The Blind Date

"Oh, yeah! I loved her last album," she chimed in, without missing a beat. "It had tons of good stuff on it. My favorite song on there is Chinese Satellite... if you couldn't tell." She punctuated the last bit with a cheeky grin.

"You don't say?" I quipped, feeling a little more at ease by the warmth of her smile. "I loved all of it, really, from start to finish. It was totally worth taking the time to give it a full playthrough."

"Man, I hardly ever bother with listening to an album straight through. If I'm not feeling something, I have no problem skipping that shit," Rose said.

"Fair enough. I always like listening to an album all the way through, at least on the first listen. That way I get to hear everything it has to offer."

"I really don't have the attention span for that, more often than not," Rose said nonchalantly, taking another drink from her glass. "I do the same thing with books." I did a double-take.

"Wait, what?! You skip ahead in books?!" I asked, incredulous. "Please tell me you're joking."

"So, I can explain—," she began, color pooling in her cheeks as she flashed a nervous grin.

"—Oh, God, this should be good," I cut in, smiling as I took another swig from my glass.

"Look, just hear me out!" Rose piped up frantically. "Okay, so I was reading this one book, right? And the characters just kept talking and talking and, like, I just wanted to get to the good stuff, you know? So I kind of just... jumped ahead...only a little bit, though!" Her rosy cheeks combined with her flustered attempt to justify herself was adorable as hell, and I decided to press my attack a bit further.

"Absolute sacrilege. Unforgivable. Shame on you," I said, trying in vain to feign offense even as my smile betrayed me.

"Oh, shut up," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I do it all the time, okay?"

"Fine, fine," I said, letting up. "So, what's the 'good stuff' then?"

"Action? Sex? Okay, mostly sex, but at, the very least, a semblance of a coherent plot. The book was like ninety percent bear shifter politics, and I couldn't give any less of a shit about any of it."

"Wait, bear shifters? Really? Don't even get me started on shifters. I truly don't get it. Like, are they people, or are they animals? Can you explain it?"

"I really can't, sorry," she said, taking a bit of time to deliberate. "I think they're, like, both...? The book didn't really explain it." she said, shrugging.

"Maybe it was explained in the part you skipped," I offered up as I flashed a grin.

"Oh, fuck off!" Rose snapped back playfully. "Look, it doesn't matter; the book was shit. There weren't even any good sex scenes, unless you're into just two regular-ass bears fucking."

"Oh, God. No. I hate it." I said, with a grimace. "Just...why? Why was that a thing?"

"It had to do with the beast taking over, or something. Anyway, the bear sex was waaaay too detailed; I felt like I was reading a National Geographic article. The author evidently did their research, I guess. You ever wish you could un-read something?" Rose asked.

"I've taken quite a few creative writing classes at this point, so there is so much I wish I could un-read," I said. "Wait, hold on...so let me get this straight; you skipped the political bullshit, but not the extremely graphic bear sex?" Rose's cheeks turned red.

"Well, I mean, it was terrible, but it was like my eyes were glued to the page...you mean to tell me you've never read anything so awful that you couldn't look away?" she asked.

"Alright, I'll give you that one. God, some of the stuff I've had to read for class has just been... woof," I said, grimacing. Rose lifted her glass to her lips to take another drink of her Screwdriver. I flashed her a sly grin from across the table. "But anyway, I bet all those 'grizzly' details must have been pretty...un-bear-able to read," Rose nearly choked on her drink, sputtering and coughing as she erupted into a fit of laughter. Her fiery curls bounced around her face as she giggled, a joyful, utterly adorable sound that drifted across the table and danced around in my head. I felt a fresh blaze of heat creep into my cheeks.

"No... NO! You did not just say that! God, that was terrible," Rose groaned, after she had finally calmed down. Clearly, she had enjoyed the joke though, from the smile on her face. As she beamed at me from across the table, it looked like her irises flitted from blue to green, then back again, just like earlier. My confusion must have shown on my face because Rose shot me a weird look.

"You good, man?" I was quiet for a second, debating whether I should mention it. I decided to just ignore it and move on; it had to be my imagination.

"Oh, yeah! I'm fine," I replied, giving her a reassuring smile. Rose nodded, taking another drink from her glass.

"So, creative writing classes, huh? You an English major, then?" she asked. I nodded. "What are your post-grad plans?"

"I'd love to write a novel someday, but I don't know if it'll happen," I said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I'll probably just end up teaching or something."

"Nothing wrong with that. But, for what it's worth, I'm sure whatever you write is better than that shitty bear porn book I read," she said, flashing another warm smile.

"Thanks," I said, as butterflies began to flutter in my stomach. "So, um, anyway, what about you? What do you want to do after graduation?"

"So, I'm hoping I can get a job in social work," she said.

"That's really cool," I said.

"Thanks," she said, blushing as she fiddled with a stray curl.

"So, you want to do, like, counseling or something, then?"

"Yes, actually! There are lots of kids out there that need help—a lot of Pollies end up funneled into the foster care system—and since I'm a Polly myself, I want to do what I can to help them. I think it would be good for them to be able to talk with someone who understands what they're going through, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," I said. It took me a few seconds to register what she had said, but then the realization hit me like a freight train. I stared at her slack-jawed at her under the warm glow of the bar lights. "Wait, hold on. You're a Polymorph?!"

"Um, yeah," Rose said, matter-of-factly. She stared at me for a moment, clearly confused. "Wait...you didn't know that? I thought Ryan told you. You said you guys talked a little bit before I came over..."

"We did, but he just mentioned that you and I both like some of the same bands," I said, flatly.

"THAT was what he opened with?! Oh, my Goooood," she groaned. "I am going to fucking kill him," She scowled for a moment, before her features softened and she let out a sigh. "Yes, I'm a Polly. I'm sorry your dumbass roommate didn't fill you in."

"It's fine. It's just Ryan being Ryan. You know, I've never actually met a Polly before, so...I dunno, it's just really cool," I said, feeling my face turn red. I felt pretty embarrassed, but Rose just chuckled.

"Well, here I am," she said, grinning. I smiled back, feeling my cheeks flush even more. I noticed that both our drinks were nearly empty at this point.

"Um, did you want another drink? I'll get the next round," I offered.

"Sure! I'll take another screwdriver, please."

"No problem. Be back in a bit," I said, getting up from the table. I tried to remain focused as I shuffled through the scattered throngs of the bar, but the bombshell Rose had just dropped on me was taking up most of my mental bandwidth. Well, that and the renewed surge of frustration I felt at Ryan for failing to mention it to me. I resolved to give him an earful when I got back to our apartment later as I headed over to the bar. Thankfully, the crowd near the bar had died down, so I was able to order the drinks pretty quickly. I returned to the table and placed Rose's down in front of her before taking my own seat at the table.

"Thanks," she said, flashing a small smile.

"No problem," I said, as I started in on my drink. "So, if you don't mind, could I ask you some stuff about Polymorphs?"

"Go ahead, I'm an open book. Just, please don't be weird about it. You would not believe some of the shit I get asked. Anyway, ask away, but if I don't like the question, I reserve the right to skip it," she said, flashing a smug grin at me.

"So, I thought I saw your eyes change color earlier. That's a Polly thing, then?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, that'll happen," she said, grinning. "It's sort of an emotional response. My mom calls them my personal mood rings."

"That's wild. I thought I was going crazy earlier... Anyway, so what kinds of stuff can you do?"

"Well, just as an example, I could make myself look like anyone at this bar - even you," Rose said, chuckling as she looped a stray curl around her finger.

"Wait, so you can even change your sex?" I asked.

"I can...among other things," she said, with a wink. "Thanks for keeping it classy, by the way. I swear, if I had a dollar for every time some creep has asked me about my 'bits' or my 'parts' or whatever, I'd have my damn student loans all paid off by now," she said, smirking. I suddenly remembered the conversation I had heard in the bathroom earlier.

"So... I have a question that might be a little... I dunno if it's gonna fly or not," I said.

"Oh?" Rose asked, her eyes trained on me. I saw the hint of a smile dance across her face as she studied me. Color blazed into my cheeks, and I took a sip from my drink before continuing.

"So, it's about your, um...your..." I hesitated, letting my voice trail off. "No, I really shouldn't ask..."

"Oh my God, Matt, just ask the damn question," Rose snapped, taking a swig of her screwdriver.

"Boobs! Your boobs! It's about your boobs," I blurted out, the words just spilling out of their own accord. My face felt like it was liable to catch fire any second now. Rose just chuckled.

"That's not a question, Matt," she said, with a smirk. "But now that everyone at the bar knows that it's about my boobs, what about them?"

"Can you, like...um...grow more of them?" I asked. Rose's eyes widened as her face turned crimson.

"How—" she started to ask, but then stopped. She took a moment to compose herself before answering. "Erm, I mean, yes, I can. Uh, theoretically, of course."

"You've never done it, then?" I asked.

"Skip! Next question," Rose said, wagging her hand dismissively.

"Okay. So I've heard of a Polly before, but what's a Tabbie?"

"Jesus Christ, skip!" she exclaimed, taking another long swig from her glass.

"For such an 'open book', you sure are skipping a lot," I said, smirking. "Though I guess I shouldn't really be surprised." Rose shot a glare my way as my smirk widened into a full-on grin. I threw my hands up apologetically. "I'm sorry, I had to."

"Uh-huh. Sure, you did," she said, rolling her eyes as she shook her head in mock indignation. After a moment, though, her features softened, and a mischievous smile crept onto her face. "Look, enough with the questions. How would you like to see a little demonstration?"

"A demonstration?" I asked, a nervous lump forming in my throat as my mind reeled with the possibilities. "Um, w-what kind of a demonstration?"

"You'll see. Just watch," Rose said, grinning. I sipped on my drink and watched intently, my eyes widening as I beheld what happened next. I could hardly believe what I was seeing as her red curls unfurled themselves before my eyes, leaving her hair hanging down in auburn waves instead of the tight loops they were just seconds before. A moment later, the waves continued to lengthen and straighten out even further, leaving her with perfectly uniform locks that fell down to her shoulders.

"Holy shit," I murmured, my mouth agape. My cheeks blazed with heat, and it was clear from the stirring in my boxers that her hair wasn't the only thing getting longer. I had no clue why the hell seeing her hair grow out was turning me on, but I barely had time to think about it before Rose spoke up again.

"I'm not done yet." I nodded and continued to watch silently, curious as to what she would do next. Soon enough I had my answer, as an encroaching wave of darkness slowly rippled out from her roots and traveled downward along each strand of hair, creeping closer and closer to her shoulders. I watched, entranced, as the last bits of red finally bled out, leaving her hair a rich shade of black, as dark as fresh ink. I found myself staring at Rose, absolutely awestruck.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked, grinning from ear to ear as she gave her head a cute little shake, sending her locks tumbling around her face. I couldn't fucking think straight due to the raging hard-on currently tenting my jeans. The warmth in my cheeks intensified even further, and I wondered just how red my face must have looked as I opened my mouth to answer her.

"That was, just... wow. You look great! I, um, I mean, you did before, of course, but, uh..." I let my sentence trail off to save myself from any further embarrassment, cursing my confounded cock all the while. Finally, I gave up on salvaging the rest of my sentence and simply gave her a thumbs-up in response.

"Thank you, thank you," Rose said without missing a beat as she beamed and lowered her head in a little bow. Her irises shimmered and shifted color once again, this time turning a brighter shade of green than I had seen before; now they shone like emeralds against the dazzling white of her smile. "I'll be here all night." She was clearly enjoying herself, and I couldn't help but crack a smile of my own.

Suddenly, the DJ's rang voice out over the bar once again: "Okay, who's ready for more karaoke? We've got Mike up next, coming on soon!" Rose's smile instantly faded, replaced by a slight grimace as she threw a glance back toward the stage.

"Ugh, I'm not sure I'm up sitting through any more karaoke. I think I feel a headache coming on," she said, rubbing her temples. "I'm pretty hungry, too." My eyes were drawn to her hair again where the dark ends at the top of her shoulders had become streaked with tiny wisps of white; I figured she must have wanted to change her style up a bit.

"Should we go ahead and cash out after this round, then?" I asked, grabbing my drink.

"Yeah," Rose said, nodding. She grabbed her own and raised it up, flashing a mischievous smile. "Chug it on 3?" At that moment, Mike, the guy in the baseball cap from the bathroom earlier, marched up onto the stage and sidled up to the microphone.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS UP, DANNY'S?" he growled into the mic, causing an ear-splitting screech of feedback to emanate from the speakers. A chorus of groans and more than a few expletives sprung up from around the bar.

"Oh my God. Fuck counting; just chug," I said, as I raised my glass to my lips and downed the rest of my drink. Rose followed suit from across the table, then scooped up her purse. We both hopped up from our seats just as the first few chords of 22 by Taylor Swift filled the bar. We were treated to Mike's admittedly spirited performance as we both cashed out, and by the time we finally headed through the doors and out into the night, he was just finishing up the song.

"Holy shit, that was awful. Sorry to make you rush out of there. I would have stayed, but that," Rose said, wagging her hand toward the building behind us, "was not helping my headache. Let's go."

"Did you drive here?" I asked. "I live pretty close by, so I just walked."

"Same here," she said. I nodded and followed behind her as she headed off away from the bar.

"You said you're hungry? That's not good, especially if you've been drinking. Let's go find something to eat." I said as I wracked my brain, trying to remember what would still be open at this hour.

"Oooh! What about some cookies? Night Owl is still open," Rose said. Night Owl Cookies was one of the few shops that stayed open as late as the bars, satisfying the sweet tooth of many a drunk college kid stumbling in after a long night of partying.

"Works for me," I said, shrugging. Rose grinned from ear to ear.

"Hell yeah, I haven't been there in forever!" she cheered as she pumped her fist in the air. "Come on, let's get some fucking cookies!" We headed toward Night Owl, following the sidewalk away from the bar past some other shops, which had long since closed. The moon hung high in the sky at this point of the night, and the weather was perfect for a stroll. The streetlights bathed the pavement in their orange glow, and there was little traffic on the streets at this hour. Here and there a few pedestrians ambled down the sidewalk, probably heading to or from one of the various bars scattered near the campus. As we both walked through the streets, Rose spoke up again. "So, what's the deal with you and Ryan? No offense, but you don't seem to have that much in common, honestly."

"We don't, really. We were paired up in the dorms freshman year and have just kinda stuck with each other ever since." I said, shrugging.

"How have you guys not killed each other by now?" Rose asked, cracking a smile.

"That's a very good question. Alcohol, mostly," I joked. "No, but, seriously, as much as he pisses me off at times, Ryan's a good guy. I feel like we balance each other out well. He kinda pulls me out of my shell, and I keep him grounded. Well, I try to, anyway."

"So... you're the responsible one, and he's the fun one?" Rose asked, smirking.

"Hey, I'm fun!" I said, with a scoff. "Ryan's more like a lovable, chaotic dumbass."

"Oh, he's definitely a dumbass. Anyway, I'm just messing with you, Matt. If I wasn't having a good time, I definitely would have noped out by now," Rose said, shrugging.

"Well...I'm glad to hear that. I'm having a nice time, too," I said. "Anyway, what about you? How do you know Ryan?"

"He's a friend of a friend, actually. We kind of just kept running into each other at parties, actually," Rose said.

"Yeah, that tracks. If Ryan's not in class, he's usually at a party," I said. "I'm not too big on them, myself. Too many people for me. I'd much rather just drink at home."

"I'm... definitely a bit of a party girl, Rose said, blushing. "They can be fun, as long as I don't, uh, go too hard."

"I'm betting there's a story there," I said, smirking.

"Um, you could say that," she said, as her cheeks reddened even more.

"Do you know of any other Pollies on campus?" Rose put her hand on her chin for a moment.

"Hmmm. I don't know any others, personally, but there's no way I'm the only one around here. Why do you ask?"

"I heard someone mention a party recently where a Polly grew some, uh... extra assets," I said. Rose's eyes widened at that, and she cupped her face in her palms.

"Goddammit, you heard about that?" she asked, her voice muffled a bit through her hands.

"At the bar. Some guys in the bathroom were talking about it." Rose uncovered her face and let out a sigh.

"Well shit. My reputation precedes me, I guess," she said. "I mean, look... that's not, like, a normal thing for me, okay? I don't usually get that drunk."

"I get it, Rose. Now, Ryan on the other hand—"

"—That man knows how to fucking party," she said, chuckling. "Actually, it's kind of funny; I had to introduce myself to him a few times before he realized who I was."

"Let me guess: he was plastered?" I asked, casting a sidelong glance.

"I mean, yes," she answered, with a chuckle. "But in his defense, I was also trying out a few different looks at the time," she said, pointing to her hair. I noticed that even more color had drained out of it: the tips by her shoulders were now completely drained of color, and a few thick white streaks peeked out from among the sea of black strands.

"You decide to go for some highlights? I like it," I said, smiling. Rose cocked her head to the side a little, a look of confusion flashing across her face.