Fleeting Love: Chapter 13
Aphrodite sat at her desk in the highest room on her ship. Jon had been back for a day now. He seemed fine for the most part, but something still felt off about him. She searched his mind thoroughly when she first brought him here. He wasn't lying, his memories matched up with his story.
Until she had reason to believe something was truly off with him, she would just treat him like she normally would. Besides, there were more important things to worry about. Like how to deal with Athena. Whatever action she took needed to be swift and decisive. She was still unsure of exactly what to do. For now, she would wait and think of the best option.
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Jon adjusted his position in the chair and laced his fingers behind his head. Aphrodite had sent him to a much nicer room than the one she'd originally given him. This one was larger, had a mini fridge, and a balcony which Jon was currently relaxing on. He had been doing exactly what Aphrodite wanted since she sent him here. He slept pretty much uninterrupted through the night and a good portion of today.
After he woke up, he ate his fill of fettuccine alfredo and chocolate cake. Jon had found some normal clothes in the room's closet. He chose a red Hawaiian shirt with white palm trees on it and tan khaki shorts. Now he was enjoying some fresh, ocean air. Jon jumped at the sudden loud knocking at his door.
" God, I'm like a raw nerve. " he thought getting up to answer it.
The knocking got louder and intensified as he walked back into the room.
" Hold on! I'm coming! "
Jon came to the door and looked through the peephole. A short, tan, black-haired girl stood in the hall looking very impatient. It was Alexis! He threw open the door.
" Ale- Oof! " he was cut off as she launched herself at his chest and wrapped her arms around him.
" Jon! I was so worried about you! Aphrodite couldn't find you and... and I... I thought... I'm just glad you're okay. " she said burying her face in his shirt.
" I'm fine, Alexis. Sorry I made you worry so much. I really missed you. "
He returned the hug with one arm and put a hand on the back of her head. They stood like that for about a minute until Alexis pulled away. She peered up at his face and breathed a small gasp. Her hand reached up to trace the scar over his eye with one finger.
" What happened to you? "
" It's a long story. Let's go sit out on the balcony and I'll tell you everything. "
Jon took her hand from his face, then led her to the balcony. He dragged two chairs next to each other. They sat down, Alexis didn't let go of Jon's hand. His mind wandered back to when they'd been reunited all those months ago. Alexis' hair was even longer now, reaching the small of her back. Today she was wearing a white tank top and jean short shorts. White flip flops were on her small feet. She had red lipstick on to match her red painted toes.
Honestly, all Jon wanted to do was hold her for awhile. Just enjoy being together with her again, maybe even work up the courage to kiss her. He knew she wouldn't let him until he told her where he'd been though. Jon spent the next five minutes or so explaining everything that had happened to him in detail, still excluding his torture. Alexis listened in silence, only her facial expression giving away her thoughts.
When he finished, she waited a few moments before speaking.
" Oh my God, Jon. You could have been killed. This can't keep happening. No one should have to live their life like this. I can't go through this every day. We need to figure out a way to make Aphrodite leave you alone, once and for all. " she said standing up.
Jon took both of her hands in each of his. " Alexis, we've talked about this before. There's nothing we can do. Anything we try will just end badly. I'm not going to risk something bad happening to you. I've put you through enough already. "
" You said the amazon's said something about Athena, right? That means the other Greek gods are out there. Maybe one of them will help us. "
" I doubt it. They probably don't care about mortals at all. Aphrodite is proof of that. Don't get me wrong. I wish there was something we could do, but until that opportunity comes we'll just keep doing what we've been doing, okay? Let's enjoy the time we have together. "
Alexis looked doubtful, but cracked a smile after a few seconds. She leaned over and hugged Jon around the neck.
" Alright. I'll stop worrying, but if anything else like this happens I'm going to find a way. "
" Fair enough. "
Jon put his arm behind Alexis' knees and swept her up off her feet. She gave a startled laugh as he carried her back into the room.
" Let's stop talking about all of this negative stuff and have some fun. " he said placing her on the bed and flopping down next to her.
" What'd you have in mind? "
" Not sure. We ARE on a cruise ship. We could go swimming or just relax out on the deck. I'd be happy just laying here with you. Whatever you wanna do. "
" Hmmm, I don't know. May- "
Alexis was cut off by another knock at the door.
" Who's that? Were you expecting someone else? " she asked turning towards it.
" No. And Aphrodite doesn't knock. " Jon looked through the peephole to see a long, dark haired boy standing on the other side. " It's some guy. I don't recognize him. "
The boy knocked on the door again. " Alexis? Are you in there? " his muffled voice called through the door.
" He knows you? " Jon asked.
" It must be Parker. " she replied getting up and walking over to the door.
" Parker? " Jon whispered as she opened the door.
" Alexis! I thought you'd be here. I was hoping I could talk to you real quick. " Parker said.
Jon examined the stranger in the doorway. Parker was slightly shorter than Jon by a couple inches. His hair was long and a little shaggy, it fell over his left eye. He couldn't be more than a couple years older than him and Alexis. Parker had a medium build, maybe a bit more muscular than average. He was wearing the same uniform Aphrodite had given Jon but without a job title.
" Parker, didn't you hear Aphrodite? You're not my servant anymore. "
" I know. That doesn't mean we still can't be friends, right? I just want to talk to you for a minute. " Parker suddenly seemed to notice Jon standing next to Alexis for the first time. " Oh, excuse me! You must be Jon. Alexis has said nothing but good things about you. It's nice to meet you. "
Parker offered his hand out to Jon. He was hesitant, but Jon shook his hand after a moment.
" Likewise. "
" I'm sorry, Parker. Aphrodite kinda forced you on me. Now that Jon's back you don't have to stay with me anymore. I'm really sorry. You understand, right? "
An indiscernible emotion flashed across Parker's face.
" Yeah, of course. I get it. I won't bother you. You two have fun. See ya around. " Parker said with a strained smile.
He turned and walked away down the hall. Alexis watched him leave with a concerned look and closed the door.
" Who was that guy? You said he was your servant? "
" Well... When you disappeared I got really sad. I kept thinking of all the bad things that could've happened to you. I stayed in my room all day and I didn't want to do anything until I knew you were safe. Aphrodite tried a lot of different things to cheer me up, but none of them worked. I just wanted to be left alone. One day, she forced me to take Parker as a servant to replace you. She threatened to make me play games like the ones you did. Parker was my foot servant for a couple months. I tried to use him as least as possible because it felt wrong. I wanted you to give me foot rubs, not some random guy I barely knew. When Aphrodite found you, she came and told Parker that he wasn't my servant anymore. He seemed upset, but he left to do some other job for Aphrodite. " Alexis said guiltily.
" It's okay, Alexis. I don't blame for anything you did while I was gone. For all you knew I was dead. I'll never be able to tell you how truly sorry I am I put you through all that. And Aprhodite will never hurt you as long as I'm alive. I promise. "
" Jon. Don't make a promise you can't keep. You can't stop Aphrodite from doing what she pleases. "
" I made a promise and I intend to keep it. No matter what. "
Alexis' mouth quirked up in a half smile as she stood up on her tiptoes, closed her eyes, and pursed her lips. Jon froze in surprise as she moved closer. His mind blanked out while his heart started to beat faster. Suddenly feeling very nervous, he leaned forward and met her kiss halfway. It was amazing.
Jon felt completely at peace as soon as their lips touched. He wished they could stay like that forever, not a care in the world except for each other. Sadly, Alexis pulled away only a few seconds later still smiling.
" Wow. That was... Wow. " Jon said sitting down on the bed.
" Was that your first kiss? " she laughed sitting next to him and leaning her head on his arm.
" Um, yeah. It was actually. Hope it wasn't too terrible. "
" No, it was great. Not bad for a newbie. "
" Ah, alright. Cool... So, what do you wanna do? "
" Do you want to give me a foot massage? Aphrodite told me I still have the power to shrink you. "
" I'd be happy to give you a massage, but I was two feet tall for five months and I would like to stay normal sized for awhile. "
" I can understand that. Why don't we do what you said. I'll meet you at the pool in half an hour. Okay? "
" Alright. See ya then. " Jon kissed her on the cheek as she got up and left his room. " Looks like I need a swimsuit. "
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Jon walked out onto the pool deck with a pair of blue swim trunks on and a green towel around his neck. He had left the Hawaiian shirt on, but unbuttoned it all the way. Looking around the pool, he didn't see Alexis anywhere.
" Guess she's not out here yet. "
The pool was fairly crowded today. Jon was lucky to find two free deck chairs right next to each other near the pool. He pushed them together and sat down. Jon sat back with his arms folded behind his head. The weather was beautiful today, not too hot and there was a nice breeze going.
From the corner of his eye, Jon noticed a tall, black haired girl approaching him. At first he thought it was Alexis, but the girl was much too tall. Jon was forced to squint because the sun was shining in his eyes. The girl came to stand right next to him. He looked her up from bottom to top. She had somewhat large, tan feet with red painted toes that were evenly proportioned. They were actually quite nice and familiar for some reason. Her body was lean with some muscle. She was wearing a two piece white bikini. The sunlight made it near impossible to see her face.
" Hi. Is there something I can help you with? " he asked.
" I'm looking for my boyfriend. I told him to meet me here. He answers to foot boy. "
Jon opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he realized what the girl had said. He knew that voice as well.
" Alexis? What'd you do? "
Alexis laughed and walked around to sit in the chair next to him. She looked to be almost as tall as him now.
" I asked Aphrodite for a favor. I don't like being so short compared to you. Now you won't have to crouch down just to kiss me. "
" I hope you're not making this a permanent change. I like my little beautiful girlfriend. Not that this isn't nice. "
" No. I know you like short me better. This is just for while we're out here. " she said taking his hand.
" Alright. That's fine. So do you want to get in the pool? "
" Yeah. "
Jon pulled off his shirt and went to jump in, but Alexis put hand on his chest. He looked at her to see she was staring at his chest. Her fingers were on one of many new scars on his chest. She looked at him with a heart-wrenchingly sad expression.
" Oh, Jon. "
He took her hand and kissed it. " Alexis, please. I'm fine. I just want to have a nice day with you. Try not to look at them. "
" Okay... "
He led her over to the pool and slid into the water. Alexis sat on the edge and put her feet in. The water was lukewarm and felt great. Jon stood in front of Alexis in the pool, his head only coming up to her stomach because of her vantage point. He grabbed her right foot from underwater and started to rub it gently.
" Ahhhhhh, you have no idea how much I missed this. " she said dreamily.
" I think I do. "
Alexis' foot was larger at her new size, maybe two sizes bigger. Jon loved her tiny feet, but this wasn't entirely bad. He dug this thumbs into her soft sole and the ball of her foot. A few people were giving him odd looks, but Jon didn't care. This was what had gotten him through all those months of imprisonment and torture. The thought of getting back to Alexis and doing exactly this.
" Crap. " Alexis suddenly said and looked down at the water.
" What? What is it? "
" Parker's here. He's staring right at me. "
Looking over his shoulder, Jon saw Parker sitting at the opposite side of the pool with a girl kissing his neck. He was just sitting on the edge of the pool, not even trying to hide the fact that he was staring. The girl seemed oblivious to the world while she passionately kissed his neck. When Parker noticed Jon watching him, he nodded to him.
" Well he bounces right back, huh? "
" Yeah, I guess. That's so creepy though. Can we go back to your room? I don't feel like being out here anymore. "
" Sure. Do me a favor? Don't go anywhere near that guy when I'm not around. "
" You don't need to worry about that. "
Parker watched the pair collect their things and leave the pool with a hateful expression on his face.
Giantess World
