The words just slipped out one day while I was watching my giant friend clearing trees for a summer project he had undertaken. After a bit of cajoling Dubwana had convinced the college administration to allow him to build a jogging path to keep himself in shape. He spent hours each day for a week on his knees, tearing trees out of the ground with his bare hands like he was weeding a tulip bed. With nothing better to do -- and eager for any excuse I could find to stare at him -- I went along every day and sat with him as he worked. My abrupt question took him by surprise, and he paused and gazed down at me with an odd expression. "In love? Me?" Straightening his back, he touched a finger to his muzzle and looked thoughtful for a moment. "No, I don't believe I have," he said simply.

I nodded quietly and watched as he pulled up two more trees, stripped them of their branches with a swipe of his fingers, and laid them neatly in a row for the trucks from the paper mill to collect later. "I guess it was a dumb question," I said, embarrassed to have even asked it aloud. "Kinda hard to find someone, you know, like you, I guess. Maybe a personal ad. "Single male, African heritage, 100 feet tall, spots and tail, enjoys running and gardening...'"

Dubwana laughed. "That's not such a bad idea. Who knows? Maybe someone would answer." His arm muscles bulged as he ripped another tree from the ground. "It would be nice if there was someone else like me," he said wistfully, then added "but it wouldn't have to be. Love is in the heart, after all, isn't it?" "I am sure that my heart will know when it is in love."

"Yes," I said. How right you are.

He gripped one last treetrunk and wrenched it upward, carefully shaking the soil from its roots before piling it with the others. "There. That's the last one. How does it look?"

I turned and peered along a straight and endless swath, pitted with craters and sprinkled with fresh dirt. "It looks like a bombed-out runway. I think you're a better gardener than you are an engineer."

"But which of us got the better grade in physics?" he teased, rising to his feet. "It will pack down flat once I have used it a few times."

"I'll bet. All this work for a jogging track, though -- couldn't you just build a treadmill?"

Dubwana shook his head. "What good is a treadmill? I would not feel the ground under my feet or the wind in my fur. If you were a cheetah, you would understand."

I lowered my voice. "If I was a cheetah..." I mumbled, letting my eyes play over the rosettes on his legs.

"What?"

"Nothing. So come on. Let's see how this engineering marvel of yours works."

Smirking, Dubwana rose up onto his toes, stretched his arms high over his head and then swept them downward, pressing his palms flat to the ground. "Of course. But before we do, I want you to promise to stay at the very end of the path," He slid his palms slowly back between his feet as he spoke, stretching his mountainous, lanky form in a contortion that only a cat could achieve. "We don't want you getting underfoot."

"Oh, yes, thank you for the reminder. I was just going to stand in the road and let you trample me, but now that you mention it I think I'll try survival today..."

The tip of his tail caught me from behind, just hard enough to make me stumble forward. "And no sarcasm either," he grumbled.

"Can't I just ride on your shoulder?"

"No. I don't want to risk you getting hurt. I'm going to be moving quite fast." He stood up straight again and pointed a finger at me. "Now stay where I can see you, hm? No games."

Pouting playfully, I shuffled past his feet and took up a position at the end of the path. With his back turned to me he could not see me admiring the shape of his rear through his running shorts. It was a quite a breathtaking sight, one that I never grew tired of, even though it was getting harder and harder to be surreptitious about it. I could not imagine explaining to Dubwana if he ever caught me staring. I cannot deny that I found him sexier than hell, and if it was only that I was lusting after him he might even have understood.

There was so much more to it than that, though. The emotions that I hid from this bizarre and wonderful titan were so heavy that I often felt as though Dubwana himself were sitting on me. How exactly do you say "I love you" to someone fifteen times your size? It was fun to dream about -- and dream I did, almost constantly -- but the thought of what Dubwana might say if he knew how I thought about him was enough to keep my mouth shut. We were friends, yes, but it was ludicrous to think that I could be anything more than that. Considering his size, I could not realistically be much more than a pet to him. Love would be a joke, or at least that is how the rational part of me tried to soothe the ache in my heart. The problem with hearts is that they never listen to rational arguments.

Suddenly he was off. I was buffeted by a great rush of air that blew my hair into my face as Dubwana's gigantic body suddenly leaped forward. His tail stretched out straight behind him, his mighty legs pumping so fast that they became a blur, and within seconds he had covered half the distance back to campus. I had never seen Dubwana run before, and was astonished that a creature so large could move with such speed. I could only stand there gaping after his immense form as it shrank into the distance. My ears rang, but not from the sound of thunderous footfalls; rather, it was from the very shocking silence that Dubwana left in his wake. I had expected him to set off seismographs for a hundred miles, but his feet hardly seemed to be hitting the ground. The earth barely trembled beneath me as he flew toward campus, the air behind him swirling into a twin vortex that whipped the trees on either side.

I watched him skid to a halt far away, a cloud of dust kicking up around his feet, and then he wheeled and started back. His body grew steadily larger as he approached, an enormous spotted missile, his head lowered and ears tucked sleekly against his skull. I felt myself tensing as he loomed over me. I trusted him implicitly, yet there is still a certain visceral response to having a giant creature bearing down on you like that. He must have noticed my discomfort and flashed me a reassuring grin before he slapped a foot down ahead of me, pivoting upon it and plowing up a great mound of dirt as he ground to a halt. Instantly he spun around. The black pads of his toes flashed up and back over my head as he charged off, his tail following behind him in a perfectly straight line.

I shook all over as I stared after him, breathless, mesmerized by the grace and power he was demonstrating. He was in his element now. Every movement was perfect, his muscles flowing beneath his hide like a restless river. It was like watching him in a dream, this giant, this veritable god that had graced me with his companionship. The sight brought tears to my eyes. He was magnificent, he was beautiful, and at that moment I wanted him more than ever before.

After ten laps along his track he slowed to a less dramatic stop at my end, his teeth gleaming in an elated smile. "Wonderful!" he purred. "Oh, I wish they would have allowed me to make it longer. Still, I should be grateful to be able to run at all." He drew a greath breath and grinned brightly down at me. "Maybe I should try out for the track team, don't you think?"

I managed to dry the tears and brush the longing from my eyes before he noticed either. "I'm sure you'd crush the competition."

He snickered, then bent down and offered a hand to me. "I think we've both earned a rest. You must be awfully tired from all that standing around and watching me run."

"You have no idea," I mumbled as I climbed into his palm.

Back at the oversized barn that served as his dormitory, Dubwana settled himself comfortably on the floor and lowered his hand so that I could slide out onto his lap. It was a position we often shared when we were studying. Ordinarily I would have just quietly enjoyed the closeness in secret, but that day I could barely sit still. Seeing him run, such an awesome demonstration of his elegance and strength, had fueled my desires to a nearly painful level. I was keenly aware of the firmness of the great furry thigh beneath me, and more than ever before of the outline in Dubwana's shorts that lay so tantalizingly close. I nodded distractedly as Dubwana extolled the virtues of the African plains. "Miles of flat land, absolutely perfect for running," he said wistfully. "I used to be able to run for hours in any direction I chose."

"I can imagine." It was getting hotter in the room. I fidgeted on his leg, trying to think distracting thoughts, but before I realized it I had blurted out, "Do you ever feel lonely?"

Caught off guard by the question, he stared down at me for several seconds before answering. "Er...well, yes. That is, I used to, until we got to be friends. I don't think I ever said thank you for that. It is difficult being the new kid."

"Hey, what are friends for?" I said quickly and patted his leg as nonchalantly as I could manage. My heart was fluttering madly. I do not think I had any idea then what I was about to do. It all happened by instinct. Watching him run had sparked something in me, and that something had taken complete control. I was just going along for the ride at that point. "What I mean, though, is...do you ever get lonely? I mean, for physical companionship?"

He pursed his lips, his faraway expression answering more clearly than his words. "Physical? Well...I don't know, really. I don't have a lot of experience in that sort of thing. It would...well, being the only one...you see?"

As he spoke I found myself sliding forward to the inside of his thigh and then dropping down to the floor. I was starting to sweat, and was probably terrified but was too lost in the moment to realize it. I could feel the power in his thigh as I leaned back against it. "So what would you look for?"

"Look for where?"

"You know."

He reached up to paw at an ear. "I don't know, really," he said at last. "I suppose I would want someone who wasn't selfish, and who was willing to love me for what I am. It would have to be someone I could talk to with my heart and not have to hide anything."

I listened to his words as he spoke but did not really hear them, turning my head to peer along his thigh to the point where it entered the great cloth tunnel of his shorts. Seated as he was with his legs folded the fabric billowed and afforded me a rare view within. In the shadows I could see the enormous furry bulk that housed the giant's malehood. I had caught sight of it a few times in the past, in spite of Dubwana's modesty. Those precious glimpses had always been from a distance, tantalizing hints of the enormity within that had fueled many a happy dream. "So if...there was someone who really liked you and wanted to please you, and you trusted them..."

"I imagine so. It's hard to guess. Like I said, I do not have much experience."

I had never been so close to him. I breathed in his scent and grew lightheaded on it. His words seemed to fade into a muffled rumble like far-off thunder. His mammoth sheath loomed before me, only a few feet away. Just by reaching out I could have laid my hand upon it.

And just then, I did.

Dubwana's voice caught in his throat. I could feel his incredulous gaze on me from high above. The air itself felt like crystal. There was a long and profound silence, and then he whispered "Wh-what are you doing?"

My stomach knotted. I wanted to jerk my hand back and tell him I was sorry but I was frozen in place. The flushing in my face spread throughout my body in a tingling wave that made me feel faint. His sheath was so warm, and I thought that I could just barely feel it moving under my fingers. I began to caress it, brushing my shaking fingers across the thin fur "Do you want me to stop?" I said in a voice so soft that even I could barely hear it.

Dubwana mewled and started to stammer words that died on his lips, and then he was quiet for a moment, and then in a voice that was as soft as mine he said, "No."

My head spun with such a rush of relief and elation so that I had to lean against his thigh to keep from falling. I could feel him trembling against me, almost as much as I was. Encouraged, I inched my way closer to his groin, my arm gliding upward along his sheath and pushing back the fabric of his shorts, until I was pressed up against the beautiful warmth of his scrotum. His scent, thick and masculine, surrounded me, filled every inch of me. I ducked my head beneath the hem of his shorts and for the first time, after so many months of dreaming and yearning, I laid my cheek against his malehood and let it rest there. After a moment I felt hesitant fingers upon my back, gently pressing me into the warmth of his groin.

For a long time he simply held me there, his thumb quivering as it rose to stroke tenderly at my head. "Earlier," he whispered hoarsely, "when we were outside, and you asked..."

"Yes. I've been wanting to do this for a long, long time."

He swallowed audibly. "I don't know. I'm so afraid I'll hurt you."

"I'll be all right."

Dubwana mewed quietly, and then I felt his fingers gently pinching me around the middle and easing me back away from his groin. My heart sank as for a moment I thought he wanted to stop, but when I looked upward I saw neither reproach nor apology in his face. He had averted his eyes and was chewing his lip, uncertain. "Are you sure?" he said, unconsciously sweeping his tongue over his whiskers.

"I'm sure. I want to. I have ever since I met you."

One of his ears flicked and he swallowed, then he turned his head and stared at the floor beside him for a long time. Releaasing me, he rose slowly to his feet and, even more slowly, he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his shorts and slid them downward. There was a long hiss and a crackle of static electricity as the cloth dragged over the fur of his thighs. One foot rose before me and then thudded back down; the other followed, and the shorts thudded limply to the floor nearby. Dubwana stood over me, naked and beautiful, smiling awkwardly down at me past the pink bulk of his penis which had already begun to show itself from its furry housing. "I've never... " he stammered, "I mean, not with anyone, let alone someone...well, like you...I mean, I never even thought someone might..."

I smiled and held up my hand, silencing him. "I know. It's all right."

His smile faded a little, but after a moment it returned, and without another word he sank into a crouch, then settled carefully back to his rump. His feet swept past me and his legs landed with meaty thuds on either side. I had seen this happen in my dreams for years and devoured the sight, letting it burn into my memory forever. It took a tremendous effort to keep myself from rushing forward and throwing myself upon him. No, this was a moment to be cherished. I took my time in removing my clothing, and then I wandered slowly along the furry canyon of his legs, my arms outstretched, brushing the fur with my fingers, until I stood before the huge white bulk that loomed before me. His penis was rapidly growing larger. It swung briefly over my head before sweeping back and to bump heavily onto his belly. Its surface pulsated with life and with need. Drawing in a deep breath and filling my lungs with his musk, I slipped my arms around his immense scrotum and hugged it to my body, rocking side to side to caress it with my flesh.

His thighs tensed around me. The base of his erection throbbed as the great organ jerked up from his belly and then fell back. "Oh...that...that feels good," he whimpered.

Smiling, I leaned back so that I could see past his malehood to his face. "Relax," I said softly. "Let me do the work."

Dubwana licked his lips again and shifted his gaze nervously, but then he nodded. His face disappeared as he lay back, his hips rocking away from me and lifting his scrotum several feet off of the floor. I took a few moments to play with the giant orbs, pressing myself into the white blanket that contained them and nudging them hugely out to the sides. Dubwana mewled happily, and now and then his thighs would tense, his toes curling tightly at the far end of his legs. He breathed deeply and whispered my name once, then twice.

It was time. Gripping the fur of his leg tightly with my hands I vaulted up as hard as I could, pulling downward to drag myself up onto his thigh.

"OW!" The leg jerked violently, sending me sliding awkwardly back to the floor. A few strands of fur were still clutched in my fists.

"Oh, shit. Oh, Dubwana, I'm sorry..."

"No, no!" His voice had grown huskier. A padded hand came down behind me and scooped under my rear, helping to lift me to the top of his leg. "Don't worry about it. Just...keep going. Please."

I smiled, relieved, and gave his thumb an apologetic pat. Once safely atop his leg, I paused again to admire him. His body stretched before me, a vast plain of fur and muscle, and that superb erection lying so eager and inviting before my eyes was the living embodiment of so many yearning dreams. It was all I could do to keep my knees from giving out as I shuffled toward the mighty organ.

Its size was unbelievable, longer than I was tall, bigger around than two of me would have been. Warmth radiated off of it in waves. Beyond it the white hill of his chest rose and fell deeply, its rhythm increasing as I threw one leg over his massive shaft and then lay the full length of my body upon it. I could feel his heart pounding through his flesh, my own pulse feeling so pitiful and insignificant against it. My arms could barely encircle him although I stretched as far as I could. Hugging tightly, I pulled myself up until my chin passed his flared glans and I could look down upon a crevice that looked capable of swallowing my whole head. It was already leaking a thin, syrupy fluid, and I lowered my face to grace it with a slow and loving lick.

Dubwana let out an abrupt grunt and I was launched violently into the air. I flipped over twice before I landed hard on his belly, his erection thudding down heavily beside me. "S-sorry!" he panted, raising his head. "Are you hurt?"

"It's OK! Really. Just relax." Rolling to my knees, I blinked the confusion out of my eyes, then leaned forward and stroked my fingers experimentally across the tip of his penis, watching closely as they smeared his fluid over the tender flesh. He grunted again and the great organ jerked upward with tremendous force, quivering turgidly for a breathless second before crashing back to his belly. I realized with more than a little disappointment that the slightest touch upon that sensitive region would turn things into a ride on a mechanical bull.

Undaunted though, I rose to my feet and climbed atop the great organ once more, wrapping my arms around it as best I could behind the flare to keep myself well away from the tip. I wrapped my legs around as well, and after taking a few deep breaths, I began to pump my body up and down. Dubwana responded right away with a low, thunderous moan and his legs began to jerk. One arm rose, the forearm draping over his eyes, and he moaned again, louder this time. His reaction encouraged me and I pulled harder, grunting with the effort. My bare skin clung to his and stretched it fore and aft, dragging it up and down over the firmness beneath.

I counted twenty strokes. Dubwana's groans were now a near-continuous roar, his furry chest heaving ahead of me. His heartbeat pounded beneath my body as though it would explode out through his flesh. A dull ache began to throb in my arms and lower back, but I was determined to please him and hastened my efforts.

I counted thirty strokes. Fire kindled in my muscles and gnawed at my strength. My arms started to shudder with the effort and black spots were dancing before my eyes from breathing so hard.

Thirty-five strokes. I couldn't see. My arms were burning up. My rhythm faltered, and two strokes later it ceased entirely. I lay exhausted upon his erection, gasping, my strength entirely spent.

Dubwana yowled piteously. "Don't stop!" he pleaded.

I could hardly muster the breath to speak. "Can't," I choked. "Just...beat..."

"But I..." He grunted, "I'm close..."

I made a valiant effort to finish him, but my arms could not manage even one more stroke before they gave out. "Can't," I whimpered. "Use...use your hand. Help me. I'll be fine."

He made a soft, uncertain sound in his throat, but a needful shiver coursed through his body, and his hand rose into view and then settled gingerly upon me. "Like this?" he mewled.

"Yes...go on...just be careful."

He nodded curtly, and the pressure increased on my back as his fingers closed around both my body and his erection. Slowly he dragged me upward. I had just enough strength left in my arms to maintain my grip around him, and he gasped raggedly. "That's it," I said breathlessly, trying to sound encouraging. "That's good."

Dubwana swallowed audibly and slid me carefully back down, and then up, and then down. Soon he was groaning again, and I was, too. My own hips were pressed tightly against the gigantic shaft, and as he stroked me against himself I was enjoying the full benefit of the motion. I started to squirm as my desire mounted, and in response Dubwana began to rub faster. The growing warmth of his erection penetrated into my bones; the heady scent of his arousal filled my head. I could not take a breath without breathing him in. Lust burned behind my cheeks and rose as heat in my loins as my body tensed and shuddered, and moisture began to smear between my belly and the mighty shaft.

That tiny wetness, however, was not enough to ease my passage over his length as Dubwana scrubbed me harder and harder. I tried to catch my breath but could not; he was squeezing me, making me wheeze as the pressure mounted. "Um...Dubwana...." I gasped with some concern.

He did not hear me. His lustful moans were echoing off of the high ceiling of the barn. His hand was speeding up and his fist was closing relentlessly tighter. "D- Dubwana...?" My skin was now being pulled painfully up and down as it dragged upon his. I felt as if any second it would be pulled right off. My head jerked to and fro with the force of his stroking, the rhythm becoming unbearable. Unbearable too was the immense pressure as his fist clenched, threatening to crush me to pulp against his shaft. My head swam and through the sparks that danced before my eyes I saw images of that same hand gripping the trunks of stout trees earlier in the day, the wood splintering and bursting as he wrenched them from the ground.

"DUBWANA!"

The violent ride came to an arupt halt, my head snapping forward against the rim of his glans. Dubwana growled and hastily lifted his hand and scooped me safely off onto his belly. "Can't stop...!" he hissed through clenched teeth, and his fist quickly resumed its motion without my frail body to impede it.

My skin burned from the abuse it had suffered and my ribs ached. The disappointment was overwhelming, but I was not about to let every one of my dreams be dashed that evening. There was one more, and I had only seconds left to capture it. Painfully I struggled to all fours and saw Dubwana's titanic frame beginning to tense. Muscles swelled and firmed beneath his fur and his breathing had broken into harsh gasps. He was close, very close. Frantically I clawed my way across his belly and knelt before the tip of his penis, which bobbed and jerked just inches away from me as his fist flew along his length. Like a worshipper before a god I rose to my knees and threw my arms out wide to accept his blessing. "Come on me, my l-*"

And he did. I had knelt in that spot so many times in my imagination and bathed in the gentle flood as his warmth enveloped me. What hit me at that moment though felt like a wrecking ball. A torrent of thick, gooey cream crashed into me with enough force to blast me back five feet and knock the wind out of me. The next burst felt like someone had just jumped with both feet onto my stomach. I tried to sit up, but was hit again square in the face and saw stars. The weight drove me back and pinned me down. It was like having one of those lead blankets the dentist uses when he takes your X-ray on top of me -- no, more like six of them all piled on me at once. I could not lift my arms, could not even raise my head to catch a breath. My eyes burned when I tried to open them and clamped themselves tightly shut again. When I tried to breathe I gulped down a huge salty mouthful that made me gag, and as I choked I only got more of it into my throat. I wanted to thrash; I was drowning, but couldn't move, mired like a bug in amber.

From somewhere far off I heard Dubwana call my name, and then I was being lifted into the air and flung about. Consciousness was just fading away when something swiped harshly across my face, allowing me to gasp in just enough air to cough up a lungful of semen. My face was swiped again by something huge and rough and painfully raspy. "Oww!" I bawled. "Don't do that! OW! Not the tongue!"

Dubwana's voice was agonized. "I'm sorry!" he wailed. "I'm so sorry. Please don't die!" He tried to lick me again, almost pulling off my skin.

I yelped and pushed his tongue away. "Stop! Just...just...ow! Just...get me a towel, or...a washcloth, something." His hand lurched under me, making me fall over, and a moment later a cloth was draped over me. I seized it quickly and began to wipe the smothering cream off of my arms and shoulders. "Oh, cripes...my eyes. I can't see. I...hey!" The cloth had begun to stick to my flesh, the cream having turned in a very few seconds into a particularly efficient glue. The more I fought to escape, the more the cloth wrapped around me, clinging to me like flypaper. "Dubwana, help!"

"What do I do?" His voice was frantic. "I can't pull it off without hurting you..."

I moaned helplessly. "Jesus. Water -- take me into the bathroom, quick." The glue was becoming crusty, crackling with every movement I made and pulling at my skin in all directions. My eyes were stuck firmly shut. "Hurry!"

The next thing I knew, warm water was cascading down over me. Thankfully, Dubwana had had the presence of mind to turn the valve on to a gentle trickle, or else I am certain I would have been washed off of his hand and straight down the drain. I scrubbed eagerly at my arms as the crust turned first into soap and then into gelatin before finally peeling away. At last I was able to open my eyes, although they stung terribly even after I had rinsed them for several minutes.

Dubwana was devastated. "I'm sorry," he whimpered, "I'm so sorry! It's all my fault." He looked like he wanted to die.

I stepped out from under the water and swiped the still slimy-feeling water from my arms, and then shook out my hair. "No it wasn't," I growled.

"I shouldn't have let you."

"It was my idea, dammit!" I barked, and immediately regretted it. Dubwana's ears tucked back and he hung his head, and a big tear rolled down along the dark stripe on his cheek. "I'm sorry," I said, but the words sounded far too feeble after that outburst.. I wanted to cry, myself. "Come on...lift me up closer."

Dubwana hesitated, and then raised his hand to his face. He looked away, though, not meeting my gaze. Gently I laid my hands on his cheek. Another tear trickled down over my fingers. "Hey," I said gently, and managed to smile. "I'm sorry. Don't feel bad. I'm still in one piece, see?"

"No thanks to me," he said bitterly.

"Well, no," I said weakly, "but...well, you did give me what I asked for.

He sighed. "I'm sorry I disappointed you."

"You didn't. I mean, if anything, I disappointed me. I'd been wanting to do that with you for so long. It just...I guess I never really thought it through all the way." I mustered a broader smile. "It sure was fun trying though, wasn't it?"

Dubwana shrugged, and sat down slowly. It was a few moments before he met my gaze. We stared at each other for a while, and then the ghost of a smile appeared at the corner of his muzzle. "Well...I always read that sex spoils a relationship."

"Drowning your partner kind of has that effect."

We stared at one another for several seconds. His smile broadened slowly; mine did, too, and soon we burst out with uncontrollable laughter. It made my bruised ribs ache, but I couldn't help myself. Dubwana had to cup his hand to his chest to keep from dropping me as he cackled. "So that's why you were spying on me that one time. is it?"

I slumped against his thumb, still chuckling. "Yeah, guilty. Hey, all I wanted was some pussy."

We laughed harder. "You little slut!" he said, raising me to his face and bumping me playfully with his nose until I fell back against his fingers. His laughter faded to a warm smile. "But I'm glad you did, anyway." He touched his nose to me more gently. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes," I said, reaching to pet the side of his muzzle. "A little sore maybe, but...well, no regrets."

He smiled and blew a breath from his nostrils past my chest. "No regrets? You don't mean to tell me you'd want to do that again."

"That?" I winced and rubbed the side of my chest. "Well, no, not quite that. But you know what they say: if at first you don't succeed..."

Dubwana's muzzle broke into a smile and he bumped me softly with his nose. "We'd have to be a lot more careful next time."

"Oh, definitely. I want to live to enjoy the afterglow."

A finger curled down to give me a gentle thump on the head. "You're incorrigible.," With a deep sigh he rested his shoulders back against the wall and lowered me down to cuddle me gingerly against his chest. "Well, if nothing else, I can say something now that I never really had the courage to say before."

"And that is...?"

He lowered his head, his eyes warm upon me, and purred, "I love you."