“No”, Val decided, “nothing really happened”. It was somewhat unnerving to have those feet propped up behind her, but she could bear with it.

She endured several minutes before finally turning around again, and the feet were still there. Val caught herself thinking she hasn’t been close to a man in a long time. She’s spent most of her time with Hannah and Sophie, rarely leaving their apartment as she could do most of her studies from home and it usually was difficult to venture out somewhere. But now there was a man - or, at least, a part of a man - only meters (on her scale) away.

Being a tiny, she was used to being around people’s feet sometimes. Hannah and Sophia were mindful of where they stepped, but every once in a while she just kind of naturally ended up in proximity to their lower appendages. She’s never thought much of it. Hannah had tiny size 5 feet, very slender, almost bony. She usually wore socks. Sophia’s were a bit larger at US 6 and she was barefoot more often. Either of those sets of feet never made her feel as awkward as she felt now. The man’s feet were huge compared to her, and they radiated power.

Just then, he flexed his soles, and she got a glimpse into the subtle motions of the muscles hidden below the skin. Val bit her lip nervously.

She felt inadequate in the presence of these feet. She felt smaller than ever before. She felt vulnerable; these meaty soles could easily smother her entire little form and flatten her in an instant.

She turned back to the screen, by now completely disinterested in the plot. “Maybe I should leave”, she thought helplessly. “Or ask him to put them down. Complain about the smell.”

She did none of that. Val closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her own breathing. “Calm down. Get back to watching. It’s what you wanted. It’s why you’re here. These are just feet… and he’s being very inconsiderate…”

She then heard a shuffle behind her. Val almost jumped before cautiously looking back.

The feet repositioned. Still crossed one over the other, but now they were closer, and now they towered directly over her. Loomed over her. Occupied an even larger fraction of her view.

The temperature rose several degrees. Val felt colour rushing to her cheeks. She kept staring at those soles, thinking to herself that they weren’t just powerful - they were attractive, in a weird way. These were well-formed, strong feet with no irregularities to them. Tips of the toes formed an arch. Smooth, shiny soles seemed tough, but not overly so.

The heavy aroma permeated the space around her, it filled her lungs with every breath now. It wasn’t the gross stink of unwashed feet, it was just a strong smell of a man who’s spent some time on his feet in open shoes; still it was strong enough to make her eyes water a bit. She wasn’t repulsed, however, just slightly overwhelmed. “Overwhelmed” was a good word in general to describe her current state. Everything about this man’s casually propped up feet was overwhelming to her.

Shame stirred up within her, since she knew she was staring and felt almost creepy because of it. She averted her eyes, and, feeling on edge, turned back to the screen, her mind blank now. She tried to calm down, to think of anything else, to control her emotions, and she almost succeeded. “These are just feet”, she told herself, “and he’s honestly just a jerk. Or he just doesn’t know I’m here…” This latter thought got her unreasonably excited at the mere idea that to the man behind these impressive soles she didn’t even exist. She closed her eyes, scolding herself, when she heard a familiar sound of flesh rubbing against polished wood. Then Val sensed a light pressure on the back of her seat. It was like an electric shock to her; she almost jumped.

Valerie looked directly up and, just like she suspected, the man has extended his legs even more and the foot on the bottom has reached her seat. The top of her headrest barely reached the middle of his heel. Above, the smooth soles reigned in her immediate space, and their natural slight lean forward made it so that if one was to draw a straight vertical line from the ball of his foot it would inevitably meet Val’s form. There was no way that he didn’t feel the tiny seat, but if he did, he didn’t react in the least.

Val swallowed the lump in her throat. She felt her seat creak a bit from the pressure on the back. She felt even smaller now, in this immediate proximity to his soles. With the rest of the hall only lit by the faint colors of the screen, she could barely see other people and certainly couldn’t hear anything but the movie sounds (which at the moment were limited to the steel song of a battle taking place). She felt alone save for those feet, just a tiny bug caught way too close to them.

She could call Sophia, but she didn’t. Valerie felt like by now she's made enough little sounds that even if Sophia kept the little comm earbud in, she probably turned it off, otherwise she'd react by now.

As she sat there, a dust mote got dislodged from the giant’s toes. It fell on her shoulder.

With her hand shaking, Valerie reached for it to brush it off.

Trembling, she pulled her legs up and turned around in her seat, kneeling on the cushion. The flesh of his foot was right there now. In front of her. She remained there, mesmerized by the view, paralysed by its presence, engulfed in its shadow. The hot musk invaded her being.

“I still haven’t even seen his face”, she thought to herself.

Sheepishly, carefully, without really thinking, she reached out and lightly touched his sole. Her fingers were met with the slick layer of sweat. She held her hand in place for several long seconds, then slowly moved it away. Then, she pulled her hand back and, with her mind still empty, she licked her fingers. Salty taste invaded her mouth.

Deathly embarrassed now at her own actions, Valerie turned around and slid out of her seat, lowering herself onto the surface of the armrest and using the seat as a back rest. She hastily wiped her hand on her skirt. She felt like her heart would punch outside from her chest at any moment now.

“What am I doing”, she wondered, her blank stare trying to focus on the screen. “I need out. Out of here.”

Once again she heard a faint sound from behind. She sneaked a quick peek. The man had uncrossed his legs; only the bottom one was now in sight, with the bare sole still towering imperiously. Valerie shook her head and turned away. Soon after, though, she heard his leg return and cross over once again. “Probably an itch”, she thought to herself.

With a dull thud - one which still seemed very loud, one that made her gasp - something fell next to her. Valerie almost shrieked.

She looked at the object.

It was a piece of popcorn.