Roomies by ItWasMe

Monica couldn’t stop a smirk from spreading across her elegant lips as she pretended to study the figures displayed on her computer monitor.

Her right foot, housed in snug black stockings, continued to pat against the tightly bound gray carpet of her office floor as they wandered in search of their prey. She refused to look down and through the glass surface of her desk. It would be cheating to use her bird’s eye view to her advantage, after all.

Besides, where would be the fun in that?

Tucking a few errant strands of her dark hair behind her right ear, Monica slouched back in her lavishly cushioned swivel chair and stretched her seemingly endless right leg even further under the desk. Her eyes stared through her company’s first-quarter numbers as the tip of her tongue pierced her lips and touched the right corner of her mouth.

It was when her foot brushed up against one of her discarded high heels that she heard it: the faintest of squeaks, only audible because of how quiet she liked to keep her office.

So that’s where you’re hiding, Monica mused, never taking her eyes off the screen. A bold strategy indeed, little Duncan.

She wiggled her toes in front of the tipped-over black shoe’s opening, blocking the exit. Then, still not looking down at all, she hooked the back of the shoe with her toes and dragged it toward her. Returning to sitting upright and with the right shoe now directly in front of its matching foot, she tipped the shoe upright with only her pinkie toe.

Monica finally peeked through the top of her desk, catching just a glimpse of Duncan tumbling out of view and toward the toe section of her footwear.

Her foot hovered above the opening, toes pointed down, for a solid thirty seconds. Then it descended, diving toward the blackness waiting to receive her foot and the little man trapped inside.

However, just as those lengthy toes reached the top lip of the shoe, Monica’s big toe separated from the other four, dipping under the lip while the others rested on top of it. Squeezing it between her big and second toes, she began to lazily straighten out her knee, lifting her foot and its cargo in the process.

Keeping Duncan beneath her toes was too much of a temptation, one she doubted she could resist. It would have been too easy to manipulate his little body under there, particularly below the waist. The thought of making someone cum with the simplest of her movements was quite an enticing one for her.

But there was a line with Duncan that Monica didn’t want to cross, and she could tell by the way he still resisted against the fact that he was enjoying her playing with him that he felt the same. The last thing she wanted to do was jeopardize the sense of kinship between them for a cheap, meaningless thrill.

That didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun from time to time, however.

As Monica’s foot rose higher and higher, she noticed Duncan sliding the long length of the shoe’s sole, all the way down to the heel. Just as her knee straightened out completely, she loosened her toes’ grip on the shoe and started to gently swing it as it hung from just her big toe.

The smirk she had been wearing opened into a predatory grin as she watched him roll over the lip of the heel, barely grabbing it with both hands to keep from plummeting almost two stories to the ground below. Of course, she had her left foot poised to catch him if he were to fall, but he didn’t need to know that!

As the shoe swayed back and forth, Duncan’s lower half swung wildly in an involuntary effort to match the oscillatory motion. Just as Monica was beginning to wonder if she was going a bit too far, he looked over his shoulder, a defiant smirk on his face. She raised her eyebrow in anticipation, knowing him well enough to know that he was about to try something.

Intriguing, she thought, the corners of her mouth curling upward even more. I do love a good challenge!

Monica began to increase the speed of the swinging shoe, but he was ready for her. As it started its descent from its left peak, he pulled himself up enough to put his feet around the rim of the lip and pushed off with his legs.

The executive gasped, lifting her left foot beneath him at about half the distance between Duncan and the floor, not wanting to accidentally kick him by moving upward too fast. But he didn’t fall straight down. His trajectory instead took him just under her right heel.

He grabbed the pantyhose surrounding the heel, using his momentum to swing forward and slightly to the side, right for the upper portion of Monica’s left shin. He landed on his feet just below her knee, but the combination of a shaky landing and the steep angle of her leg caused him to fall backward.

She kept her leg perfectly still as Duncan rolled down the length of her stocking-covered shin like a stray tumbleweed against asphalt, not wanting an accidental movement on her part to send him falling to the floor. Perhaps the hardest part was ignoring the slight tickle traveling down her leg as his meager weight was just enough to cause the silky leggings to rub against her smooth, soft skin.

He recovered by the time he reached Monica’s ankle, however. He propelled himself off the side of her foot, swiftly climbed down her ankle, and landed on his feet after letting himself fall the shorter distance to the floor. Still in shock, she let her feet fall to the floor in front of him as she waited for her heartbeat to slow down.

Staring back up at her, with a shit-eating grin on his face, Duncan gave her a mocking salute and started to run toward the opposite end of the desk.

Fuck, all that American Ninja Warrior training is paying dividends! Monica thought as she started laughing. It seems instead of going too far, I’ve not been going far enough!

It was her left foot that had been violated, so Monica thought it only fair that it should strike the first blow. Without needing to extend her leg, she lifted her foot slightly off the ground and swung it Duncan’s way. Its side, midway between her big toe and her heel, lightly batted him from his left, sending him tumbling to his right as he fell from the impact.

He quickly reached his feet, only for her to send her right foot after him next. It collided with his right side, sending him back the way he came. Next, her left foot came in before he had even pushed himself off of his knees. She kept at it for a few more minutes before allowing him to stand unimpeded.

If Duncan thought this was an act of mercy, he was wrong. Monica crossed her right leg over her left, bouncing her right foot in the air idly as she looked down on him with a maddening grin. He took a step back, and the foot stopped bouncing, perking up.

“Go ahead,” she told him.

Duncan turned and ran, eliciting a small, haughty giggle from Monica. After giving him a few seconds, she casually lifted her right leg from her left, then took aim for him as she dropped her foot to the floor.

He didn’t get very far before her foot landed on him, her curled-in toes making contact as she bumped his shoulder blades and knocked him flat on his face. The foot stretched out luxuriously as it started to set itself down flat with him caught directly underneath it.

Knowing that Duncan was small enough to easily be completely covered by her foot did nothing to take away Monica’s amazement at watching him disappear under her instep. She felt him wriggling underfoot as she placed just enough pressure on him to keep him in place but not enough to hurt him.

She let her foot remain there for a while, finding his squirming struggles to be quite delightful! All of his effort amounted to a gentle massage on the arch of her foot. She let out a satisfied hum as she shifted her foot slightly to either side, enjoying the sensation from various angles.

Finally, Monica slid her foot back a little, letting the ball of her foot and her toes slither over Duncan’s body, all the way down to his ankles. Her big and second toes locked in on his left ankle, pinching it between them. She then dragged him slowly across the carpet and back to her foot’s natural seated position.

But his ride didn’t end there. She crossed her legs once again, but this time her right foot took him with it on its ascent. After her foot came to rest with right shin sitting on her left knee, she began to bounce it idly once more, this time its prey clutched within its jaws.

Monica couldn’t help but chuckle as she felt Duncan’s body softly slap against her sole with movement of her ankle. She glanced back up at the business data on her monitor and considered doing some actual work for a short while, leaving him hanging in the most literal sense.

She thought better of it though, sure that her point had been made. She reached down with her left hand and plucked her miniature employee between the tips of her index finger and thumb. She raised him to her face, that smug smirk returning by the time he arrived.

“Ugh, remind me to say ‘no thanks’ the next time you offer me a day off,” Duncan said.

Monica set him down in front of her keyboard, with him taking a seat on its frame to catch his breath.

“Don’t pretend as though you didn’t enjoy that,” she scolded him with a smile. “You knew exactly what I had in mind when I made the offer.”

Monica’s right hand made for Duncan, her forefinger extending in time to give him a playful poke to his left shoulder, almost pushing him on his side.

“Besides, not every boss would give their dear employee a day off in back-to-back weeks,” she said. “Perhaps you should be thanking me rather than complaining.”

Her words were lecturing, but the smile she wore as she said them was genuine, one she never wore around the office.

“Boss, a shady nerd with glasses is here to see you,” Alyssia spoke through the intercom, her voice coming through much quieter than usual.

“Oh, um, did you really ha—” Ada’s voice cut off mid-sentence as the intercom went silent.

Monica’s smile morphed into a scowl as she pressed the talk button on the intercom.

“Show Ms. Sanders in,” she said before releasing the button.

As the door opened Alyssia led Ada into the office, Duncan stood up from the keyboard and gave Monica a look.

“Be nice!” he said loud enough for her to hear but much too quiet to travel across the room as the two younger women made their way over.

Monica rolled her eyes behind Duncan’s back as he walked toward the front of her desk. Then she put on a neutral expression, her best effort at “being nice” during working hours and with this particular visitor.

“A Ms. Ada Sanders here to steal your little man,” Alyssia said with a grin.

Looking over the two girls in front of her desk, the difference between them was stark. Alyssia, with her baby blue blouse, black pencil skirt, and skin-colored stockings, looked a bastion of professionalism. Ada, on the other hand, with her black t-shirt with white text reading “Han Shot First” and old, raggedy jeans, looked anything but.

“I’m not stealing him,” Ada countered. “He’s a person, not a possession.”

Alyssia narrowed her sparkling blue eyes at Ada, dropping her congenial smile.

“It’s really weird to hear you say that,” Alyssia sneered.

Ada lowered her head and stared at her feet in shame.

“Hey, can you leave her alone? Please?” Monica heard Duncan squeak from the front of her desk. “The whole thing was my fault, anyway.”

Alyssia shot Duncan an incredulous look. She opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it again. Instead, she reached down to Monica’s desk, the secretary's left hand aiming right for Duncan as it descended. The CEO had to remind herself that Alyssia wasn’t a threat as she fought the urge to protectively snatch the tiny man away.

Alyssia plucked Duncan from the desk by the back collar of his gray shirt, lifting him up and dangling him in front of her eyes.

“I suppose I can do that,” she said, batting him in the side with her right index finger. “You’re a lot more fun to mess with than Qui-Gon Nerd over there.”

Monica watched as Alyssia’s sharp blue irises tracked Duncan as he swung back and forth from the force of her forefinger’s blow. She was about to tell her assistant to knock it off, but as Duncan spun around a bit from the momentum of his sway, she could see that he was neither scared nor angry: just mildly annoyed.

“Are you done?” he asked with a level voice.

Alyssia pursed her lips and rubbed her chin with her right forefinger and thumb. Her eyes looked off to the upper right as she tilted her head slightly to the left, making her wavy brunette hair bounce slightly. She hummed as though in deep contemplation.

And then she batted him with her finger again.

“Yes,” Alyssia said as she watched him swing in front of her face once again.

Monica could just hear Duncan chuckle.

“You’re a child,” he said in a tone much less scolding than the words themselves.

Alyssia joined in with a giggle.

“You know me so well,” she said.

With that, Alyssia told Ada to hold out her hand and set Duncan down in the college girl’s right palm. Before Ada could put him in her purse, however, Alyssia crouched down so that her face was level with him.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that nickname,” she whispered ominously. “When you least expect it.”

Duncan laughed off the threat while Ada looked on curiously. Soon Duncan and the two girls were out of Monica’s office, leaving the executive to lament that she now had to actually examine those first-quarter numbers.

********

“That was awesome!” Ada cheered, marking some numbers into her notebook.

Duncan’s fully extended arms continued to strain as he laid on the weight bench, holding the bar, a straightened out paperclip curled-in ends, over his chest. He moved his arms back and racked the bar onto the makeshift bar catch, the slightly open ends of a hair pin either side.

He sat up and looked back at the bar. On each end, four unbent paper clips were attached, the curled-in ends of the bar wedged through the center of each one to prevent them from hanging loose or falling. He wiped a thick sheen of sweat from his brow and looked up at the giant lab tech that had been analyzing his every move for the past two hours.

“Yeah, eight paperclips,” Duncan said, mock flexing as he made light of his accomplishment. “Awesome.”

Ada set her notebook and pen down to the side and shifted from kneeling to sitting in front of the end table on which Duncan’s gym was situated. She gave him a serious look.

“First, it’s nine paperclips,” she said. “The bar counts, too.”

Duncan chuckled snidely.

“Nine paperclips, excuse me,” he said, more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “Any other feats of strength you want to put me through? Let’s see, I could see how many sticks of gum I could deadlift. Oh, or maybe you want me to carry a packet of sugar on each shoulder and walk all the way across the table? Man, these tests are doing wonders for the old self-esteem!”

Ada frowned down at him.

“Ahem,” she said, only mildly pretending to clear her throat. “Second, you’re being way too hard on yourself. Those paperclips add up to about 10 grams. Calculating for your current size, that’s the equivalent of you bench pressing 350 pounds at your normal size.”

Duncan glanced back at the bar and its weights.

“Holy shit, really?” he asked.

Ada answered with an eager nod.

“Yes, really,” she said. “And you did it four times, Duncan. Four times! I hate all things jock and even I’m impressed.”

Duncan was unsure how to feel. On the one hand, he knew lifting nine paperclips was nothing, That he was nothing. On the other, proportionally speaking, he was kind of impressed with himself, too. He was never a gym rat, but he did work out from time to time before shrinking, and benching 350 pounds one time was something he never thought possible, let alone four times.

He didn’t know whether to be excited or depressed. So he chose to just move on instead.

“And you think this proportional boost in strength might have something to do with me shrinking?” Duncan asked.

Ada shook her head.

“It was a theory that Dr. Catamaunt and I discussed the first time I talked to him,” she responded. “But while you’ve put up stellar numbers all week, they aren’t to the level we would expect them to be if you had just gained density from something like the space between your atoms compressing. It seems like you just naturally worked your way into peak physical condition.”

Duncan reached down to the floor on his left side to pick up his sweat towel, a small sliver of wash rag cut in a perfect rectangle. He threw it over the back of his neck and stood up, walking to the edge of the end table facing Ada.

“So no more workout stuff, then?” he asked.

Ada picked up her notebook and pen and stood up herself, the surface of the table coming just above her knee.

“That’s right,” she said. “We’re still working on ways to collect the various samples in the amounts we need. I wouldn’t expect to have your blood drawn any time soon from the sound of it, for example.”

Duncan grabbed a corner of the towel hanging off his left shoulder and dabbed some sweat off his forehead.

“I’m not even going to pretend I’m upset about that,” he said. “Fuck needles.”

Ada went silent for a moment. Duncan noticed her face turning a light shade of red as she bit her lower lip nervously. When she finally spoke, she looked down at the notebook as if studying it and had a slight quiver in her voice.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked.

While Duncan knew his old self would shoot down such a question right away, he had to admit he was curious about what the shy girl wanted to know.

“Sure,” he replied. “I think I owe you at least that for all the shit Monica and Alyssia have been giving you.”

Duncan did feel bad about that. Ever since telling Monica the truth about what happened in Ada’s dorm room, his boss had been anything but kind to Ada. While Monica didn’t tell Callie about the lie, the daggers she stared into Ada put the fear of God into the poor girl.

Monica even went to Ada’s dorm room after she accepted the lab tech position to “lay out the ground rules” for her employment. Ada didn’t give details on that particular discussion, but from how timid and nervous she was when they started testing the next day, he had a pretty good idea how it had gone down.

Now Alyssia was starting to join in. Duncan was touched that both Monica and Alyssia would be so upset at what they saw as his poor treatment, but he also wished they would just give Ada a chance.

“Are Callie and you dating?” Ada blurted out.

It took a few seconds for Duncan to even process the question. He felt close to Callie, sure, but dating? Is she kidding? He knew his chances of going out with a girl like Callie were slim enough at full size. Someone as hot, funny, smart, kind, and caring as her could pretty much have whoever she wants.

And would she ever want someone who’s less than three inches? Tall, not dick size. It was laughable to even think about.

“No,” Duncan chuckled slightly to cover up the painful reality behind his words. “That’ll never happen.”

Ada looked up from the notebook, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh, okay,” she said, pausing for a minute. “Well, anyway, there is one sample that we are ready to collect today.”

Reaching into her right pocket, Ada pulled out a tiny container that was roughly bucket-sized to Duncan. She set it down with her right hand. Then she snatched Duncan with her left.

As she picked him up, she tilted her hand, leaving him laying with his back against her palm. Her fingertips snaked under his left arm and rose up over his side while the base of her palm did the same as it smushed into his right side, holding him in a soft grip but leaving his arms free.

“Uh, what are you doing?” he asked.

A sheepish grin crossed Ada’s face.

“Well, uh, i-it’s just that the sample, the one we’re going to take now,” she hesitated before continuing. “It’s a semen sample.”

Duncan noticed Ada’s face getting redder. Her behavior became more confusing by the moment.

“Okay, so I guess I can do that,” he said. “But why am I up here?”

Ada took a deep breath before, releasing it in a nervous sigh, before answering.

“I felt it in there,” she said. “Your, um, your penis, I mean. When it was hard in my mouth last week?”

Duncan didn’t like where this was going. He had been intentionally dodging the subject all week. She had tried to bring it up a few times, making jokes about him helping her pick stuff out of her teeth, mostly. It was clear she was trying to start a conversation each time, but it had been easy enough to pretend like it went over his head.

Was she pissed? Not likely, as she had tried taking his shirt off with her tongue at the time. Maybe she’s just feeling weird about it and wants to clear the air? He could suck it up and do that if that’s what she needed. But why hold him like this? The only thing he could think of was—

Oh shit.

“No need to look scared,” Ada said, picking now of all times to start finding her confidence. “I’m not mad about it or anything. In fact …”

Her right hand slowly approached from above, carefully pinching his right pantleg by the hem. Slowly, she tugged, slipping his tan shorts down his legs.

Duncan froze.

“… now that I know how you feel,” Ada continued, flicking her wrist lazily as she tossed his shorts, not taking her eyes off him to see if they made it to her intended target, the end table, “I know a way that we can get that sample and have some fun doing it.”

As her right index finger slipped under his shirt, Duncan couldn’t find his voice. He knew this wasn’t the same as what Kristie had done to him. Ada wasn’t holding him nearly as tightly and she was being so careful removing his clothes. He truly believed that if he said no, this would stop.

So why couldn’t he speak?

Ada gently pulled Duncan’s shirt over his head, taking a moment to admire his firm pecs. But it didn’t take long for her hungry eyes to drift down to those handcrafted boxers.

“Just think of this as my way of apologizing for the whole enslavement thing,” she said as her free hand reached for that last article of his clothing. “You’ve been so nice to me since then, and I want to return the favor.”

As his boxers were removed, every muscle in Duncan’s body tightened, leaving him completely stiff. He broke out into a cold sweat. He opened his mouth to say the one word that would end his torment, but nothing would come out.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything,” Ada told him as she sat on Callie’s bed, leaning her back against a white pillow at the head of the bed and the cream-colored wall. “I know it’s a surprise, something like this coming from me, but I can do this. I want to do this. So just lay back and let it happen.”

That hand came back again, this time guided only by her index finger.It stopped just short of touching Duncan’s flaccid cock, and he looked up to see just a hint of hesitation in her eyes. Maybe now he could find the strength to—

“Sorry,” Ada said. “It’s just, this is my first time doing anything … like this. I’m kind of nervous. But don’t worry, I’ve got this!”

The ridges of her fingertip brushed softly against his shaft, and Duncan felt it move slightly in response. He glanced down at it, as though he could command it to stop. He heard a playful giggle coming down from the heavens.

“Well, someone’s awake!” Ada laughed.

Panic started to set in for Duncan, he turned his gaze back up to Ada’s face, only all he could see was Kristie and that same arrogant smirk she wore that day. Ada’s shy, honest words were replaced by Kristie’s harshness and mean-spirited taunts. His breathing started to get heavier.

“Oh!” Ada said. “You’re already so into this!”

She brought her thumb down to join her forefinger as the pair worked Duncan’s dick, kneading it like a coin, adding just enough pressure to maximize the pleasurable friction against his member without hurting him. It didn’t take long for him to feel himself reach full mast.

Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Duncan shouted inside his mind, unsure if he was referring to Ada or himself.

Instead, all that came out of his mouth was an involuntary moan, which elicited another chuckle from his unwitting tormentor. She increased the speed of her rubbing fingers and he could feel his heartbeat through his cock. A single tear leaked out of his left eye.

Then, the fingers stopped.

“Mmmm,” Ada moaned. “That was a nice warm up, but let’s up the ante a little, yeah?”

No! Duncan tried to shout as he was lifted back up to her flushed face. Please!

He felt himself being pushed forward, and Ada’s pillowy red lips parted slightly to receive him. As they closed, his rock hard erection was sandwiched dead center between them, her upper lip covering the entirety of his abs and her lower one doing the same to his thighs.

Then Duncan felt her tongue poke through from the other side of her lips and quickly zero in on his throbbing member. Its tip tickled the head of his penis before slithering down the shaft and brushing up against his balls, leaving a slimy trail behind it. The tongue retracted just a tiny bit and began working its way up and down his shaft.

But it wasn’t until he felt himself getting close that Duncan lost it.

He finally realized that his arms were actually free this time and started beating his fists just under Ada’s nose. She didn’t seem to feel it, though, too in the moment to notice his weak punches. Or maybe she thought that was his way of getting into it. Either way, it wasn’t working.

So Duncan tried the only other thing he could think of, something that, for whatever reason, he couldn’t do up until then. Desperate and without any other option, he sucked in as much air as he could.

And then Duncan screamed as loud as he could.

********

Callie made sure to watch her step as she walked through the apartment door.

“Ada? Duncan?” she called out. “Class got canceled, so neither of you better try to yell at me for ditchin’!”

Her eyes still glued to the floor, Callie shut the door behind her and stepped deeper into the living room. She had gotten used to walking more carefully around the apartment over the first three weeks of sharing it with Duncan. Well, knowingly sharing it, anyway.

But she became much more vigilant about it throughout the past week. Ever since she almost lost Duncan. Nothing like that would happen again; she would make sure. She wouldn’t screw up again.

Remembering that Ada said she wanted to continue with the fitness tests today, Callie made her way down the apartment’s short hallway. Halfway down the corridor, she heard a panicked voice coming from her room, although it was muffled by the closed door. She ran the rest of the way to the door, and that’s when she heard the screaming.

She knew that scream.

Callie threw her shoulder into the door as she opened it, bursting into the room. Standing above the far side of her bed was Ada, a frantic look upon her face. She was talking to her hand in near hysterics.

“Duncan, please!” she cried out. “J-just tell me what’s wrong!”

There, in Ada’s left hand, was a naked Duncan, yelling incoherently as he wriggled violently in a vain effort to escape her fingers as they squeezed him into her palm from his side. Callie recognized that grip. It was just like she had envisioned in her head after several nights of listening to Duncan endure his nightmares.

Callie knew exactly what was going on here.

“What the fuck?!” she shouted, unable to keep the anger out of her voice, nor wanting to.

Callie wasted no time crossing the room, making a beeline for Ada, who gently set Duncan on the bed as soon as Callie started moving toward her.

“Callie!” Ada cried out. “I don’t know what to do! He ju—”

She didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence. Instead, Callie shoved her away from the bed. Hard. Ada fell onto her side, the force of the push being enough to knock the glasses off her face before she even hit the ground. The black-haired girl opened her mouth to speak but only sobs came out.

Callie was still seething. She didn’t want to feel sympathy for this monster. She wanted to beat her ass! But there was something about watching her lay there, balling her eyes out, that got to Callie, just a little bit.

“Get the fuck outta here!” Callie screamed.

Ada scrambled to her feet, and sprinted out of the room in tears, leaving behind her glasses. As she took a few deep breaths to calm herself, Callie faintly heard the apartment door slam shut as she turned her attention to the bed and the little man laying on it.

Duncan was curled into the fetal position, his knees practically in his stomach as he wrapped both arms around his shins. He was looking straight ahead with a thousand-yard stare, babbling something so quietly that Callie couldn’t make it out while standing. She slowly got to her knees, careful not to make any sudden moves.

“Duncan?” she said softly.

Callie nudged him with her right index finger, then started rubbing Duncan’s right side with her fingertip. She called out to him a couple more times before he acknowledged her. He looked up at her, disoriented at first.

He took a few minutes to collect himself before he stood up and covered his crotch with both hands. She found his clothes scattered about the floor and end table, gathering them up and giving them to him. She turned around while he changed in deafening silence.

“Well this is embarrassing,” Duncan said.

Callie turned around to see him in the same clothes he had been wearing when Alyssia had picked him up to head to the office that morning.

“You got nothing to be embarrassed for,” she said. “I just … I can’t believe Ada would do that to you. I hugged that bitch! The fuck is wrong with her?!”

Callie noticed that Duncan wasn’t looking at her but instead kept his gaze on the white bedspread beneath his feet.

“It’s not her fault,” he mumbled. “She thought I was good with it. All I had to do to stop her was tell her to stop or struggle against her or even just show her that I was upset. That’s all I had to do. I just … couldn’t. Fucking pathetic.”

Callie looked down at Duncan then over her shoulder at the glasses laying on the floor in the corner. She was trying to process what he was saying, what really happened.

“You’re not pathetic,” she said. “No one would have handled that any better, not after what you’ve been through.”

Callie turned back around, finding that Duncan didn’t respond, keeping his focus near his feet.

“Me, though, I fucked up bad,” she continued. “I didn’t even give Ada a chance. Just ran her off. And all because I was so scared of fuckin’ up with you again.”

Duncan looked up and met Callie’s gaze.

“Fucking up with me?” he asked. “What do you mean?”

Callie chucked at the question.

“Jesus, where to start?” she said. “I almost stepped on you the day after we met. I almost killed you a couple times during the exam. I lost you because I was too busy talkin’ to Brooklyn when you were stuffed down my tits, without a bra, even. Oh, and the first time I saw you, I fuckin’ charged at you. That should count, too. Fuck, what haven’t I done to you?”

Duncan tilted his head to the right as he stared up at her, dumbfounded.

“And you’ve been worrying about this stuff, what, all week?” he asked. “That’s why you’ve been weird since I made it back?”

Callie nodded, holding back tears. Duncan started walking toward the edge of the bed, right in front of where she was kneeling.

“There’s a part of my story, the one about how I got here, that I left out,” he said as he sat down at the bed’s edge, his feet dangling over the side. “It was pretty embarrassing, so I kept it to myself, but now I need you to hear it.”

Callie slid her legs out from under her and shifted to sit cross-legged. She leaned in so that her face was right in front of Duncan, her elbows on her knees and her chin sitting atop her folded hands.

“I thought I was dead pretty early on,” he said. It had only been a couple of weeks since I escaped Kristie, and I had only made it a block or so away. I was working my way through the yard of this place that had been for sale since I started dating her. This ugly, worn-down lime green house I used to pass by whenever I’d go for walks, back when it wasn’t life threatening to do that.”

Callie knew that place. She walked by it on her way to campus all the time. That “For Sale” sign had been planted in the yard since freshman year.

“I stayed close to the house since no one was living there and it was safer than walking by the sidewalk,” Duncan said. “When I was about halfway across, this gray cat, a stray I’d stop and pet once in a while, popped out from between that house and the next one.”

Bailey! Callie realized. She hangs out around there all the time.

“It saw me right away,” Duncan continued. “I didn’t have time to do anything. It was on me before I could even try to run. One of its paws fell on top of me, pinned me down. It let me get up, but it swiped me with its paw, knocked my ass about five feet away. It let me get up and hit me with the other paw. It just kept doing it, having a good time before dinner.”

A gasp escaped Callie’s lips. Her hands were shaking. Even though she knew that he survived the story, it wasn’t enough to fill that empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“A car drove by way too fast, music way too loud,” Duncan explained. “It scared the cat off for a second; that’s the only reason I’m alive. I got up and ran for a small crack in the foundation in the house. I barely made it before the cat had a chance to get me again.”

Duncan looked off the side for a second, sighing before facing Callie again.

“I had to stay in that crack for a full day, listening to that cat’s claws scratch right outside it, not quite small enough to reach in and get me,” he said. “While I was in there, I cried, I prayed, I curled up into a ball like I did just a minute ago. I asked all the stupid questions people ask when they get in bad situations: Why me? What did I do to deserve this? All that shit.”

Callie had asked herself those questions before. Several times in fact. But never like that. Never staring death in the face.

“After a few hours of that, I realized something,” Duncan said. “None of that matters. This happened to me, and because of that, my lifespan has shortened. By a lot. No pun intended.”

Wait, what? Callie wondered.

“I realized that, instead of having years to live, I probably only had days before something killed me. Maybe weeks if I was lucky,” Duncan explained. “Things this small just don’t live very long. And that hit me while I was in the crack, I knew I had a choice: I could keep fighting it and keep thinking like I did when I was big, or I could accept it and make the most of the time I have left. I chose the second one.”

Accept it? Callie asked herself. Like, accept that he’s going to die way too soon?!

“If I hadn’t done that, if I had kept worrying about every little thing that could kill me, I would have never made it as long as I did,” Duncan said. “I’m still scared to die, but I’m prepared for it. I know it’s coming now, so I don’t let it slow me down. Do you understand?”

Callie was too consumed by a deep sense of dread to come up with words, so she just shook her head.

“All that stuff you talked about? It’s fine,” Duncan said. “I’m not worried about any of it, and you shouldn’t be either. When my time comes, it comes. And if you accidentally are a part of that, I won’t blame you. So try not to worry about it so much, okay?”

He won’t blame her? Don’t worry about it? Callie was struggling to comprehend what he was saying. Did he really expect her not to care if something happened to him, especially if it was her fault?! She was depressed. She was angry. She was confused. She was starting to have trouble breathing.

She had to get out of there.

“Hey, are you good?” Duncan asked.

But wait, could Callie leave Duncan alone? What if something happened to him while she was gone?

God, he’s right! she thought. He’s, like, so small, almost anything could …

Callie couldn’t bring herself to finish the thought. She wouldn’t.

“Callie?” she barely registered Duncan’s voice.

Callie had always wanted to make sure Duncan was safe, but her need to protect him had never been so strong. Whether that was because he had suddenly made her more aware of the dangers he faced everyday or the nonchalant attitude he displayed about said dangers, she wasn’t sure.

So she would have to bring him with her, then.

“Seriously, what’s up?” Duncan asked. “I’m starting to worry here.”

But if Callie did that, something could happen to him. Out there. Again. Could she really trust herself after being so careless just a week ago?

No, she couldn’t. Maybe she just shouldn’t—

“Hey!” Duncan yelled as he stood up.

That got Callie’s attention.

“Sorry,” she said, trying to push aside the distracting internal conflict. “What’s up?”

Duncan just stared at her for a moment, holding her attention as his gaze pierced her soul.

“I think you should run Ada’s glasses back to her,” he said slowly. “Maybe you guys could talk out what just happened between you two?”

Callie leaned in closer, studying her puny roomie. Was he giving her an excuse to leave? How did he know? How did he always know what she needed?

But the most important question was, what did he need?

“But what about you?” she asked. “I don’t feel right just leaving you here after—”

Duncan was quick to cut her off.

“I’m good to hold down the fort while you’re gone,” he said. “It’s okay. Just go. I’ll be fine.”

Callie nodded silently and stood up herself. She picked up Ada’s glasses and gave a small wave to Duncan before walking out of the room, losing herself in her thoughts once more.

********

 Callie couldn’t look away from the grass as she slowly strolled down the sidewalk.

She was vaguely aware of Ada’s glasses, still clutched in her right hand, brushing gently against her skinny jeans at thigh level with each swing of her arm. She also wasn’t paying much attention to the other people walking along the same path, be they fellow students or actual residents of the houses lining the street.

How many times did I walk right by him? Callie wondered. How many times could I have helped him if I’d just looked down on my way to class?

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had always assumed that Duncan’s journey had taken place entirely in the same neighborhood she walked through almost every day. But there was something about hearing him talk about his near-death experience with Bailey that made her realize what that really meant.

“Watch it!”

Callie finally looked up from the grass and stopped her stride to see an older gentleman admonishing her. The man shook his head in annoyance as he stepped around her. She started to turn around to apologize, but stopped halfway through when something caught her eye.

It was an ugly, worn-down lime green house.

Almost directly below her was a familiar “For Sale” sign planted in the yard. The grass was a bit overgrown, the tips of its blades stretching just past ankle height, despite her standing on the slightly elevated platform of the sidewalk. Looking at the house itself, she could just make out the top half of a crack in the foundation.

Almost hypnotically, Callie walked through the grass, approaching the crack. Once she arrived, she crouched down and reached toward it with her right hand, brushing aside the blades of grass blocking the way. The crack was just wide enough for her index finger to fit inside.

She felt around for a few moments before her fingertip made contact with some small scrap of fabric. It took a few curls of her finger to pry it loose from whatever it had been caught on, but when she removed her forefinger from the crack, it carried with it a dirty, faded white material that covered maybe half of its tip.

Callie recognized it immediately.

It was a torn piece of the shirt Duncan had been wearing the night he first confronted her. She just stared at it for a while, not moving, not even blinking. Then, she turned her gaze just beyond it to the crack below.

This is it, Callie confirmed. This is where he gave up.

A quiet meow pulled her from her thoughts. She looked to her left to see a gray cat approaching. It was Bailey, probably coming to see if the kind college girl who left her food had anything yummy for her today. The cat rubbed its face against Callie’s shin, purring happily without a care in the world.

Callie nudged the cat away with her left hand.

“Get outta here!” she hissed.

Bailey didn’t get the message, however, and went right back to loving on Callie’s shin. Callie stood up and lightly brushed the cat away with her left foot.

“I SAID GO THE FUCK AWAY!” Callie screamed at the cat, who quickly ran off.

She watched Bailey run around the nearest corner of the house, a hateful scowl fixed on her face. It was then that she noticed how quiet it had become. She turned toward the sidewalk and saw five people frozen in place staring back at her, confusion written on each of their faces.

Unsure what else to do, Callie took off running herself, sprinting away from her baffled audience toward campus. The wind in her face slightly stung her watery eyes. She had cried more in the past month than she could remember crying in her entire life prior.

Once she arrived on campus, she collapsed onto the first bench she saw. She glanced down at her right hand and noticed that the shirt scrap was still clutched within her fingers. Raising it up to eye level, she softly rubbed it between her index finger and thumb

Callie asked herself why she was acting this way. She knew Bailey wasn’t being malicious back when she attacked Duncan; she was just being a cat. And yet Callie found herself hating her cute furry friend.

That’s not all, either. She realized that she never even gave Ada a chance to explain herself. Sure it looked bad when she walked in on … whatever that was, and she hadn’t known Ada all that long, but she still could have at least listened to what Ada had to say before shoving her down.

I … I pushed her so hard, Callie thought to herself. I don’t do stuff like that. Like, ever. So why now?

Even all the stressing out she had been doing for the past week was out of the ordinary. She was always so laid back and easygoing. It was how she got through so much of the shit in her life. It’s so much easier just to bury it and smile like everything was fine.

So why couldn’t she do that now?

Because none of those things were about her. Everyone else in Callie’s life seemed so … perfect, up until she met Duncan. She never had to worry about any of them, and they never chose to worry about her, it seemed. So it was different when she saw Duncan suffer.

And now she was just supposed to act like she was just fine with the person she loved pretending that his life wasn’t as valuable just because he was small?! Didn’t he understand how much he meant to her? How could that idiot think that she—

Wait. That was it, wasn’t it? It had been right in front of her the whole time, and she just couldn’t see it.

Until now.

“I love him,” Callie blurted out. “I’m in love with Duncan!”

Verbalizing it felt so good! It made her so happy! She was still worried about Duncan and his fucked up outlook on his life, but suddenly it didn’t weigh on her quite as much. It didn’t matter what he had been through or how it had affected him; she was going to help the man she loved through it.

Callie pushed herself off the bench and made her way to Ada’s dorm, a newfound confidence visible in her steps.

********

Ada laid on her bed, sobbing into the face of Captain Mal Reynolds as she dried her eyes with her bedspread.

She couldn’t understand how she had screwed things up so badly. She had thought she’d finally found some friends in Duncan and Callie and even had hopes of turning things around with Monica and Alyssia. Now everyone hates her. There was a time when Ada felt as though that would be better than nobody caring about her at all, like she was so used to.

But she was wrong.

This was so much worse. Ada never realized how painful it could feel to have people she genuinely liked feel so much disdain for her. All she wanted was to make them happy, to laugh and joke around with them, have a good time instead of burying herself in textbooks all the time.

But instead, she had to go and accidentally hurt Duncan and—

A knock at her door grabbed Ada’s attention. She wiped her eyes with her right wrist as she got off the bed and made her way to the door. She took a few deliberate breaths to calm herself down before turning the knob and opening the door.

She was shocked to see Callie waiting for her on the other side.

“Um, hi,” Callie said awkwardly.

Ada struggled to find words. As she looked up at the towering blonde, she remembered how forceful Callie had been with her maybe an hour or two before. Ada was terrified, to say the least.

“I, uh, I wanted to bring you your glasses back,” Callie said, holding out her right hand, which was gripping the frame of the glasses. “And, like, I was hoping that I could apologize.”

Ada still didn’t speak, but she reached out and took the glasses from Callie, putting them back on.

“I understand if you don’t wanna see me, though,” Callie continued, lowering her head.

Something about the way Callie spoke touched Ada. She ignored her fear, not wanting to push away her friend.

“No, please, come in,” Ada said. “I’d like to talk about what happened, too.”

She stepped aside as Callie made her way into the dorm room, flashing Ada a warm smile in thanks. As the two girls walked toward Ada’s bed, Callie looked around the room, eyeing the posters and models decorating the walls and desk, respectively.

“This stuff is so cool,” Callie said, slightly awed by the overwhelming display of science fiction.

The declaration caught Ada off guard.

“You don’t think it’s all weird or dorky?” she asked.

The two girls sat down, Callie at the foot of the bed and Ada at the chair at her desk, turning it around to face her guest.

“Not at all,” Callie answered. “I’ve always been kind of interested in this stuff, but it was never very popular where I grew up, especially for girls. So I never really had a chance to get into any of it.”

Ada’s face lit up.

“That sucks, but it’s never too late to start!” she explained. “Maybe we could watch something together sometime, see how you like it?”

Callie’s smile got a little bigger.

“Sounds fun,” she said, a frown slowly overtaking her lips. “Although, I’m surprised you still wanna talk to me after what I did.”

Ada didn’t say anything as she was reminded of how scary the girl sitting across from her had been during the incident. She didn’t know how to feel. Part of her wanted to be mad at Callie. Another part wanted to forgive Callie before the girl even had a chance to apologize.

“I’m really sorry,” Callie said. “That’s not me. I just saw Duncan like that, and I thought …”

As Callie trailed off, Ada finally realized why the blonde bombshell had been so angry with her. Of course Callie thought Ada was attacking Duncan. It’s the most natural conclusion to draw based on when Callie walked in on them.

Ada had been so wrapped up in trying to figure out how she had hurt Duncan, that she never took the time to realize how the situation looked to Callie.

“You thought I did it on purpose,” Ada said. “You were just trying to protect Duncan.”

Callie nodded shyly.

“That’s totally understandable,” Ada said. “But I swear I didn’t. I was just trying to make up for …”

She stopped, realizing her mistake. Duncan had lied because he knew how his friends would handle the truth about what happened during his time in her room. Monica and Alyssia both knew the truth, and they hated her. Ada already thought Callie hated her before; she wasn’t sure if she could take it if they went through this apology only for Callie to hate her for real.

“I wasn’t going to ask about what really happened between you two,” Callie said. “Duncan lied for you, so it probably wasn’t good, but that means he trusts you, so I trust you, too.”

Ada’s jaw dropped.

“You knew we were lying the whole time?!” she asked.

Callie smirked at the question.

“I can always tell when Duncan’s lying,” she said. “The first time Monica first came to the apartment, my parents called, and I had to leave Duncan and her alone for a minute. When I came back, I caught ‘em doing some foot fetish thing, I’m pretty sure.”

Callie’s smirk morphed into a grin.

“They were embarrassed as fuck!” she said. “I kinda wanted to tease ‘em, just a little, but I let ‘em off the hook. Because that’s what friends do.”

Callie patted a spot on the bed beside her with her right hand. Ada wordlessly obeyed, leaving her chair and sitting down next to her.

“I know you didn’t mean to do what you did,” Callie said, looking Ada square in the eye. “But I need to understand why. So, please, can you tell me everything?”

Ada lost herself in those gorgeous hazel eyes. Even if she had wanted to say no, she wouldn’t have been able to. But, nervous as she was, she wanted to tell Callie the truth, to finally unburden herself.

And so she did.

********

“So you decided to ‘help’ him get the semen sample as a way to make up for accidentally makin’ him your slave?” Callie asked. “That about sum it up?”

Callie noticed Ada’s right hand fidgeting with the right temple of her glasses.

“Well yeah, I figured since I felt … him when he was in my mouth that he would like it, like me, maybe,” Ada replied. “A-and I made sure there was nothing going on between you two before I started playing with him.”

Nothing going on between them? Callie quickly became fixated on what Ada meant by that.

“Made sure how, exactly?” Callie questioned.

She tried as hard as she could to keep the edge out of her voice, but based on the anxious look Ada was giving her, she could tell that her effort wasn’t enough.

“I just asked him,” Ada explained. “He laughed and said it would never happen.”

He laughed? Callie asked herself. Of course he did. It was stupid to think he’d feel the same as me.

She knew that she had been leaning on Duncan throughout the short time that they had known each other. Of course he wouldn’t see someone who couldn’t stand on her own two feet as girlfriend material. The man survived six months in the great outdoors at three inches tall, while she struggled with her petty little problems.

I must seem so useless to him, Callie thought.

“Um, are you okay?” Ada asked.

Callie shook off her self-pity for the time being. There would be time for that later.

Right now, she needed to help Ada.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Callie said. “But listen, don’t sweat the whole slavery thing. Duncan’s right; it wasn’t your fault.”

Ada shot her a quizzical look.

“I know Duncan may seem like he’s got his shit together when you first meet him, but he’s actually, like, a serious mess,” Callie explained. “At first, I thought he was just too macho to admit it or ask for help, but lately I’ve started thinkin’ that maybe he doesn’t know just how messed up he is or how much help he needs.”

Her thoughts started to drift, leading to an uncomfortable silence between the two girls.

“Oh, um, what I was tryin’ to say is that Duncan bein’ so paranoid of you wasn’t because of anything you did; that’s just the way he is right now,” Callie said. “And I don’t blame you for tryin’ to make a move on him, either, but maybe next time say something to whoever you try that stuff with.”

Ada’s eyes went wide.

“They never ask first on Porn Hub,” she said innocently.

Callie opened her mouth to say … something in response, but a giggle came out instead. The laughter was contagious, as it infected Ada as well. Soon the two girls were both lying on the bed, facing each other and holding their stomachs from the overabundance of much-needed laughter for the both of them.

“Hey, I’ve been afraid to ask, but is Duncan alright?” Ada asked once the laughter died down. “I’m assuming that I couldn’t have hurt him too badly if you haven’t said anything by now.”

Callie furled her brow in confusion.

“What?” she asked.

Ada continued on as if she hadn’t heard the question.

“I thought I was being so careful, too,” she said. “I still don’t even know what I hurt on him, but it wasn’t too bad, right?”

It was then that Callie realized that Ada hadn’t fully comprehended what had happened.

“Ada, he wasn’t screamin’ because you hurt him,” she began slowly. “He was screamin’ because someone else did that to him … against his will.”

Ada sat up abruptly, a distant look in her eye.

“No,” she said. “That can’t be right. Who … who would do something like that to him?!”

Callie sat up to match Ada.

“His ex, I’m pretty sure,” Callie explained. “The first night he slept in my room, he had a night terror about it, and I was able to figure out what he was dreaming about as I tried to calm him down. And every night since then, he’s had nightmares about it.”

Callie looked away and sighed.

“I’ve been stayin’ up later than him or pretendin’ to go to sleep so I could rub his back and sing to him before they got too bad,” she said. “It calms him down, but I’ve heard him mumble more details each time. What you were doin’ looked a lot like what he was sayin’. That’s why I lost it on you like that.”

Callie looked back at Ada, tears running down the black-haired girl’s cheeks as she stared back at her.

“I … I did that to him?” Ada asked, more to herself than to Callie. “How could I not notice before? He had to be showing signs. I just ...missed them. Oh my God, how could I do that to him?! How could ...How could …”

Ada’s line of self-questioning devolved into wordless sobs. Callie reached out with both arms and pulled the crying girl into her body in a tight hug, Ada taking her glasses off just before her face was buried into the top of Callie’s right breast, partially exposed by the low cut of the taller girl’s stylish yellow shirt.

After a few minutes of tears, the sobbing stopped and Ada raised her head, making direct eye contact with Callie, who chose to ignore the moisture soaking into her shirt for the time being.

“How am I going to work with him now?” Ada asked. “I’m supposed to help him regain his size, and now he thinks I’m some heartless monster.”

A sad smile made its way across Callie’s lips.

“He doesn’t,” she said. “He defended you once he calmed down. Blamed himself for it, actually. He said you’d have stopped if you’d known, but he just, like, froze and couldn’t tell you. Like I said before, messed up and doesn’t even know it.”

Ada put her glasses back on, lip pursed in thought.

“So how do we unmess him up?” she asked. “Can’t we just talk to him about the stuff that’s bothering him, like what his ex did?”

Callie was quick to reject the idea.

“There’s no way,” she said. “He never even told me about it. I probably shouldn’t have told you, honestly, but I figured you should know in case he acts a little off around you for a while. Besides, it’s been eatin’ me up for weeks, and it felt kinda nice lettin’ it out for once.”

Callie couldn’t help but find it a bit cute as Ada’s face scrunched up in frustration.

“Why can’t everyone just say what’s on their mind instead of making us have to figure it out?” Ada asked. “People suck. Oh wait! I didn’t mean you! Or Duncan. Or actual people at all, really. I just—”

Callie interrupted Ada’s rant with a soft chuckle.

“Nah, I’m with ya on that one,” Callie said. “If people could just ask for help when they needed it, life would be lots easier.”

From the excited expression Ada wore, Callie knew that her words had sparked an idea in the other girl’s mind.

“Maybe that’s what we do then,” Ada explained. “If he can’t ask for help, we ask for him. Not the big stuff, since he wants to keep those to himself, but we just start asking when he’s having smaller emotional issues and maybe that will build up to the bigger ones when he’s ready.”

The two girls continued to exchange ideas and plan out ways to help their little friend for the better part of an hour before Callie left the dorm room and started the trek back to her apartment.

********

Duncan continued to stare down at the bucket-sized container at his feet, as he had since moving back to the end table shortly after Callie left.

His initial thought had been to just “produce” the semen sample himself and put the incident with Ada behind him. However, he couldn’t even bring himself to pull his shorts and boxers down. Just the thought of ejaculating was enough to fill him with dread and guilt.

“Hey Duncan!” Callie called out as she quietly stepped into the room.

Duncan waved as he finally looked up from the container. Breaking him from his thoughts was the realization that his giant roommate had made it through the apartment door and down the hall without him hearing or feeling her steps. He was really impressed with how good she was getting at that!

“Whatcha doin’ over there?” Callie asked.

Duncan kept his eyes locked on her large form as she walked over to the end table, finally feeling a slight tremble beneath his feet during his last couple steps.

“I was just trying to get this semen sample out of the way,” he explained. “I didn’t expect you to be back so soon.”

Callie gave him a funny look.

“I’ve been gone for, like, two hours,” she said. “Have you … been standing there this whole time?”

Duncan turned his gaze away from Callie and back to the container.

“Yeah,” he said numbly. “It’s just … I haven’t gotten off since …”

Duncan couldn’t finish the sentence. He couldn’t find it in him to tell anyone about what happened. Pathetic, just like he said before.

“Oh, I see,” Callie responded. “That actually makes a lot of sense.”

It does? Duncan asked himself. How could it make sense to her? How could it make sense to anyone?! Unless she …

“Well, d-do you, uh …” Callie stammered before rushing it out all at once. “Do you want any help?”

Duncan could feel his eyes widening as he turned to her, looking straight ahead in her direction, his gaze level with her denim-covered knee cap.

“Um, don’t worry about it,” Callie said, taking a step back. “It was stupid of me to ask. I don’t know what I wa—”

“Yes.”

Duncan wasn’t sure if it was because he actually wanted the help or because he couldn’t stand to see his friend keep putting herself down like that, but with a single word, he was prepared to face his fear.

“Yeah?” Callie asked. “You sure?”

This time Duncan just nodded without words, unsure if he had the courage to verbalize his answer a second time.

“Okay then,” Callie said, looking even more nervous than before. “Do you wanna take your clothes off, then?”

Without thinking to acknowledge the question, Duncan took off his shirt first. As he let his shorts fall down his legs, he looked up to see Callie watching him with an odd, but not unpleasant smile on her face. He found comfort in that smile as he pushed down his boxer shorts.

“Now here,” she said as she laid her hand next to him, palm side up. “If you still wanna do this, just step into my hand. If not, it’s cool, so don’t worry about that.”

Duncan hesitated at first. After standing there just looking at the inviting palm in front of him for several seconds, he glanced back up to Callie’s face, concerned that his hesitation might have upset or annoyed her or even left her worried that he didn’t trust her. But that comforting smile had never left her face.

He stepped into her hand.

Duncan expected Callie to tell him to lay down, to feel himself squeezed between her fingers and palm like with Ada earlier. Instead, she merely turned her hips and lowered her hand near the top-center of her bed, between her two pillows. She waited patiently as he slowly moved from the hand onto the bedspread.

“Lie down,” she said, her voice picking up a sultry quality.

Duncan did as he was told, lying down on his back with his head situated between the two pillows and his feet pointed toward the foot of the bed. Without warning, Callie jumped onto the bed, landing on her hands and knees directly in front of him, the impact of her landing being enough to throw him slightly into the air and land on his stomach.

“Sorry,” Callie giggled. “I just kinda had to, ya know?”

Before Duncan could turn around, he felt the index and middle fingers of her right hand touch down on his right side. With a nudge, they flipped him onto his back once again. Her head was directly above him, a quaint blend of amusement and concern on her face. He could see the relief on her face as he smiled back at her.

“Go ahead and spread your legs a little,” Callie instructed.

As Duncan did so, she lowered herself onto her stomach, leaving her pretty face hovering just above his nude form, those hazel eyes studying him with eager interest. Looking to either side of it, he could just make out her shins towering skyward, crossed at the ankles and lazily swaying up and down.

“Now, let’s get you warmed up,” Callie said. “And if you wanna stop at any time, I’ll be watchin’, so just try and give me a sign.”

Then, her head dove toward Duncan. She opened her mouth just enough for her tongue to pass her lips. He felt the wet, slick muscle start at his ball sack. She slowly, ever so slowly, dragged the body of her tongue up over his penis, its taste buds massaging his already-hardening shaft, the tip trailing behind to lap at everything one last time.

Callie’s tongue didn’t stop there, however. It slithered across his rock hard abs and over his chest, leaving behind a filmy trail of saliva in its wake. As she tilted her chin up to end the lick, she gently flicked the tip of her tongue over his face. He noticed that the lighter layer of spit pleasantly smelled of wintergreen.

She stared Duncan dead in the eye as her tongue slowly retreated behind those luscious lips of hers. She moaned through her closed mouth, seemingly enjoying his taste. He felt himself getting harder.

“Damn!” Callie said as her eyes trailed down his body, stopping on his erection. “I didn’t think only one lick would do the job. Mind if I get one more in?”

Just one?! Duncan thought in a haze before nodding.

Callie laughed at his reaction, then went in for another taste. This time she led with the tip of her tongue, lightly massaging his balls with light swirls before lapping at his stiffened cock a few times. The tip then jumped to the top of his chest working its way backward at a snail’s pace in a “C” pattern.

She finished the lick by pressing her lips down her tongue to the middle of Duncan’s torso, slightly sucking on his skin. Pulling her head up just a tiny bit, she lifted him off the ground with the suction of her mouth. She moaned again, this time the sound wave reverberated through his body, giving him a sense of pleasure he didn’t know existed.

Callie stopped sucking and let him softly fall back onto the bedspread.

“There,” she said. “I’d say you’re ready now.”

Still in a blissful daze, Duncan felt Callie’s hand slip under him before he saw it. By the time he realized that he was rising, she was already sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding him at chest level in her open palm. He had a perfect view of the cleavage provided by her low-cut shirt.

“Remember,” she said. “If you wanna end this at any time, that’s cool. If you can’t tell me you wanna stop, I’ll be lookin’ for anything, so do what you can to let me know, kay?”

Duncan nodded and braced himself for Callie’s grip to come. But it never did. She left him there, lying entirely against the width of her left palm with room to spare and nothing but open space on either side.

Her right forefinger and thumb came for his manhood next. They gently gripped his hard dick and stroked upward in unison, tugging at it slightly along the way. Even though the pads of her fingers swallowed his member entirely, she used the very tips, just at the base of her fingernails, to give every part of it attention.

Callie repeated this motion a few times, almost reminding Duncan of a skilled master plucking the strings of a harp with pinpoint precision. The feel of the ripples of her fingerprints felt divine on his cock, and the slight pressure from the tugging was an incredible feeling as well.

Then she stopped and pointed at her cleavage.

“If you need something to look at to keep you in the mood, look right here,” Callie said. “It’s okay. I like it.”

The forefinger and thumb returned and began to rub against each other, with his fully erect penis sandwiched in between. Duncan stared at her breasts as they bounced slightly from the movement of her right hand, the narrow ravine between them dancing enticingly to compete for his attention.

But as he could feel himself getting close, he started to think about Kristie once again, her image serving as a mental block that had denied him release for months now. He could feel his breathing starting to become erratic and panic starting to swell within him.

But this time, he didn’t feel paralyzed by fear. As he moaned in pleasure, it wasn’t involuntary this time. With a new sense of determination, he took a couple deep breaths and pushed the thought of his ex from his mind. She wasn’t going to deny him this time. He wouldn’t let her win.

As these thoughts came to mind, he found his eyes rising to meet Callie’s. He found new strength in the warmth they radiated, as well as the hopeful smile her lips were wearing. It was then that another feeling was rising inside his heart.

No, don’t do it to yourself, Duncan, he told himself. Don’t want what you can’t have.

But it was already too late. He already knew that he loved Callie Voss. He had known for a while, but he just couldn’t deny it any longer. And accepting it gave him a feeling he had never truly felt before, and he didn’t know how to handle it, honestly.

In more ways than one.

That moment of clarity brought with it a new intensity to Callie’s every touch as those magical fingertips took Duncan to new levels of rapture. He felt so much closer to her than he had before, emotionally and, certainly, physically, and that connection made every caress of playfully fondling digits against his member so immense, so overwhelming, so incomprehensibly satisfying.

It all quickly became too much for him, and he exploded in what was the longest, most gratifying orgasm of his life.

As the head of his penis leaked more and more cum, Duncan noticed Callie’s thumb and forefinger, the very ones that helped him finally overcome the trauma of his rape, at least for the moment, were holding the small container meant for his semen.

Suddenly, he was filled with shame.

You used her, you selfish fuck, he scolded himself. Even if you could’ve had a shot with her, if she could’ve felt the same way, is this how you wanted to treat her? Fuck you, Duncan!

Duncan turned his head away from Callie as she collected enough of his cum to fill the small marking near the bottom of the container. From the corner of his eye, he could see her expression change from one of happiness to one of concern, concern that he didn’t deserve.

She opened her mouth to speak, but a knock on the apartment door interrupted them.

********

Callie wasn’t sure what happened.

As she walked down the hallway to answer the door, she replayed the last few minutes in her mind. Everything had gone perfectly. Granted, she wasn’t sure if that was exactly what Ada meant when she mentioned helping Duncan with emotional issues, but she really felt like she’d made a breakthrough with him.

There were a couple of moments when Callie thought he was going to wave her off, but he went through with it. So much cum for such a little guy, too. And those faces he made! She had seen some guys make some weird expressions during sex, but his were just so adorable! Her heart almost burst at the look he made when he got off!

But then Duncan’s mood changed. He wouldn’t even look at her. She didn’t know if she did something wrong or if maybe he was regretting letting her help him like that or what if he—

No, Callie told herself as she gripped the knob to the apartment door. I’m just going to shoo away whoever’s at the door, and then I’m gonna sit down and talk this out with him, tell him how I feel, all of it.

She opened the door to find nobody waiting for her. She stuck her head through the doorway and checked in both directions, only finding the empty walkway to either side and the purplish sky from the setting sun straight ahead. Taking a step out to investigate further, her right foot accidentally kicked a white delivery box sitting on the ground in front of her, almost tipping it over.

“What’s this?” Callie asked.

The box was in her hands almost immediately. She was curious what could be inside, as she didn’t remember ordering anything. A quick look at the top of the box confirmed that her memory was right.

It also made her blood run cold.

There was no label or return address there. No postal markings of any kind, in fact. There were just two words written on the box in black marker:

To Duncan

Only three other people in the world knew that Duncan was living with her, and none of them would do this. Monica, Alyssia, and Ada would have all at least said hello before leaving and most likely have stayed to chat for a bit. This couldn’t have been from any of them.

So then who left it there?

Callie stepped back inside the apartment, kicking the door closed with her foot as she didn’t break her stride toward the kitchen table. She set the box down there and went to her room to get Duncan, who, it turned out, also had no idea who could have left the box on their doorstep.

Once they were back in the kitchen, she put him down next to the box.

“Open it,” Duncan said.

Feeling breathless with anxiety, Callie could only nod in response. She cautiously started to peel back the tape holding the box closed. Soon she was able to pry the top flaps of the box open without effort. She looked into the box and gasped.

“What is it?” Duncan asked. “Some of us aren’t tall enough to see.”

At first, Callie couldn’t say anything, his attempt at humor not registering with her. She just stared down into the inside of the box, her eyes trailing down the softly padded walls inside. And there, at the bottom, huddled in the corner furthest from Callie on Duncan’s side, was a feminine figure with black hair, roughly Duncan’s size.

“It’s a girl,” she said to herself as much as to Duncan.

The girl was sitting with her knees fully bent, her arms crossed over them. Her face was buried in them. She was wearing casual clothes, jeans and a t-shirt, but Callie couldn’t tell much else with her curled up like that.

Callie looked over to Duncan, who, despite his shocked face, gave her a reassuring nod to proceed.

“Miss?” she called down. “You okay?”

Callie could only hear whimpers in response. The girl didn’t otherwise acknowledge her.

“Do you want me to get you out of there?” Callie asked as sweetly as she could. “You’re gonna be okay. Promise.”

She started to reach into the box, and the tiny girl’s reaction was immediate. The girl started screaming and kicking her feet wildly at the ground, trying to back her way through the corner, it would seem. Callie quickly pulled her hand out.

“Sorry!” Callie said, cringing. “I’ll try to find another way to get you out.”

Duncan waved to get her attention. The two of them spent the next few minutes brainstorming ideas until they finally came up with one they both liked.

“Uh, miss?” Callie said. “I don’t know if you heard any of that, but we’re gonna tip the box on its side so you can get out on your own. You don’t even have to move; I’ll just tip it your way. You okay with that?”

The girl didn’t speak but nodded, still hiding her face in her arms as she sobbed.

Callie slowly started tipping the box toward Duncan. Even though Callie was trying to be gentle, the girl did tumble a little as the wall to her back started to become her new floor. Once the box was tipped, Callie looked to Duncan, who was waiting to greet their new guest.

“Wha—” he said as the girl stepped out of the box and onto the table.

Getting her first look at the girl’s face, Callie noticed that she was striking. Those almond eyes were gorgeous and complimented her Korean features quite beautifully. The girl took a step toward Duncan, who took a step back to match. The look on his face was a blend of surprise and horror.

Callie was going to ask him what was wrong, but that became abundantly clear when he uttered a single word.

“Kristie?”