New Dawn for Drew by BeegBoy Ms. Barrymore learns the facts, courtesy of Ms. Shields Brooke crossed the living room of her pricey, California condominium in response to the pleasant chimes of the doorbell. Her eyes brightened and her lips turned upwards in a delighted smile as she opened the door to find Drew standing in the hallway. "What's up, girl?" Brooke chirped as she motioned her visitor inside. "Same shit, different day," Drew sighed as she strode over and plopped down on the couch. Her comment was, of course, about another day on the set of her new movie, "Charlie's Angels". Drew was glad to be working on such a high-profile production, but part of her envied Brooke, who was taking an extended period of rest and relaxation following the cancellation of her TV show. "Why so glum, Drewsy?" the statuesque actress inquired, "Hectic day at work? Are they making you do your own stunts?" Brooke added with a friendly giggle. "Very funny, stretch!" Drew answered with a sneer. "It must be great to work hard at doing nothing all day!" "It's not so great," Brooke protested, "I'm so very, very bored and restless!" "Bored and restless!" Drew repeated with a cackle, "Bored and restless in a high-rise condo on the beach, with a glorious ocean view, and nothing to do all day but nothing!" "Maybe I should be a "Charlie's Angel" and you should lay around here all day!" Brooke suggested with a laugh. "Works for me!" Drew agreed whimsically, "I'm a couch-potato by nature anyway!" "Is the new flick really that much of a hassle?" Brooke asked in a more serious tone, sensing Drew really was bothered about something. "No, the shoot is going fine, I guess," Drew acknowledged, "but I just feel sort of, sort of........" "Sort of what?" the other girl questioned. "Well, sort of out of place!" Drew finally conceded. "Out of place how?" Brooke asked with a curious expression on her face. "It's just that Cameron and Lucy are so lean and trim, even a little on the buff side. Hell, Brooke, you would fit in far better than me to complete the threesome!" Drew's point was valid. She was noticeably shorter than her two fellow "Angels", and also noticeably "fuller in figure" to use a polite term. If someone wanted to assemble a trio of female crime fighters, Brooke would be the logical choice over Drew. "No way, Drew!" Brooke protested, seeking to comfort her friend but also help her see the true reason she was chosen. "You're a beautiful woman, and the producers wanted you for variety and contrast." "Variety and contrast?" Drew sneered, "As in the token fat chick?!" "Don't talk that way!" Brooke ordered. "You're not fat, you're just soft and curvy in all the right places, and lots of guys like that! In fact, that's the whole point!" "What's the whole point?" Drew shrugged, clearly confused. "Lots of guys like lean and buff, that's true," Brooke explained, "but lots of guys also like round and jiggly. Cameron and Lucy are the hard, sinewy angels, and you're the soft, comely one. There's nothing at all wrong with that, Drew, it makes you perfect for the part!" "Yeah, that's right!" Drew agreed, her mood lifting, "I never thought of it that way." "If I was the third angel we'd virtually be triplets!" Brooke concluded, "The way it is now you're the one who actually stands out the most!" "You're right, oh tall one!" Drew squealed, "I'm the unique one!" "That's exactly it!" Brooke said, "and also the 'deceptive' one!" "Deceptive one?" Drew asked, the confused look returning. "Yes, the deceptive one," Brooke explained, "moviegoers will expect to see Cameron and Lucy kick-ass, but they'll love it when a sweet little couch-tater like you does it too! You'll be a heroine to average girls everywhere!" "Yeah, I guess so...," Drew mulled, a tone of doubt returning to her voice, "I just hope it doesn't look fake and silly." "What are you afraid will look fake?" Brooke asked. "You know, the fight scenes," Drew replied. "Lucy and Cameron have all those high-kick moves and are very limber. I guess I'm concerned the image of me fighting will be laughable, especially in the mixed fighting scenes." "I don't understand? What do you mean?" Brooke queried. "Well, I mean that without something like karate how could I ever hope to make it look as if I'm actually holding my own against a man just by using my physical strength?" "I still don't quite follow what you mean, Drew." Brooke mused. "You know what I mean, Brooke, men are so much bigger......," Drew began. "Yes," Brooke agreed. ".....and stronger than women are, and......." "Hold it, hold it!!" Brooke interrupted. "Where did you get the impression men are stronger than women?" "Don't be silly!" Drew countered, "Sure, you're tall and super-fit, so you probably could hold your own against certain guys, but I'm talking about non-athletic softies like me! I'm just not buff like you, or like Cameron and Lucy for that matter!" "No, no, stop!" Brooke instructed, "you're confusing the issue. Do you wish you were buff to look good, or to be stronger?" "Actually," Drew admitted, "I like the way I look now, I like being soft and curvy, I guess I just wish I was stronger." "Yes, but stronger that who?" Brooke challenged, "Sure, it's true that I'm stronger than you, and maybe Cameron and Lucy are too, but, Drew, where did you ever get the idea than a man is stronger than you?" "Huh?" Drew stammered, clearly bewildered. Then a cynical, suspicious expression appeared on her pretty face. "Brooke, are you messing with my head!?" "My God, you really don't know.........," Brooke's voice trailed off as the wheels in her mind started turning. "Don't know what? What nonsense are you talking about?" Drew demanded of her friend. "Drewsy, girl, you need a reality check!" Brooke announced as she returned from the recesses of her brain, "and so does a certain guy I know. Your timing is perfect girlfriend, school is now in session!" "What are you talking about?" Drew asked as Brooke led her into the kitchen. Brooke opened the pantry door as she asked Drew, "Chunky or creamy?" "Huh?" Drew responded, still pondering her friend's 'class in session' comment. "I asked chunky or creamy!" Brooke repeated as she took two jars of peanut butter from the pantry shelf, "which do you prefer?" "Uh...creamy, I guess," Drew muttered, "and grape jam, uh, if that matters." "Nope, it doesn't!" Brooke chirped, "This is learning time, not lunch time." She handed the jar of creamy peanut butter to Drew and placed the other one back in the pantry. Drew looked at the jar, looked at Brooke, and shrugged. "Well.....?" "Open it!" Brooke commanded. "What?!" "I said open it!" Drew sighed, shrugged again and gripped the lid with her right hand. Her face contorted slightly in strain as the jar initially resisted her efforts, then yielded. A low, scraping noise broke the silence as she turned the lid and removed it. She sniffed the contents. "Yup, that's peanut butter alright, Brooke! Do I get my degree now?!" Drew laughed sarcastically. "Now close it!" Brooke snapped, "Close it as tightly as you can!" "So the peanut butter can't escape?" Drew mocked, "or so the jam can't get in?" "Just do it, Drewsy," Brooke smirked as she crossed her arms over her breasts, "one step at a time." Perplexed and confused, Drew rolled her eyes and replaced the lid on the jar, then she twisted it closed it tightly. "As tightly as you can!" Brooke directed. Drew began to speak but decided not to bother. She grunted as she gave the jar an extra twist with a considerable degree of effort. "Now, give it back to me, please." Brooke requested, holding out her hand. Drew handed the jar back to her friend with a suspicious 'what now?' look. Brooke gripped the lid and opened the jar. Her eyes widened slightly at the degree of force it required, though she managed to twist the lid free without much effort. "Not too shabby, Drewsy, not too shabby at all!" Brooke stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "O....K....," Drew said slowly in a light tone, "So, now I've shown you I know what peanut butter smells like and that I know how to open and close a jar......so where exactly are these talents in demand?" "Try this!" Brooke said, ignoring Drew's comments. As she spoke, Brooke tightened the jar lid and handed the peanut butter back to Drew. "This is silly!" Drew protested, "I'm not as strong as you!" "I didn't say you were!" was the reply, "I just wanna see how strong you are!" Drew growled as she grabbed the lid and tried opening the jar for a second time. As she suspected, Brooke had tightened it considerably and the lid remained stubbornly in place. She gripped tighter and made a second attempt, an audible "ummph" escaping her throat as the lid relented and she twisted the top open. "Excellent! Excellent!" Brooke cried, clapping her hands lightly, "Now close it again!" "What?!" Drew protested. "Trust me on this, you'll love it!" Brooke pleaded, "Close it again, but this time just make it snug, don't use all of your strength!" Again Drew started to say something and again she decided there was no point in it. She gripped the lid and, holding the edges with just her fingertips, closed the jar with a moderate amount of force. As she held the jar out to Brooke, the front door bell rang. "Perfect timing!" Brooke squealed happily. She refused Drew's offer of the jar with her open palm. "Who's that?" Drew asked. "That is your fellow pupil, Drewsy!" Brooke laughed as she exited the kitchen. "As I said, school is in session! Follow me girlfriend, and bring that jar with you!" Drew laughed and shook her head as she followed her hostess to the front door. As she gripped the doorknob Brooke closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and shuddered slightly as if bracing herself for an unpleasant experience. The grimace on her lips lapsed into a phoney smile as her eyes, and the door, opened. There, standing in the doorway was Brooke's "friendly" neighbor, with a name that was not to be believed. "Well, hellloooo, pretty tall one!" he greeted in a ludicrous tone he probably thought sounded suave but was hopelessly dime-store Romeo, "Is this the night you claim your prize of having dinner with me??" "I think not, Grandeo" Brooke sighed, "much as it breaks my heart to refuse you again, but as you can see I have a guest." Brooke motioned towards Drew and Grandeo's sleazy grin widened. Well, well....and heellllloooo pretty petite one!" he addressed Drew, causing a fresh crop of goose-pimples to break out on her back and neck, "Why don't I just take both you pretty ladies to dinner!" Drew remembered that Brooke had mentioned this character to her on a previous occasion. Grandeo (geez, was that name for real?!?) was a wanna-be-an-actor who spent his days going on countless, fruitless casting calls and, in general, pestering Brooke (among other ladies) to go on a date with him. The man had no visible means of support. He didn't work and his acting "talent" hadn't landed him anything in two years other than a single, non-speaking part in a grade Z biker film, where he was listed in the closing credits as "greaser number seven". Clearly, his family had money and was generous with it, allowing him to occupy a unit in the luxury building, much to the chagrin of Brooke and any other young, attractive female who lived there. To his credit, the man did appear to stay in shape. He was solid and muscular, standing 6'3" and tipping the scales at 220 lbs. Even Brooke's 6'1" looked somewhat small in comparison, and Drew appeared downright diminutive. His hair was thick and dark, but also looked unattractively greasy. Overall, in his designer jeans and skin-tight t-shirt, Grandeo looked like a young, seedy version of Jay Leno. Drew looked at Brooke and silently mouthed the question, "Grandeo?" trying her best not to snicker. Brooke's expression in return confirmed that it was indeed the guy's name, or at least the only given name he went by. Drew was about to ask his last name, then decided she really didn't want to know. All things being equal, it was probably something equally stupid, like Testosteroni or Steroidski. "Actually, Grandeo, you could help us poor, weak little girls out with something," Brooke cooed. "Show me the dragon you want slain!" he commanded, "Grandeo is at your beck and call!" "Well, Drew and I were about to have a snack....," Brooke began as she led him into the apartment, "but we can't get this darn jar of peanut butter open!" she concluded as she took the jar from Drew's hand and offered it to the man. The trio were now standing in the living room behind the couch. "You see, you see!" Grandeo gleamed, "This is why you pretty ladies need us so much!" Drew shot Brooke a perplexed, questioning glance and this time it was the later's turn to silently mouth the words, "watch and learn" in response. "High in protein, but in fat also!" Grandeo lectured as he gripped the lid, "There are better things for two pretty ladies like yourselves to eat!" With a wry smile he gave the lid a moderate twist, all the better to demonstrate how easily a powerful man like himself could so easily perform this task and gain the ladies' glowing admiration. All of these things he envisioned were momentarily postponed when the lid on the jar refused to cooperate. He looked at the lid to confirm it's failure to change position, cocked his head, shrugged slightly and gripped it tighter. Brooke and Drew watched quietly with petite smiles as Grandeo tried a second time to loosed the jar top. This effort had the man noticeably increasing the degree of strength he put forth, to the point that a slight grimace appeared on his face. The second round concluded with a score of lid: 2, Grandeo: 0. "Problem, Grandeo?" Brooke inquired sweetly. "Uh, just a bit of a challenge....," he began sheepishly, but then concluded in a confident roar, "but Grandeo loves a challenge!!" "Great, I'll be right back!" Brooke replied, and seeing that Drew was about to say something, added, "Drew, let's go into the kitchen and get some plates and utensils." She grabbed Drew by the wrist and pulled her along even as the smaller girl was gesturing towards the jar Grande was holding. "What's with the jar, what's that all about?" Drew asked in a whisper. Brooke ignored the confused girl and kept moving, not stopping until she had pulled Drew back into the kitchen. Only then did she release her friend and reply. "There's nothing 'with' the jar Drewsy!" Brooke laughed, "As I said, class is in session!" "But what did you do to that jar? I mean, it looks like he can't open it!" "I didn't do a thing!" Brooke proclaimed, "You were the one holding it. I only had it for the second it took me to hand it to him - and I didn't touch the lid at all! In fact, the last person to close that jar was you!!" "That's crazy!" Drew protested, "If that's the case, why didn't he just open it?" "Because he can't!" Brooke chirped, "Because he isn't strong enough! Come here and look!" Brooke led Drew over near the kitchen door to a position where they could observe Grandeo through the gap on the hinge side, but he couldn't see them. What they beheld delighted Brooke but continued to confuse Drew. Believing himself alone and unseen, Grandeo was now applying all the strength he could muster in another vain attempt to loosen the stubborn jar lid. He was doubled-over, his face beet-red with beads of sweat dripping off his forehead and his teeth firmly clenched. His biceps swelled and the veins in them popped up prominently as he gripped the lid and closed his eyes. He drew a deep breath and a growling "urrgggh!" loud enough for the girls to hear in the kitchen escaped his throat as he gave the lid his absolute best effort. The strain of his action nearly caused him to lose his balance and he staggered as his strength ebbed and his muscles relaxed. The score: lid 3, Grandeo 0. The series was a shutout. "What did you do, Brooke?" Drew asked in a low, amused tone, "Put some crazy glue on the damned thing?!" "Not at all, my friend, not at all!" the other replied, "The only thing holding that lid in place is the force you tightened it with!" Before Drew could say anything else Brooke starting walking back towards the living room, and Drew naturally followed her. "How we doing?" Brooke called cheerfully to Grandeo as she approached him and looked at the jar of peanut butter he was holding with a questioning expression on her pretty face. "This is quite a challenge!" Grandeo gasped. His complexion was returning to normal but he was still sweating and short of breath. He was sufficiently embarrassed so as not to notice the women had returned without the dinnerware utensils they had gone to retrieve. "I'll just rest a moment and try again......" "Oh don't bother!" Brooke interrupted as she swiftly grabbed the jar from his hand, "We'll just have chunky instead of creamy. Here, Drew, put this back in the pantry and get the other jar," Brooke continued as she handed the jar to the smaller girl, "I know you wanted creamy but he can't get it open, so chunky it is, unless you think you can get it open, that is!" "Huh?" asked Drew. "Huh?" said Grandeo. "Yeah, give it a shot and show this guy what 'girl power' is!" Brooke said in a light voice, implying that she was only joking (though of course she wasn't). "Oh, what a silly pair you are!" Grandeo exclaimed, realizing what his neighbor had said was in jest (or at least he hoped it was). "Oh, sure, right!" Drew smirked as she gripped the lid, "All I have to do is twist it like.......," Drew stopped mid-sentence as the lid spun loose in her small hand and she lifted it off the jar. The aroma of roasted peanuts enticed her nostrils. The score: Drew: 1, lid: 0. "Well, I'll be!" Brooke gasped in exaggerated surprise, "Golly, Grandeo, I thought you were strong, what's the story?" Grandeo didn't answer, he was just standing there, dumbfounded and silent and staring at the petite girl holding the open jar. A girl who was a foot shorter than he and at least 90 lbs. lighter. "Grandeo, are you here?" Brooke tittered, attracting his attention. "Well, I, uh, well I, I loosened it for her, that's it!" Grandeo said in a shaky voice, knowing it hadn't felt any looser when Brooke took it from him. "I dunno," Brooke teased doubtfully, "that's not how it looked to me!" "I did it!" Drew chirped in surprise and disbelief, "I actually did it! But how did I do it, Brooke, how?" "No! NO! I loosened it!" Grandeo insisted. "I'm still not so sure, Grandeo!" Brooke challenged, "So let's test this out. Drew, close the jar and tighten it." "This is silly, he must have loosened it for me!" Drew protested, but then her eyes locked with Brooke's and she read the "GO FOR IT" message in her friend's gaze. She looked towards Grandeo with a devilish grin and replaced the lid. Gripping it again with just her finger tips, Drew tightened the jar top with a firm twist using more strength than she had the first time, but still not nearly all the strength she had. Still smiling, she handed the jar back to Grandeo and whispered coyly, "Here, loosen it for me again, please!" Grandeo snickered nervously as he gripped the lid with a cheesy, uncertain grin on his face. His eyes raced back and force between Brooke and Drew, and his confidence was further unhinged as he viewed the sincere, inquisitive expressions on their faces but sensed the smug, mocking attitudes underneath. He tried for a fourth time to loosen and remove the lid from the jar. This attempt was the most challenging of all, since he had to give it his all out best effort without appearing to strain to the degree he had before. He was all too well aware the women were standing there watching him (and still unaware they had spied on his third previous failure), so his ego was on the line. He not only had to get the damned thing open - he also had to make it look easy. Brooke and Drew again exchanged glances as the man struggled with the task before him. Drew still looked somewhat bewildered but Brooke silently responded with a confident, knowing grin. Drew also began to smile as the truth of the situation became clear and evident to her. She returned her gaze to the hapless Grandeo, still smiling sweetly as she absentmindedly reached up with her left arm and felt the soft, but sizable, biceps in her right one. His body trembled as Grandeo struggled against the lid but it still refused to cooperate. He stood firmly erect, determined that the two females would not see him double over in his effort. If a petite, soft girl like Drew had opened the jar so casually, and just as casually tightened it, he could not concede to them (or himself?) that he found the task a greater challenge than she had. His trembling increased as Grandeo visibly clenched his teeth and the veins in his arms stood out prominently. Beads of sweat again rolled down his face and a loud grunt erupted from his throat despite his attempts to contain it. Finally, he succumbed to the inevitable and bent over to make one final effort to loosen the lid; and effort that failed nonetheless. The score: lid 4, Grandeo 0. He removed his hand from the lid as he stood up with an embarrassed, downtrodden look on his face. He looked at the two women and shrugged, then he looked back at the jar he was still holding. "How....?" he stammered as he gasped for air, "How?" "Like this, Grandeo!" Drew chirped as she grabbed the jar from his large hand and again gripped the lid with only the fingertips of her small hand, "Just like this!" She gave a moderate twist and the lid spun open. Grandeo's eyes watched in shock as she lifted the lid off with a grin and a giggle. The score standings were now: Lid: 4, Grandeo: 0, and Drew: 2, lid: 0 (or, in even more humiliating terms: Drew: 2, Grandeo: 0! "Yup, just like that!" Brooke agreed merrily. "I mean, it isn't really that hard!" Drew stated, "Or at least it wasn't that hard for me.....do you work out Grandeo?" Grandeo's face flinched at Drew's words as if she had physically slapped him. "Ridiculous!!" he protested, though his voice was clearly shaky, "I'm in tremendous condition! This is some sort of trick, it must be!" Brooke and Drew both gazed at him with wry smiles, and this actually served to encourage Grandeo, at least momentarily. He misread their expressions, taking their grins and gazes as confirmation they had indeed played a trick on him. "So how, how did you tricky little foxes pull this off?!" Grandeo inquired as his doubts faded and he reverted to his former, quite insufferable self. "Well, OK, Grandeo, you're right, it is a trick!" Drew confessed falsely, "Come closer and I'll show you how we did it." As she spoke, Drew leaned back slightly and rested her butt on the back of the sofa, which was immediately behind her. Grandeo approached her with an inquisitive look on his face, fully expecting her to somehow demonstrate how the "trick" had been performed. "So, my pretty, petite one, tell Grandeo how you so cleverly fooled him," he asked in his best suave tone (which was dreadful), "show me how you did it." "Actually there is no trick, Grandeo," Drew confessed as the man stood close to her. She placed the lid on the jar and handed it off to Brooke, then placed her hands on her hips as she continued, "I'm afraid the only "trick" is that you're something of a wimp, Grandeo, and this petite, soft little girl is stronger than you are, a whole lot stronger!" As she finished speaking, Drew lifted her right leg and wrapped it around Grandeo's thighs, a few inches below his ass. She curled her leg until the heel of her foot touched her left leg, then she tightened her hold on the man, who had been caught completely off guard by her action. Her leg was low enough around his thighs to keep them pinned together firmly, rendering his legs essentially immobile and useless. As soon as he felt the pressure on his body, Grandeo's hands moved swiftly to grasp Drew's leg, but not swiftly enough. "What...what is this!" he demanded, the shaky, uncertain tone in his voice returning. "It's just a further demonstration of my physical superiority!" Drew cooed in the trapped man's face. "I must agree!" Brooke interjected, "It appears she really has a leg up on you!" Both women burst out in laughter at the lame joke. Grandeo pushed at Drew's soft thighs with his powerful arms but was perplexed by his total inability to free himself. The girl's flesh was soft and yielded to his fingers, but the limb itself did not. True, his hands detected an underlining firmness in the leg that held him captive, but it was still unbelievably strong. How could anything so soft and pliable possibly be so damned strong?? "If that's the best you can do," Drew sneered at his failed efforts to dislodge her leg, "you're going to be here a long, long time!" "Maybe you should consider a new name," Brooke suggested to the struggling man, "after all, based on what I'm observing here you're hardly a Grandeo. Perhaps something like 'Medioco' would be a bit more appropriate!" Realizing his arms alone were simply no match for the incredible power of Drew's leg, Grandeo began trying to force his thighs apart, actually pitting both his arms and legs against the small girl's single limb. He groaned when it soon became obvious it was still no contest - all the strength he could gather and concentrate against Drew with his entire body was matched and then out-matched by the leg she had wrapped around him. "Actually, Brooke," Drew sighed, "I think Medioco is far too generous for this pathetic specimen. Maybe 'Punito' or 'Wimpini' would fit him better." "Dammit, let me go!" Grandeo snarled as he renewed his vain struggles; his actions responding both to his embarrassing entrapment and the verbal insults be hailed upon him. Drew felt a very slight increase in the degree of force he was applying against her. It was still far to little to actually challenge her, but she nonetheless eased up on the pressure she was exerting. Feeling her leg yield, Grandeo triumphantly rammed his hands in between his thighs and her leg, attempting to force it away and free himself. The moment he did this, Drew retightened her hold and trapped the man in an inescapable grip with his arms pinned to his sides, trapped between his own thighs and the single leg Drew had around him. "Look Grandeo, no hands!" she laughed as she took her hands off her hips and waved them before him. Drew was hysterical with new found power, and even Brooke was impressed. Her 'student' had exceeded all her expectations, completely overpowering the much larger man's entire body using only her leg. Drew smiled contentedly and her eyes half-closed in a dreamy expression as she clasped her hands behind her neck and assumed a position that made her appear completely at rest. She was in fact very relaxed, the degree of resistance Grandeo applied against her soft but powerful leg now hardly registered at all. The struggle was so obviously one-sided that she soon found it getting boring, so much so that she decided to experiment a little and try a new tactic. She abruptly dropped her right leg, freeing her male prisoner, but just as swiftly she brought her arms forward and grabbed each of Grandeo's arms just above the elbows. Pressing her arms inward, Drew pinned his arms against his sides and held them there as easily as her leg had. The muscular man strained to push his arms outward, and Drew allowed him an inch or two before her small, soft hands forced his arms back into place. The score now stood at Drew: 4, Grandeo: 0. "Oh, really!" she teased Grandeo, "If you arms and legs together couldn't overpower one of my legs, what makes you think your arms have any chance against mine in a direct one-on-one test of strength?" "No, no!" he groaned and gasped, "this just isn't possible!" "Then it's one hell of an optical illusion!" Brooke laughed. Still maintaining her inward pressure, Drew slid her arms up slightly higher on Grandeo's muscular arms. Her eyes widened a little as she was truly impressed by how large and rock-solid the man's biceps were, even though her arms were evidently far, far stronger. "You know what, Brooke," she mused, "I think I've figured this own strength thing out." "How's that?" the other woman asked. "Well, my biceps are fair-sized and a little soft, but they're also very flexible and pliable, which makes them adaptable for a variety of uses, like pinning Mr. Muscles arms here." "Sounds logical to me!" Brooke agreed, "What do you thing, Grandeo?" The struggling man made no reply. He felt his strength waning and chose to remain silent in his humiliation. "Whereas his muscles are much larger than mine, and also much, much harder than mine," Drew continued, "but they're also no match for mine, size and density notwithstanding....wait....that's it! That's why his big muscles are so hard!!" "Why?" Brooke asked, genuinely curious, "Why??" "His muscles are hard because they're stale!! Just like old, stale bread - rock hard but useless! Soft, fresh muscles like mine have it all over hard, stale muscles like this puny loser has!" "I never thought of it that way!" Brooke responded, intrigued by Drew's newly formulated theory, "But it makes as much sense as anything else!" With a sudden, hearty laugh, Drew tossed Grandeo up into the air about four feet. His freedom from her powerful, inescapable embrace lasted only as long as his brief flight did. As he descended she wrapped her arms around his thighs where her leg had formerly been, thereby holding him aloft about two feet off the floor. Grandeo's arms were free, but all he could do was put his hands on Drew's arms and push against her. As with her leg, Grandeo found her arms full and soft, the flesh and the biceps beneath yielding to his fingers. But again, the limbs themselves refused to budge in response to his resistance, and her powerful arms held him imprisoned as easily as her leg had. The fact that she was effortlessly lifting and holding him off the ground was a bonus. Then, Drew's mouth dropped open slightly and her eyes widened just a bit as if something had mildly, but unexpectedly, astonished her. Looking up at Grandeo from this angle as she held him naturally made him appear taller than he was, and the perceived difference in their heights triggered a distant memory deep in the petite girl's mind. She began to recall another time she'd looked up at someone in the same way, and in a very similar situation. Her eyes gazed over slightly as the memory slowly surfaced in her conscious mind....... It was 1981, and Drew was little more then an infant. After a few readings and screen tests, she had been selected for a part in a movie called "E.T." It was one day on the set early in the rehearsals, she slowly remembered. She and the other youthful cast members had been studying and reciting their lines for about a week, but this was the first day the secretive director actually allowed them to see the alien creature for the first time. Her initial, real-life reaction to the strange looking ET was remarkably similar to her reaction in the movie script - it terrified her. Screaming, she turned away in fright and wrapped her small arms tightly around the director's thighs, almost causing him to topple over. The director, Steven, tried to calm the small child by speaking to her in a low, soothing tone, but his words had little effect. He also gripped her forearms with his hands and gently tried to pry her arms off his legs, also to little effect. The tall, slender man grunted as he steadily increased the force he was using to free himself from the tiny girl's iron grip, but her arms remained tightly in place, and his legs remained trapped snug in her vise-like embrace. She looked over her shoulder and screamed again at the pint-sized creature made of latex and wires, her trembling and shaking finally causing the director to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Drew went down with him and ended up laying flat atop Steven's legs, her grip on him completely undiminished; in fact, it felt to him as if the tightness of her hold had increased, if that was possible! The embarrassed man continued trying, in vain, to yank little Drew's astonishingly powerful young arms off his legs. Her two male costars, Henry and Robert, attempted to help Steven free himself. Each of the boys grabbed one of her arms with both hands and pulled with all their might even as Steven continued struggling against her with his hands, but even the three of them working together couldn't free the director from her. Simply put, the two older boys and the one grown man were pitting all of their combined strength against the girl - and she was winning. Finally, a snickering production assistant, a young woman of about twenty-two, placed a hand on each of the boy's shoulders and gently but firmly pulled them away. Then she wrenched Steven's hands off the girl's forearms, took hold of Drew's arms herself, and with a steady, gently pressure pulled the girl's arms away and freed the exasperated director. "Cripes!" the older boy, Robert, muttered to Henry and Steven, "How could a little pipsqueak like her be so strong, how??" "It must have been leverage somehow, or she just managed to lock her hands together," Steven replied meekly, knowing full well Drew's arms were too short to reach completely around his thighs, so she couldn't possibly have locked her hands in the way he was suggesting. The woman picked up Drew and hugged her as she whispered calming assurances in the little girl's ear. She looked at the director and suggested, "You may want to put that thing away (nodding towards the faux alien) until she calms down." Then, grinning as she looked at Steven and both of the boys, she added, "Can the three of you manage to get it out of here, or is it too heavy for you to lift!?" "The film's crew, or at least the female members of the crew, had a hearty laugh the next day when Steven, Robert, and Henry arrived for the day's shooting and each found a box of Wheaties on their chairs. Steven angrily issued a terse memo and the teasing subsided, but the female assistant grinned at him like a Chesire Cat for weeks afterward. Meanwhile...... Back in the present day, Drew's grin widened as she continued gazing up at Grandeo with a dreamy look in her eyes. The trapped man she was holding aloft looked just like Steven had so many years ago. She had long forgotten the emancipating, superior strength she'd demonstrated that day, and she now realized how right Brooke was; she was stronger than any man, and always had been. She slowly lowered Grandeo to the floor and released his arms as she simultaneously raised her leg and wrapped it around his thighs for a second time, her soft, hefty limb again surrounding and entrapping his thick, rock-hard ones. This time, instead of trying to yank her leg off his, Grandeo placed his hands on Drew's shoulders and tried to push her away. She stood her ground and responded in kind with a significant difference: when she gripped Grandeo's shoulder's and pushed he was immediately forced backwards at the waist, his lower body unable to follow due to the hold she continued to apply with her powerful leg. Drew found the sensation strange yet exhilarating. The large, muscular man was so much taller than Drew that she in effect had to push up on his shoulders before she could actually push them back. This put the leverage of the contest in his favor, but she overpowered him despite it; simply overwhelming him with nothing but sheer physical power. Aside from an occasional light giggle, Brooke just stood nearby quietly and enjoyed the show. A cold soda and a tub of hot, buttered popcorn would have made the theater experience complete, but she was contented to periodically dip her finger into the jar (which she was still holding) for a dollop of peanut butter. As Drew continued pushing against Grandeo's shoulders he found his upper body being forced uncomfortably backwards even as her leg held his lower body close to hers. He groaned in pain as the pressure applied by his female captor confirmed that the human body was not designed to bend in that particular direction. He removed his hands from her soft, but strong, shoulders, surrendering that part of the battle. He moved his hands down her arms, again wondering how the soft, gentle flesh could possess such astonishing power, and grabbed her wrists. He pushed, he pulled, he yanked with all his remaining strength, desperately trying to dislodge her hands from his own shoulders so he could stand erect and relieve the throbbing pain that was rapidly increasing in his lower back. Once more it proved to be no contest at all as Drew calmly and effortlessly maintained her hold and continued to force the struggling man towards the ground. She let out a quick squeal of delight as she dropped the leg from around Grandeo's thighs and watched her defeated competitor tumble to the ground and land flat on his aching back. With a second, louder squeal, Drew pounced down onto his crotch and sat on the prone man, placing her knees on the ground and straddling him. Grandeo quickly sat up, but her weight on his legs prevented him from rising any further. He reached for her shoulders once again, hoping to lift the smaller girl off him if he couldn't shove her away, but she reacted with lightning speed and swiftly raised her own arms. The two entwined their fingers and locked hands as yet another contest of strength competition between then began. There were no surprises or unexpected upsets as this new competition soon proved to be as one-sided as all the previous ones. Drew and Grandeo sat facing each other with their hands clasped, he on the floor with his legs extended straight, she resting on his muscular thighs. Even though she sat higher, his taller physique placed his head several inches above hers so she was looking up at him and he down on her. Their mutual positions again put the leverage in his favor. He was pushing her arms back and down while she had to push his back and uphill to resist. But as before, his advantage was more than negated by her stronger upper body. Their arms were initially at a stand-off, quivering and shaking as they struggled against each other. However, the calm, happy grin on Drew's face and the strained grimace on Grandeo's soon made it clear the smaller girl was merely toying with the larger man. Then, her grin suddenly faltered as Grandeo began to slowly gain the upper hand and started forcing Drew's arms back. His pace was smooth and steady as he continued to overcome her resistance. The grimace on his face remained, indicating the amount of effort he was expending, but Drew's former smile was now a grimace also; by all appearances she was trying her best but her strength was ebbing. As he pushed her arms further back they bent at the elbows, making it more and more difficult for her to reinforce them and resist his pressure. Brooke dropped to her knees to get a better view of the two. She was certain Drew was feigning a loss of power to play with Grandeo's head, but the look of desperate strain on her friend's face raised a doubt in her mind. She hadn't tested Drew's power directly herself of course, but Brooke had been certain her friend was completely capable of defeating the man who now appeared on the verge of beating her. Fair or not, Brooke tensed herself and prepared to enter the fray and rescue Drew if it proved necessary. A moment later, and unseen by Grandeo, Drew quickly shifted her eyes towards Brooke for a brief instant and winked. Brooke relaxed and stifled a giggle as she stood up and helped herself to another dollop of peanut butter, her confidence in Drew's prowess fully restored. "No! Uuuhhhh! No!" Drew groaned as Grandeo forced her arms further and further back. She groaned again, and soon her arms were pushed back to the extent that her hands were now nearly a foot behind her shoulders. "Do not worry, petite one," Grandeo whispered, the strain still evident in his tone, "I will be gentle in my conquest!" His hopes soared as he at last sensed impending victory after a series of inexplicable and embarrassing defeats. Drew's arms were now pushed almost fully back and Grandeo figured they'd collapse after another inch or so, allowing him to secure her in a double hammerlock. "No, uunnhh, No...!" Drew moaned again with her eyes closed and her teeth clenched. Brooke watched intently, but was no longer concerned. Grandeo's mouth started to relax into his familiar smirking grin, but it froze in mid-transformation when Drew's eyes suddenly opened wide with a gleam of happy mischief. "Nope! Naaahhhh! Nope!" Drew tittered as her calm smile returned and she thrust Grandeo's arms back with astonishing ease, completely reversing their positions in a matter of seconds. She considered twisting his arms into hammerlocks and pinning them behind his back, but instead she continued to push and force them, along with his upper body, down to the floor. She succeeded in pinning his hands to the floor, but he fought valiantly, managing to keep his torso at an angle off the floor and pressed against hers. Drew simply rested her chin on the man's chest, looked up into his bewildered eyes, and laughed. She released his pinned hands and quickly shifted hers to his shoulders and easily pressed him down to the floor. Grandeo swiftly raised his arms to grasp her wrists but Drew was swifter and beat his maneuver. In a flash she shifted her hands from his shoulders, gripped his wrists and pinned them securely to the floor beside his head. Using his last vestiges of reserve power, Grandeo fought and bucked like a wild horse that had just felt a saddle for the first time, but he was unable to dislodge his petite conqueror. His final struggle was a short one, and soon he was lying limp beneath Drew, defeated and exhausted. "Congratulations!" Brooke chirped to her victorious friend, "You graduate at the head of the class with an A!" "WOW!" Drew exclaimed, still somewhat amazed at what she had just accomplished, "That was almost too easy! I mean, I'm a little winded but I really feel like I could do it all again, but look at him - LOOK AT HIM!!" One glimpse at Grandeo confirmed Drew's observation; he probably couldn't crack open a fortune cookie in his condition. Drew removed her hands from his wrists and placed them on her hips, but the man made no attempt to rise, knowing it would be futile. As she looked around the room, Drew spied on the wall a publicity photo of Brooke arm-wrestling Hulk Hogan. "I curious," she asked Brooke, "could you have taken him?" "Piece of cake!" Brooke replied proudly, "He started playing around with me when we posed for the shot so I gave his hand a healthy squeeze and started to pull his arm down, but I let up after a few inches and let him 'force' me back to the starting position. He was actually a decent guy and he got the message, so I figured there was no need for me to embarrass him." "Too bad," Drew said, "I would of loved to hear you describe the look on his face as his hand hit the table!" "Oh, it was a combination of horror, disbelief, and shock, along with a bit of trembling chin." Brooke replied matter-of-factly. "But I thought you said you didn't.....," Drew began. "I didn't!" Brooke interjected, "She did!" As she spoke, she pointed and indicated the third person in the photo who was holding Brooke and Hulk's locked hands like a referee about to start the contest. "Kathy?!" Drew asked, he mouth dropping open a bit, "You mean little Kathy actually beat him?" She was truly amazed. Hogan was certainly a larger man than Grandeo, much larger, and Kathy was a slim, pale, tiny redhead, smaller than Drew herself. "Yeah, she took him!" Brooke answered, "But I think she's slipping a bit. She pinned his arm in about 45 seconds, and it really shouldn't have taken her more than 30!" "Bitchin'!" Drew cooed in delight, "Absolutely bitchin'!" "Maybe I'll set you up with him for a match, what do you say?" Brooke asked. "I say bring the big wimp on!!" Drew announced boldly as she raised and flexed her arms, revealing her soft but impressive biceps, "I can take any guy on earth!" "That's the spirit!" Brooke cheered, "I'm changing your grade to A+!" "Oh wow, look at the time!" Drew exclaimed as she lowered her arms and glanced at her watch, "I'm due back at the studio for some night scenes!" She stood up and off Grandeo, but he still remained on his back, awake but motionless. "Hate to miss the graduation ceremony but I've gotta run!" "No problem, Drewsy!" Brooke replied, "Besides, I think I'll have a few of the other women in the building stop by. Grandeo's been hitting on them for dates, too, so maybe I should hold a night-school session!" "Sounds like a plan, and a good one!" Drew laughed as they walked towards the door. Having heard Brooke's plans for him, Grandeo staggered to his feet and ran for the door, hoping to slip through as it was opened. By sheer luck his timing was accurate and he raced past the two women as Brooke opened the door. Unfortunately, his escape was cut short when Drew gripped his wrist with her hand as he ran by. She allowed her limp arm to raise up, but when it was fully raised Grandeo's forward motion was halted as if his wrist had been fastened to a boulder with a steel cable. The abrupt, yanking halt lifted his feet off the ground. With a casual tug, Drew pulled him back into the apartment. She extended her leg behind his legs and flipped him over as he re-entered the doorway completely against his will. He landed on his stomach and Brooke promptly leapt upon him, sitting on his butt as she grabbed him arms with hers and pinned them behind his back. "Thanks for stopping by Drewsy, it's been a blast!" Brooke said, "And by the way, nice flip!" she concluded, referring to Drew's quick recapture and toppling of Grandeo. "My pleasure, and thanks for the education, but I've always been good at flipping things!" Drew chirped. Just before she left, Drew flipped the lid off the jar of peanut butter and smeared some on Grandeo's nose. Then she walked towards the doorway, turned, locked eyes with the defeated man, and flipped him the bird.