Scent of Desire
A Thursday Prompt story
© 2023 by Walter Reimer

Prompt: eureka



The mephit perfumer gave a triumphant laugh as she thrust a slip of paper at her assistant. “Here! Smell this!”

The schnauzer gave the skunk a look. “Do I have to?”

“Yes,” she said. “Go on, it’s an extract.”

“Not from you?”

The skunk’s bushy tail twitched. “Look, Dave, that was one time – “

“Once was enough.”

“ – And that was because you startled me. Now, please, just take a sniff.” She even went so far as to bat her eyelashes at him.

Dave sighed, mentally tabling a borderline workplace harassment complaint, and took the slip of paper from her. He passed it under his nose, sniffed, waved the paper back and forth, and sniffed again. The fragrance was . . . subtle, elusive; he had a hard time, even with his sensitive and well-trained nose, to figure out the components.

The physiological reaction, though, was slow but noticeable. He felt a warm flush sweep over him, making him feel almost lightheaded for a split second, and there was a sudden tightness in his trousers. “What – what is this, Maggie?” he managed to say.

“Isn’t it great?” she said. “It’s a synthesis of pheromones.”

“Pheromones?” The tight feeling in his shorts seemed to grow every time he sniffed at the paper. He felt warm, and – what? Was he actually starting to drool?

The perfumer nodded gleefully. “Female pheromones from twenty species. I’ve been working on this for years, and I have found it. How do you feel?”

Dave blinked, all thought of talking to Personnel gone out the window, borne on the concatenation of scents. “I . . . I f-feel . . .”

“Aroused?” Maggie asked, stepping closer to him.

He didn’t reply.

He showed her.

Several times, it must be noted.


***


A month later, the company released a new perfume just in time for Valentine’s Day. Called Scent of Desire, the advertising copy involved the usual symbolic rubbish of flowing cloth, barely-clad bodies and the promise of romantic experiences.

The first production run sold out within a week.

Men found it irresistible, while femmes discovered that their husbands and boyfriends suddenly became more attentive to them. The fragrance seemed to be effective on any man just past puberty, which was a good thing as anything else would have been icky and strange, if not illegal.

Scent of Desire became a worldwide best seller, with one country even using it to stop a border war with one of its neighbors. The neighbor complained that the country was using chemical weapons, and threatened retaliation. The dispute was being negotiated, so no further notice needed to be taken.

Maggie and Dave? They got rich over the discovery, and got married.



end