“I think I was wrong about her,” Jack said to Caitlin.

“Oh?” Caitlin replied, her body jerking up as the car went over a pothole in the road, much to her annoyance. She turned to the driver, who chose to focus on the road instead of her.

“ Yeah, I thought she would like cry or something when her top broke,” Jack continued, oblivious to Caitlin’s disinterest in the subject. It didn’t matter what subject it was, toss Jessica in and it was instant apathy.

“ She’s what, survived a shot from a tank?” Caitlin asked, visibly irritated but Jack either paid no heed or he was simply too dense to pick up on her body language.

“And a missile too,” Jack added for accuracy .

“ Yeah and after all that, you think she’ll die from embarrassment?” Caitlin said coldly, scoffing at her boyfriend’s irrational train of thought.

Jack shrugged his shoulders, “You never know-”

“AND YOU NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT HER!” Caitlin exploded at Jack like a nuclear bomb.

“All day and all night, you keep bringing her up, like she’s some superwoman and we should all be amazed at how well she can put on her pants or even just wake up!” Caitlin balled her delicate fingers into fists and shook them at Jack.

“ You could do a lot more by just fawning over the slut and spend time caring about what your girlfriend thinks!” Caitlin folded her arms and fell back into her seat. Jack was close to the point of no return for her right now, her lip curled in dissatisfaction.

“ I do care what you think. I know you don’t trust Jessica. You think she’ll do something to us, which is why you insisted on coming along.”

Jack wasn’t done, but he would later look back and thought he ought to have stopped there and remained mum for the rest of the ride home.

“But you should show some gratitude to her. If not for her, you wouldn’t be able to nag at me.”

That was a mistake. Caitlin launched herself off her seat like an alligator and slapped Jack across his cheek, the skin of which turned red almost instantaneously.

Jack didn’t see it coming, the impact of her slap flinging him to the left side of the seat and leaving him winded.

“Come on!” Jack moaned as he rubbed his cheek.

“I just meant that you could go a little easier on her.”

“And you can sleep on the couch tonight,” Caitlin huffed as she took out her phone and opened Facebook.

Jack sighed, he wouldn’t get through to her for the rest of the day once she whipped out her phone; it was the couch for him. He also took out his phone, flipping through Facebook but with one eye on Caitlin in case she tried to tear his head off again.

He watched her, scowling and scrolling through her newsfeed with her thumb. Occasionally he would see a smile or chuckle but those were fleeting, smothered by her anger towards Jack. With that, he resigned himself to a night out of bed.

When the car finally brought them home, Caitlin wasted no time in heading up to the bedroom, the slamming of the door and a more subtle click of the lock  indicating that for all intents and purposes, it would be inaccessible to him.

Jack walked slowly, after all he was not in a hurry when it came to facing his enraged girlfriend. When he got to the front door, he stopped and realised it would be suicide to enter the lion’s den. He rubbed his cheek, almost by instinct; it was still burning. He definitely didn’t want to go in.

Jack looked over the roof, at the towering tent behind. Jessica wouldn’t be so hostile or physical. He stepped away from the door, the idea of going to his giant friend seemed very appealing. If anything, he could let Caitlin cool down a little.

Yes, he decided,go to Jessica and hide out for now. He walked over, standing outside the tent, a pig sized toe sticking out of it.

“Anyone home?” His voice caused the prone giantess to stir. She sat up, pulling her knees in , hair still wet from her shower.

“Not in bed with Caitlin?” Jessica asked. Her smile soon vanished as she saw the welt on Jack’s cheek.

“How did that happen?”  She leaned in to further examine his injury, her enhanced vision allowed her far greater clarity than even a normal human. She could see the redness, even a little bit of skin break and winced accordingly.

“Caitlin. Caitlin got angry and this happened,” Jack motioned to the indention she had left.

“She shouldn’t do that to you,” Jessica replied as she held her hand out; Jack knew what it meant and stepped on.

“I know but it’s the perils of being in a relationship. Sometimes a man has to suck it up,” Jack assured her but Jessica was having none of it.

“Maybe I should talk to-”

“No don’t. She’ll get even madder and then she’ll probably do the right side too,” he sighed deeply.

“If she does that, at least it’ll be symmetrical.”

“She sounds like a bully. I hate bullies. Please let me help you. I feel bad, just staying here and eating into your wallet. I have to return the favour,” Jessica pleaded.

Jack shook his head, she didn’t have to do that. She was mistaken to suggest it.

“I’m the one who is returning the favour. Have you forgotten how many times you saved my life?”

Jack held up three fingers, wiggling them slightly to answer his own question.

“You’re staying here,” Jack finished.

“Alright. I’ll stay since you want me here. You’re probably the only person who does.” Jessica looked out the tent, past the house. It was a great big world out there but none of it seemed to want her.

“ Maybe we could go somewhere a little more quiet? Have a little talk,” Jessica suggested. Jack nodded.

“ You got a place in mind? Your fortress of solitude?” He jested, Jessica chuckling heartily. Her laugh echoed throughout the tent as she placed him on her shoulder. Jack wrapped a strand of hair around his waist, securing it tightly.

‘That would be here. No, I’ve been exploring the place and by that I mean the forest around your house. I don’t really go into town.”

“Understood,” Jack replied as Jessica crawled out of the town. She carefully rose to a standing position before starting her trek.

It didn’t take long for Jack to figure out where they were going, Jessica’s long strides made it a short trip. The vantage point offered from sitting on her shoulder helped in his guesswork, bringing them to a clearing by a lake.

Jessica chose a point near the lake’s edge, where her toes were being lapped by the water.

“ So,” Jessica said as she stared into the ebony waters, the entire place only lit by the pin pricks of starlight and the spotlight of the quarter moon.

“What keeps a guy like you hanging on to a girl like Caitlin?” She asked curiously.

“That’s a tough one,” Jack replied, a little uncomfortable with the difficulty of the question.

“I don’t expect you to answer it. You can skip it if you like. I’m just wondering, what do you like about her?” Jessica continued, unsure of where this would go. Perhaps it would be better if she changed the topic?

“A man like me, as you said, stays with a woman like Caitlin because every relationship has its ups and downs. Right now it's down, but you work on it to get it back up again,” Jack answered.

“Oh ok. I just haven’t seen you happy with her, that’s all,” Jessica added ,  noting the discomfort in his voice. It was a horrible topic, she thought.

“Moving on, I found this place while you were out. It’s peaceful , no one here to bother me.”

She leaned forward, eyeing the water’s edge even further.

“You like being alone?” Jacked asked, shifting closer to Jessica’s swan like neck. She turned a little, her mind in two places.

“ A little. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m so damn big.” She shoved her arms out to the side, emphasising it.

“People either run from me like a monster or they do the wise thing and just stay the hell away from me. Those who get near me, most of them are douches. Except for you, you’ve been the perfect gentleman.”

Jack grew a grin from ear to ear upon hearing it.

“ Thank you, and you’ve been a good house guest. You have anyone you’d like to see? I bet a girl like you must have been very popular in school.”

Jessica chuckled, then laughed loudly at Jack’s statement. Her laugh skimmed the surface of the lake, jumping from tree to tree and startling the fauna nestling in it. Birds took flight, flapping their wings away from her.

“ Oh Jack,” Jessica gasped, her stomach aching from her laugh. Jack watched, bemused by the giantess’ reaction.

“ Thanks for that but the truth is, I haven’t really been to a proper school since I qualified for the NBA. My dad gave me reading material, e-books and whatnot but honestly, it’s not the same. I went through grade school but that’s about it. They took me away in middle school and since then, I haven’t been inside of a classroom. Probably a good thing too, I hear public schools suck.”

“Oh you got that right,” Jack replied in agreement.

“But I went to a private school so I can’t be the judge of that. Still, if you went back now I bet you’d be the most popular girl in school. With your looks and brains, and I know there’s one hell of a brain behind it.”

Jessica cut her strand of hair with her finger,freeing up Jack who was promptly pulled off her shoulder. Her cheeks were flushed, burning hot and she wanted to at least look him in the eye. He was so sweet, and she knew he was sincere; she could pick out his heartbeat and it was beating calmly.

“ Is this how you get girls to fall you? Drown them in honey?” She raised an eyebrow, a toothy grin on her lips.

“ It helps. The fact that I happen to be really handsome and rich helps. Sometimes I get gold diggers but a man in my position attracts that kind of trouble like flies to a carcass.”

Jessica nodded in agreement. Maybe it was all the flattery, or the fact that he had treated her like a human being but she felt an attraction, an almost magnetic force pulling her lips towards him. She wanted to carry it through, but the logical side of her brain told her not to open that can of worms. It would never work out, the voice reminded her. Best to let things be.

“ Anyway,” Jessica started, she had to change the topic.

“ I don’t think I have any friends left. I haven’t seen them since middle school , they probably moved on. I doubt Zoltan would have told them what happened to me.

‘ Maybe they recognised me, marching down the streets of Miami; that I was the very same girl who played soccer with them. I’m not holding my breath though, it’s easy to forget if a person exists.”

“Hey, I’ll be your friend. What do you say I throw a little party, invite some of my friends and if things go well, they’ll be yours too,” Jack suggested as he stood up in her palm, using her thumb as support. After her last spurt, her thumb was about as tall as him and that meant he could easily stand in her palm without experiencing vertigo.

He looked up into her face, as large as a billboard but infinitely more attractive. He meant every word he had said, and he hoped Jessica knew it.

“Do your friends mind that I’m so...vertically gifted?” Jessica asked with great concern. It would do none of them any good if they were to run from her. She had enough of that already.

“They know about your situation though I might have to buy smelling salts for them.”

“I could just give you one of my work out tops, should be enough to wake the neighbourhood,” Jessica jokingly offered. Jack inhaled sharply as he pondered the potential of so much sweat in that.

“Look I still want them to be my friends,” Jack  cheekily answered.

“Oh right, that’s a little over the top.” She looked about, then up at the sky. The moon had ascended significantly since they began their talk. She had hardly noticed, and neither had Jack given the lack of comment. It was as they said, time flies when you’re having fun.

“Hey uh...we better get you back.It's getting late and I don’t want you to get into more trouble with Caitlin.”

Jack sighed, she had a point. If he didn’t then yes, Caitlin would tear him a new one.

“Yeah alright, let's go back.”

As she stood up and headed back to Palm Creek, Jack wished they could have stayed the whole night.

He didn’t say a word going back, just enjoying the rocking motion as he lay in Jessica’s palm as if it were a hammock. He really didn’t want to face Caitlin now, not when he could be with Jessica.

Up above, Jessica could feel each vertebrate of  Jack’s back against her palm. She cradled him a little, enjoying the feeling of doing so. Here he was safe, safe from mortal peril. Yet she would have to hand him off to Caitlin, a woman who could not appreciate what she had; and Jack was shielding her. She gritted her teeth, imagining putting the woman in her place if she could. Well she could, she just respected Jack as a host too much to actually do it.

When they got back, she got down on one knee and placed Jack back on the ground, who did a back stretch, feeling his spine crack and pop from the angle of sitting.

“Ah,”he sighed contentedly. “

“That felt great. Great talk Jess, really great. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, if I can.”

He waved at her, she waved back on instinct. Her feelings for him were far more certain now. She loved him. And eventually, she wanted him to know it.