“Do you understand everything I told you Benjamin?” Natalie smiled.

“Yes! Of course,” Ben said, dangling between Natalie’s massive fingers.

“Repeat it back to me,” the giantess said, lifting the writhing teen up to her face.

“Tell the others that we should trust you!” he yelled.

“And what else?” Natalie smiled with a bemused look on her face. 

“And to help Aubreigh with her thing tonight!” the tiny teen yelled again.

Natalie smiled. “Very good, Benjamin!” she said, lowering him to the ground and setting him down between her sandaled feet. Ben caught his bearings and stood up. He could hear the sound of creaking leather as Natalie flexed her giant toes around him. This was the first time in a couple hours that he wasn’t underneath them. He was grateful, but he also strangely kind of missed the feeling as well.

“It’s not going to be easy to get them to trust you, especially after this morning when you played with us in your hands,” Ben said, scratching his head.

“I know it’s not going to be easy, Benjamin,” Natalie said, “that’s why I’m counting on you.” Natalie smiled and leaned forward. “I can count on you, can’t I, little guy?”

“Yes!” Ben replied quickly. “Of course!” Natalie smiled with approval in response. Then a look of wonder and worry crossed Ben’s face. “But what if I can’t?” he asked.

“Oh Benjamin,” the giantess sighed, “trust me, you don’t want to find that out.” Her words, coupled with a wicked smile, made Ben’s heart sink with fear. But there was also an ever present nervous excitement that he couldn’t shake; a part of him liked the threat of Mrs. Beaumont possibly punishing him. He couldn’t explain it, let alone understand it.

“Right,” he said, moving on quickly from that scary subject, “but why does it matter that we help Aubreigh tonight, anyways?” Ben asked. “What does she need us for?”

“I think Aubreigh is going to try something new tonight and I want her to have an open mind. And it will go a long way if her little friends are supportive of her,” Natalie answered.

“Well, what is she going to try, Mrs. Beaumont?” Ben asked curiously.

Natalie smiled and changed the subject, ignoring Ben’s question. “Now,” Natalie said, sliding her foot up and over Ben, hovering the sole of her sandal above him, threatening to squash him, “you’re not going to tell anybody about the little man under my toes, are you Benjamin?” 

“No, not at all Mrs. Beaumont,” Ben said, without skipping a beat. 

Natalie pulled her foot back and looked at Ben with amazement, “Wow, you didn’t even flinch, did you?” Natalie said, letting out a little bit of a smile. “You’re turning out to be more of a man than I thought.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Beaumont,” Ben said, his heart fluttering from her words.

“Now, run along back to your little pool area and don’t let me down,” the giantess said, dismissing him with a wave before leaning back into her chair to relax. Ben started to leave before stopping and turning back around to face her.

“Mrs. Beaumont?” he called out sheepishly.

“Yes, Benjamin?” she responded with slight agitation. “Is something the matter?”

Ben’s heart sank with nervousness when he detected a hint of annoyance in her thunderous voice. He almost decided not to say anything, but with the giantess gazing upon him, he was more afraid of not saying anything at all, disturbing her for nothing. “I, uh, really liked being under your pretty feet…,” he said, “and I was wondering if we could do that again sometime?” Ben’s voice cracked during those last few words. He didn’t realize how stupid and creepy that sounded out loud. 

Natalie smiled and sat up with a look of disbelief on her face. She put her feet back down on the ground and leaned forward. She took her sunglasses off and looked directly at Ben, her eyes were wide with intrigue. “Well, well, well, what are you saying now, little Benjamin, you enjoyed that?” she said, cocking an eyebrow, waiting for a response.

“Uh, well, yeah,” Ben mumbled, not knowing how to take Natalie’s intense gaze, “a little…”

Natalie snorted with laughter. “Wait a minute, you’re not one of those foot fetish weirdos are you?”

“No!” Ben responded defensively. “I just like...uh…” he stammered for the right words.

“You just liked being under my big powerful feet because you like spending time with me, right?” she chuckled.

Ben didn’t know what to say and he stuttered some more. He did not like feet. He had never liked feet before in his life, but he did have to admit, he enjoyed Natalie Beaumont’s feet very much. They were very pretty, of course, but Ben had thought it had more with who they were attached to more than anything else. Besides, being under her feet was really his only opportunity to feel her and be so close to her. Ben remembered how strangely turned on he was under her toes. He realized that he must have been subconsciously combining his sexual frustration and her feet together into one.

“If you behave yourself,” Natalie said, “and you do everything I say…” Natalie bobbed her head back and forth, as if debating internally, “I’ll do something nice for you. Okay?”

Ben was so mortified, embarrassed, and excited at the same time that he couldn’t even say a word. He just nodded his head enthusiastically before turning back around to head toward the pool. He didn’t know how, but he needed to get the others on board with Natalie. He needed to spend more time with her, even if that meant being under her feet. 

Natalie smiled as she watched Ben disappear from her sight; she was genuinely intrigued by him. Then she flexed her toes and felt her tiny prisoner moving down below. She reached down and plucked him out from under her toes and held him between her fingers. “Why can’t you be more like Benjamin, Gregg?” Natalie said, shaking her head with disappointment. “I mean, I put him under my toes, I threatened to squash him at least three different times today, and yet, he still wants more!” Natalie laughed. “I mean, I originally did it because it was fun to do… but now, I don’t know, I’m just really fascinated by that young man.”

“What, you mean you’ve never had anyone enjoy being subjected to you before?” Gregg asked sarcastically. “Wow, who could have possibly guessed that people don’t like being under your feet?”

“I know you’re being a smart alec, Gregg, but no, most people I squashed rarely enjoyed it. Most of them were like you,” she grimaced with disgust as she brought Gregg closer to her eyes, “they were small and pathetic, always begging for mercy.” Natalie took her eyes off Gregg and looked off into the distance where Ben had gone to. “But not Benjamin, he might be small, yes, but he’s not pathetic like you.”

“What do you want me to do, lady? Actually enjoy groveling at your feet in fear?”

“I don’t know,” Natalie responded dreamily. “I’ve never had a tiny person respond like that before, it sounds incredibly appealing to me. I wonder what it is for Benjamin…,” she wondered out loud. 

“If you ask me, I think he might have a screw loose if he enjoys this kind of torture, unless he’s some sort of masochist,” Gregg scoffed and rolled his eyes in disbelief. 

“A masochist?” Natalie wondered out loud. “Do you think he discovered something new about himself and it was me that caused it? Or is he just using me to get what he wants? That sounds…, hmm…, fun...” Natalie laughed.

“Jesus lady,” Gregg said, “isn’t he just a kid?” Natalie ignored him. She just sat there, dangling Gregg by his legs, thinking to herself. “I mean, I get it,” Gregg said, “you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in my life, so I understand where he’s coming from. But could you please stop holding me upside down?”

“Oh Gregg,” Natalie said, snapping back to reality and smiling softly at Gregg, “that is so sweet of you. Flattery will get you everywhere!” The giantess gave the tiny man a quick wink. “Everywhere,” she giggled loudly, “except from under my toes!”

“What!” Gregg screamed as he was lowered back down to the giantess’s shoe. “No! Wait a minute!”  Ignoring his pleas, the titanic woman stuffed the tiny man under her toes again. She squeezed her toes together and smashed them down on him, smiling as they quieted his tiny squeaks of protests. 

“Don’t worry Gregg,” Natalie said with a smile, “I still find doing it against a tiny person’s will fun too!” she said, laughing hysterically at the tiny man squirming beneath her toes. “But don’t wear yourself out too much down there! I’ll need that vigor for tonight, remember! But if you want to score some points with me in the meantime, feel free to kiss and lick my toes.”

Gregg couldn’t hear much as her gigantic toes pressed down on him, they blocked out most of the light and sound from the outside world. But still, he wasn’t stupid and clearly understood what his captor wanted from him. His world consisted mostly of breathing in the hot humid air and tasting the saltiness of her sweaty toes as he kissed and licked them, in an attempt to make her happy. Gregg was thinking that, maybe, if he played along with her games, that just maybe she would even favor him as much as Ben. 

As Gregg was plotting and scheming, a droplet of sweat splashed down on his face, causing him to cough and choke. But the tiny man didn’t let that deter him, he enthusiastically kissed her toes and licked the salty sweat from under them, much to the delight of the giant woman. Gregg thought to himself that if this is what Ben truly wanted, then he must be really insane.

---

“You have to be joking, right?” said Carmen, spiking the beach ball across the pool to Julia. 

“No, not at all, she was really nice to me, I think we just misunderstood her,” Ben responded. He had been trying for over an hour to convince the others of Natalie’s benevolence, but hadn’t made any progress.

“You know, you might be right,” Julia added, before hitting the ball to her brother. “Mom has been under a lot of stress lately.”

“What stress has mom been under?” Thomas asked, catching the ball. “Taking care of us, her own children? That should be a million times easier now that we are tiny.”

“Yeah, besides,” Chloe said, looking at her brother, “how can we trust your judgement, Ben? We all know you have a giant crush on Mrs. Beaumont.”

“Was that a pun?” Ben laughed.

“Was what a pun?” Chloe asked, irritatedly.

“You said, “giant” crush,” Ben smirked. “Is that because Mrs. Beaumont is a giant?”

“Oh my god, you’re so stupid,” Chloe said. “See you’re not even taking this seriously.”

“Listen, I know it sounds crazy. But she said she wants to make it up to us! I think we ought to let her!” Ben replied, ignoring his sister’s remark.

“Yeah, make it up to us how?” Nate asked, catching and throwing the beach ball to someone else.

“She didn’t say. But she did say she was doing something for Aubreigh tonight and wanted us to participate and encourage her.”

“What is she doing for Aubreigh?” Carmen asked.

“Uh-she didn’t say…,” Ben sighed.

“I don’t even know how I feel about Aubreigh right now anyways,” Sofia said, speaking up for the first time. “How could she leave us with her mom, knowing how she’s been treating her own children lately? Her defenseless little brother and sister?”

“Guys, I think Aubreigh is doing her best, honestly,’ Thomas said, defending his giant sister. “If she knew any of this, she would flip. But remember, we want to wait till we get home so we have her and dad both on our side.”

“I hate to say it,” Carmen said, “but I think Thomas is right. Let’s just play along with whatever game Mrs. Beaumont is playing and then we can get it sorted out when we get back home.”

“I don’t think she’s playing a game, guys,” Ben added.

“I’d rather be safe than sorry,” Carmen added.

“Yeah, like the saying goes, keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer.” Chloe said.

“Exactly like that,” Carmen nodded.

“I don’t like this plan very much, but I’ll go along with it,” Sophia sighed.

“So, just so I’m clear,” Nate said, getting out of the pool, “we’re just going to do whatever Natalie and Aubreigh say and pretend like it’s the best freakin thing in the world? We don’t even know what they’re up to.”

“Why are you acting like they’re in it together?” Thomas asked.

“Because your sister isn’t innocent either, there’s a lot more she could be doing for us.”

“What do you want from her?” Thomas asked.

“Yeah,” asked Chloe, “I’ve never seen you irritated with Aubreigh in all my life.”

‘I don’t know,” Nate admitted. “I’m just nervous about them.”

“Well, think of it this way,” Thomas said, “If you talk back or fight back now, we still have to stay with them, and travel with them. Playing to both of their good sides might be beneficial for us until we get home.”

“Yeah, I guess so…,” Nate said, nodding his head.

“So it’s agreed?” Carmen asked again. “Just play along, stay on their good sides, and don’t make any waves until we get home?”

“Yeah…,” the group collectively agreed, one way or another.

Ben was ecstatic. He couldn’t wait for Natalie to see how well he had pulled it off. But a tiny part of him did feel like he was betraying his friends. Could he really trust Natalie Beaumont?

---

“Have you ever done a private session before,” Mrs. Chen asked her daughter.

“No…, I haven’t,” Kelly replied.

“Is it even condoned by Emerald Palms?” the older Asian woman asked as she continued to cook dinner.

“No…,” Kelly sighed, “but mom, the resort is very strict on that, they’re trying hard to comply with the governor’s policies on tinies safety.”

“It worries me, Kelly!” the Asian woman said. “This isn’t the way things work!”

“But if she pays me the money, I can really make this work for me! For all of us!”

“And if she doesn't? Hmm?” Kelly’s mom asked. “What if she just humiliates you? What then?”

“It’s not like I’m going to be any more humiliated than I already am doing the work I do,” Kelly sighed.

“I think you should do it!” Kelly’s brother interjected.

“Thank you, Brian,” Kelly said.

“Brian!” Mrs. Chen yelled. “You heard your sister’s story. This woman belittled one of your sister’s co-workers, she disrespected the entire crew with her feet, and she is a racist! You don’t know what you’re talking about. You can’t trust people like that! Especially giants! Never trust a giant!”

“Mom,” Brian sighed, “you can’t think like that anymore. Things aren’t like when you were young. Kelly could be throwing away a golden opportunity!”

“Do you know how much racism your auntie and I faced daily! And that was before we contracted the shrinking virus! Every day I feel awful! I dream about that day every night! Reliving that horrible memory of her falling behind when we were looking for shelter and she was spotted by those racist giants that smashed her for no other reason than because she was Asian!”

“Mom, we’ve heard that story a hundred times since we were little, but we can’t escape the fact that we have to work with giants in our communities now.”

“I know that!” Mrs. Chen yelled. “You don’t think I know that? Of course, I know that! But I have worked really hard to provide you two with a life of safety from giants and racists both, no matter the size.”

“We’ve also heard the story behind our western sounding names a hundred times too, mom,” Kelly added.

“Why do you want to take an unnecessary risk?” Mrs. Chen quipped again.

“What do you actually think is going to happen, mom?” Kelly asked. “Do you think she’s really just luring me to her condo to kill me?”

“Kelly, I forbid you to go!” Mrs. Chen furiously declared.

“You can’t do that!” Kelly yelled.

“I can, and I will!” Mrs. Chen said decisively. “No discussion. Now here, eat. You need your strength for work tomorrow. And God willing, you won’t have any clientele like her ever again!”

Kelly slumped in her chair and sat down. When her mom turned around to put away some cooking utensils, Brian leaned over to her. “Don’t worry, sis, I’ll sneak you out. Mom will never know.” Kelly nodded her head, smiling in secret with her brother.

---

“It’s getting close to 5, are you ready to pack it up for the day?” Aubreigh asked, laying on her stomach, tanning her back.

“Yeah, the sun isn’t as strong anymore,” Natalie replied, laying on her back, tanning her front. “Why don’t you go get your little friends and I’ll get things packed up here.”

“Yeah, good idea,” Aubreigh yawned, getting up. “I’d like to clean up a little bit before my pedicure tonight and before Emily stops by.” 

“Hey, random question,” Natalie said, “how old is your friend Benjamin?”

“He’s a year younger than me and a year older than the twins, so over 17, going to be 18 this year, why?”

Natalie smiled to herself. “No reason,” she said. 

“He’s a little weirdo, if you ask me,” Aubreigh scoffed, picking up her towels and putting her flip flops on.

“I thought you liked him,” Natalie asked. “Even had a little crush on him?”

“Yeah, but after today, I don’t know,” Aubreigh shook her head.

“Why, what happened today?” Natalie asked. “That thing with my shoe?”

“Well that, and like, I’ve been doing everything to get him to notice me but he’s never responded to any of my signals.”

“I’ve seen your signals before, Aubreigh,” Natalie laughed, “they have to be more obvious. You are far too subtle.”

“Well, you didn’t give him any signals,” Aubreigh sighed, “but then, there he was, in your shoe. Like, why?”

“That’s a good question,” Natalie nodded. “I don’t really know…”

“Like, either he likes you,” Aubreigh said, raising her eyebrows toward her mom, “in which case, he’s a weirdo for liking women twice his age, or he likes feet, which makes him even weirder.”

“If he likes it, give it to him, honey,” Natalie laughed.

“Eww, that is so gross, mom!” Aubreigh objected. “I could never do that.”

“Well, he is very handsome,” Natalie nodded.

Aubreigh paused for a moment as well, “Yeah, he is, isn’t he?”

“And you’re just going to give up on him because he might like feet?” Natalie smirked.

“Hmm, good point,” Aubreigh said, perking up a little bit. “Maybe I should make my signals a little clearer?”

“Yeah, I would,” Natalie said, getting up. “Keep thinking about it, and go get them.”

“Right,” Aubreigh said, grabbing the transport. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Just meet me back at the condo,” Natalie said. “You take the SUV back, I’m going to walk back.”

“Yeah, okay, sounds good,” Aubreigh said, leaving to collect her tiny friends and siblings.

As soon as she was out of sight, Natalie looked down at her sandaled feet. She had been harboring Gregg’s tiny body under her toes, squeezing and squashing him for the whole afternoon. “Hey, how are you doing, little guy?” she asked, lifting her toes and pulling Gregg’s tiny body out. “I bet it was really warm under there all day, huh?” Gregg nodded in agreement, nearly blacking out from heat exhaustion. He was completely drenched in sweat, being under her toes on a hot summer day was like being in a sauna for hours. “You don’t look so good, you look like you’re about to pass out, do you need some water?”

“Yes! Please!” Gregg said dryly.

Natalie looked around, spotting her old water bottle from earlier. She grabbed it and unscrewed the lid. Gregg barely had time to realize what was going on before he was dropped inside. He landed with a splash and desperately flung his limbs around, trying to stay afloat.

“What are you-” Gregg said before bobbing under the water.

“Why don’t you just cool off for a bit?” Natalie said, smirking to herself as Gregg splashed in the water that was twice his height. She set the water bottle down as she collected her things and packed up her beach bag. Meanwhile, the tiny man in her water bottle continued to cry out for help.

“I can’t swim!” he yelled, to no avail. The giantess kept packing her things and paid no attention to him. “Please, lady!” he called out again between drowning. The giantess turned around and grabbed the bottle and brought it to her face.

“Gregg, do you even remember my name?” Natalie asked, eyeing the drowning man through the plastic bottle.

“Natalie Beaumont!” he yelled, to Natalie’s surprise.

“Very good memory Gregg!” she smiled. “I want you to use my name from now on. Never call me ‘lady’ again.”

“Yes, Natalie!” he called out again. “Now please let me out, I can’t swim very well!”

“Let me clarify,” Natalie said, watching him drown with amusement, “my subordinates call me Mrs. Beaumont. That’s how I want you to address me from now on.”

“Absolutely, Mrs. Beaumont!” he yelled, hoping his quick obedience would appeal to her humanity.

“Oh man, Gregg, watching you splash around in there is making me thirsty,” she said as she brought the water bottle to her lips and started guzzling the water. The current carried Gregg’s tiny body to the bottle opening and directly into Natalie’s cavernous mouth. He landed with a splash on her massive tongue. Gregg was thankful not to be drowning in thousands of gallons of water anymore, but now he had all new problems. Strangely the idea that the giantess might swallow him never crossed his mind. He knew that she wanted him for another task tonight and so whatever she was doing now was just to toy with him. It was probably because he “failed” being in the water bottle by asking for help, coming across as “pathetic” to the giant woman. Gregg realized he shouldn’t have asked for her to let him out. But he did, and so now Natalie was torturing him even further. Once he realized this was all a sick, demented, and twisted game on the part of the giant woman, Gregg was able to play against her better. He focused on just trying to stabilize himself on her soft squishy tongue that was wildly undulating beneath him. But he was careful not to cry or beg for help.

It paid off because not a moment later, Natalie reached in and pulled him out of her mouth. She dangled him before her eyes as he was dripping with saliva and water. “Oh good, I didn’t hear anything from you and so I was worried you might have been hurt.”

“Not at all,” the tiny man responded, trying his best to sound cheerful.

“Uh-okay,” the giantess said in response, not sure how to take Gregg’s sudden change in demeanor. “Well, it’s time to get back home. You’re coming with me, so I guess it’s back under my toes for you, huh?”

“Whatever you think is best, Mrs. Beaumont,” Gregg said with a smile.

Natalie paused and looked at him with indignation. What did he think he was trying to pull, she wondered. Was he actually trying to be more like Ben because she had teased him earlier? Natalie grinned to herself and wondered just how much more he could take before he would turn back into the pathetic groveling mess of a man he truly was. She was going to find out. She reached down and was about to place him under the arch of her toes before pausing and shoving him under her big toe, which was bigger than his entire body. The pad of her big toe smashed into his face and cruelly suffocated him under the sweaty skin. His body was completely immobilized, it wasn’t like being under her toes where there was a little bit of an arch for reprieve. 

“Comfy?” Natalie called out, but she didn’t hear any response whatsoever. She lifted her toe off the tiny man and asked again, “Are you comfortable Gregg?”

“Yes…, Mrs. Beaumont…,” he said with every fiber of his being.

“That’s nice…,” she said with a wicked smile. Then she set her toe back down on his tiny body, completely engulfing him underneath. She grabbed her things and took her first step, making sure Gregg wouldn’t fall out too easily. She put her sunglasses and hat on and picked up her bags. She walked out of the pool area and up to the resort walkway, feeling the lump of a tiny man underfoot with each step.

For Gregg, he hadn’t been walked on like this before. It was worse than anything he could have imagined. It was a heavy crushing weight that was constantly on him, suffocating him, and giving him panic attacks of claustrophobia. The torment of claustrophobia would only be overshadowed from the burning sensation in his lungs as they starved for air, air that would never come. He tried to breathe but he couldn’t. The weight of the giantess’s toe was too heavy for him. And after feeling his stomach flip as the giantess took a step, the unbearable weight would become a thousand times more intense as her toe pressed down on him. Then the crushing weight lifted as the giantess paused.

“I know you don’t really like this, Gregg,” Natalie said from above, lifting her toe so she could see the tiny man. “See, that’s the difference between you and Benjamin, Gregg.” Natalie shook her head in disappointment. “You see, Benjamin is a real man and genuinely likes being under my feet. You are only pretending.”

Gregg either had a moment of anger, jealousy, or toughness come upon him, “No, that’s not true, it just took me longer to realize what I was missing out on!”

“Come on, I’m not that stupid, you dummy,” Natalie said, rolling her eyes. “Just admit that you don’t like this and I’ll carry you back to the condo in my bag. You can travel in luxury!”

“No! I do like this!” Gregg shouted defiantly. “And I like being under your feet, for real!” 

“Oh, okay,” Natalie said sarcastically. “Well then, enjoy the rest of the walk back to the condo. I think we’ve made it about 25 yards, and there’s probably only about 200 yards left.” Natalie smiled as the look on Gregg’s face dropped. She set her toes back down on him before he could even say another word. “Oh, wow, that look on your face was priceless, Gregg,” she laughed to herself, beginning to walk again. Gregg couldn’t hear her comment on account of being squashed and smothered by her colossal toe.

After a few more heartless steps, Natalie had a mean streak cross her and she started taking extra hard steps with the foot that had Gregg trapped beneath her toe. She forcefully pressed down her toes, making sure her big toe sadistically compressed his tiny body as hard as she could without killing him. “You like this, huh?” Natalie said out loud to herself. “Yeah, right. Maybe next time you’ll think twice about lying to me.”

The tiny man couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, and was beginning to lose consciousness. He felt the jolts of pain shoot through his body when the giant woman decided to step extra hard on him. It was like his insides were on fire, almost as if every limb were being torn from his body. It was, by far, the worst thing he had ever experienced or felt in his life. He regretted trying to be tough, but he couldn’t call out to the giantess, he was physically unable. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t, it was impossible. And all the while, her hot sweaty toe relentlessly kept brutally pulverizing him underneath it.

Suddenly worried that he might not be able to perform well that night, Natalie backed off a bit and only stepped on him with her usual force. With just a few more paces, Natalie reached the condo and walked in the front door. The air-conditioner was blasting full force and felt good.

“Aubreigh?” she called. “Hmm, must not be home yet…,” she mused out loud. Natalie headed for her room, leaving Gregg in her sandal. Every step up the stairs was still a crushing blow to the tiny man.

Upon arriving in her room, she shut the door and sat on her bed. She lifted her toe and looked at the sorry mess of a man that was Gregg, coughing and sputtering, sucking down as much air as he could. Natalie held her toe over him as she looked upon him with a mock sad face. “Oh Gregg, why did you do that to yourself? That was probably too much for you. You should have just rode back in my bag!”

“Why did you do that to me, Natalie?” the tiny man called up to the giantess.

“First of all,” the giant woman said, pressing her toe back down on the tiny man and grinding it back and forth before catching herself and lifting it back up, “you know how you are supposed to address me.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Beaumont…” he sputtered.

Natalie smirked. “Now,” she repositioned herself smugly, “why did I do what to you? You asked to ride back in my shoe, you said you liked it, remember?”

“I felt you trampling me extra hard, why?” Gregg stammered, holding back tears.

“Oh honey,” Natalie laughed, “I wasn’t trampling you extra hard! That was just regular ol’ walking! You just couldn’t handle it apparently.” She reached down and grabbed the tiny man from under her toes and set him in her palm, holding him in front of her face. “What’s the matter, are you okay?”

“No! I have bruises all over my body, I still think I have cracked ribs from earlier, I’m so sick to my stomach, I’m light headed…, there is no way Ben will do ANY of that for you, willingly.”

“Oh Gregg,” Natalie quipped with a smile. ‘You didn’t like any of that did you?”

“No! It was awful!” the tiny man said, sobbing.

“That’s because you’re not a real man, are you?” Natalie asked with a contemptuous expression on her face.

“I’m a man, Mrs. Beaumont!” he yelled, sobbing hysterically.

“Oh Gregg, the tears..., the crying...,” Natalie rolled her eyes, “you couldn’t even handle me walking on you, could you?” Gregg said nothing but sob in response. “Could you, Gregg?” Natalie asked again, louder this time.

“No…” Gregg muttered, covering his face with his hands, wiping tears from his eyes.

“So, you’re not a real man, are you?” she smiled teasingly as she patted the tiny man with her finger.

“No…” Gregg sobbed, still wiping tears from his eyes.

“No…, you’re not,” Natalie shook her head in agreement with him, “not at all.”

“What am I then?” Gregg said, collapsing into a fetal position in her giant palm.

“Well, you’re my friend,” Natalie smiled. “And actually, we’re friends with benefits if you stop and think about it.” Gregg only cried in response, causing Natalie to furrow her brows and curl her lip in disgust. “But one thing is for sure, you’re not a man. Not anymore.”

“Friends don’t treat friends like this, Mrs. Beaumont,” Gregg stammered.

“That’s how I treat my friends,” Natalie scoffed. “You remember Brittney, right? Gregg shook his head and cried even harder. “Geez, there’s always so much crying with you.” Natalie scrunched her face in disgust at the quivering man in her palm. “But anyways, I’m going to put you someplace safe until later tonight.” Natalie grabbed a nearby sock and dropped Gregg inside. She rolled the sock up tightly and set it down on the nightstand next to her bed. “There we go,” she said, “you're all safe and sound now. Just relax a little bit and get some rest. I’m going to get rinsed off and ready for the evening. I think this is going to be a fun night.” Natalie heard the SUV pull into the driveway as Aubreigh was just getting home.