Thirsty

In a world much like ours, in a town much like one you've seen before, there lived two young women, Flora and Jordan. They first met in high school, their friendship sparked by their uncanny similarity to each other, both being fair-skinned blue-eyed brunettes, but as they matured the similarities faded: Flora grew taller, Jordan grew a bit more full-figured; Flora wore her hair long, Jordan cut hers short; Flora developed into responsible and mature young adult, while Jordan... well, you get the idea.

One thing that did not change, however, was their friendship. Their relationship was close, though not so well-defined as to deprive onlookers of the possibility of drawing their own conclusions on how close they really were. As such it came as no surprise that, following college, they both moved into the same house in the suburbs; a nice high-ceiling ranch house with an above-ground pool out back, something which Jordan made use of on occasion when she should have been doing something else. Like now, for example.

Relaxing on the pool chair, Jordan adjusted the strap of her dark blue bikini top and put her hands behind her head. It was a wonderful day to get a tan, and while she did have chores to do they certainly weren't so pressing that they couldn't be put off until later. Honestly, she couldn't think of a better time to relax outside by the pool than when there were more important things to be done. Procrastination just made things sweeter. Everything was perfect.

She licked her lips. Everything was perfect... except that she was thirsty.

This would not do.

"Flora?"

No reply.

"Hey," she shouted, a bit louder. "Flora! Can you get me a soda or something?"

Still no reply. She must not be back yet, which meant that she'd have to get something to drink herself. But that would mean getting up, which was completely out of the question.

Her eyes fell on the pool, its liquid contents mocking her need - or want, at least. But that would still require going over to it. It was a shorter trip, but a trip nonetheless, and thus still unthinkable. Looking around the chair, she searched for anything that might be of use. Sandals, pool noodle, suntan lotion, coiled length of garden hose-

Gears turned in her head as she remembered long-forgotten high school physics lessons. Scooping up the hose, she sat up and gripped one end as she gave the rest of it a sidearm toss, watching it unwind in midair along its length before the end landed in the pool with a splash. After jiggling it slightly to straighten it out she raised the end of the hose to her lips and begin to take a series of long pulls, sucking on it with all her might. It took a bit of work, but eventually she was rewarded with a steady flow of cool water. Lying back, she trailed the hose alongside her and placed it in her mouth, swallowing the flow as she mentally patted herself on the back for her ingenuity.

Jordan drank, and drank, and drank, and as she did so a pot belly rose up on her slim form. Reaching down she gave it a slight squeeze, smiling as she felt it swell beneath her fingers. -I get all the water I can drink, and it keeps me cool from the inside,- she thought. -I don't know how people get by when they're not as clever as me.-

As her growth continued she began to feel her belly weigh down on her, and she looked down at herself to find that she had grown to over the size of a volleyball. Keeping the hose in her mouth with one hand Jordan awkwardly pushed herself up into a sitting position, her stomach shifting and sloshing about as she moved. As it settled she watched it slowly continue to grow, her body edging outward inch by inch, the heft of it pressing against her legs and pushing her thighs apart.

So distracted was she by her expansion that she lost track of time, only coming back to reality when she heard Flora shout, "I'm home." Jordan would have replied and stood up to greet her, but she considered the hose to be a far more pressing priority and probably couldn't have stood up without assistance even if she wanted to. Thus, it was up to Flora to find Jordan by the pool, which she did. More precisely, finding her sitting on the edge of the pool chair with a hose between her lips and a stomach two feet across hanging between her legs. "Jordan."

"Mmm?" she replied.

"What are you doing."

Jordan pulled the hose out of her mouth with a soft "pop" and rested it atop her belly, a small waterfall pouring down her to the grass below. "Drinking."

"Out of the pool."

"Yep."

"That's a twenty foot pool."

"...I'm thirsty."

"With six feet of water."

She glanced over at the pool. "I'm really thirsty."

Flora stared at her.

"-Really- thirsty," she said matter-of-factly, putting the end of the hose back in her mouth.

Flora continued to stare at Jordan disapprovingly, hoping that she could, for once, shame her into changing her course of action. Jordan, meanwhile, continued her rythmic drinking oblivious to her friend's scorn.

After a minute or so of fruitless glaring Flora sighed, walking away from Jordan as she rolled up her sleeves. Circling around to the opposite side of the pool, she scanned the base of its wall before spotting the object of her search: A large filtration pump, its motor gently purring away, with a hose coiled up next to it. Flora turned the device off before tugging one of the side tubes free, attaching it to the end of the hose. Picking up the opposite end, she dragged it back around to where Jordan sat, reached into the pool and fished the other end of her hose out of it.

"Mmph!" She pulled the hose from her mouth again. "Hey! I said I was thirsty!"

Ignoring her, Flora screwed both ends together and gestured for Jordan to replace it, which she questioningly did. Returning to the pump, she gave her friend one last look to ensure she was ready before flipping the switch to "HIGH."

The pump roared to life, and Jordan's cheeks bulged out as the initial blast of water hit her, swelling them up to twin softballs on either side of her face. She spent a few seconds trying awkwardly to swallow the torrent before calming down and simply letting it rush down her throat.

The increase in swelling was very visible, and very rapid: In the few moments that the hose had been hooked up to the pump Jordan had grown enough that the bottom of her belly had spilled over the edge of her seat and was beginning to brush against the ground. "Better?" Flora asked, approaching her again.

Jordan let go of the hose briefly to give her a thumbs-up with one hand as she continued to swell outward. Suddenly the water inside her shifted, and she let out a muffled cry as she rolled forward onto her distended form. She rocked back and forth for a few seconds, flailing her legs in an attempt to keep her balance before coming to rest, the hose still between her lips and held firmly in both hands. Looking down over her shoulder, she attempted stretch her leg down in the hopes of touching the ground; no mean feat, as her stomach was three feet high, almost as wide as she was tall and getting bigger by the second.

Flora walked around Jordan and gave the side of her belly a gentle poke, as if testing the elasticity of her skin. Leaning in towards her friend's face to ensure she paid attention to her she asked, "are you going to be fine here without adult supervision?" Jordan nodded vigorously. Flora thought she heard an "mm-hmm" but wasn't entirely sure. "All right," she replied, straightening up. "If you need anything I'll be inside paying off our massive water bill."

She looked down at the rest of Jordan and did a double-take. In the short time between the question, the reply and her snarky one-liner she had grown another foot across, nearly brushing up against the side of her legs; had she continued to stand there it was likely that she would have been bowled over. Again. Still, she still couldn't help but be at least somewhat impressed. Giving her friend a quick pat on the side, she turned and headed towards the house.

* - * - *

"Flooooooora!" Jordan shouted. "You can turn off the pump now!"

Setting her pencil down, Flora pushed herself away from her desk and headed for the back door. "Drained the pool, have we?" she asked, opening the patio door.

The sarcasm was completely lost on Jordan. "Come and seeeeee!"

...and see she did. Jordan looked, for the lack of a better term, like she was lying atop a massive flesh-colored water balloon, flattened slightly by its own weight. Her belly was nearly fifteen feet across, somewhat smaller than the pool in terms of girth but compensated for in height, towering over three feet above Flora's head. "Oh, so you have."

Jordan beamed. "Darn tootin'." She let out a low, rumbling belch and patted her stomach, the surface wobbling slightly. "'scuse me. Hey, how big do you think I am?"

Flora turned off the pump and walked back towards Jordan's enormous mass. She held out her arms for comparison, trying to gauge her size. "I don't know. Pretty huge."

"Naw, this isn't huge. I still have room, you know."

"Well, I hope you're satisfied," she said, giving her a look.

Jordan sighed, spreading her limbs and resting her head on her bulk. "I am. I think I crushed the pool chair, though."

"As well as part of the pool."

"Oh." She pushed herself up and looked towards the ground in a vain attempt to survey the damage. "Whoops."

"You know, for a girl who can suck an entire pool through a garden hose, you had some awful luck with-"

Jordan pointed an accusing finger at Flora. "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

"I'm merely making an observation."

"Well, go make observations somewhere else," she said, "because I have sunbathing to catch up on." With that she lay back down, supported by a stomach bloated to an impossible size by countless gallons of water.

* - * - *

It was some time later, just as Jordan was drifting off to sleep, that she felt something cold and hard being propped up against her side. Craning her neck over her shoulder, she spotted Flora in a red one-piece bathing suit scaling her belly via a ladder. Reaching the top she stood up and kicked the ladder away, sending it to the ground with a clatter. "Hey, what's going on back there?" Jordan asked.

Without a word Flora crossed Jordan's swollen form, her feet sinking into her friend's body with every step. "It's a nice day out," she said, sitting down beside her, "so I thought I might join you." Holding out a can she asked, "care for a soda?"

"Ooh, thanks," Jordan replied, taking it. "I was getting a little thirsty."

"...and us without a second pool," Flora deadpanned.