Camille
and Theo were on the way out the door, and Theo was regretting he
wasn't looking into her face anymore. He enjoyed talking to her. She
was smart, funny, and incredible to look at. She was verging on out
of his league, even if she was his own size.
As
great as it was to have those calves and those thighs filling his
line of sight, he couldn't see as much what she was thinking. But the
way her muscles moved and flexed so full and cleanly, they had a
certain language of their own.
He
read the language a bit too slowly, as she stepped one leg directly
in front of him.
He
heard her say, “Careful.”
He
saw her body tense too late. He slammed into her hamstring face
first. It was exactly like when he ran into a tree as a kid. He had
wrapped his arm around it by reflex, then held on to keep from
falling. Her thigh was smooth, and bigger around than the tree, so he
wasn't completely successful this time. He fell to his knees, trying
to refill his lungs.
A
thick woman’s voice laughed above him. “Oh, sorry, Camille. I
didn't see him. Sorry little guy.”
Camille
bent at the knees a little, reached down to touch his back as he
stood and steady him.
She
said, “You alright?”
He
nodded, straightening against the fingers of her hand.
She
moved her fingers to his chin. “Look at me Theo.”
It
was definitely a pain having to look so far up every time he wanted
to talk to her. She was smiling down with some concern.
Over
her shoulder was a woman with long blonde hair, pale skin, but
African features. She was pretty, feminine, and a lot bigger than
Camille. Nearly a head taller, broader across the shoulders, bigger
curves.
The
guy Camille had stopped easily was a monster. Knowing what Camille
weighed, this woman would be close to two tons. It would have been
like getting run over by a bus. It made sense Camille had to use her
whole body to stop the woman’s momentum.
Theo
still couldn't fully process how big Camille was. The second woman
made him dizzy just to look at.
Theo
said, “I’m good, Camille.” Then he looked at the
mind-bogglingly huge other woman and waved up at her. “I’m fine,
tougher than I look.”
She
said to Camille while looking down at Theo with a look of wonder, “He
is both itty and bitty. So cute though.” She leaned down for a
closer look, making Theo’s eyes widen. Then she looked back at
Camille and asked her, “Can I pick him up?”
Theo
stepped back from the both of them in alarm, waving to get their
attention. “Hey! I’m right here, talk to me. And I’d rather you
not, if that's okay.”
She
stood back up straight, looking down at him from what seemed like the
other side of a ravine.
“Cute
and sassy,” she said, smiling. Not exactly intimidated by his
raised voice.
Camille
smiled broadly, saying, “Diane, this is Theo, our new roommate.
Straight from the Carolinas.”
“American
earther, nice. Hey, is Roxanne Back this year?”
“She
is.”
“Damn.
Lost a bet.”
Camille
laughed, then said, “Fuck you, Diane. She's a lot tougher than you
think.”
Diane
grimaced and said, “God, I hope not. I don't think she likes me. I
don't want any of that smoke.” She looked at Theo. “He’s just
your roommate? Thats all?”
Camille
said, “Roommates. I've known him about twelve hours.”
Diane
looked satisfied. She stepped around Camille, in front of Theo, and
squatted down. It gave Theo a sense of vertigo. He inhaled sharply.
Squatting, she was still easily over nine feet tall. “Ask her for
my number if you want someone fun to show you around. Or just come
by.” She touched a finger very gently to his chest. Theo inhaled
sharply again. He realized his lungs were already full, and he was
getting dizzy. He was hyperventilating. He couldn't quite stop it.
“You
be good now, Shawty.” She stood up. “Tell Roxanne I asked about
her. Please don't mention the bet thing.” She was gone. Theo could
feel the ground shake with every step.
Camille
touched his back again, pushing him to lean against her leg. She said
to Theo, “Yeah, we're really gonna have to keep an eye on you.”
Theo
sighed. He looked up, stepped back, and said, “I do know how to
take care of myself a little bit.”
Camille
looked down, and said “Come here.” She stepped off the paved
walkway onto the grass. Theo noticed how deep her feet sank into the
earth with every step. These women had to be really easy to track in
the wilderness.
Camille
turned toward him, lowering her massive weight to his level, her
forearm resting on her knee. She motioned him closer.
“I
sense a trick,” Theo said. He stopped about ten feet away, just out
of reach.
Her
face was still higher than his. She laughed. “Right there is fine.
So here is what I want you to do. I want you to try to get away from
me.”
Theo
frowned. He wasn't sure he liked this game.
“Just
turn and run. Like you need to escape.”
Theo
put his hands on his hips and glared at her.
“Humor
me, little guy.”
He
rolled his eyes and turned, started to run.
“Stop,”
she said.
Theo
turned back. “Seriously?” He walked a couple of steps back toward
her, but he was close to 12 feet away now.
“Theo,
I’m doing you a favor. Don't give me that lazy, half hearted run. I
want you to take off. Hard as you can.”
“This
is stupid. Really stupid.”
Camille
sighed. She rolled her eyes tilting her head back. “Theo, I'm just
trying to show you something.“
“Yeah
but do we really...” Theo stopped in mid-sentence. He inhaled
sharply, and his eyes went wide, looking past Camille's shoulder. “Oh
shit!” He pointed, and Camille turned quickly to see.
That
was when Theo took off. He sank his hips, planted his right foot in
the dirt, pushed off and twisted the opposite direction from Camille.
He
was briefly a receiver in high school, before finding out he couldn't
catch. A cornerback until he decided he didn't like tackling. He
could run, though.
It
was a clean move, and Theo was leaning hard as he planted his second
step. This was the acceleration. His body fell into balance in a
single direction and his left thigh strained to increase his
momentum.
He
spotted a convenience store across the street. He’d break for that,
cut behind it, look for higher ground.
Theo
launched forward, slamming his right leg back into the turf, starting
to feel the beginning of the breeze as he neared full—
A
large hand snaked under his arm as it swung forward. Theo knew what
was coming. He slammed into it hard, his body rolling forward over it
as it tilted. Theo was staring at the ground, his torso just about
parallel with it, when the grass and dirt he had been standing on
suddenly launched away from his feet. Then the world spun for a
moment.
His
upper back hit hard against her shoulder, his butt much softer
against her breast. He was catching his breath.
She
was laughing hard, and held up against her it felt like an
earthquake.
Camille
took only one extra step to slow her momentum, than she was back at a
leisurely pace. Like nothing had happened.
She
had been distracted, twelve feet away. Crouching at a dead stop. He
hadn't gotten four steps.
He
looked at the convenience store so far away.
And
looking around, these giants were not paying particular attention.
Not checking on him to see if he was safe, if this beautiful behemoth
of a woman was hurting him.
She
was still laughing. “Oh God, that was awesome!”
He
turned his head up to her, as she looked at him. Their faces were
inches away from each other.
She
beamed at him. “ ‘Over there’! You are a riot, man. Told you it
wouldn't work though.”
She
smelled really nice. A little heavy on the perfume, perhaps. Her hair
felt good, tousled a bit and laying across his right shoulder. Her
skin was incredibly smooth, a perfect deep tan.
He
drank it in for a moment, remembered himself. He looked at her, a
little angry. He pulled at her fingers, which were squeezing air out
of him, and he felt he soften her grip.
“Not
exactly a fair contest,” he huffed.
She
shook her head ruefully. “No. Not at all.” Then she flashed a
smile. She said, “You’re actually pretty fast. You did better
than I thought. You almost got a fourth step on me.”
“Hardy
har.”
She
looked confused. “Who is Hardy Har?”
In
addition to their completely impossible size, they moved like
lightning. If he’d been within her reach he wouldn't have gotten a
single step.
Theo
lifted his head. Things looked more familiar to him, and less
familiar. Suddenly he wasn't in a hole, looking up at the world. But
the pecan tree to his left seemed low. The grass seemed so far away.
He
looked at his shoes dangling, a few feet away. And Camille’s
sandals, which stretched the long distance to the ground, sunk three
inches deep.
Theo
shook his head. It was completely unbelievable. “How... are all of
you... this... BIG???”
She
chuckled. “Bee Gee Gee Bee.”
Theo
threw up his hands. “But what is that?” He asked.
Camille
put her hands on his waist and lowered him. They went fully around
him,
Camille
sighed and gave a rueful, indecisive groan. “Just research Atlasian
Gene Crimes.”
“Genetic
Engineering? Oh my God. I mean, of course.”
“It's
touchy subject, so let's not talk about this right now.” And she
started walking away. “Come on. Unless you want to be carried.”
He
hurried behind her. She didn't slow down for him this time.