“Well, that’s one immediate improvement for me to work on,” said Kaley, eyeing the tiny broken communicator in her palm. “Waterproofing.”
“’Sweatproofing’ would be more accurate,” Max muttered, similarly drenched in perspiration and not in the best of moods. He was sat back up on her computer desk with a bottlecap of water he was using to rinse out his mouth, although after several swills he was starting to think he’d never get the taste of toe jam off his tongue.
“I’m so sorry, Max.” This marked Kaley’s fourth apology since freeing him from her shoe. “You weren’t stuck down there for long, were you?”
“Long enough”, he wanted to reply, but he knew the giantess meant well. He forced a weary smile. “No. You saved me before it got too intense.”
“That’s good!” She seemed to relax. “And really, this goes to show why all this testing is so important. To pick up little kinks like this, so we can iron them all out, right?”
“If you say so,” he sighed. “So, what’s next on the agenda? Crushing? Feet? Farts?" "Please don’t say it’s all of the above.”
“Actually, I was thinking you’d earned a break.” Kaley replied. “You’ve been so helpful to me already. Working so hard all day, I’m sure you must be exhausted! I was thinking we could find you a proper space of your own in here. Somewhere, nice, snug and secure, where you can just settle in and crash out for the night.”
“Oh.” He blinked. “That… sounds nice.”
The blonde giantess smiled at him. “Come on, you.” She lay out her palm for him to step on. “First things first. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
She carried him through to the bathroom and placed him by the sink. She ran the hot water, testing the temperature with her finger before picking Max up again and holding him in the stream. The warm water cascading over him felt like a gift from god, or rather, goddess; the stress of the day seemed to melt right out of his body, as all the sweat and grime he was coated in (Kaley’s, mostly) was washed away below.
Afterward they went back through to her bedroom and Kaley pulled out a glass display case she’d used for some previous engineering assignment. It wasn’t massive, the size of a small fish tank or so, but it had a lid to keep him safe, and after piling it with a selection of her softest clothes it was actually kind of cosy. “And I promise not to fart in this one,” she joked awkwardly. Max didn’t laugh.
Next she brought him another cap of water, plus a tiny plate of potato chip crumbs crushed up in her fist. She even gave him her outdated smartphone and logged him into her Netflix so he could watch whatever shows he wanted.
“Can I get you anything else?” She asked. “Soda, or something? I don’t drink it myself, but I can run out if you – ”
“Kaley. I’m fine, honestly,” Max chuckled. “This is all just… this is really nice. Thank you.”
She beamed. “I’ll come check on you in a little while. If you need me for anything, you’ve got my cell. Okay?”
Max sank back into a pile of enormous leggings, found a random superhero film to watch (anything but Ant-Man) and finally, after an extremely stressful day, allowed himself to relax. “This isn’t so bad,” he thought to himself. If it weren’t for his newfound occupation, he might even learn to like it.
*
Testing, unfortunately, resumed the following morning.
“So, uh.” Max examined the newest product, laying before him on the desk. “You invented a band-aid?”
“This actually isn’t one of mine. They were handing them out as free samples at the seminar.” Kaley picked up the small, thin bandage. “It’s called a Shrinkie Sticker. You use it as a cheap, quick way to attach a tiny temporarily to your body. Basically a band-aid, yes, but modified to support the weight of the attached tiny, and apparently stronger so they can’t break free.”
“Right. We wouldn’t want that.”
“As far as their products went, this was one of the more humane,” she went on, “so I want to give it a try just to see what other improvements I might be able to make. Maybe the adhesive could be stronger, or it feels itchy after a period of use, or something.” She paused. “The bad news is, I’m going to need to get sweaty.”
Max looked up nervously. He didn’t like where this was going.
“I’m thinking you and I should hit the gym.”
“You mean – the campus fitness centre?” He made a face. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to be out in public? What if someone sees me?”
“Well, that’s why we’re going so early. We should have the place to ourselves. Even the Diana girls don’t usually start filling the place up for another couple hours. Besides,” she added, “where you’re going, I, um… I’d be surprised if anyone saw you.”
Max saw Kaley surreptitiously running a hand over the ample curves of her ass. “No... not in there!”
“Wait, Kaley,” he protested. “Do you think, maybe, I could have a say in where I get stuck?”
She blushed. “Um? I – I guess. As long as it’s out of sight. And sweaty. The test isn’t much use otherwise.”
“Got it,” he agreed, mentally wiping his brow. Surely anywhere was better than there.
*
By the time they arrived at the fitness centre, he was already regretting his choice.
“See? I told you we’d be alone,” Kaley whispered into her shoulder as she crossed the main floor of the gym. “How’s it going in there?”
From within the smelly prison of Kaley’s armpit, Max let out a sigh. “It’s going.”
It had seemed a good idea at the time; or at least, not the worst one. After first turning down the options of being glued to her ass, feet, and inside of her cleavage, Max feared he was close to losing his freedom to choose altogether, so had jumped at the next suggestion.
He’d convinced himself it was the best of a bad hand. Even after being taped in, he’d found the warmth and softness of the giantess’ underarm almost pleasant. But just a few minutes after leaving her room, the first sweat-drops began to form and a potent musty scent blossomed around him. By now the smell was overpowering, and she had yet to actually begin exercising.
“Here we are,” Kaley muttered, arriving at the stationary bike in the furthest corner of the room. She set down her bag and water bottle and got out her gym towel. “I usually go for an hour or so. Do you think you can manage that long?”
“Uh… maybe?”
“Well, just do the best you can. I’m going to listen to some music, so unless you need anything, I’ll see you after my workout.”
Soon after, Kaley was hard at work pedalling away while Max did his best to get comfortable. The sticker pinned him stomach-first to the inside of her armpit and trapped both of his arms, but it seemed as strong as advertised, so he could relax without fear of falling off. His head was turned to one side, flat against her warm, sticky skin. He could hear the steady beating of her heart within.
He took a breath, cringing at the acrid smell but knowing he really should appreciate it for the time being. It was only going to get worse.
At around the fifteen minute mark the sweat really began to pour. Perspiration trickled down Kaley’s body in thick, salty torrents, with Max mostly powerless to avoid them. Soon he was more drenched in sweat than Kaley was, despite her doing all the exercise.
The air, which had been unpleasant to begin with, was now as hot and humid as a sauna, and so sour and pungent it practically stung his nostrils to inhale. He squirmed uncomfortably, turning his head repeatedly to either side in an attempt to find an angle that smelled even marginally better.
Unfortunately in his twisting, he failed to notice a larger bead of sweat oozing down the curve of her pit, on a collision course with his head.
“Glubblub?!” In an instant, Max seemed to have been plunged underwater. The sweat-drop was so fat it completely engulfed his head – and at his tiny size, he was too weak to break the surface tension! The rancid liquid simply stuck to him like a watery face-hugger, clinging on no matter how hard he shook.
There was only one thing he could do. Opening wide, Max guzzled down the rancid sweat, drinking swallow after swallow until at last he broke the surface. He gasped and inhaled greedily, huffing Kaley’s underarm as if it were a bouquet of flowers.
After that he was far more wary of the sweat pooling above and around him. He dodged the streams he was able to, and forced himself to swallow the ones he couldn’t. He quickly became skilled at spotting which drops would flow in his direction and licking them up before they grew too large. It was disgusting, but it meant not drowning, and it did help pass the time.
Before he knew it, Kaley was already winding down. “Phew!” She gasped, panting hard as she towelled off her pink glistening body. She slid off the bike and stood for a moment, recovering, then lifted her arm an inch. “You okay in there?” She whispered.
“Uhh.” Max groaned. It was hard to say who was more tired.
“Sorry. Almost done.” Kaley performed a series of quick cool-down exercises – some stretches, a squat or two – then grabbed her things and hurried out.
When Max was at long last peeled away from Kaley’s dark, dank cave, he managed exactly two steps before collapsing flat on his back atop her open palm.
“All tuckered out?” She giggled at him, setting him down gently on a bench to rest. “You lasted the full hour though! Or very nearly. I had to stop when I noticed someone coming in. Still, good work!”
“That’s me. No pain, no gain.” Max wheezed. He decided not to tell her about all the sweat he’d been forced to swallow. “Why spoil her good mood?”
“Look at this, though,” Kaley tutted, dangling the soggy band-aid. “Hardly used, and you can already see where the glue is starting to dissolve. I bet we wouldn’t have gotten another half-hour out of this. But that’s good! It’s an easy upgrade for me to work on.”
“Sure.” Max felt recovered enough to stand and looked around the room. He was only now realising, to his embarrassment, that Kaley had taken him into the women’s changing room. Obviously she couldn’t very well have gone into the men’s, but still he felt uncomfortable, like this was somewhere he shouldn’t be.
His awkwardness intensified when he turned around to find his giantess owner stripping out of her sweaty clothes. “U-um? Kaley?”
“Yes?” She asked. Realisation followed a second later. “O-oh!” Burning bright red, she struggled to hike her panties back into place while covering her breasts with one arm.
Max averted his eyes. “Sorry. I’ll just… uh…”
“Oh shoot, Max. I don’t know what to do now, I wasn’t really thinking. And obviously I can’t… I mean, of course I shouldn’t… you know. Unless you want me to?”
“Want you to what?”
She burned even brighter than before. “Take you into the sh-shower with me.”
Max had to stifle a laugh. It was kind of funny, after how intimate he’d become with various parts of her body in just the past two days, that she was this awkward about being naked in front of him. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, though.
But at the same time… there weren’t many places to hide out here, and it was a public space. Without Kaley’s protection there was a real risk that just about anyone could walk inside and claim him.
After a moment, he decided...