On Our Side of the Forest (Short Story Compilation)

Romantic Chaos

Romantic Chaos

My heart fluttered out of my chest in anticipation. I sat on the edge of my bed, sticky, glow-in-the-dark stars faintly glowing on my ceiling. I had a date. The first date in a very long time too. I strolled over to my closet and found a nice cropped t-shirt to pair with a pair of black jeans. It was always a struggle, T-shirts had a knack for getting stuck on my antlers, so I had to wrestle with the tangle for a little second before the outfit could come together. My hooves made a soft tap on the hardwood floors of my apartment. I grabbed my coat and keys, heading outside to find Rhori already outside. I blushed, my heartbeat racing again as I walked down to the car. I met him while serving coffee at our local cafe. He always comes in there; and this one particular day, he decided to ask me out for dinner.

"Hey," The young dragon grinned. The yellow on his face making him more like the sun than anything, "I thought we could try this sushi restaurant in the city?"

"I love sushi!" I giggled at him. He pulled out of my driveway, cruising down the road as pop played on the radio.

"How's the day been?" I watched the road flow under our car like a black ribbon.

"Busy, work was kinda a lot, and I had to help my parents fix up the house before I could get back home," My body was a tad tired, "But it was so refreshing to know I'm getting this date with you! I think you're cute!" He chuckled parking in the lot and escorted us into the restaurant. The hostess seated us, next to the cheetah couple and a few tables were taken up by single diners. We looked at the menu for a while, laughing and carrying on about our days and lives like it were natural for us to be here together.

"I think the California roll," He closed his menu and I agreed with his order, asking for a small order of the crab sashimi with it. Now, this is when things started taking a turn.

"Why are you sweating?" The poor guy was drenched, looking at me in embarrassment.

"I'm just nervous! I just...yeah, this is happening!" I chuckled away his angst. He reached to pour us more wine and somehow dropped the bottle. I stood up quickly with him. It was a chaotic chain of events that somehow led to him toppling into our waiter and spilling the food. I fell back and tipped over the nice couple's table. I was so embarrassed. My face lit up a bright red, and I bolted from the restaurant. Rhori found me outside next to the wall.

"I am so sorry!" He draped his jacket over my shoulders, "Please...I hope this didn't ruin things. I was so nervous! I'm so sorry!" I stared at him, I just started laughing. Soon, he was laughing too.

"At this point," I continued laughing, "We have had the worst happen. We're good now!" I hugged him, wiping the sushi off of him. "We could go back to my place and I cook something?"

"Sounds nice!" He grabbed my hand with his scaley one, leading me back to the car. It was a smooth night, and a smooth night every night I spent with him. From that night on, I loved calling him mine.