Nick sighed as he pushed open the door to his motel room, carrying a basket of his freshly-laundered clothes. He hadn’t really expected to spend that particular Saturday afternoon at the laundromat, as it was always busy and nearly impossible to get washing machines, but after the events from that morning with Cassie and Jenny, coupled with not really having anything better to do, Nick figured he may as well just get it done and out of the way.
All the uncomfortable and frightening encounters he’d experienced that morning were still fresh in Nick’s mind as he sorted and his folded clothes, preparing to put them away into his motel room’s dresser drawers—being sat on, stepped on, stuck to Jenny’s foot, almost eaten, tossed down Jenny’s shirt, falling into her panties, thrust into her crotch; then, there was the argument with Cassie, and his hasty escape—they were all a vivid, jumbled mass bouncing around his head, an unpleasant reminder of the torture he’d endured, and the heartbreak he had suffered.
Yet despite all of Nick’s near-death experiences that day, it was Cassie’s words to him that were at the forefront of his mind, driving a stake through his heart, and piercing his very soul. She’d made some good and now blatantly obvious points, and Nick felt both blind and stupid for not realizing them sooner: he’d spent nearly every evening the past two weeks teaching himself how to voluntarily reverse the effects of his shrinking episodes, yet NOT ONCE had he even given the slightest thought as to what was actually causing them, NOR how to prevent them from happening in the first place.
“How could you be so STUPID, Nick?!” he berated himself aloud, shaking his head with shame as he grabbed some of his folded shirts and walked over towards the dresser.
KNOCK KNOCK
No sooner had Nick put his armful of shirts into one of the dresser drawers, he was suddenly startled by an unexpected knocking at his door.
“Who could THAT be?” Nick pondered aloud as he cautiously shuffled over to the door and looked through the peephole.
Nick’s eyes went wide when he saw who was on the other side of the door, quickly unlocking the chain and deadbolt.
“Jenny?!”
“Hey,” Jenny replied, shyly rubbing her arm.
“Wh-What’re YOU doing here?!” Nick chortled nervously, still surprised to see her.
“I had to come and see you,” she admitted. “I got worried about you after you stormed out of the apartment earlier. I-I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Oh...uh, th-thank you,” Nick stammered. “Uh...uh, come in.”
“Thanks,” Jenny replied, quickly stepping through the threshold as Nick stepped aside.
“I-I’m a little confused,” Nick confessed, closing and locking the door again now that Jenny was inside. “How...How, exactly, did you find me?”
“I, uh, tracked your phone,” Jenny admitted, holding up her phone, wiggling it back-and-forth between her fingers. “It wasn’t easy, especially since I didn’t have your phone number, but as long as you have the right tools...”
“Oh,” Nick uttered, slightly stunned that Jenny would go to such lengths to track him down.
“Well, sorry about the mess,” Nick said, pointing to the pile of clothes on the bed. “Obviously, I wasn’t expecting visitors.”
“Oh, that’s OK,” Jenny chortled, “I actually wasn’t expecting to come myself, but like I said, I wanted to come and see you....and see how you’re doing.”
“Oh,” Nick repeated like a broken record, still stunned by Jenny’s sudden appearance.
“So...how are you doing?” Jenny prodded.
“Well, as well as could be expected, I guess,” Nick shrugged.
“Yeah,” Jenny acknowledged, scratching the back of her head, “I guess things got a little heated between you and Cassie, huh.”
“Yeah,” Nick nodded, “you could say that.”
“Well,” Jenny sighed, “I’m sorry Cassie blew up at you like that...”
“Yeah,” Nick acknowledged, looking down at the floor with embarrassment, “me, too.”
“Well, none of that matters now,” Jenny continued, perking up. “The secret’s out, and now, we don’t have to hide anymore.”
“Now, you and Cassie can go your separate ways,” Jenny continued, stepping closer to him, “and we can be together, like we talked about.”
Jenny moves in in close to him, fully expecting Nick to welcome her into his arms.
“Yeah,” Nick sighed detachedly, repeating Jenny’s words with no emotion as he caressed her arms, “about that...”
Not liking the sound of his last statement, Jenny looked into Nick’s eyes again, now noticing the sadness on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Jenny asked, her soft smile quickly turning to a frown.
“Jenny,” Nick sighed again, shaking his head shamefully, “about what I said last night...I’m not sure us being together is a good idea right now.”
“You’re having second thoughts, aren’t you?” Jenny sighed dejectedly, feeling her heart sink into her stomach. “Cassie got to you, didn’t she? She yelled at you and spouted her sob story, and now, she’s confused you.”
“No,” Nick replied, shaking his head, “Jenny, that’s...that’s not it at all.”
“Nick, you were SURE!” Jenny objected, tearing up, “You were SURE of yourself last night. You were SURE of what you wanted.”
“I know,” Nick replied, embracing her, gently stroking her back, “I-I WAS...at—at least I THOUGHT I was.”
“So...So, what, you LIED to me?” Jenny shrugged in disbelief, wiping away her tears as she began backing away from him. “You WEREN’T really sure?!”
“No, I didn’t...” Nick shook his head defensively, stepping back towards her, trying to explain himself. “...I didn’t lie. I just...look, it’s complicated, alright?”
“No, it’s NOT ‘alright’!” Jenny exclaimed tearfully. “How could you say those things to me if you didn’t mean them?”
“Jenny, I DID mean them!” Nick objected. “At least, I meant them last night.”
“So, what? You don’t mean them NOW?! Is THAT it?” Jenny probed, quite confused.
“NO!” Nick exclaimed, “Jenny, that’s not...”
Nick paused, taking a moment to collect his thoughts.
“Look,” he explained, “last night, I was in a very....well, vulnerable spot, OK? And…I’ve been so depressed lately, and desperate for human contact, and...well, you were so sweet and understanding, and....when I found out that you knew about my powers....I was so scared and nervous that someone knew my secret, but you made me feel....so safe. And I think, I...I think I just got caught up in the moment.”
Jenny sniffled, her eyes filling with tears.
“And when I told you about everything that happened to me when I was shrunk,” Nick continued, “about how Cassie had mistreated me and tried to hurt me, and all of the other pain and anguish I went through...I never meant for you to—“
Nick took a deep breath, trying to clarify his point.
“Jenny,” Nick apologized profusely, practically cursing the heavens, “I’m sorry. God, I am SO sorry! I never meant to take advantage of you like I did, and I CERTAINLY didn’t mean to manipulate you.”
“Ma...Manipulate me?” Jenny stammered as she raised her head and wiped the tears from her eyes, slightly taken aback by Nick’s statement. “Nick, you didn’t ‘manipulate’ me. I-I WANTED to be with you—”
“Only because I told you my sob story!” Nick interjected.
“No!” Jenny exclaimed, shaking her head. “That’s not true...OK, sure, I admit, that was certainly PART of it, but that’s not the MAIN reason why I did what I did. I told you, I thought it was really sweet that you wanted share your shrinking powers with Cassie, and use them to make her happy, and...well, when you started describing everything you’d done when you were small, I...”
Jenny bit her lower lip, slightly embarrassed to continue. Nick cracked a slight grin, shyly looking down towards the floor.
“Nick, I slept with y—“ Jenny paused and corrected herself. “I let you shrink yourself and do what we did because I was AROUSED, not because I felt SORRY for you! I mean, the lengths you were willing to go just to pleasure Cassie...Nick, I’d give ANYTHING to have a guy do that for me. I’d give anything just to have a GUY like that! You didn’t take advantage of me! If anything, I took advantage of YOU, because of what you can do! I let you do what you did to me because I WANTED you to, and because I LIKE you, not because I PITIED you! You’re a nice guy.”
“‘Nice GUY’?!” Nick exclaimed dubiously. “Jenny, I CHEATED on my WIFE!”
“Nick, for God’s sake, the woman tried to SQUASH you!” Jenny exclaimed abruptly. “I think, given the circumstances, you were perfectly justified in finding comfort elsewhere!”
“But that still doesn’t give me the right to...you know, play with your emotions like that. I mean, for God’s sake, you’re a PERSON, Jenny; you have FEELINGS!”
“That right, and so do YOU!” Jenny affirmed. “I couldn’t stand the fact that Cassie was treating you so badly, Nick. I couldn’t stand the thought of her hurting you again. I know when I’m being lied to, Nick, and I know now that you were NOT lying to me last night. You were being sincere, your intentions were pure. THAT’S why I let you do what you did! You wouldn’t have shared all that with me unless you really WANTED to, and I wouldn’t have let you do all that unless I WANTED you to. I’m a free person, Nick. I can do what I want. I can make my own decisions, make my own choices, and last night, I CHOSE to be with you!”
Jenny paused and took a deep breath, feeling like she’d just gotten a huge weight lifted off her chest.
“But, I guess, in that same respect,” Jenny shrugged, sighing, “you’re free to make your own choices, too. So, it’s up to you, Nick. What do YOU want to do?”
Nick stood in silence for a moment, lost in deep thought. He walked past Jenny as if he were in a fugue state, and sat down on the corner of the bed, his hands folded in his lap, his eyes gazing off into space.
Once again, he found himself mulling over the same conundrum from the night before: Jenny or Cassie. He’d already made this decision, so why was it so hard for him to make it again?
Because the circumstances have changed, Nick thought to himself. Circumstances that he hadn’t considered before. The decision wasn’t as cut and dry as he thought it was; he had new information—Important information which made a WORLD of difference.
“Do you wanna know the irony of this whole situation, Jenny?” Nick asked rhetorically, turning his gaze towards her. “I’ve been shut up in this hotel room, now, for the past TWO WEEKS thinking of NOTHING but trying to control these powers, and do you know why?
“So I could go back home to Cassie,” Nick stated, not giving Jenny the chance to answer. “I spent....literally, a YEAR of my life—studying, concentrating, practicing—learning to shrink myself at will, and for what?! So I could live out some...EROTIC FANTASY with my wife!”
Nick shook his head in utter disbelief, his mind suddenly comprehending the extent of the words he’d just spoke.
“I literally taught myself to shrink my body at will!” Nick spoke slowly and deliberately, still in awe of his abilities. “God, I gave myself a literal SUPERPOWER—An amazing ability! You know, some people might call that in incredible gift, a blessing, a...a FUCKING MIRACLE, and what did I DO with it?! I SQUANDERED it! I used it for my own selfish desires. I mean, that was the POINT, wasn’t it? That’s why I learned how to do it; what I prayed for for so long! So I could share it with someone who....I thought, I knew; someone who, I thought, loved me, too; someone who...”
Nick paused abruptly and took a deep breath, thinking he needed to mind his words, yet he realized that in that moment, he needed to be as upfront and honest as possible, with both Jenny AND himself.
“Someone who tried to hurt me,” he admitted; sighing. “Someone who, when she found me in my shrunken state, literally tried to SQUASH me!”
Jenny sighed sympathetically, unable to respond to Nick’s lamenting, having to reserve herself to simply listen and occasionally shake her head.
“And after all of that—” Nick continued “—after all the practicing, the training, the mental discipline—what do I have to show for it? A broken marriage, numerous near-death encounters, and a power that I can’t fully control. I mean, sure, I can shrink myself at will, so you’d think I could just REGROW myself pretty easily; but, no. I had to spend TWO MORE weeks cooped up in this stupid motel room JUST focusing on that—because I was kicked out of my own apartment, by the way—just so that maybe...MAYBE, I’d finally and truly be able to gain full control over these powers.”
“And you have…” Jenny chimed in.
“No,” Nick replied quickly, shaking his head. “No Jenny. That’s the thing: I HAVEN’T. Not really, anyway, and everything that’s happened to me this morning just proves it. In all my training and practicing these weeks, willing my body to regrow itself on command, so I could reverse it whenever I have a shrinking episode, never ONCE did I even consider figuring out how to stop it from happening, nor even determine WHY it was happening in the first place. I’ve just been focusing on how to FIX the problem when it happens, instead of learning how to PREVENT it altogether.
“Cassie was right,” Nick sighed with remorse, “It’s my own fault that all this is happening.”
“Nick, you can’t be so hard on yourself,” Jenny spoke up. “Even as...amazing and unbelievable these powers of yours are, you couldn’t POSSIBLY have known that all this would happen.”
“But I could’ve had more RESPECT for this power, Jenny!” Nick rebutted. “I could’ve, at least, PREPARED myself for what MIGHT happen if things went wrong.”
“Even if ALL that’s true, Nick, it’s not ALL your fault!” Jenny added. “At the very least, CASSIE deserves SOME of the blame.”
“You’re right, she DOES!” Nick nodded in agreement. “She was COMPLETELY out of her mind! Of course, I would be, TOO, if I had to worry about accidentally SQUASHING my tiny husband every damn time I walked through my own damn apartment! I mean, can you imagine that: not being able to take one fucking STEP through your own apartment without having to worry you might accidentally SQUISH your shrunken lover?! And maybe I’d have realized how CRAZY I was making Cassie if I’d actually bothered to pay ATTENTION to just how much my shrinking was changing her! I mean, sure, I noticed that Cassie was changing, but I never understood WHY. Not really. I just thought that she was falling out of love with me.
“So...So, where do I draw the line, Jenny?!” he posed to her, shrugging. “Huh? I mean, WHERE does MY culpability stop and HER’S begin?! Hm? Was it...Was it when she accidentally STEPPED ON ME, or SAT ON ME right before she worked out?! Or maybe it was when she DUMPED ME into the washing machine, or nearly ATE ME with the rest of her cereal this morning?! You know, Jenny, it could’ve, just as easily, been YOU who scooped me up and swallowed me!”
Jenny inhaled slightly, about to respond, but stood and sighed dejectedly, slightly sick to her stomach. Nick was RIGHT: it just as easily COULD’VE BEEN HER who ate him!
Nick let out another huge sigh, shaking his head as he continued:
“Cassie may have been wrong in the way she treated me, but she was right on one thing: it’s not safe for me to be around her; it’s not safe for me to be around ANYONE. Not until I get these powers under control.”
“But Nick, I’m not her!” Jenny objected, stepping towards the bed, “A-And if you’re still having these shrinking spells, it’s DEFINITELY not safe for you to be alone. I-I mean, too many things could happen!”
“Jenny—“ Nick lamented, getting up from the bed.
“No...No, I don’t like the thought of you being alone right now!” Jenny stated assuredly. “Look, you can come and stay at MY place, OK? You can work on controlling your powers as long as you need to, and I can watch over you and keep you safe in case something happens, and if something DOES happen, we’ll be prepared, OK? We’ll take precautions.”
“Jenny, no—“ Nick objected, shaking his head.
“Look, you can sleep on my couch,” Jenny continued tearfully as Nick approaches her, “a-and I’ll check on you every morning, and if I don’t see you right away, I’ll...I’ll make sure to start looking for you.”
“Jenny,” Nick said, trying to take her into his arms.
“No, Nick!” Jenny objected, trying to push his arms away and get him to listen to her. “we can figure this out! I CAN’T let you be alone!”
Nick took Jenny into his arms as the young woman burst into tears, desperate not to lose him, and concerned for his welfare.
“Jenny,” Nick sighed, caressing her upper arms, holding her firmly in front of him, and looking straight into her eyes, “I’m scared, too. I don’t wanna be alone, either, but it’s too risky for me to around other people right now.”
“But Nick,” Jenny objected, sniffling, “it’s just as risky for you to be by yourself. I mean, what if you shrink in your sleep again, and some maid comes in to clean he room and doesn’t see you? She could toss you in with the laundry, or even...suck you up with the vacuum cleaner!”
“Jenny, it’s a risk, I know,” Nick replied, “but I think, given the alternatives, it’s a risk I have to take: I CAN’T put you through what I put CASSIE through: becoming so paranoid that you can’t even walk around your apartment without worrying about STEPPING ON ME! And I, sure as hell, don’t want to go BED every night worrying that I might wake up shrunk...”
Nick smiled softly, and tenderly stroked Jenny’s cheek.
“...or worry that my partner might roll over in her sleep and accidentally smother me.” Nick chortled. “I don’t want you to have to go through life worrying about my whereabouts every second of every day; That’s NO WAY to live! And besides, every night I put a ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign outside my door, and I deadbolt and put the chain on the door, just to be safe.”
Jenny cracked a slight smile through her tears.
“Jenny, I’m SO sorry that I got you mixed up in all this,” Nick apologized, shaking his head.
“It’s OK,” she whispered back.
“No, no it’s NOT,” Nick objected, looking down at the floor shamefully, “It’s NOT OK. I never wanted to hurt you, and I never meant for you to get involved. I know I can’t go back and change what’s happened, but maybe I can, at least, repair the damage I’ve done.
“Jenny,” Nick continued, looking her in the eyes again, “you are...a beautiful, kind, sweet, special person, and matter what happens, I just want you to know, that I meant EVERY WORD of what I said to you last night; I was NOT lying to you, and I CERTAINLY wasn’t trying to hurt you, or deceive you, or play with your emotions. You deserve better than that.
“Look, I know this may sound strange, but I actually think I NEED to be on my own for a while. I’ve thought about nothing but Cassie this whole I’ve been on my own, AND doing whatever I had to to get back to her, but now, I realize, I was doing this all for the wrong reasons. I have to take the time to work on MYSELF, not just to get my powers under control, but to take a really, long, hard look at my life and figure out what I want....what I REALLY want, and WHO I really want to be with, with out ANY distractions.”
Jenny sniffled, nodding in agreement.
“Jenny, listen to me,” Nick explained, “I’m not saying that I’m gonna go back to Cassie, I’m NOT, and I’m CERTAINLY not saying that I DON’T wanna be with you, because I DO, but I want us to be together because we BOTH truly care about each other, not just because of some...well, UNIQUE circumstance, nor because we just HAPPENED to be in the right place at the right time.”
Nick sighed and shook his head, trying to think of the right words to convey what he wanted to say:
“Jenny, I want to be with you because I like the person that you are, not just because it’s CONVENIENT for me. I’m not gonna CHOOSE you just because I happen to leave my wife and don’t wanna be alone. You’re not some REBOUND chick! You are NO ONE’S number 2; you deserve to be number 1! All I’m asking is for you to give me the time to FIX what’s wrong with me, and to try to choose my path objectively—without ANY outside influences, OK?”
“OK,” Jenny replied somberly, sniffling and nodding her head again.
“And Jenny?” Nick said earnestly. “No matter WHAT happens, regardless of what I decide, I promise, I will sit down with you and explain my decision—with both you AND Cassie—and then, you BOTH can decide what you wanna do from there: either accept me back...
...or move on,” Nick sighed.
“OK,” Jenny sniffled again, taking a deep breath as she nodded with understanding. “but just know that....I think I’ve already made my decision.
Nick cracked a smile.
“Come ‘ere,” he beckoned, tenderly embracing her in his arms once more. The two hugged for a moment, both shedding some amount of tears before Nick spoke up again.
“Are you gonna be OK?” Nick asked, ashamed that he’d made her cry.
“Yeah,” she nodded, “I’ll be alright. Just take care of yourself, OK?”
“I will,” Nick replied. “I promise.”
“‘K,” Jenny replied, choking a bit on her words, “I’ll...I’ll see you later.”
“OK,” Nick nodded. “Bye.”
“Bye,” Jenny said as she turned and headed for the door.
Nick watched her go for a moment, but as she reached for the doorknob, he immediately crossed the room and stopped her, whipping her around to face him again. Then, he leaned forward and kissed her, softly and passionately, before embracing her tightly again. Finally, he looked her in her tear-filled eyes and began speaking:
“Jenny, I...” he began, choking up, hesitant to admit what he felt in his heart. “Jenny....
....
....I love you...”
Jenny cracked a tearful smile.
“...I really do,” Nick continued. “I just need some time to think and work on myself, OK?”
“OK,” Jenny smiled, “and Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you, too.”
Nick smiled, taking her in his arms one last time. Things had never felt so right, yet so wrong, in all his life. He honestly couldn’t believe that he was embracing such a warm, loving, beautiful person, and yet pushing her away at the same time; unfortunately, thanks to his desperation to live out his fantasies, he’d gotten himself into quite a mess, and if he was going to get himself out of it, he was going to have to get control of his life.
One way or another, Nick HAD to get his shrinking powers under control.

—————————————————————————————

Nick giggled with ecstasy as he pressed his body into the fleshy walls of the giantess’s soft soles, while the giantess above gently scrunched and wiggled her toes, cooing at his 1/2 inch figure she’d playfully trapped between her feet.
“Having fun, little guy?” Jenny inquired, smiling down at him as she sat on the carpet of his motel room floor, her feet together, cradling Nick between her soles.
“Oh, yes!” Nick replied gleefully, “Very much so! I’m really enjoying this, Jenny!”
“I can tell,” Jenny giggled playfully, just barely noticing his tiny erection, “I hope my feet feel nice: I lotioned them up before I came over today; I wanted to make sure they were nice and soft for you.”
“Oh, they’re PERFECT, Jenny!” Nick replied exuberantly, with a satisfied sigh. “Just perfect!”
“Good,” Jenny giggled softly. “I’m glad. I’m really glad that you’ve finally got your shrinking powers under control, Nick, and I’m really glad you chose ME over Cassie to be with.”
“How could I NOT?!” Nick squeaked up, planting a tiny kiss on one of her toes. “You’ve been so good to me throughout all of this, Jenny; Now, we can finally be together....and have fun whenever we want.”
“You just wanna play with my feet some more,” Jenny chuckled seductively, seeing through his playful ruse.
“You know me too well,” Nick chuckled. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” she replied, surprised he would even ask, but Jenny simply smiled and chuckled playfully down at him. “Besides, I kinda like having you this size. With you this small, you’re completely helpless to my whims.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Nick smirked. “I can grow back whenever I want, you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” Jenny scoffed playfully, “but....don’t be TOO quick to grow back: we’ve still got the whole day ahead of us, and I kinda like playing with you with my feet.”
“Well, you’re welcome to play with me anytime,” Nick shrugged winsomely.
“Yeah, I know,” Jenny chuckled. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head down to the vending machine a grab a quick snack. You want anything?”
“I’m OK, for now,” Nick replied, hopping down off her toes, sitting down on the floor, preparing to un-shrink himself.
“Oh, don’t grow back just yet,” Jenny stopped him, “I’ve got a surprise for you when I come back.”
“Ooh, OK!” Nick replied eagerly, rubbing his tiny hands together. “Any hints?”
“Nope,” Jenny chortled, carefully getting up off the floor. “You’ll just have to wait ‘til I get back,”
“Well then, hurry back!” Nick squeaked up. Jenny, however, didn’t appear to have heard him. She simply headed over to the door, slipped her bare feet into her flip-flops, and pick up her purse as she turned the doorknob.
“Be back in a bit.” Jenny called back, quickly blowing the tiny man a kiss before heading out the door.
“OK,” Nick squeaked up as the door closed, “I’ll be here!
“Like I’m going anywhere,” Nick said under his breath as he sat on the floor alone, anxiously awaiting Jenny’s return. He certainly wasn’t complaining, however; in fact, he was quite content: his powers were completely under control, and although his marriage to Cassie was ending, his new relationship with Jenny was just beginning. Everything seemed to be falling into place perfectly.
Nick sighed with content, putting his hands behind his head and laying down on the floor. He stared up at the ceiling far above him and off into space, fantasizing about all the fun activities he and Jenny were going to do together.
A few minutes later, Nick heard a pair of giant footsteps approaching the outside of his door. Then, the giant doorknob started jiggling.
“Ah, the goddess returns!” Nick commented as he sat up on his forearms to watch Jenny’s giant figure come through the door...
As the door opened, however, his smile quickly faded.
Nick gasped in horror! It wasn’t Jenny, it was...
“Nick?” Cassie called out mischievously, “Oh, Nick. Where are you, dear husband?”
The tiny man was frozen with fear as he watched the menacing giantess slink into the room, closing and locking the door behind her.
“I KNOW you’re here, Nick,” she stated bluntly. “I just saw that bitch, Jenny, walking out!”
Cassie listened intently, leaning and craning her neck, seeing if she could spot him around the corner to the bathroom.
“Hm,” she smirked, thinking deviously to herself. “I wonder if he shrunk himself.
“Ooh, I do hope you’re tiny, Nick,” Cassie chuckled, taking a couple steps towards the bed. “It’ll make this SO much more fun!”
Nick desperately scooted backwards from the approaching giantess as her flip-flop clad feet boomed across the carpet, shaking the ground intensely with every menacing footstep.
“EEK!” Nick yelped as Cassie’s right foot stomped down just a few feet in front of him and off to his right.
“Where are you, little man?” Cassie called out ominously as she stopped just in front of the bed, intently scanning the room Nick’s presumably shrunken figure—and completely unaware she’d just narrowly avoided crushing him with her flip-flop. “It doesn’t matter how small you are, Nick. I’ll find you eventually. You can’t hide from me!”
Then, as Cassie’s eyes scanned the floor near the bed, she quickly spotted something near her right foot.
“Mm, THERE you are, little man!” Cassie smiled sadistically as she saw her tiny husband tiny cowering on his back below her. “I knew you couldn’t resist shrinking yourself, Nick, but that’s OK! It’ll just make all of this SO much easier!”
Nick was paralyzed with fear, his mouth agape and jaw quivering in terror at the sight of his giant wife towering over him, cackling with delight, with a giant, shit-eating grin on her face. He frantically squeaked for help, screaming for Jenny to come back and save him, but his voice had seemingly gone hoarse, and couldn’t make hardly any sound at all.
“Don’t bother calling for help, Nick!” Cassie taunted him, lifting up her feet one at a time to remove her flip-flops. “By the time that bitch gets back, this’ll all be over. Now, hold still!”
Nick hastened to his feet, frantically scurrying away from Cassie’s giant, bare foot as it approached the floor. The huge foot stomped down with a giant BOOM right where the tiny man had just been sitting, knocking him off his feet, and the giantess above cackled joyfully seeing the tiny man stumbling back to the floor.
“You’re not getting away from me THAT easily, little man!” Cassie rebuked, mocking his pathetic attempt to escape.
Nick desperately tried to scramble to his feet again, but Cassie was far too quick for him. He watched in horror as her foot was coming for him again, it’s shadow quickly enveloping him; he instinctually covered his head, hoping that it would be over quick...
To Nick’s surprise, the huge foot passed right over him, its toes landing near the bed, cutting off any escape.
Then, Cassie’s foot began coming right towards him, her toes intentionally scrapping the floor with a terrible noise. Nick tried to move out of the way, but he was too small to make any meaningful escape. The plump toes quickly scooped up the tiny man and haphazardly tossed him across the carpet.
Nick tumbled to a stop in the middle of the floor, his head reeling; the next thing he knew, the giant Cassie was standing standing over him, laughing menacingly at his plight.
“Look at you, Nick,” the giantess derided him as he squeaked for mercy, “squirming on you back like a little bug! You’re SO pathetic!”
Cassie smiled pridefully as she lifted up her right foot and hovered it directly over his tiny figure, enveloping him in its humongous, menacing shadow.
“CASSIE, NO!” Nick screamed in horror, putting up his hands defensively in a feeble attempt at garnering sympathy, but Cassie merely laughed with sadistic glee, reveling in his struggles each time she scrunched and flexed her foot, her plump, bulbous toes wiggling playfully in anticipation.
“PLEASE!” Nick shouted again, desperately. “DON’T DO IT!”
“You’re nothing more than an insignificant, little BUG, Nick!” Cassie derided him, “And you know what happens to annoying, little bugs?! They get SQUISHED!”
“CASSIE, NO!” Nick screamed helplessly as Cassie slowly lowered her bare foot to the floor. “DON’T SQUISH ME!”
The tiny man was unable to avoid his fate as her giant, fleshy sole descended upon him...
...Closer and closer...until everything went black....
*SQUISH*

————————————————————————————

Nick suddenly awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily; he was completely shrouded in darkness.
“Where am I?” he inquired aloud with confusion as he sat up, unable to see anything. “What happened?”
The last thing Nick remembered was Cassie’s foot coming down and squashing him, but he didn’t remember feeling any pain, nor did he feel any at the current moment.
“Am I dead?” he wondered aloud.
Nick quickly felt himself over from head to toe to make sure all his parts were where they were supposed to be; thankfully, he seemed to be intact, although he could also tell he wasn’t wearing any clothes at the moment.
He quickly climbed to his feet, not feeling any pain or weakness in his lower extremities, although he still had no idea where he was. There was a pungent odor surrounding him, like the smell of a stuffy room, but he still couldn’t place it exactly, and everything seemed still and silent, no sound anywhere.
Despite not being able to see his hand in front of his face, nor having any sense of direction, Nick picked a direction at random and started walking, keeping his arms out in front of him to make sure the way was clear. The ground felt familiar beneath his shuffling feet, as if walking across hard gym mat; he was sure he’d encountered a similar surface before, but he couldn’t quite remember where that was.
Then, Nick began thinking some unsettling thoughts:
What if I AM dead? he pondered. Is THIS the AFTERLIFE? People usually described a “white light”, but there’s nothing but darkness....unless I’m...
“...Uh oh?” Nick uttered. “What if I’m going to the ‘other place’?”
Then, after traversing a noteworthy distance, Nick unexpectedly ran into a soft, plush barrier; it felt like a wall of fabric. As he pushed against it, it yielded to pressure, becoming passable at the bottom. Nick ducked underneath and began crawling like mad, hoping there would eventually be an end to the ongoing cavern....
...A few minutes later, he emerged into a darkened room.
There were a few slivers of light peeking out behind a box-shaped structure off to Nick’s right; the longer he pondered what he structure was, the more his eyes focused...
...It was a pair of closed curtains—the curtains he’d drawn before going to bed that night, but why were they so far away...
“Oh, NO!” Nick exclaimed as everything suddenly became clear. “I SHRUNK AGAIN?! Why does this keep HAPPENING?!”
He was currently standing on his motel bed, which explained why the surface he’d been walking on had felt so familiar, and the reason couldn’t see was because he was buried under the covers, which also explained the musty smell.
The entire ordeal with Jenny and Cassie had all just been a dream.
“It must’ve been all the excitement from today!” Nick reasoned allowed, cursing himself. “It FIGURES I’d have dream where I shrank, after the day I had! Why does this keep HAPPENING?! It’s like every time I—?!”
Nick stopped talking mid-sentence, recalling his dream from the previous night.
“Last night I had a dream where I shrank myself,” Nick said, “and I woke up shrunk; then tonight, I have a dream where I shrink myself, and I ALSO wake up shrunk.”
Nick’s eyes lit up.
“And that morning when Cassie SAT ON ME right before her workout, I woke up shrunk then, too!”
Nick didn’t recall having a shrinking dream that night before Cassie’s workout, but it would certainly make sense.
“I’ve been shrinking myself in my...SLEEP?!” Nick exclaimed in confusion, trying to make sense of it all. “But THAT doesn’t make sense. I was AWAKE when I accidentally shrank myself in the shower, AND on my birthday when Cassie twerked for me while I was on that pillow.
“Unless...
“...DAYDREAMING!” Nick realized. “I was DAYDREAMING when I was in the shower! I must’ve been daydreaming on my birthday when Cassie was shaking her ass for me....AND that would ALSO explain the time I shrank when I was in her SLIPPERS!
“That’s GOTTA BE IT: DREAMS!” Nick exclaimed exuberantly. “I was dreaming each time I—“
Nick paused again. He suddenly remembered one very specific time that he wasn’t able to control his powers: on his birthday, when Cassie thrust him inside her. Sure, under different circumstances, it certainly would’ve been an erotic experience, and Nick’s mind could have wandered off, but he wasn’t aroused THAT time; on the contrary, he was under great stress, practically scared to death as he frantically tried to escape Cassie’s pussy while she kept forcing him back inside her.
Nothing made sense. Every time Nick thought he’d found the answer, there always seemed to be a least ONE exception. Even that very night was an exception: it was the only time he’d shrank without Cassie having been around.
So what was the RIGHT answer? Shrinking dreams, erotic encounters, a life-threatening situation...WHAT did they all have in common?
Not only that, as he had already stated to Jenny, Nick had spent a good TWO WEEKS working on re-expanding himself at will, and had been able to do it without fail the last few days. So, why wasn’t he able to un-shrink himself in the apartment that day? Was it because he couldn’t concentrate, or was too stressed? Was THAT it?
Nick’s mind was filled with countless quandaries, and he needed answers. He quickly sat down and cleared his mind; a minute later, he was back to his normal size, and none too soon. He reached over to his nightstand and turned on the lamp, grabbing his phone from its charger.
“Great, it’s after midnight!” Nick grumbled as he noticed the red numbers on his motel-room alarm clock.
Honestly, however, Nick didn’t care. He was wide awake; besides, he didn’t have to work in the morning. It didn’t matter HOW LATE he stayed up.
Nick quickly rolled out of his bed and headed over to the chair with his overnight bag, retrieving his yoga book from one of the side pockets.
He was man on a mission. Something was triggering Nick’s shrinking spells, and he was bound and determined to figure out what, once and for all!