Jake looked at his watch. Only five more minutes before she arrived. There was nothing he could do now but wait. It wasn’t as if he was against going on a date with Susie, but it had been quite a while since he’d spent some real quality time with her. During that time he’d begun to have doubts about their relationship. Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea after all, especially considering the negative reactions it was drawing from everyone. At least his mother approved, and to him that meant a lot. He was sitting on the steps of his front door, watching the sun sink lower in the sky. Suddenly, a commotion reached his ears. Something was definitely happening to the north. He got up and waited expectantly. Then, just as he’ predicted, Susie appeared from behind an office building half her height.

Jake felt his breath taken away by the sight of her. She was wearing an absolutely stunning red dress, which showed off her gorgeous body perfectly. Her hair was done in a type of bun, with loose strands falling here and there. On her feet he saw equally gorgeous red high-heeled shoes, which he’d never seen before. All in all, she looked more beautiful than he could ever recall. He looked down, at his own rather plain clothes and shoes, and felt curiously unworthy. It wasn’t just him, he realized. Everyone was staring at her. The few cars that were in the streets seemed to have stopped, and Susie had to take care not to step on them. People were gaping from sidewalks and windows, and, after getting their fill of her, turned towards him.

Jake wanted to retreat and hide in his room. Unlike Susie, he didn’t like being the centre of attention. He didn’t want to talk to her, not now, in the open. She had reached his street, and, taking care not to dirty her dress, knelt down in his front yard. She was carrying a purse, which almost the size of his bedroom. After placing it down beside her, she looked at him.

Susie could see that he was rather uncomfortable, and she decided to hurry. She carefully pinched him between her fingers, lifted him up, dropped him in her purse, and closed it. All without saying a word. She was sure he’d understand; in fact, he might even be very grateful. Seeing no need to prolong the embarrassment, she stood up and headed northeast, out of town. She had to move slowly, stepping over cars, houses and power lines. Her previous visits had given her lots of practice, and no damage was done, apart from a few minor cracks in the road surface.

She reached the encircling forest, looked behind her to make sure no-one was following her, and set off again. Now she could move more quickly, and, though the terrain was difficult in some places, she managed seventy miles an hour. No car could keep up with her here, and before long she reached the spot where, earlier, she’d been busy preparing the settings. She sat down on the giant picnic blanket and lighted the candles; the sun was about to set. She placed her purse in her lap and opened it. Inside, Jake looked up at her nervously.

“Don’t worry, we’re safe,” she said. “Sorry about kidnapping you like that, but I didn’t want to hang around for long.”

“That’s okay,” he replied. “I’m just glad to get a break from all those…those people. Why they can’t leave me alone, I don’t know.”

“Well, we’re alone now,” she said. “Here, why don’t you take a look?”

She tipped her purse over, and Jake tumbled out and onto her dress. He took a moment to compose himself, then looked around him. In the distance, reflecting the setting sun, was the lake, and all around him stretched the trees of the forest. Of the town there was no sight; it had to be hidden behind the trees somewhere. They were pretty high up in the hills, though he could see taller peaks still to his left. Gradually, a feeling of peace and happiness descended upon him. He lay down in Susie’s lap, gazing up at his gigantic girlfriend.

“Wow,” he sighed. “You took me all the way up here? It’s beautiful!”

“Why, thank you,” she smiled. “It wasn’t easy finding the perfect spot, but I’m glad it worked out. Now, how about something nice to drink?”

“Can it wait? I’m enjoying myself too much now.” He stretched himself out, pulling the fabric of her dress across him. It was rare moments like these that made him regret ever considering ending the relationship. Sure, it was difficult to deal with all the criticism and ridicule, but, in the end, he was still in love with Susie, and he wanted to stay with her. She looked down at him adoringly and rubbed him with her fingertip.

“Have it your way,” she said, though she agreed with him. “I don’t want to rush it either. Why don’t we do this more often?”

“Well, there’s school, for one thing. Plus, it’s difficult for us to arrange an evening like this. Then there’s the fact that no-one likes the thought of us…”

“Okay, okay, enough! I don’t want to hear why we can’t be together. I just want to know that we are.”

The sun finally set behind the distant hills, and the only light came from the two storey-tall candles. Susie placed Jake next to her on the blanket and opened the basket she’d brought earlier. She took out a smaller basket and handed it to Jake.

“Just like last time, eh?” he said. “Maybe we should find some size in between, so we could both enjoy the same delights.”

She laughed a little.

“Maybe, but what’s a thimble for me is still a bucket to you. We’ll just have to live with that, sweetie.”

She filled her glass with orange juice; it was the only thing she had, besides water, to drink at home. But she didn’t complain. Getting this much juice for her had been a difficult task already. She lifted Jake by the back of his shirt and dangled him above her glass, so that he could dip his into it. After she’d put him back down, he stretched his arm and clinked his glass against hers.

“To the most gorgeous girl on Earth!” he said, not caring how contrived it sounded. He was no romantic, but he could still give it a try. Susie smiled, and he could see her cheeks reddening. This was their first official ‘date’, not counting all the other occasions they’ve spent together. They were all fine, but none of them had the same special air as this one. As they both drank their drinks, the rest of the world seemed a distant, irrelevant thing.

The hours passed, and the night grew rather chilly. Susie had made a quick dash back to her house to fetch a coat. She’d offered to go into town and get something for Jake as well, but he declined. When she returned she found him finishing off the last chunks of jelly from his bowl. She lay down on her side, sheltering him from the breeze. One of the candles had blown out, and she decided to blow out the others as well. The sky was clear, after all, and the moon was nearly full. She turned and lay on her back, to look at the sky above. Jake came and lay beside her, next to her ear. He wrapped himself in her silky hair. Susie gave a small laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he inquired.

“Oh, I was just having a weird thought,” she replied.

“Want to share it with me?”

“Well, I was thinking, what if somewhere in the world, there were two other people, just like us, doing this exact same thing. Only, in their case, the guy was the giant, and the girl was the little one.”

“Sounds pretty farfetched, in my opinion.”

“Hey! I managed to stay a secret for most of my life, didn’t I? Maybe someone else did too.”

“And if this…giant existed? You’d love to meet him, wouldn’t you?”

She turned on her side again, towards him. He felt himself being pulled along by her enveloping hair. Now he was lying directly beneath her huge, dark eyes.

“You’re jealous,” she said, in a sexy voice. “Of a guy who doesn’t even exist, too. That can’t be a good sign.”

“I…was just being curious,” he defended. “It was you who brought Mr. Imaginary Giant up in the first place. Hmm, now that I think about it…you were testing me, weren’t you?”

“Now you’re being paranoid,” she laughed. She turned back and gazed at the multitude of stars above her. “But,” she continued, “if there were other people like me, I’d definitely want to meet them. I mean, how could I resist? I would finally know that I’m not alone in the world, that there are others who know what it’s like to live like this. I’d take you with me, of course. You’ll always be my special guy, Jake. No matter how handsome Mr. Giant turns out to be.”

Jake snuggled in closer to her, and for a long time they just lay there, talking, with no-one around to disturb them. Eventually it got late, and Susie began to pack things up. Jake stood by helplessly at her feet, as she lifted various enormous objects and packed them into the building-sized basket. Even in the pale moonlight she still looked strikingly beautiful. At last she was all finished, and she picked him up and placed him on her shoulder. She gave him a few strands of her hair to tie around his waist, for safety.

As they set off down the slopes of the hill, Jake held on tightly to her coat collar. Soon, however, they reached level ground, and he relaxed a little. The town was mostly dark, save for the streetlights, and a few odd lights shining from curtained windows. They reached Jake’s house, and she knelt down in his yard again. He untied himself, and leapt into her hand. Before she put him down, however, she gave him a long, slow kiss.

“That’s for staying faithful to me,” she said afterwards. “You needn’t apologize, Jake. I could tell, over the last few weeks, how difficult all this is for you. But I hope you’re still willing to give us a chance.”

“Definitely,” he replied. “And I’d love to come and see you more often. Tonight…well, it made me completely forget all the bad things people say about us. And it’s all thanks to you, Susie. Thank you so much.”

 She kissed him again, then placed him carefully on the ground. They waved goodbye, and she stood up to her full height. Her shadow completely darkened his house, and he could understand why everyone around him felt threatened by her. She headed back down the road, taking extra care not to crush anything in the dark. She was glad of the moonlight as she reached the edge of the forest. In her head she was already dreaming about tomorrow, and the day after, and all the days that lay ahead. In some ways, it felt as if her life was just starting to get interesting.