I guess the first thing you need to know in order to understand what happened is background. My name is Robert Daltry; I'm twenty-seven years old and I work as an aircraft mechanic for a major airline. I'm five foot six, about a hundred and sixty-five pounds and I'm in great shape thanks to daily runs and work outs at the gym.

I've always been small — at least in relation to my peers — and it goes back to my parents. My father was five foot six and my mother was four foot ten. Always being smaller than those of the same age was not a good thing to be. Bigger kids, especially at younger ages tend to take advantage of those smaller and that happened to me a lot. From the second grade on I averaged two fights a month and I usually lost. They might have been bigger, but I never backed down and I usually got whipped.

By the time I hit the seventh grade I wised up some. I woke up to the fact that fighting back gained me nothing so I changed and started walking away. I know that the prevailing wisdom was fight back and eventually you will be avoided as being more trouble than you are worth, but that never seemed to hold in my case. It seemed like the more I fought back the more fun it was to pound on me. Walking away got me labeled a coward, a sissy and a wimp, but so what? I knew that I wasn't any of those things; I was just tired of getting a bloody nose two or three times a month.

All through junior high and high school I just walked away. I avoided the places where the bullies might be and if I saw one I would turn and go the other way. Of course my avoidance of trouble caused me some problems. Some of the people who thought of me as a coward, wimp or sissy were the girls that I wanted to date. I had a hell of a crush on Beverly Abbeg in eighth and ninth grade, but I could never get her to go out with me. One day she flat out told me to leave her alone.

"All my friends would laugh at me if I was seen dating a sissy."

Although they were too nice to say it to my face like Beverly did I got the same vibes from other girls I tried to date. I did have a social life because there were girls who said yes when I asked them out, but they weren't the ones I really wanted to be out with.

All in all it didn't break my heart when I graduated and left my classmates behind as I got on with my life.

My dad was an aircraft mechanic and I decided early on that I also wanted to be an A & P mechanic. I enrolled at the Spartan School of Aeronautics and began the course of instruction that would get me my Federal Aviation Agency Airman's Certificate as an Airframe and Power Plant mechanic. I finished the course, took the exam and got my license and then my dad used his influence (he was a shop steward for the union) to get me on at the same airline where he worked.

Because I was the new guy I had zip for seniority so I ended up on the grave shift where I could count on staying until I had six or seven years of seniority. That might get me afternoons, but I was at least fifteen years away from reaching days. Low seniority also meant that I had piss poor days off. I had Tuesday and Wednesday and the only way I would ever get a weekend day off was to day trade with another mechanic who had a Friday, Saturday or Sunday for days off and who needed a Tuesday or Wednesday off for some reason.

Working the midnight shift — from eleven-thirty at night until eight the next morning — was awkward in other ways also. You got off at eight and you had to make a choice. Go home and go to bed, sleep during the day and then get up and have the evening free until it was time to go to work or stay up during the day, go to bed around four and sleep until the alarm woke you up to go to work. Or maybe go home, do stuff during the morning, go to bed around noon and sleep till eight and have a couple of hours during the evening before going to work.

For the first six months I did a mixture of all three before settling on a schedule that worked for me. There was a golf course a mile from the hanger and I had to drive by it every morning on the way to my apartment. I stopped every morning and played nine holes, alternating between the front and back nine, and then I went home and went to bed. I got up around four and on Monday and Thursdays I bowled in a men's early house league. I kept Tuesday and Wednesday open for dates if I could come up with one or for hitting the bars if I couldn't and then maybe every six weeks or so I would take advantage of my pass privileges and go somewhere.

My favorite watering hole was Chester's Bar and Grille and it was mostly because it was the hangout for a lot of the guys I worked with and as an added attraction Chester's had a sexy as hell barmaid and a couple of foxy waitresses. I didn't waste my time trying to come on to them as they were constantly being hit on and I didn't want them looking on me as just another drunken clod, but they were sure nice to look at and fantasize about. I found out that it sometimes pays to be nice and polite. Since I never went after the girls after a while they started flirting with me and I eventually did date both Ann and Gail and I did score with both, but it was obvious that other than having some occasional fun there was no long term attraction there.

Chester's had a dance floor, but unless you could get off on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday when there was a live band you had to settle for the juke box. There were seldom any girls in Chester's on a Tuesday or Wednesday night so it was mostly shooting the bull with your buddies or shooting pool.

It was a Tuesday night and I had arrived at Chester's to find that none of my friends were there so I took a seat at the bar and made small talk with Kelly the barmaid. There were maybe a dozen people who had put four tables together in the back corner and it sounded like they were celebrating someone's birthday. Kelly had just served me my second beer and had gone off to take care of a customer at the other end of the bar when someone sat down on the stool next to me and a voice said:

"Howdy stranger."

I turned and saw Mellanie Butler. "Where have you been Robbie? I haven't seen you in over three years."

"Off to school for two of them, but I've been back almost a year now" is what I said, but what I was thinking was "You haven't seen me in three years? You've never talked to me before in your life."

Mellanie had been a classmate of mine since seventh grade, but we travelled in different social circles. Mellanie was the 'Golden Girl'. She was the girl that all the other girls wished they were like and she was the girl that all the boys wanted. She was beautiful, smart and talented. Homecoming Queen, cheerleader, class valedictorian; you name it and Mellanie was it. The face of an angel and a body that inspired lust in males of all ages. I was no different from all the other boys who wished that Mellanie was theirs, but I was also one who knew that it would never happen. Mellanie was always on the arm of one of the jocks. The star forward during basketball season; the quarterback or starting running back during football season and whoever was the star on the baseball team during baseball season. Us mere mortals never had a chance. In addition to all of her other qualities Mellanie had one that put her totally out of my reach — height! Mellanie towered over me at five foot ten. She was the unattainable dream girl and there she was sitting next to me and trying to engage me in conversation.

"We are celebrating Marsha Crowley's twenty-first birthday. Why don't you come over and join us?"

"I don't think so. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nonsense! You know everyone there. Consider it a mini class reunion."

"I'd really rather not" I said.

She shrugged, took my hand and pulled me off my bar stool and led me over to the tables.

"Hey everybody, look who I found."

I knew everyone at the tables, some better than others, and after the hellos were exchanged we began playing 'catch up.' A few were in college, three were married stay at home moms and the rest were all working. Someone put money in the juke box and a few got up to dance. A couple of girls looked at me with "come on, ask me to dance" looks on their faces, but I hesitated because every one of them was taller than me. I've danced with taller girls and I've always found it to be awkward as all get out. After a minute or so Mellanie took matters in hand and grabbed me and pulled me out onto the floor. Luckily a fast tune was playing so I didn't have to take Mellanie in my arms. We did two fast songs and then sat down to sip our drinks. Mellanie had shown the way so when the next girl wanted to dance she just got up, took me by the hand and pulled me out onto the floor. I danced with four girls that way and three of the dances were slow, but they weren't too awkward because the girls, even though taller than me, were not that much taller. Marsha, Betty and Sally were about five foot seven and Mary was just a shade over eight. I danced a couple more fast numbers with Mellanie and then the party started breaking up. I was just getting ready to leave when "Nights in White Satin" started playing and Mellanie said:

"That's my song. Come on Rob; you have to dance this one with me."

I didn't want to because I knew we would look ridiculous out there on the floor, but how could I say no to the girl I would have killed for in high school. It probably looked funny as hell to those who were watching — the top of my head at Mellanie's nose, but as silly as it might have looked I was in Heaven. The heat of her body, her scent and the way she held me close to her all combined to give me a hard on and Melanie couldn't help but feel it as her leg hit it from time to time.

I was sorry when the song ended and I had to walk Mellanie back to the table. Then I received my biggest surprise of the night. As I was saying my 'goodbyes' Mellanie handed me a slip of paper and said:

"Call me."

I looked at the paper and saw that it was a phone number. I looked up but Mellanie was already headed for the door.

For the next couple of days I wondered why Mellanie wanted me to call her. The only ay I was going to find out was to call so I called and she seemed glad to hear from me.

"I wondered if you would call."

"I almost didn't."

Let me guess. A little matter of three or four inches, right?"

"That's a good part of it."

"And the other parts?"

"To be absolutely honest about it I am nowhere near what you are used to. I remember the guys you hung with in school."

"We obviously need to sit down and talk. Do you like lasagna?"

"Yes I do."

"Tomorrow then. Lasagna, garlic bread and a bottle of Merlot."

She gave me directions to her place and I hung up more confused than ever.

That night at work I worked an engine change on a Convair 440 and I was too busy to think about Mellanie, but in the morning it all came back. I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on. Why would a girl like Mellanie be showing an interest in a guy like me? I was in pretty good shape, I wasn't bad looking — at least I didn't think so — but there was no way that a girl like Mellanie would have any interest in me.

I rang the doorbell at seven and when she opened the door I handed her the bottle of wine I had picked up. I sat at her kitchen table and we made small talk as she finished dinner. I learned that she would graduate with a degree in Chemical Engineering and already had a job lined up. She asked me to pour the wine and then we sat, sipped, ate and talked. She wanted to know what it was like working for an airline and she was especially interested in how pass privileges worked.

"I love to travel. Maybe I should have looked into being a stewardess."

"You wouldn't like it; at least not for the first couple of years."

"Why not?"

"You would find yourself in basically the same circumstances that I'm in. Seniority rules in the airlines and until you build up some you are on the bottom of the totem pole. With me it is grave shift and days off that suck. With you it would be months or even years of being on what they call reserve which means being on call to fill in when someone calls in sick or to cover vacations. I've dated stews on reserve and more than once I've shown up for a date only to find a note taped to the door telling me that they are sorry, but they have been called in. Even when you get enough seniority to bid a block you end up with the ones no one else wants. It wouldn't be until you had five or six years in before you could bid and hold the good trips."

"Yuck! I guess what I'll have to do is marry you so I can travel on your privileges."

"Yeah, right!"

"Why would you say that?"

"You and me? The tall Nordic Goddess and the shrimp?"

'What is with you and the height thing? Since when has height been the major component of a relationship?"

"I don't suppose it is, but you and me? I remember the guys you dated all through school and I'm a hundred and eighty degrees from them."

"And whose fault was that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you ever ask me out? No, you never did, but the guys you saw me with did. A lot of them were meat-heads, but they did ask me out and what girl wants to sit at home on a date night? If I wanted to go out I had to accept the ones who asked. That they were all athletes was probably because the sports they played gave them confidence in themselves and made it easier for them to approach girls. Do you have any idea what it is like to see guys you would like to get to know better ignore you because they don't think they have a chance? I went all through high school and the first two years of college dating who I dated because guys like you sat on your duffs thinking you had no chance with a girl like me so you never asked. It has only been the last year or so that I said to hell with it, I'll do the asking.

"Would you have gotten off that bar stool and joined us if I hadn't pulled you off of it? Would you be here tonight if I hadn't pushed it? I want to get to know you better Rob and I don't give a rat's ass that you aren't as tall as I am. What do you have to say to that?"

"Guilty as charged. I never thought that I would have a chance in hell so I never asked."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"My next day off is next Tuesday. Would you like to go out and have dinner with me?"

"I'd love to. So, tell me more about what it is like to work for an airline."

The first date led to a second which led to a third and then a fourth, fifth and sixth. It was on the sixth date that she sandbagged me. It was one of my rare Friday nights off — I had day traded with Bill Hencle — and I arrived at Mellanie's apartment to pick her up for dinner, drinks and dancing. When she opened the door and I had to tilt my head way back to look up at her. She was wearing four inch heels.

"Don't you dare think about height here Rob. I wanted to look my best for you and I look my best in heels."

Wisely I kept my mouth shut and keyed in on the "I wanted to look my best for you." As I drove to Duke's Steakhouse where I had reservations Mellanie talked about were she would like to go dancing and wouldn't you just know that she would pick the most popular place in town? The place would be jam packed and all I could think about was how many people were going to see us and laugh. I swear Mellanie could read my mind because she said:

"You need to get rid of that "I'm shorter than you" mentality Rob. When we walk into a place and you see people looking at us you need to smile and say to yourself "Eat your hearts guys, she is mine."

That hit me right in the pit of my stomach. Not "She is with me" but "She is mine." Jesus, were that it was true. When we walked into Duke's I did see guys looking at us and I did what Mellanie suggested. I smiled proudly and mentally said the words "She is mine." Mellanie saw the smile and she gave me one that lit up the room. The same thing happened when we got to The Pit. I will not say that the dancing wasn't a bit awkward because it was during the slow tunes, but we got through it without me embarrassing us.

When I got her home there was another major change. After the first and second date I walked her to her door and got "I had a really nice time" and a kiss on the cheek. On the third through the fifth date I got a kiss on the lips, but that night she invited me in. She told me to have a seat on the couch and then she left the room only to return a minute later with a beer which she handed me. "Be right back" she said and she left the room again. Three or four minutes later she was back. She still had her heels on, but she was wearing a bathrobe.

"I don't know what it is that bothers you Rob, but it needs to be gotten out of the way. I'm not used to what is going on. Do you have any idea of how many guys I've had to fight off in my life? And the one guy I don't want to fight off won't even try anything. I don't know if the problem is that you still think of me as unobtainable or what, but I've decided that if you won't make a move then it is up to me."

She opened the bathrobe and I saw that all she had on were her heels. She let the robe slip off her shoulders and fall to the floor and stood there waiting to see what I would do. I still felt that Mellanie was way out of my league, but I was smart enough to know what to do when presented with an opportunity like that. I stood up, kicked off my loafers and started to unbuckle my belt. Mellanie pushed my hands away and said:

"I'll do that. You get the shirt."

By the time I had my tie, shirt and tee shirt off she had my trousers and briefs down around my ankles and my cock in her mouth. I was instantly hard and after a couple of licks and sucks she took her mouth off me and as she helped me step out of the puddle of clothing around my feet she said:

"I see that all of you isn't short."

That confused me for a second or so before I realized that she was talking about my cock. I wondered if because I was short she thought I'd have a little dick. Not that I considered that my equipment was all that big. I thought seven inches was about average, but no way was I going to bring up the subject. Mellanie stood up, took me by the hand and led me into her bedroom.

When you were my size and sometimes had trouble getting dates you some times needed an edge when you finally scored so early on I did my best to find out what girls really liked and then did my best to deliver it. High on the list of what most girls liked and could never seem to get enough of was having their pussy eaten. I went after Mellanie's pussy like a dog after a meaty bone and in minutes I had her crying out for me to never stop. I brought her off twice before she pushed me away and mounted me. She rode me until I came and then she went down on me and got me up again. I did her doggie until we both got off again and then we fell asleep together. In the morning I woke up to see Mellanie on an elbow looking down at me while her hand played with my cock.

"Good morning lover. One more time before breakfast, okay?"

Her manipulations had me up and ready and I smiled at her and rolled her over onto her back.

On the drive to the IHOP on Curtis and Euclid we talked about everything but what had occurred that night. Once seated and after our order had been taken Mellanie said:

"It should be obvious to you after last night that I wasn't a virgin."

I started to say something, but she stopped me and said, "Let me finish what I have to say. I haven't been a virgin since junior high. There have been at least fifteen before you and I know that your question is going to be "Why are you telling me this?" I'm letting you know that I have seen and experienced what is out there and I have a damned good idea of what I need and what I want now that it is time for me to settle down. When I compare all the ones before you to you they all come up lacking. I was going to say "come up short" but changed it at the last second because I know that you being shorter than me is a big problem as far as you are concerned. It is not a problem for me. I'm more into the person than I am into physical appearance. I think that you and I have future if we can just get by you worrying about the height problem. Okay, your turn."

I didn't know what to say and I was trying to organize my thoughts when our food arrived. Eating gave me some time and when the empty plates were cleared away I said:

"First off, I don't care how many guys you have had a relationship with. I didn't go into last night a virgin either and my feelings are that what happened in the past is none of my business. As far as us having a future I don't know. The four inch difference in our height may not be a problem for you, but you are right in that it is a problem for me and not for the reasons you might think. I have no problem being by your side and I do smile and think "Eat your hearts out, she is with me." The problem is I do not think that you will be all that happy with the situation after a couple of years. I just can not believe that you won't eventually want someone you don't have to bend down to kiss; someone whose shoulder you can put your head on when you dance. In short, to use the word that you avoided using, I don't think that we can make it over the long haul."

"You are dead wrong Rob and the only question here is how do I prove it to you?"

"I don't know that you can Mel."

"You have to let me try Rob."

Even though I didn't think that there was a chance in hell we could make it work I would be brain dead to not at least give it a try and so I told her to go for it.

Mellanie and I dated for the next four months and those dates almost always ended up in her bed or mine. There was a bit of a down side to the relationship. I could only date on my days off and there isn't really a lot you can do on Tuesday and Wednesday. And then I found out something that I guess I wasn't supposed to know. Mellanie dated on the weekends. She never mentioned it to me and the way I found out was one Monday I stopped after work for breakfast and saw Charlie Smithers sitting at a table alone so I joined him. After we finished eating and were drinking coffee Charlie asked:

"What happened between you and Mellanie Butler? It looked like you two had something going for a while."

"Why would you think that we don't any more?"

"I dunno. I just seen her two Saturdays in a row out dancing with another guy."

"Tall guy? Maybe six two or six three?"

"Yeah, about that I'd say."

"Thanks for letting me know Charlie."

I filed the information away in the back of my mind. I wouldn't say anything to Mel about it, at least not at that time. We weren't officially anything — not going steady, not engaged — just dating. Granted, we did spend both of my days off together and we did get together some evenings before I had to go to work, but I had no clear call on her time. I did ask Charlie to keep me informed if he saw Mellanie out on weekends and he said that he would. Three times over the two months he did call me and tell me that Mellanie was out and about with some guy he didn't know.

Three months went by and Mellanie graduated. Once she was out of school and established in her new job she started hinting that we should move in together. It was probably mean of me, but it was the opening that I had been waiting for.

"If we do that won't it interfere with your Saturday nights?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I understand that on Saturdays and some Fridays you go out dancing and drinking with some guy."

"Oh that. It's nothing. I just don't want to sit at home on the weekends so if someone asks me out I usually say yes. It is just an evening out."

She stopped for a second and then the light bulb lit up. Oh. Oh my. You think ... oh no! I swear Rob, no! Drinks and dancing and maybe dinner once in a while, but no fooling around. I sear Rob, no fooling around. I am a one man woman Rob and you are that one man."

Maybe I was being stupid, but I believed her. She talked more about us living together and I finally gave in. The truth of the matter was that even though I didn't think we had a chance in hell for the long haul I was crazy about her and living together gave me that much more time with her.

It was on a Saturday about a month after she moved in with me that she sprung it on me. We had just finished dinner and she had gone to take a shower. I finished cleaning up the dishes and headed for the bedroom. I walked in just as she slid a dress over her body. I saw that she already had her nylons and heels on. I stood there looking at her with a half dozen questions running through my mind and she saw the look on my face.

"I'm going to go out and have a few drinks with Rich Carling and we will probably hit a club or two for some dancing."

I didn't say anything and Mellanie said, "Oh come on Rob. You know I'm yours. Some drinks and dancing is all that will happen. You won't be here and I don't like sitting home alone on Saturday nights."

I was going to say something along the lines of don't you think we should have talked about this before you made plans" but I didn't. What I was thinking was "It is time for me to find out just what the fuck is going on." I just turned and left the room and dropped in front of the TV and turned on the History Channel. I was sitting there watching something about the Korean War when she came out of the bedroom. Just then a horn honked out front and Mellanie came over and bent down to kiss me, but I turned my head. She stood there and looked at me for a couple of seconds and then said, "I'll see you in the morning" and she left.

I waited five minutes to see if she would think better of it and come back and when she didn't I got on the phone and called in sick to work. I knew Carling's car and he had a vanity plate so it wouldn't be too hard to find. It might take a while because there were a dozen places where you could go dancing. I lucked out and found his car at the third place I tried. I got even luckier when I pulled in onto the lot and parked where I could watch his car. Just as I turned my lights off I saw Charlie Smithers pull in and park. I walked over to him when he got out of his car and asked him for a favor.

"Find out where Mellanie is sitting and then come back out and let me know, okay?"

"You going to cause any trouble?"

"No. I just need to know what is going on. I need to know if I'm being lied to."

Charlie was back in five minutes and told me that Mel and Rich were in a booth on the south wall of the building. That was good for me because I could go in the far door and Mel wouldn't see me enter. I could sit at the north end of the bar where it was fairly dark and watch with a limited chance of being seen.

I watched for two hours as Mel and Rich talked, drank and danced. Three times I saw Rich try to take liberties with his hands and each time Mel pushed his hands away. The third time Mellanie got pissed and said something and they left the floor, had a drink, talked for a bit and then went back out on the floor and this time Rich behaved himself. I finally decided that nothing was going to happen in the bar so I went back out to my car and waited.

It was another two hours before they came out and got in Rich's car. They drove to Denny's and had a bite to eat and then Rich drove Mellanie home. They pulled up in front of the apartment and sat in the car and talked for a few minutes and then they got out of the car and Rich walked her to the door. They said something to each other and then Mellanie went up on her toes and kissed Rich's cheek (he was about six foot four) and then she went into the apartment and Rich drove away. About fifteen minutes later I saw the lights go out. I drove out to the airport, parked in the employee's parking lot and slept in the car until it was time to go home.

I stopped at Village Inn for breakfast and when I got home Mellanie was up and fixing breakfast. She asked me if I wanted bacon or sausage and I told her that I had stopped and eaten on the way home.

"Why? I always fix breakfast on Sunday."

"You were out partying last night so I thought you would be sleeping in."

She got a pissed off look on her face and said, "I was home by midnight and went right to bed — alone!"

It was actually twelve thirty-five, but I wasn't going to say anything or she would know I had been watching. I didn't say anything, just went into the bedroom, took off my uniform and put on shorts, tee shirt and tennis shoes. I left for my daily run without telling Mel I was leaving. She was waiting for me when I got back and as soon as I was in the house she said:

"We need to talk Rob."

"After my shower" I said as I headed for the bathroom. When I came back into the kitchen she was sitting at the table and I got a bottle of water out of the fridge and joined her. She went right at it.

"Don't you trust me Rob?"

"Let me answer your question with a question Mel. If we were married would you go out dancing with guys on Saturday night because I was working and wouldn't be home to keep you company?"