This would give him the whole morning to escape, while she was out, and still give him the optimum romantic opportunity with her for the evening. He was pleased at how things had worked out. Every lady he’d befriended at tiny size in the public gardens had been a substitute for his original goal of reversing time to be with Colleen at full size. Now that he had experienced her kisses while still shrunken himself, he felt that he had missed nothing.

He watched her eating her dinner in front of him in the dining room. It was almost like a continuation of the scene in which her alternate future self had left him waiting to be eaten in the pavlova.

Then she filled a small bowl with tap water, and let him use it as a bath in the kitchen, while she went upstairs and had a shower. He wondered if there were any chance of escape now, and whether he might be passing it up by staying the night. However, he couldn’t think of anything. So he just let himself and his clothing, which was something akin to a Tarzan outfit, get washed in the bowl, and then stepped out, reached for a napkin she’d left as a towel, dried his body off and waited for the shorts to dry out too.

Colleen returned to the kitchen in a beautiful nightgown and took him up to her bedside table and placed him on it. She slowly slid into bed, pulled the sheet and blanket over herself and sat up, leaning against two pillows.

“Come here, little darling,” she said, and enclosed him gently in her hands.

She brought him towards her and said, “Rub my mouth again, like you did before.”

He slid his hand over her lower lip, genuinely enjoying every moment of their interaction. Then he reached out with both arms, embraced her cheeks and pressed his lips to her lower lip.

“I love you too,” he said, “And I did just as much, back when you said it.”

“I’m going to lie down now. I’ll let you rest against my cheek on the pillow.”

She did so, and they talked for a few minutes.

“Colleen, could I lie on your neck instead? It excites me to know that I’ll be inside it at lunch time tomorrow.”

“It would give me the same anticipation,” she said, and lifted him gently into place.

Having her soft neck below him, feeling its occasional breathing movements and guessing at its gulping power excited him so much that he could hardly sleep. It took him longer than her to drop off, and he awoke in the morning feeling more tired than she seemed to be. He hoped he could think straight to plan an escape, the moment she’d left the house.

They had breakfast together, and then she took him to the lounge room and put him on the ground.

“Is there anything you’d like, to keep you from being bored until I get back?”

“Just some photos of your face close up, if you have any, so that I can look at them and think about being eaten by your beautiful mouth, Colleen.”