Chapter 24 - Naomi

Her words came out very formal. The statuesque woman introduced herself politely while bending down all the way to his level, undoubtedly making Kevin feel even smaller than he already is. It was exactly like how a mother would interact with her small child. A feeling that sent Kevin's mind to an old memory of her mom dropping him at school back when he was in kindergarten. It was almost the exact same situation, only this time the kid is a grown man in his 30s and the mother is a young girl probably half his age.

“Hi Naomi. I'm Kevin Smith.. You can call me Kevin. Pleased to meet you.” he replied trying his best to hide the embarrassment.

“I'm sorry I didn't mean to disrespect you or anything, It's just I've been tall my whole life and it's sort of natural for me to bend down.” said Naomi, as soon as she realized that he was not very comfortable with her gesture. “Plus, I was born and raised in Japan. That's how we normally greet each other in there. I hope you're not offended.” She added. 

“No, it's totally fine. Just probably don't do it too often here..” Kevin said, impressed that she actually apologized and explained why she did. Now this is someone that was raised right, Kevin thought.

“By the way I can't help but notice that your hand is so much bigger than mine.” Kevin couldn't believe he just blurted out those words without even thinking. He immediately mentally prepares himself for the awkwardness that might about to come.

“Yeah well, I come in a big package. As you can probably see, everything about me is large. Even my shoes had to be custom ordered. Well, everything except my middle area. Well I guess you can't have everything..” she said referring to her medium sized boobs.

Kevin was surprised at how casually she responded to his very awkward and might have been inappropriate question. Her easygoing personality quickly melts any awkwardness they might have. Other than unintentionally making him feel tiny at every moment, he thought that their impromptu conversation went really well.

“I'm really glad I met you Kevin. I thought it's only gonna be me. I'm kind of relieved that I wasn't gonna interview alone today for the internship. What department are you going to apply for?” she asked, genuinely.

“Umm actually, I work here.” Kevin said slowly hoping it would not spook her.

“"Oh my God.. I'm so sorry Mr. Smith.. I saw you were going to the same floor as me so I thought you're..” Naomi quickly apologized and immediately switched into speaking formally as she realized that the man she's talking to might be her interviewer or even worse, her boss.

“Geez.. I feel so embarassed. you must think I'm rude now.” she said, brushing her hair nervously.

“No it's okay don't worry about it. It's an easy mistake to make..” Kevin reassured her.

“I'm really sorry sir.. You just look so young and you're also quite short for a guy I think, that must've happened a lot..” She said.

“Only recently..” Kevin said, realizing that selective truth would be best for now.

“Well sir, don't feel too bad. I mean I'm 6'5 barefoot and with these heels on I'm about 6'9, so everyone is basically shorter than me.”

“Do you get bullied because of your height?” Kevin asked, even though he kinda already know the answer.

“Of course. Any names they'd call a tall girl that you can think of, I've heard them all. I just learned to ignore them. What stood out though, is that they used to call me noodles because of how skinny my legs were.” she added as the elevator played a ding sound, signaling that they've arrived at their floor.

“Ah..” Kevin couldn't help but sneakily examine her bottom half after she said that. He let her walk ahead so he could have a better view of her from behind. They definitely doesn't look like noodles anymore. Even though her pair of long legs are well toned and lean for her tall body, they're probably similar to Kevin's in thickness, if not a bit fuller.