The Divine Gambit Ch. 12

Sam slowly came out of one of the dressing rooms, and I got my first view of her in the clothes she had picked out for tonight. I hadn't had a chance to see Beth; she was simply a streak in my vision before she impacted my chest.

Sam looked good. She was still embracing her effortlessly beautiful style. Now she matched my observation of others -- putting effort into looking casual and relaxed. She wore black yoga pants that looked painted onto her legs. Red highlights accented her curves, drawing your gaze to her womanly hips. Her top was a low-cut, silky, strapless matching red top. That was where the effort was apparent, the sensuality of the top masking any of the comfort of her bottoms. She looked hot, all woman, and when she strutted out of the changing room, she had the confidence to match. She looked like an alpha in the prime of their life, hungry and on the prowl. My dragon soul heartily approved.

"Your girlfriend only just realized that your healing powers did more than fix her eyes. I pointed out how adorable she was and how her little button nose made her look innocent and sweet. She told me to stop lying, that her nose was ugly as sin and broken and disfigured. Then she looked at herself."

Beth was still clinging to me, but she pulled away to turn her face up.

"Why didn't you tell me you had fixed it?"

"I had noticed the process starting a couple days ago, and I wanted to wait for it to work. I wasn't sure how much it would do and didn't want you to fixate on it or mislead you into thinking I would fix it if I wasn't actually able to."

She gave me a stern, pouting face and archly stated, "Fine, but you owe me. I want one kiss and one 'You're pretty' every day until I forgive you."

I laughed, "Those terms are acceptable, although I'm not sure I agree with the idea that I owe you for being cautious about healing."

The resentment peaked its head up for another moment and then fluttered away.

"Okay, that's not what I should've said. I still want to be kissed and told I'm pretty."

And so I did, kissing her there and then telling her she was pretty.

"You didn't even look at me! How could you know?"

She stepped back, out of my arms, and twirled. I felt positively lecherous at the thoughts that sprung to mind while she modeled herself.

"That's what you want to wear tonight? To a dance club?"

"Yup!" She nodded assertively to my question. Sam smiled and nodded as well, confirming the decision.

I didn't have any issue with what she was wearing. The bouncer almost certainly would.

Beth looked young. Even before my magic had cleared up her scars, her petite frame, adorable face, and pixie cut made her look younger than she actually was. I had some reservations that very first night because of it. Now, her eyes were bright, gleaming emeralds full of wonder, her skin was faultless and youthfully unblemished, and her face had none of the marks she had accrued while trying to survive. She looked even younger than she had a week ago.

The outfit Sam had constructed for her emphasized that. She wore the iconic girl's uniform shoes, black and glossy flats with a single strap at the fore of her ankle. Solid black socks rose up her slender legs to just above the knee. She was wearing a plaid black and red suspenders style dress over a white dress shirt, the dress's hem lying very near where the socks terminated. When she had spun, I got a tantalizing glimpse of her rosy flesh as the dress lifted up. To top it off, she had a black with red polka dots bow-shaped hair clip holding her bangs aside.

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way because you look amazing, but are you absolutely sure that's what you want to wear tonight? Will they even let you in?"

Sam shrugged, "Zoey said it should be fine. She won't be able to buy her own drinks, but she'll be let in."

Beth butted in, "But I don't really want to do that anyway. Getting drunk was never really in the cards for us tonight. Would be stressful trying it for the first real time, while in a crowded public place, and trying to make a good impression on someone who might be in our lives for the future."

Sam hugged Beth from behind as she spoke and nodded her agreement when Beth finished. Looking at them together put a potentially scandalous thought into my head, and I couldn't help but blurt it out.

"Okay, but, are you really, really sure? With you in that, we kind of look like a family, and you're our middle school daughter."

Beth's eyes lit up with a fire I had only seen a few times, and she coyly asked, "Does that mean I can call you 'Daddy'?"

A moment of agonizing discomfort passed before both Sam and Beth started laughing at my expense.

"Okay, if you're set on it, it looks good on you. I do have another question, though. Sam, did you intentionally color-coordinate all of us, or was that an accident?"

Sam blushed crimson and coquettishly admitted, "It was intentional. I asked Beth about the color of your scales when you shifted. She said they were about that color red, rich and deep and imposing. So, I made sure to construct our outfits around it. You're going to be a great leader here, so, I wanted us to have a sort of branding to be recognizable. You know, James and team girlfriend in their colors and such."

It was, all things considered, a reasonable idea. It was also incredibly endearing that Sam wanted to match her outfits to the color of my scales. Both girls looked amazing in their outfits, and I had no reason to object. I had just been curious about how we all ended up in black and red garments.

We made our way out of the store after I paid for everything they had chosen and proceeded to the food court equivalent area of this opulent not-mall. It was an open garden adjacent to the building, where several food trucks from the area's vaunted restaurants would rotate their offerings. We made our selections and found an available table, ate our varied bougie food, and headed back to the apartment.