The Training of Jeff Stintum Ch. 05

Chapter 5: Coffee

Jeff was pretty sure he had thought everything through as he drove intown to the coffee shop that Sarah had suggested. He had strained his mind back to the night before, trying to recall his words, his tone...anything he had conveyed to Sarah in that message he left for her. Jeff couldn't remember much, but one thing was for certain: he knew he had not talked about all the weird thoughts he had been having about their disparity in size. What a relief, he thought. That would have been super awkward to explain. Disrespectful, really. At least he had his pride intact. He sighed in relief as he reassured himself once again. This cycle of worry and reassurance had dominated his day ever since he had read Sarah's first. There had been no consistency in anything Jeff had done to prepare...he had thrown some clothes on without thinking, yet taken great care to shave the (very thin) stubble on his face. He hadn't bothered to take a shower, yet he had put on his best cologne. On a mad whim he had retrieved Sarah's hair tie and stuffed it in his pocket, yet he had successfully managed to forget about it.

The coffee shop was a cute little boutique place tucked away in one of the quiet, wooded neighborhoods of the big city. Jeff couldn't help but shake his head as he walked up to it after parking. It was painted a deep purple, and interspersed with little moons and stars. There was even a little book cart outside that sold a variety of books for $1 each. 'Yeah,' thought Jeff as he opened the door to go inside (and the bell attached to the door gave a little ring), 'this place probably charges like $5 for a coffee. All fancy-pants, woo-woo shit. What did Sarah have against Starbucks?'

Jeff would've kept his thoughts coming, but he had just spotted Sarah. Any feelings of reassurance, of security, of confidence he had managed to build up vanished instantly. She was sitting at a small table in one of the corners of the one-room shop. Her cascade of blond hair made her impossible to miss, as did her...size. Jeff immediately went weak in the knees and stood rooted to the spot near the door. He had subconsciously worked his way up to promising himself that he would totally ignore any freaky thoughts he had about all the size shit that had invaded his brain the past few weeks. But one look at Sarah and every promise was broken. She wore skin-tight jeans that left nothing in her legs, hips, or ass to the imagination — she positively filled the seat she was sitting in, and some of her butt and hips even extended over the sides. She rose over the table imperiously; she wore a brilliantly red, short-sleeve top which fit her form and showed her long, full white arms and displayed her breasts...her breasts...Jeff felt his mouth go utterly dry. He had not realized she was that developed; her scrubs must have hid them when he saw her in the hospital. He could see that she was still wearing all the accoutrements on her arms, as she had them splayed out against the table...her bracelets and her watch, which all made her look so...so adult. And Jeff truly lost his breath when he saw that she was wearing black calf-high boots. Boots! He couldn't believe it. It looked like they were the kind of boots with a heel too. He couldn't look anymore. He broke his eyes away from Sarah as he fixed his stare on a particular corner of an ornate bookshelf.

What was going on? It was like he had no control, absolutely no option other than to notice everything about her, to take in as much as he could possibly take. Why couldn't he just approach her like he did with everybody else — with that calm, confident, casual, don't-really-care mentality? There was really something going on. He looked back at her. She was facing the door, but she seemed to be attentively typing on her laptop. Jeff also noticed that she had a book splayed in her lap, which she was now consulting. She had her earbuds in, and her head was nodding subtly in a rhythmic manner, so she must have been listening to music.

"Can I help you, sir?" Jeff was jolted away from his thoughts. The barista was at the counter, looking at him expectantly. Jeff darted his eyes once more over to Sarah. She still didn't appear to realize he was there.

"Yes...uh, yes," said Jeff, hurriedly limping his way to the counter. He scanned the menu above the counter, which was painted in colored chalk. "I'll have...uh...I'll have the, the, oh what the heck, the latte." Jeff wasn't exactly sure what a "latte" was, but it sounded fancy enough. Maybe Sarah would be impressed.

"Ok, sir," said the barista, smiling, "That'll be $4.35." Jeff handed her his debit card, and then realized right after she swiped it that he didn't have enough for the drink. Didn't he only have like 3-something dollars left? 'Oh well,' he thought, 'it'll probably still go through, and I might overdraft but that's fine, whatever, my parents and I can deal with that later...'

"Sorry, sir," said the barista, staring at the computer screen with a concerned look on her face, "it seems like this card isn't going through. Do you have another one? Or cash, maybe?"

"Uh...uh," Jeff fumbled, growing increasingly red and flustered. He looked over at Sarah, who still seemed preoccupied with her work. He looked back over to the barista, who was looking at him sweetly with her eyebrows slightly raised in gentle concern. She was young, Jeff realized...auburn hair, cute face, and he was looking up at her. If he looked at her straight he would be looking straight into the middle of her neck. He shook his head, trying to chase away these thoughts.

"I'll just uh, get the 12-ounce drip coffee," he said quietly. The barista eyed him for a moment, unsure if he appreciated that his card didn't seem to be working. But then she smiled at him and nodded and said "That'll be $2.78...same card?"

Jeff nodded, and was relieved to see it go through. The barista got his coffee and handed it to him with another friendly smile, and now he was left to approach Sarah's table. His heart began beating quickly. He became painfully self-conscious of his skinny legs that stuck out of his long shorts; was Sarah going to look down on him for ordering such a boring coffee? This shirt that he was wearing really was hanging loosely on him...how would it fit Sarah? What had he actually said in that message? Was Sarah going to hate him? But she had invited him to get coffee, right? What was it going to be like when she stood up in those boots? He could make sure they don't stand next to each other. She had her own place. Could they go back there, maybe? The hair tie! Would she want it back?? He stood in front of her table. Her head came up to his chest. It was still beating gently in time to her music as she focused intently on her screen, typing. She fetched the book off her lap and marked a little note in it with her pencil. The bracelets clinked on her arms. Jeff continued to stand there with his coffee, unable to do anything else. She kept working, and he kept waiting.

Finally, after a couple minutes, Jeff managed to step forward and put his cup of coffee down on the table. Sarah immediately looked up and smiled at him, taking her earbuds out and closing her book and laptop.

"Hey!" she said merrily.

"Hey," said Jeff, still fixed to his spot and unable to offer any emotion or feeling. He also couldn't blink. He wondered when Sarah was going to stand up and give him another one of her hugs.

A couple moments passed, and Sarah laughed. "Well have a seat, Jeff!" He did, almost spilling his coffee in the process. When he sat down he realized how small the table actually was, or at least how small Sarah made it seem. Her arms took up well over half of the table, and she seemed to realize this, moving them back a bit to the middle. Sitting down, his butt felt tiny in the seat that Sarah so effortlessly filled, and he realized that his eyes were even with the bottom of her neck. He shut his eyes, overwhelmed.

"Hmm, let's see, what did you get?" asked Sarah, leaning over the table to look in to his cup. "Oh! A black coffee. Black as night. No fuss or frills with your coffee, huh? I like it."

Jeff opened his eyes. "Yeah, um. Yeah, I just like it mainly straight. Just the shot of caffeine is all that really counts, right?" He was doing it; he was having a conversation with Sarah Helleger. His confidence began to swell.

Sarah laughed and reached up a hand to flip her hair slightly. "Haha, yep! It's one of the many pleasures in life." She then leaned in forward on her arms, looking down into his eyes. "So tell me, what's been going on in the life of Mr. Jeff Stintum? What're you up to these days?"

Jeff made sure to take a nice long sip of his coffee before he started. Sarah waited patiently, her eyes hovering on him with interest. He had leaned back into his chair, so he wasn't so close to her body. "Well, he said deliberately, "it's a complicated thing, life. Sometimes you think you're doing one thing and then you just end up doing another. Sometimes you have this one project but — damn it, something else comes up and you just gotta go after it, you know?"

Sarah nodded her head kindly. Jeff continued: "I mean, life is a crazy thing, you know! Right?" Sarah nodded again, saying gently, "It sure is." Jeff felt his courage rise still more. "And, you know, there's a lot of problems in the world. A lot of things wrong. And, well, I just feel that I can't just sit around anymore and support the system."

"The system," said Sarah quietly. She raised up an arm and held her chin in thought as she looked at Jeff, furrowing her brow. "Hmmm, that's interesting, Jeff. What do you mean by "the system"?"

"Everything!" said Jeff excitedly. He was so glad Sarah was asking him about his work. "Just...everything that happens. The rules we all live under. The uh...narratives that we are fed by the people in charge. It's all just a big lie. A big smokescreen."

"Uh huh," said Sarah. She put her arm down and leaned in again. Jeff realized that, in his excitement, he had also leaned in, and their arms were right next to each other on the table. In a moment which temporarily froze his mind, he saw the clarity, the ridiculousness, the absurdity of their contrast. Her arms were so smooth and solid, from her wrist all the way up, and his were just skin and bone...surely with much smaller bones. Good lord her wrist had to be as big as his upper arm...bigger. Could it really be that her arms were...were as big as his legs? Sarah Helleger? His little neighbor? But all this was in a moment, and Jeff recovered. He was on a role.

"And," he continued, "and the worst thing is, everyone walking around with their heads in the sand, and they have no idea. All they see is the smokescreen. They don't see the truth."

"The truth?" asked Sarah, raising her eyebrows. "Wow, this is so interesting, Jeff. What's the truth?" Her questions were so innocent, Jeff realized, so much so that they were beginning to annoy him. She didn't really seem to be grasping the gravity of the whole situation.

"What's the truth?" he laughed a little and took another long sip of his coffee. Sarah again waited patiently, not taking her eyes off him. Jeff noticed with a bit of latent fear that her eyes were beginning to travel across his body, eying his torso, his limbs, his legs.

"The truth...the truth," he said at last. Sarah eyes flashed back up to his face. She had been fixated on his wrists. "Where do I start...where do I start?" Jeff had no idea where to start. So he said, "Well, how about we just say that everything isn't as it seems. Am I right?"

"You're definitely right, Jeff," said Sarah quietly. "Lots of things aren't what they seem." Jeff nodded vigorously as he drank more of his coffee. Sarah sighed a little and then extended her fingers out together, cracking them. The popping sounds made him jump, and Sarah laughed a little.

"Haha, sorry Jeff, I just can't help it sometimes, it's like a little tic, you know?"

Jeff nodded and for some reason decided to try and crack his own fingers — they cracked, but they barely made any sound. The conversation had dulled, and Jeff had no idea what to do.

"So you still play drums sometimes!" said Sarah. "That's cool. I actually go to some shows myself. Fun times! You've been playing since you were a teenager, right?"

"Right," said Jeff, failing to mention that he hadn't played his drums in months.

"I've often wondered what playing drums does to your hands," said Sarah. "Like, how calloused they get and everything. You've been playing for years — I'm curious. Do you mind?" She already had her hands ready and Jeff could not shake his head "no" even though he wanted to. He was afraid of what she'd find. She reached out her hands and took his right hand in her grip, flipped it over, and began examining his palm. Jeff had to shut his mouth to keep from making a loud exhale, and he felt the unmistakable glut of blood making its inevitable way into his cock. Her hands were unbelievably huge compared to his. And warm. And...strong. The way her fingers moved his palm, turned his hand, pried around his fingers...it all hit home to Jeff the unmistakable power in her hands. And they were still — feminine. Her nails were long and painted the same red as her top. Her skin was soft. And yet, underneath she was strong, and effortlessly taking control of his hand.

"Wow, Jeff!" she laughed, "Your hands are as soft as a baby! No callouses at all! How do you do it? What kind of lotion do you use? I gotta know."

Jeff knew that his hands were soft from all the lube he used on himself, not lotion. But he said, as casually as he could, "Oh you know, a touch of that here and there. Not really a big lotion user."

Sarah laughed again. "Well, they sure feel nice." And she lingered a bit more on his hand, examining it. Then without warning she wrapped her hand gently around his wrist and held his hand up. Then she put her other hand up to his, in a comparison. Jeff couldn't believe it; she just...did it...casually. There was nothing he could do against it — his brain hardened in fear as he looked. Her fingers rose above his and her hand extended beyond his on all sides. It was ridiculous, absurd. His fingers only came halfway up to hers, which looked even longer with her long, sharp nails extending even more outward. Her palm dwarfed his, encompassed it almost cartoonishly. This girl was 7 years younger. And she was doing this comparison offhandedly, nonchalantly, as a kind of curiosity. Their eyes met and she squinted at him and smiled genially, and then she brought fingers down in a claw on top of his, to emphasize the size difference. She looked at Jeff again and smiled once more, and then she engulfed his hand in hers and gave it a little shake, which literally shook his whole arm, from his hand all the way to his shoulder. Then she released him and sat back, smiling at him. He sat in his chair, unable to speak.

"Well, wanna take our coffees and go on a little walk, Jeff?" she said.

"Oh, but wait!" she quickly added, catching herself, "I almost forgot about your hip! I noticed you're still limping — maybe a walk wouldn't be the best thing right now. How is it feeling?"

Jeff had to snap back from the brain freeze of Sarah's easygoing, spontaneous hand comparison, but he managed to say, "Uhh...oh yeah! Yeah, my hip. Well...uh, not too good, actually."

"Oh really?" Sarah looked concerned. "Have you gotten your results back from the x-ray?"

"Umm...yeah. They said I have this thing...this thing called, like, uhhh...macular acrosis or —"

"Avascular necrosis?" Sarah ventured.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it."

Sarah blinked slowly and reached her hand over to Jeff's arm and held it briefly. Jeff was too afraid to look down (but he felt the warm flesh of her hand and fingers extend across most of his skinny forearm), so with difficulty he kept eye contact with her. He noticed that her eyes were sea green.

"Aww Jeff, I'm so sorry you have to deal with that. It can be a nasty condition. Are you Stage 4?"

"Yeah," said Jeff, and then he thought back to Sarah's face examining his x-ray. "Did you...did you know already? Just from looking at my x-ray?"

Sarah sat back and sighed, swelling her diaphragm up and down. "I mean, that's what it looked like to me. Dana thought it was some early-onset arthritis, but I thought there was just too much bone decay. To me, it looked more like avascular necrosis, but I didn't want to believe it, because you know, you're gonna have to get hip replacement surgery. And I really didn't want to freak you out with a diagnosis that turned out to be incorrect."

"Well, uhh...it's pretty impressive that you got it right, though," said Jeff, feeling able enough to continue on the conversation. "Is that what you're training for? Bone stuff?"

Sarah laughed and looked at Jeff through her hair. "Orthopedics? Haha, yes, well that's one thing I'm considering. I'm just fascinated by the human body, you know? We're incredible organisms. For a while there in high school I was convinced I was gonna go into neurology, especially since there's so much progress being made on degenerative brain diseases. But then I got super into hematology early in college and was kind of on that kick for a while; blood just seems pretty simple, right? Well, there's actually tons more to it — and...well anyway now I'm into my orthopedic phase, and I guess we'll see where it goes from here!"

She laughed again, mostly at herself, and sat back in her chair. Jeff wasn't really feeling able to comprehend all those words she had just used, but he felt like replying in a paternal way would remind himself that he was the older one here. "Well, just look at little ole Sarah! A full-fledged adult and on her way to medical school —"

"Fingers crossed!" interrupted Sarah, crossing her large fingers.

"Oh yes, fingers crossed on med school," continued Jeff, choosing not to cross his own fingers. "I just...I just can't believe it, Sarah. You've grown...up. Like, you've really grown up."

"Yeah, I'm big now," Sarah laughed, puffing herself up and sitting even taller in her seat. Jeff immediately regretted instigating this behavior, as he now felt even smaller as she loomed over him. He felt especially tiny knowing that, even as he was now sitting up as straight as he could, there was nothing he could do to match her. She was just more person. "For a little bit there in high school I hated my size, but now I like it." She stretched her arms out over her head to emphasize just how far she could reach, and Jeff couldn't help but gape at her figure. She saw him staring and put down her arms, laughing.

"I hope you don't mind me holding your hand like that, Jeff. Or stretching in front of you like this. I just feel comfortable around you. You were always so...so nice to me as a kid. And you would help me. Like remember when that mean boy took my bow and arrow?"

Jeff could not for the life of him recall this incident, especially now, but he said, "Oh, yeah! Yeah, the bow and arrow."

"You made him give it back to me," said Sarah. "You said that no one could mess with me because I was under your protection. And it was true — I felt safe that day. You were so sweet." Sarah clearly meant her words in earnest, but even as she inclined her head to the side and looked down at him with her big affectionate eyes, Jeff could not avoid the thought that everything she was talking about was far, far away in the past.

"And now I'm all grown up!" said Sarah, laughing as she gestured both hands to her tremendous body. "Now I can protect YOU!" She said these last words playfully at Jeff, reaching one of her fingers and poking him gently in the chest. Even this simple motion from her caused Jeff to steady himself in his seat against the pressure from her finger.