Goddesses’ Bet
V
Taylor woke up feeling… off. Her muscles ached from the previous day’s practice, but that was nothing new. She climbed out of bed and got dressed. Her chest ached more than the rest of her, but she chalked it up to the extra set of reps she’d done on the butterfly. The truly unusual thing about the aches in her body was that they weren’t painful, not precisely. Taylor had worked out nearly every day since her sophomore year of high school. She was no stranger to the aches and pains of pushing herself past her limits. But this ache, all over her body but centered mostly in her pectorals, felt strangely… good?
She shrugged it off, stuffing fresh gym clothes into her bag, and finished getting dressed. Taylor always wore a sports bra during the day. Not because she needed the support but simply to reduce the chances of her shirts chafing, especially team jerseys. She also had no desire to give anyone a free show with an accidental “see-through.” That morning, however, the stretchy sports bra compressed actual flesh. Not a lot, nothing like an entire handful, but almost half an inch of extra circumference she hadn’t the day before. With a loose tee shirt over her sports bra, Taylor’s torso looked no different, but when she absently ran an arm across her chest to relieve the itchy ache she felt, Titania grinned.
“A good start,” the goddess murmured.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
A week passed, and when Taylor went to sleep every night, Titania tweaked the adjustments to her threads. After years of waiting, she impatiently urged Taylor’s body to change faster, careful not to overdo it and get Fulla pissed off at her. One evening, while Haley was helping Taylor and Mark study for an upcoming test, someone finally noticed.
“This is basic mitosis,” Haley said, “Didn’t you guys learn this in high school?”
Taylor shrugged, the motion causing a slight jiggle in her sports bra and tank top that Haley was certain hadn’t been there before. “If I did, I don’t remember.”
Haley sighed, glancing at Mark. His face was red, and he was staring down at his textbook intently. “Well?” She asked.
“Hmm, what?”
“Do you remember mitosis from high school?”
“Oh, um…” Mark shook his head.
Haley sighed again, pushing her braid behind her shoulder. “Alright, well, it starts with prophase, when the chromosomes condense…”
As she lectured, Haley watched Mark. She wondered if he was getting sick; he looked like he might have a fever. But when he didn’t know she was watching, Mark kept stealing glances at Taylor’s chest. She kept her voice neutral, maintaining an impassive tone she’d heard countless teachers use, but inside, her blood boiled. Taylor was her best friend, and she’d always worried she would lose her friend if… when she and Mark got married. But now, it looked like Taylor was leaving her behind. When Mark excused himself to use the restroom, she confronted her friend.
“What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean?” Taylor asked, sounding legitimately confused.
Haley pointed at Taylor’s chest, “Where did those come from?”
Taylor looked down, then reached up to grope one breast. They were still small, barely enough to fill her hand. “Oh wow… they’re really swollen.”
Haley gaped. “How did you not notice you have breasts‽”
“Um… I’ve had breasts since middle school.”
“You know what I mean! You were flat a week ago. We’ve always been flat, that bitty committee or whatever you used to say.”
“They have been kinda sore lately… maybe it’s my period.”
“Your menstrual cycle can’t account for that much swelling, Taylor.”
Taylor blushed, staring at the table. “Do they look weird?”
Haley sighed again. “No, they look really nice. I’m sorry I yelled at you. But maybe you should put a different shirt on; I think you’re distracting Mark while we’re supposed to be studying.”
Taylor’s blush deepened, and a pleased smile spread across her face. Haley was about to berate her further when she grabbed an oversized shirt from a pile on a nearby chair.
When Taylor pulled her tank top over her head to put a bigger one on, Haley caught a flash of her breasts in a sports bra. They were full and round like plums, and Haley had to shake off a wave of oil-black jealousy.
***
Titania’s adjustment to Taylor’s biology did not go unnoticed by Fulla, naturally. She’d anticipated this reaction from the impulsive goddess. The ideals of beauty and human attraction changed over the generations, but Fulla had seen tastes return to a healthy pair of breasts time and again. No matter how far fashion trended to the slim and diminutive or how wealthy and powerful the class that embraced such tastes, the primal desire for safe childbirth and the ability to nourish their potential young was rooted deep in the human psyche.
In truth, Fulla had hoped her younger counterpart would take this bait. She knew that if she herself affected Haley’s body the way Titania had done to Taylor’s, the other goddess would overreact, likely causing problems for both of them. But because Titania had made the first move, Fulla was free to ’react’ in kind. She’d resisted the temptation to intervene in her bet over Julianna, but there hadn’t really been any options available that she could justify. Mark, however, was not Julianna Sinclair. He was a good man, caring and selfless, if woefully naive. If Fulla sat back and let Titania inflate Taylor to even half the size Aphrodite had given Julianna, the boy would pick Titania’s Favored and never look back at petite, bookish Haley.
Fulla’s power had diminished to almost nothing before her bet with Aphrodite. Winning half of the elder goddess’ acolytes was the only reason she could stand as an equal beside her younger counterpart in this era of sexual liberation. If Titania took her portion of breast worship for even a generation, she might fade into total obscurity. Titania was young and strong; she’d bounce back after Fulla’s time of dominance was ended. Fulla could not lose this bet.
Unfortunately, Titania’s ‘encouragement’ had already given Taylor as much of a boost as Fulla had intended to give Haley. It seemed they were past the point of half-measures.
She would simply have to make sure that Haley caught up.
A few days later, while Haley was showering, rubbing soap across her chest, she felt two unfamiliar lumps on her ribs. She gasped, choking on the water that streamed into her mouth. She touched herself again, and the evidence was irrefutable. She was growing breasts just like Taylor had! Haley knew she should be worried or concerned, but she ran her fingers over them curiously. She felt the soft divot where the flesh rose from her chest, felt the springy elasticity as she poked first one and then the other. When she saw her nipples swell and elongate, she gave them an experimental pinch. The jolt of pleasure that ran through her chest and down between her legs made her knees buckle. She stood there playing with them until the water started to get cold, then finally dried off and started to get dressed.
Haley pulled on her panties and skirt, but when she slipped on a camisole to go under her sweater, she realized why Taylor wore a sports bra all the time. She was used to the small annoyance of satiny fabric rubbing against her nipples, but with them sticking out almost a full inch, the effect was much worse. She made a plan to walk over to one of the boutiques near campus between her first and second classes. She didn’t own any bras—she’d never needed them before. As she walked to class, Haley realized she was grinning like an idiot and forced her cheeks to relax.
That evening, she and Mark watched Taylor’s volleyball game. She had trouble staying interested in sports at the best of times, and today, her stomach was full of butterflies. She watched Mark watching Taylor, whose jersey now had a little extra roundness than it used to. The numbers printed on the front were ever-so-slightly distorted. But then Mark would catch Haley looking at him. His cheeks would grow red as if he knew she knew just where he was looking. The best part, though, was the briefest of glances he made downward before turning his eyes back to the game. Instead of one of her usual sweaters, Haley wore a long-sleeved tee and had confirmed her new bra made tiny bumps in the shirt. She knew her budding breasts were still woefully small, but now that she finally had them, she secretly hoped they would get as big as Taylor’s. Hopefully, even larger.
***
Taylor watched with annoyance over the following weeks as Haley caught up to her. Haley was bigger for almost a week before she passed her up again. They went back and forth like this until Taylor stopped checking. By the time they were studying for midterms, they were both so busty it was impossible to tell who was bigger just by looking.
They were sitting together in her room when Taylor saw Haley picking at her bra strap through her sweater for the third time.
“You alright over there?” She asked.
“I’m fine. It’s just pinching a little.”
Unable to resist, Taylor asked, “What size are yours up to now?”
“This one’s an E, but I probably need to get sized again.”
“You could try wearing sports bras. Mine are stretchy enough I can skip every other letter.” Arcing her back smugly, she added, “This is the only clean F I have, but one of my D’s should fit you.”
Haley scowled at her. “No thanks. I don’t need your hand-me-downs.”
Taylor grinned wickedly. “What’s a’ matter? I’m sure your little things will get big and womanly like mine in no time!”
She reached over to grab Haley’s breasts with both hands, probing and kneading. Haley squeaked but didn’t pull away. “Woah,” Taylor said, “These feel totally different from mine… Maybe I should give normal bras a try.”
“T-Taylor…”
She looked up from Haley’s sweater-clad chest to see her friend’s cheeks pink and her eyes pleading.
At that exact moment, the door swung open, flooding the dimly lit room with the bright fluorescents from the hallway. Mark’s silhouette froze, and he spun around to face away from them. “S-sorry…” He darted back out the door, slamming it closed behind him.
Taylor slowly turned back to Haley. Her eyes were wide with shock. It took several seconds for Taylor to realize she was still clutching her friend’s boobs. She let Haley go, unable to stop a chuckle from escaping her lips. Haley snorted, and then they were both rolled back on the couch, laughing uncontrollably.
Eventually wiping tears from her eyes, Taylor rose to open the door. “Come on, weirdo. Let’s get this movie going.”
“Are, um, I mean… Are you…”
Taylor rolled her eyes and dragged him in by the arm, pushing him onto the middle of the couch where he could sit between them.
Titania pressed her palm to her forehead. This still wasn’t working. Fulla might be pissed, but she had to push Taylor even more.