could solve? Cory suspected she was in it for the money, but he wasn't about to turn her down. He needed to get closer to...examine her medically.

Approaching her from behind, Cory cleared his throat softly and extended his right hand forward. "Hello, my name's Cory Foster, lead researcher for the Center. Victoria tells me you're interested in helping us with our little experiment?" He reached across the front desk and grabbed a hold of the clipboard at its edge, taking a glimpse at her paperwork. For a moment, he locked eyes with her. "Seems that your paperwork checks out. Would you care to follow me back to my office and we can discuss the details of what we're doing?" Cory gave a charming smile, desperately attempting to control his wandering glare.

 

[Alexa2please]

She heard the woman coming back in after a few moments, but she didn't look up. She knew someone was with her. Knew it was a man, from the sudden hitch of breath and the long pause that followed it. She never turned to look right away. Give them time to control the animal in them. Give them time to leash the dogs before she acknowledged them. She waited, counting seconds, until he cleared his throat.

When she turned, she gave a frosty smile. She didn't mean to be bitchy, but the simple fact was, she needed to let him know right away where he stood, which was no closer than arm's length. She shook his hand and waited while he looked over the paperwork.

"I'm Alexa Randolph," she said, shaking his hand as quickly as possible. "I'll help with your research, if there's no risk, and of course, as long as I'm compensated." The form she had filled out promised a pretty good payoff, better than she'd make waiting tables for a month, but she was still unsure of the situation as she followed him into his office. Was this for real, or was he some kind of academic hustler? She pursed her lips and sighed as she saw his gaze dip down to her breasts. "I don't mean to be rude, but suppose we cut to the chase. What exactly are you asking me to do?"

 

[EndHits]

"Absolutely, Ms. Randolph, I'm sure your time is very valuable." Cory leaned forward onto his desk, placing his elbows flat along its surface. "I hope you don't mind me speaking frankly, but our work is in the area of sexuality, so it's necessary. My colleagues and I have been working on a medication that will assist in female sexual arousal." He smiled, pointing to a diagram of the effects of the medication on the vagina that covered the back wall of his office. "However, it doesn't just provide physical treatment, it effects the patient psychologically. It stimulates the area of the mind that coincides with lust and desire." With a similar gesture, he minded to the opposite side of the wall to a second diagram of the human brain.

"Perhaps the best part of this treatment is that it is both safe and easy. While we haven't done any direct human testing, all of the pheromones contained within are completely natural and have never had any known negative side effects. The treatment is delivered by inhaling a mist through a device similar to those you see patients' of asthma use. You don't even have to swallow a pill." Cory reached into the top drawer of his desk, pulling out a contract and laying it out in front of Alexa. He maintained soft eye contact. "As for compensation, you'll receive $2000 a week for as long as testing continues. If the tests are successful and we continue forward with the sale and marketing of the medication, you'll have all of your student loans paid off by the department."

He extended his hand forward and used a finger to point to a specific clause, "Of course, there is a nondisclosure agreement. You can't reveal any the of ingredients or specifics of the medication to any individual or corporation. Otherwise, it should just be a routine experiment."

Cory than stood and flipped the contract. Beneath was a small questionnaire. "If this all interests you, than simply fill out the questionnaire and meet us in the lab down the hall to the right."

The questionnaire contained only four questions:
1. How would you rate your sex drive on a scale from 1-10, one being the lowest, ten being the greatest?
2. Are you currently involved in a sexual relationship? If so, how often do you have sex?
3. When did you become sexually aware? What was your initial reaction to human sexuality?
4. What are your current feelings toward sex? If they are adverse, what about sex do you dislike?

The graduate student smiled, moving towards the door to his office. He scanned over her gorgeous body one more time, his mind racing. He hadn't expected someone so...beautiful to apply. "I'll give you some privacy to think about all of this. Do you have any questions for me?"

 

[Alexa2please]

She listened carefully, nodding her head and knowing this was a terrible idea. Arousal? She wasn't even sure she wanted to be aroused, and she was fairly sure that all the diagrams on the wall were just some weird, geeked out version of porn. She gave him credit for not staring too much, now that they were in the office, but she didn't want to discuss the particulars of her sexuality with anyone, particularly not this pseudo-scientist. If he really wanted to do some good, why wasn't he curing diseases instead of trying to turn girls on?

She was just about to stand up and make a polite excuse when he told her what they were offering to pay. She leaned back in her seat, studying him. There was no sign of bullshit, and looking the way she did, she had a nose for it. Was he a creep? Yes, but she thought he was an honest creep, and two thousand a week was not something she was going to walk away from without reading the fine print. She was still scanning the contract when he left the room.

Reaching the end, she found the questionnaire and quickly filled it in.

1. How would you rate your sex drive on a scale from 1-10, one being the lowest, ten being the greatest?

1

2. Are you currently involved in a sexual relationship? If so, how often do you have sex?

I am not involved. I do not have sex.

3. When did you become sexually aware? What was your initial reaction to human sexuality?

I first became aware of sex when we were taught about it in school. At the time, I thought it sounded fairly gross. Still do.


4. What are your current feelings toward sex? If they are adverse, what about sex do you dislike?

I have no interest in sex. I wouldn't think about it at all if it weren't constantly being pushed on me by what others say and do. As it is, I find the whole thing annoying.

She signed the forms and then took the packet to the lab. She slid it across the table to the researcher and gave a small nod.

"OK," she said. "I'll do it."

 

[EndHits]

Cory opened the glass door to the laboratory, striding with a spring in his step. He could barely contain his excitement. If the tests' were a success, they were only a few weeks away; and to work with a woman so sumptuous was an added bonus. He had planned on asking her the questions aloud instead of having her write her answers, but she seemed nervous, even a bit disgusted by their discussion. She had been cold and obviously suspicious. But who wouldn't be? They weren't curing cancer or treating the common cold, they were making an active attempt to increase the sexual output of women. Cory knew that their goal was noble, but from the outside, it certainly looked anything but.

Eric was in the far corner of the room, filling the inhaler canister with the necessary pheromones. Something is wrong, thought Cory. Eric had been standing there for too long. He had filled the canister with too much medication. Cory darted over to his assistant, "Eric, what the hell are you doing? That's too much!"

"Too much?" Eric turned and grinned. "You must not know Alexa Randolph. Listen man, my best friend had a huge crush on her freshmen year. He bought her flowers. He paid for dinner after dinner. He tried desperately to get to know her. But she's not just adverse to sex, she's adverse to affection. It disgusts her, like you have no idea. She needs a huge dose if this is going to work."

Cory sighed as he heard the door behind him open. Alexa walked in, sitting on the examination table. "I'll do it," she said hesitantly. There was no whimsical desire for sexual release, no frustration, no passion. Cory had no doubt that she was doing it for the money, but he didn't care. They were doing it for the money too. Eric placed the inhaler in his hand and he firmly gripped onto it, as if squeezing it for luck. He had placed eight times the normal dose inside. It couldn't be dangerous - after all, the medication was all natural - but it was going to be potent.

"Ms. Randolph, this is my assistant Eric. He'll be sitting in on sessions from time-to-time to take notes for me when we're going through more intensive tests, but for today, you just have to take the medication for the first time." Cory grabs her left hand softly, sliding the inhaler onto her palm. "Place the device to your mouth and breathe in for ten seconds. As a warning, you might feel a little light-headed."

Cory took a step back, looking over to Eric whose eyes were alight with wonder. Cory spoke deliberately with a reassuring tone. He didn't want to scare Alexa off. Despite her coldness, she seemed interesting. He had no doubt that her hardened exterior was simply a learned behavior. "You won't feel anything at first, it should take at least twenty-four hours to take effect. The physical effects take a bit longer than the psychological effects. Don't be surprised if you find yourself fantasizing just a few minutes after your first session. That's completely normal."

He stopped speaking for a moment, letting the medication seep in. "Are you okay, Alexa?"

 

[Alexa2please]

When she walked into the room, she heard the sigh and felt the tension between the two men. She could tell they had been talking about her and she almost walked away. She saw the looks that they were exchanging. There was some kind of disagreement and she wasn't sure that she wanted to put herself in their hands. She even recognized the assistant. He had been friends with some would-be stud who had hounded her for a few months her freshman year before he finally got the message that she didn't want a boyfriend.

She nodded her head to Eric, remembering that he had been some kind of pharmacology major. So maybe they were legit. Maybe the look he was giving her was just because he remembered her from two years ago. She knew well enough what guys thought of her. In general, they told her screaming in frustrated rage when they finally figured out that she wouldn't fuck them, or let them touch her breasts, or kiss them, or do any of the ugly, sexual crap they expected her to do. Eric's friend had stood outside her dorm, and called her a slut and a whore so loud that someone called security on him. She had laughed at the time, since he was calling her those things because she was the opposite.

She knew she was unusual. She knew that guys wanted her, and that they ended up hating her when she wouldn't give in to them. When she was a freshman, she had made the mistake of thinking she could be friends with them, that if she just made it clear that she wasn't interested in sex, they'd understand. She hadn't made that mistake since, and she wasn't going to make it here.

She'd be their guinea pig, because she needed the money, but that was it.

She took the canister and brought it to her lips. She pressed down and inhaled.

It burned. It hurt worse than smoking. She felt it in her lungs, and she shook her head, gasping for air. Then the burning sensation was gone. Her heart was pounding with fear, and she realized that for a second it had felt like she was drowning. Tears were welling up in her eyes and she dabbed them away rather than encourage either of the men to do anything gallant.

If she was going to get paid, though, she had nine and a half seconds to go. She readied herself, and inhaled the rest of the dose. It was just as bad as the first taste, but this time she was prepared, and she made it through the full time before she pulled the thing away and coughed. She coughed for a while, until her sides ached and her throat felt scraped raw.

"First note, you can't expect people to breathe this," she croaked. "I don't care how well this works, nobody's going to want to feel that." Of course, she didn't know that the drug was eight times as concentrated as it should be.

The immediate discomfort stopped her noticing some of the other effects the drug was having on her. There was a tingling sensitivity to her skin and a warmth growing low down in her belly that any other woman would have recognized as arousal. To her, it was just a strange sensation somewhere between a tickle and an itch. Of course her heart was beating faster and she was breathing deep, but she thought that was from nearly drowning on whatever they had given her.

"So, is that it for today?" she said, her voice a harsh rasp coming through her dry throat.

 

[EndHits]

Cory reached out, gently resting a comforting hand on Alexa's shoulder. "I apologize for any discomfort. Thanks for being so honest, we'll be sure to put that down in our notes." He gave a quick glance to Eric, who quickly began taking down Alexa's response on a disorganized notepad. "We'll make sure to fix that for the next session. I want you to be completely comfortable." Smiling, Cory moved to the opposite side of the room, opening a clinical white drawer and pulling out a stethoscope and blood pressure machine.

"Unfortunately, we're not quite done yet. We have to take a few basic readings in order to see how the medication is effecting your heart rate and your blood pressure. It won't be any different than your average check up." Cory grabbed the edge of the sleeve of Alexa's sweatshirt, slowly drawing it up her arm. He wrapped the rubber cuff around her sleek bicep and pressed the cold stethoscope onto the space just above her joint. The readings were negligible at best. Alexa had a perfectly average blood pressure for a student her age. "Eric, there appears to be little impact on blood pressure." Glancing up into her gorgeous eyes, Cory grinned, "It looks like you're perfectly healthy. At least in terms of your blood pressure."

However, as he continued to listen to the monotonous beats of her heart, Cory noticed that her heart rate was ever so slowly increasing, as if she was climbing a gentle incline. It was nothing to worry about, but it could be the first sign that the drug was having its intended effect. Sliding the cuff off of Alexa's arm, Cory rested the equipment to the left of his patient on the examination table. "Eric, there does seem to be a general increase in the patients' heart rate. Mark that as something to come back to in the future."

The graduate student slid a hand into his pocket and withdrew the programs' check book. With the click of his pen and a few scrawled letters, Cory handed the first $2000 check to Alexa, along with his personal business card. "Well Alexa, I can't tell you how happy we are to have you as our patient. Here's your first payment, as well as a way to get a hold of me if you have anything you need to talk to me about. You can call me any time, day or night. We're really interested in learning about your progress outside of the examination room, so please give me a ring if you there's any kind of impact on your life."

 

[Alexa2please]

She looked at the hand on her shoulder for a moment, and for a second, she actually thought she liked it there. The touch wasn't aggressive or invasive, it was sort of nice. She almost smiled, but then she looked up and saw the expression of phony concern, and she remembered. Men. There was no kindness or decency in them that wasn't part of some ploy to get sex. She had learned that long ago, and tolerating this hand on her shoulder now would only encourage more familiarity later. Still, she let it stay for a moment before she cleared her throat and drew away.

She shook off the apology. It wasn't really necessary. The moment of fear had passed, and she was back to herself. Mostly. There was still what she thought was the lingering effect of panic, the way her heart was pounding, still, and the flush of heat that seemed to fill her. She watched the assistant, Evan? Eric? scribbling notes as Cory proceeded to take her blood pressure. For a moment, when his hand brushed against the skin of her arm, she felt a stab of sensation, something that was even pleasant, and reminded her of the feel of the warm ocean's water enveloping her, the smell of cinnamon and the taste of good, dark chocolate.

It was gone almost before she knew it, but she smiled to herself as she explored the memory of that momentary pleasure. The strange feeling had come so suddenly, she wondered if it was something to do with the pheremones that they had given her. She looked at the assistant again, who was smiling about something, and she frowned. What was he hiding? Then it hit her. What if he wasn't hiding anything? What if the medication actually worked? Would she actually become aroused? Would she act like one of the idiot girls she despised who slavishly devoted themselves to some man just for some trivial physical pleasure he gave her? Or worse, would she turn into some sort of slut, who let men use her like a toy?

She smiled again. Of course she wouldn't. She knew who she was, and if this medication created these unusual sensations and impulses in her, all she had to do was remember that they were not real. They were the effect of the drug, no more or less. She wasn't going to let something as trivial as that turn her into someone she wasn't.

"Thank you," she said, taking the check and card and slipping both into her wallet. "I'll certainly keep you updated if there are any changes or problems. Now, when will you need me back here?"

 

[EndHits]

"Let's meet in my office tomorrow after you're finished with your classes," Cory replied, "We'll just discuss your initial response to the treatment." He gave her one last warm smile before offering her a hand to help her off of the examination table. He had mastered the art of not staring by focusing on the task at hand. But as the session was coming to end and Alexa's lithe body was rising from her seated position, Cory couldn't help but to gaze one last time. Her voluptuous figure was hidden beneath a mountain of clothes, but it was intoxicating nonetheless. If Cory's medication was helping Alexa get in touch with her sexuality, than her sheer presence was helping Cory get back in touch with his.

He wanted her desperately. There was no hiding it. But they were on the cusp of something greater than mere lust. Cory couldn't risk the scandal of an affair with a test subject. It would skew their results and ruin their reputation. Watching the sensuous swing of Alexa's hips as she exited the laboratory, Cory sighed, exhaling all of the desire building up in his mind. "Just check in with Victoria on your way out. She'll file your paperwork. Thanks again for assisting us, Ms. Randolph. This is going to be an exciting experiment."

Once she was sufficiently down the hallway, Cory spun on his heel and grimaced at Eric. "Don't you ever presume to increase a patients' dosage of an untested medication ever again, Eric. You're my friend, but I'll fire you. You have no idea what kind of side effects..."

Eric shrugged his shoulders casually, interrupting, "Listen, you can criticize me all you want, but I did the right thing. Did you even read her answers to the questionnaire? She's the perfect example of the kind of woman we can help, Cory...and with any luck, she'll help us too." The mischievous grin on Eric's face was unsettling.

"What does that mean, Eric?" Cory raised an eyebrow, ready to explode with anger at a moments' notice.

"I may have...substituted some of the pheromones in the formula," Eric tensed up as he spoke. "I may have...included samples your pheromones...and mine...along with the enhanced thread. She's not just going to be attracted to anyone. She's going to be attracted to us." He leaned up against the wall cabinet, meek and nervous.

Cory didn't respond. He tore off his lab coat and tossed it over his forearm, stalking towards the door. He turned to give an angry glance to his friend, his assistant, "Do you have any idea what you've done, Eric? You've soiled the entire experiment. What kind of reputable journal is going to print a report by an undergraduate student who is trying to fuck his patient? You've got a lot of growing up to do. I'll see you tomorrow. If you have a job." Cory slammed the door behind him. He had had quite enough for one day.