Aphrodisiac

It was 7 a.m. and I had a midterm at nine. All I wanted to do was look over my notes before class, but I couldn’t concentrate so I decided to head across campus to the library where it would be quiet. I was throwing my books into my backpack when Jairo’s bedroom door creaked open and he stepped out.

“I didn’t want to do this, but I have no choice now,” he said.

He was wearing only a pair of boxers, his curly hair sticking up atop his head. His eyes were glazed and bloodshot.

“I’ve tried everything,” he continued. “Why can’t she see that there’s no one who feels as strongly for her as I do?”

I watched him walk to the kitchen and grab a mixing bowl from the cabinet. He took a measuring cup and a bag of flour from the cupboard. From the refrigerator he pulled out milk, eggs, and a small, heart-shaped glass jar which contained a purple-black substance that looked like jam and was sealed with a cork stopper. When he removed the cork, a fetid stench released into the room, like garbage that had been left out in the sun, baking and festering.

“Jesus, Jairo.” I winced, pinching my nose. “What is that?”

“A secret formula for a love muffin,” he said. “I’m not sure what’s in it, but the formula’s guaranteed to bring two people together for all eternity.”

He was following a set of instructions on his phone.

“This recipe has to be precise in order to work,” he mumbled as he mixed the ingredients in the bowl. He spooned the mystery paste into the bowl, and it smelled even worse when he mixed it all together. As he blended it, the concoction slowly turned a bright shade of red.

“You don’t believe that’s going to work, do you?” I asked.

“It has to.”

The vehement way he said this made the hairs on my arms stand up. But there was nothing I could do to stop him, so I announced, “Well, I’m gonna take a quick shower and head to the library.”

He ignored me and took the dough out of the bowl and began to dab it all over his body, including his armpits. It stained his skin red. When he pulled his underwear down and rolled the mixture on his rod and tackle, then his butt, I walked away, repulsed. I went into the bathroom, got into the shower, and stood under the hot water for a long while. I could still smell the potion, and I wanted to make sure I cleansed any particles that may have stuck to my body.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Jairo was still in the kitchen. As I passed by, I heard a strange pattern of breathing —like a series of short gasps and rhythmic sounds —though at the time, I was still more curious than concerned.

I craned my neck slightly to get a view of the room and was instantly taken aback by the sight of Jairo’s ass. His back was to me, his boxers puddled around his ankles. His right arm was pistoning in front of him, the left hand braced against the counter to keep his balance. The oven was heating, and he had placed the bowl containing the muffin batter on a stool and was aiming his cock at it. My face flushed with shock and embarrassment. I didn’t want him to see me watching him jerk off, but I was too creeped out to move.

He whispered Becca’s name at first, then began to recite some kind of incantation, reading it from his phone. “Becca Cantone. Be mine. Always and eternally. From this day forward, never shall we part. In this life and beyond, our bodies and souls will forever be intertwined.” His breathing increased and his right arm moved faster. He moaned, knees buckling and struggled to stay upright.

I found the courage to back out of sight and make my way to the front door. Fortunately, I had already put everything in my backpack. All I had to do was grab it on my way out.

I was fully prepared for the exam, and I did well, but couldn’t stop thinking about Jairo. I wasn’t looking forward to going back and facing him. As I trudged to the apartment, I couldn’t have walked any slower, yet despite the pace, I felt sluggish and breathless, and by the time I arrived my heart was pounding.

I braced myself as I opened the door, and the scene was even more unsettling than what I saw earlier.

They were side by side on the couch. Becca sat facing Jairo with both her hands on the sides of his head, running her fingers through the tangles of his thick hair. On the coffee table in front of them were the remains of two muffins.

Becca turned and looked directly at me. I had never seen her face to face, only in the many photos Jairo had of her. She was even prettier in person. I could see why he was attracted to her. She had raven black hair and strikingly clear, blue eyes.

“Isn’t Jairo the most amazing guy?” she asked me. “I’ve been such a fool resisting him all this time.”

My roommate’s wide Cheshire Cat grin made my head swoon when I realized that his cum-cakes had turned Becca into some kind of love zombie. Feeling sick to my stomach, I raced to the bathroom, closed the door behind me, dropped to my knees in front of the toilet and puked my guts out. I hid out in the bathroom until I heard them leave and avoided Jairo the rest of the week, studying at the library and spending time with my friend, Sebastian, even moving temporarily into his dorm.

Thankfully, spring break started Friday and I flew home. For the next two weeks, I spent time with my family and friends, and managed to block all thoughts of Jairo and Becca out of my mind —until the day before I had to leave when I texted Sebastian and he replied, mentioning something about Becca being killed, like he thought I already knew about it. I called right away and learned the news had spread quickly through campus. Becca had been out with a friend when a tractor trailer plowed into their car. Her friend survived, though badly injured. Becca died at the scene. It happened the same night I flew home for break.

When I returned to campus, I went to the apartment to get some personal effects to take to Sebastian’s. I was relieved Jairo wasn’t there. Exhausted after a long day of travel, I lay down on my bed to rest and forgot to set an alarm and overslept. I woke in the morning to a low thumping sound —Jairo’s headboard banging against the wall. Just what I needed.

He must have returned while I slept. Now I felt trapped. I got to my feet and dressed as quietly as possible, then tiptoed to my bedroom door. It squeaked as I slowly pulled it open and slipped through. I had to go by Jairo’s room to get out.

I held my breath as I crept nearer.

The pounding of the headboard intensified. His door was halfway open and I paused at the threshold. I should have kept walking, but couldn’t help myself.

In the darkness, I could see little else besides Jairo. He was naked on the bed, grinding his hips downward with violent thrusts. I caught sight of long, dark hair and realized there was someone beneath him.

The woman did not appear to be naked —well, not exactly. Where there should have been flesh was something that looked like gray sack cloth. As I stared, I realized I was looking at my roommate humping a corpse.

Horrified, I gasped and brought a hand to my mouth to muffle the sound.

This can’t be real, I told myself, peering in more closely in the hope of dispelling the delusion. The additional scrutiny brought what lay under my roommate into clear focus: exposed muscle, stringy tendons, and bone belonging to a putrefying body. It writhed beneath Jairo, dragging its fleshless fingers down his bare back, jagged fingernails opening bloody welts in his skin. I wanted to close my eyes, but I was in such a state of revulsion and horror that I couldn’t look away. There was a gaping cavity in the area around the corpse’s pelvis, and I could see inside the rotting anatomy, where Jairo was penetrating the dead woman’s decomposing vagina. Her entrails jiggled with each thrust. She began to shudder, and as her body convulsed in orgasm, a thick green fluid squirted all over Jairo. He groaned in ecstasy, his hips bucking wildly.

“Oh, Becca!” he called out, his entire body tensing as his cum filled what remained of her decaying womb before splashing out onto the bed sheets and mixing with her rancid discharge.

After a moment, Jairo’s upper body slumped down atop the dead woman, whose head was turned in my direction. A few scraps of flesh clung to her face. Her eyes were desiccated black orbs sunk deep in their sockets. She girl leered at me. Her toothy rictus with its lipless mouth seemed to be mocking me.

It felt like all the air in the room had been sucked out and I found it hard to breathe. For a moment I thought I would faint. Jairo turned and looked at me then, a big smile on his face.

“Together for all eternity,” he said breathlessly. “I told you I’d win her over.”