We met at the bottom of the stairs. I was hoping she wouldn’t notice. That she might miss the obvious in the orange sodium of the street lamps, or that her three-inch heels would throw her perspective off just enough. Anyway, that’s the story I was telling myself. But of course she saw at once.

“You’re shrinking?” she asked. “Already?” Her eyes sparkled a brilliant, wicked blue. “Did you never recover from last time, and you were too embarrassed to say something?”

I gave her a sheepish look, scratching at my chin. “Um, no. I recovered, for sure. This just…happened. I guess maybe I got excited, knowing you were coming over, and maybe I still had some in my system….” I shrugged, the gesture causing my hands to sink much too far into my sleeves. I rolled them up my arms a ways, and tried to stand up straighter.

Laura took a step forward. I thought she only wanted to pass by me in the narrow space, so I stepped back – only to find her hands on mine, her gaze earnest, unavoidable. She pressed against me there in the hall. “You really want it that bad, huh?” She reached up, searching for my cheek in the near darkness. Her hands were warm despite the chill outside. “It’s okay. You can be honest. Do you want to shrink for me sweetie?” 

My vision blurred, and the world grew ever so slightly larger around me. Laura gasped, then dimpled, doing her best to suppress a giggle. “I guess that answers THAT question. Oh, I’m going to have FUN with you tonight.”

She lifted her backpack, rummaging inside. A few stray curls fell into her eyes – the same ones as always. She furrowed her brow, and finally withdrew a small bottle labelled ‘Baby Aspirin.’ She unscrewed the cap, considered, then plopped a single tablet into the center of my palm. “Just one to start,” she said, matter-of-factly. “But don’t think that means I’m taking it easy on you. You just HAD to get started without me, and that means I’ve already missed part of the fun. So as your punishment, we’re going to take things very, VERY slow.” She grinned impishly. “I want to give myself plenty of time to appreciate what’s happening to you. Plenty of time to watch you dwindle away. And oh, don’t worry – I fully intend to have my way with you. Tonight, though, you’re going to have to earn it.”

That little speech of hers had probably cost me another half inch, and we both knew it. I could see the delighted calculation in her eyes, could sense the giddy anticipation coming off her in waves. I felt it too, though it was tinged with hesitation, and just a bit of shame. She wasn’t wrong – I’d been looking forward to shrinking for her all week. But sometimes a dish tastes so much sweeter if we add just a little dash of salt. 

By now I probably only had an inch or so on her. Laura is a little taller than average, and the heels made up most of the difference. At six feet, I would’ve been comfortably taller than her. But I wasn’t six feet anymore, was I? Laura interrupted my height-math, tapping my palm twice with her index finger, reminding me of the pill. “Time’s wasting sweetie. Bottoms up. Actually no, hang on a second.” She considered, her eyes narrowing with malicious intent. “Take the pill, put it in your mouth. But leave it under your tongue. Let it dissolve slowly – no swallowing allowed. Got that?”

The tablet had a sour, acidic taste in my mouth. For a moment I had to fight the urge to either gulp it down or spit it out. Then the tingling came on, and all other sensations became secondary. It was faint and distant at first, starting in the pit of my stomach, spreading out to my extremities. Unmistakable for anyone who has felt it more than once.

Laura watched, making sure I didn’t cheat. “Good boy.” She gave me a little pat on the head, then unslung her backpack, unceremonious thrusting it into my arms. “You look like you could use some exercise. Carry that for me.” She started up the stairs to my apartment, motioning for me to follow. 

I walked a few steps behind, ogling the figure-eight pattern of her hips, the form of her body beneath her light jacket, her well-muscled calves beneath the hem of her dress. She stretched theatrically, looking back over her shoulder, making sure I was watching. I almost tripped a few times before I gave in, and shifted more of my attention to my footing. It was getting harder and harder not to trip over the cuffs of my jeans. And her backpack was really heavy, owing to the fact that she’d just come from a full day of classes. Granted, I should STILL be the stronger of the two of us. At least, probably?

She stopped me on the landing, just outside my door. “Still doing okay, big guy?”

“Ahm okayh,” I managed, careful not to swallow the pill. God, I shouldn’t be this out of breath after only four flights.

“Glad to hear it. Hmm.” She folded her arms behind her back, studying me carefully, swaying from side to side in a birdlike sort of way. “Yep, you’re FOR SURE shorter than me. Oh, maybe I overdid it a little – that didn’t take near as long as I expected. Well. Okay.” She touched her chin thoughtfully. “Strip for me. Oh don’t look so shocked – it’s not like anything fits you. The shoes, the socks. Pants and underwear too. Leave them outside your door. I GUESS you can keep the shirt – for now.” She mercifully took the increasingly heavy bag from my grasp (I seriously don’t know how she carries that thing around all day) and disappeared into my apartment, leaving me alone on my doorstep.

Doing as she asked was easy. I could almost step out of my shoes, and the jeans came off without even the need to unbuckle my belt. The whole time I could feel my heart pounding, as I struggled to get my breathing under control. To be this worn out from such a simple exertion was really embarrassing. It took longer than I wanted to recover, and as the seconds ticked by I could feel myself growing smaller. But at last I regained some semblance of control over myself.

She was moving around in my kitchen as I locked the door behind me. I leaned against it for a moment, sighing with relief, and nearly lost the pill in the process. My shirt hung about a hand’s length beneath my hip bone – enough to protect my modesty at least, though it wasn’t doing anything to hide my excitement. Laura gave me a cursory glance as I came to join her, then returned the bulk of her attention to making tea. By the time the kettle was set, Laura was maybe three of four inches taller than I was. She came to face me, bending with her hands on her knees. “Open.”

I did as she asked, showing her the tablet was still there, or what remained of it anyway. She graced me with a satisfied smile, and ruffled my hair. “Good boy. I know that wasn’t easy. Do you want to swallow it for me now?”

The babying tone of her voice made me shiver. Another half-inch melted away. I nodded.

“Jaden.” She took my chin in her hand, looking me dead in the eye, her expression stern, making sure she had my full attention. “Swallow.”

I obeyed, then rolled my tongue around in my mouth to try to wash away the chalky texture of the drug. She watched patiently. It only took a few seconds. I shivered, and felt my shrinking accelerate. Where before it had teetered just on the edge, now it slipped past some invisible balancing point, picking up speed, hurtling toward some unknowable destination. I couldn’t quite stop the little sigh of pleasure escaping from the back of my throat. It was such a small sound, but Laura heard. She heard, and she winked.

She kissed me then. It was a simple thing, the way kisses go. Soft, and sweet, her lips closed and quite noticeably larger against mine. It was the clearest gesture of affection she’d given me since she arrived, and I suddenly realized I had been almost starving for it. I felt like I wanted to burst. I wrapped my arms around her waist, gratified to find this was still briefly possible, desperation in my grasp. The only thing I wanted was her comfort, to hold her as close as humanly possible, to keep her there and keep me safe as I shrank for her. Laura sensed this and gave in, hugging me back, her mouth on mine, as I dwindled there in the kitchen. I think her resolve slipped a little. That she was intending to make me wait quite a bit longer for this sort of softness. It tarnishes the magic ever so slightly, to remember that she wants this just as bad as I do. But sugar can balance salt as well. 

Laura remembered herself eventually. I felt large hands on my shoulder, forcing me back, step by step. Even through the kiss I could sense her evil grin. When my shoulders hit the wall she pinned me, resting more of her weight against me than was strictly polite, telling me with all the subtle movements of her body that this was provocation. I took the dare and pushed back, not using all my strength at first for fear of actually succeeding. A foolish idea. She leaned down, hair tumbling into my eyes, and growled a warm word in my ear. 

“Harder.” 

I struggled, and when she laughed there was exertion in her voice, but only the faintest hint of it. She relaxed for just a moment, making me think I might be gaining the upper hand – then gave me a quick passionate kiss and slammed me easily back against the wall. My cheeks burned hot even as I continued to fight, and her laughter rolled on. Worst of all, I could feel the effort of it making my heart beat fast, could feel the inches slipping away more rapidly than ever. This went on for what felt like an eternity, my already hopeless battle becoming impossible, well past the point when Laura no longer even had to try. 

“Stop,” she giggled, at last taking pity, and stood up to her full height. She stepped back very slowly, not wanting to scare me. It can be surprisingly scary when someone so much bigger than you moves without warning. With the perspective of distance, it was really obvious how small our little wrestling match had made me. Laura was fully a head taller than me now, and probably about twice my mass. She let me get my breathing under control, gave me time to grasp how helpless I was before her. With a sly smile she watched as I continued to shrink, the level of my gaze rapidly sinking from her throat, down toward her chest. No doubt about it, this was MUCH faster than I should be shrinking from a single dose. Laura seemed pleased by this – not to mention by how long it was taking to catch my breath.

Still moving at that glacial pace, she got to her knees before me, her large face wearing a predatory smirk. Very, very slowly, she began to lift my shirt. It reached most of the way to my knees now, the little bulge not quite so obvious as before, but still difficult to miss. She folded my shirt past this bulge with judicious care, and gave a high-pitched little coo at the sight of my manhood. It was smaller, like the rest of me, and faintly twitching in time to my heart. 

“It’s really pretty at this size,” she breathed, leaning in for a better look. “So tender, and delicate. Gosh, I’ve made you SO hard, and I haven’t even TOUCHED you yet. How cute!” She cleared her throat, and looked up at me from below with eyes narrowed. When she spoke again her voice was a low, commanding rumble. “Jaden. Do you want me to touch it?”

I nodded emphatically, closing my eyes.

“Ah ah, I need you to use your big boy words. Do you want me to touch your cock? Tell me.”

The words tumbled out, jumbled and arrhythmic. “Yes Laura please I want you to touch my cock!”

“Good to know.” She leaned in closer still, lips parting. And softly, she blew. It was a shocking sensation, crisp and cold, and I hiccupped with pleasure, shrinking in a sudden burst. Laura emitted a sound of appreciation from the back of her throat – the sort of thing I would have found cute, had the tables been turned. But then I felt the sensation that I knew was coming: the shirt being lowered over me again. I groaned in petulant frustration. “Keep your back against the wall and keep dwindling for me, baby. My tea’s almost ready.”