YEAR ONE:
By Helplesscase
They're calling it the Amazon Syndrome and every female seems to be catching it

This is a follow-up story to another one I wrote called Year Zero. I think you
can find it here if you want to see it:
http://www.thevalkyrie.com/stories/1misc20/yearzero.txt

#1

"John wants me to cancel my membership to the gym." Kate sighed to her friend
Grace as she sat back into the park bench. "He's been watching the news about
the 'Amazon Syndrome' and he's convinced that I'm going to catch it by
exercising."

"Oh, give me a break." Grace said.

Best friends since high school, the now nearly thirty year old Grace and Kate
were probably one of the more unlikely pairs, at least on the surface. Kate
was a pale slim blond with some curves but she seemed to do her best to hide
them in baggy clothes. Kate attracted almost no attention to herself with her
conservative bobbed hair, thick framed glasses and bland clothing, but that
was the way she liked it. Grace could not be more opposite in these regards.
Grace's plump chocolate toned body was by most accounts 2 sizes too large for
anything in her wardrobe. Her fashion philosophy was simple. First, the
brighter the colors the better it looked. And second, but even more
importantly, when it comes to material, less is more. Unlike Kate's thin
hourglass frame, Grace's thick waist was only narrow in comparison to her big
butt and her mammoth boobs. And unlike Kate's often mousy voice, the only
thing louder than Grace's wardrobe were her conversations. Kate could often
find her friend in a department store from 50 yards away, just by listening
for her voice. Despite their different demeanors and fashion philosophies,
Kate loved Grace more than anyone aside from her fiancé. After all, there
wasn't another soul that was more honest and generous in her opinion, and
those were two of the most important virtues Kate could think of.

"And lately the stress of planning our wedding has been driving me crazy. "
Kate said. "The only way I seem to get a good night of sleep anymore is after
an exhausting workout."

"It's funny that you say that. I've been tossing and turning all night lately
too. And I don't have a wedding excuse like you do. In fact, yesterday I got
so antsy watching TV that I just got up and went rollerblading for about an
hour, if you can imagine that. I don't think I've used those things in 8
years, but yesterday it just seemed like a fun idea."

Kate giggled as she imagined her friend stuffed into purple spandex, waddling
down the sidewalk on rollerblades. Grace continued. "So I finally decided to
take you up on your offer and join your gym with you and now you are going to
quit?"

Grace prided herself on being independent, and Kate knew her friend wouldn't
like to hear her give in too easily to her fiancé's wishes. "I don't know. "
Kate said. "I haven't decided yet. I really don't want to fight about anything
with him right now. I told him my membership doesn't end for five more weeks
and I didn't want to waste the money. He hates to waste money, so he couldn't
argue about me not going for a little while longer."

"You've always been the smart one." Grace said. "Hey, I know you're trying to
diet and all, but I'm starving. Want to go get a burger with me?"

"Ooh, a double cheeseburger sounds great."

#2

After Grace and Kate finished their walk around the park they pair parted
ways. As Kate walked home she decided to call her brother from her cell phone.

"Hello?" Mark answered.

"Hey there, it's me."

"Hi Kate. How's it going?"

"Fine. I'm just calling to see if John talked to you yet." She said.

"Not for a couple of days, why? What's up?"

"Oh, I'm probably not supposed to say anything, but he's going to ask you to
be his best man!"

"Really, that's great. Sounds good."

His voice sounded flat as if he were disinterested. "Wow, don't get so
excited." She said.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry."

"You sound distracted. Are you at work still?"

"Yes." He admitted.

"But its almost 7 o'clock. Why are you working so late these days?"

He sighed heavily into the phone. "Oh, well things have been competitive
around here lately. I hate to cut things short, but I really should get going
if I'm going to get out of here soon."

"What about the kids?" Kate asked.

"Christopher is looking after Sarah until I get home, making sure she gets her
homework done and everything. He's a sophomore in high school now, so he
should be able to keep an eye on his 13 year old sister for a while without
fighting with her." Mark said.

"Yes, in theory. Well, okay, talk to you later." Kate turned her cell phone
off. She wished her brother would enjoy life a little more. Its not like he
needed the money, he had plenty of that already. Everything was a competition
for Mark, especially his job, and he always had to win.

#3

John waited nervously in the doctor's waiting room. He picked up a magazine
and flipped through it randomly. It was obviously a women's magazine, with all
of the female celebrities and perfume ads. He stopped randomly on an article
with a title, "Is It Happening To You? Embrace It!" Underneath the title was a
photo of a model in a cocktail dress with her arm around a man in a tux. The
top of the man's head was only even with the tall woman's chin. He was looking
up into her face dreamily while she smiled directly into the camera. Her other
arm was flexing a noticeable lean bulge of muscle for the camera. John threw
the magazine back down as if it had suddenly given him an electric shock.

Finally, his fiancée Kate emerged back into the waiting room. She was holding
several pamphlets in her hand. "Okay honey, I'm all done. Ready to go?" She
asked.

He jumped to his feet and walked with her out toward the car. He looked over
at her, now an inch taller than him. "So what did the doctor say? Is there
anything he can do?"

"Actually, my doctor is a she." Kate corrected.

"Well, what did she say?"

"The good news is I'm healthy as a horse. She said this is all perfectly
natural, what's happening to me." Kate answered.

"How can this be natural!? You've grown 3 inches in just over a month! We need
a second opinion!"

She stopped walking and turned to him, so he stopped as well. She held out the
pamphlets and he took them. Next she put both of her hands on his shoulders
and looked lovingly into his eyes to calm him down. "Honey, its happening all
over the country. It's not a disease or a virus, it's something in my genetic
code. Doctors are saying it's likely in the genes of every woman on this
planet. Nobody seems to know what is triggering it yet, but it's been in the
female makeup probably since womankind has existed."

"Its been in womankind to grow a foot taller out of nowhere in less than a
year? What a bunch of crap. This isn't natural, there must be a way to stop
this."

She took a deep breath to gather her patience. He didn't seem to get it. She
continued, "This 'Amazon Effect' is in the news 24 hours of every day Honey.
Don't you think it would be public knowledge if there was a way to stop this?"

John glanced down from her face. Although the late summer sun was warm, it was
a windy afternoon, and maybe that was why Kate's nipples were so erect,
clearly visible through her silk blouse. It almost gave him the impression
that talking about her growth was exciting to her somehow. Her clothing
choices sure seemed to be changing fast. Instead of the loose fitting sweaters
and baggy pants she had always worn, she was now wearing a short skirt and a
silk blouse that barely buttoned over her bust. She had explained to him that
she was tired of looking fat in her clothes just to hide her larger than
average chest. And for any of her blouses to fit correctly around her narrow
waist they had to be a little tighter at the top. He loved the shape of her
body, and her breasts had actually gotten a little larger, which he didn't
mind. But considering everything else going on, the old sweatshirts were kind
of comforting in a way. He didn't like the way she put her hands on his
shoulders right then either. It made him feel smaller, even though he was
looking her straight in the eye. But he knew her point was right about the
news. He sighed. "I get it. But isn't there anything we can do to minimize
things?"

"Let's sit down tonight and read the pamphlets together." She said. "I'll do
whatever I can to make this easier for you. I love you." She said.

"I love you too." He answered.

#3

Kate walked in the door and tossed the mail onto the counter. "Nothing but
bills as usual." She turned to her fiancée to give him her typical
hello-I'm-home kiss. He was looking at her feet instead. "Kate, are those new
shoes?" John asked.

"Why yes, thank you for noticing honey." She said. "My shoes were all getting
a little too small."

"Why did you buy them that way?" He said.

"What do you mean? I swear I paid cash for them. Honestly, I didn't use my
credit card." She said.

"That's not what I mean. Why did you get high heels?"

"Well, I bought some long pants that the doctor says I will grow into. And in
the meantime these shoes keep me from stepping on the hems. It will save us
money." The top of his forehead was now the perfect height for her to kiss
without bending over, but instead she stooped slightly and pressed her soft
lips into his. "Now, can we say hello to each other?" She said.

"Hello baby." He mumbled.

She stood back to her full height and smiled down at him. "I need to go to the
gym right away tonight Sweetie. Do you want to come with me?" She said.

"No, I have some extra work to do on the computer for a while. I'll see you
for dinner." He said.

"Sure, that sounds nice. But remember, you promised me you would come along
and exercise with me a couple of times a week. You haven't gone with me at all
yet. It would give us a chance to spend more time together. Besides, you need
to get out of the house more, and you could use a few steps on a treadmill
Mr." She poked him lightly in his soft belly. John worked out of the house,
and sometimes went days without leaving. He knew his fiancée worried about
him, but he didn't mind spending so much time alone really. Between his work
at home, and her quiet job at the library, neither of them could be described
as extroverts. That was one reason why they were such a nice fit in his
opinion.

"Yeah yeah, I know." He said, looking down at the curve of his belly. "Maybe
tomorrow I'll go with you. But you have to promise, you're only doing the
exercises prescribed by your doctor, right?" He said.

She raised her hand as if making a pledge. "Scouts honor." She noticed he was
looking at the lean curve of muscle in her arm. She quickly brought her arm
down, and put her hands behind her back.

"I still don't know if I see how working out is supposed to HELP control
you're growth spurt." John muttered.

"Like the doctor told both of us, its like I have this surge of pent up energy
inside me that has to get spent. Remember, if I don't work out, it will mess
up my female cycles. My birth control pills might not even work right. I know
you aren't ready to have a baby yet. And a lot of women who go through their
growth spurts without enough exercise get very depressed. You don't want me to
get depressed do you?" She asked.

"No, of course I don't. Just don't try to push yourself. Take it easy Katie. I
can't believe how muscular some of these women are getting these days." He
said.

"I won't push myself at all sweetie." She had her fingers crossed behind her
back when she said it though.

That night at the gym, her best friend Grace joined her for their workout. "I
told you he wouldn't come exercise with you Kate." Grace said.

"I know, but I thought it would be nice if he spent some time with me in the
gym. I want him to see how good exercising can be, how it makes you feel. I
mean, I never knew how great it would make me feel, it's like I'm addicted.
And besides, maybe then he won't make such a big deal out of a little muscle
tone." Kate said.

"Girl, have you looked in the mirror lately? There won't be much LITTLE about
your muscle tone pretty soon." Grace said.

"You're a fine one to talk. I'm like a stick figure next to you Gracie. I
can't believe how thick your arms and legs have gotten in the last month."
Kate grabbed her friend's upper arm with both hands to emphasize her point.
Formerly soft flesh on her thick arm had hardened into firm curves of solid
muscle.

Grace smiled. "You've always looked like a twig next to me honey." The
voluptuous woman put her hands on her hips and looked down at herself. "I
don't know what the big deal is about women getting stronger. I love it! I've
always been a bigger girl and it never bothered me any. Why should it now?"

"Aren't you worried guys won't want to date you anymore when they see how
muscular and strong you are?" Kate asked.

Grace turned to a handsome man who happened to be walking by them and stepped
in front of him. She flexed her arm in front of his face and smiled. He just
sidestepped and then walked quickly by without acknowledging her. "Do I look
worried?"

"Uhh, I think you scared that poor guy just now." Kate teased. They both broke
out in laughter.

Grace sat down on a machine and hooked her ankles behind the pads. Kate
watched her friend's thick legs easily lift the heavy weights that only weeks
ago would have been impossible for her. Kate swore the knots and cords of
muscle seemed noticeably thicker on a daily basis. "God, look how much your
legs are bulging!" Kate said. Grace smiled and seemed to push harder.

When she finished her set, Grace said, "I've still got curves honey. You know
that sexy mailman I've been working on? Got him to come over for dinner last
night." Then the big woman winked and smiled.

"Really?" Kate asked. "I can't believe you didn't tell me yet! Did anything
happen?"

"Lets just say the mail may get delivered rain or shine, but today it needed
some extra sleep first."

#4

High school sophomore Trish stood in front of her bedroom mirror with her cell
phone pressed between her shoulder and her ear. She laughed while her friend
Jenny told her a story about what happened in 3rd period English that day. As
Trish prodded for more details, she peeled off her sweaty knee high socks and
then her soccer shorts.

"Jen, you're so funny! But I gotta go. I just got back from soccer practice
and now I have to get ready for a History test tomorrow. No, I don't have a
date for Homecoming yet. Its still almost 2 months away, what's the big rush?.
I'm not worried about it really. Greg?! Ha! Yeah right! Listen, I really gotta
go. Love Ya." Trish set the phone down and took her earrings out. As she
worked the clasp of her earring she thought about Greg.

A year ago as a freshmen, even before the Amazon Effect, Trish had been
probably the most athletic girl in school, and never got asked out by boys. A
junior boy named Greg was probably the most athletic guy in school and pretty
cute as well. Physically he was one of the biggest at 6'4" and a solid 230lbs
(At least that's what the football program said). So Trish had been absolutely
floored when he asked her out one day. After all, she was only a freshman. She
never thought an upperclassman would want to date her. He seemed to really
like that she was tall and wasn't bothered that she was into sports too. They
even started working out together in the school gym after school sometimes.
She was much weaker than him, especially in the upper body, but he didn't act
as if she was holding him back. She knew he liked to show off for her as well,
and in a way this made her feel special.

After their workouts, when they weren't at practices they were almost always
together. Usually they would find someplace alone, where Greg liked to see how
far she would let him go with her. She was very conservative, and rarely let
him get to second base. In the beginning she thought he would quickly get
tired of her and dump her, but he didn't. He kept trying, but he didn't get
too mad at her when she made him stop before things went too far.

When school let out for the summer, he went to the west coast to stay with his
dad for the summer. His parents were divorced and his dad had a cushy summer
job for him. They talked at least a few times a week, and things were going
good. When Greg came back in the fall just before classes restarted, things
were great. She missed him so much she let him go almost all the way to third
base.

Greg seemed excited when he saw that she experienced an unexpected growth
spurt and reached 6'0" over the summer. Now she was only 4" shorter than his
tall 6'4" frame but he didn't seem to mind. He was also very excited to see
that her breasts had grown from fairly average to rather above average in
size.

That fall the two started an afternoon workout routine together like they did
before. Only Trish began to notice something strange. She wasn't getting very
tired anymore like she used to. She had always left the gym exhausted trying
to keep up with him in the past, so it was quite curious. It didn't seem like
they were going easy or anything.

One day, since Greg had a football meeting after their workout anyway, Trish
decided to stay afterward and do some extra exercises. At first Trish did some
extra stretches, but then she also did some extra sit-ups. Then she even some
push-ups until her arms were really exhausted. The next day she felt great,
she slept better then she had in a long time and she wasn't sore at all. She
did the same thing again a few days later when Greg had to go to another
meeting. But this time she added some pull ups and did a bunch of lunges as
well to really burn her legs. Once again, she slept great and felt really good
the next day. It wasn't long before she was trying to sneak in extra workouts
almost every day. She didn't tell Greg about her extra exercising because she
knew he was competitive and he might take it as some kind of challenge. Also,
she enjoyed the solitude of working out alone. She could really concentrate on
her exercises. Sometimes she would go home and do various exercises quietly in
her basement, other times she would sneak back into the school gym in the
evening.

She remembered the first time Greg noticed a change in her body. She was doing
cable pull downs, and she decided to bump the weights up a couple of bars. The
walls of the gym were covered in mirrors, so when she pulled the cable down
from above her head to the tops of her shoulders, she noticed her boyfriend's
expression as well as heard him gasp.

"Geez Trish, have you been eating your Wheeties or what? Your back and
shoulders look really big and kind of muscular." His face was a mixture of
surprise and something else. She still had her arms pulled tight and she could
see definite round curve of biceps in her arms. That was the first time she
mentally compared her arms to a boy's. She realized her muscles were probably
bigger than any of the freshman boys and probably would hold their own against
most upperclassmen too. She quickly let the bar back up and tried to hide her
arms at her sides..

"Are you lifting heavier lately?" His voice sounded almost dismayed.

"A little I guess." She said, not sure how to answer. Clearly the extra
pull-ups were really making her a lot stronger. In the last few weeks she
found herself easily doing more and more of them.

"Maybe you should focus on adding reps instead of adding more weight." Greg
suggested. She hadn't expected him to react that way, but she could clearly
see he didn't like seeing too much muscle on his girlfriend.

So, in order to please Greg she had gone to lighter weights for a while, and
he seemed to be happy about it, but it didn't feel as good to her. She had
found that she immensely enjoyed pushing against a seemingly unmovable force
with all her might, until it slowly gave way to her strength. After a few days
she found herself adding even heavier exercises to her private post-Greg
workouts when she snuck into the gym. She had tried to keep it light to avoid
building noticeable muscles, but after a while she just couldn't help it. To
her it was like being really thirsty and tasting water, but not swallowing it.

She began to really cut loose, and after a few more weeks really see results.
At first she focused on her calves and her butt. She thought her boyfriend
wouldn't mind, and probably even appreciate some curvy legs and a nice firm
rear. It wasn't long before her butt became a perfect bubble, poured into her
workout shorts. She loved the way it looked. However she began to wonder if
her calves were getting too muscular. Her tube socks were stretching around
split calves that flared sharply when she stood on her tip toes. She decided
to let up a little on the calf work and focus more on her quads and
hamstrings. Strong legs never looked bad on a girl, she decided. Of course a
little extra ab-work shouldn't be a problem with Greg either she thought.

It was also during those few weeks that her height increased another 2 inches.
Now she was only 2 inches shorter than her boyfriend, and taller than 95% of
everyone else around her. One night in her driveway she wanted to test her
longer, stronger legs. She was just shooting some baskets for fun and she
tried to see how high she could jump. She surprised even herself when she
stood under the hoop with her basketball and jumped as hard as she could. Even
without a running start she found herself throwing the basketball down into
the hoop. She could dunk! Such quick results in the gym made her crave even
more!

Greg was changing too- in the way he acted toward her. When she told him in
conversation that she could dunk a basketball now, he didn't react the way she
hoped. He just said something to the effect that he could dunk too.

Greg's lack of support really started to frustrate her, and in a way, instead
of curbing her away from working out she found herself getting more serious
about it. The anxiety of worrying about pleasing Greg disappeared for her when
she was in the gym. In her basement she found her dad's old weights and muscle
magazines, so she took it as a sign and started doing all kinds of upper body
workouts down there. She couldn't get enough of that delicious burning feeling
in her shoulders and arms.

Even though she kept her daily workouts very tame to please Greg, he started
to skip workouts with her. She sensed he was starting to notice how muscular
she was getting, even though she tried to hide it. He started making excuses
like he wasn't feeling well, or that he had to work out with his teammates
instead.

After one of his missed workouts she went home and realized she had left a
book in the weight room. When she got back later that evening to pick it up
she caught him working out alone. He didn't see her, and she snuck off without
him noticing. That night she fumed. He wasn't working out with teammates. She
felt sure he was avoiding her because he didn't like her progress in the gym
and she didn't think that was fair at all. It was okay for him to get stronger
and better at sports, but not her. The next day she didn't act angry and was
sweet to him during class, but she had planned to talk to him seriously that
night. She had to practically beg him to come workout that afternoon with her
as well.

For the very first set of exercises that afternoon Greg went straight to the
barbells without much of a warmup. He curled a barbell with an impressive
amount of weight that Trish had never seen him lift before. Trish knew this
was a new best for him and he was trying to show off. He was grunting and
making a spectacle to attract attention from others in the gym. Trish decided
to make her own show for Greg as well. She walked up to him and realized that
she was now standing eye to eye with him. "My turn." She said. She added a 10
lb plate to each side of his barbell. She didn't even know how much weight was
on the bar already, but she wanted to make a statement. She pulled her baggy
sweats off revealing her tank top and tight shorts. When she gripped the
weight and held it at her waist, even she was surprised by how big and thick
her upper body looked. She knew she hadn't tried to curl anything this heavy
before, but she felt she could do it.

"Put that down, you're going to hurt yourself. Don't be stupid." Greg said.

Her neck, shoulders and arms all swelled as she heaved the bar to her chest.
Maybe it was the adrenaline rush, but it came up more easily than she
expected. It came up quickly and pressed deeply into her soft breasts, which
was actually stimulating. She saw Greg watching in the mirror from behind her
so she didn't hesitate. She poured on even more power. Again and again she
curled the bar to her chest. Greg's jaw was slack and his shoulders were
slumped. She kept her breathing controlled and didn't grunt like her boyfriend
just had. When she was sure she had done nearly double as many reps as her
boyfriend had with 20lbs less weight, she looked down at her straining arms,
and tried for one more. Her biceps were so wide and rigid looking they
reminded her of anvils. She was vaguely aware that everyone in the gym was
watching her, but she was concentrating on the lift. She finally completed the
last rep and dropped the weights which vibrated through the gym. She shook her
arms and messaged one of her incredibly swollen biceps with her fingers as she
turned to Greg. "Your turn baby."

Greg just left the gym without a word. She was about to leave herself to think
over what she had just done when two girls ran up to her excitedly.

"Ohmygod! You must be the strongest chic in school!" One of the girls said.

"The strongest ANYONE in school!" The other one said.

Another girl walked up and reached for Trish's arm. "Flex it for me!
Pleeease!" Needless to say, this was their last day as boyfriend and
girlfriend. Greg called later that night and mumbled something about not them
not being the right fit. The next day half the school was talking about it.
Trish had expected people to be negative about it, and maybe call her a freak,
which some of the boys did. But she was amazed at how excited and interested
all of the girls seemed to be. Some even asked to join her workouts with her.

Trish had also thought she would feel very sad if Greg ever dumped her. She
used to nearly obsess about pleasing him. But to her own pleasant surprise,
when it actually happened she really didn't care that much. In a way she was
excited to have more free time for exercise and schoolwork. She couldn't
explain it, but it had just become such a priority in her life. Exercise made
her feel more exhilarated then Greg ever did, and she was taking schoolwork
more seriously than ever as well.

Presently, Trish looked in the mirror thinking about Greg and his inferiority
complex again as she set the earring down. Smiling, she stood to her now 6' 7"
height and curled her arms in front of her chest. Her awesome biceps would
easily tear the short sleeves of her old t-shirt if they weren't already cut
open to accommodate her wide shoulders. Sticking her tongue out playfully at
her reflection, she made a most muscular pose and laughed. She knew Greg would
sell his soul to have arms like hers now. But heck, half the female student
body made him jealous now days!

#5

John kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and flipped through the cable
channels while he waited for Kate to come home. He turned it to some debate
show. A man sat at the side of a table, and a woman at the other. It took a
few seconds, but he recognized the woman as a former swimsuit model turned
talk show host. She still had a beautiful face although she was probably
closer to 40 than 30 now days. She was showing a few strategic inches of
cleavage, but otherwise she was modestly covered. She was evidently trying to
pass her show off as something more serious and legitimate than celebrity
gossip.

"I'm saying that there is a lot more going on then just physical changes in
women." The male guest said. He pushed his glasses higher onto the bridge of
his nose with his index finger. "There are a great deal of mental and
psychological changes going on as well." The man seemed to twitch almost
nervously under the skeptical gaze of the beautiful woman across from him. Her
seated height was noticeably higher than him.

"Of course a woman's view of her environment will change slightly, given the
magnitude of the changes going on with their bodies, Mr. Dunham." She
answered. Her voice was soft, but deep, making it sound confident and in
control of the conversation.

"That's not what I'm talking about. I mean personalities of women are changing
right along with their heights. I believe female brain activities are actually
changing on a fundamental basis. I've done CAT scans on women and seen the
changes in brain activity for myself."

"Are you suggesting I may lose my interest in shopping?" She chuckled at her
own joke.

The man continued. "In my study, I've spoken with dozens of men who say their
partner's personality have become completely different."

"Like what, Mr. Dunham? They are less willing to take verbal abuse from the
men in their lives? There is nothing wrong with that." She answered.

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. I've counseled dozens of male patients
who tell me they've lost almost all equal say in their relationships. In fact,
I've had a few subjects describe their wives as treating them more like
children than a partner in marriage."

"That doesn't sound particularly scientific Mr. Dunham. Maybe your patients
just need to work on negotiation and compromise. My husband and I have a very
balanced relationship. I assure you I treat him very fairly, and likewise."

"But all of my female patients say what you're saying." He answered. "That's
exactly my point."

"So you think this is all part of some king of country or world wide
conspiracy? You're starting to sound like some of those military conspiracy
theorists Mr. Dunham."

"No, I don't think it's a conspiracy. It's just that Amazon Syndrome females
don't think they are acting out of the norm at all. That is why I think
something is changing inside of their brains as well as their bodies."

"Clearly, many men are struggling with the fact that their loved ones are
changing, even if its in a good, positive way." The former model replied. "I
find that after the initial adjustment stages, relationships become stronger
than ever. In fact, ALL of the married female friends I have that've been
through these changes tell me their relationships have never been better, and
I haven't heard any complaints from their husbands either." She said.

"Well of course you haven't heard complaints, you're-"

"Let me ask you a question, Mr. Dunham. Are you in a relationship with a
woman?" She interrupted. She leaned forward and her cleavage became more
prominent. Her sexy eyes seemed to weigh on him physically as his posture
noticeably dipped. The very academic man seemed to wilt under her gaze. "Well,
no, not right now." He said, rubbing some sweat from his brow.

"I see. Well, your claims are certainly interesting at the very least, but I
prefer to rely on experience over theories." She turned to the camera. "That's
all the time we have for now. I would like to thank Dr. Dunham for joining me
tonight. When we come back, how are clothing styles changing this season to
accommodate the new taller you."

John turned the TV off and felt a sinking feeling. Was Kate being more
aggressive in their relationship? Well, actually, it was hard to tell. Almost
all of their discussions revolved around the wedding, which was her forte, not
his. Or her growth, which was also a topic she knew much more about. He sighed
and got up to start on dinner.

#6

Christopher sat in the front row of his honors physics class on the first day
of the new semester. A new teacher he had never seen before was writing her
name on the chalkboard. She was writing Mrs. Wentworth in big block letters
using most of the board. However, with her long arm she was able to spell it
without taking a step. As she finished the last few letters, her arm drew
closer to her body and any question as to whether she had that 'Amazon Flu' or
whatever they called it was clearly answered. The long sleeve of her
turtleneck started to stretch over a swell in her arm that wouldn't be there
if she was just a normal woman. The teacher turned and faced the class.

"As you see, my name is Mrs. Wentworth. Any questions before we begin our
first day?" Christopher raised his hand. "Yes?"

"What happened to Mr. Larson? I thought he was teaching this class."

"Mr. Larson is unable to teach this semester I am told. Maybe he will be back
next year. Other questions?"

"The teacher focused on the student next to Christopher in the front row. "Yes
young lady?"

"Will there be pop quizzes?" The girl asked.

"Yes, at least one each week." The teacher answered. Christopher looked over
at the girl next to him who had asked the question and grimaced at her. What
was Trish doing in this class? She was nothing but a jock ... a superjock. He
watched Trish lean over her notepad and scribble something down. She looked so
out of place with her thick upper legs barely able to fit between the desktop
and the seat. Her bent knees had to turn to the side with her feet into the
aisle to keep from lifting the desk as well. She had to hunch over in order to
see the small desktop below her big chest.. To Christopher she looked like a
big dumb ogre. He couldn't wait to see her fail her first test and then have
to drop the class.

#7

"Come on Johnny. I'm so horny for you right now." Kate moaned. She squeezed
his crotch through his jeans while they sat on the couch.

"Honey, I'm tired. This is the fourth night in a row. Can't we just watch some
TV?"

"I know you love to feel how much bigger my tits have gotten." She held his
hand in hers and manipulated his palm to press deeply into her firm but soft
bosom. His eyes settled onto her chest for a few seconds as if contemplating,
but then he pulled his hand away.

"I'm just not in the mood tonight. I'm tired."

"I don't know how you could be tired. All you do is sit at your desk all day
and type on your computer." She said.

"Honey, please don't start."

"Fine." She got up from the couch and went into the kitchen. He heard her
banging dishes around. He tried to ignore it at first, but eventually he went
in after her. She was facing the sink, and her back was to him. Despite being
tired, he had to admit, her ass filled out her skirt beautifully. But with her
back to him, he also realized how broad her shoulders were. He instinctively
walked closer to her so he could wrap his arms around her and nibble her ear
the way she liked. Then he realized in frustration that her shoulder now met
his nose instead of his chin. He glanced down at her feet and felt butterflies
in his stomach when he realized she was only wearing socks. He sighed and put
his hands on her shoulders. They felt tense, so he messaged. "Are you okay
honey? Are you mad at me?"

She sighed as well. "No, I'm not mad. I understand. Sometimes I'm not in the
mood either." She turned around and leaned back against counter. He stepped up
between her feet and looked up to her to kiss her, but she kept her chin up
out of reach of his lips. "I'm fine baby. Honest, go watch TV." She smiled but
he could tell a fake smile from a real one.

"No, I'm going to help you with the dishes." John said. He picked up a towel
and began drying dishes from the strainer. They worked in silence for the next
few minutes. Eventually, all that were left to put away were a few wine
glasses. John looked where he thought they were stored, but there were plates
there already. "Where do the wine glasses go?" He asked.

"Oh, I moved them up there." She pointed to the cupboard in the corner. When
John opened it, he could see all shelves were full except the top one. They
never used that one before because it was ridiculously high. The cabinets went
all the way to the top of the 8' ceiling, and the top shelf was only 8 inches
below that. Stretching over the counter he placed the wine glass near the
front edge of the shelf and tried to slide it back with his outstretched
fingertips. The glass fell over on the shelf and began to roll. He held his
fingers outstretched in case it rolled over the edge, so he could catch it. He
felt Kate's body bump against him as her hand shot up and caught the glass
above his hands.

"Damn it John, my grandmother gave me these glasses. Be careful!" Kate said.

"Well, why did you put them up so high?" He said. He spun around and found
himself staring into the nape of her neck.

She picked up the other two glasses and stood on her tiptoes to place them up
on the high shelf without even bumping into John in front of her. "I'm the
only one of us who drinks wine, so I didn't think it would matter." Kate said.
She stepped back and sighed deeply. "Go watch TV Hun. I'll finish up here and
join you in a few minutes. I do appreciate your help." She ruffled his hair
and gave him another forced smile. He just walked away without a word. He
decided not to remind her about how much he hated it when she ruffled his hair
like that. It made him feel almost like a little boy.

#8

Christopher felt his palms sweating as Mrs. Wentworth walked around the class
handing out the graded tests. For the first time ever, the straight-A student
was worried about what his grade might be. He had never taken such a difficult
class. The teacher set Trish's paper down in front of her and the girl pumped
her big fist in the air excitedly. She turned and chatted happily to the girl
behind her, and Christopher couldn't resist looking over. She had a 98%! He
couldn't believe it. After the first test she had gotten a 92% and he had
gotten a 77%. He thought for sure she had cheated. But on the way out after
class he overheard her explaining a solution to a friend, and to his dismay,
she sounded like she actually understood what she was doing.

From over his shoulder a long arm dropped a paper onto his desk. He felt dizzy
and nauseous when he saw 53%. Below his score was a note in large red letters:
See me after class.

That evening, kicking a stone ahead of himself as he walked down the sidewalk,
Christopher made his way toward Trish's house. Mrs. Wentworth had given him an
ultimatum of his worst nightmares. He either had to drop honors physics or
join Trish as a study partner for the rest of the semester. His first instinct
was to drop the class, but he couldn't face his father if he did that.

He walked up to her door feeling as if gravity had tripled from the curb.
Slowly he rang the doorbell, and a man answered. He was a normal looking
middle aged man with a balding head.

"Yes?" The man said to Christopher.

"Um, I'm here to study. With Trish."

The man tucked a newspaper he was holding underneath his arm and opened the
door wider for Christopher. "She's in the kitchen." The man pointed over his
shoulder with his thumb and headed in the opposite direction to sit in a
recliner.

Christopher walked through a dining room and turned left to see a kitchen. All
he could see of Trish at first was her big round butt sticking out past the
open refrigerator door. When she stood up she recognized Christopher. Removing
a chicken leg from her mouth she said "Come on in, I didn't realize it was
time to study already." She pointed to a small table along a wall. "Set your
books there, I'll be right over."

"Did you miss dinner?" He asked.

"No, we haven't had dinner yet, but I just got home and I always grab a little
snack to tide me over. I guess I'm still a growing girl. Want a popsicle?"

"Uh, no thanks." Christopher answered.

She opened the freezer and took one out. "I love popsicles after practice. I
get so hot, and I love that cool feeling in my mouth." She walked over and
joined him at the table. Christopher hadn't seen her in anything short sleeved
before; in school she always wore sweats. She caught him staring at her arms.

"Y-you're really muscular." He said, not knowing why, except that it was the
most obvious thing to say.

"Thanks." She said without missing a beat as she unwrapped the popsicle. Maybe
Christopher shouldn't have been surprised by her casual confidence about her
body, but he was.

He started to open his book. "Do you know what page ... " He forgot what he
was saying when he looked back up at her. She was sliding the grape popsicle
into her mouth, and something about that made the boy's mind go blank. He
couldn't put his finger on it, but something about watching her lips pursed
around it as is slid slowly deeper into her mouth made him feel strange.
Pretty soon nearly the entire popsicle had disappeared between her lips. Then
it slid slowly back out and her cheeks dimpled from the suction her mouth was
applying to it.

With a slight slurp the girl said, "Are you asking what page the homework
problems are on?"

Christopher snapped out of it. She obviously was not doing anything to
distract him on purpose. "Yes." He said looking back down at his book.

"Page 231." She said.

"Did you read the chapter yet?" He asked.

"Actually, I finished the problems today during study hall. I'm going to work
on some other homework for a while and help you out if you need it."

He felt his face get hot. How did she get all these done during on study hall?
He worked quietly, concentrating better after she finished the Popsicle. He
struggled for about 10 minutes with the 2nd problem before he finally asked
her for help.

"Oh, for that one, you just take the integral from t=5 to t=15." She said.

"But isn't that calculus? We're still in trigonometry math classes! That's not
fair."

"Don't worry, its not very hard. I'll show you." She stood and leaned over
him, writing symbols onto his paper. This was all so difficult, why was it so
easy for her? He could feel her body radiating heat around him. He was
surprised that she actually smelled pretty good. It was hard for him to pay
attention to what she was writing for some reason.

After 2 humiliating hours of tutoring by muscle head Trish, Christopher was in
a terrible mood when he got home. Why were the problems so easy for her and so
hard for him? He was greeted by his smiling 13 year old sister.

"Why aren't you at Clara's house like always?"

"Gee, you don't sound happy to see me, Chrissy." She said.

Christopher rolled his eyes. "Why are you smiling so much anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know." His sister giggled. "How was your date with Trish?"

"What? How did you know- it wasn't a date!"

"Trish just called. You left your notebook there lover-boy. Chris and Trish
sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-" She was interrupted when Christopher pushed her
hard in the chest.

"Don't touch me!"

"Then shut up!"

"Touch me again and you'll be sorry."

"Whatever. Get out of my face, brat!" He yelled.

"Chistopher? Is that you? Come in here please." His dad said from the next
room. His dad sounded angry. His sister stuck her tongue out and put her
thumbs into her ears, wiggling her fingers at him. He wanted to tackle her and
give her the wedgie of her life, but his dad sounded serious. Then he
Christopher did a double take at his sister. She put her hands back down and
ran upstairs to her room. His eyes must have been playing a trick on him. Too
much time around Trish maybe. He could have sworn he saw a bicep showing
against her long sleeved t-shirt. He shook the vision off.

When Christopher walked into the living room he saw right away that his father
was holding his last test paper.

"Son, what is this? Did you fail on a test? We had better sit down and talk."
Mark said to his son.

#9

John didn't get up from the couch right away when Grace and her boyfriend Kurt
walked into the house. Kate gave him a dirty look though, and he felt guilty
so he got up and joined them at the door. John hadn't seen Grace in almost two
months, and he couldn't believe his eyes. Grace's tits definitely hadn't
gotten any smaller that was for sure. They practically knocked her boyfriend
back out the door as she wheeled around to find him. John was surprised to see
that her new boyfriend Kurt was a thin middle aged white man. Grace never
seemed selective as far as skin color, but she always seemed to gravitate
toward the bigger athletic guys. This guy looked like he would have a tough
time in a strong breeze.

As Grace reached her arm around her new boyfriend, he practically disappeared
under the appendage. It looked as much like a side of beef hanging on him as
an arm. The smallish man's smiling face disappeared as Grace excitedly hugged
his head into her bosom. "This is my Hunnybuns, Kurt." She said.

When Grace stepped toward John, her arm shot out and his first feeling was
fear that she might hook him in her other arm and burry his face into her
bosom along with her boyfriend. She seemed to tower over him now, between
several inches of height growth and the extreme high heels she was wearing. He
glanced into the abyss of cleavage that could easily swallow his head. But to
his relief she merely offered her hand which he shook gratefully.

John looked over at his wife, who he realized was even nearly a head taller
than Grace now. He saw that Kate had snuck into a new pair of very high
platform sandals he hadn't seen before. Kate smiled down at him and pretended
not to see his disapproving expression.

They all headed toward the back yard where the grill was already warming up.
Kate put her arm around John as they walked but he didn't reciprocate. In her
platform sandals, the top of John's head just reached her arm pit. When they
got outside John handed Kurt a beer and made small talk with him while the
women had their own conversation.

"Someone should move that beer cooler out of the sun." Kate said toward the
men at one point. Kurt jumped up first and grabbed the large cooler full of
ice and beer. He held it awkwardly in front of himself, unable to keep it from
hitting his legs as he took baby steps. John was about to get up and help, but
Grace beat him to it. She walked up behind him and placed her hands over his.
The cooler suddenly easily floated in front of Kurt, even if his head was now
bowed forward due to the weight of her chest now on his shoulders. After they
set it down in the shade Grace said, "I didn't think you would try to pick
that heavy thing up all by yourself Honey. Not with those little pipe cleaner
arms of yours." Grace held up her boyfriend's thin white shapeless arm next
her straightened one. "Kate, look. My triceps muscle is bigger than Kurt's
entire little arm." Not long ago, John doubted Grace knew what a triceps
muscle was, but sure enough, a great big meaty triceps, maybe not as big as
her boyfriend's entire arm, but damn comparable exploded to the surface. John
felt humiliated just watching this, but to his surprise, Kurt reacted
differently. He put his arm around her and seemed to be nuzzling her with a
smile on his face.

It didn't take long before John began to realize there was something strange
between Grace and Kurt. If the small man wasn't pawing at her arms, he was
stroking the thick cords of muscle in her leg while they laughed and teased
each other. She kept pointing out how puny he was, and he just laughed along
with her.

Kate had gotten up and manned the grill, which was strange in itself as John
had always done the grilling. He attempted to take over for her, but she
simply held the spatula high over her head and bumped him playfully with her
hips. He wasn't about to play that kind of game with her so he sat back down.
Then he felt awkward anyway, sitting there with the other two flirting with
each other. Grace made a comment about giving Kurt a spanking for something he
had just said, but that he would probably like it too much. The mismatched
coupled laughed. John looked over at Kate, and she was laughing as well.
Seeing this made his face feel hot.

Is this how Kate thought things would be between them as well, with her
humiliating him and him laughing and enjoying it? He knew what Kate had been
trying to do to him, he wasn't stupid.

He looked over at his giddy wife in her platform shoes, manning the grill. She
winked at him and dipped her shoulder seductively when they made eye contact.
It was then that he suddenly felt he had to be alone. He apologized to all of
them but explained he was suddenly ill and made his way to his room.

Several hours later, when Kate walked into the bedroom John was sitting on the
bed laughing at a sitcom on the television. He certainly wasn't feeling ill as
far as she could tell. Kate knew he just said that because he didn't want to
be around her friends and had made an excuse. She had planned a romantic
double date and he had left her alone as the third wheel.

"Looks like you're feeling better." She said.

"Uh, yeah, I guess a little." His smile receded.

Kate kicked off her platform sandals and slid her robe off her shoulders,
exposing the bright red bikini bathing suit she had bought just for this day.
She had wanted to look hot for him, and he hadn't stayed with them long enough
to see her in it. She sauntered over by the bed, aware of how much her boobs
jiggled in the tight but small top. John was aware of it too, judging by his
line of sight. "You should have come back down if you were feeling better."
She said sweetly. John looked away, back to the television.

"I didn't want to listen to David and Goliath flirt all night." He mumbled.

Kate felt anger swelling but she tried to suppress it. "Well, I was lonely
without you there." She cupped her breasts, "The 'girls' missed your hungry
stares as well." She said, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled, but then his smile quickly faded. Kate realized he was looking at
her bare arms. "Kate, I'm really not in the mood tonight." She walked over to
the television and turned it off so he would stop looking at it instead of
her.

"You are never in the mood anymore." She put her hands on her hips. "A lot of
men would kill to be with this body, but you treat me like a freak lately."
She flexed her arms. Two peaked biceps popped up on her long slim arms. "Yes I
have bigger muscles now, there's nothing I can do about that. But wake up!
Every woman out there has gotten bigger, it's not just me. If you left the
house once in a while you would realize that!"

"I don't care. I'm just not in the mood, okay!" He turned over and pressed his
head into the pillow.

"No, its not okay, damn it! Stop acting so childish! Lets talk about this."
She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She climbed onto the bed and
hovered over him.

John felt her climb over him, but he didn't roll over right away. After a long
minute of silence, her voice sounded soft and sweet. "Honey, I love you. Can
we please talk."

Reluctantly, he rolled back over. She was kneeling over him, straddeling his
hips. She plopped her butt softly down, over his crotch.

"John, baby, I know you're confused." She said. He looked up into her eyes.
Her face had gotten even prettier somehow over the last few weeks. Maybe it
was because she had stopped wearing her thick glasses in favor of contacts.
Maybe it was because her cheeks were now rosier and shapelier somehow. Her
once miniature double chin was now gone, and her neck was sleek and sexy as
well. He knew she was right, many men would love to be with a woman like her.
He felt a stir in his crotch. Then he looked at the underside of her large
perfect breasts. He felt his crotch respond again. She must have felt it,
because she squeezed her butt a little, encouraging more growth there. "Do you
think I'm beautiful John?" She asked.

"Yes, of course I do." He mumbled.

"I mean it, do you really?"

"Yes, I really do think you're beautiful." He looked into her eyes and smiled.
He could see it made her feel good to hear it, and it made him fell good as
well. His penis swelled some more, and she shifted her firm round bottom
against it again.

"I know you are afraid to let yourself appreciate my strength. You don't think
muscles are feminine." She took his silence as confirmation. "I love you, and
I know you love me. I will get us through this." She flexed her biceps and
held the pose over him. "These are my muscles. They are stronger than yours
are now."

"Kate, I don't think you're stronger than me, just more toned."

She uncurled and curled her arms a few times. Her arms probably weren't really
any thicker around than his, but when she drew them up, a very hard looking
muscle gathered into a pile on her arm. She made a fist and the bicep popped
up almost another inch. He always avoided looking at her arms, and now he felt
a mixture of awe and anxiety. She didn't have gorilla sized arms like Grace,
but they were so defined and powerful looking he was speechless. "Honey, I
love you." She said. "I will always love you, and I will always be stronger
than you."

"Well stop exercising so god-damn much!" He said. She let her arms drop to her
sides.

"John, it doesn't matter. I will be stronger than you anyway. Every grown
woman in the world might be stronger than you soon. Don't you understand?" He
was silent again. "I'm stronger than you now, and I'm going to keep getting
even stronger because I love the feeling. I will still be feminine, but I will
also be tall, muscular and powerful."

He felt overwhelmed, almost betrayed. "You promised only to exercise as much
as you had to." He said.

"I know you're confused. I know you're even afraid. Our roles in our
relationship are changing. But I will get you though this. We will get through
this as a couple." She said. Her voice was strong and confident.

"What do you mean? What roles changing? I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not
confused. I just want things back the way they were. What's so god-damn wrong
with that?"

"Nothing baby. Except that it's never going to happen. This is the way things
are now. I'm the strong one now and that's the way it's going to be. I know
it's hard for you to accept, but you will in time. Now I promise I'll get us
through this."

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I'm going to teach you to love and appreciate my strength. It's the only way
we will ever be happy."

"What! What do you mean you're-"

"Shhh." She said, putting her finger to his lips. "Don't worry, I'll get us
through."

#10

Mrs. Wentworth handed out the latest tests. This time Christopher got an 82%.
Not to his usual standards, but he had to admit he felt relieved that he had
passed. He peaked over at Trish's paper and saw 97%. Instead of looking happy
she seemed concerned. She had only lost points on one problem but she wasn't
happy about it. She raised her hand and the teacher told her to see her after
class with any questions about her grade. Once all of the papers were handed
out the teacher walked to the front of the room.

"Some of you may have noticed that the classroom is not quite as crowded as it
was yesterday. I have removed 9 students from the class who could not perform
to my standards." Christopher looked around and noticed right away that there
were mostly boys missing from the room. There used to be alot more boys than
girls in the class, but now it looked pretty even. "There are 20 students left
in the class. I have taken it upon myself to pair each of you up with a study
partner. After I call out all of your names I want you to reorganize and pull
your desks up next to your new partners." The teacher began to read names off
in pairs. Trish and Christopher were paired, as they had been. It became clear
that almost all of the pairs were boy-girl except for one, which was
girl-girl. This meant that there were 8 boys and 12 girls left in the class.
After a few minutes of confusion all of the partners were settled in. "Okay,"
the teacher continued, "From now on your grades will be tied to that of your
partner. I will give you both the average of your two grades. I've purposely
paired students by their test scores so far. Your first assignment is to teach
each other how to correctly perform the problems he or she got incorrect on
our last test. There will be a quiz tomorrow to see how well you did. Now take
the rest of this period to begin this assignment.

Right away grumbling began throughout the room. "Oh my gawd, this is your
test?!" A girl named Angie had her partner Roy's paper in her hand. "This
isn't fair, I want another partner." Turning to one of her friends Angie held
the paper out. "Look at this."

"Oh no, you poor thing Angie." The girl laughed. The embarrassed Roy got up
and walked around the desk to get his paper back. With a single hand on his
chest she stopped him from getting close enough to take it back from her.
Other girls walked over to see the score and began laughing as well.

"Angie, I recommend you stop making fun of your partner and start helping him
or your grade will be affected as well." The teacher warned.

"Fine." Angie muttered. "Sit down Roy, I hope you aren't as stupid as this
test makes you look."

Christopher looked up at Trish, who was thoughtfully reviewing his paper. He
felt guilty for being a burden on her. "I'm sorry I didn't do so well. I'll do
better on the next one, I promise."

She just smiled down and pulled his desk next to hers. "Don't worry, we'll be
fine." She put her arm around him and gave him a little squeeze, which made
him gasp, but at the same time he felt reassured and happier.

#11

All day, Mark could think of almost nothing other than his first date with
Jessica. He had never had such an attractive woman take such an interest in
him. The date had gone perfectly from the first moment. She was gracious,
polite, and talkative. At first he worried because Jessica looked so young to
him. She was probably in her late 20's while Mark was in his late 30's. But
she was so beautiful and Mark's only regret in the end was that he hadn't
kissed her when he dropped her off. He could sense her disappointment when she
turned to leave, and he kept replaying it in his mind. Why hadn't he kissed
her? First he told himself it was because it was their first date, but his
conscious didn't buy it. Then he told himself it was because she about 6
inches taller than him and it felt awkward. This was true, but not the real
reason and he knew it. He had chickened out because she was so pretty.

At the end of the day, when almost everyone had left the office, his assistant
Lisa walked into his office with a sly smile on her face.

"Someone dropped by to see you." Lisa said. She motioned toward his office
door and Jessica walked in. Lisa walked out and shut the door behind her.

Jessica was wearing her leather jacket as usual. She put her hands on her hips
and the jacket drew back to expose her narrow waist and substantial bust, in a
tight cotton top. Wow, she looked sexy, Mark thought.

"I hope you can forgive me for what I'm about to do, but I'll go crazy if I
don't do this." Jessica said to Mark. Mark got up and walked around his desk
to meet her.

"What, what's going on Jessica, is something wrong?" Mark asked.

Without another word she took his face in her pretty manicured hands and
planted a long slow wet kiss on his lips. Mark was too stunned to do anything
but stand there for the first few heartbeats, but then he felt himself press
against her. He was vaguely aware that her knees must have been bent because
her face was level with his as they embraced each other. Their bodies seemed
to melt together as their kissing became even more passionate. When she pulled
away, she stood back straight, and Mark found himself entranced by her heaving
chest.

"That was nothing to be sorry about." Mark said breathily.

Four hours later, Mark knew he needed to go home. It was almost 9pm and he
wanted to see his kids before they went to bed for the night. Mark felt a
twinge of guilt, knowing that Lisa had to work later tonight to cover for him
so he could leave early with Jessica, but she had been happy to do it.

The two had a nice dinner together once again, and Mark couldn't resist
Jessica's invitation to watch a movie back at her apartment. A movie quickly
regressed to a make out session on her couch. He didn't try for more, he
wasn't ready. This was his most intense physical experience since he'd lost
his wife.

"I have to get going." He sighed into her shoulder.

"Already?" She whined.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Thanks for a great evening though." They kissed for a few
more minutes before he slid off of her and made his way to the door. She was
an amazing kisser. She followed him to the door so he turned and gave her one
more passionate kiss. This time she didn't bend her knees as before, and he
had to stand on his tip toes and crane his neck to meet her lips. It had been
strange to cuddle with a woman whose body was larger than his. Although her
face was beautiful and her curves were very feminine, she was just all around
larger than him. So far she had kept her entire body covered, minus her low
cut tops. But even though she kept covered and seemed to be trying to hide
some of her body, he felt some real strength in her. When her arms rested on
him there was so much size and surprising weight behind them. One longer kiss
at the door and Mark finally left.

Jessica shut the door behind him and turned with a sigh. All that playing
around with Mark had gotten her hot.

"You can come out now." She called toward the closed closet door against the
far wall. The door opened slowly, and her brother Ben walked out with a
nervous look.

"I told you not to make a sound in there." She said.

"I didn't, I swear."

Jessica hadn't really heard anything, but she needed an excuse. "Were you
trying to ruin things between me and Mark?"

"NO! Honest!" Ben pleaded.

Jessica pealed her blouse off, revealing a sexy black bra. She loved the way
it made her brother so nervous to see her body. She took his face in her hands
and forced him to look up at her. Being so docile with that wimp Mark had made
her agitated and she needed to blow off some steam on Ben. She would work him
over and have have him blubbering like a baby soon. That would make her feel
better. But first she wanted to work her arms and get them pumped up with some
weights. "Go sit in the living room and wait for me to come back out." She
commanded.

#12

John followed his wife Kate into the large dance/aerobics room, located in the
lower level of Kate's gym. The aerobics room they were walking into was
probably half the size of a football field. It had ceiling to floor mirrors on
two sides, and 3 very large blue wrestling mats spread evenly across the
floor. There were about 20-30 people in the room, dressed similarly to John
and Kate, in cool comfortable clothes like shorts and t-shirts.

"Good, it looks like they haven't started yet." Kate said. Kate approached a
woman holding a clipboard, who directed them to one of the mats. There were
already four other people standing on the blue mat as well, obviously waiting
for the class to begin.

Only a few seconds later, the woman with the clip board called for everyone to
gather on their assigned mats. "Welcome to our Relationship Workshop. My name
is Crystal." John knew it would be easy to remember her name, due to her bead
necklace with a large white crystal resting on her chest. This woman was
definitely a New Age type. The woman continued, "Many of us, both male and
female are in the process of recognizing and accepting the many changes that
have occurred in our relationships. The purpose of this class, as you all
know, is to help each of you work through this process successfully. Each
couple will have unique needs as well. This is why we have broken the class up
into three groups of 6. This will allow each of our three instructors to work
more intimately with each group. So without further hold up, my two colleagues
with work with two of the groups and I will work with the third." John saw the
groups on the other two mats each gather around a woman who was apparently
their instructor.

Crystal walked up to the mat Kate and John were at and sat down. She rested
her legs together straight in front of herself and placed her hands on the mat
slightly behind herself, leaning back a little. A man walked through the group
from somewhere at the back of the room and sat right on Crystal's lap. He was
noticeably smaller then Crystal, probably in his late thirties, like Crystal
as well. He leaned back against her chest and rested his legs on top of hers.
He almost acted as if he were sitting in a lawn chair.

"Okay everyone, once again, welcome to our relationship workshop." Crystal
said. "I would like everyone to sit on the mat in the same fashion as my
husband James and I. From this point on, partners will always maintain what I
like to call a "Warm Touch" between each other. Please form a semicircle
around James and I." Slowly, the other 3 couples did she had instructed, and
John sat on Kate's lap as well. "Gentlmen, I want you to lean back against
your partner. Really settle into her. Ladies, think of yourselves as human
recliners for your partners. Your job is to make your body feel warm and
welcoming to him. Very good." Crystal said. "If your husband is too large to
sit comfortably on your legs, let him sit between them. And then feel free to
wrap your legs loosely around his waist."

A couple to the left of John did this. John thought he and Kate might as well,
but she said she was comfortable with him on her lap.

"Now, let's go around the group and introduce ourselves. I would like for each
couple to tell me what you want to get out of this workshop." Crystal said.

The couple to John's left spoke first. "I'm Gary, this is my wife Wendy. My
wife used to be 5ft tall and 98lbs. Now she's 5'10, only one inch shorter than
me. Physically, we're nearly equal in every way. We'd like to explore the
advantages of this, with your help." Gary said.

"That's wonderful." Crystal said. "We rarely see couples so closely matched in
this workshop. Normally we only see couples where the female partner has
become much larger, and much more physically superior." Then Crystal's eyes
settled onto John and Kate. The work 'superior' stuck in John's mind and he
didn't speak right away, so Kate did.

"My name is Kate, this is John. We're engaged to be married, and we want our
relationship as husband and wife to be as healthy as possible, so here we are
trying to learn whatever we can." Crystal nodded approvingly and looked at the
next pair.

"My name is Cheryl. This is my son Brad."

"Its great to see a mother-son couple. This is wonderful." Crystal said. "Tell
us about yourselves. What are you looking to gain from this workshop?" All
eyes were on Cheryl, easily the biggest woman in the room. She was wearing a
bulky sweat shirt but bikini bottoms. Each of her darkly tanned, striated legs
was roughly as thick as the torso of the slim boy on her lap.

"Well, my son is 16 years old. He used to be totally out of control. He was
hanging out with the wrong crowds and getting into drugs. I was a young single
mother, and there was really nothing I could do to stop him. He was bigger and
stronger than me. When I used to try to ground him he would just laugh and
walk out the door." Cheryl looked down at the slight boy sitting stiffly on
her bare muscular thighs. "Then I grew 16" taller in a little less than a year
and at the same time all this muscle started piling on my body." The woman
flexed an arm and looked down at it to show what she was talking about. The
sweatshirt tightened around the circumference of an incredibly thick arm.

"Wow, I see." Crystal said.

"As you can imagine, I put an end to his bad behavior pretty quickly. The
problem is, I know he resents me for this, and because I've had to be very
strict with him. I can tell he's become afraid of me too." The smallish
teenaged boy's stiff hunched shoulders and blank expression seemed to be
physical evidence that she was right.

"Cheryl, don't be too hard on yourself. I'm sure you did what was best for
Brad. Teenage boys often resent their parents, and being a little afraid of
the consequences of bad behavior is often the only way to keep them on the
right path. But, I think we can help Brad to see your gentler loving side as
well, which is also so important." Crystal said. "By the way, your body
development looks great Cheryl."

"Thanks! I've found I'm blessed with a natural ability to build muscle. I've
taken up bodybuilding as a sport and I've been working really hard. My first
amateur show is in just a few weeks!"

"Well, I'd love to see some of your poses after class if you would like to
show me." Crystal said.

"Me too!" Kate said. John cringed.

"Sure!" Cheryl said proudly. As if to take advantage of the attention, Cheryl
peeled her sweatshirt off, revealing a tanned symphony of thick striated
muscles. She had worn only a black bikini top underneath her sweatshirt, so
almost nothing was left to the imagination.

"Oh my god!" Kate said unconsciously. The young female bodybuilder smiled at
the comment.

"Now then, I'd like to go around the group again." Crystal continued. "And
this time, I want to hear from each pair, at least one benefit or positive
thing that's happened as a result of the female partner's growth spurt. It can
be even the smallest thing as long as its positive."

"Well, our bowling average went up 30 points." Gary said. The group chuckled.

"I can carry all of the groceries into the house in one trip without bothering
John." Kate said light heartily.

"I was able to get my little boy back. Now I can protect him from anything
that might be bad for him." Cheryl said.

Nearly an hour went by, with some verbal interaction, but mostly physical.
Crystal had the couples message each other's necks, shoulders, and facial
muscles. Crystal prompted each partner to offer several compliments to the
other throughout the activities. Gary and Wendy seemed to have an easy time of
this. John and Kate struggled at times to find compliments to give each other,
but they were able to do it. Mostly John complimented Kate's pretty facial
features, hair and soft skin. He avoided talking about her physique.

Cheryl and her son Brad really struggled to compliment each other. Or at least
Brad did. Cheryl complimented him mostly on his slim form, which the boy
didn't seem to appreciate. The boy seemed unable to think of any compliments
for his mother. She got visibly frustrated, rolling her eyes and sometimes
throwing her arms in the air in disgust, but Crystal calmed her down each
time. Crystal patiently explained it would come with practice, and that was
why they were there. John felt sorry for the boy. He imagined how difficult it
must be to compliment his own mother's body, even if it wasn't sexual in
nature.

The last exercise for evening Crystal called the 'Shared Breath Hug'. She had
the women all sit Indian style on the mats, and the men sit on their laps,
facing toward the woman, with their legs wrapped loosely around her waist.

"Now I want the men to relax their arms to their sides, and the ladies to put
their arms around their partners in a nice firm loving hug. This is our most
intimate exercise, which is why I save it for last. Ladies, I want you to
breath most of the air out of your lungs, and continue to embrace him firmly
and lovingly. Now imagine your arms are a steel frame around your partner.
They are protective rails encasing your partner and insulating him from the
world around you. Do not let the frame of your arms change size as you then
take a deep breath in. Gentlemen, I want you to feel her chest expand as she
breathes in. Allow your breath to escape, as is necessary to allow her lungs
to expand. Ladies, keep your inhale steady, and expand your lungs enough to
keep him firmly against your chest. Take deep breaths. Then exhale at the same
speed, allowing your partner to fill the space between you with his inhale."
Crystal watched for a while as they practiced what she had said. "Very good.
Gentlemen, let your partner control your breath. Feel her love for you
radiating as she holds you and shares with you the rhythms of her body."

Even sitting on her lap Kate's eyes were a few inches above his. She smiled
proudly down at him, which actually made him feel even more annoyed by this
whole workshop. She was enjoying this too much. As Kate inhaled her large firm
breasts spread against his chest. He did as he was supposed to, and exhaled to
match her. She giggled a little when she felt his penis move against her
stomach. It irritated him even more that she thought he was enjoying this.
With her large perfect breasts mashing against him it was impossible not to
get a little aroused. That didn't mean he was having fun. On the next breath
she squeezed him tighter and arched her back to create more contact with his
crotch. She winked at him and puckered her lips briefly.

Crystal moved closer to the mother son pair. "Cheryl, honey, you may want to
allow a little more space in your frame for Brad." She said.

John could see Cheryl sitting sideways to him over his wife's shoulder. It
looked almost as if she were hugging herself. Brad's body was almost
completely hidden in the embrace of her incredibly thick bulging arms. Thin
pale legs and arms stuck out behind her. Cheryl was looking down at a tuft of
hair nestled into a deep ravine of muscular cleavage. "Well you said hold him
firmly." Cheryl defended. "He feels so soft, there's no resistance. I'm sure
I'm not squeezing too hard."

"Brad, honey, tap your mom's back if she is not allowing enough space."
Crystal said. The boy's hands waved, but his mother's arms had his clamped
against her sides and clearly he could bend his elbows. "Cheryl, try loosening
the frame of your arms a few inches." Crystal said. "There you go, that looks
better. It's just a matter of practice. You'll get it."

After a few minutes, Crystal asked the couples to gently relax and let go.
"This hug invokes calm, tenderness, and intimacy. I recommend doing this as
often with each other as you have time to. It's a great way to end a day
especially." Crystal said.

John looked over at Cheryl again. Brad started to get up from his mother's lap
but Cheryl put a hand on his back and pulled him against herself again. She
stroked his hair gently with her other hand. "Brad, you're even softer and
smaller than I realized before. I think this class will be great for both of
us to learn about each other."

#13

Mark took a rare evening off from work and seeing Jessica to take his kids out
for dinner. Part of him felt guilty for not spending more time with his kids,
but with both of them being teens they didn't want to have much to do with
him. He had to practically threaten to ground Christopher to get him to come.
His assistant Lisa was willing to stay late again so he was basically covered
at the office. He wasn't actually taking his kids 'out' since they were going
to his sister Kate's to eat that night instead of a restaurant. But he hadn't
seen Kate and his buddy John in weeks so it felt like an event.

When they walked into the house John joined them in the living room.

"Kate, they're here." John called out.

When Mark saw his sister Kate stride into the room he gasped in shock. His
daughter Sarah shrieked with excitement and ran up to hug her aunt.

"Oh my god Aunt Katie, you're so big now!" Bending over, Kate's long arms
swallowed the girl in a hug.

"You aren't too old to give your Aunt a hug yet Mr." Kate said to Christopher.
Awkwardly, the 16 year old young man walked into his aunt's outstretched arms.
She hugged him cheek to cheek and then let him go, standing back up straight.
"Look at you two," she said down to them. "I'm not the only one who's grown.
Both of you look older then the last time I saw you." It seemed like a strange
comment coming from Kate, as she placed her hand on top of each of the much
shorter children's heads.

"Well, I don't know about Chris but I'm growing." Sarah said. She stood closer
to Christopher to emphasize what Mark had just noticed. They had been close in
height for some time, Christopher was a bit short. But he hadn't realized
Sarah had passed him until just then. Christopher looked a little surprised
too, then he quickly walked back to the couch and sat down.

Kate walked over and stood in front of Mark, who was still sitting. He found
himself looking mid-thigh at the hem of her dress. He looked up and the sight
of his sister smiling down at him over the swell of her chest was too
uncomfortable so he naturally stood up. Mark wasn't especially short, but the
top of his head didn't even reached her shoulders. In her sleeveless dress he
could see that even with her arms relaxed there was substantial muscle on her
long sleek limbs. Awkwardly, he gave her a hug.

"What do you think big brother? Ever thought you'd look up to your little
sister?" A loud laugh came from Sarah.

"You look great." Mark said to Kate, trying to get through the awkward moment.
His normally reserved sister Kate was really clamoring for attention. He had
read about this effect in his studies, and witnessed it in interviews, but
seeing his sister act so differently affected him. Normally she dressed in
baggy clothes but now she was wearing a tight somewhat revealing dress even
though the company was casual.

Kate sat down next to Mark on the couch and began chatting away about work at
the library and about what she and Mark had been up to fixing the house up.
Just a few minutes passed when the doorbell rang.

"Oh, that must be the rest of our guests!" Kate said. "Honey, can you get the
door for us? Thanks." Her husband got up and answered the door.

Kate's old friend Grace walked in with a slim short man. Mark had to take in
how large Grace had gotten. Her body was still thick around, but now very
solid looking. Not the plump woman he had last seen. Her leather halter top
put her gigantic boobs on display.

"Look who else I brought." Grace said, motioning toward the door. In stepped a
woman who suddenly made Grace seem almost small! Her shoulders nearly brushed
both sides of the doorway as she entered the room. "Has everyone met Mattie?"

The woman called Mattie smiled and waved to the crowd of people sitting around
the room. Unlike the rest of the guests who were dressed up, Mattie was
wearing a police uniform. "Sorry, I just got off my shift and didn't get a
chance to change out of my uniform." The gigantic woman said. "I've never met
any of Kate's family yet."

"Mattie, I'm glad you could make it." Kate said as she got up and hugged her.

"Hi Katie, thanks for inviting me." Although Kate was a few inches taller than
Mattie, Kate looked like her old wispy petite self again in Mattie's embrace.
Kate groaned happily in the firm hug and looked down at a man who was quietly
standing in the doorway.

"This must be Derrick." Kate said. A medium sized man a bit larger than Mark
himself stepped forward. He shook Kate's hand politely and then stood next to
Mattie, hooking his arm around Mattie's relaxed arm and pulling himself
against it. The gesture had a childish affect, almost as if he were hiding
behind his mother. Mattie smiled down approvingly to her husband, and together
they walked over to an empty love seat and sat. Her husband Derrick's legs
were pressed together and his shoulders were scrunched in with his hands
resting on his knees to accommodate Mattie's wide body. Mattie rested a hand
gently onto Derrick's knee, and the man practically disappeared behind her
bulky arm. Mark could not believe his eyes.

The three women all began chatting busily while the men sat quietly. After a
few minutes Mark had an idea. He said to John, "Hey buddy, any new projects in
your wood shop?" The man shrugged. "Want to show me what you're working on?"
Mark persisted. Brightening, John shook his head yes.

"Mind if I tag along?" Derrick asked in a hushed voice from behind his wife's
shoulder.

"Sure." John answered politely. The man squirmed loose from his narrow seat
between his wife and the arm of the furniture. Mattie barely noticed as he
worked himself free. She was busy chatting with her friends.

As soon as the guys left, Grace jumped into the conversation. "So how are
those classes with Crystal going? Is John warming up to you a little more?"

"Uh, its hard to say, we've only been to a couple so far. They are a lot of
fun though." Kate answered.

"Do you think Kurt and I should go?" Grace asked.

"Why? He already worships you." Kate was unable to completely hide some of her
jealously.

"Oh, you're in that special class for couples? I heard about that." Mattie
said.

"Yes, well I've got to try something to help John adjust to our new situation.
He's gotten so emotionally distant."

"What do you do in the class?" Mattie asked.

"A lot of verbal affirmations. We talk about issues different couples in our
group are having. And then we do a lot of sensual message and intimate
touching type stuff. Nothing sexual, but very intimate. You know just the
stuff men hate. Basically I'm just trying to get him comfortable around my new
body."

"That sounds so cute." Mattie said. "That class wouldn't be for me though. I
get intimacy from Derrick any time I want it. Derrick would much rather play
with these," She said, hefting her bosom, "then these." She flexed her huge
arms. The girls giggled at the lewd gesture. "Speaking of Derrick, I better go
check on him." Mattie got up and walked out of the room.

"Wow, she keeps him on quite a short leash." Kate said as soon as Mattie was
out of ear shot..

"Yeah, well she has her reasons I guess. She caught him cheating a couple of
years back. You gotta hand it to a woman who sees what she wants and takes it
though."

The three men walked into the garage and shut the door. They all seemed to
breathe a sigh of relief in the cool quiet garage.

"Wow, I can't believe how much Kate has changed." Mark said about his sister.

"You don't know the half of it. I love your sister, but man its been getting
weirder and weirder almost every day. Lately she's really become obsessed with
growing bigger and stronger. She is constantly showing off and comparing
herself to me. I don't know how to explain it."

"What about your wedding plans? Has anything changed there?" Mark asked. He
wondered if John was still interested in marrying Kate considering her
changes.

"Well, she's doing all of the planning for that. I know she's very excited
about it. Its almost all she talks about, but she doesn't really ask my
opinion on anything." John answered.

"Does she boss you around much yet?" Derrick asked. The other two friends had
almost forgotten he was there. John was silent for a few seconds, as if
thinking about how to answer. Just as he opened his mouth to speak again the
door to the garage opened and the Mattie's body filled the doorway.

"There you are Derrick, sweetie. What are you doing in here?" Mattie asked.

"I'm just getting to know the guys a little better. Mark is showing us his
workshop."

"Aw, that's cute, but you can get to know them better a little later sweetie.
Right now I want you to come in and sit with me while I talk to the girls."

"I'll come back in just a few minutes. I just want to hang out here for a
little while longer." Derrick said.

"Derrick, I said I want you to come with me now, not later."

"But honey-"

"Derrick." Mattie said in a lower tone. She put her hands on her hips and
tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. The thud of her large foot on the
linoleum was surprisingly loud. Her husband stopped talking and walked toward
her. "This is exactly why I don't want you out here alone with these guys
around all these tools. You've only been in here a few minutes and you're
already starting to give me that little macho man attitude of yours." She held
her hand out and he took it sheepishly. Without another word she led him out
of the garage. The other two men were too stunned to say anything.

Later at the dinner table, Mark couldn't wait to finish eating so he could
take his kids and go home. Unfortunately, his night was about to take another
disturbing turn. All of the women were chatting continuously, while the men
were noticeably quiet again.

"I think there are already a lot of jobs that men aren't qualified for, just
from the amount of changes we've seen so far." Mattie said during the
conversation. "As a female police officer I see it every day. For example,
there's a new rule that all male officers on the beat have to be accompanied
by a female partner. So now I have to chaperone this little man everywhere I
go. It's almost like I'm running a day care the way I have to look after him.
I make him wait in the car every time I answer a domestic disturbance call or
even if I'm pulling a female speeder over. It's just easier than having to
worry about his safety in the event of a physical confrontation."

"Wow," Kate said. "It doesn't sound like he's much help as a partner."

"Well, I just have him do all the paperwork, since he's sitting in the car all
day anyway. That part is kind of nice." Mattie giggled and the other ladies
joined in. "One of the girls on the force is also a volunteer fire fighter.
That's even a bigger joke."

"I'm starting to worry about little Kurt here on his mail delivery route."
Grace said. "I mean what if some horny housewife decides to take advantage of
him?"

"You mean sort of like you did to me." Kurt chimed in with a smile. The women
giggled. Grace leaned over and hugged his head into her bosom. "Oh, you like
it." Grace said. The girls giggled again, including little Sarah, which made
Mark very uncomfortable.

"Sarah, that's not funny." Mark whispered to his daughter.

Mattie's head turned to Sarah.

"I have a daughter almost your exact same age sweetie. Had I known you would
be here I would have brought her with me tonight. I'll bet you two would get
along great. She's an athletic young girl just like you. In fact, I think she
will be able to beat her father at arm wrestling pretty soon." Mattie chuckled
down at her husband who only kept his eyes on his plate.

"I already can beat my brother." Sarah bragged.

"What!? No you can't!" Christopher piped up. "She's never beaten me at arm
wrestling dad." The boy practically pleaded to Mark. Mark nodded reassuredly
that he believed him, but things quickly spiraled out of his control.

Christopher and Sarah started bickering back and forth. Instead of stopping
them the women seemed to be intrigued. It was Grace who suggested they settle
it with a match right then. Mark protested but none of the women seemed to
listen.

And that was how all of the men ended up on one side of the table and all of
the women on the other. With the exception of Grace's boyfriend Kurt, who was
on her lap now. Seated across from each other were Mark's two children. Mattie
placed her hand over the clasped hands of the children and said "One, two
three, go!"

She let go and right away Christopher moved his sister's hand toward the
table. All of the men almost sighed in relief. This seemed to be their last
bastion of normalcy - that the 16 year old teenage boy would be stronger than
his little 13 year old sister. At least something would be as it should be.
But the girl's arm suddenly stopped only inches from the table. Christopher
was staring at the clasped hands, his face turning red with effort. Sarah's
jaw was clenched tightly but she was focused on her brother's face. Mark knew
that his son was far from being a jock, but he was surprised at how skinny his
arm looked. It was more bone and tendons than anything. And then he felt a
wave of nervousness as he looked more closely at Sarah's arm. Her shirt was
long sleeved, but still her arm was obviously as thick as her brothers. No,
thicker actually. Especially when he compared their forearms. Slowly, the two
arms began to draw back upwards. His son was groaning quietly with effort,
watching the hands move the wrong way. Sarah was still observing her brother's
face. Her tight lips were turning up into a smile. The arms slowly came nearly
back to the start position, and Mark could not believe what he was seeing. As
Sarah's arm and pulled her brother's back up, her upper sleeve had begun to
tighten around something that looked almost baseball sized. Then Sarah looked
from Christopher's face to her hand and brought it quickly and solidly to the
table. She held it there for several long seconds, smiling at her brother. He
clearly tried to pull his hand away but she held it there. Mark saw that his
son's fingers were trying to wriggle free from her grip, but he couldn't. The
women weren't paying attention to this, they were giving her congratulations
and patting her on the back. Finally Sarah let go and Christopher jerked his
had under the table. Mark could see him messaging it. Kate came around the
table and kissed the top of her nephew Christopher's head.

"You held your own pretty well Chris. Nothing to be ashamed of." Kate
consoled. As if he should have been the underdog and not the other way around.

That night was a long ride home for all of them. Well, except for Sarah.

#14

The group all sat around Crystal in a semicircle on the blue mats. The men
were either seated on the laps of their partners or between their female
partners outstretched legs.

"Okay, the first thing we're going to do today is go around the room and share
any frustrations or conflicts that have been going on between each couple over
the last week. Don't be shy. We can only address fix things if we talk about
them and get them out in the open first."

Crystal turned to the young normally happy couple Gary and Wendy. Gary sat
hunched between his young wife's legs with a glum expression but didn't
answer. Wendy didn't say anything either. "Now remember, by talking about
these things we are showing that we care."

"Okay." Wendy said with a sigh. "We've been kind of arguing a lot this week.
Mainly over really stupid things."

"Like what?" Crystal asked.

"Well things related to who should do what, and who's better at what mostly."

"She thinks she's better then me at everything." Gary piped in. "I've been
really open to the fact that she's gotten as strong as I am and can do a lot
of the things physically that I can do. But lately she keeps talking to me
like I'm weaker or less able than she is and it pisses me off."

"Is this how you feel Wendy?" Crystal asked.

"Well, I know I'm not a very big girl, at least not compared to Kate, and
definitely not compared to Cheryl. I'm almost the exact same height as Gary,
and our arms and legs are about the same size around. But sometimes I get a
little impatient with him when we're doing things together. Like a couple of
days ago for example. We had 5 big brown bags of groceries to carry into the
house and I grab 3. They didn't feel heavy or anything, but Gary insisted that
he carry them. So I let him, and I took the other 2. Sure enough, when we get
to the door, they get too heavy for him to hold anymore and he drops them on
the stoop. The milk jug broke and soaked all over everything. Then he blames
me for being too slow to unlock the door. Huh." Wendy huffed in frustration.

"Well, the middle bag was slipping. And it WAS taking her forever to get the
door opened." Gary said in defense.

"So you feel that you would have been able to carry the three bags in without
incident Wendy?" Crystal asked.

"Yes, sure no problem. They didn't feel that heavy to me. I'm just realizing
more and more that even though we're almost the same size, Gary is weaker than
me. Maybe even a lot weaker."

"No I'm not." He mumbled.

"This may sound strange, but have you two ever compared strength, by lifting
weights, or wrestling?" Crystal asked.

"No. We don't believe in competition." Wendy answered.

"Well, it sounds like you've already been competing against each other in
negative ways. Its natural to want to establish clear roles that make sense
between a couple. It may sound childish to you both, but you may want to
consider a constructive physical contest between you. It will help you settle
your inner conflicts. You don't have to do it right away. Just the two of you
think it over and we'll check back in with you next week." Wendy looked to be
thinking it over.

Crystal turned to the next couple. "Little Brad, how are you and your mom
doing there?" She said to the teenaged boy.

"Oh, he's sulking as usual." Cheryl answered for the skinny boy sitting on her
lap. "This time he's mad because his friend likes me."

"Go on." Crystal encouraged.

"Well, about a week ago Brad started carrying on about the way that I dress.
He started whining that I show my body off too much and stuff like that.
(Today Cheryl was wearing a string bikini bottom and a half shirt that had to
be torn in several places to accommodate her shoulders chest and back.).
Anyway, I finally figured out Brad was worried because his best friend has a
crush on me. You see, the other day I was in the front yard pulling weeds out
of my flower bed and Brad's friend was riding by on his bike. I waved to him
and all he did was stare back at me. Then the poor kid ran right into a parked
car!" Cheryl laughed and a few others chuckled. "Anyways, he was fine. I
helped him up and brushed him off, then sent him on his way. Later on that
night his mom called and told me all about how her son had a crush on me.
Apparently he's attracted to big muscular women. She had found a little love
letter he'd written to me. She read it to me and it was so cute. It went on
about how pretty I was, and how beautiful my huge muscles are. He mentioned
how he rode by my house 10 times a day to try to see me. Then he wrote about
how I lifted him off his feet when he fell off his bike and how wonderful it
was. His mom told me he was really embarrassed when she found the letter so I
promised not to tell the poor kid that I knew about it. It was all very cute."

"Then she kept showing off when he came over to stay the night." Brad mumbled.
Cheryl laughed and hugged her son against her.

"That's not true honey." She said down toward her son's head. Looking back up
at Crystal, she continued. "Yesterday I hurried straight home from the gym
without showering so I could make Brad and this boy spaghetti for dinner. I
wanted to take care of the boys before I took a shower and changed. Anyway, my
arms and shoulders were really pumped because that's what I had just been
working on. I noticed Brad's friend was staring at my body a lot while I was
cooking so I decided to wear something less revealing when I changed. So I
went and took a quick shower, put on a pair of stretch pants and then found a
nice long sleeved dress shirt I just bought about a month ago. Like I said, my
arms were pretty pumped, so when I put it on I wasn't surprised by how tight
it was. But I thought it looked nice, it didn't show any cleavage, and I
thought it would make Brad happy. So I went back downstairs and I'm shoveling
down dinner. The boys were still finishing up, when Brad starts mumbling and
whining again about something. I ask him what is wrong this time, and he is
pointing to my arm. I thought maybe I had gotten spaghetti sauce on my sleeve,
but then I saw a little tear. I didn't realize that my biceps had actually
torn the seams of my sleeves while I was eating. I mean, its not like I did it
on purpose. I'm not used to wearing clothes that don't stretch, and I guess my
arms are finally catching up with my legs." Cheryl flexed her quads for
emphasize and her son's body rose about 6 inches on a bed of muscles. "So
anyway, to make an already long story short, I had about a 2 inch tear in both
of my sleeves, actually." Cheryl pointed along her upper arm. "I had already
ruined my shirt, so I decided to have fun with it. Besides, Brad was acting
like such a baby over it, I thought it was funny. So I flexed my biceps all
the way and they popped through my sleeves like fists through tissue paper."
Cheryl flexed her arm and an incredibly large bicep muscle pushed up from her
arm, nearly the size of her son's head. "Like I said, I probably shouldn't
have done that, but I was just having some fun and making a joke of the
situation. Really, what was the harm? I can't help it if Brad's friend has a
crush on me." She shrugged her huge shoulders and looked around the room for
sympathy.

"Doesn't sound like the end of the world to me." Kate replied.

"Well I didn't think so either, but Bradly ran straight to his room and
wouldn't come out. I had to drive his friend home and make up an excuse for
him." Cheryl said. "Honestly Crystal, my son's so moody sometimes I just don't
know what to do."

"Cheryl, you did nothing wrong. Hiding your wonderful physique in order to
make your son more comfortable is the last thing you should be doing. You
should be proud of all your hard work, and Brad will learn to be proud of you
as well in time. You just need to keep being emotionally patient and strong
with your son. And I doubt this will be the last time one of Brad's friends
goes ga-ga over your body."

Cheryl beamed with happiness. "Thanks, that's just what I needed to hear." She
squeezed her son happily in her arms and a he yelped. "Oops, sorry baby." She
giggled and kissed him on the top of his head.

"And how about you two?" Crystal asked John and Kate.

"I guess it's been a relatively quiet week. I can't think of anything." Kate
said. "How about you honey? Anything you want to talk about that's been going
on between us?" Kate asked John.

"No, nothing really." John could think of plenty of things. Kate taking
control over the TV remote for one thing. Or maybe inviting her friends over
without asking would be another. Or maybe even the way she kept grabbing his
ass in public when there might be people looking. That was a new one that was
driving him crazy. But why bring it up? Crystal was only going to take Kate's
side anyway.

"Well, I guess things are a little stressed because of the wedding coming up.
But I guess that's to be expected." Kate said.

The rest of the class went on as normal. As usual, the women seemed to enjoy
themselves, and the guys just went through the motions. Every week John felt
more and more like the men were play toys in the hands of these powerful
aggressive women. As they were stretching each other, Kate kept nagging him on
to push himself deeper into the stretches. This was annoying, but not as much
as the bickering going on between Gary and Wendy. And then there was the boy
Bradley. He reminded John of a rubber band being stretched in his mother's
hands much of the time, so he knew it could be worse.

#15

Mark was at his desk fuming. He didn't know how his day could get any worse.
He had just finished a meeting with his boss Rita. His assistant Lisa had
joined them as well. Rita had always been an intimidating woman. She was not
easily impressed, and Mark doubted he had ever seen her smile. When they sat
down at the meeting, the first thing she asked about was the research summary
for body growth of post menopausal women in the US over the previous year. She
had only assigned it the day before, and Mark was working on other things so
he hadn't even started it. He told her that it would be at least another day
before he could finish it. Rita tilted her head down to look over the rim of
her glasses at him. Her mouth turned down in disappointment. Mark had always
dreaded these update meetings, but they seemed to be worse then ever. If she
looked intimidating before, the wide shoulders and thick neck she'd developed
sure didn't make her look any more friendly. Rita asked what he had so far
that he could give her, and Mark was taking a deep breath to tell her nothing
when a folder slid across the table in front of her. Rita opened it and began
paging through what looked to be about 20 pages of summary, including a few
graphs. Rita's face relaxed. She announced that the information in the summary
would fit her needs, then asked who did the work. Mark felt himself sinking
into his chair. How had Lisa gotten it done so quickly? And without any input
from him. Lisa spoke up and said that they had worked on it together, but Mark
had the feeling Rita knew better. As the three walked out of the meeting room,
Rita told them she would need the next report she assigned within two days.
Mark felt her voice carry over his head as if she were talking directly to
Lisa. He told himself he had imagined it. As Mark and Lisa reached a safe
distance from ear shot of Rita, Mark didn't know whether to be grateful or
angry with his assistant. He was about to ask her how much time she spent on
it when she put her arm around him and told him not to worry. She knew he was
busy lately with Jessica and she didn't mind covering. After all, she said,
they were a team.

Mark was at his desk still mulling the meeting over when he heard a man clear
his throat in front of him. Mark looked up to see a disheveled looking
stranger standing in front of him. "Are you Mark?" The man asked.

"Yes I am."

"My name is Ben. I'm Jessica's brother. I think we need to talk ... "

Later, as Mark drove home from work his head was swimming. He kept replaying
the conversation in his head. Mark's first reaction to what the stranger had
told him was to call him liar. Jessica wasn't using him. That was impossible.
Mark was about to have the man thrown off the premises when he said something
that stopped him cold.

"She kept me in the closet when you came over. You know, the one down the
hall? That was my apartment you were in." Ben said. The man's voice sounded
weary, but serious and sane. The stranger went on to quote several lines from
their conversations just the other night at her apartment. "I'm sorry to tell
you this, but she knows about your trust fund money. The settlement."

Mark never told her about the $5 million he received in retribution for the
accident that killed his wife. He never even spent a cent of the money. His
plan was to give it to his children someday.

Mark had only known Jessica a few weeks but it was still painful to believe.
He had really started to fall for the girl. He shivered at the thought of this
poor man Ben hiding in a closet for several hours, afraid of what his sister
Jessica might do to him if Mark had heard even a peep.

Mark promised not to say anything about meeting Ben to Jessica. He even found
himself thanking the man. After all, as angry and hurt as Mark was, there was
no reason to blame the messenger.

When Mark got home he walked straight to the phone and called Jessica. He had
to break off any more contact with her before he lost his nerve.

Normally, being around his children put Mark in a good mood, but that night,
not much could make him feel better. Jessica had not taken the news very well
at all. He had never imagined she could take such a hostile tone so quickly
and easily. Her last words on the phone were 'nobody breaks up with me.' He
wondered what she might do. He sat at the dining room table and picked at his
food. He was so immersed in his problems that it took a few minutes for him to
realize that his son and daughter were arguing at the table.

"Go to the fridge and get the milk yourself, you little virus." Christopher
shouted at Sarah.

"Don't call me that, Jerk. You better be nicer to me. Don't forget who has the
muscles now." Sarah said back.

"Whatever, loser."

"Don't think that you can call me that just because dad is here. I'm not
afraid of you and I'm not afraid to shut you up in front of dad either."

"Whatever loser." The boy repeated dismissively.

"That's it!" The girl jumped out of her seat and moved around the side of the
table toward her brother. He stood up to meet her, but she was quicker. She
swung an arm around his head and kicked his legs out from under him at the
same time. The two dropped straight to the floor.

"Stop that!" Mark shouted. "Both of you get off the floor right now." Mark got
up and stormed around the table. Sarah's legs were wrapped tightly around his
waist, pressing into his belly, and his neck was bent awkwardly with his head
under her armpit.

Christopher was making small gasping grunts and moaning sounds. He was pawing
at Sarah's legs, then at her arm. Sarah was wearing jeans, but her pant legs
were tight around her thick upper legs. "Let go of me." Christopher's raspy
voice hissed weakly from under her arm - her really powerful looking arm.
Mark's head was spinning and he felt so weak suddenly. He gripped his
daughter's wrist and yanked, echoing his son's command to let go. She ignored
him and actually seemed to be bearing down. Christopher made a strange sound
as if he were heaving. His waist suddenly looked almost flat between her thick
legs. Her arm didn't budge when Mark yanked it the first time, so this time
gripping it with both hands, he felt how hard her forearm was. Mark pulled
much harder this time. Sarah's arm swelled defiantly but gave way to Mark's
strength. The ribs of her sweater sleeve were spread thin around that baseball
of muscle he had seen during the arm wrestling match. "I said let go right now
young lady!" His voice seemed to register some authority again with his
daughter. Her arms and legs went slack and Mark pulled the girl to her feet.
Her body felt dense and heavy. Nothing like any 13 year old girl or boy he'd
ever been around.

"Both of you go to your rooms right now!" Mark said. Slowly Sarah walked off
in the direction of her room, but Christopher laid on the floor still. His
face was red and he was coughing quietly. Mark watched him take in a few short
breaths and realized he must have had the air knocked out of him. Mark didn't
know whether to try to sooth him or chastise him. After a minute the boy got
up and walked slowly to his room without another word.

#16

Ben was surprised when he got home to find Jessica sitting on the couch. "Hi
Jess. I thought you would be at the gym." His voice was tight. He cleared his
throat and tried to smile at her.

"I moved my workout up so I could go out with Mark tonight." His sister smiled
back at him and said, "Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

Ben felt a shock of worry but thought he hid it well enough, keeping his smile
pasted to his face. "No? Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, I guess not. Except my 5 million dollar man suddenly dumped me a few
minutes ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do? Is there anything I
can get for you?"

"No. I'll be okay. There's always more fish in the sea I guess. I don't know
how many around here have 5 million dollars in the bank, but who knows." She
patted the cushion next to her on the couch, indicating for him to sit down.
He did so without hesitation. "How was work today?" She asked. He wasn't used
to her taking a personal interest in him and he felt sweat seeping from his
armpits. Did she know?

"It was okay I guess." He answered. Again he had to clear his throat.

"Oh, by the way, Lisa says hi. She called and told me she saw you in the
parking lot at her work but didn't catch you in time to say hello before you
left." Suddenly Ben felt like he would vomit. "She works quite a ways out of
your way. What were you doing on that side of town? Did you run into Mark
while you were there?"

He didn't answer. He thought about running for the door, but it was too late.
She put her arm around him and pulled him halfway onto her lap. He wondered
vaguely how strange it must have looked to anyone walking in at the moment.
His feet were on the floor and his upper body was cradled in Jessica's arms
facing up toward her, forcing him to twist uncomfortably.

"Be honest big brother, did you have a little talk with Mark today?" Jessica's
full lips drew up into the slightest smile as she started to squeeze Ben
painfully. Her soft large breasts offered little relief as her iron hard arms
began to compress against him.

Jessica had held him like this before when she wanted to amuse herself. As she
had grown stronger, she often liked to test her strength against him and see
how easily she could hurt him. Today he knew she wasn't amused. Her large
pretty eyes betrayed none of the cruel thoughts that he knew were running
through her mind. Vaguely, as he tried to hold oxygen in his lungs he wondered
why things had to be this way. There had always been something missing inside
of Jessica. Maybe it was a soul. Even as a child she had taken joy in hurting
living things. Ben had long ago stopped wondering why she was the way she was.
But when she barged into his house out of the blue several months ago after
years of no contact, he had never stopped wondering why HIM.

Ben's body reached a point of compaction where his softer internals could not
accommodate any less space. Her arms were so strong now. His legs began to
kick wildly, but she quickly hooked one of her legs over his and clamped down.
Her face broke into one of her patented movie star smiles when his shoulder
made two quick popping sounds. Through tear fogged eyes he saw her jaw clench.
Somehow, impossibly, the crushing force suddenly doubled. Ben heard a symphony
of dull cracking and popping all from somewhere inside of him.

#17

The doorbell rang and Mark cautiously opened the front door a just a crack to
see who it was. He quickly tried to close it again but Jessica threw the door
opened the rest of the way. The door flew out of his hands and slammed into
the wall so hard it nearly fell off the hinges. Mark stumbled backwards while
Jessica stalked slowly towards him. The beautiful face that made him so happy
only a day ago now terrified him. Her mouth was turned up in a smile, but her
eyes looked wild with fury. As her eyes roamed over his body she began to
chuckle, which sent shivers down Mark's spine. He stumbled backwards and fell
against the back wall of the room, which suddenly felt tiny. There were only
two doorways out of the room. One was directly behind her, and the other was
to the far side of the room. He would have to leap over the couch to get to
it, and in the process bring himself within arms reach of her. Even as he
considered the possibility, she seemed to know what he was thinking. She
stepped sideways to cut this option off as well. His only way out of this was
to go through her.

"Nobody breaks up with me you little shit. We could have done this all the
easy way, but its too late for that now." She growled. She stopped now,
knowing that she had him trapped and began to pull her long hair up into a
pony tail. This sent the chilling message to Mark that she was getting herself
comfortable for a long night. For the first time she was wearing a top that
showed her bare arms. Mark knew most women were even stronger than they looked
now, but there wasn't an ounce of fat on her rippling arms. He knew she could
break him at will.

"Please, no. Let's not do this. I'll give you anything. Whatever you want. You
can have all my money."

"That's so sweet." She said as she finished with her hair. "I guess I better
not break your check writing hand." Her smile grew into a broad grin as Mark
slumped down the wall in defeated anticipation of pain. Her hands reached out
for him and Mark braced himself for the impact, but it never came. Two other
arms reached around Jessica from behind and captured her own arms against her
sides. Jessica was thrown to the ground and smothered by a woman nearly twice
her size. Officer Mattie held the crazed woman down driving almost all her
considerable weight down through her knees into Jessica's back. Mattie had a
handful of Jessica's hair and was pressing her face hard into the carpet with
one arm while she gathered one or Jessica's hands behind her back with the
other. Jessica squawked in pain as Mattie twisted her arm high up behind her
back. As strong as Jessica was, much stronger then Mark, he could not believe
the display of power by Mattie.

A few hours later, Mark sat on his couch with his sister Kate next two him and
a cup of coffee in his still trembling hands. Mattie had just stopped by again
after taking Jessica to jail. "Her brother was lucky to be alive. I don't know
how he managed to get to a phone and call 911, but he probably saved your life
tonight Mark. He was broken up pretty badly when we found him." Mattie
informed.

Mark looked at the hulking police officer, who only days ago he had despised
when he met her at Kate's dinner. Now all he wanted to do was hug and thank
her for saving his life. "Will Ben be okay?" He asked.

"It sounds like he'll recover alright. He's going to spend a few days in the
hospital, then he will be released to a safe house where his sister won't be
able to find him. Unfortunately, he is still unwilling to press any charges
against her. You can charge her for breaking and entering here, but that won't
keep her off the streets for more than a night if she makes bail."

"Oh no, I just know that witch will be come back for him." Kate said. She put
her arms around Mark and held him.

"We can place Mark in a safe house as well, along with his kids." Mattie
offered.

"No, I can't go to one of those places." Mark said.

"You will just stay with us." Kate said. "We have plenty of room."

"Thanks Katie, but I think I can handle this." Mark said.

"From what you told me a little while ago, you can't even handle Sarah right
now." Kate said. Mark thought again about the incident at dinner. Suddenly, he
felt so tired and weak. He tried to fight it, but tears started to form and
drip down his cheeks.

"Oh, its okay honey. Your sister is here now." Kate said. She pulled his head
into her bosom. He gave in and sobbed into her chest.

#18

John stood at the alter and watched his wife make her way slowly up the long
aisle. With each step she made toward him he felt his stomach knot tighter.
This was it. They were going to be bound forever. Did he REALLY lover her?
Yes, he did. Then why was he so nervous? He asked himself. He glanced around
at the crowd in their seats, all smiling. It made him feel better. He glanced
to his left and saw his best man Mark there, his brother in law to be and felt
better. Taking a deep breath, he focused back onto Kate. She stopped briefly,
at the base of the steps leading up to the alter. She smiled at John through
her vail, no sign of nerves at all on her part. They looked eye to eye for
that moment and John felt relaxed for the first time that day. Then she
ascended the 3 steps to the alter and her face rose up and up. She stepped up
next to him and they turned to face the pastor.

Kate had insisted on this woman, Mary Williams to oversee their proceedings.
John had wanted more of a traditional ceremony, but in the end he relented. It
was no surprise to him that Mary was a member of Kate's gym as well. He looked
over at his fiancé and reminded himself of how beautiful she was. The
proceeding began and they turned to face each other. Kate repeated the vows
prompted by Mary and then John did the same. After he repeated his part
something sounded different. Had he just promised to love and obey during his
part? He didn't remember her saying that. He looked around again and everyone
was still smiling. Everything was going fine, he told himself.

#19

John and his new wife Kate joined the other couples on the blue mat. They all
sat in their usual semicircle around Crystal and her husband.

"Welcome back Kate and John, congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Kate's voice beamed from over his head.

They had missed the last two weeks of sessions because of their wedding and
honeymoon, but it seemed almost longer somehow as John sat on his wife's lap
in the usual beginning ritual.

"Let's catch them up with our progress." Crystal said to the other couples.
"Gary and Wendy, it appears you have made a lot of progress." John looked over
at the couple and could see something was definitely different in their body
language. Was it his imagination, or did Wendy have her arms draped over her
husband's shoulders in a way that seemed possessive? Did she look bigger
somehow?

"Well, a couple of weeks ago Gary and I had a huge fight." Wendy explained for
Kate and John's benefit. "But I think it was the best thing that could have
happened. We worked out a lot of the issues between us. All of the tension is
gone. Right honey?" She hugged her husband and he nodded. Somehow his slumped
posture and down turned mouth didn't express the same enthusiasm. "We decided
that sometimes competition between husband and wife and be a healthy thing."
Wendy continued. "We were so afraid of one of us being better at something and
making the other feel inferior, that we were actually holding ourselves back
and making ourselves miserable. We learned that its okay to be different, and
we should be happy for each other as one of us excels at something. It only
makes us stronger as a couple. I think what finally made me realize we had the
wrong approach was by watching Cheryl and her son Brad. Cheryl is strong about
showcasing her talents and Brad is learning to admire her for it. I realized I
need to be strong about showcasing my talents as well, and help Gary learn to
admire me for it."

"Wow, that's great!" Kate said. John kept quiet, but felt irritated at her
enthusiasm.

"How about you Cheryl, do you want to announce anything?" Crystal prompted the
young mother.

Cheryl responded by gripping her son about his hips, picking him up from her
lap, and turning him to face the other couples. Around Brad's neck hung a
large heavy looking silver medallion. "I won 2nd place in my bodybuilding
competition last weekend!" The ladies clapped politely for her. "And I
couldn't have done it without my son's help." She turned her boy and hugged
him. His cheek squished against her striated round shoulder, which was easily
larger than his head. John wondered what the woman who beat Cheryl must have
looked like.

#20

"Why the frown, don't I look nice?" Kate asked. She put one hand on her hip
sexily. She knew she looked hot in the black evening dress she was wearing.

"You look great honey." John answered.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I already told you. This is a terrible idea."

"Oh, you're so negative sometimes." Kate said. "They might hit if off great.
You never know until you try. I think this is a perfect opportunity for both
of them. Mark has been moping around, bored to tears. Cheryl is single, and
she's told me a couple of times that she's into brainy types."

John thought about Cheryl, the single mother from their couples classes. The
woman who's muscles had muscles. "I've seen the way she smothers her son in
class. Why would you expose your brother to that?"

"She's a really nice woman. She's a bit overprotective sometimes, but let's
face it, Mark could use a little extra protection these days. Maybe if they
hit it off he can move back out of here."

"Are you seriously setting him up with her to get him out of the house?"

"No, don't be silly." Mark walked up to them, dressed in a collared shirt and
slacks. He looked stiff and nervous. Immediately Kate began to adjust Mark's
collar and move his hair with her fingers. As she hovered over her brother,
John wondered what it must be like to have to rely on his once little sister.
When he saw Kate lick her fingers and rub at an apparent smudge on Marks cheek
John stepped in.

"Alright honey, lets go please."

Later in the restaurant restroom the two ladies Kate and Cheryl were taking a
few minutes to freshen up.

"So, what do you think about Mark?" Kate asked.

"Oh, he's so adorable! And smart, just like you said." Cheryl said. "I think
its neat that we both had sons the same age too."

"I agree. Wait until you meet his daughter. She is so cute! But she is a
handful for him. I think she's getting too big for him to control."

"The poor guy." Cheryl said. "It sounds like he needs a strong woman in his
life."

"That's why I hooked you up with him sweetie!" Kate laughed.

Late that evening after everyone had more than a few drinks, John sat with his
wife and watched his friend interact with Cheryl.

"Oh, you poor thing." Cheryl soothed as she place her hand on the table over
his hand and held it. "This woman you were dating sounds like such a monster."

Mark seemed to be getting more and more animated as he gave away more details
to her about his experience with his last girlfriend.

"Oh my, I can't understand how any woman could ever treat such a great guy
that way. She must be a total psycho." Cheryl slid closer to him in the booth
and put her arm around him. John was a little surprised to see Mark rest his
head against her shoulder. Then Cheryl squeezed him a little tighter and
nuzzled the top of his head with her chin. Clearly the alcohol had broken
their inhibitions down significantly. John thought about how much Mark was
benefiting from Cheryl's practice with her son at hugging without crushing.
Their faces were only inches from each other now, and their eyes were locked.
"I wouldn't let anyone lay a hand on you if I were around." John heard her
say. Mark smiled and she reached her other arm across, resting it on his lap.
Next John watched Mark's hand travel slowly up Cheryl's arm from his lap. His
fingers seemed to be tracing the detail of muscle and vein as his hand moved.
Their eyes were locked into each other completely now. When his hand reached
her upper arm John saw her triceps emerge and tighten, completely filling up
his small looking hand. They both giggled and Mark shyly pulled his hand away.

John felt Kate nudging him in the ribs. When he looked over she was giving him
a smug grin, as if to say "I told you so." At that point Kate announced they
needed to get back home. Cheryl of course offered to drive Mark home later, so
the couple left them alone.

When they got outside the restaurant and started through the parking lot John
asked, "Did you really expect Mark to go for her like that?"

"Well, Mark's pretty smart and he's been through a lot. Sometimes a woman has
a hunch about these things."

"I just don't know what he sees in her." John said as they approached the car.
He opened the passenger door but a long arm reached past him and pushed it
closed again. He turned around to see his wife looking down at him with a smug
grin.

"The world is a different place now baby. Mark needs a strong woman to hold
his hand and lead him through it, just like I'm doing for you." She leaned in
toward his upturned face and captured his lips with hers. Her long sinuous
tongue made its way slowly and deliberately throughout the depths of his
mouth. When she was satisfied, she stepped back and opened the car door for
him. "Now I better get you home before I take you right here in the parking
lot baby."