Chapter 15

“Jason…how many times do I have to tell you?” Eve reiterated as they waited at the bus stop, “You look really cute right now!”

Jason sighed out, rolling his eyes, feeling that everything he did somehow dug him deeper into the hole he was already in. When his eyes came back around, they were looking straight forward into the middle of her bare shoulders, exposed in the tight white dress she was wearing that showed off her new curves. With another jolt, Jason noticed that Eve’s shoulders…and her biceps, triceps, and forearms, were actually looking pretty, well…muscular, and solid, but yet somehow still in that easy, alluring feminine way that made him feel increasingly desperate. Yes, he had weighed himself earlier that day, and was back up to 167. But, his eyes going over her body, Jason wondered whether Eve herself now weighed 160. She had gained some muscle, that was for sure…muscle and just voluptuous size in general.

“I don’t wanna look cute,” he sighed, instantly regretting his words as he heard how whiny they sounded. “I wanna look…I don’t know…”

He had been about to say “masculine,” but he knew that wouldn’t have worked, since Eve would instantly translate that (correctly so) as him saying he felt emasculated by his dazzling 6’1 girlfriend, all dolled-up for the freshman dance in her tight, revealing dress, her shockingly hot blackish-purple lipstick and sharp nails, and, of course, her 6-inch stiletto heels that made her a full 11 inches taller than him. The 1-inch height pump from his loafers seemed like a pitiful joke at this point. As they had walked to the bus stop, holding hands, Jason’s fears had been realized – a lot of people had been staring at them, with a few guys openly snickering as they passed. Jason was sure that Eve had been aware of all this…and…and it almost seemed to make her stand up taller. That was it; that was why Jason was annoyed right now. It wasn’t just that Eve was making him look like a little kid next to her – it was that she was actually enjoying it.

“Well, that’s too bad,” Eve chuckled, reaching down and ruffling her boyfriend’s hair with her hand, lovingly scratching his scalp in the process with her nails, “Because there’s not really anything you can do about it. You’re a cutie, and you’re just gonna have to live with it.”

It was amazing to Eve how much bigger her hands looked with those fake nails, and how much longer her fingers looked. Scratching Jason’s head like this, it almost seemed like she could palm the entire top of her head. But maybe that was just some kind of optical illusion, since she was already towering above him by so much. It certainly was a lot to get used to, as their walk to the bus stop had shown. For one thing, it was a bit awkward walking in these huge heels, but she was already getting used to it – in fact, now that she thought about it, it had been much easier walking to Jason’s dorm, when she had been by herself, and free to stride at her own pace. But now, holding hands with Jason, it was actually much more difficult, since she had to consciously slow her pace down to allow him to keep up. Was her stride really that much longer than his!? Or was he purposefully dragging his feet…moping like he sometimes did.

Eve chuckled again and stopped scratching Jason’s head, since it was clear that he wasn’t really enjoying it. She felt an unwelcome stab of irritation and…what was it…disappointment? She was in a bright, buoyant, happy mood, eagerly looking forward to the dance, feeling sexy and dynamic in her dress and heels…it had been a bit of a gamble, since she had never really gotten herself this “done up” for an event, but she was thrilled with the result. For the first time in her life, she actually felt like she was manifesting her physical potential. She had never been one to strut around, showing herself off, but…what was wrong with doing that every once in a while? And anyway, it was a special occasion, so why shouldn’t she enjoy herself a little bit? Eve wanted Jason to join her in this feeling, so that they could enjoy it together. He really did look adorable in his outfit, even if maybe he was a little…”underdressed” compared to her. But so what!? Plenty of guys at the dance were gonna be dressed like that, with loafers, khakis, and a tucked-in polo shirt – it was a classic “college guy” look, after all! Nothing wrong with it! So why did Jason seem determined to stew and pout?

Deep down, Eve knew why. It was really very simple: she made Jason feel small, and he couldn’t handle it. Being this much taller than him bruised his masculinity. As much as Eve wanted to avoid this truth, there was no getting around it. And it annoyed her. She had always been taller than Jason, even in high school. Her height hadn’t been an issue then – why, all of a sudden, was it an issue now!? So she was wearing heels…so what? They were clearly an artificial inflation of her height; no one would think that she actually towered over him that much…and anyway, the heels made her feel sexy! Why couldn’t Jason just appreciate that? Why did he have to be such a bad sport about it?

All of this had been flashing through Eve’s head while she chuckled and stopped ruffling Jason’s hair. Her laugh had been more avoidant than anything else, since she didn’t want to think about any of these things right now. She just wanted to be happy, and for Jason to be happy too! Was that really too much to ask!? For her boyfriend to quit this ridiculous charade and just accept that she was always going to be taller than him, and that she didn’t care…that she wanted to be with HIM and no one else? This first month of freshman year had already been so transformative for her; she felt this exciting, energizing wave of momentum, catapulting her toward adulthood, and she just wanted Jason to join her on that wave. She knew it had been a bit of a difficult adjustment for him, but he had it in him to roll with the punches…she just knew he did.

“Hey so I bet you’re looking forward to the slow dances, huh?” Eve quipped, as she decided to quit thinking about all this stuff and just enjoy the night out.

“Oh…yeah?” Jason asked, blinking and looking up at her searchingly. Eve just couldn’t get over how dazed he looked…how out of his element. ‘Geez,’ she thought, ‘Is he…actually intimidated by me right now!?’

“Yeah!” she laughed, again forcing the thought out of her head. She didn’t want him to be intimidated; she wanted him to be confident! She straightened her back, standing up to her full 6’7, and stuck out her chest, her B-cups audibly straining her dress (which had comfortably accommodated her A-cups before). “Because you know that you’ll be resting your chin on these big babies right here!”

Jason opened his mouth, and then cracked a grin as both he and Eve started laughing. Her self-deprecating humor had been just the salve for the tension between them.

“Well…you know,” Jason laughed, feeling a renewed sense of levity as he relaxed a little, “They have gotten bigger since you wore that dress to prom in the spring.”

“God, I know!” Eve laughed, rolling her eyes as she stuck her finger into her bodice in a playful attempt to give her breasts a little breathing room. “All those upper-body workouts might have something to do with it, haha…or, actually, probably all the stuffing my face after the workouts.”

“Well…you sure are looking good these days,” Jason observed. He was already feeling his confidence coming back. This is how he did it, giving her compliments and building her up…it felt good, like he wasn’t trying to swim against the current. And, in any case, the compliments themselves were genuine and easy to give. Eve looked hot.

“Aww you’re too sweet,” Eve giggled at him, feeling very feminine and warmed by his words. It was easy for him to get her going when he started acting confident like this. It was the real Jason…the Jason she was dating. “You don’t think I’m looking too big?” she added, in a rare moment of self-consciousness. She enjoyed being able to be vulnerable like this with him, and she realized that it had been a while since she could actually lean into this feeling. “I mean, I’m pretty sure I weigh close to 160 now.”

“Oh…really?” Jason asked blankly. “You’re pretty sure?” The confidence he had been feeling began rapidly retreating; if Eve was 160, then that meant that she weighed only 7 pounds less than he did…and she had only just started working out.

“I mean…I haven’t actually weighed myself,” Eve replied, lifting up her arms and flexing them, “But…like, last week I weighed 155, right? And all that bench pressing and squatting since then…heh, plus a ton of food…yeah, I bet I’m pretty close to 160 now.”

“A lot of benching, huh?” Jason grinned, suddenly seeing an opening. “Whatcha benching now?”

Eve turned to smirk down at him, raising her eyebrow. “Oh…you’re gonna lay into me for not benching as much as you?” she chuckled. “And my record is only 125 now…not even up to a big plate on either side.”

“Huh…not bad, Eve…really!” Jason nodded genuinely, before continuing, trying not to sound defensive as he grinned. “And I’m not laying into you. Just…you know…charting your progress.”

“Ooooh I’ve got my own personal trainer over here,” Eve gibed. “I didn’t realize you had taken such an interest!”

“Well…I mean, Lauren told me that her personal best is 160,” Jason heard himself saying. “So…you know…I just don’t want my girlfriend to get shown up by someone who’s smaller than she is.”

“Oh my god, Lauren is NOT smaller than me!” laughed Eve. “Like, she’s a little shorter, sure…but smaller!? No way…Lauren is thick! Like, “strong-thick,” you know? Ugh, if only I could look like that…”

“You’re well on your way,” Jason declared, quite truthfully. “Yeah, Lauren’s thick and all, but I think you’re catching up to her.”

“You think so?” Eve asked hopefully, flexing her arms one last time before letting them down. “That’s the look I’m going for…like, womanly and curvy, right? But also…like, I could beat you up if I wanted to.”

“Guess I’d better get my ass back to the gym,” Jason joked. “Or else you’re gonna make me the beta in the relationship.”

“That’s right!” laughed Eve, feeling a strange sense of awkwardness coming from Jason all of a sudden. An ugly little voice raised its voice in her brain. What was he talking about? Like…she sure wasn’t the beta in the relationship. If anyone was the “beta,” it was him. But Eve shoved the voice down, ignoring it, determined to enjoy the exchange. “You better watch it,” she continued, her eyes going wide as she put her hands on her hips and loomed over her boyfriend, “Or else I’m gonna make you…uhh…uhhh…”

“Yeah?” cracked Jason, grinning up at her with his own hands on his hips, even as he truly felt intimidated by her height. He could disguise this feeling in his humor, though. “What’re you gonna make me do?”

“I…I’ll…” stuttered Eve, purposefully drawing out her response to be silly. It felt much better playing around like this…better than indulging that ugly little voice in her head. “I’ll make you carry my books to class!”

Jason put his hand to his chest, miming horror. “Eve…you wouldn’t!” he intoned, shaking his head. “Those calculus books…that’s just hitting below the belt.”

The two of them laughed, just as the bus pulled up. Seizing the initiative as he rode the wave of his recent humorous success, Jason grabbed Eve’s hand and stepped up into the bus, turning with exaggerated “gentlemanly” charm.

“A little help for the young lady?” he asked, doing his best British accent.

“Ah! Thank you, my dear!” Eve replied in kind, squinting her eyes at him affectionately. She couldn’t help but realize, though, before she stepped up into the bus, that she was still taller than him, even though he was standing way up on the bus platform. She didn’t even know how she felt about it – on one hand, it was just amazing, how much taller she was than him…and on the other, well…Eve didn’t really even know how to describe it. It was a kind of emotional rush, a sudden liquid thrill of excitement, knowing that she was that much taller than him. What was this feeling?! It was so strange to realize that she really did get this…this special kick out of towering over Jason…and in public, too! As they boarded the bus, more people were staring at them, and Eve caught the sound of a couple more snickers from a few dudes who obviously couldn’t handle the size difference. She felt Jason’s hand tighten against hers as he led her to a couple open seats, and she squeezed his hand back, feeling almost sad. It had never been her intention to make him uncomfortable, or to show him up…was that what was happening right now? Had it been a mistake to go to the dance like this, all done-up, and in these huge heels? The last thing she wanted was for Jason to feel small or overshadowed by her. It’s just that she thought…she hoped…that he would be able to deal with it, to handle it with his customary self-confidence that had attracted her to him years before. Her size was never, and had never been, a threat to him. She didn’t need a bigger man to dominate her and sweep her off her feet – she just needed…someone who could handle her being tall, being sexy, without feeling emasculated.

As they sat down, Ben suddenly popped into her head. Now that was a guy…heh…who could never be emasculated. No way. And it wasn’t even just because of his gigantic size. Well, yes, that was part of it. But really, it was his attitude. His easy, carefree, casual attitude…about everything. He had nothing to prove, to her or anyone else. Why was she thinking about Ben!? Sure, he was going to be at the dance…so what? They were just friends…he was just a cool guy she had met recently. Eve privately chastised herself, willing her mind to quit thinking about Ben, about his big hands, his huge, hairy arms, hell, the way he had eaten his breakfast…and, of course, about what he had told her, about that former girlfriend, Rose…

“A little nervous?” Jason chuckled at her.

“Huh?” Eve asked, blinking as she turned to him. “No…why?”

“Well…” he grinned. “You’re kinda squeezing the hell out of my hand.”