On the way to Suite 4, Pete spotted his coworker handing a man her shoes. Jill accepted a wad of cash from the man, quickly stuffing it down the front of her shirt. Then the man disappeared into Suite 2 with a huge smile plastered across his face.
It wasn't the first time he'd seen Jill making a little extra money on the side. Rachel's view on the matter was that anything keeping the members happy was probably good for the club. As long as Jill didn't break the rules, she was free to do as she pleased. Pete could understand why Jill was sought after by some of the members. She was a tall, slender young woman with a surfer's body. There was one time she even came to work wearing a wetsuit, straight from the beach he assumed. But of course Rachel had made her change into something more appropriate. Still, it was difficult to forget the way that wetsuit hugged her natural curves. Pete would never call Jill a blond bombshell to her face, but the description fit her perfectly. He noticed that she was walking towards him.
"So how much did you make this time?" he asked.
Jill playfully poked Pete with her index finger. "You know, I'll never understand this weird fetish you people have." She grinned as she took a cheap pair of foam sandals from her purse. "But I've got 500 reasons not to complain!" Jill dropped her flip flops to the floor and casually slipped into them, dramatically wiggling her long toes purely for Pete's benefit.
"I wish I could make money that easily."
"You're not kidding! I didn't even sell them to him. Tom's only borrowing them for a couple of hours. That's one heck of a rental fee, right? Right?"
"Yeah. That's a lot of money."
"So what's up Pete, or did you just come and find me to admire my new pedicure? Not that I'd blame you," Jill spread the toes of her right foot, fanning them out as if she were admiring them. Only it was Pete doing the admiring.
"N-No! I was just--"
"Oh relax stud, I know that you're head over heels for Rachel. But I still get to tease you, because I'm a pretty girl too."
"Y-Yes."
"What am I going to do with you Pete? All I have to do is wiggle my toes, and you trip all over yourself. You'll have to do a lot better than that if you want to hook a babe like Rachel. We'll work on it. Anyway, what was it you needed. I know the boss lady has you fixing something or whatever."
"She wants me to test the projector in Suite 4. It would go a lot faster with a little help."
"Okay boss, lead the way."
Pete entered the suite with Jill in tow. With Jill operating the projector manually, he could concentrate completely on the diagnostics. She flipped open a panel on the wall beside the suite's door, retrieving a remote control. Removing the remote automatically disabled the projector's autonomous mode. Normally all a person had to do was walk to the center of the room, and then the shrinking process would automatically commence. Leaving the center of the room would trigger the reversion process.
"Okay boss, say when." She trained the remote on Pete as if it were a gun.
Pete smiled at her typical silliness. It was a Bluetooth remote, paired with the projector. There was no need to aim it at anything. She could point it anywhere and it would still function properly. But that would be less dramatic.
"Go ahead and shoot me." He played along with her antics, pretending like a bullet struck him when she pushed the shrink button.
Jill watched as a beam of red light enveloped Pete, causing him to rapidly dwindle in size. She had only seen it a few times before, so it was still an interesting sight. Staff were strictly forbidden from entering suites being used by members. If the sign on the suite's door said occupied, it meant KEEP OUT. That was the club's #1 safety rule. And it was a zero tolerance, fireable offense. The only exception being entry in case of emergency, which had never happened on Jill's watch.
It was Jill's job to police the hallway leading to the suites. And she took her job very seriously. Rachel had drilled it into her. Only one person at a time was allowed access to a suite. It was also Jill's responsibility to explain the rules to any new members, and provide detailed instructions on the suites if necessary. To an outsider, it might appear that Jill was nothing more than a glorified greeter. But the club's safety record spoke for itself. She was doing something right.
"How long was it?"
"What?" Jill looked down at the tiny man on the floor.
"How long did the shrinking process take?"
"How should I know?"
Jill could hear Pete just fine, thanks to the directional microphones pointed at the center floor of the room. Even though their sizes were now vastly different, they could still carry on a conversation as two normal-sized people would.
"You were supposed to time the shrinking process." His voice bellowed out of the speakers embedded in the walls.
"You never told me that!" Jill griped. "I'm not psychic."
"Oh right, I forgot to explain. Rachel said people are complaining that this projector is malfunctioning."
Pete felt the floor start to shake as Jill moved in for a closer look. If he weren't currently tiny, there's no way he would normally be able to feel Jill's footsteps. Her huge feet stopped right at the yellow hazard line. The yellow line emblazoned in a circle on the suite's matted floor marked the perimeter of the shrinking zone. It also served as an additional KEEP OUT warning. Pete immediately noticed the tips of Jill's flip flops had crossed over the line.
"What do you mean it isn't working? You look tiny to me."
"I know, but the shrinking process is only supposed to take four to eight seconds. People are complaining it's taking longer."
"Whatever, I'll revert you and then shrink you again so we can time it. Members complain about the dumbest things."
"It kind of makes sense though. They ARE being charged for their time in the suite. Time is money and all of that."
A loud sigh signaled Pete that he was wrong to disagree. The floor shook again as Jill crouched down, moving even closer to him. Now both of her feet were all the way inside the perimeter line. She had a condescending expression on her face.
"What difference does three or four seconds make? We don't charge by the second, it's an hourly rate. It's just something frivolous to complain about, probably because of buyer's remorse."
"Okay. Okay. You're right." Pete conceded. "Now can you back up a little? You're inside the hazard line."
"Yes Pete, I know you're there. I can see you just fine. You know that I'd never hurt you. Besides, you'd probably enjoy it if I stepped on you." Jill fiddled with the remote in her hand. "Let me find the revert button. It's been so long since I've used this stupid thing. And the print is so tiny."
Pete took in the sight of his giant coworker while she studied the remote control. Her tight jeans stopped at her shapely ankles. She was balancing all of her weight on the balls of her feet and her toes, with her heels raised in the air. Her toes were firmly planted into the white foam of her flip flops. Pete felt that she had strong, athletic-looking feet. If those toes ever got a hold of him, they could easily break him in half. Or maybe he would simply be crushed beneath them in a single mighty step.
"Found it!"
Everything turned greenish as the revert light enveloped Pete's body. He was standing at his full height again after what seemed like only a few seconds. It was difficult to be sure without timing the process. Jill rose from her crouched position, standing to her full height as well. Now they were both looking into each other's eyes. This was the usual view Pete was accustomed to. Except whenever Jill happened to wear heels, then she was taller than him.
"Next time dummy, tell me what I'm supposed to be doing!" She smacked him upside the head with the projector remote, but lightly.
"Hey, careful! Don't break it. Then I'll have to fix that too."
Jill giggled as she tugged her phone from her hip pocket, activating the timer app with a rapid series of swipes and taps. She pressed the shrink button again, without issuing a warning for Pete. This time, she timed the process from big to small as per his instructions.
"There. It was 9.5 seconds. So that's too long, right? Pete?"
"Don't move Jill."
"Huh?" She looked up from her phone's screen. "Did you hear me? It was 9.5 seconds. Hold on, something is tickling my foot."
Somehow when he had shrunk, Pete ended up on top of Jill's left foot. It must have been because they were standing too close together in the center of the room. He was barely moving, but apparently it was just enough to agitate her sensitive skin. Pete watched in abject horror as Jill slipped her right foot from its flip flop. It was coming to rub out the source of whatever was irritating her left foot. He screamed as her massive toes were about to crash down on top of him.
"Jill! I said don't move! Stop moving!"
"What is going on? Why are you yelling at me Pete? Is this some kind of game?"
Jill looked down at the floor. Pete wasn't there. She was about to rub the ticklish spot on her left foot, but she felt something moving beneath her toes. After she moved her right foot slightly to the side, she saw Pete on top of her left foot.
"Oh my God Pete, why are you on my foot?! I almost--"
"This is why I told you to back up behind the hazard line!"
"Stop yelling at me! I'm sorry! I almost killed you. I'm going to lose my job. I love this job. Rachel's going to yell at me too. I hate it when she yells at me!"
Pete breathed a sigh of relief as he sensed the immediate danger was over. He also sensed Jill was about to start crying. She was scared, possibly on the brink of hysteria.
"Calm down Jill. Nothing bad happened. Just stay still, and I'll climb down. Just don't move. Whatever you do, don't move." Pete made sure he didn't raise his voice again, because she was clearly upset enough already.
"Okay," Jill whimpered.
Pete breathed a second sigh of relief as Jill sheathed her right foot back into its flip flop. Gazing upward, it was difficult not to appreciate the moment. It would have been sexy, being at the feet of a statuesque beauty, if he wasn't in so much danger. The danger definitely took some of the thrill out of it. There was also a smell starting to develop. Jill was sweating nervously.
That was his cue to start moving. This situation wasn't getting any better for either of them. Pete took a second to survey his surroundings and plan his escape route. Jill had long narrow feet with long powerful toes. The safest path would be along the top of her foot, down between her toes, and then jump from the tip of her sandal. And he had better get moving before her skin was slick with perspiration and he accidentally slipped and slid off the side of her foot. The suite floor was padded to protect against falls, but he didn't feel like taking any chances.
"Pete that tickles! It really itches. Can't you move without tickling me so much?"
"I don't know how! I've never done this before. Just hang in there. I'm moving as fast as I can."
"You're making me nervous Pete. I get sweaty when I'm nervous. My feet will start to stink. Hurry up!"
"Relax, you have beautiful feet. I don't smell anything." Part of it was true at least. He really did believe her feet were pretty.
With some effort, and a protest of giggles high above, he made it to the tops of her toes. The smell was much stronger at the front of her foot. A pungent, sour aroma invaded his nostrils. He wasn't sure how well Jill could see him, but he resigned himself to show absolutely no signs of being grossed out by her foot odor. Jill was his friend, and he didn't want to hurt her feelings. It was ironic in a way. Even with his attraction to lovely females and their feet, this was actually the first time he had ever smelled a woman's feet. But at his current diminutive size, it was a powerful dose of reality. Pete knew that at his normal height, he would never be able to smell Jill's feet. She did not have stinky feet. He would have to get down on his hands and knees, and then bury his nose between her toes. But that was at his normal height, now he was about to lower his entire body into the cramped space between her sweaty toes. Looking down at his destination, the insole of her sandal, he noticed a sweat stain forming.
"I'm about to slide down to the flip flop. It will probably tickle. Remember, you have to remain still." Pete glanced up to see Jill nodding in agreement. She was biting her bottom lip in preparation for the worst.
Pete took one last look around before the final plunge. Her toenails were painted a shiny red color. Some women had little hairs on their toes, but not Jill. There was nothing but smooth, tanned skin. One thing was for sure, no man had ever been this close to Jill's feet before.
"Jill, spread your toes a little. I'm going to climb down the strap between them."
Pete positioned himself at the top of the strip of fabric while Jill fanned out her toes for him. It would be something like that old board game, Operation. A buzzer would go off in the game if you touched the sides. Only, this was real life. If he inadvertently tickled the sides of her mighty toes, she might accidentally crush him. It would be a bit worse than a buzzer going off.
He started his descent down the thin piece of fabric stretched between her toes. Her big toe on his right and her second toe on his left completely dwarfed him in size. They were monstrous compared to his minuscule form. He had to grip the material firmly. It was lathered with Jill's foot sweat.
"You're doing fine Jill. It won't be much longer. Just keep holding still for me."
Jill watched the shrunken man climbing around between her toes. She knew she was perspiring. She could feel it. It felt like holding her left foot perfectly still was taking all of her concentration. If she stopped focusing for more than a second, she might move involuntarily and injure Pete.
"Does my foot stink?" Jill instantly regretted asking. As soon as the words left her lips she was overcome with embarrassment.
"It smells like a sexy woman down here."
"That's so gross!" Jill giggled loudly. His response made her feel better, even if it wasn't the truth. "Don't make me laugh, damn it! I'm trying to hold still!"
It was difficult for Pete NOT to notice the smell. He was sandwiched in between the fleshy walls of a giant's toes. It felt like her foot odor was clinging to his body. If the odor wasn't, her perspiration certainly was. His clothing was drenched in sweat. Admittedly, some of it was his own, but it was mostly from Jill's foot. Every breath he took was filled with humid, hot air. He was literally breathing his coworker's foot funk. By the time he reached the insole of her sandal, he would probably feel like her toe jam.
As Pete was nearing the bottom, one of his hands slipped. He lost his grip on the fabric, sending him swaying to the side. Instinctively, he reached for anything to steady himself. His hand brushed against the side of Jill's big toe before he could pull it back. Jill gasped loudly, pinching her toes together without realizing it. She took a deep breath and held it until the ticklish feeling subsided. Looking down, she nearly screamed. Her toes were clenched tightly together, probably squeezing the life out of tiny Pete.
"Oh no! Pete! Are you okay?" Jill quickly unclenched her toes. "Pete? Say something Pete!"
"I-I," Pete struggled to take in a breath. "I-I'm okay."
Jill could hear Pete having trouble breathing. She knew he was struggling to take in as much of the smelly air between her toes as he could. It must have been horrible.
"Y-You knocked the wind out of me. I'm okay though. Please don't do that again."
He didn't want to scare her, but she did a lot more than knock the wind out of him. She almost broke his ribs, like all of them. All of his muscles and joints were hurting after her playful little squeeze. He almost wondered how the thin piece of fabric he was desperately clinging to could withstand such constant torture. It was a miracle her powerful toes hadn't wrenched it loose from the sandal's insole. The strength of her toes was incredible. They could kill a man with ease.
The muscles in his arms started to cramp as he neared the bottom. They were sore from climbing. They were sore from hanging on for dear life as Jill's toes squeezed the marrow from his bones. He lost his grip and fell the last ten feet, landing face first on the insole of her flip flop. The white foam felt moist and squishy. The smell of her feet intensified a hundred fold. Some of her sour, salty sweat seeped its way into his mouth. Like smelling it wasn't bad enough, now he was tasting Jill's feet. Her sweat burned his taste buds, overstimulating his senses. The oppressive odor and pungent taste made him dizzy.
He was almost free. If he could drag himself along the soggy foam, he would reach his goal. Pete crawled on his stomach. He felt too weak to get up. He resigned himself to crawling inside Jill's shoe like a wounded insect. The foam was a porous material, so he had plenty of good handholds to pull himself along. The problem was his arms. His muscles were burning. He was past her toes. He wasn't trapped between them any longer. If he could keep going, only a little further, he would reach the edge of her flip flop.
Pete began to wonder if her foot would actually let him go. Any second now, her foot might lift ever so slightly. If that happened, he would slide backwards uncontrollably. His body would slip back under her toes, then slide even further until he was beneath her meaty sole. It would be the end of his meager existence. He would become a part of the dark stain her foot had left behind on the sandal, a permanent addition to her ground-in footprint.
"I made it." Pete called out weakly, pulling himself over the edge of her sandal. He fell roughly to the matted floor below. It didn't feel good, but he knew he didn't sustain any injuries from the fall.
"Oh thank God! I'll hit the revert button."
"No wait! Back up first, behind the hazard line!"
"Oh yeah! Okay, I got it. I got it."
Jill backed away from the center of the room as she pressed the button. She watched the familiar green glow envelop him once again. When the process was complete, Pete was lying on his back groaning softly.
"Phew," Jill sighed loudly. "That was tough! I wasn't sure I could hold my foot still much longer. It's a good thing you got out as soon as you did."
Pete laid limply on the floor, waiting for enough energy to return so he could stand up. His mouth still tasted like the feet of the beautiful woman standing over him. Even though he was bigger now and finally out of her footwear, the scent of her feet was still stuck in his nose. Every muscle in his body ached. Part of him wondered if he was truly feeling what it was like to be stepped on by a giant woman.
"Don't be such a baby," Jill giggled. "It wasn't THAT bad."
Jill helped Pete up, practically lifting him from the floor by herself. He didn't help much. Once he was back on his feet again, Jill hugged him.
"I'm glad you're okay. I was so scared! I thought you were going to die or something down there."
Pete didn't have the heart to tell her that he nearly did. He was thankful she was hugging him. He wasn't sure he had enough stamina to stand on his own just yet. Her hair smelled nice. He could feel her large breasts pushing against his chest. If he wanted to, he could probably kiss her pretty face.
"Um Pete, do we have to tell Rachel about this? I think she would be really, really mad at me. I was careless, and you know how she feels about that. I promise it won't ever happen again!"
"Do you have some water?" Pete pleaded, his throat still burning from swallowing so much of Jill's perspiration.
"Uh," Jill rifled through her bag, "I think so." She handed him a half empty bottle of water. He instantly emptied it the rest of the way.
"But Pete, I'm serious, do we have to tell Rachel about this? You know she scares me. I really hate when she yells at me."
Pete placed his hand on Jill's shoulder. "We don't have to tell her anything. It never happened."
"Thanks Pete!" She hugged him again, with renewed enthusiasm.
"Thanks for not squishing me."
"But I thought that's what all you little foot freaks fantasized about." Jill teased.
"No Jill, I'm not a bug. I don't want to die under a foot."
"Oh really! What if it was Rachel's perfect little foot?"
"I can't enjoy it if I'm dead."
"It sure looks like you were enjoying something down there. Was it my feet?" Jill traced her fingers down Pete's pant leg, pinching his not so well hidden hard on between her thumb and index finger.
Jill turned to leave, but had one last thing to say before exiting the suite. "Let me know when you get tired of waiting for the Ice Queen."
After Jill left the suite, Pete limped through the exit. His leg hurt. He slumped down with his back against the wall in the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a vision of loveliness drifting gracefully towards him. His eyesight was a little blurry.
"Rachel?" he called out wearily.
"What the hell happened to you?!"