“It’s been two months since you broke up with Adam,” Macy shouted. “It’s time you moved on with your life.”

            “I have moved on,” Jess responded in a huff.

            “I think she means you should start seeing someone new,” Sasha replied. The three women were sitting together at the bar as they did every Friday evening. The place was packed, and the women’s conversation was indistinguishable from the other patrons’ boisterous chatter.

            “Exactly, Sash. Look at all the hotties here. Surely, one of them’s gotta meet your standards.” Jess didn’t even turn her head, focused solely on her glass as she circled the rim with her finger.

            “I’m not picking up some loser here. I’m not in college anymore. Besides…” Sasha and Macy leaned in toward their friend. They knew where she was going and weren’t going to miss it amongst the ambient noise. Jess’ cheeks grew flush as she brushed her hair behind her ear. “…there is a guy I like.” Sasha and Macy’s faces lit up, ready to hear all about their friend’s Romeo. “He sits at the desk across from mine at work. He’s really sweet, and we talk a lot.”

            “And?” Macy interrupted, eager to get to the important part.

            “He’s blonde and kind of a hunk. He’s muscular but also lean, like a swimmer’s body. He does a lot of climbing.” Sasha’s brow furrowed as her friend rambled off a list of physical details. “He’s got a great butt. And his eyes, uhm, I think they’re brown.” Sasha’s suspicion grew.

            “How tall is he?” she asked. Jess looked away from her.

            “Oh, uh, he’s, y’know, he’s about average.” Sweat was practically dripping down her forehead. Sasha slammed her fist onto the counter.

            “How. Tall. Is. He?” she demanded. Macy couldn’t pick up on what was going on, but Jess let out a heavy sigh as she resigned herself to her friend’s inquiry.

            “Two inches.”

…

            “I need your advice, dude,” Drew asked of his friend. “There’s this girl at work I like, and I think I’m going to ask her out.”

            “‘Kay? Then do it. What’d you need me for?” Chris responded. The two were sitting together alone at the bar. The cramped establishment was practically empty, save for an old man sitting at the end of the bar, and the bartender himself. It was a nice place, too clean to be called a dive, and the bartender, a suave and handsome man in his early thirties, was adept at mixing drinks and serving patrons; despite its panache, the hole in the wall never came close to seating a full house. The bartender liked it that way, though. It felt more intimate.

            “Well, she was in a long-term relationship until recently. I just don’t know if it’s too soon to ask.”

            “How recent we talking?” Chris asked, taking a sip from his sixth beer. Unlike Drew, Chris was on the heavier side. Other than that he looked a lot like his best friend: same age, same height, same hair color.

            “A couple months?” Drew responded.

            “Months!? The fuck you waiting for?”

            “I dunno.” Drew and Chris frequented this bar every Friday. Beers were cheap and the lack of company meant they could talk in peace. Sometimes the bartender would join the conversation, but the man was an expert on discretion. Drew was embarrassed that he didn’t know his name, and it was far too late to ask now.

            “Describe her,” Chris demanded.

            “She’s pretty. And she’s really nice.”

            “Cool, you just described every girl ever. Tell me about her.”

            “She’s got brown hair, kinda short. She likes to tuck it behind her ears.” Chris listened intently. He had been in a steady relationship for years and felt it unjust that his friend was still single. He always thought highly of Drew, someone more deserving of a happy life than himself. “She uses this lotion on her hands, makes her smell like peaches.”

            “Psst,” Chris interrupted, “she ain’t here, dude. You can spill it.” Drew looked back over his shoulder. The old man wasn’t paying them any attention, and the bartender was minding his own business.

            “She’s got an amazing ass, dude,” Drew whispered.

            “I can’t believe you’ve waited months to ask her out.”

            “Well, there is one other thing.” Drew took a long swig from his bottle, still unsure if he wanted to bring up the real hurdle. Chris waited for him to continue; he wasn’t going to rescue his friend from the awkward silence. “She’s big.”

            “Like fat, or…”

            “No. Big.”

…

            “You’re crushing on a fucking tiny?” Sasha screamed.

            “Please don’t phrase it like that,” Jess responded. She knew this would happen. Tinies have been allowed to live and work alongside regular people for over a decade, but many still had trouble adjusting to coexistence. “And, so what?”

            “So what!? Jess, he’s a fucking bug. What could you possibly see in him?” Sasha didn’t care how loud she got. While the bar they were was legally obligated to serve tinies, it rarely got clientele on the shorter side.

            “I already told you: he’s cute and he’s fun to talk to and…” Jess was ready to ramble off another list of things she liked about Drew.

            “Macy, back me up on this,” Sasha interrupted.

            “I don’t know, maybe Jess is on to something.” Macy wrapped her hand around her chin as if she were deep in thought. Her and Sasha couldn’t be less alike. Macy was slim with long blonde hair and a tan she could miraculously keep all year round. Sasha was chubby, her black hair was embellished with purple highlights, and she wore dark makeup whenever she went out. Their personalities were equally polarized between the peppy extrovert and the cynical introvert. “A tiny stud could make a fun pet.”

            “Guys, he’s not a pet, he’s a person.”

            “Barely,” Sasha muttered. She knew her friend well and knew she was being shortsighted. Up until two months ago, Jess was dating a man named Adam. He seemed like the perfect guy until Jess found out he was cheating on her. They had been together for three years. Sasha was afraid she would never recover, but now she was worried she found the worst way to do so. Of course she’d want a tiny boyfriend, she thought. A literal boy toy to keep locked in a cage, unable to do anything against her will. “He’s probably into feet.”

            “That’s just a stereotype,” Jess retorted. She stopped looking towards her friends as she talked, fed up with their disapproval. Macy could tell by the look on her face that she was actually upset.

            “Hey, I was just joking about the pet thing.” She put her hand on Jess’ shoulder. “I’m sorry. He’s clearly special. After things with Adam fell apart, I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear you talk about a guy again. I just wasn’t expecting you to fall for a tiny.” Macy smiled at Jess, hoping to convey her support.

            “I still think you’re making a mistake,” Sasha sighed. “but if it makes you happy, I can tolerate it. For now.” She gave Jess a nod.

            “Thanks, both of you.”

…

            “Are you insane!?” Chris shouted. The old man at the end of the bar paid him no mind. “You can’t ask a giant out. She’ll fucking eat you.”

            “They stopped eating us hundreds of years ago,” Drew responded. For most of the modern era, humans and tinies lived in separation. They shared equal rights under most governments, but for their protection and well-being, tinies lived in gated off communities built to their scale to meet all their wants and needs. But ten years ago, it was decided that both species would be allowed to coexist. It was determined that letting people of both sizes live, work, and play together was worth the potential risks.

            “Five hundred tinies are eaten every year in this country alone,” Chris retorted.

            “You know ninety percent of those are accidents. And I’ve known Jess for a long time. She’s not going to eat me.” Chris took a swig of beer and calmed himself down. Drew was his best friend, and he wasn’t the type to make dumb decisions without thinking things through. He wanted him to be happy, but he couldn’t shake his paranoia of big people.

            “Look, if you’re gonna go out with this woman, you have to be careful. Most big folk don’t see us as human. Even if she seems nice, there’s no telling what messed up shit she can do to you.”

            “I know a mixed-size couple,” the bartender chimed in. The two friends were so wrapped up in their conversation, they forgot he was there. “They own an Italian restaurant over on 21st. There’s a lot of obstacles in that kind of relationship, but they told me overcoming them together is what made their love so strong.”

            “Save the ooey-gooey shit. I’m trying to keep my friend safe.” The bartender went back to cleaning glasses, unphased by Chris’ remarks.

            “It’s okay, dude,” Drew replied. “Trust me on this one.”

…

            It was a busy day at the office. The end of the first fiscal quarter was quickly approaching, and Steph, the district manager, was projecting her stress onto everyone else as they finished up their reports. Of the twenty on-site employees, five were tiny. Their workplace did the bare minimum in accommodating them, so they each got their own full-sized desk. They used homemade string ladders to climb up and down each day. The desks were lined up against five other desks where their larger coworkers sat. Separating the desks were short cubicle walls; each wall had a two inch cutout, allowing the tiny employees to walk from desk to desk so they wouldn’t need to do any climbing when they had to consult a colleague.

            Drew’s fingers mindlessly tapped away at his keyboard. He was filling out forms and sending emails entirely on autopilot; the only thing on his mind was how he was going to ask Jess out. Just walk over there and ask her, he thought. Be cool about it. Natural. Hope she says yes. What if she says no? She won’t. What if she says no? Be cool about it. Play it off. It’s no big deal. I’ll cry. Don’t cry. Wait ‘til you’re home, then cry.

            “Richards, stop daydreaming and get back to work,” Steph berated him.

            “Yes sir.” Drew continued half-assing his work until Steph retreated back to her office. He did what he could to shut out his nerves and walked over to the desk across from his. Jess was typing away at her computer, too focused to notice the tiny walk over to her hand on the mouse. The scent of peaches enveloped him as he got closer. She was wearing her typical office attire: grey slacks and a white button-up.

            “Hey Jess, can I ask you something? If you’re not too busy.” Her eyes darted onto him. The instinctual fear of being caught in a predator’s sights coursed through the miniature man’s body.

            “Oh, hi Drew. What’s up?” Her smile beamed down on him. He could feel the sweat forming on his back. Any confidence he had built up was seeping out of him. He started chuckling and scratched at the back of his neck while he thought of what to say. Do I just come out with it? Make small talk? Fuck, just play it cool. Play it cool.

            “If you’re free tonight after work, would you like to get dinner, with me, on a date?” The few seconds it took Jess to process the question felt like an eternity. Within that awkward eternity, Drew’s self-esteem nosedived as he overanalyzed every word that came out of his mouth.

            “Tonight?” Jess mulled it over. “Sure, that works for me.” Drew’s heart nearly flew out of his chest. He was so shocked he wasn’t sure what to say.

            “Richards! Walker! Stop flirting and get back to work,” Steph commanded as she passed by. Jess gave Drew a sly wave farewell as he sprinted back to his side of the cubicle. He powerslid along his wide desktop, emboldened by his success. As soon as Steph was out of sight, Jess pulled out her phone and texted Macy:

Drew asked me out!!

OMG

Details now

…