Take the freshly-minted cog from the conveyor with a pair of tongs. Dip it into the purple vat until it’s completely submerged for two minutes. Carefully take it out and hover it under the air dryer, being careful to avoid any droplets on your skin. Place it on the drying rack for two more minutes while it shrinks in size. Place the shrunken cog back on the conveyor. 

Repeat.

Take the cog. Put it in the liquid. Wait. Hold it under the air dryer. Wait for it to shrink. Return back on the conveyor. 

Repeat. 

Take cog. Put in liquid. Wait. Dry. Shrink. Return.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat. 

Bzzzzzt! The overhead speaker buzzed, marking the start of lunchtime. Cole laid down the tongs, took off his apron and gloves, then formed an orderly queue for the cafeteria. Wait. Shuffle forward. Wait. Accept tray. Accept food. Pay. Sit. Chew. Swallow. 

Something vibrating against Cole’s hip. He took out his phone. One new text message.

“Hey, I had a no-show at the residence today, want to get lunch together instead?” 

Cole’s heart leapt back into life. Colour flushed into his cheeks and his surroundings. His fingers trembled as he rapidly typed a reply. “Sure! Where?”

“That coffee place on 3rd Avenue? 1:20pm ok?”

Cole checked the time. 12:54. He’d need to drive fast, but he’d make it if he was quick. “I’ll be there!”

“<3”

Cole’s tray skittered across the table as he forcefully pushed it away and leapt to his feet, attracting a few stray looks from his coworkers, but he paid them no mind. He rushed out the dull cafeteria into an equally dull corridor and out into a dull car park. He got into his car and set off with haste, barely waiting for the arm barrier at the gate to rise before his car was roaring under it.

He glanced at himself in the mirror as he drove, seeing sunken dead eyes and a pallid complexion. He was only 27, but he had a pallor fit for a retirement home, that of a man just waiting to die. He felt like he’d just woken up minutes ago, with the prior hours being a foggy haze. But being awake also brought back the pain of existence, that constant dull ache in his heart, the ache that told him his life was empty. His job was no different to the cogs he handled, to be a faceless part of a machine that could easily replace him.

Cole slammed on the brakes as he realised he was about to run a red light. He checked the time again. 1:15pm. Looking across the intersection, he saw a long line of static traffic all the way down the street. Fuck! He wasn’t that far now, it was probably walkable… He swung the car towards the sidewalk, parked at a lopsided angle, then jumped out. He set off at a fast walk, just below what would draw attention. 

He made it to the cafe a little out of breath at exactly 1:20pm. He stood on his tiptoes as his gaze swept the tables, looking for a familiar face, but didn’t see one. He sighed with relief, he’d made it before her. He found a cosy little booth over in the corner, and settled comfortably onto a seat where he had a view of the front door.

A preppy looking blonde waitress with a fake smile and bubbly tone walked over. “Can I get you something?”

“Err… just a coffee.” replied Cole without glancing her way. His gaze was locked on the entrance. 

“Mhmm. Milk and sugar?”

“Yes,” murmured Cole, not paying attention.

“Errr… ooooooooooook? Both then.” The waitress rolled her eyes as she noted the order in her notebook. “I’ll be right back.” Her polite smile dropped the instant she turned around.

Despite sitting, Cole’s heart rate didn’t settle back to normal. It continued to rise as worries echoed around his head. Why was she late? Maybe she wasn’t coming? Maybe she was mocking him? Maybe she secretly hated him? The same mantra of fears that tormented him every night steadily rose, drowning out the light chatter of the other diners.

The chime above the front door rang and it was like time had slowed down. Poking her head through the doorway was a blonde angel. Wavy golden locks framed her gentle features, with a cute button nose and warm eyes. She wore a loose sleeveless white blouse that was noticeably less loose around her generous bust, and showed off her lightly tanned arms. Cole thought she looked so elegant as she spun around to hold the door open for an elderly couple coming in behind her, presenting her curvy rear wrapped tight in a black pencil skirt that demurely covered her thighs almost to her knees. 

Chelsea turned back around, making the small black purse hanging off her shoulder to bounce on her rump. She looked across the cafe until her eyes met Cole’s. She smiled and Cole felt like the sun had just broken through the clouds. He felt a warmth in his chest so intense he couldn’t help but smile back. She walked over and sat opposite him. 

“Sorry I’m late! Traffic’s awful this afternoon,” she said as she laid down her purse and took out her phone. 

“Oh it’s fine, I just got here,” lied Cole. 

The waitress returned with his coffee and a surprised raised eyebrow that he now had company. He gave it a sip then winced at the lack of milk, he liked it with milk. Should he say something to the waitress? But he didn’t want to cause a bother…  

“Can I get an oolong tea please? Oh, and a ham sandwich,” asked Chelsea as Cole got lost in his internal argument. She glanced down at Cole’s black coffee. “Oh, and we need some milk!”

Cole looked up at her, surprised she’d noticed. She smiled sweetly at him, and in that moment he felt like the two of them were the only two beings in the whole universe. He was so caught up in his bliss it took him a moment to realise Chelsea was waiting for him to reply.

“I asked if you wanted something to eat,” repeated Chelsea with a grin. She’d noticed his rabbit-in-headlights expression.

“Err…” Cole hesitated. The tasteless slop he’d eaten back in the cafeteria sat heavily in his stomach like a stone so he wasn’t very hungry, but… 

“Don’t worry, my treat! I was late after all, let me make it up to you~”

Cole gave a small nod. 

“Make that two ham sandwiches please!” said Chelsea to the waitress before returning her full attention to Cole. The waitress scurried off. “It’s been weeks since we caught up, so how have you been?”

Cole again hesitated, then forced a smile. “It’s, um, ok. Work is a bit dull.” The reminder of his job was like a dark cloud appearing on the horizon. 

“Your talents aren’t appreciated there! You really could do so much better than them.” 

“B-but how about you? Doing well?” asked Cole, hoping to change the topic. 

Chelsea sighed and leaned against the backrest, inadvertently pumping up her bust. “I’ve been stuck with this same apartment all week, nobody’s interested! Not a single offer.”

The waitress returned with their sandwiches and Chelsea’s tea, then made a swift exit. 

“Hey… I don’t suppose you’d be in the market for a new apartment?” asked Chelsea with a wink before tucking into her sandwich.

“Does it come with you?” murmured Cole. His eyes widened in horror as he realised he’d spoken the thought aloud.

Chelsea nearly choked on her sandwich, then burst into laughter. “Only on weekends,” she teased. She took another bite while Cole’s sandwich remained untouched. “How’s the online dating been going? Did you try using those pics I recommended?”

Cole winced again. Another sore point. He hadn’t even opened the app in months. He knew a big fat “0 matches” message would be waiting for him. Besides, how could any woman live up to Chelsea? The mere thought some other woman could consider herself Chelsea’s equal irked him. Still, he didn’t want his inner darkness to become Chelsea’s, so he lied. “It’s alright, I’ve got a date, um, next week.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful! What’s she like?” Chelsea’s whole body seemed to wriggle in eager excitement as she leaned over the table towards him. 

Cole desperately broke eye contact and scanned behind Chelsea. He spied a solitary brunette sitting at the opposite end of the cafe. “She’s, um, got brown hair, and…” he squinted as he tried to distinguish the woman’s eye colour from so far away. “Blue eyes?” 

Chelsea nodded. “Brown hair and blue eyes, so that’s your type huh?”

“No-no-no-no,” spluttered Cole, deathly afraid he’d offended the blonde and hazel-eyed Chelsea.

Chelsea put down her sandwich, reached over, and flicked a loose curl of hair from his messy fringe. “You should get a haircut. Let her see that handsome face of yours.”

Cole’s cheeks turned a deep red as he dropped his gaze to the table. He couldn’t bear looking into Chelsea’s soulful eyes right now. 

The chirpy electronic chime of a ringtone pulled Chelsea away. She looked at her phone, sighed, and answered it. 

“Hi Jeffrey.”

…

“Again?!?! But you were meant to be home tonight, I was going to cook… but… you said…”

Cole fidgeted in his chair as he heard Chelsea’s sweet tone turn cold so quickly.

“Fine!” said Chelsea sharply before ending the call. 

The silence hung in the air afterwards. Jeffrey, Chelsea’s husband, had become a sour presence hovering over them both. 

Cole tried to crack a half-smile. “Trouble in paradise?” 

Chelsea looked down at the golden wedding ring she was spinning around her finger. “Jeffrey’s spending another couple of days at his work conference.” 

“Oh… that sucks?” 

“I wouldn’t mind if he told me these things in advance, but it feels like I’m the last to know, you know what I mean?” Chelsea looked up at Cole with pleading eyes, wanting to be reassured she wasn’t some zealous controlling wife. It took all of Cole’s willpower to resist flipping over the table and embracing her in a bear hug. He felt her pain, that familiar sting of loneliness that could as easily hit those in bad relationships as those long-term single like him.

“I should go…” said Chelsea as she slipped her phone into her purse.

Cole opened his mouth to object, to tell her to stay with him, to tell her he loved her, to tell her she was worth so much more than Jeffrey provided… but he said nothing.

Chelsea rose to her feet. “This was fun! We should meet up again once I get this apartment sold.” 

“Maybe I really will buy it then…” murmured Cole. 

Chelsea laughed. “Take care! See you soon Cole.” She waved farewell then walked over to the counter to pay the waitress. Cole watched her go, feeling his heart sink in proportion to her distance from him. She walked out the cafe and colour faded from his life again. 

—

The afternoon shift was even worse than the morning shift. After being shown a brief glimpse of light, it was harder to return to the darkness that was his life. He drove home in the dark, with the short distance still taking an age due to heavy traffic. He returned to a cold two-room apartment. He flicked on the overhead light and gazed upon the near-empty living space with its row of cardboard boxes stacked along the far wall. He’d moved in over two years ago yet still hadn’t finished unpacking. It felt pointless. It was just stuff. Replaceable stuff just like him. 

He turned on the TV just to have some background noise other than the downstairs neighbours arguing. He tossed his keys onto the nearby worktop, knocking aside the two birthday cards he’d gotten months ago. One from his mother, and the other from Chelsea. He opened the cupboards, picked a random instant meal, and threw it into the microwave. It didn’t matter what he chose, all these meals tasted the same, like salty cardboard.

He settled down in front of the TV, not really watching what was going on, just letting the flashing images illuminate his silhouette on the blank wall behind him. He tried to remember his lunch meetup with Chelsea, the only memory of today that felt real, but it was difficult to focus on without the dull ache of loneliness swamping him. He closed his eyes and tried to picture her smile.

He’d met Chelsea nearly 10 years earlier when he’d been a college freshman. She’d graduated the year before, but had come to the same house-warming party as Cole as they shared a mutual friend. Her hair had been longer then, running straight past her shoulder blades, but she’d had the same cheerful smile.

Cole wanted to call it love at first sight, but in truth he’d seen a lot of pretty girls at college. When he’d seen her holding a plastic cup of cheap beer and laughing with a couple of friends he hadn’t thought much of it. He’d stayed chatting only with his male friends during the party, too anxious to socialise with people he didn’t know, and it wasn’t until the party was dying down and he was slumped against a ratty sofa that she sat down next to him and he first spoke to Chelsea.

Despite the number of times he replayed his memories, he couldn’t recall the exact words of their conversation, just that it had started with the usual awkward party chit chat. He talked about how much he hated his major, she talked about how much she hated job-hunting. But rather than ending there and going their own ways, they continued talking. Perhaps it had been the beer, perhaps it was fate, but they’d spent the next few hours sharing their dreams for the future.

It was the first time Cole had ever felt he’d really connected with someone. It wasn’t two people narrating monologues, it felt like a genuine connection. She really listened to him, and in turn he was eager to hear more about her life. Unlike all the ego-posturing he was used to among his male friends, who only seemed to share details of their life to boast, Chelsea was open about her fears and worries. But rather than seem daunted over an uncertain future, Chelsea seemed excited to find what was in store. Her cheerful tone made the future seem hopeful, something full of possibilities.

It took Cole another two beers to build the confidence to ask Chelsea for her number. The question was on the tip of his tongue when her boyfriend had leaned over the sofa and stolen a kiss from her flushed lips. Cole’s question turned to ash in his mouth as he realised she wasn’t single. He should have known, a girl like her, there was no chance… 

He’d been about to make a quiet departure when Chelsea had grabbed his hand to stop him. She took a pen and wrote her number on his palm, saying she’d had fun chatting and they should stay in touch. 

It had taken Cole another two weeks before he’d dared call the number, nearly convincing himself that it must be a prank, but Chelsea had answered. Not only did she remember him, she wanted to meet up for lunch sometime. Their shared lunches grew into a regular event, being a highpoint of Cole’s week and a chance for Chelsea to unwind with an attentive listener.

Cole set aside his cold ready meal and opened up his laptop. He loaded up Facebook, then Chelsea’s profile. She smiled at him from in front of a large 3 bedroom villa, with her gesturing towards the “FOR SALE” sign. 

Chelsea had drifted between a few jobs after graduation, but had eventually found a good fit with real estate. Her natural charm and cheerfulness was perfect, and it provided a flexibility to her life she appreciated. She could fit in trips to the gym, yoga, long lunches, and early finishes into her day.

Cole clicked on her image gallery and scrolled down to the holiday pics. Chelsea’s sublime body lay sprawled across a sunlounger wearing only a sky-blue bikini. Her tanned skin glistened with sun-block as she sipped on a cocktail with a colourful paper umbrella. Cole unzipped his pants…

Chelsea stuck with her boyfriend for two more years until she walked in on him with another woman. She was heartbroken, and she immediately sought comfort in her best friend, Cole. After half-jokingly offering to beat the shit out of her ex-boyfriend, the two of them had spent the evening drinking in his college dorm. The first time he’d gotten her to laugh through her tears was still one of his fondest memories. Seeing her smile again had meant everything. She’d fallen asleep in his arms and he’d silently vowed to keep her safe.

As part of his vow, he thought it’d be wrong to ask her out during such an emotionally difficult time. He didn’t want her to feel like he was taking advantage of her, so he kept his love for her a secret. But not everyone was so considerate, some saw emotional vulnerability as an opportunity and swooped in. It was barely a week after the breakup when Jeffrey, a mutual friend, had asked Chelsea on a date. 

Cole had laughed when Chelsea had told him, thinking that she must have turned down such a brazen request while she was on the rebound, but she’d accepted. She needed someone to hold close and Jeffrey had made himself available. 

Cole couldn’t believe it, what could she see in Jeffrey? He was an asshole whose only topic of conversation was about how awesome he was. What would Chelsea and he have to talk about? Would Jeffrey listen to Chelsea’s woes? Would he remember to ask her about the various things going on in her life? Would he take care of her? 

Cole was livid at Jeffrey for what he assumed would be a second swift break-up. But it never came. Two years later, they were married. Cole had bit back tears as he watched Chelsea walk down the aisle, looking absolutely stunning in white, his angel from heaven.

White goop splattered Chelsea’s bikini pic on the screen. He sighed, reached for a box of tissues, and wiped off the cum. What kind of friend was he to Chelsea by jerking off to her pics? She’d be disgusted to know how he really felt. He was disgusting. He didn’t deserve to live. 

Cole closed his laptop, turned off the TV, and went to bed. 

—

Cole clenched his tongs around the waiting cog, lifted it over the thick vat of liquid, and dunked it in. He tapped his heel as he waited the mandatory two minutes. These moments of idleness were probably the worst part of the job as it gave him time to think, and to count the seconds of his life ticking away.

He took the cog out of the liquid, passed it under the air dryer, then left it on the drying rack for another two minutes. He watched it slowly shrink from a hand’s length to that of his pinky finger. It felt like a mirror of his life, with his identity shrinking down to something insignificant. Only it didn’t shrink enough, to truly reflect his life it’d need to shrink to nothing. A curious thought passed his mind. What if he left the cog in longer? Would it shrink down indefinitely? Would it just… pop out of existence? 

Cole glanced over his shoulder. His supervisor was over at the other end of the conveyor belt, talking with a coworker about a baseball match the night before. Was he really going to do this? Was he going to break the rules? 

Cole took the next cog and dunked it into the liquid. He counted the seconds with growing excitement, unsure what he’d do when he reached the two minute mark. What was the worst that could happen? He’d get fired from a job he hated? The cynical smirk of the depressed crossed Cole’s lips, he couldn’t be threatened with anything worse than how he treated himself.

Two minutes passed and the cog was still submerged. Three minutes. Four. 

Cole’s tongs trembled in his grip from the prolonged hold, which felt like a good point to stop as he didn’t want to lose the cog. He lifted it out the liquid and was disappointed to see it looked no different to normal. He sighed, passed it under the air dryer, then onto the drying rack. It began shrinking down, passing the length of his ring finger, then his pinky, and then further. His eyes bulged as he saw the cog rattle on the drying rack as it began slipping through the slats, with it having become the size of a coin.

Cole overheard the approach of heavy footsteps, his supervisor! Without thinking about it, he snatched the cog and dropped it in his pocket. 

The supervisor peered over Cog’s shoulder, seeing him standing idle. 

“We don’t pay you to do fuck-all, hurry it up,” said the man before slapping Cole on the shoulder. Cole nodded nervously and picked up the next cog on the conveyor. The supervisor moved on down the line and Cole let out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. A small grin crossed his face… experiment successful? 

Cole dwelled on his discovery over lunch, as he sat alone with his food untouched in front of him. This seemed like fate. He wanted to shrink and disappear from this world, and life had presented him with a way to do exactly that. He had no idea if the shrinking formula would work on organic matter as well as it did on metal, but what did he have to lose?

One problem was that the liquid baths used to dunk the cogs were far too small for him. He’d get maybe one leg in, but unless he wanted to become a pirate with a peg leg that didn’t seem much help. He’d need to try another way, and the only way he could think of to distribute the liquid throughout his body was to swallow it. That way he’d continue shrinking until he was completely gone.

He picked up a water bottle while in the cafeteria, then poured out the contents in the bathroom. In the afternoon, he waited for his supervisor to go for his cigarette break before using the tongs to dip the open bottle into the liquid and fill it up. He swiftly swung it under the air dryer before screwing on the cap, at which point he realised there was a flaw in his plan. Wouldn’t the bottle shrink? He carefully put the bottle down on the drying rack as far away from him as possible in case it exploded. 

He waited…

Nothing happened. Presumably the shrinking formula didn’t work with plastic? He took the full bottle and partially wedged it in his back pocket.

Waiting for the end of the day was always torture, but it was even more so today. He remained antsy all afternoon and was the first in line to punch out when the buzzer sounded at 5pm. He thought he’d made it when…

“Hold up there!” called his supervisor. Cole turned around slowly to see the man pointing at the bottle sticking out his rear pocket. He froze in terror, expecting to be instantly nabbed by security. 

The supervisor strolled closer. “My wife made me switch to smoothies too, I hate the stuff. Give me a bitter coffee any day, not one of those fruity goops,” he said with a grin.

Cole’s lips twitched up in a mimicry of a smile.

The supervisor slapped Cole on the shoulder as he passed by. “Have a good weekend!”

Cole wasn’t able to relax until he made it to his car and put the bottle on the passenger seat. He felt like he could cry for joy. He finally had a way out of his endless agony. He was going to shrink away to nothing, and his emotional pain would shrink with him until it too was gone. With tears streaking down his cheek, he drove out the parking lot. 

He didn’t start with a destination in mind, he could drink the bottle anywhere. But as usual when his thoughts were free to drift, they turned to Chelsea, and soon he was parked a little down her street. He didn’t want to bother her, he just wanted to feel like she was close by.

He turned off the engine and peered through the window towards her house. Unsurprisingly for a realtor, her house looked too perfect to be real. A stately three story manor with large bay windows and faux columns nestled behind a neat white picket fence and immaculately maintained lawn. It was far beyond anything Cole could afford, not that he had any use for as many rooms as that. It wasn’t like he needed guest rooms or had a wife to share it with.

As he watched, he saw the upstairs lights flick on. A familiar blonde figure was briefly backlit in the window as she pulled the blinds down. Seeing her brought an instant comfort, but also a painful pang in knowing this was the last time he’d ever see her.

He took a few hours to collect his thoughts. He wrote, deleted, rewrote, redeleted, a final message to Chelsea. He decided it’d be better if he just disappeared.

He wiped away a tear and unscrewed the bottle full of the shrinking formula. This was it. He hoped it wouldn’t hurt. He tilted the bottle upwards and started glugging it down. It tasted awful, like old gym socks put through a blender, but he wasn’t going to back out now. He kept swallowing until the bottle was empty, then threw it aside.

He waited for something to happen.

He felt a small quiver in his stomach. Was that it working or just nerves? He looked down at his limbs and his hands, trying to see any change, but they seemed normal. He sighed. It was going to suck going into work tomorrow if this didn’t work. He looked up and realised with a jolt that the steering wheel was now at head height. It was working! His shirt collar was growing loose around his neck and he felt his feet lift off the floor as he was no longer able to reach the pedals. His belt slipped down his hips and his sleeves enveloped his hands.

Cole’s breathing became rapid as he realised this was really it, the end. He tried to look across at Chelsea’s house again, but he’d sunk too far in the seat to see over the dashboard. He scrambled to stand on his car seat, causing his pants to slip down his thighs. He jumped to catch a brief glimpse of Chelsea’s house. His shoulders slipped through his collar and the shirt  settled onto the seat, leaving him standing naked. 

With him now too small to look past the dashboard even when jumping, he rested his wobbly legs and sat back down. He crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply. He tried to meditate, to keep his calm, to accept the coming nothingness. 

…

His butt itched. 

He tried to ignore it, but the itch grew more insistent, and eventually he had to stop his meditating to scratch it. He opened his eyes to see his shirt collar encircling his sight. He climbed to his feet to see the enormous vehicle he now sat within. He tried to estimate his new size, and from the collar that reached his midriff, he estimated he stood around the length of a ring-finger.

The world looked so different at this height. What was once insignificant was now dominant. Cupholders he’d barely noticed before were now the size of a hot-tub, and the individual seams in the seat were like a thick hemp rope. He marvelled at a world he’d taken for granted, realising how remarkable even the most mundane things were. Thoughts of departing this world seemed a little less attractive. He wanted to explore, he wanted to experience things anew! 

He anxiously looked down at his nude body, patting his chest and crotch, trying to tell if he was still shrinking. He was a little disappointed his cock had shrunk in proportion with the rest of him, but nothing seemed to be changing further, he’d reached his minimum height. 

He sighed in relief, but then a new wave of worries began. How was he going to survive like this? He couldn’t go to work anymore. How would he get back to his apartment? He couldn’t drive, and the formerly walkable few miles to his apartment would now be a feat even Frodo Baggins would have baulked at. 

But first things first, he should get a better grip on his current situation and look around. He began climbing up the interior of the car door, leaping to grab the handle, then pull himself up to the window. He got there just as a thud, thud, thud, rattled the glass as a heavy rain started. He peered through the rain-streaked glass at a vast world, with residential homes the size of mountains and trees like skyscrapers.

Cole started to hyperventilate at the vast size of what lay before him, and how helpless he was in it. This world wasn’t made for his height. He’d never survive! He slumped down and laid his forehead onto the glass. He thought of all the things he was going to miss, and Chelsea’s smiling face immediately crossed his mind. Chelsea… Chelsea! She’d help him! He looked out the window and across the street. It wasn’t that far, he could maybe make that, but first he had to find a way out of the car. He shuffled along the window sill to line himself up with the car handle below. He didn’t want to miss, it’d be a big fall otherwise. 

He took a deep breath, and carefully slid off the edge. His feet swung in the air as he dropped, until he managed to reach out and wrap his arms tight around the handle. He took another deep breath before proceeding further. He laid both feet against the door interior, then pushed away, pulling the handle with him. He groaned with the effort, but the handle moved. A heavy thunk sounded in the door and it swung open a couple of inches. Not much of a gap, but it was enough for Cole. He gritted his teeth, then dropped to the car floor, then through the gap onto the street below. 

He shivered as he felt the cold evening wind and rain splatter his bare skin, reminding him of his nudity. But this was no time for modesty. He looked down the street from underneath the car just as a van flew past, spraying water to either side and knocking Cole from his feet. He slid painfully across the asphalt before coming to a halt. He spluttered, coughing out the rainwater, then staggered back to the side of the road. He looked across its gulf, stretching like the width of a football field. Cole had never been especially athletic and he didn’t relish running across it, but resolve filled his veins. 

Not seeing any vehicles coming, Cole broke into a sprint. Once he got midway across, a pair of headlights illuminated his tiny nude figure. He sped up. He heard the car engine rapidly approaching, he wasn’t going to make it! At the last moment he dropped into a ball, covering his head and hoping he wouldn’t be flattened. The car passed over him like a jumbo jet, deafeningly loud and shaking his whole body, but was gone in a flash. His legs trembled as he stood back up. He didn’t want to try his luck again so he returned to his sprint. 

He made it to the other side and climbed up the sidewalk step that was as tall as he was, getting his chest muddy as he clambered up. He glanced around to check his bearings, then headed into the nearby bushes. What had before been a bush barely worth a glance was now a rainforest of tangled roots that stretched high into the heavens. Fortunately at his height it was easy to find a path through the interlinked branches, and it was nice to be out of the rain. 

It took him ten minutes to reach the far end of the hedge, and then there was another one, and then finally he was at Chelsea’s garden. Never had he been so glad that her husband kept a well-trimmed lawn. The grass still reached waist height, but he was able to make headway through it as he headed for her front balcony. 

He had to leap up to grab each step, then lift himself up onto the wooden patio. He was shaking and out of breath afterwards, but he’d made it! He looked up at the enormous wooden door and with a stomach-lurch, realised he had no way to get in. Chelsea would never hear him knock. He’d thought his old life was hard, but being tiny was seemingly one insurmountable challenge after another. He wasn’t going to give up now though. He looked up the wooden trellis arcing around the door, with the honeysuckle wrapping its vines around it. That would do, as long as he didn’t look down… 

He started climbing up the vines, feeling invigorated in a way he’d not felt for years. He’d gotten so used to emotional problems that seemed to have no solution that having a physical task that had a clear solution felt exhilarating. He grinned as he got higher, until finally coming level with the doorbell at the side of the door. He gripped the vines especially tight, then swung his leg out, kicking the button. 

DING DONG! He nearly lost his grip as the electronic chime seemed as loud as a cathedral’s bells. He waited with baited breath, then nearly cried for joy when he heard a rustle on the other side of the door. The door clicked, then swung inwards. Chelsea stood on the other side, peeking out from behind the door. It seemed she wasn’t expecting company as she only wore a loose fitting long-sleeved stripy top and silken pyjama shorts. 

“Hello?” she called, peering out suspiciously at the empty porch. 

“Over here!” yelled Cole, struggling to be heard over the rain. 

Chelsea squinted and poked her head out a little further, glancing to the left and right.

With a lurch of despair, Cole realised Chelsea wasn’t going to notice him. She shook her head in annoyance and stepped back, then began swinging the door closed. Cole gripped the vine tight, then yanked it free of the trellis, using it as a rope to swing towards the door. 

“CHELSEEEeeeeeeEEEEA!” he screamed while swinging through the air. He felt his strength falter and his grip began to weaken. The leaves snapped off the vine and he began tumbling through the air.

Chelsea flinched on seeing something fly towards her, but on seeing it start to fall she reflexly reached out and caught it in both hands. “What…?” Her hands were cupped tight around the creature. She cautiously unfurled her hands, hoping whatever it was wouldn’t bite her. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she saw the tiny dirty figure within. Despite the mud and dishevelled appearance, she recognised her best friend instantly.

“C-Cole?” she whispered, not quite believing this was real. 

“Chelsea!” gasped Cole in relief, before slumping into her grip. His whole body shook as the adrenalin wore off and exhaustion took him.

“Oh my god, Cole!” said Chelsea in a panic, feeling how cold and wet he was. She closed her hands around him, keeping him warm between her palms as she stepped back inside and used her butt to nudge the door closed. She dashed from the hallway to the living room and settled down cross-legged on the thick-cushioned two-seater sofa. She laid her hands on her lap, then slowly unfurled them. 

“Chelsea…” murmured Cole with a weak smile. 

She smiled back at him and giggled, relieved to see he was ok. “W-what on earth are you doing here? What happened to you?” she asked while using her sleeve to dab at his wet body, wiping off the rain and muck.

“It’s, um, a long story?” said Cole, suddenly feeling guilty over what he’d nearly done. What if he’d really died? How would Chelsea have felt then? “There was… an accident?” 

“Hmm…” Chelsea’s lips firmed up into a narrow line as she looked down at Cole sceptically. But she didn’t want to press him on it while he clearly needed help, so she continued rubbing her thumbs in circles against his chest through her sleeve, drying him off before moving down his body. Only now did she realise he was naked and her cheeks took on a light blush, but she didn’t stop. He needed to be dried off! 

Cole grunted and tried to hold still as Chelsea’s thumbs rubbed between his thighs, hoping he didn’t get an erection. He felt his dick flap from side to side with the force of her rubbing, but he couldn’t back off with his butt resting in the cup of her palm. He tried to avoid eye contact while she finished cleaning him up. 

Chelsea did the same in avoiding eye contact. She kept rubbing him until he felt warm and dry to the touch. She tried not to think about which parts of him she was currently touching. Once finished, she lifted her hands up to head height, getting a closer look at her best friend. She still couldn’t quite believe it. Was this really Cole? But that tousled hair, those familiar eyes, she’d never mistake that embarrassed smile of his. 

Cole gazed up at Chelsea’s enormous face in wonder. While she might be a body’s length away from him at his current height, this would once have been deemed kissing distance at his former height. He could see every pore, the smooth curve of her skin, the cute dent in her chin, and the gentle arc of her lips. 

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few moments, seeing both the familiar and unfamiliar. Cole didn’t know what the future held, but he felt safe in Chelsea’s hands.

“Oh!” squeaked Chelsea as she accidentally caught a glimpse of his dick. She blushed and turned away, her blonde hair whipping around to brush Cole’s bare skin before she lowered her hands to her lap. “Err… I’ll be right back.” she said as she leapt up then gently put him down on the warmed spot of the sofa she’d just sat in. She rushed out the room, leaving Cole with just the sound of the ticking clock on the mantelpiece. 

As befitting a realtor, the living room was immaculate, with tasteful cream wallpaper, a mahogany fireplace, dark wood furnishings, twin sofas, and a glass coffee table with a couple of fashion magazines artfully stacked. Despite the professional aesthetic, Cole still picked up little details he recognised as Chelsea’s. Her favourite colours manifested in the flowers on the windowsill, the little wooden animals hidden in alcoves which she picked up at craft markets, and the cosy woollen blanket folded up in the corner, a hand-knitted gift from her grandmother. This room was full of positive associations if you knew where to look. 

Chelsea returned a couple of minutes later carrying a teensy stuffed teddy bear, from which she was strippping an equally teensy jacket and pants. 

“Ta-da!” she exclaimed, holding out the bear’s clothing for Cole’s inspection. Cole reached and took the clothing. Chelsea looked from the clothing to him with a slight frown. “Might be a bit big for you, but it’s better than nothing!” 

Cole couldn’t help chuckling to himself as he put on the pants and jacket, feeling like he was putting on a clown costume with how loose it hung off him. Still, putting on clothes made him feel more like a person again. 

“You still play with dolls?” he teased, feeling more like his regular self. 

“Hey! You’d be all out of luck if it weren’t for those dolls!” replied Chelsea as she sat down next to him, bouncing him into the air as her weight wobbled the cushion. She giggled as she grabbed him before he rolled off the front, then carried him back to sit on her bare thighs, just below where her shorts ended.

After a few moments enjoying the comfortable atmosphere, Chelsea took a deep breath and her smile faded. “Cole. What really happened? Please tell me honestly.”

Cole froze, feeling his depression surge to seize his body, returning him to his emotional cage. He tried to speak, but his throat choked up. He didn’t know what to say. 

“It’s ok Cole, I’m here for you. Please, just tell me.” said Chelsea softly as she stroked the back of his head with a fingertip.

Cole sat in silence for a few moments, then started talking. He told her how trapped he felt in his life. How hopeless it was. How alone he felt in his apartment every evening. How he’d… tried to end it all by drinking the shrinking formula. Once he started it was like a torrent that wouldn’t stop. Sad feelings he’d never told anyone came pouring out. Chelsea didn’t say a word, she just sat with him, listening, with a single tear running down her cheek.

When he’d finished, she silently scooped him up in her hands and brought him up to her chest, pressing him lightly against her bust, a bed as soft as a cloud. She rocked him there for a while, stroking his back, giving him her warmth.

Cole wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. He wouldn’t have minded if it was forever. But eventually Chelsea lowered him back to her lap. She gave him a broken smile. 

“What am I going to do with you?” she asked. “I don’t trust the authorities, they won’t care for you properly. I can’t take you to your apartment, it’s not safe for you to be alone. I think… maybe you should stay with me for a while? At least until you’re feeling better about yourself?”

Cole didn’t have the words to respond, his voice was hoarse from his monologue so he just nodded.

“I’ll take good care of you,” said Chelsea as she scooped him back up to cradle him against her chest like a tiny baby. Her face disappeared behind the bosom above him. She carried him upstairs and into the bedroom. She removed some of the dozen cushions inhabiting the queen-sized bed, then carefully put him down on the right side pillow. She then flipped over the quilt corner, tugged down the bedsheet, and climbed into bed alongside him, still wearing the same striped top and pyjama shorts. Her legs slid under the sheets with a soft swish and muffled creak of the mattress. She snuggled under the covers and laid her head down on the adjoining pillow to his.

“Everything will be better in the morning, we can sort through things then,” she said softly. “Until then, let’s get some sleep. I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.” 

Cole remained silent, feeling too emotionally exhausted to do anything other than smile and nod. Sharing his inner pain felt akin to freeing himself of them, and while he might hear their faint howls in the distance, they no longer had their teeth in his flesh. The fact that Chelsea had listened and not turned away, hadn’t just dumped him outside with a “oh well, that’s sad but not my problem,” meant more than he could ever express. For the first time in longer than he dared remember, he felt loved.

He watched Chelsea close her eyes and slow her breathing as she drifted to sleep. She was more beautiful now than ever, and no matter how tired his eyes got, he didn’t want to miss a bit of it. His gaze followed a strand of her hair drooping over her face, drifting up and down as she breathed. Up and down. Up and down. Up and down…

— 

When Cole opened his eyes he wasn’t sure if he was still dreaming or not. Sunlight streaked through the thin curtains to illuminate the enormous stretch of rumpled white bedsheets before him. He faintly heard rain as he sat up and looked around. There were a pair of dressers at either side of the bed, and a pair of wardrobes standing at the far end of the room. “His/hers” signs hung off the wardrobe doors, with “hers” swung open to show it bursting with colourful outfits. Cole recognised some of them, having memorised Chelsea’s appearance in them. 

The rain stopped, and a few seconds later the bathroom door swung open and Chelsea walked in with a white towel hanging from around her bust. 

“Good morning sleepyhead!” she said as she walked over to her wardrobe and started taking out outfits. She looked over each one for a few moments before hanging it back up. Cole watched her for a few minutes, admiring the way her hair sparkled in the sunlight and stealing glances at the smooth skin of her upper thighs that peeked out under the towel. 

Chelsea spun around to face Cole and draped a strapless pink top across her bust, then swung it away and replaced it with a long-sleeve white blouse. “Pink or white, what’d you think?”

“Err… pink?” Cole didn’t want to admit he picked the top that would expose more skin. 

“Thank yooooooou,” sang Chelsea as she disappeared back into the bathroom, then reemerged a couple of minutes later wearing the pink top with a matching white pencil skirt, narrow-waist blazer, and nylon stockings. “What’d you think?” she asked as she did a twirl. 

“You look… amazing!” said Cole with complete honesty. 

Chelsea beamed a happy smile back at him, then scooped him up in her hands and carried him down to the kitchen. She sat him down on the circular wooden table as she got herself a yoghurt. She was going to offer to make some cereal, but as the cereal bowl would be bigger than he was, so instead they shared the yoghurt. She dipped her spoon into the pot, giving him a chance to lick the tip, before that same spoon disappeared between her lips. It reappeared all shiny, having been thoroughly licked clean. 

“I have a house showing this afternoon,” said Chelsea. “It’ll just be for a few hours, then we can look for a solution for your… size problem.”

Cole nodded despite being unsure what kind of solution would even be possible, or even if he wanted a solution found. “So, am I staying here?” 

Chelsea shook her head. “I’m not leaving you alone! What if you do something silly again?” A subtle wince crossed her face on mention of what he’d nearly done, and Cole felt a pang of guilt that he’d caused her that pain. “You’ll be staying close to me.” She scooped him back up again and brought him close to her chest. “Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you while I’m close.”

Cole struggled to resist a sudden sob at how much all this meant to him. From the way Chelsea cradled him in her grasp, he felt like she knew how he felt. After a few minutes of silent companionship, she flipped open her blazer to show a hidden interior pocket. She carefully tilted her hand over the opening and Cole climbed in. He fit snugly between two silken layers.

Chelsea checked he was comfy before flipping the blazer closed, with Cole coming to rest against her left hip. She held her hand protectively over the small bulge he made on the other side as she got up, put on her heels, and headed out to the car.

Sandwiched in Chelsea’s clothing, Cole felt so safe. He had vague flashbacks of being pushed in a pram as a child, of knowing someone bigger and stronger than him was watching over him and keeping him safe. He felt like he could fall asleep here, but he didn’t want to miss an instant of it. 

He rattled against her thighs as she drove to the show house, then felt himself swinging back and forth as she walked through the building, inspecting each room and tweaking the flower arrangements and framed photos.

She greeted the first visitor, a lone businesswoman looking to move out of the big city and into the suburbs, and took her around the house. Cole let Chelsea’s sales patter drift over him, the words didn’t matter, he just liked listening to her voice.

The morning wore on and it gradually grew warmer in the pocket. Cole was sweating and the doll’s outfit was sticking to his skin. As lunchtime approached, Chelsea pulled back her blazer and carefully pulled him out the pocket with her fingers hooking under his armpits. He looked around and saw he was in the bedroom. Chelsea put him down on the edge of the bed while she took off and folded her jacket, leaving her arms and shoulders bare.

“Aaaaaaaaaah, that’s better!” she cried as she stretched her arms to the ceiling, arching her back and thrusting her bust forwards. “It gets tiring being on your feet all day. How about you Cole, are you doing alright?” 

“Y-yeah, it’s fine!”

“Oh good! I was worried you might be uncomfortable. But we’re free for an hour now.” 

The two of them hung in companionable silence for a few moments before Chelsea continued. “So… what’d you think of the place?”

Cole spun around to look at the pink wallpaper, pink curtains, pink furniture, and pink bedsheets. “Err… maybe not quite my style?” 

Chelsea laughed. “Yeah, seriously, this place has been a bitch to sell.” She scooped Cole back into her palm and began giving him a tour of the rest of the house, with the two of them giggling as they made fun of the decor. They made it down to the living room, where Chelsea was dying over the cat cushions, when there was a sudden knock at the front door.

Chelsea looked down at Cole with wide eyed surprise. She peered out the front window. “Shit, it’s the 1pm couple. They’re early! What are we going to do…” The blazer had been left upstairs. She glanced down her body, neither her top nor skirt offered any pockets. 

“Maybe you could hide me under a cushion or something?” 

“That’s far too dangerous! What if they sat on you or something?” 

There was another louder knock at the door.

“Shit, shit, shit.” muttered Chelsea. “There’s only one way, I’m sorry Cole…” She didn’t have time to explain as she lifted him up to her bust with one hand, then used the other to pinch the front of her top and tug it forwards, showing off the double mounds packed tight in her bra.

“W-what?” cried Cole as Chelsea tipped her palm towards her exposed cleavage. Cole’s feet slipped between her breasts until his hips got jammed. Chelsea laid her finger on his head and pushed him deeper, past his waist, then his chest, until only his arms and head poked out between her melons.  

“It’ll only be for a few minutes,” whispered Chelsea as she laid her chin on her chest, trying to peer down at him, then released her grip on her top. The elastic snapped back into place, enveloping Cole and holding him snugly in place. He could vaguely see through the stretched fabric as Chelsea hurried down the hallway and opened the front door.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you! You must be the Millers? Welcome!” said Chelsea cheerfully to the young couple standing outside.

Cole felt sure they’d notice the bulge in the middle of her top. The husband’s eyes started to stray that way, but a swift poke and scowl from his young wife lifted his gaze back up to Chelsea’s face.

Cole sighed in relief, before being bounced around as Chelsea began walking back through the house. He felt Chelsea’s warm skin rub against both sides of his body, feeling like being sandwiched between two water beds. He felt himself sinking deeper into her bust with each wobble, so started to squirm. Chelsea gasped and clasped her hand over her bust. 

“Are you alright?” asked the young wife. 

“Oh yes, just, um, a hot flush. It’s been a warm day.” replied Chelsea. 

Cole felt his butt nudge something elastic, slowing his gradual envelopment by Chelsea’s breasts. He looked down to see the black lace of a bra strap, and then got an up close view as his face was forced against the inner half-cup. He stretched out his arms to either side, trying to grab anything firm to pull himself up with, and felt something hard on Chelsea’s smooth skin and gripped it tight. 

Chelsea nearly jumped out her heels as her nipple was squeezed. “And these… err.. Cushions…” she gasped as she struggled to focus on her sales pitch.

Cole found a more stable position resting within the underside of Chelsea’s bra, using it like a hammock, with her breast resting on his chest. However the constant rubbing of her skin on him had tugged his loose doll-clothing down his thighs to leave his dick flattened against her soft breast. He tried to climb back up, but got wedged with his crotch against her nipple.

Chelsea was conflicted between executing the tour quickly and not moving too fast, for each step resulted in her right nipple rubbing over Cole’s erect dick and flipping it over.

Cole bit his lower lip, trying to think of summer flower fields and waterfalls, anything relaxing, and not Chelsea’s hot sweaty body pressed against him. The tour seemed to be taking forever, just how big was this house? Did they really need a tour of the garage too?

Chelsea rushed the guests through the house and back to the hallway where she tried to bid them goodbye, but they seemed to have an endless series of questions. She felt like a child in need of a toilet break as she squeezed her thighs together and hovered her arms over her bust, trying to hide the tiny bump rocking on her nipple. Her hands couldn’t stay still as they ran up and down her arms, with her skin feeling hypersensitive after the prolonged sensual stimulation of her nipple.

Chelsea held a fixed smile as the woman rambled on, with her thoughts only on the sensations against her bosom. She subtly swayed her folded arms up and down over her bra, squeezing Cole and tossing him up and down in a regular rhythm. 

It was with a relieved sigh she eventually got to wave goodbye to the couple and immediately slam shut the door. She spun around to rest her back on the door and slide down onto the floor, with her legs trembling beneath her. She flipped her top’s shoulder straps over her arms and pulled them down, unfurling her top and bra. She carefully dipped one hand into the right cup, feeling the squirming figure of Cole against her fingertips, then scooped him out. The bra snapped back into place back over her nipple as she looked down at the half-nude Cole, with his pants down at his ankles.

“I’m sorry, I was trying to get out…” said Cole as he pulled them back up. 

“It’s ok, I’m sorry for not asking you beforehand,” replied Chelsea red-faced. She noticed both her nipple and fingertips felt sticky, and saw a drop of white goop smearing her fingers. Unable to resist, she gave her fingertips a lick clean. That salty taste… she’d know that anywhere. “At least you seem to have enjoyed it,” said Chelsea with a giggle, breaking the awkward atmosphere. 

Cole turned as red as Chelsea.

“Let’s get you somewhere a little comfier,” said Chelsea as she struggled back to her feet and headed upstairs. She put her blazer back on and popped Cole into the inside pocket. 

They didn’t speak again that afternoon, but were intimately aware of the other’s presence. Chelsea hovered her hand over her blazer bump frequently, seemingly wanting to stroke it but holding back. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the afternoon was over and Chelsea could head home.

She let him sit on the car dash as they drove home, assuming that any passerby would mistake Cole for an action figure. Once back inside, she put him down on the sofa and turned on the TV for him, then went off to make dinner for them both.

Cole wasn’t interested in the TV comedy show, it was a repeat he’d seen before, but he did enjoy being here. He enjoyed being with Chelsea, of acting like they were living normally together, or perhaps even married.

She came to collect him when the meal was ready, carrying him to the wooden table in the kitchen where she’d lit a candle and poured herself a glass of wine, with a thimbleful of wine for Cole. At his size the plate would be too big to eat off, so she sat him on the edge of her plate. She laid out a tangled mat of noodles, topped with tofu fried in a black bean sauce. She used her fork to stab a single piece of tofu and wrap up one noodle strand from her plate, which she then put out in front of Cole. 

“I hope you like it,” she said before tucking into her meal and slurping up the noodles. They seemed to whip against her lips like they were alive. 

Cole could either take a bite of the tofu or the noodle, there wasn’t room in his mouth for both. He nibbled a bit on the tofu and was surprised how much he liked it.

“Good?” asked Chelsea.

Cole nodded and continued to eat. 

“I’ll try to get more ingredients you like in stock, now you’re staying with me.” Chelsea said this offhand as a mere verbal addition to her shopping list, but for Cole it was so much more. It was a reminder that this was his home now, with Chelsea, and it filled him with warmth.

After dinner, Chelsea said she wanted to try researching his condition on her laptop, maybe find a cure or at least how to manage it. He offered to help, but at his size there wasn’t much he could do except look over her shoulder, so she again put Cole in front of the TV while she replaced her plate with a laptop in the kitchen. 

A couple of hours passed. 

Cole yawned as the film credits scrolled up the screen. It hadn’t been anything special, but it’d taken his mind off his state for a while. He’d expected Chelsea to join him midway through, but she still seemed busy. He sat there waiting for another few minutes, kicking his legs against the sofa as his mind drifted to what she might have found online. 

With growing impatience, he realised this was ridiculous. He wasn’t a baby, he was a grown man! He could make it from the living room to the kitchen by himself. He looked down from the seat at the carpet below him. It was like the height of a two story building and it made his stomach flip just imagining falling. But was it really that dangerous? Small animals didn’t seem to mind such drops. He shuffled closer to the edge, then slowly lowered his legs over the curve of the seat cushion. His careful movement became faster as he started to slip, then became too fast as he fell with a fearful yell. 

He hit the carpet, forming a crumpled lump of limbs. He grunted and held his position, waiting for the agony of broken bones… He felt fine. He rose to his feet and brushed off a few flecks of dust. 

He set off for the kitchen with new-found confidence. Maybe he wasn’t as vulnerable as he’d feared. He found Chelsea perched on the edge of her seat, avidly reading something on her laptop.

“Hey!” he cried from the floor, waving his arms. 

Chelsea didn’t react. 

“Chelseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeea!” he yelled. 

She nearly jumped from her seat in her haste to slam her laptop shut. She looked down at him with flushed cheeks. “Oh, Cole! Is, um, the film finished? Sorry, I got a bit distracted…” She averted her gaze from him.

“Did you find any solutions?” asked Cole with a note of hesitation. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted his state to be solved, but wasn’t ready to say so.

“Err… no. I tried doing a search for ‘shrunken man,’ but the results…” Her cheeks turned an even darker shade. “The internet sure is a strange place isn’t it?” she added with an awkward giggle before rising from her seat. 

Cole swiftly dropped his gaze as he realised he could see up Chelsea’s  skirt from down here, catching a glimpse of creamy skin deep in shadow above her stockings, and above that…

“It’s gotten late hasn’t it, time for bed?” she asked. Cole agreed and she took him upstairs. He watched her from the bed as she undressed, swaying her hips as she unbuttoned her pencil skirt and eased it down her wide hips and thick thighs. She followed this by rolling down her stockings and plucking it from her toes. A pair of black lace panties poked out the underside of her top, whose hem was resting snugly on her curvy ass. She tucked her fingers under the sides of her top and lifted it up, unveiling her chest and the black half-cup bra he’d gotten so intimately acquainted with this afternoon. He noticed a tiny white stain on the front of one bra cup, a relic of his occupancy there, and he prayed Chelsea wouldn’t notice. She flung her top onto a stack of laundry beside her wardrobe along with her skirt, then twisted around to look over at him.

“I’m taking a quick shower. Do you need a wash too?” she asked. 

Cole nearly choked. Was she asking him to shower with her? He couldn’t do that, she was married! 

“Come on you stinky-head~” teased Chelsea as she plucked him from the bed and carried him into the adjoining bathroom. A small sink sat alongside a toilet and shower cubicle with frosted glass. A long mirror stretched across the wall with the sink, with an equally long shelf that was densely packed with various colourful hair and beauty products.

Chelsea sat Cole on the edge of the sink, then plugged it and ran the hot water tap. Her fingers skimmed over the selection of shelved bottles, and she settled on a purple bottle labelled as lavender and waterlily scented, then poured a couple of drops in. She swirled it around with her fingertip, making a thick froth of bubbles. 

“There you go, enjoy!” said Chelsea with a grin. She covered her eyes with one hand. “I won’t look!”

Cole swiftly stripped off his doll pants and top then slid down the side of the sink and into the warm water. He was relieved that the bubbles covered his nudity, and he took the opportunity to gaze up at Chelsea’s shapely body, especially the plump breasts hugged tight by her bra.

Chelsea peeked through a gap in her fingers. “Are you done?” 

“Yeah, I’m in.” replied Cole.

Chelsea smiled at him as she lowered her hands. “I’ll just be a few minutes,” She tip-toed into the shower cubicle, but kept the door cracked open just enough for her to toss out her bra and panties to land in a heap on the tiled floor, then turned on the shower. 

Cole closely watched Chelsea’s silhouette through the frosted glass. The shifting curves and distortions of her skin was like recalling a hazy dream, but if he paid close enough attention he could just make out the pinker spots that marked her nipples.

He couldn’t resist touching himself at the sight, knowing that she was nude and covered in bubbles just a metre away from him, with her hands caressing her long limbs, squeezing her supple body… 

When Chelsea finished her shower ten minutes later, Cole had something more in his bathwater than just bubbles. She opened the cubicle door to stretch out a wet arm towards the white towels hung up on the adjacent wall. Her fingers plucked at the nearest towel, dislodging it from the bar as it slumped to the floor. 

“Shit…” murmured Chelsea. “Cover your eyes Cole!”

Cole covered his eyes, but left just enough of a gap to see through. At his tiny size, Chelsea wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. 

Chelsea stepped out the shower with her left arm across her bust, leaving her generous breasts bulging out either side. Her damp hair stuck to her shoulders, with rivulets of water running down the many curves of her figure, past her chest, around her wide hips, and onto her thighs. Cole caught a brief glimpse of a trimmed tuft of dark pubic hair between her legs as she crouched down to pick up the towel, then swivelled around to give him a fine view of her divine ass before stepping back into the cubicle. 

He’d never known Chelsea dyed her hair blonde, he’d thought it was natural, but her pubic hair disagreed. He felt a little guilty at peeping, but also thrilled to know something new about his best friend.

A minute later Chelsea reemerged with a wave of steam and the towel wrapped around her chest. Cole breathed deeply, knowing the moisture he smelt was the same steam that had been hugging Chelsea’s body.

“Aren’t baths wonderful? They always make me feel so relaxed,” said Chelsea as she came over to the sink to check on Cole. She laid out a second towel, then reached into the bowl to scoop Cole out. Her fingers tucked under his bare butt and legs before he was lifted out and deposited onto the towel. She flipped the corner of it over him, completely covering him as she dried him off. 

Cole gasped as he felt his whole body poked and rubbed through the towel. Nowhere was safe, and being flattened meant he couldn’t cover his crotch. His hardening dick poked up the towel like a small tent, only to be pushed back down by Chelsea’s finger. 

Chelsea giggled as she felt his tiny body through the towel, detecting the lumps of his arms, legs, head, and between his legs… oh! That was new… She turned her head away before tugging back on the towel flap, releasing Cole from his brief captivity. He lay gasping for a few moments before crawling over to his doll’s clothing and putting the pants back on. He was about to put on the top when Chelsea snatched it away. 

“That’s probably a bit dirty now isn’t it?” she said while eyeing the tiny shirt. “I’ll get you something fresh tomorrow.” She crumpled it up and tossed it into the waste bin. She then carefully scooped Cole up and carried him back to the bedroom, where she once again laid him on the right side pillow. She strutted over to her wardrobe, took out a sheer silver negligee on a hanger, and returned to the bathroom. She returned a few moments later, having replaced the towel across her chest with the negligee. It draped close to her body, showing the clear outline of her perky breasts and the tips of her nipples. Cole was mesmerised by the sway of those breasts, unsupported by any bra, as they bounced under the thin silk. 

She crawled into bed alongside Cole and got herself comfortable. She lay on her side as she looked over at him. Cole wondered if he should say something, should he wish her goodnight? But he didn’t want to close his eyes…

Chelsea abruptly lurched forward, with her face eclipsing Cole’s whole vision and her pursed lips swiftly approaching him. Her upper lip pressed against his bare chest, while her lower lip nudged his crotch, sandwiching him against the pillow. His whole world went dark, and for a moment he had a crazy thought that she was going to eat him, but then she pulled back from her kiss. 

The two of them looked at each other from across their pillows, with Cole eyes wide in surprise and Chelsea’s wide with desire. She bit her lower lip…

“Goodnight Cole,” she said before turning away from him and turning off the light.

It took Cole a while to relax in the dark after that. His thoughts raced as he tried to work out what had just happened. Was that just a… friend kiss? What was he to Chelsea now? What was she to him? Friend, protector… more? It took a long time for him to fall asleep.

—

Cole awoke with a faint light disturbing him. Was it morning already? It felt like he hadn’t slept at all. He sat up on the pillow and saw the light wasn’t coming through the window curtains, it was coming from alongside him. Silhouetting the rise and fall of Chelsea’s hip to waist was her laptop. She had it on the bed alongside her as she faced away from him. 

He rubbed his eyes, struggling to focus. He quietly stood up on the pillow, giving him a glimpse of the screen. He saw Chelsea had a web browser open for a site named giantessworld. She had a couple of images loaded up on the screen, depicting women with their mouths open and a tiny nude man trapped on each of their tongues. It was kind of sensual, but also… Cole felt a shiver of fear as he realised they were prepared to eat the shrunken men. Was it just pretend? He was fairly sure the photos were fake, but his understanding of what was possible or not seemed to have been upended these past couple of days. 

As his other senses woke up, he heard a subtle rustling of the sheets. A rhythmic rustle interspaced with a faint wet schlurp. It was coming from Chelsea. She had one hand on the mouse, and the other disappeared between her legs. The thin bed sheet over her hips shook in time with the rustling, a shake that got faster and faster in time with Chelsea’s stifled gasps. Was she…? To those images…?

Chelsea grabbed the edge of her pillow and pressed it over her open mouth as she let out a muffled moan. Her whole body shuddered, shaking the bed, and nearly making Cole topple over. The rhythmic rustling stopped and Chelsea reached forward with wet fingers to close her laptop. 

Cole’s view of Chelsea disappeared as she closed the screen. He could only listen to her breathing as it slowed back to normal. Hearing her in the dark while being unable to see her somehow made her feel even closer. He imagined her crouching over him, her enormous figure dwarfing his, bringing her face closer, and engulfing his whole body between her soft lips. 

His dick popped to attention and he silently reached into his pants and gave the shaft the stroke. He thought of Chelsea’s tongue rubbing down his whole body, tasting him and coating his dick in drool.

It didn’t take him long to climax. He lay back on the pillow afterwards, listening to Chelsea’s breathing, and wondering if she was listening to his…