Feeling Small Ch. 01: Dinner Plans

We'd only been living in my apartment for three weeks, but it already didn't feel like mine anymore. The bathroom smelled like her shampoo. Her earrings were on my nightstand. Half the closet was taken up by her dresses, and somehow, that made the place feel less like a temporary stop and more like somewhere real. Permanent.

I liked that. I think.

"Fab," Ada called from the bathroom, "do we still have that garlic I bought, or did you eat it raw again like a freak?"

I rolled my eyes, pulling it from the fridge. "Ha ha. I saved it."

"That's growth."

I peeled the cloves and tried not to burn the sauce while I chopped. I could hear the hair dryer whirring through the wall, then the quiet click of makeup brushes. This dinner had become more of a thing than I expected, but that was Ada -- she made things feel important just by doing them.

"Can you believe Val's bringing a boyfriend?" she said, reappearing in the hallway in just an oversized tee and underwear. She looked over her shoulder as she walked to the bedroom. "The same girl who said dicks gave her the ick?"

"People evolve," I muttered, watching her disappear again. "Or mutate."

She laughed. "We even messed around a little in high school, y'know."

That made me blink. "Wait--like 'kissed once at a party' messed around or..."

"Like we were girlfriends for two weeks. Kind of. It was mostly joking. We were figuring stuff out."

"Should I be jealous?"

She leaned into the doorway again and raised a brow. "Do you want to be?"

I looked away, suddenly very interested in mincing the garlic.

She laughed and vanished again.

⸻

When the doorbell rang, I wiped my hands and tried to breathe. It was just dinner. Just Ada's friend and her boyfriend. No reason for me to feel... off.

I opened the door, expecting to see some CrossFit-looking guy standing next to her. Instead, it was just Val.

She wasn't tall exactly -- but something about the way she stood made her feel taller. Her eyes were sharp, amused. Like she'd already read the next page of the book and was watching me catch up. She wore a wine-colored top that hugged her just enough to make me conscious of where my eyes were going.

"Hey," she said, smiling like we were already friends. "You're Fab, right?"

I nodded. "Val?"

She stepped inside, handing me a bottle of red. "Yeah. My boyfriend bailed last minute. Work thing."

"Oh." I shut the door, feeling a little too aware of how quiet the apartment was with just us in it. "That sucks."

She gave a shrug. "Eh. He's fine. Probably for the best."

I didn't know what that meant. I didn't ask.

She looked around like she was casing the place. "You cleaned. That's cute."

I forced a polite laugh.

She turned to me again, and I saw it -- a flicker of recognition. "I think we met once? You were blackout drunk at a party. Threw up in a sink."

My stomach turned. "Right. Yeah. Super proud of that."

She held her hands up, grinning. "Didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Not embarrassed." I was. "Just... that was a long time ago."

There was a beat of silence. She didn't fill it.

I cleared my throat. "Wine's a good pick. You like red?"

Before she could answer, Ada breezed in like a warm breeze. She kissed Val on the cheek, hugged her like they hadn't seen each other in years, and then shot me a look like, See? This is gonna be fun.

⸻

Dinner went fine. Mostly. They did most of the talking. Ada laughed too hard at Val's stories, and Val kept looking at me like she was deciding how much I was worth paying attention to. I smiled when I had to. Ada's hand stayed on my thigh under the table, warm and grounding.

We eventually migrated to the couch, half a bottle deep, still riding the buzz of food and wine and whatever the hell was simmering under the surface.

"So," Ada said, leaning back against me, "how's it going with the gym rat?"

Val raised a brow. "He's not that bad."

"He's not your usual type. Or gender."

Val shrugged. "He's... pliable. We've been experimenting. It's been good."

Ada perked up. "Like what?"

"Roleplay stuff. Light kink." She took a sip of wine. "Magic."

I stiffened.

Ada tilted her head. "Magic?"

Val looked right at me. "Shrinking, actually."

My chest tightened.

"It's a spell I found," she went on casually. "Makes your partner small for a little while. Very safe. Very fun."

Ada turned to me, laughing. "That sounds hilarious."

I tried to laugh too. It came out wrong. "You're joking, right?"

Val smiled. "Not at all."

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. Something inside me knotted up -- shame, fear, arousal -- I couldn't tell which was louder.

Ada caught it. Her gaze flicked toward me, softer now. "Hey, is this... something you're into?"

I looked down. "I've thought about it. Once or twice."

Val leaned forward and pulled a folded page from her purse. "Just in case you're curious."

She placed it on the table like a card she'd been waiting to play.

"I should head out," she said, standing. "Thanks for dinner. And the wine." She kissed Ada's cheek again and gave me a half-smile that I couldn't read.

Then she was gone.

⸻

The apartment felt smaller after she left. Or maybe I just felt more exposed.

Ada was quiet for a moment, then picked up the page.

"She's serious," she said. "This is... wow. Specific."

"Yeah."

"You're sure you're okay?"

I hesitated. "It's weird. Having it brought up like that."

"But it's something you've thought about?"

I swallowed. "Yeah."

She looked at me -- curious, but not judging. Not even a little. That helped. A lot.

"I kind of love the idea," she said softly. "Of you being completely mine. Small. Helpless. Just... mine."

My cock twitched. I hated how fast it happened.

"I mean," she added quickly, "only if you want to."

"I do."

She smiled, and kissed me gently. "Then let's try it tomorrow."

She turned out the light and curled up beside me. I stayed awake longer, staring at the page on the table, pulse pounding in my neck.

⸻

I woke to Ada whispering something in my ear -- soft and strange. The words didn't sound like anything I'd ever heard before. Not even close. They slipped from her lips like silk soaked in static. Familiar in rhythm but foreign in meaning.

I felt it instantly -- not pain, not heat. A chill. Like the air around me dropped several degrees all at once. My skin prickled. My pulse flickered in my neck.

When I opened my eyes, she was crouched next to the bed, hair a mess, eyes bright.

"Morning," she said.

"Was that...?"

"The spell. From Val's page."

I sat up. "You did it?"

"I thought it might be better if it was a surprise. Seemed more... fitting."

We waited. Silent. Staring at each other. Nothing happened.

No flash of light. No swirl of magic. No sudden loss of altitude.

I exhaled. She blinked.

"Well," she said, reaching for her phone, "so much for that. I'm texting Val: very funny."

I couldn't tell if I was relieved or disappointed.

Maybe both.

⸻

The rest of the day passed in fragments. Coffee. Shower. Aria getting ready for work. Me aimlessly clicking through job listings, not reading any of them.

And the spell -- always on the edge of my thoughts.

We never said we believed in magic. But I couldn't stop thinking about that cold flash that rolled through me when I heard those words.

Maybe Val was just fucking with us. Or maybe we did it wrong. Or maybe it started so small you wouldn't even notice.

The doubt settled in the back of my mind like dust you don't realize you've been breathing until your chest feels heavy.

⸻

By the time we were back in bed, the day already felt like a blur. Ada curled up next to me, scrolling on her phone, bare legs tangled with mine.

"I still can't believe Val got you to admit that kink," she said with a teasing smirk.

"I didn't admit anything," I mumbled.

"Uh-huh." She turned to face me, throwing one leg over my hips. "You got so shy. It was cute."

I looked at the ceiling. "I just wasn't expecting it to come up like that."

"I like it," she whispered, leaning down so her breath brushed my ear. "The idea of you... small. Soft. Vulnerable. Like my little secret."

Once more, she made my cock harden almost immediately. I hated how fast it happened -- how easily she could do that to me with just her voice.

"I could keep you in my pocket," she went on, voice lower now. "Tuck you into my bra before work. Bring you out when I'm bored. Maybe play with you under the desk while I take calls..."

"Ada..."

"What?" she grinned. "You're hard already."

Her hand slid down under the blanket, fingers curling around me. I bucked into her palm instinctively. I hated how much I wanted it -- how much I needed to be made small, even if it hadn't actually happened. Yet.

She kissed my neck, lazily stroking me. "You like being powerless."

I didn't answer.

She pulled back just slightly. "You okay?"

I hesitated. "I... feel off."

She studied my face. "Like what?"

I swallowed. "I don't know. Just... off."

She paused. Then without saying anything, she got out of bed and walked to the kitchen.

I waited in silence, heart racing. When she came back, she was holding something behind her back.

"Okay," she said, "stand up."

"What?"

"Indulge me."

I stood. She pulled out the measuring tape and a pen.

"Lean against the wall."

"Are we seriously--?"

"Fab."

I leaned. She drew a line just above my head, then stood against the wall herself and marked hers.

She stepped back and measured both lines.

"Me: 165 centimeters," she said. "Same as always."

She measured mine. Her brows lifted.

"You: 171."

"That can't be right. I'm 175."

"Are you?"

I felt my throat tighten. "Maybe I had shoes on last time. Or... maybe the floor's uneven."

Ada didn't respond right away. Just watched me. Then she grinned slowly -- the way she did when she had an idea she knew she shouldn't say.

"Well," she whispered, walking back to me, "maybe it did work."

She pushed me against the wall. Her eyes flicked down, amused. "You are shorter than I remember."

I rolled my eyes. "Ha ha."

"No, I mean it. You feel... smaller."

"Ada."

She kissed me hard. "Tell me you don't love it."

I didn't.

She grabbed the back of my neck, her other hand sliding down to stroke me again. "You're already mine. But if I could shrink you for real, if I could own you completely... you'd love that, wouldn't you?"

I whimpered.

I kneeled as she pushed me down.

"Let's test the theory."

She took her time with me -- slow, deliberate, dominating. Every move she made reminded me how much control she had. How easy it would be to turn me into nothing but a plaything.

And I didn't want to stop her.

Even if I was already losing height.

Even if I was already losing control.

Because somewhere, in the back of my head, I was hoping I really was shrinking.

And that she wouldn't stop.