What´s More Convenient? - Chapter 5 (Patreon)

Chapter 5

Kyle was tense. He could even feel the stress building up in his neck. He had to get away from everything.

He needed to get away for a while. But not too long, he can´t just disappear; he´s got a job to work, an apartment that needs the rent paid, and a lot of other things that need his attention.

All he wanted was to stay away for a while, maybe a couple hours. Therefore, he decided to visit the park.

Why? Well, it´s not a place he visits frequently. Which leaves to a big chance that no one knows him. There´s no chance he´ll meet someone he knows over there. He wants to stay away from people he knows because he´s concerned about his height.

Anything, any comment, any comparison, any silly thing that used to be just a casual, even if a bit odd, conversation, could now make him shorter.

Has he actually caused this to himself?

“No way… this is all the fault of that… that… that Aurora!” he thought, madly as he sat on a bench at the park.

The singing of the birds, the gentle water sounds of the fountain. The bright, yet smooth sun rays falling on the floor. Kyle needs a place to relax. A place where he can be, and where he doesn´t interact with anyone.

Sure, thinking about his problems isn´t something he would want to do. But, looking for a way to solve them, that could help…

He spent the first thirty minutes sitting there, looking at the water fountain. Trying to find an answer as the water fell. It was nice day, sunny and with a cool breeze.

He woke up, early in the morning, he couldn´t sleep well last night. So, at 6:00 am, he decided to get out and spend some time alone. He could go back to his regular life later, for now, all he wants, all he needs, is some serenity.

People come and go, just a bunch of strangers walking by. He felt strange, but there´s nothing wrong with him. Well, other than the fact that he´s a size-time-bomb. Other than that, he´s fine.

He´s trying to convince himself that it´ll all be alright. He should regain his size back sooner or later. Until then, he can deal with being a few inches shorter. After all, 5´9” isn´t so bad, right? Plus, shoes should make him like 5´10” so… nothing to worry.

Although, what if he bumps into someone? What if…

Soon, a pair of ladies past him by, one of them waved at him. A pretty lady, with ginger hairs. Both of them seemed to be about his age, give or take a year or two.

They were actually out of college. Taking a few months of break before getting into an internship. Both ladies, of twenty-three years of age. And both were fairly pretty. He noticed, and waved back.

He noticed how one giggled at the other, and then, told her friend. They seemed to gossip for a second, while still looking at him.

What could they be talking about? He hates it, why would they gossip about him while he´s watching? That´s kind of annoying, unless, of course, it´s something good.

And, lucky or not, it was something good.

“Hi.” Said the ginger as she approached with her blonde friend.

“Hey.” He replied, looking up at both ladies. The ginger was about 5´7” or so, but her friend was a bit taller. As tall as him? He wasn´t sure, he was sitting at the bench. At the bench as he wondered what could they want?

“Are you alone?” the ginger asked.

“Like… right now?” he said, turning at both his sides and, comically, replying: “well, other than you two, I don´t see anyone else…” he joked.

“Hehe, I guess you´re right.” Said the ginger lady, looking at him with her green eyes. As her other friend giggled.

“My friend and I were just passing by, and then, well, I saw you, and I couldn´t help but to wonder…” the ginger started.

Kyle had no idea what she meant. Maybe, as if she was asking if he was single?

“Can you… stand up?” Said the ginger.

Stand? He´s not liking the sound of this. But he can´t argue, standing doesn´t cost him a thing, or so he thinks.

Kyle stood up, and he was right. The ginger lady was about 5´6” or 5´7”, but her friend was taller than him. Maybe not taller than his former self, but surely taller than 5´9” Kyle.

“Well, I think I was right.” The ginger said to her friend.

Her blonde friend rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms underneath her chest. “Come on, it´s not a rule.” She complaint.

Kyle had no idea what was going on. Why would they need him to stand?

“Ok, it´s not a rule, but wasn´t I right?” the ginger said.

“Right? Like… what do you mean?” Kyle asked, he was puzzled.

“Oh, sorry. Let me explain. So,” started the ginger, “I told my friend that, not necessarily, all tall men are handsome. That there´s also plenty other men, of a more average height, that are handsome, just like you.” She winked.

If this was an attempt to flirt, then it was a little odd. But, wasn´t this kind of conversations like… his kind of conversations? Normally, yes, however, right now, he would prefer to stay away from them…

“No.” started the blonde lady, “I never said shorter men weren´t handsome, all I said was that all men I find handsome, are often shorter than me, like this guy.” She pointed at Kyle.

Well, he appreciated being called handsome, but he´s not sure if he should be a part of this conversation for much longer.

“Come on, you´re not that tall,” said the ginger lady, “like, compared to him, sure, you´re a bit taller, but… how tall are you?” she asked.

Kyle froze. Was she asking him that question? For real? Right now? He wasn´t sure if he needed to answer. Should he lie? Say he´s 5´10”? He´ll be taking in count the inch those shoes of his boost him up, but he shouldn´t. The other lady, the blonde one, she was surely 5´10”; if she realizes he´s lying, she´ll point it out, and then, he´ll be in trouble.

“I… I´m  5´9”.” He said. The truth, what else? Should he say he was 5´8”? Aiming lower? No, there´s a big chance this is counter-productive.

Still, as he thought he had dodged a bullet, someone spoke.

“No way! You´re not 5´9”.” Declared the blonde lady. “I´M 5´9”, and I´m like… an inch taller. You must be like 5´8”.” She declared.

No way, there was no way she was 5´9”!

Kyle wasn´t lying. He was telling the truth. What was wrong?

He tried to stand as tall as he could, and argued: “But, I AM 5´9”!” he said.

“I don´t think so. You must be like… 5´8”, right?” she asked the ginger lady.

“I think so, you do seem like an inch taller than him.” She replied.

And this was all it took to bring Kyle down to 5´8”. He took a step back as he felt his size changing. Both there pretty ladies had cost him an inch in height. Who would´ve thought so?

And all they wanted to do was to see if handsome men could also be shorter. Or, if shorter men could also be handsome. Whatever it was, which ever the point they wanted to make was, all it did was to bring Kyle one inch down.

“Or maybe…” said the ginger lady as she noticed that an inch didn´t seem correct, but she´ll leave it like this. “Forget it. But, listen, don´t feel bad, there´s nothing wrong with being 5´8”, you´re handsome!” she added. “I´m 5´6” myself, you´re still taller than me.”

“Yeah, but not taller than me.” Said the blonde lady. “I mean, you are handsome, very, but… if you were just a liiiiittle bit taller…” this was messed up.

But, what happened? Well, here´s  the thing. This blonde lady is actually 5´10”, but she hasn´t realized. How? Well, she hates being this tall. She can find taller men, but when she puts on the 4-inch heels and goes to the club. She´s taller than nine-out-of-ten guys. That´s why she refuses to measure herself.

However, the last time she checked, she was 5´9”, but she´s not aware she´s now 5´10”.

And, her ginger friend, well, she doesn´t really care about heights. At least not about exact numbers. She´s aware she´s 5´6”, but never has complaint that her friend is 5´10” and not 5’9”. There was no problem with that, right?

Well, the thing is… for Kyle, there´s actually a bit of an issue.

All these girls wanted to do was to check if he was a tall handsome guy, or a short handsome guy. And, he seems to be the second.

He was so tired of this. Why does this keep happening? He used to be the one talking about heights, and now, it seems that, whenever he´s not, other people are.

He sighed. Breathed in and then out. Time to get back to his apartment and then, head to the office.

Could Aurora had sent these two ladies? They were too pretty to just casually stop and check him out. And both admitting he was handsome? Well, even if he was, this has never happened before.

Not at a park, at least. And this was no scam either so… this was either Aurora´s work or, maybe, he was just unlucky.

And now, speaking of unlucky…

Kyle logged into his computer as soon as he got to his desk. He was ready to work. Hoping that this could help him to forget all about his awful week. Things have been so annoying lately, and nothing´s actually been working his way.

And to make things worse, he received a message…

“Please come to my office as soon as you receive this message…” attentively, Mrs. Sinclair.

“Of course…” he whispered, laying back on his desk´s chair. Looking up at the empty ceiling.

What could she want? Based on how things have gone lately, nothing good. At least, not convenient to him.

But it could be anything. His numbers, his performance, the fact that he´s been late three times this month. No one had noticed it, or at least hasn´t said anything. Maybe Mrs. Sinclair only wanted to address it?

He walked all the way to his boss´s office. This must be just something random. Nothing to worry.

“I mean, what´s the worse that could happen?” he thought.

However, what´s actually the worse that could happen?

Kyle found himself at Mrs. Sinclair office, standing before his much taller boss.

He couldn´t forget that, last time they met, he, without knowing, made her a 5´9” woman. Before, that would´ve made her just as tall as he was. But after the park incident, he´s down to 5´8”. His shoe heel should make him look like a 5´9” man. However, Mrs. Sinclair´s heels made her a much taller woman.

He stood in the middle of the room after asking: “You wanted to see me?” To what she gave no reply.

Instead, she looked at him, from head to toes. He swallowed, but he tried to disguise it, trying not to show his light discomfort.

She stood from her desk´s chair. Standing taller than him. He feared she´ll make another comment about his height, she doesn´t let anything slip! He could hear the click-clacking of her heels as she made her way.

This time, she wore three-inch heels. Making her stand as a six-feet-tall woman. Hopefully, she´ll ignore his height difference due to the heel boost, but she had another thing in mind.

Kyle stood there, smiling as he tried to disguise his worry. Last time, he made it so that, supposedly, they were both even as she wore heels. To fake things so that she thought she was 5´9” and not 5´7”. To make it seem as if they were both 5´11”, but that didn´t work.

And then, his lies allowed him to see what other “power” he had. The ability to make women taller, not only shrink himself.

But now, there´s no chance this could work.

Her heels aren´t high enough to disguise it. As she stops, right in front of him, he has to look up to her, WAY up to her. She´s much taller, standing three-inches taller. His own shoes only help him with an inch. Now, there´s no way she doesn´t realize she´s much taller.

He was so worried, but then, she smiled. He felt a little confused.

And then, she did something. She kicked off her heels. One, and then the other.

“Shoes off…” she announced.

“I… ehm… pardon?” what was happening?

“You heard me, take your shoes off.” She said, now standing even with him, but not for long.

Kyle had no choice but to do as she said. He can´t deny, this isn´t anything against the rules. She could even fake it as if she was looking for something inside his shoe. Like drugs or something like that.

Kyle knew better not to resist, and so, he followed her orders. One shoe, and then the other one, going down to his new height. 5´8”.

She stood right before him for a moment, in silence. A silence that only made things worse. What´s on her mind? What is she thinking? She´s looking at him, straight to the eyes! From a slightly higher point of view.

“You were right…” she said, finally breaking the silence.

“I… I was?” he asked.

“Mhmm,” she purred. “I´m 5´9”, I just checked.” He nodded, but there´s more. She didn´t just call him to let him know he was right.

A woman like her wouldn´t lose her time calling an employee to let them know they were right. An apology? Admit she was wrong? No, this isn´t just that. Else, why would both be barefoot?

He needed to find a way out, make an excuse, but before any words came out of his mouth, she started talking.

“It´s funny, don´t you think? How could I be wrong about my own height? How? Even my driver´s license says I´m 5´7”, but I guess they were wrong. I checked, once, twice, I made sure to confirm I was 5´9”, and, apparently, the only one that noticed that… was you.” This was going somewhere, definitely somewhere he wouldn´t like. She continued.

“And, I was wondering, since you prove me wrong, I was wondering if… I could return the favor.” She said.

“Oh, I… you don´t need…” he was trying to dismiss the whole thing, but she won´t allow it.

“Oh, but I need to. Since you… correct me about my height, I thought I should meet you to, you know… thank you, personally.” She said, standing closer, inches away from him.

“Y-you do? I… no problem.” He said.

“Mhmm, but, now, I´m realizing something… you said you were, how tall? 5´11”? That´s funny cause, you don´t seem that tall… in fact, I´m a little taller.” She stood straight, standing taller than him. Kyle could feel her body, the proximity, his palms were starting to sweat.

He could just admit he´s 5´8”, that he lied. Lie some more and say his shoes have higher heels. Even if they don´t seem like it. And then, put them on before she notices. But there´s no chance, she already stood before him, as he wore this same shoes.

Maybe he could lie and say he wore other shoes yesterday? She won´t notice this is the exact same pair he´s wearing today, right? Or, could she?

Mrs. Sinclair smiled, a big, wicked smile. She bent forwards, and whispered to his ear.

“If you´re 5´11”, then how tall am I then?” her tone, so soft, making him quiver inside.

Kyle froze. She wasn´t asking about his height, she seems not to care. By the way she´s said things, it seems she just cares about her height. Of course she would, why would she care about him? It seems she´s trying to prove something…

“I…” what was he supposed to say?

“I mean, I´ve been wrong before. Even now, it seems I´m taller, and there´s no way that´s not true. But I´d like to give you the chance to answer. It´s obvious that I´m not 5´9”, if you´re a 5´11” man, then, how tall am I? Hmmm? How tall am I, Kyle?” she was persistent.

This was clear, she wants him to answer, she wants him to tell her just how tall she is.

Kyle knew there was no chance of him do anything but to play her game. Has she figured it out? That thought crossed his mind like a rocket! Right now, all he can think of is the answer she wants.

If he´s 5´11”, and she´s taller, but not by much, then, just how tall is she? 5´11” plus an inch is…

“S-six? Are you, maybe, six-feet-tall?” he replied.

“Oh, but you´re doubting, aren´t you?” she said, “How tall am I?” she asked, once again.”

“You´re six-foot-tall, ma´am.” He said.

“Good.” She said.

Kyle knows very well what he´s done. Now, before his eyes, things are starting to change.

He can see how Mrs. Sinclair, how her smiling face seems to be rising, higher and higher. And she can feel it.

That tingle, that tingle from yesterday, she can feel it all over her body. And it feels good!

Did she figure it out? The smile on her face, the look of victory on her face. She knew it. How did she figure it out? How?!

He´s not sure, but she´s a smart woman, if anyone was going to figure that out, then it would be her.

As he looks at her, rising taller, and the look of satisfaction on her face as she looks down at him, his doubts fade away.

She figured it out, the question is, why would she want to make herself taller? She went from 5´7” to 5´9”, and now, she´s going all the way up to 6´! But why?