by Kizzie Hayes
“Why do you think that way about yourself?” she asked him.
“It’s because of who I really am. Not the side that’s exposed for the world to see, but the more intimate one that hides away. Maybe you might be the one to finally see it. I like you a lot, even though we’ve barely met, and I like that you know so much about me. But let me ask you, do you feel like you truly understand me?” he asked her.
She looked at him. He had a point, that’s for sure.
“True. I’m Scarlet by the way, I didn’t know if I told you that,” she said.
“You already know my name,” he simply stated.
Even though it was gruff, she did know his name. It would be stupid to ask him because she was doing this interview with him.
“What do you want me to say? What should I tell the paper,” she told him.
“Just report the normal shit. Tell everyone that I’m a normal man, living a normal life, and who has nothing wrong with him. I mean, I would rather not get into it here, simply because it will make things weird. But I do want to tell you. I like your style Scarlet, and I like the fact that you haven’t ran away after I said all those weird things. If you want, maybe we can get a bite to eat sometime,” he offered.
She looked at him, a shocked look on her face. She was just a 22-year old girl who wanted nothing more than to get the journalistic scoop she wanted. She didn’t think she would be getting a date out of this!
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Of course. In fact, I’m free next Fridayif you would like to maybe get something to eat,” he told her.
He looked at Scarlet, trying to ask for a sheet of paper. She gave him one, and he put his contact information on it. He gave it to her, smiling.
“Here’s my information,” he said.
She nodded, looking at the foreboding piece of paper with wonder in her eyes.
“Hers’s mine,” she said, knowing full well that this could mean bad things for her. She didn’t know if a journalist was ever supposed to do this sort of thing. However, she knew damn well that the best thing for her to do was to give him the information. It made sense in a way, and suddenly, after writing down her address and number, she gave it to the player. He smiled at her, and for a moment, she felt as if time had stopped.
“Thank you. Now, I’ll see you at your place on Friday. Sound good?” he asked.
She nodded, feeling like she had struck gold. “That’s fine. Thank you for the interview,” she replied.
He grinned at her, leaving the small room with a click of the lock. Scarlet sat in there, trying to process all of this.
Cody asked her out. Cody Jacobson, the man who seemed more interested in basketball games than going out with anyone just asked her out. And she said yes. Holy shit, this was going to be something.
But there was something within Scarlet that was telling her she was about to find out more about Cody than she expected to. Of course, the best thing she could do was wait and see what he had to offer. Who knows, maybe she’ll understand his mindset at the end of it.
*****
For the next week, Scarlet was on the edge. She decided to get an outfit for the date, even though she rarely thought about this sort of thing. Of course, this was the first date she had been on since high school, so she wanted to impress.
Scarlet never went on dates. It wasn’t because she was unattractive or she had a bad personality, it was more along the lines of the fact that she put school first for the longest time. Now that she had a lighter load and less classes than normal, it seemed almost obvious that she might get into the dating world. Of course, when she thought about what this might mean, she felt nervous. She didn’t know much about Cody other than what the other interviewers gathered from him. The interview she got with him was almost your standard interview, with Scarlet adding some extra details to make it sound like something other than just a copy and paste of other interviews. But even so, it felt like she was lying to herself when she thought in this manner, because she wanted to tell everyone the truth about this man but wasn’t able to.
Oh well, she would get the information sooner or later, and if it was something that he wanted her to keep secret, then so be it. Friday came around swimmingly, and soon she heard the sound of a knock at the door. She pranced over to it, smiling as she opened it.
“Hello,” she said with a smile, but then she immediately looked surprised. The man at the door wasn’t Cody, or at least the Cody that she saw.
“Hey there Scarlet. It’s me,” the man said. Sure enough, it was Cody. However, he didn’t look anything like the Cody she saw during the interview. For one, he had brown hair, and he seemed to be hiding his eyes with some sunglasses even though it was dark out. What was up with that?
“Is that really you?” she asked with concern.
“It is. Sorry about this, I just didn’t want anyone to see me when I walked over to your dorm. The last thing I need is for a reporter to be tailing us,” he replied.
She nodded. “Understandable. So where are we going tonight?” she asked him.
“Well, I know this little sushi restaurant nearby. It’s tiny and typically not crowded. The people there know who I am as well, so we can get a private booth and we can talk there. How does that sound?” he asked her.
She paused, looking at him with a bit of a shocked expression. It seemed like it was too good to be true in a sense, that this was going way differently than she thought.
“Sure. Let’s get out of here,” she replied.
They went out of the house, heading over to the restaurant after a quick drive. For Scarlet, she could already tell that the tension between Cody and her was increasing, and she didn’t know what to do with it. In fact, she felt like something was off about all of this, but maybe he would explain it over dinner. When they got in there, Cody raised his glasses up, showing the host who he was.
“Oh yes! I heard you were coming. Right this way sir,” the man said.
They were led over to the booth, and after a second of so they were sat down and a waitress came over to get drink orders. They ordered a bottle of wine, and as soon as she left, Cody sighed.
“You don’t know how hard it is to keep up this front do you?” he said.
“I don’t. I mean, I’m just a school reporter. I don’t know much about the life you live, but I can tell it’s hard on you. I couldn’t imagine being your age and having to put on a facade all day long,” she admitted.
“It’s awful. It makes everything hard. From maintaining friendships, to being on a team and working with people. I hate it, but I’m very good at what I do so I keep at it,” he explained.
That seemed different from what Scarlet assumed. She always thought that Cody was the type of man who didn’t give a damn about anything but others, but here he was saying all of that was a lie.
“It’s almost mind-blowing hearing you say that. I mean, a lot of people at my school idolize you because of the fact that you do everything that you do, and you work together on a team. I mean, it is your life at the end of the day, it’s just pretty surprising that’s for sure,” she told him.
“Yeah. I mean, I’m pretty chill if you want the truth of it. I really liked that you didn’t seem worried about being around me. If you want the truth, I have my own secrets that I’m worried about telling others. I do have my own demons to cope with, and I don’t know how to manage them a good chunk of the time. But if I did meet someone who was willing to learn about them, it would be the best thing in the world to me,” he told her.
She paused, listening to all of this and nodding. “I’m willing to learn, if that means anything,” she said.
“It does. Thank you. Maybe tonight I’ll show you what I mean. I mean, I’m worried about doing this, because in truth, you would be the first person I’ve ever shown my true colors to. But maybe, you’ll understand. You seemed to take my facade well, and you’re not mad at the real me that’s in front of you,” he uttered.
“Why would I be? I mean, I like this side of you,” she said.
There was a moment where Cody looked vulnerable, and Scarlet wondered what he had been hiding for so long that was turning him into this.
“Thank you Scarlet. You are someone I can trust no matter what,” he told her.
She nodded, wondering what to do next. She definitely felt like there was something more about him that made her feel gravitated. Call it what it is, but it made her feel good about the whole thing that was going on.
“Well, I do feel happy to have finally met you. Plus, I’m not going to be some girl who’s going to make you feel uncomfortable or anything,” she said to him.
“I know that. You’re not making me uncomfortable at all, if you want the truth of it,” he said to her.
She nodded. “Good. So what do you like to do besides play basketball?” she asked the man.
There was a blush, and she wondered what was going on. It seemed like it was something big, something that seemed embarrassing.
“Do you really want to know? It’s really embarrassing,” he muttered.
“Of course! I’m not going to get mad if you say your hobby is to collect dolls, or even if it is watching soccer or reading comic books,” she told him. In truth, she just wanted to find out what his interests were.
“Okay. Well, don’t laugh at me, but I really like dragons. I study up on dragons, read books on them, want to go to museums and crap like that and talk about the folklore of them. I’m a big fanatic of medieval attire and items as well. I collect them. Being a basketball star who makes good money, I do have the ability to indulge in that hobby,” he told her.
She listened to this, and in truth, she was legitimately interested in this.
“Holy shit that’s awesome!” she cried out.
“Really? You’re not embarrassed?” he asked.
“Course not. Why would I be? It seems like an interesting hobby. I mean, if the paranormal and fantasy areas of life are your forte, then I’m totally fine with that. I mean, my major hobby is reading Japanese comic books. I love them and they’re my go-to book sometimes when I’m not studying,” she said.
“Interesting. I would’ve never pegged you as a manga reader,” he mused.
“Yeah. It’s a bit weird and embarrassing, but I make the hobby my own. But that’s really cool that you like dragons and such. It feels nice knowing someone who has a hobby they’re passionate about. I mean, it’s better than just speaking about basketball all the time, even though that is a big part of your life,” she said to him.
He looked at her, and for a moment, both of them felt as if time had stopped. For Scarlet, she felt happy to make Cody feel comfortable about himself, but at the same time, she also wanted to get to know him, to find out more of his own quirks and his hobbies.
After dinner, they left the area, and Cody turned to Scarlet, a blush presence on his face.
“I want to show you something. I’m a bit worried about it though, because I don’t know how you’re going to take it,” he said to her.
“What is it?” she asked.
He looked around, and then his eyes darted to the car.
“Get in the car. I’ll take you to a more private location where I can show you my true self,” he said to her.
She did so, looking at Cody with worry on her face. What was it that he was so scared to show her? They went to where a nearby abandoned forest was, and when he got out, he motioned for her to follow him.
“Are you sure you want to go in there? It looks kind of creepy,” she muted.
“I’m sure. It’s the only way I can show you this,” he said.
She followed him inside, a bit confused as to what might happen next. When they got to the center of the forest though, a small clearing where the moonlight shone through, he turned to her with a blushing face.
“Okay, promise me that you won’t laugh,” he said.
“I already told you that I wouldn’t. What else do I have to say?” she told him. It bothered her that he wasn’t so trustworthy of her words. Of course, this seemed like a big factor in his life.
“I know, I’m just scared,” he said to her.
She nodded, understanding a little bit of what was going through him. He then pulled back, and for a second, Scarlet thought he just brought her there so they could be in a private area. But then, a light had shone through, and suddenly the forest was illuminated in a white light, and that’s when she saw it.
The man changed, his body morphing into something that seemed like otherworldly. She looked at it, and immediately she thought that this was a dream. The man was changing, and suddenly, after all of it was over, he looked at her, a blush presence on his face.
“Here it is. I hope you’re not scared,” he said.
She wasn’t scared, more shocked than anything though. She looked at it, her mouth hanging open and dry at the sudden realization of what this man was.
He was a dragon. He was a dragon shifter who could change into a red dragon.
*****
For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t that she was disgusted with him or anything, but it was more along the lines of wonder and shock.
“Are you scared of me?” he asked.
“Nope. Just curious if you want the truth of it,” she told him.
He turned to her, his hand extended and the scales present in his hand.
“If you want, you can feel it,” he told her.
She looked at the hand, wondering what this would mean. What if they did get in a relationship with one another? Would he want any weird dragon sex?
“Do you ever…do it with girls in this form?” she asked.
“Nope. I only use my human form for intercourse. But this is a part of me as well. However, I make sure that it never shows up when I’m around others who don’t understand,” he told her.
She looked at him, eying him up and down.
“I understand. I get that,” she said to him.
“Thank you. But you’re not afraid of me. That’s surprising,” he told her.
Why should she be afraid? Sure, he was a big, scary dragon to some people, but for Scarlet, this seemed almost like a dream come true. She felt secure around him in a strange way. She read manga with weirder premises than the stuff in front of her.
“I’m totally fine, Cody. I’ve read manga with stranger elements to it. Sure, this is the real world, but I am not scared of you. You were amazing at dinner tonight. So why should I toss that to the side just because I know about this?” she said.
Cody changed back, his human form in shock at the words that were uttered.
“I’m so surprised. Every single woman who knew about this got scared. I had to take away their memories ofthe past. I only had one other person know about this in the past, but they didn’t do anything and instead just ended their friendship with me. I’ve been terrified of showing anyone this, and I didn’t know if I could with you. I mean, your reaction is the best I’ve seen thus far, so it makes me feel comfortable about myself,” he told her.
“You should be. I mean, you are something amazing in my eyes, and this dragon part is just another part of you. It’s kind of like you having brown hair. I mean, sure you could change it but it’s a part of you. I’m not scared. Not at all,” she told him.
The feeling of happiness lurched over him and suddenly, he pulled her close, hugging her softly. He looked into her eyes, staring directly at her with a smile on his face.
“Thank you Scarlet. I don’t know what else to say. I mean, this is the first time I’ve felt this way about someone, so I was nervous about the outcome,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid, Cody. Everyone has their secrets, and the fact that you were so willing to show me that right now is something astounding. I mean, I won’t tell anyone about it. I promise,” she said.
“Thank you. I needed that,” he told her.
They stared into each other’s eyes, and for a moment, Scarlet thought th
at this would be the perfect moment to kiss him. She didn’t want to take it further than that, because she didn’t feel like it was right to have sex on the first date. But suddenly, she felt her body move closer to his, and that’s when she pressed her lips to his own, sealing them with a kiss.
Some might think that this kiss was the type where rainbows and butterflies would shoot out of it, but in truth, it just felt normal to both of them. When they kissed, it didn’t feel like they were pushing it with one another. Instead, it felt nice and natural, and for Scarlet, this was exactly what she needed. She had been in too many relationships in the past where things would go sour because of secrets, but in truth, as she pressed her lips to his own, her lips colliding and touching his own, she felt like she was in a new heaven she had never indulged in before.
For a moment, it felt like time had stopped, at least in their eyes. He pulled back, blushing madly at her and trying to speak, although it came out as a stutter.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so forward. It’s just…it felt natural. You’re the first girl I’ve opened up to, and I feel welcomed,” he told her.
“Don’t apologize. I feel the same way,” she replied.
They kissed one again, this time for a bit longer and a bit more passionate than they expected. After he pulled away though, he grasped her hand, heading towards the car.
“So, I know this is weird and stuff, but I want to ask you personally. Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked her.
“Of course. Why would I say no? We can take it slow and everything.” she said.
For him, that was the perfect response. His eyes lit up, his face hanging in a happy grin, one that said it all.
“Thank you Scarlet. Thank you for everything,” he told her.
They went back to the car, and for the rest of the night they held hands, both of them feeling sure and amazing. But what they didn’t know, was that in the corner of the forest was someone that Cody knew, someone who wasn’t afraid to expose Cody for who he really was.
