FIRST DATE

"I'll be home at 7:30. See you until then." I texted Elma. I hardly stayed late at work but my boss was out of the country, so being the next best thing to cover for her, I had to perform some of her duties too.

I got a new notification from Elma "Aw L ok…" she replied.

By the time I had gotten off from work, I was as tired as a dead dog.

I knocked on my apartment door, expecting Elma to answer it. No answer, so I unlocked it myself.

To my surprise, I saw no one. I put my bag down. Suddenly I heard my floorboard creak which startled me. When I turned around, I saw Elma coming out of the little bedroom we now shared.

My jaw dropped at the sight of Elma clad in a beautiful blue sheath dress. My gaze fixated upon her. My heart quickened.

"Welcome back Nai. How was your day?"

"Elma, you-you look pretty." I stuttered.

She blushed. "I know you would like it. May I take your jacket?"

"Uh sure." Something had changed about Elma.

She took off my jacket and hung it.

"Close your eyes, Nai-chan."

I was smiling like an idiot. "Why?"

"Just do what I say. No questions."

"Ok" I closed my eyes.

I felt her grab my hand and run. She was pulling me up the stairs.

"Wha-where are we going Elma?" When we had stopped running up the stairs, I felt a slight chill. I knew we were on the apartment building's roof.

"You are going to open your eyes when I tell you, ok?"

I heard a slight "woosh" sound.

"Ok you can open now" her voice sounding a bit louder.

I nearly fainted at the sight that beheld my eyes.

Standing in front of me was a large blue serpent-like creature with a horn. It took up nearly all of the rooftop's space.

I was speechless but I soon regained my ability to speak after examining the creature up and down.

"Elma, is this you?"

"Yes. This is me. I wanted to show you my true form. So what do you think?" her voice sounding more muffled, as if she was speaking into a fan.

"You're beautiful." The creature lowered its large snake-like neck to me.

"You think so? I'm glad I didn't scare you." I saw her gigantic red tongue protruding from her mouth. I felt its sticky surface on my body as she licked me.

So this is how dragons show affection?

My entire body was drenched in dragon goo but I didn't care. I hugged Elma's serpent neck.

"Ooh you're touching my scales…it feels…so good."

"Your scales are so soft and moist. I just want to pet you all the time." I ran my hand along Elma's neck. It felt so satisfying.

"Elma, you know what? From today onwards, I don't want you to hide your tail and horn from me anymore. Once you're in front of me, you should be yourself."

"Huh? Really?! I can?! Thank you, oh thank you Nai."

"You don't have to thank me Elma. It's the right thing to do. I want you to always be comfortable around me."

"Hey wanna go for a ride?" she asked.

"Um- I am afraid of heights."

"Hehe that's one new thing I learned about you today" she commented. "But if you're with me, I promise I will fly slowly. You don't have to be afraid of anything. You do trust me, don't you?"

I gave in when she brought 'trust' into the conversation. She is one of the few people whom I trust.

"Ok but go slow"

"Hurray!"

I climbed on her back which took some effort.

"Ready?"

I patted her. "Yeah."

I saw a neon blue glow appeared over us.

"Huh? What's this?"

"It's perception blocking- one of my magical abilities. I put it on so no one could see us. We'd look like a shooting star in the night sky, Nai."

"Amazing" I commented.

"Let's go."

I felt us being lifted off the ground. I could now see the apartment building below us.

WHOOOSHH

We were in the sky. I dared not look down.

"Elma, you're going too fast." I gripped the serpent's back, too scared to let go. The wind lashed against my face. My hair flew in all directions.

It's gonna take hours to straighten my hair tomorrow morning.

"Sorry, Nai-chan but this is the slowest I can go. The view from here is nice, isn't it?"

I peeked below me. Thousands of tiny city lights illuminated the night. Elma was right. The view was indeed breath-taking. As I rode on her back, I realized I hadn't felt this amount of love and hope in a while. I wanted to hold on to this moment. I hoped it would never end.