Eventually, the day of the meeting came, and Melanie drove to River's house once more. Before she entered, she fished the pendant out of her purse and put it on, taking a moment to marvel at how light it felt despite the size of the stone. She exited the car and knocked on River's door, not receiving a response. Out of curiosity, she tried the doorknob, and was surprised to find that the door was unlocked. Cautiously, she stepped inside. The inside of the house was silent, almost unnervingly. She called out: "Hello?" No response. Shuddering from the eerie silence, she advanced into the house, checking around every corner to see if someone was hiding or waiting for her. No one seemed to be around; she checked the time on her phone, nothing that it would be odd for everyone to be late. She was either part of a prank, or something else was afoot.
At that point, she remembered something that River had said. Her pendant not only allowed for understanding dragon telepathy, but for accessing areas warded by dragons. Perhaps there was a hidden area that she was missing. Taking another sweep of the house, she held her pendant up to the walls, hoping that was how revealing hidden areas worked. Sure enough, one wall on the left side of the house seemed to ripple slightly when approached. Taking in a breath, she approached the wall and was stunned to watch it fade away and allow her to walk directly through it. The experience left her wondering what other secret rooms River had in his house.
She didn't have long to wonder about such things, as four other things faded into view. Four very large things. Four dragons.
The turquoise one in front with the blue-green fins had to be River, she guessed, and she shuddered when his voice in her head confirmed that. "There you are, Melanie. For a moment, we thought you wouldn't show up and we had set up all this for nothing."
The big, red one that looked like what one would expect from a dragon had to be Fay, who spoke next, "I wouldn't say that! It's not every day we get to just let it all hang out like this, you know?"
A smaller, brown dragon with bark-like scales spoke up. There was no doubt that it was Erin. "When you put it like that, it sounds like we're sitting around naked." She paused, then added, "Of course, we kind of are. Dragons don't really wear clothes."
The other water dragon, Marissa, spoke next. Melanie noticed that she was a deeper blue than River, while her fins were more of a minty green. "Of course you would point that out. Melanie, are you okay with us being dragon naked?"
The large gold dragon with prominent spines was next to speak, and it was Leo. "We still have our clothes on as humans. We can just shift back if that makes you more comfortable."
"Um." Melanie felt her heart thumping against her chest; even if she knew that these dragons were friendly, it was still rather intimidating to be around several giant beasts that could eat her or otherwise pulverize her. "I... um, do what makes you comfortable, I'm fine."
"I just wanted to give you a little taste of how things really are, if that makes sense," River said, approaching Melanie and lowering his head to her level. "It might be a bit like throwing you into the deep end, with four dragons being here, but I thought you should see everyone like this."
"It's..." Melanie found herself fishing for words. "I understand what you're trying to do, but it is kind of overwhelming."
"All right then. I never said you had to sit and stare at us while we were like this. We can shift back," River said.
"I dunno, I'd kind of like to stretch out a bit," Erin grumbled.
"Can't you just stretch out later, at home?" Fay asked.
"Maybe."
"I'm shifting back, at least," River said; his form was enveloped in light and the light shifted and shrunk until he had reverted to his human self. Marissa, Fay, and Leo did the same right after; Erin gave a draconic sigh before shifting at last.
"That's cooler than any special effects I've ever seen," Melanie said, walking up to embrace River, who held her back tightly. "Can I ask what the setup was all for?"
"Mostly to show you our dragon forms, and also as a little congratulations party for us," River said. "The others approve of our relationship, to say the least."
"That's right," Leo said. "I'm happy that he finally found someone."
"Like I said, I was thinking this would happen from the beginning," Fay said, approaching the couple and patting Melanie's shoulder. "I'm so happy for both of you!"
"Let's head back into the actual house." River released Melanie and took a few steps towards the fake wall. "I can get the food ready there."
Everyone followed River back into the house; they went into the kitchen and took various positions around the room while River set out appetizers, mostly cheese and vegetables. "It's not much, but I didn't think I'd have time to cook."
"That's what ordering pizza's for," Erin said. "Except I don't think dragons can really answer the door."
"We can order pizza later, can't we?" Marissa asked.
"Probably not much later," Leo said, looking at his watch. "Who knows how long it'll take to get here?"
Melanie had an idea, though she was waiting for a good time to deploy it. Still, she tried to set it up anyway. "River, do you have any drinks? Alcohol optional, but other than water."
Somehow, River caught on to what Melanie was thinking. "I have some orange juice, if that fits the bill. Were you planning on making a toast?"
"How did you know?" Melanie asked, some surprise in her voice.
"Just a hunch," River said. "That, and I wanted to make one, too." He opened the fridge, pulled out a carton of orange juice, gathered some cups, and started pouring. "Everyone, take a cup."
"Don't tell me what to do," Erin said, though she giggled right after. She went with everyone else to take a cup of orange juice.
Once everyone had a drink, River raised his cup. "I would like to propose a toast. To Melanie and I, and to a future where humans and dragons live in harmony!"
Various forms of agreement went through the room, and everyone raised their cups in turn. Melanie touched her cup to River's and then took a deep drink. It seemed her mouth went dry somewhere along the line, so the hydration was quite welcome.
The party went on for a while, with the members bantering at each other and periodically picking on each other (that was mostly Erin's fault). Eventually, everyone drifted out for one reason or another, leaving Melanie and River all alone in the house. River finished cleaning off the table and sighed heavily. "Well, that's that," he said.
"What do you mean by that?" Melanie asked.
"Party's over, I suppose," River responded. "Everyone went back home. It's just us now."
"Is that a bad thing?" Melanie leaned forward in her seat.
"Not necessarily." River moved to sit in the seat next to Melanie. "Unless you want to go home, too?"
"Well, I can't exactly stay here overnight, can I?" Melanie asked.
"Who said you couldn't?" River put his arm around Melanie. "I certainly think you can."
"But I didn't bring any pajamas," Melanie said. "And where would I sleep?"
"That's fine. I can lend you one of my shirts to sleep in," River said. "And... well, I could let you sleep on the couch, but wouldn't you be more comfortable in my bed?"
"With you in it?"
"Yes."
"Well, if you're willing to let me sleep with you, how can I refuse?"
River arched an eyebrow. "I take it you mean literally and not figuratively, right?"
"Uh, yeah?" Melanie scratched her head. "I mean... I guess we should see where the night goes, right?"
River chuckled. "I'm glad you're willing to keep your options open."
"I guess you could say that," Melanie said with a mischievous smile.
"Let's go upstairs, shall we?" River held his hand out to Melanie. "I'll lead the way for you, my lady."
"So proper!" Melanie giggled and took River's hand, allowing him to lead her upstairs.
When they got there, River reached into his dresser and threw a large shir
t at Melanie. "Here you go. Change whenever you're ready."
"Or wherever I'm ready?" Melanie made a move to take her shirt off right there, then stopped. "Just kidding."
River chuckled, "You are such a tease," he said, shooing her off. "Go get comfortable."
Melanie went into River's bathroom to change; much to her relief, the shirt was long on her. Though River would probably end up seeing her underwear anyway, she still felt inclined to maintain at least a little modesty. She came out and did a little twirl. "Well, what do you think?"
"Ah, I forgot to give you pants," River said from his lounging position on the bed. "Though if you're fine without them, so am I."
"I think the shirt covers enough," Melanie said, plopping on the bed next to River. "Glad to hear you're willing to keep your options open, too."
"You got me on that one," River said. "So, what should we do now?"
"Let me think for a bit about that," Melanie said. "Is there anything good on TV?"
"Let's see." River grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, pulling up the channel guide on it. "The late night talk shows are too political, but I think there's a comedy special on. Not sure if that'll be more or less political."
"Let's give it a shot. Maybe it'll be funny." Melanie's eyes were on River as he worked the remote.
The comedy special ended up being largely ignored in favor of silly banter, though at one point, popcorn was made with the express purpose of throwing it at the screen. The night seemed to blur together after a while, and before they knew it, the two of them were dozing off.
Chapter 10
At one point, Melanie found herself awake in the middle of the night. This was probably because River was playing a game on his phone right next to her. After a stretch and a groan, she mumbled, "What'cha playing?"
"Oh, sorry, did I wake you?" River clicked his phone off and set it aside. "I had a bit of trouble sleeping, so I decided to entertain myself. I guess the light was too bright."
"No, I just kind of woke up on my own," Melanie said. "Really, what were you playing?"
"One of those 'gacha' games," River said. "The ones where you put in in-game currency and get a randomly chosen cute girl to fight your battles for you."
"Sounds fun," Melanie murmured. "Are they as cute as me?"
River chuckled, "You're cuter. These girls are a bit... overdone, like they're following a recipe for cuteness. 'We need to add one tablespoon pink hair, a pinch of a weird verbal quirk, and two D-cups.'"
"That sounds really weird when you put it that way. They're not like, chainmail bikini girls, are they?" Melanie adjusted herself so she could rest her head on River's chest.
"There are a few, but they're more like schoolgirls or 'girls next door,'" River said.
"I could be a schoolgirl for you," Melanie said.
River gave one small laugh and patted Melanie on the head. "Thank you for offering."
"Say... there is one thing we could do," Melanie said. She was going to attempt something very spur of the moment, but at that second, she was very sure it was something she wanted. "How about we... get a little more comfortable?"
River arched an eyebrow, a gesture barely visible in the darkness. "And?"
"And what?" Melanie sighed. "I want to try you out."
"Oh, I see," River said, turning over to enfold Melanie just that much more. "Feeling frisky, are we?"
"Yeah, let's go with that." Melanie leaned forward and gave River a kiss on the lips. "Good thing I'm not wearing pants, huh?"
"I do believe you're trying to seduce me," River said. "I might be wearing pants, but I suppose that's something I can easily fix, right?"
"We need to fix that quickly," Melanie smiled, fumbling around in the dark for the waistband of River's bottoms.
"Let me help you." River guided Melanie's hand to his waistband; once he was through with that, he slid his hands under her shirt. "Gotcha!"
Melanie gave a protracted, melodramatic "Oh, noooooo," though she was clearly joking around, as she giggled right after. "Do you like what you feel?"
"Oh, yes," River moaned. "Your skin is very soft. What's your secret?"
"A strawberry-scented moisturizer," Melanie said, tugging River's pants down. "Oops, your pants are down."
"Oops." River's hand slid upward, eventually resting gently on Melanie's left breast. "Oops again."
Melanie giggled, yet shuddered at the same time as a small rush rippled through her. "Your hand slipped?"
River's other hand slipped to cover the other breast. "Yes, and then the other one slipped after it."
"So naughty!" Melanie giggled again and rolled on top of River, grinning at him. "Hi."
"Hi." River gave Melanie as deep a kiss as he could muster. "You're a little silly tonight, aren't you?"
"It's fun to play with you," Melanie said.
"Mel, dear, could you do me a favor?" River's hand stretched to his right. "Could you open the nightstand drawer for me? I've got something nice for you in there."
"I thought it was in your pants."
"That's more than just a nice thing," River grinned. "Go on, go get the thing."
Melanie did as she was told, and she felt a square packet. "What's this? A tea bag? It's very square."
"Oh, come on, you know what that is! Tea bag?Where did you even get that from..."
"Oh, a condom, right." Melanie passed the condom over to River. "I'm ready whenever you are," she whispered, wriggling out of her borrowed sleep shirt and tossing it aside. Her panties were next.
"You'd better be ready, because I've got something more in store for you." River carefully rolled Melanie onto her back. "Well? Are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"Saying yes like that already, and I haven't even started," River mumbled. "Let's see if we can keep that up."
When River entered, Melanie practically squealed. She reached up, touching him, stroking him all over, getting a feel for his musculature. He came at her with thrust after thrust, and there was one point where she thought her eyes rolled back in her head. He massaged her body, rubbing gently with just the right amount of pressure, and the added stimulation made her feel excited all over again. She continued giving him rather loud verbal feedback, resulting in an exchange when she called out his name.
"Don't they say the orgasm's fake if she calls out your name?" River said through a laugh.
"I'm not faking!" Melanie huffed indignantly. "I love it, I want you inside me forever! Better?!"
"You're too funny," River said, rocking Melanie with another thrust.
"How do you even know how to do this?" Melanie nearly yelled.
"It's a trade secret."
"Fuck you, it's not a trade secret!"
"Aren't we already fucking?"
"Now you're being silly, Riv."
"Fine, fine, I'll give you the River Sutra later!"
The sex ended up disintegrating into giggles after they both came. River got rid of the condom and came back to Melanie grinning so widely he could even see it in the dark. "That was fun, wasn't it?"
"I'd say so," River said as he slid back into bed and wrapped himself around Melanie. "You come up with good ideas sometimes."
"Only sometimes?" Melanie whined.
"Oh, hush, you know what I mean," River grinned. "I feel better now, after that. I might actually be able to go back to sleep. What about you?"
"I feel a lot better," Melanie said. "Like you said, sometimes I have good ideas."
"You know, I'm wondering," River spoke, pausing for a moment. "What made you decide you wanted sex at that moment?"
"I don't know," Melanie confessed. "It just seemed like the right time and place for it. When I see an opportunity, I go for it."
"I see," River sighed and gave Melanie a squeeze. "You're a great girl, Melanie. Don't think otherwise."
"Are you just saying that because I had sex with you?" Melanie asked.
"Ab
solutely not," River scoffed. "Even if you were skeptical at first, you accept me for what I am, and you embrace me as a person. It's hard to find people who do that these days. Some people only see one side of you and only care about that one side, and once they see another, they stop liking you."
Melanie made a sad noise. "It sounds like you're talking from experience."
"I suppose you could say that," River said. "I've met people like that in the past. Some people just aren't prepared to love a person wholeheartedly, regardless of who they are or what their true self is like."
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