“How was dinner?” Jade asked Todd, her powerful voice carrying all the way from her lips down to Todd.
Todd smiled up at her, raising his glass of iced water up to her. She in turn raised her own as they ate their pasta, Jade’s noodles being much larger than his miniature ones.
Miniature was relative and in this case, Todd was five feet and nine inches tall. It was Jade who was out of place and Todd knew it, her two hundred and twenty foot tall body making her stand out from the rest of the student population.
The world too, she and her mother were the only known giants. Jade had assured him she was still human but background was shrouded in mystery. Her mother was supposedly a government experiment who escaped and eventually fell in love with Jade’s father, an heir to a multi-billion dollar empire.
As for the two of them,Todd had met her on his first day at school, stopping him from being beaten up by three jocks. That part was easy as all three were pinned under her expansive palm and made to swear they would never lay a hand on him again or she’d dish out ‘Jade’s Justice’. Her school mates had dubbed it that, some of those less fond of her had called her Judge Jade because of the power she wielded. Teachers turned a blind eye to it and Todd knew why; she brought order to an unruly group of rich brats and that made their jobs much easier.
Even so, Todd had seen a more tender side to her. Her teak coloured eyes were often expressionless, but they seemed to twinkle and dance when they were alone together. Her chestnut hair, smooth and usually tied up in a ponytail were now draped across her shoulders. Todd could smell the rose scent of her shampoo, it's heady aroma only enhancing her beauty.
Jade had become his best friend over the last two years, the pair confiding in each other. Todd thought she was several types of awesome. Jade thought he was too. He thought she was cultured, intelligent and mature beyond her years while she liked Todd’s frankness when they conversed and a healthy work ethic she found lacking in many of her peers.
“It was wonderful,”he replied. Jade smiled back, although it was hesitant and Todd could not shake the feeling she was hiding something. Todd had noticed this over the last month where she seemed subdued, weighed down by something. Todd would often press on but it was clear something was on her mind.
“Thank you, I’ll pass your compliments to Gustav.” Jade spoke in her regal British accent, as taught to her by the same etiquette coach Kate got before marriage her to William. Todd found it odd at first, even snobbish for choosing to speak in such a manner that distinguished her from the other kids but such misunderstandings were washed away as their friendship grew.
“You er, look really beautiful today. Another big awards ceremony to go to after this?” Todd couldn’t help but notice Jade’s dress, a cleavage baring lavender number which went down to her mid-thighs. Todd found it out of character for her, Jade rarely dressed to bare. She wore jeans, long sleeved and even a jumper when winter came.
Todd remembered seeing her in a swimsuit once, on his first visit to her house. She came out of her pool, water dripping off her body covered in just a one piece suit which complemented her curves.
Todd couldn’t keep his eyes off her as she towel dried herself, his brain turned to mush.
She wasn’t as busty as her voluptuous mother but she had enough curves to set a man’s imagination alight. She worked out, enough to maintain a toned figure.
Right now he found himself staring at her chest as she pressed her arms together, making her cleavage pop. He hoped she didn’t catch him staring, it’s generally considered rude to stare at your female friend’s boobs.
“Hardly, the Golden Globes aren’t for another six months. This is for tonight, before you go off to college and...see the world,” Jade with a sense of resignation.
“I’ve seen plenty, thanks to you. Thanks for the invites, the um chance to meet with movie stars. I never thought I’d meet Jennifer Lawrence in person, she’s so funny.”
Jade chuckled, “Indeed she is.”
Her lips pursed together, a knot in her stomach tightening.
“She’s quite the woman. I heard she found you cute,”
“Oh that’s not true,” Todd’s face grew as red as a beet.
“She told me over coffee a couple of weeks after, but...you seemed taken. Are you taken Todd?” Jade folded her arms and leaned in invitingly, her eyes brimming with curiosity.
“Still as single as ever, you would be the first to know if I had a date.”
Todd felt the flapping of butterflies in his stomach, Jade had been asking these questions with increasing frequency as the date of his departure grew closer.
“Ah,” Jade noted , breathing a sigh of relief.
Todd didn’t find it odd but as they chatted, he noticed Jade’s prominent cleavage shifting and jiggling as she became more animated, the topic being the first time they met. Jade thought it was admirable that Todd fought back and Todd said it was nothing compared to her squashing them under her palm. Not literally, they were alive but as Jade pointed out, pinning them down required minimal effort on her part.
“I bet you’ll be popular on campus, you’re such a charming little man,” Jade cooed.
The butterflies grew more restless, rattling Todd’s gut. His face became flushed with colour, Jade always knew the right words to say. She could lift his spirits with a mere compliment, enrapture him with her gigawatt smile.
“I am not the type to fall for any old girl. I have very specific taste in women,” Todd said. Jade chuckled, her laugh controlled yet oddly, it still came across as sincere.
“Oooh, what exactly do you look for?” Jade pressed, her heart fluttering. He could be so cute at times.
“Do you mind a taller girl?” Jade asked.
Todd shook his head, “If she’s fine dating a guy who would make her look like a giant then fine,”
He shrugged his shoulders, “ Height is just a number after all.Like weight,”
"Uh-huh,” Jade agreed.
“I see, and do you mind a wealthy girl?”
“That would be the dre-” Todd cut himself off as he watched Jade’s smile grow wider.
“Oh don’t stop,” Jade urged him but he had figured it out. This dinner, the hesitancy which gatecrashed their conversations whenever they talked about him going to college.
“I see…” Todd looked around, it was all so clear now.
“Oh goodness, Jade I didn’t or really I didn’t expect you to….uh...to like me,” Todd said,tapping his foot against the ground.
“Todd, you’re a really smart boy but sometimes, you can be so thick,” she huffed although she felt more jittery than actual rage.
Jade moved her plate out of the way and let her upper body rest on the table, the wood creaking and groaning as her weight came down on it.
"I’ve been dropping hints ever since the movie premiere. Dropping you off, sending you little gifts. The evenings we spent studying, having dinner and relaxing on the couch, it’s made me realise how I truly feel about you. About us.
"You’re going to college while my life as an heiress will take me in a completely different direction. I don’t want us to drift apart as we enter our twenties. I like you as a friend but I want to be more than that.
"And I’ve caught you staring at my butt whenever I bend over,” Jade said as Todd coughed and then awkwardly tried to avoid her eyes.
“But it’s okay, I mean it was kind of the point. To see if you liked me, it was obvious.The only way it could be more obvious is if your eyes popped ten feet out like a Looney Tunes character.”
“W-what?” Todd gasped, incredulous Jade had planned it all. He knew Jade was meticulous, he’d watch her plan their outings together but this was another level altogether.
“That’s impossible!” He gasped.
“Not every moment but some of the more….seductive ones were premeditated. If I bent over for more than ten second then yeah, it was deliberate.”
Jade tittered nervously, Todd feeling the tension rise above his ears.
“ I-uh...so...um..I have felt similarly about you,” he gestured while scratching the back of his head.
“ I just didn’t think you would feel the same way.” Todd felt a hard lump in his throat as he said those words. True, he had thought of Jade romantically but there were...obvious obstacles. Like wealth and status, he had surmised she would prefer a man who could at least keep up with her.
“I thought you may prefer someone more like you.”
Jade giggled, as if it were a joke. “Silly boy, I doubt I would go for someone like me. We’d be related and if a giant man ever showed up, hooking up would be the last thought on my head.”
“I don’t mean height, I mean things like wealth and-”
Jade didn’t let him finish, she plucked him from his seat and brought him upwards, her python-like fingers coiled around his body save for his head.
Todd immediately shut up, thinking he was done for. Jade however, did not bring him to eye level but to her lips where her plush pink lips planted a kiss on the top of his head. She did not stop at one, repeating it several times.
“I don’t care for wealth and status without the right attitude. The proper morals, what good is money if you misuse it?”
She kissed him again, her sofa sized lips pressing slightly harder on his head.
“Sorry, I’ve waited a while for this,” she said with guilt in her eyes.
Todd looked up, Jade seemed to pause as if waiting for his reaction.
He wanted to laugh at how stupid he had been, then cry for how close he came to passing this up. His eyes watered, then he chuckled.
“I-I love you Jade Eriks, lucky you didn’t say smart because this was a real stupid thing I did.”
“Heh,” she said as she stood up, letting Todd stand on her open palm.He ran his hand through his hair and found it damp, coated in a thin sheen of Jade’s saliva. Jade noticed it, although she was not embarrassed by the deposit she made.
“I think you’ll need a change of clothes by the time we’re done,” she licked her lips mischievously.
“Er….that’s a little quick for me-”
“Fret not little man, I don’t mean all the way.Not so soon but there’s plenty of things I want to do before you leave.”
“What do you h-have in mind?” Todd asked, heart racing.
“That is a secret,” Jade replied as she pressed her finger to her lips.
“But when I’m done, you’ll never want to be a girl your size again.”