It may not have been full summer yet, but it was definitely hot enough for a day on the beach for Susie and Emma. The two giant girls had never been to the seaside before in their lives, so when an opportunity to spend a week of their summer vacation staying at the coast came along, they both leapt at the chance. The young giantesses had been out in the public eye for almost a year now, after having lived their entire lives in secrecy, and even though their every move was no longer treated as breaking news by the media, they still drew lots of attention, especially when visiting places they’d never been to before.

    Since they were much too big to stay in any kind of hotel, the girls had brought with them an appropriately-sized tent and were camping near to the coast on a section of private land whose owners had agreed to let them stay there. This way they could still have some privacy when they wanted, without any reporters or curious rubberneckers bothering them. This also allowed Susie’s boyfriend, Jake, to stay there as well in his own tent. Jake had by now finished high school and would be leaving for college soon, much to Susie’s dismay, so she was keen on having him spend as much time as possible with her before he left. As for Jake, he was happy that he and Susie were still together after all these months, despite their differences and the fact that he hated all the attention that was focussed on Susie, and by extension on him as well. But he couldn’t say no to a seaside vacation, having rarely been on one before, especially if it meant more time with his giant girlfriend. It was a pity that Emma had to come along as well and that the two of them couldn’t be alone by themselves, but he supposed it wasn’t fair to the younger girl to deny her this opportunity of having some fun in the sun too.

    It was the third day of their seaside stay, and as usual Susie decided that she wanted to be as lazy as possible. She walked along the expansive beach, enjoying the feel of the fine white sand under her bare feet, and found a large, empty spot for her to spread out her specially-made beach towel on. Everything she owned was specially made for her, including the new bikini swimsuit she was wearing. Most of it was paid for by her father, but she also received a lot of gifts and donations, both from individuals and corporations, and she was grateful for everything.

    Jake, who had been riding on Susie’s shoulder, found himself being plucked from his perch and lowered onto the ground far below. Even though he was used to being this close to Susie by now and perfectly at ease, the sight of her 110-foot tall body in motion from this close never ceased to amaze him. A slight step to the right from where her feet were, and he’d be no more, crushed into the sand by her immense foot. She wasn’t that careless or clumsy, thankfully, and she was always alert to the presence of normal-sized people in her vicinity. Susie lay down on her back and stretched out her arms and legs, loving the feeling of warmth she got from the sunshine. She had already begun to get a nice tan on her arms, legs and torso, which she planned to work on some more today. If she could have sunbathed topless it would’ve been great, but she knew that complete privacy was something she’d never be able to have.

    After she’d stopped moving, Jake felt it was safe enough for him to approach her again. He walked up to her right shoulder and, with a supreme amount of effort, hoisted himself on top of it. From there he made his way down her upper chest and climbed on top of her right breast, using the fabric of her swimsuit to pull himself up. He then lay down on his stomach, perched on top of her breast as though it were a king-sized bed. Susie giggled and gave him a little rub with her fingertip.

    “You really are enjoying all this, aren’t you?” she said. “Maybe a bit too much, if you ask me.”

    “Can you blame me?” he replied. “How often do we get to be together like this, just the two of us? I’m just gonna stay right here for the rest of day, watch me!”

    “Really? That’s a shame, you’re missing out on so much more of me. But just keep on lying on my boobs if it makes you happy!”

    She pinched his tiny waist and squeezed him a little, making sure not to hurt him. By now she was completely comfortable having Jake lie on her body like this. It wouldn’t be long before she’d be able to deal with being even more intimate with him. Susie knew that most other sixteen-year old girls were probably a lot more familiar with their boyfriends by now, but she wasn’t like them and felt she needed to take her time with her own relationship. She could tell that Jake was getting impatient with her, though he was too polite to tell her so, and she dreaded the thought that he might dump her for another, normal-sized girl if she was unable to move beyond just letting him walk around on her while she was wearing a bikini.

    Jake, on the other hand, was unaware of Susie’s fears about him. He really did care for her and enjoyed being her boyfriend, though he was still unsure whether or not he was really in love with her. But being this close to her was more than enough for him at the moment. He got a thrill from the fact that her gorgeous body was so vast compared to his own, completely overwhelming his senses. He rolled down the lower slope of her breast and onto her waist. Her soft skin, warmed by the sun, felt almost magical against his own body. A couple of steps and he’d reached her belly button, a perfect little hollow in the flat plain of her stomach. He plonked himself down in it, only his head, shoulders and lower legs sticking out. Susie made no effort to remove him, so he lay there for a while, completely relaxed, before the heat of the sun, as well as her body heat, made it a bit too hot for him to be comfortable.

    Still, with so much more of his giantess girlfriend to roam around on, it was hardly a problem for him. He rolled around back-and-forth on her lower waist, just above the fabric of her swimsuit, but she was more ticklish than he expected. In fact, his movements made her giggle so much that he was actually flung off her body by the up-and-down movements of her stomach as she laughed. He landed safely on the towel below, but Susie was still concerned for him, so she actually banned him from hanging out on that part of her from now on. In any case, she decided to turn around and let her back tan for a while. Jake lay comfortably on the top of her buttocks for a while, before growing restless and deciding he’d like to go for a walk and do something else. He carefully climbed down from his girlfriend’s posterior and walked along the length of her body towards her head. When he spoke to her she seemed not to hear him, so he knocked on the rim of her enormous sunglasses and she lifted her head in response.

    “I’m just going for a bit of a walk around, see what I can find,” he explained. “Do you want to come with me or would you like to stay here?”

    “Hmm…I’ll stay here for now,” she said slowly. “I’m really too lazy to get up right now. Maybe I’ll go for a swim later or something…”

    “Okay…well, suit yourself. Wow, it’s really hot today, isn’t it? I need to see if I can find a place that sells ice cream or something like that. I’d bring you back some too, but…well, you know…”

    Susie looked annoyed and Jake wondered if he’d been a bit insensitive, talking like that and reminding her of the fact that she’d never be able to enjoy having an ice cream on the beach, since it would take a whole truckload to satisfy her. He was about to apologise and explain that he wouldn’t be getting an ice cream after all when she interrupted him.

    “You can get going if you want,” she said abruptly. “Go on, enjoy yourself, have fun! Don’t let me tell you what to do or anything like that.”

    “I was only going to…”

    “It’s okay, Jake, really. Now go already – I’ll be fine here by myself!”

    He turned around and walked off quickly, not wanting to cause a scene on a public beach, ‘cause that would immediately draw everyone’s attention. He also didn’t want to get into an argument over something so silly. But that was the problem with Susie: she did have moments where she could be immature and impulsive, and make a big deal out of nothing. But Jake understood that it wasn’t her fault – she had an extremely lonely childhood, without receiving many of the life lessons that most children do when growing up, and her manner around other people, especially people she knew, could be a little off-putting or seemingly rude every now and then. But she has been maturing and learning a lot since she went public with her existence, and he knew her true self – a kind, friendly, selfless young girl who wanted nothing more than to make friends and be helpful to everyone around her.

    After Jake had left, Susie kept on lying in the sun for a while, but without him around she quickly grew irritable and decided to go for a swim. Swimming in the ocean – an entirely new experience for her – was very different from swimming in the little lake back home. Here she could actually swim at top speed for miles on end, in water that was deeper than her height, and she loved it. The giant (to ordinary people) waves crashing against her body made it extra fun. She dropped her sunglasses into the giant basket she’d brought along and headed off into the blue water. Most people were swimming off to her right, where the water was a lot calmer and there were no rocks. To her left there were no swimmers, due to the much bigger waves crashing against a rocky shoreline of cliffs. She could see a few daring surfers further out, riding the biggest waves, but she’d make sure not to accidentally swim into one of them, which would certainly cause a serious injury to any unfortunate surfer.

    “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” she thought as she waded into deeper water. “I never thought I’d ever see the ocean, much less swim in it. If it hadn’t been for Jake…”

    She thought back to that day when she’d first met her future boyfriend and how things could have so easily been very different. If she hadn’t decided to walk to that exact spot by the fence, if Jake hadn’t been there as well, if he hadn’t been pressured by that gang of bullies to touch the electric fence and then left behind, if she hadn’t decided to step up and help him…if any one of those many little things hadn’t happened, she’d still be living in secret in her forest cabin, unknown to the outside world, lonely and with no hope of a possible future. But now she was freed from her confined former life and the whole world was hers to explore…

    As she waded in deeper and deeper into the cool blue waters, she began to feel a sensation of calmness and serenity settle over her. She felt far removed from the prying eyes and incessant cares of the wider world, at peace with the sky and the sea. Waves that would be considered dangerous to ordinary swimmers merely splashed harmlessly against her mighty figure. She eventually reached water deep enough to dive into, and the fun began.

    After playfully splashing about for a long time, diving beneath the mightiest waves and leaping up as high as she could (with no-one around her for her to be scared of hurting), Susie decided to head back. Instead of going directly back to the shore, she swam instead towards the cliffs that were closer to her. The highest of the rocky walls rose almost a hundred feet above the surface of the ocean, and even Susie would have a tough time climbing them. As she got closer, she suddenly heard what sounded like a scream. At first she thought she must’ve bumped into someone, but when she heard it again she realized it was coming from the cliffs. Then she saw it: a tiny figure of a human being, trapped forty feet above the raging waves on a miniscule rocky ledge. Susie knew it was someone in trouble, and she wasted no time in swimming to the rescue.

    Planting her feet on two submarine rocks, the teenage giantess pulled herself up the sheer cliffs until her face was just above the trapped person. It turned out to be a girl only a few years older than Susie, with short black hair and tanned skin. She seemed to be badly injured and was bleeding from several gashes on her arms and legs. Next to her lay the remains of a pink surfboard, split in two, no doubt from being smashed against the rocks by a huge wave. It was miraculous that the girl herself was still alive, Susie thought: even she was having trouble steadying herself against the incoming waves, giant-sized though she was. She placed her open hand next to the young woman, who was staring up at her with a mixture of fear and confusion.

    “Hello,” Susie said. “Don’t be scared, I’m here to help you. Are you badly hurt? Can you move? I’m Susie, by the way…but you probably knew who I am anyway. I mean there’s not a lot of people you can confuse me with, I guess.”

    “I…I’m Mariana,” the girl stuttered. “Please help me! I got caught in a current, and then this huge wave carried me up here, and I can’t get down!”

    “It’s okay, of course I’ll help you. I can take you back to shore. Are you badly injured?”

    Mariana looked at the wounds on her arms and rubbed a bump on her head.

    “I’ll be fine,” she said after some hesitation. “I know it looks bad, but it doesn’t hurt too much right now.”

    Susie slid her hand against Mariana’s back and carefully lifted her up.

    “I’m really sorry, but I need to use my hands to swim back,” she said to her new acquaintance. “The water’s too deep here for me to walk, so…sorry about this.”

    She wrapped her fingers around the frightened girl, trying to hold her as lightly as possible. Then she lifted the fabric of one of her bikini cups and gently put Mariana inside, leaving her head and shoulders free. It was an awkward situation for both of them, but Susie didn’t really have time to think of a better alternative. Rescuing people trapped at sea was a new experience for her, after all. She did the same with the broken pieces of the girl’s surfboard, stowing them inside the other side of her swimming costume. She made sure her passenger was okay and not in any pain, before stepping back from the cliffs.

    “I’m going to swim back to shore, so you’re gonna have to hold your breath for a while, I’m afraid,” Susie said. “It won’t be for long, I promise. As soon as I reach shallow water, I’ll get you out of there at once.”

    “Oh, it’s okay,” Mariana said awkwardly. “This isn’t too bad in here, actually. Don’t worry about me being underwater for a bit, I can hold my breath longer than anyone else I know.”

    Susie nodded, then pushed off from the cliffs and dove into the deeper ocean, swimming at a speed much faster than any normal-sized humans could run on land. She made sure to give Mariana a chance to get some air every now-and-then, leaping out of the water as high as she could. It wasn’t long before she rounded the cliffs and reached shallow waters, and not long after that before she could easily continue walking to shore. She took her injured passenger out of her swimsuit and let her lie down in her palm. Mariana looked absolutely overwhelmed by the whole situation, but Susie knew this was a normal reaction, experienced by everyone who met her for the first time.

    “Thanks for saving me,” Mariana said, coughing up a little bit of water she’d swallowed during the voyage back to shore. “You…you really are just as amazing as I always thought you were. You know, from seeing you on the TV and stuff.”

    “Oh, uh, thanks,” Susie said, blushing a little bit. She wasn’t used to praise like this, being much more accustomed to people being afraid of her, rude to her and calling her a freak, or trying their best to avoid contact with her – the usual reactions from passers-by she’d never met before. “Um, so…is there a hospital in town I can take you to? I need to make sure you’re okay before I can leave you, I feel.”

    “There’s a small clinic on the north side of town, where I’ve been to before after being dragged down by a wave once. I can tell you how to get there.”

    “Sounds great! Okay, so usually I let first-time passengers ride on my shoulder, but maybe I’d better carry you like this, just to make sure you don’t get hurt again. Honestly, I have no idea how you people who like surfing can do these things when getting hurt is such a big possibility. I mean, if I wasn’t this huge, I probably would’ve been too scared to even go into the deep sea without any waves.”

    Mariana laughed. She had never imagined that today would be the day she got to meet the world-famous giant girl Susie, much less that she’d be carried in her hands and having a friendly conversation with her. But Susie was surprisingly enjoyable to talk to. The giantess strode up the beach, past the super-sized beach towel she’d left earlier (still no sign of Jake anywhere, Susie thought), and easily stepped over the nearest row of houses to reach the town’s streets.

    Susie was used to walking on public roads by now, even narrow streets such as these. She tried her best to avoid blocking any oncoming traffic, which was easier said than done, and of course she made sure never to accidentally step on something – or someone. She knew that even a simple accidental crushing of a person would be nationwide news and immediately turn the whole of the public she’d tried so desperately to win over against her at once. Plus she’d never, ever forgive herself either if she ever killed anyone, even by accident. She was glad she was walking barefoot now, which made the damage she couldn’t help but cause the road surface much less than usual, when the impact of her shoes would crack and buckle even the hardest roads. But now she walked with confidence, stepping over gawking crowds of people and surprised motorists, paying them no attention as they stared up at the towering bikini-clad girl and whipped out their phones to record their ‘close encounter’.

    “We’re almost there,” Mariana said from her safe perch in Susie’s hands. “Holy shit, this feels so cool! It’s like I’m flying over everyone and everything below me on the ground. Hey, you’ve got a boyfriend, right? Do you often take him for rides like this?”

    “Yeah, of course!” Susie said, giggling at her description of this as a ‘ride’. “I should probably go looking for him soon, since he’s wandered off somewhere. I hope he’s not lost or anything…”

    “Oh, okay. Lucky guy…” Mariana looked up at her colossal rescuer and envied this guy she’d never met. Even though it’s been less than an hour since she’d met Susie, she was herself already hooked on the idea of having a giant girlfriend. But what are the odds there’d be a third giantess somewhere in the world, who hasn’t revealed herself yet…and that she’d be into girls instead of guys? Still, she could enjoy this moment while it lasted, and she was definitely going to try and stay friends with Susie.

    Meanwhile, at the other end of the beach, Susie’s fellow giantess, Emma Lenard, was busy having her own version of a fun summer seaside vacation. Normally, a twelve-year old girl like Emma wouldn’t be allowed by her parents to go to the beach by herself, but, since their daughter was almost a full 100 feet tall, they needn’t be worried that she’d ever be in any sort of danger. Emma’s parents were in fact staying in one of the nearby seaside hotels, just in case their daughter needed them, but Emma usually preferred to go to the beach by herself or with Susie and Jake. However, Susie and Jake usually wanted to spend some time alone whenever they went, leaving Emma to herself. She wasn’t too upset, however, since this gave her a chance to make some new friends. And she knew a good way to go about it.

    Using an appropriately-sized plastic spade and bucket, she’d built her own sandcastle on the beach, one which wasn’t that much smaller than an actual castle would be. This was of course an extraordinary sight to all of the normal-sized people who’d also come to the beach for some fun in the sun, and pretty soon she’d attracted quite a large crowd around her. Most of the curious bystanders were content to stay a safe distance away from the titanic tween girl, even though they knew she wasn’t dangerous. But a small group of girls of about Emma’s age were brave enough to approach her and get a closer look at her construction.

    “Hi there!” Emma said to the comparatively tiny girls. “Wanna have a look around?”

    “Did…did you really build this whole thing…by yourself?” one of the girls asked, looking up at the impressive structure.

    “Yeah, of course! I am a giantess, you know, or haven’t you noticed? It didn’t even take me an hour. Come on, let me show you inside!”

    Without warning, she enveloped three of the girls with her fingers and lifted them up into the air. The girls she’d picked up, and those she’d left on the ground, all shrieked with surprise, and a wave of gasps and murmurs rippled through the encircling crowd. Emma put her little friends down on the highest turret of her sandcastle, where their feet sank into the wet sand it was built with. She then took the other two girls and put them down on top of a different tower.

    “Go on, explore and have fun,” she said encouragingly to the girls. “Just try not to break anything, okay? By the way,” she said, addressing the crowd of onlookers, “anyone else is welcome too!”

    Within five minutes, much to Emma’s delight, her sand fortress was a hive of activity, with kids of all ages clambering all over it, while their nervous parents kept on watching from a safe distance. Inevitably, some of the walls and towers got damaged and collapsed, but it was all great fun for the children, and it took Emma only a moment to rebuild any damaged sections. Emma herself every now-and-then would pick up some of the kids and give them a ride in her hands, weaving them back-and-forth through the air dozens of feet above the ground. If the beach wasn’t so busy, she’d even have liked to lie down and let everyone climb around on top of her, but with all of the people around her she didn’t think this was a particularly safe idea.

    She was about to go look for Susie and ask her if she’d like to join the fun, when she saw two people, both adults, come striding towards her. It was a man and a woman, both in their thirties, but they didn’t look like parents of any of the other children. They seemed hesitant to approach her (which was par-for-the-course, as Emma knew by now), but eventually the woman stepped forward and yelled to get her attention. Emma crouched down on her hands and knees, in order to hear her better.

    “Uh, hello up there…” the woman said, sounding very nervous. “Um, is your big sister around? We kind of need her help.”

    “Oh, you mean Susie? Yeah…but I don’t see her anywhere right now. She’s not my sister, by the way – we’re not related. Hang on, I’ll see if I can see her.”

    Standing up to get a better view, Emma saw Susie’s enormous towel, covering one-fifth of an acre, lying in the distance, but there was no sign of Susie herself. She looked down at the woman, so tiny compared to her own feet, and shrugged her shoulders helplessly. The man had walked up to her as well by now. he beckoned up to her to come closer and Emma got down on hands-and-knees again.

    “Hi there, uhh…” the man said, hesitating for a moment, until Emma realized he was trying to remember her name.

    “It’s Emma,” she said, holding an enormous fingertip in front of the man. He looked very confused, then half-heartedly laid his own hand on the much-larger tip of her finger. Emma giggled, as she always did whenever people tried to ‘shake hands’ with her.

    “Pleased to meet you, Emma,” the man said, sounding a bit more at ease. “I’m Dennis, and this is my wife Olivia, and…well, I’m sorry to interrupt you like this…you’re clearly having a great time here and everything…but we do need your help with something. Would you come with us, please?”

    Emma pursed her lips. Following a pair of strangers would be an unwise thing for almost any child to do…but she wasn’t just any child, as she well knew. She asked what this was about.

    “We’ll explain once we’re there,” the man said, sounding impatient. “Please follow us, we’re really in a hurry.”

    Without another word, Dennis and his wife turned around and began jogging off. Emma paused for a moment, then stood up and, taking three steps, intercepted the pair of them and blocked their path with her gigantic bare feet.

    “If you’re that much in a hurry, you’d better let me do the walking,” she said. Then she bent down and scooped up the bewildered couple with one hand. They huddled together in the centre of her palm.

    “Just relax and show me where to go,” Emma said. Dennis nodded and, letting go of Olivia, pointed in the desired direction. Emma set off at once, taking care where she placed her feet and leaving a trail of huge, three-foot-deep footprints behind her. She hoped this wouldn’t take too long, since she didn’t like leaving her sandcastle (and her new friends) on their own – but her parents had taught her to always offer help to anyone who needed it and she always wanted to do them proud.

 Emma knew at once when she saw it what the situation was she’d been asked to help with. A great crowd of people, maybe a hundred of them, were standing around a large whale that had run aground on the beach. Emma had never seen a living whale before, though she had read a lot about them and had sometimes dreamed about someday swimming with a group of whales, something she knew was probably never going to happen in real life. Looking at the stranded animal, she saw that a thick, lengthy rope had been tied around its tail fluke, and that the other end was attached to a large motorboat. Dozens of people were lined up along the rope as well, as if they were about to pull the whale back into the sea. She asked the people she was carrying if that was what was going on.

    “Yes, I’m afraid so,” Olivia answered. “Of course it’s far from an ideal solution, but it was the only option we had until Dennis and I got the idea to go looking for you or the other giant girl. We saw the two of you going for a swim yesterday and, well, you’re kinda easy to find. So do you think you could help us return him to the sea?”

    Emma nodded, although she still looked uncertain.

    “He probably ended up here on the beach last night, during the rough weather we were having then,” Dennis explained. “He’s an almost fully-grown male humpback whale, and I reckon he’s got to weigh at least 25, maybe 30 tons. By now he’s been lying here for hours, and he’s probably extremely stressed and in the process of suffocating slowly due to his unsupported weight. We don’t even know if we’d be able to drag him out to sea with the number of people we have…”

    “It’s okay, I’ll try my best to help,” Emma said. “I’ll be as careful as possible, I promise.” She wasn’t worried about the size of the whale – she herself weighed almost 300 tons, so picking up 25 tons would be easy for her. But she didn’t want to injure or distress the unfortunate creature even more than it already has been.

    She put Dennis and Olivia down on the beach and they quickly ran up ahead to warn the other people that Emma was coming. A few moments later and they’d managed to untie the rope from the whale’s tail, then they all made way as Emma took a few steps forward. She knelt down next to the humpback whale, which, despite it being a member of one of the largest mammal species on the planet, was only about half as long as she was tall. It was during moments such as this that Emma was once again reminded how incomparably huge she and Susie were compared to everyone and everything around them. The large crowd gathered around her was getting very excited by now, and of course there were numerous phones and cameras being held aloft, recording her and taking pictures. Emma knew she had to succeed, with so much attention focussed on her, or else she’d never hear the end of it. She dug both her arms into the sand beneath the whale’s body.

    “I’m sorry about this,” she whispered to the whale, which wasn’t moving and barely seemed alive. “I’m really trying to help, that’s all. This won’t take long, I swear.”

    She pushed herself back onto her feet and lifted the huge animal, then began walking towards the sea, cradling the whale in her arms as though it were large pet dog. It was covered in sand on its underside, which made it a lot less slippery and easier for Emma to carry. When she’d reached a suitable depth of water (up to her shoulders), she lowered the whale carefully into the water. At first it just hovered in the waters, as motionless as it had been on land, but then it rolled onto its side, splashing Emma with its fins and tail. Soon afterwards there erupted a fountain of mist from its blowhole, and before long the whale was heading back into deeper waters. It lifted up its tail fluke as it dived and Emma, feeling immensely relieved, actually waved back.

    Back on the beach, she was greeted with a loud chorus of cheers and applause. The crowd of onlookers, which had grown in size quite a bit, all thronged around her, having seemingly lost their trepidation of her. It was a reaction Emma was well-used-to by now, whenever she did something ‘heroic’ like this. But today it felt extra-special, as she very well may have just saved a life – not a human life, but that didn’t matter to her. She found an open patch of sand and lay down on it, resting her head on her arms and curling up her legs. People of all ages approached her, many of them still applauding, but most of them simply recording her on their phones or begging her for the opportunity of taking a selfie with her. Emma couldn’t say no, though she was a little overwhelmed by all of this sudden attention. She saw Dennis and Olivia and beckoned them to come closer. When they walked up to her, she scooped them up in her hand and gave them a little hug.

    “Oh my God, you really did it!” Olivia exclaimed. “You actually managed to save him! Thank you so much!”

    “That was incredible!” Dennis added. “You know, you should really come and work for us someday. We’re marine biologists, you see, and we encounter this sort of thing regularly. Having someone like you around to help…not just with rescuing stranded whales, but with all kinds of marine conservation work…well, that would make things a whole lot easier for us.”

    “I’ll…think about it,” Emma said. “I’m only twelve years old, actually, so I’d need to ask my parents about it first…”

    “Oh, he didn’t mean right away, sweetie!” Olivia interrupted. “But one day, when you’re grown up and you don’t know what you want to do in life…or do you have something else you’re planning on doing then?”

    Emma was about to answer when a small group of TV reporters, with cameras and microphones in tow, approached her, eager for an interview. She apologized to the couple in her hand and put them down, then turned to the cameras and listened to the reporters as they yelled out their questions. This was another part of being a giantess she was familiar with by now and she enjoyed it a lot less than she did the cheering and clapping. But she didn’t want to seem rude, and if being on TV again helped people to realize even more clearly that she was a friendly, helpful person and not something to fear, then she didn’t mind doing a few interviews. She wanted to keep this short, though: she still had her life-sized sandcastle to return to, and hopefully before all of the kids she’d invited to play with her completely wrecked it.

    That night, the two girls, and Jake as well, were back at their tent, eating a basic supper and unwinding after a long day – a long day of mostly doing nothing but relaxing and playing, but a long day nevertheless. Their campsite was a very simple setup: one tent just big enough for the two giantesses to sleep in, with another, more basic-looking tent nearby containing a small bathtub which had its water supplied from a nearby freshwater pond (which also supplied the girls’ drinking water). Jake had his own little tent, some distance away from the two giant tents. Inside their tent, Susie and Emma had most of the necessities they needed for going camping like this, all of it magnified to their own scale.

    After supper, the three of them decided to play some cards. Susie had a deck of cards, each six feet in size, which was specially made for her by the manufacturer in exchange for doing a short promotional ad for them. This was great for her and Emma, but for Jake it made playing any game of cards rather difficult. He had to lift up each card individually to look at his ‘hand’, and moving a single card in order to put it on a pile or something like that required quite a bit of legwork. He was a good sport about it, though, and the girls enjoyed watching him struggle a bit, giggling at him attempting to do what was a very simple task for them. They were also discussing their exploits of earlier today, and Emma mentioned the offer she’d been given to work for the marine conservationists.

    “I haven’t told Mom and Dad about it yet,” she said. “And I know we’re only gonna be here for another few days, so maybe not now…but it does sound like it could be fun. What do you think, Susie?”

    “Yeah, it sounds great, Emma. You should go for it.”

    Susie was busy watching Jake and not really paying attention, and Emma realized she probably wanted some time alone with him. Jake was only staying one more day before he had to leave for home. So, after they’d finished their game, Emma made up an excuse to go for a walk outside and look at the stars. She invited her friends to come as well, even though she knew they wouldn’t come along. Once Emma had left the tent, Susie picked up her boyfriend and sat up, holding him in her cupped hand. She stroked his back lightly, as if he were a beloved pet – but of course he was much more than that to her.

    “I’m so happy you’re in my life, Jake,” she said. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you, being with me all this time, with everything that’s been going on around me and Emma, but I’m so grateful you’re still with me.”

    Jake sighed contentedly. It was moments like this one that reminded him of why he’d fallen for Susie in the first place. He still had no idea if the two of them would ever be able to have a so-called ‘normal life’, or a normal relationship. But being held in her hand and caressed by her, while she smiled down at him, was enough for now. He took hold of her fingertip with both arms and tugged it towards his face, and she obliged him by moving it closer. Then he kissed it, over and over, until she eventually lifted him up to her lips and gave him a kiss back. Soon he was being pressed into those moist, supple lips, which gave his whole body a vigorous massage. It wasn’t their first kiss, of course, but to Jake it felt a lot more intense than usual. He surrendered himself to her lips, trusting in her to make him happy and not to hurt him or anything like that. When she stopped for a moment, she let him rest against her cheek, where he rubbed his arms and face against her soft skin.

    “I really, really love you, Jake,” she whispered. “I truly do, with all my heart.”

    “So do I, Susie…love you, I mean.”

    She giggled softly. Then her voice became more serious.

    “Jake…baby…I’ve been meaning to ask you…would you…would you save yourself for me?”

    “Huh? What do you mean?” he replied, taking a step back to look up and into her eyes.

    “You know what I mean. When you’re away and you’re at college…and if, maybe, I don’t know, you’re at a party or something, and there’re other girls there, and…”

    “Oh God, no! Susie…no, I’m not gonna cheat on you or anything like that! Don’t even think that! No…why would you think I’d do something like that?”

    “I don’t know! I just thought…I mean, I wouldn’t blame you if you did…”

    “Well, I won’t, okay? You must think I’m a really shitty boyfriend if you believe I’d do something like that!”

    “Jake, I’m sorry…”

    She sounded as if she was about to start crying, so Jake immediately changed his tone.

    “No…I’m sorry, Susie. You don’t have to apologize, I was being a dick just now and I’m sorry. I know you still have doubts about us…about whether we could stay together, and that’s okay, ‘cause I sometimes wonder the same thing.”

    “I just don’t want to lose you, Jake! You mean so much to me, and I don’t want to lose you! I’m sorry I can’t be the kind of girl who can go anywhere with you, or do anything you want with you, or…”

    At that moment, Jake gave her a big kiss on the cheek. As he pressed his face against hers, he felt a giant teardrop land on his head, soaking him. He felt so sorry for Susie, that she could never live a normal life, but he didn’t want her to be anyone else than the person she was right now. Despite being a powerful giantess, she was still a teenage girl, insecure and unsure of herself, sometimes shy and sometimes impulsive. These ‘faults’, however, just made Jake love her even more. They were what made her human – not some mighty goddess or superbeing, just a girl who happened to be 100 feet tall and with the same needs and desires and fears as all of her fellow humans. And they gave Jake a reason to stay with her and be able to support and help her. He wanted to be with her too. So what if they couldn’t go on normal dates, or if he couldn’t hug her and carry her in his arms, or if she took a little longer to ready herself for the possibility of a more intimate relationship with him? She’d saved his life, in more ways than one, and he would never abandon her.

    Later that night, as the two giantesses slept in their giant-sized tent, Jake lay in his own little tent and wondered what was going to happen to him and Susie going forward. Once he was away at college, he wouldn’t see her for some months – perhaps not before winter – unless she came to visit him, and he didn’t know if that was possible. But whenever it was they would meet again, he knew it would be time for him to take the next step. Susie was obviously very conflicted about their relationship and very scared of the possibility that he might leave her for someone more ‘normal’…

    “I want to be with her…the rest of my life,” he thought to himself as he tried to fall asleep. “Is that normal? I’ve only known her for a year or so…but she’s everything I want in a girl. She always makes me feel safe and special and she’s always so fun to hang out with…and damn it, I love her! Just be patient for a while longer, Susie, and then we can get married, and then you’ll never have to worry about me leaving you or feeling alone again.”

 The next day was hot and sunny as usual, but also very windy, so the young giantesses decided to go for a stroll through the town. They both wore short-sleeved tops and sandals as well as short pants, having decided that short skirts weren’t such a good choice to wear in crowded areas. Jake sat on his girlfriend’s shoulder, in the shade provided by her wide-brimmed summer hat. He had a splendid view of the town’s buildings and streets below him. Susie and Emma trod slowly and carefully, making sure no cars or pedestrians ended up under their feet. Sandals were the ideal footwear for this kind of excursion, since they didn’t really cause any damage to the streets and pavements.

    Wherever the girls went, people ended up doing one of two things: running for cover or dropping whatever they were doing to stare up at them. The girls avoided the more busy parts of the town, where most of the traffic was, and stuck to the smaller side streets. It was only a small vacation/resort town in any case, not a bustling city. They placed their feet with great care, sometimes cutting across the corners of residential blocks or lifting them up high to step over power lines.

    “I love being big!” Emma said as she stepped over a small house, just for fun. “I can go wherever I want, by myself, and I don’t have to be scared of anything!”

    Susie agreed with her on that. Being a giantess had its downsides, but there were advantages to it too. She could walk down any street and not have to worry about being mugged, attacked or assaulted. She could step over any fence and go into places normal passers-by couldn’t, though she knew she wasn’t allowed to trespass and only did it if she could find no other way of passage. Best of all, her boyfriend could sit way up here on her shoulder, where he could chat with her without being heard and where she could keep him safe and close.

    The girls arrived at a small public square lined by several shops and restaurants. It was crowded with people, most of them vacationers who were shopping around or looking for a place to have breakfast. Almost all of them came to a halt and stared up as the giantesses arrived. Susie looked down at the people below her, her arms folded.

    “Listen up down there!” she said to the crowds, who had fallen quiet. “My friend and I are gonna join you for a bit, okay? We’re not going to hurt or inconvenience anyone, who just want to hang out and have a look around, that’s all. So just carry on doing what you were doing and don’t mind us, okay? If we do get in anyone’s way, we’re really sorry, but we can’t help it. We’re always gonna be this big, but doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to have a life!”

    Her little speech seemed to have worked, as many of the people did resume what they were doing, while others predictably took out their phones and began taking pictures, selfies or videos. Susie and Emma stepped forward into the square and began the process of sitting down. They made sure the area below their butts was clear of people and objects, then sat themselves down and stretched out their legs in front of them, taking care not to knock over any of the little stalls that were set up throughout the square in order to sell stuff.

    “That was a cool speech,” Emma said, grinning.

    “Really? Thanks, Emma! I’ve been practicing it a bit, you know, waiting for the right moment…”

    “Well, it’s about time people started accepting you!” Jake said. “How much longer is it gonna take for them to stop treating you like freaks?”

    Susie gave him a kiss, thankful for his support. She put him down in her lap, which gave him the option of staying with her or jumping down and going off on his own. He chose to stay with her. The girls began looking around, wondering if it was okay for them to lift up some items from the market stalls and inspect them (just for fun – they had no use for items this small). A young woman appeared from the crowd and approached them. Susie recognized her as the girl she’d saved yesterday, Mariana. She looked almost completely recovered from her ordeal, with just a few plasters on her arms showing that she’d been injured. She waved up to Susie, who put her hand down for her to climb into. She then placed Mariana on her thigh, right next to Jake.

    “I’m so glad you’re still here in town!” Mariana said, sounding ecstatic to see her new friend again. “Thanks again for saving me, Susie. I’m really grateful.”

    “Hey now, I wasn’t going to leave you alone on those cliffs! You could’ve died! I’m just happy you’re doing better.” She introduced Emma and Jake, then asked Mariana what she was doing here.

    “Oh, I’m just looking around for a new surfboard – my old one got smashed up good, as you saw yourself. I can’t wait to get back in the ocean!”

    “Are you serious? After what happened to you yesterday?”

    “Yeah, of course! I love surfing, it’s been my favourite thing since I was eight years old! Hey, why don’t you come along later this afternoon, after I’ve found a new board? My brother and some of his friends are gonna be there too, but I don’t really like hanging out with them. I’d much rather spend time with you!”

    “Thanks, that’s really kind…but it’s Jake’s last day by the seaside today, so I’d rather spend it with him, if that’s fine by you.”

    Mariana looked over at Jake, who gave her an apologetic shrug. Again she felt jealous of him, getting to spend all this time with a wonderful girlfriend like Susie. But it was clear that Susie loved her boyfriend a lot, and Mariana knew she couldn’t talk her into spending time with her instead.

    “Sure…but he can come too if he wants to! Have you ever gone surfing before, Jake?” she asked him.

    “Uh, no, not really…I haven’t had plenty of seaside vacations before.”

    “I can teach you how, if you want…”

    They both looked up at Susie, as though she had the final word on what they were allowed to do. Since she herself didn’t have any real plans for today, other than spending time with Jake, she decided it sounded like a good idea.

    “Okay, that does sound like fun…okay, sure, let’s go. Unfortunately, I don’t think they make surfboards my size, so I’ll just have to stick to swimming and tanning.”

    “I don’t think they make waves your size either!” Jake said, making them all laugh.

    “Awesome!” Mariana said. “Cool, then I’ll meet you guys on the main beach later…how about two o’clock? I’ve got to find a new surfboard first. This town is so busy, I hope all the good ones haven’t been sold yet.”

    She slid off Susie’s thigh, gave them a wave and disappeared into the crowds of shoppers. Susie picked Jake up again and held him against her chest.

    “I hope she doesn’t plan on stealing you away from me, Jake,” she said, pressing him against her bosom. “If she does, I swear I’ll take her back to that cliff and leave her there!”

    Jake laughed contemptuously.

    “I don’t think that’ll happen, Susie. Didn’t you see the way she looked at you? I don’t think I’m the one she wants to steal.”

    “You mean…m-me?” Susie said, her eyes widening. Jake and Emma both chuckled at her surprise.

    “Yeah, you big dummy, she’s got a crush on you!” he said. “Maybe you’re right, maybe you shouldn’t have rescued her!”

    “But…but I don’t have a crush on her!” Susie protested. “Oh no, what if she’s got the wrong idea? What if she thinks I’m into her now?”

    “Relax, Susie! You’re always overreacting like this! I think she just wants to be friends, that’s all. She knows you and I are together, she’s not gonna do anything! Just be nice to her, like you always are, maybe she’ll make a good friend. You don’t want to scare her away by acting all jealous and irrational like this, do you?”

    “No…no, you’re right. Okay then, I guess we’d better go back to the tent and change into our swimsuits, if we’re gonna head into the sea again later. Maybe we should grab some lunch there as well. Are you coming too, Emma? You’re more than welcome to join us later today, by the way. I’m sorry, I should’ve told Mariana that you’d be coming too, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

    “Thanks, Susie, but I think I should go and check how my parents are doing. I’ve been ignoring them kinda these last few days and I want to spend some time with them too. They’ll probably want to go for a picnic or something. I can’t wait to tell them about how I saved that whale!”

    Susie smiled at her, then reached her arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug.

    “You do that…but if you change your mind, you know where to find us.”

    They got up and left the plaza, with Emma heading to the hotel where her parents were staying, while Susie and Jake went back to the tents to get some lunch and change into their swimming outfits. They headed down to the beach at about one o’clock, arriving early to get some more time for tanning. Susie looked for Emma, but couldn’t see her anywhere on the beach or in the town, despite the fact that she was usually visible from a great distance. Emma, had in fact decided to spend the rest of the day with her parents, whom she felt she’d been neglecting these last few days. She had decided to take them to a picnic and had followed the course of a nearby river inland into the countryside, looking for a great spot for such an activity.

    Mariana arrived at the promised time, and Susie lifted her up and gave her a little hug against her shoulder. She had managed to find a new surfboard and she gave it to Susie to look at. It was small enough for Susie to cover completely between her hands. She gave the board back to Mariana, then placed the girl next to Jake in her hand. She stood up and began to walk towards the ocean, carrying her boyfriend and new friend in her hand. But Mariana stopped her and pointed down to the beach below.

    “There’s my brother Diego,” she told them. “And some of his friends as well. Come on, let’s go and say hi! They’re going to freak out when they see who I’ve brought with me!”

    Susie lowered herself down onto her knees, from which position she could lower Jake and Mariana down onto the beach. The group of young men who Mariana had pointed at immediately began to retreat when they saw Susie looming over them, but when one of them saw Mariana running towards them, he stopped the others from fleeing, which they looked like they were about to do.

    “Diego! Guys! Look who my new friend is!” she yelled as she came sprinting towards the group of young guys. They stood and stared at her as she pointed up excitedly at her colossal new friend. Susie was too far away to hear their conversation, but she gave them a little wave and a smile, while Jake remained standing next to her knees, feeling rather shy and wishing he could just be alone with his girlfriend, instead of having to make new friends all the time.

    Susie was about to crawl closer and say hello to Diego and his friends, when all the guys seemed to hurry off in a group, giving her suspicious glances. They headed into the waves with their boards, leaving Mariana standing alone. She stood still for a moment, then returned to Susie and Jake, looking downcast.

    “Let me guess,” Jake said as she approached. “They think Susie is a monster and a giant freak and they want nothing to do with her?”

    “I…I tried to explain to them and tell them that you saved my life, but Diego’s never liked you, you know just from seeing you on TV and stuff, so…”

    Seeing how distraught she looked, Susie lifted her up carefully and hugged her against her chest.

    “Don’t worry, Mariana, I’m used to this kind of thing by now! Some people – mostly guys in my experience – aren’t comfortable getting to know a girl who’s 110 feet tall, and they usually don’t even try to hide their contempt.”

    Mariana felt such a warm, comforting feeling, being held against Susie’s skin like that, that she forgot to answer and just lay there in silence, savouring the moment. Thinking her new friend was getting just a little too comfortable, Susie shook her gently and placed her on her shoulder. The tiny girl wobbled unsteadily on her feet for a second, before falling down and grasping the nearest strands of Susie’s hair for support. Susie giggled.

    “Susie…I’m really sorry,” Mariana said. “All I wanted to do today was show you off to my brother and his friends and brag about how you’re my friend now. They never give me any respect and they’re always teasing me, and I wanted to get back at them…I’m sorry I used you like that.”

    “That’s okay, I understand that feeling. You’re not the first person I’ve become friends with who got a bit carried away. I understand that I can never be just a ‘normal friend’ to anyone, and that people will always treat me differently, no matter how hard they try to act casual around me. Come on, just forget about those tiny jerks down there, and let’s go and have some fun, okay?”

    “Does that include me as well?” Jake shouted from way down on the ground below. He banged his fists against Susie’s leg in order to get noticed.

    “Did you just hear something?” Susie asked Mariana, a pretend look of confusion on her face. “Sounded like someone yelling, but I can’t be sure.”

    “Um, no, can’t say that I did,” Mariana replied, playing along. “Come on, we’re wasting time just sitting here! Let’s go for a swim already!”

    “Okay, that’s very funny, but the sand is really hot down here…so can you please pick me up now?” Jake screamed. He sounded very angry, but a good solid kiss from his giant girlfriend was it all took for him to forgive her for her bit of fun.

    The three of them were soon having the time of their lives in the ocean. Mariana tried out her new surfboard on some of the waves close to shore, and even managed to teach Jake how to stay on the board for a while, before he inevitably tumbled off. Susie, however, found herself sitting on her butt in what was for her only a few inches of water, and she soon suggested a different plan. She took the other two farther from the shore to where the water was about waist-deep to her, and dropped them back in the sea. There weren’t any waves out here, but she could easily make her own by dropping down suddenly into the water. The impact caused by her 350-ton body caused a small tsunami to ripple outward, easily beating the waves closer to shore in terms of size and speed. Mariana was, of course, extremely happy about her new playground.

    After a long while at sea, they returned to the beach for a bit of sun. Susie allowed Mariana to climb up onto her back as she lay on the sand, while Jake stretched himself out on top of her bum. They hadn’t relaxed for very long, however, when someone approached them in a hurry. Susie recognized the young man as one of the ones who’d been with Mariana’s brother, so she reached across her back and plucked up the startled girl, then set her down on the sand next to the visitor.

    “Hi, Tony,” Mariana said, walking up to the young man who was keeping his distance, looking up at Susie’s giant face with apprehension. “I thought you guys didn’t want anything to do with us. Where’s my brother, huh? If he’s sent you to apologize, don’t bother…”

    “That’s not it!” Tony interrupted. “Diego, well, he…he’s in trouble. He was swimming out beyond the buoys, and then there was this current and…well, he got pulled out towards the rocks…”

    “Oh God, that’s exactly what happened to me yesterday! I told him not to go there, I told him it was dangerous…”

    She broke off when she heard laughter behind her. Looking up, she saw Susie giggling.

    “Looks like getting into trouble is a family trait with you!” she said. Then she saw how distressed Mariana looked and said: “Don’t worry, I’ll go after him at once. I can swim a lot faster than any current, I’ll get to him long before he reaches the rocks.”

    “Please save him!” Mariana cried out. “I know we fight a lot, and we never get along…but he’s still my brother and I don’t want him to die!”

    Susie got the message and wasted no time. She gave her butt a little twist, which made Jake slide down and land on the sand below, much to his discomfort. Then she gave Mariana a reassuring squeeze and ran off towards the sea, reaching it in three steps. Jake, Mariana and Tony watched her leave, amazed at how quickly she moved.

    “Looks like Susie’s got to be a superhero again,” Jake said, sighing. “Never a dull moment with her, is there?”

    “She’s so awesome!” Mariana said, wishing once again that Susie could’ve been her girlfriend. “You’re the luckiest guy in the world, Jake, really.”

    Jake didn’t reply; instead, he thought about his promise to himself, to marry Susie at the first opportunity. There were no more second thoughts now – he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life. Susie soon returned, holding an exhausted but unharmed Diego safely in her cupped hand. There were no more rude comments or cagy looks from him and his friends. After saving his life, Susie had made a whole bunch of new friends. It was a scene Jake had witnessed many times before: people were scared or mistrustful of the teenage giantess, but as soon as they got to know her even a little bit, they wanted to hang out with her all the time. She’d have no difficulty finding a new boyfriend either, if he hadn’t been around, despite her own shyness and insecurities. There was something about the combination of her great size and strength, her stunning loos and her sweet personality that made her irresistible to him.

    At the end of a long, satisfying day on the beach, Susie and Jake said goodbye to their new friends (Mariana even got a kiss, much to her delight), and headed back to the tent for their final night on vacation. Emma was waiting for them, and the three of them talked about their day for a while before heading to bed, worn out from everything they’d done during the day. For Susie and Emma, this hadn’t been just an ordinary vacation, the kind most families have at some point or other. It had been an adventure and, what was more, had shown them that there was a place and a future for them in a world where they stood out from everyone else.