The Giant of Bright Tower, Chapter 5

A hand moving up and down my back called me back from warm bliss. I opened my eyes for a vision of thick, curly chest hair. I inhaled deeply.

“Hey there, boy”

“Mmmm,” I closed my eyes again, “More comfortable than my bed.”

Bubba chuckled, and I felt the vibration against the side of my face. “Good to know.” His other hand joined in moving up and down my back. They started at the top of my shoulders and moved down in firm parallel strokes just past my ass before they disappeared and touched my shoulders again a moment later. I lay there, getting a massage from someone who was beneath me for a few minutes. As I softly returned to wakefulness, I became aware of a thin coating on my skin.

“Man.” I signed out, “I’m sure not even geysers spew out that much white stuff.”

Bubba laughed. “Yeah, that was a personal best. But you have no idea how good that felt.” He stopped moving and wrapped his arms around me. “I woke up and my balls felt like they weighted two tons. There were so swollen and sore. Thanks for help in emptying them.” He raised his head and gave me a quick kiss on the top of my head.

I thought about what he had just said, “I’d guess that was another effect of my serum. All that growth hormone and testosterone in your system, it caused your testicles to just pump out semen, probably more than its used to having.”

“So it’s blue balls taken to a whole new level.” Bubba scratched the back of my head. “You really created something special, boy.”

“Actually,” I nuzzled against him. “I’m scared.”

“Huh,” Bubba lifted my chin so he could look me in the eyes. “Why’re you scared?”

“If,” I swallowed, “If I had messed up. I mean, think of how big you were last night. My serum burned through all that in less than half a day, and that was after I’d given you the anti-serum.” I looked away and buried my face in his chest. “If I had messed up my calculations somewhere, or if we didn’t have access to the enzyme-digested food, there may have been nothing left of you this morning.”

“Hey, hey, now.” Bubba rubbed my back. “It’s ok. Nothing bad happened. And besides,” he wrapped his arms softly around me again, “I knew what I signed up for. I knew that you were gonna try your best, but couldn’t promise what would happen. I knew all that, and I said yes.” He signed deeply, and I was pushed up and came back down. “And I’m so glad I did.”

Bubba raised himself up, and I came right up with him until I was sitting in his lap. “You…have given me what I wanted most in this world. People say that they’ll do anything to get what they want, and that’s what I was willing to do.” He held me tighter in his arms. “Don’t beat yourself up. I told you, we’re in this together. And you’ve discovered something really amazing. I’m sure a lot of guys are gonna be interested in what you’ve created. It’s an honor to be the first to try it out.”

“Besides,” Bubba cocked an eyebrow, “I think you’re the best person to have invented this.”

“Huh,” I asked, “Why’s that?”

“Well, other people may be motivated by money or fame. But you’re motivated to make big, beefy guys.” Bubba grinned, “And I think you’ll do much better when motivated by a kink.”

I laughed. Bubba joined in and I was bouncing and shaking all over him. He couldn’t hold himself and fell back on the grass so hard that I slid off of him to the ground beside him. I lay against him and we managed to get our breath back.

“Well,” Bubba sat up, “I think we both need showers. After that, I think a big breakfast is in order-”
“OH SHIT,” I scrambled to my feet.

“What!?” Bubba looked alarmed.

“I left everything on!” I sprinted back to the kitchen as quick as I could.

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Luckily, my kitchen was not on fire, but the oatmeal was now inedible slop. The pancakes on the griddle had been burnt black, and these were unceremoniously frisbeed into the woods. Bubba took to salvaging and cooking in the kitchen while I took a shower. Afterwards, we switched and I set the table while Bubba showered. I had everything ready as Bubba walked down the hall.

“Ow,” Bubba’s hand shot to his head as he entered the kitchen.

“Hit your head?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he moved his hand in front of him to check for blood.

“…did you hit your head before?”

Bubba caught the meaning in my words as we made eye contact. At the same time, we both turned and rushed to my lab. I got out the step stool and measuring tape as Bubba kicked off his shoes and plastered himself against the wall. I stuck one end against his foot, and raised the other up past his head.

We both held our breath.

“Two inches,” I proclaimed. Bubba grabbed me with a howl and lifted me off the step stool to swing me around.

“HOT DAMN!” He plopped me back down and banged his fists against his chest. “YEAH. KING OF THE JUNGLE!”

“Okay, Mr. King. Can we eat now? I’m starving.”

“The King eats first!” Floor pounding beneath him, Bubba skipped back to the kitchen, being careful to duck under the doorway. By the time I had sat down, he had loaded up his plate with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and oatmeal. He poured himself a tall glass of orange juice, “Two inches taller. God damn.”

“Well to be fair, this was only in comparison to the one measurement I had of your before. A true average is multiple measurements over time to compare-”

He reached over to slap me in the face with bacon. “Don’t rain on my parade.” He shoved the bacon in his mouth. “Two inches.”

“If true,” Bubba glared at me, “Then it is very impressive. It explains your weight loss; growth takes an incredible amount of calories. It’s why teenagers can eat so much yet stay skinny. They’re burning it all up.”

Bubba finished chewing a whole pancake. “Alright. Daddy hit another growth spurt. That means I can eat even more!” he tossed several more pancakes on his plate and glazed them in syrup.

As Bubba was busy eating enough for four, I ate slowly, lost in thought. My serum had worked, had done what I had designed it to do. It just didn’t do it in ways I had expected, which thankfully weren’t fatal. I glanced up. Bubba had a hunk of pancake he was busy chewing into his mouth with a piece of bacon on a fork hovering and waiting for the second there was space to shove it in. He ate with a single-minded gusto that was mesmerizing to behold. His beard, even covered with syrup and crumbs couldn’t hide his constant smile. I sat there, watching this man be in the moment, a moment I had given him. I had opened up a whole new world for him, one where his dream was a reality.

It was with three pancakes in his mouth that he caught me looking at him. “O Imf sury,” Bubba swallowed, “Did you want some more? I can whip up another batch?”

“No thanks, I’m good.” I took a sip of juice. “I’m just...at a blank for how to move forward.” I took a sip of coffee. “You have given me a lot to think about. And for that, I don’t think I’ll be injecting you for a little while.”

Bubba’s fork stopped halfway to his open mouth. “What!? Why?”

“Relax.” I reassured him, “I didn’t say never again. I said not for a little while. I want to see if I can slow the process down a little. Instead of growing two inches a day, maybe aim for two inches a month?”

Bubba hesitated for a moment, then finished his bite. “Yeah, well, you’re the science guy. And those hunger pains, man. I’ve never felt anything like that. If we can avoid those, then yeah, I could wait a bit. Although,” his face grew distant, “That huge gut was awesome. I wouldn’t mind having that again. I felt so big, like I could have walked into a tank and knocked it over.”

I smiled, “It seems that having a great deal of fat and muscle prior to the injection is very beneficial as an extra source of calories in case of emergencies. That will be your homework during this time. Eat and workout.”

Bubba rolled his eyes, “I’ll try to do my best.”

“Well,” I held out my coffee mug, “To a wonderful beginning.”

Bubba burped, held out his glass, “To getting big.”