“Zoua!” I heard my name shouted over the din of music and too many voices talking. “Zoua, there’s a dragon at the door!”
I poked my head out of the kitchen and looked into the living room, crowded with friends and acquaintances. My sister was across the room at the door, encouraging someone to come in. Grabbing my beer bottle, I carefully moved around the group aggressively playing Boggle at the coffee table to the front door.
“No,” I heard her whine a little. “You have to come in. She’s going to love it.”
A young man in an amazing dragon costume stood in the doorway, clearly conflicted about something. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him.
“Hello!” I said, probably a little louder than necessary, but the room was loud and I was on my second drink. The young man’s head snapped up and his eyes met mine. They were a really interesting hazel, blue on the inside and brown all around the outside. “You make a stellar dragon,” I said, pointing at him with both hands.
“See!” my sister squealed. She was prone to dramatic vocalizations. She turned to me. “Since you’re here, so I’m going back to Battle Boggle.”
“Battle Boggle?” the dragon asked uncertainly.
“I suspect the rules will make no sense sober.” I smiled, hoping to reassure him. “I’m sorry. You look really familiar, but seeing you out of context is throwing me off.”
He held out green paw with large plastic talons. He retracted it abruptly, blushing as he worked to pull his hand out of the glove paw. “I’m Tai’s cousin, Trevor.” His hand was warm, and he exerted just the right amount of pressure. I liked the way his palm felt against mine. “He said it’d be okay if I came.” It came out sounding like a question.
“Oh yeah, he told me you’d be here.” I nodded, vaguely remembering that conversation. “He’s out back by the fire bowl.” I pointed over my shoulder with one thumb. Suddenly worried that he’d take this as a brush off, directing him to go to the back yard and leave me alone, I spoke before he could. “Hey, let me show you around.”
Together, we waded through the living room. “Hey everyone, this is Trevor.”
The Bogglers shouted various greetings to him. Taking his hand, I pulled him through the doorway into the next room. “This is the kitchen, obviously.” I sort of waved at the room with my bottle. Since this was where I’d parked most of the food and beverages, it was filled with people standing and eating while talking. “You want something to drink? There’s pop in the fridge and beer over in the cooler.”
He glanced at the bottle I was holding. “I’d take one of those, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“It’s no trouble.” I let go of his hand. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.” I fished an ale out of the cooler and opened it for him. When I got back to where I’d left him, he was looking awkwardly around the room.
“I like your house,” he said.
I grinned. “It looks better when it’s not quite so crowded.” I took his hand again and lead him by the back porch so he could see where the party had spilled outside. “I haven’t done much with the yard yet, which means I don’t have to worry about my drunken friends trampling anything.” I pointed to the open basement door. “There’s gaming going on downstairs. Wii and stuff,” I clarified.
The ten cent tour over, I struggled to come up with a way to engage him. Something about him seemed so sweet, and I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t take the time to get to know him now.
“I’m really sorry,” Trevor said after several moments of silence.
“What for?”
He gestured to himself. “Tai said it was a costume party.” He rolled his eyes. “I should have known better, he’s kind of got a history of pranking me.”
“If it’s any consolation, it’s a great costume.” I reached out and fiddled with the fabric spines on his hood.
“Really?”
I nodded. “You make an awesome dragon.” His pretty eyes cut the the left, and I wondered if he was normally shy. “Are you uncomfortable?”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
I frowned a little. I’d only just met him, and I really didn’t want him to go. A guy who would dress as a dragon for a costume party had to have an interesting story. But if he felt uneasy, he’d probably leave. “You want to change?” I asked. “I wouldn’t be offended.”
He shook his head. “I don’t have anything to change into. And I don’t think this is the sort of party where we’re all supposed to end up in our underwear.” He blushed.
I giggled. “Heh. No. I have some friends who I definitely don’t need to see in their underwear. Again.” It was hard to tell with the costume, but he might be okay in just that. “I probably have some sweats you can wear. Come on.” I caught his hand and led him to the carpeted steps to my upstairs.
“Oh… uh… I…” He was cute when he was at a loss for words.
“No worries, Trevor.” I didn’t have to shout as we walked down the hall to my room. “Besides, I’m betting that dragon suit will get hot in this crowd. That’s no fun.”
“Um. Thanks.” I barely heard him.
I brought him to my room, where I rummaged in my drawers. He had broader shoulders than me, but my breasts took up enough real estate to compensate. “Here.” I tossed him a navy blue t-shirt from the Tesla center at Wardenclyffe. It was a unisex design, so I figured it’d be a good fit. I turned and looked at him a moment. “Can I touch you?”
“What?” He gaped at me with very wide eyes.
“Sorry.” I cringed, feeling my face heat up. “I’m trying to figure out how big your waist is, but the costume kind of conceals that.”
“Oh. Uh…” Even with the suit, I could see that he was breathing a little on the fast side.
“I’m sorry” I said. “I’m making you uncomfortable.” I turned and fished in the bottom drawer. “Why don’t you just try these sweats.” I lay them on the bed and backed out of the room. “I’ll be out here, if you need anything,” I said as I shut the door.
After a few minutes, the door opened. I looked up and smiled. The costume had hidden a nice body, not ridiculous, but in decent shape. He had shaggy brown hair that stuck out and flopped around. There was something oddly intimate about seeing him in my clothes, and I liked it. A lot. “You can leave your costume up here, if you want.”
Prompt: You were told it was a costume party, and I offered you a change of clothes because it’s my house, and wow you look really cute in my clothes.
S.N.Arly 