The Second Date

"Romances, huh? Didn't peg you for the type from your shifter comment last week." I jumped a little bit and looked over at her. She had a book sitting in her basket already, but I couldn't see the title of it since it was upside down.

"Uh... yeah," I said, turning a bit pink. "Romance is my favorite genre - mostly rom-coms. I like some historical and fantasy romances, too, but I just haven't really dipped my toes into any shifter stuff yet." I walked down to another part of the aisle and checked for any fantasy romance books, and I could still hear Rose's voice loud and clear.

"Yeah, I haven't found too many of them I like quite yet, to be honest. I swear, every book has different rules on how exactly they work. It's kinda silly." I continued to look at the books for a bit until I heard Rose exclaim, "Oooh, that looks interesting!"

"What'd you find?" I asked, as I looked over toward her. She had set her basket on the floor by her feet, and my eyes widened when I saw what she was doing. I stared, entranced, as Rose had completely ignored the stepstool sitting at the end of the aisle and had decided to just make herself taller instead. I watched as her thighs lengthened about 8 inches or so; I was a little concerned that her stockings would rip, but Rose seemed to know her limits. Her sweater crept up slightly to reveal her navel as she lengthened her torso as well, and she was about a foot and a half taller when all was said and done. I felt heat blaze in my cheeks at the final result of her growth, and my dick grew stiff in my jeans at the sight of her heightened figure. She was nearly eye level with the top shelf at that point as she grabbed a book and took a moment to read the back cover. "Yeah, this looks-"

"Oh, hey there!" We both heard a cheerful voice call out to us from nearby and turned toward it to find a Polymorph guy standing at the end of the aisle, wearing a pair of khakis and a skin-tight shirt. He was taller than me, maybe a little over 6 feet, and he had the same bright white skin tone that Rose had after we left the bar last week. He was also sporting a stark-white buzz cut with a little white goatee to match; clearly, he wasn't self-conscious about his natural look like Rose was. The guy looked pretty strong; he must have worked out fairly often. I looked back at Rose again and found I couldn't look away as my cheeks continued to burn and my dick began to throb with desire. My brain was still in a haze of arousal when I saw the guy walk up to Rose and lean against the bookshelf in front of her. He actually had to look up at her, since she was taller than either of us at that point; she must have been about 7 feet tall. Goddamn, those were some tall-ass bookshelves. No wonder they had stepstools... not that Rose needed one. I reluctantly tore my eyes from her and kept my gaze trained on the Polymorph guy; I wondered what the hell he wanted, but I didn't want to step in quite yet.

"I haven't seen you around before," he said. "It's always nice to meet another Polly. There's so few of us around here, you know?"

"I hear that," Rose said. "You're actually the only other one I've seen around."

"Oh, really? I've met a few others on campus, but it is a pretty big place, after all." The guy held his hand out toward Rose. "Anyway, I'm Dylan. It's nice to meet you."

"Um, Rose," Rose said, blushing a bit as she bent down a bit and shook his hand. My arousal from earlier had completely dissipated, and I frowned as I watched them chat; I really wanted to step in at that point, but again, I decided against it - I wanted to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, like Rose had earlier with the guy at the park.

"So, I couldn't help but notice you're sporting some... changes," he said.

"I... am," Rose said, looking a bit confused at the conversation's sudden shift in tone. My dick twinged with desire again as Rose began to shrink herself back down. I wrenched my gaze away and absentmindedly stared at the shelf in front of me to distract me from the sight of her as my color rushed to my cheeks again.

"Can I ask why that is?" I heard Dylan say. I looked back to them to find that Rose was back to her normal height again.

"Um, no, actually," she said, shaking her head as her cheeks turned pink. "Sorry, but I don't feel like sharing that." The guy's featured hardened into a frown as his tone became a bit hostile.

"Why not? I'm just making conversation. It's a pretty simple question." She began to look uneasy as soon as the words reached her ears. She locked eyes with me, and I decided at that point that it was time to intervene; I couldn't just stand by when he was making Rose uncomfortable, so I marched up to them and finally spoke up.

"That's really none of your business," I said sharply, cutting into their conversation. Dylan looked over at me and frowned as his eyes turned a steely gray before setting back to their natural color - they were blue like Rose's were, but his were a darker shade.

"I just asked her a question, man," he said. "We're having a private conversation over here, so I'd say it's none of your business, actually. Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"He's my date," Rose answered bluntly, the words sharp. Dylan looked over at me and raised his eyebrows before looking over at Rose.

"Wait, you're dating this guy? Really?" Dylan looked me up and down, frowning just before he turned back to Rose. "He's not even a Polly." She shot him an annoyed glance punctuated with a sharp nod.

"Yes, I am, and why the hell should it matter whether or not he's a Polly? Who I'm with is none of your business." Rose's eyes changed from blue to dark gray, then back again before she spoke up again, and she sounded really pissed: "And by the way, this guy-" she snapped, before pointing at me, "-is right; My appearance isn't, either." Dylan looked over at me and glared before he raised his eyebrows at me, and his mouth twisted into a sneer.

"Wait, a second - it's because of you, isn't it? Don't think I didn't see you ogling her earlier, drooling over her like she's a piece of meat. So that's what gets you going, huh? Watching her change?" My cheeks turned crimson at the words, but before I could even speak up to defend myself, he had turned back to face Rose and continued his tirade. "That's bullshit, you know. You don't have to change yourself for anyone - especially not for Pollyphiles. You're really telling me you'd rather date someone who fetishizes you instead of someone like you?" My cheeks turned crimson at that, but Rose drew my attention her way as she spoke up again.

"Oh, so that's what this is all about, then; you're interested in me? Well, I'm sure as hell not interested, so if you could go ahead and leave us to our date, that would be great." Her eyes flashed a lighter shade of gray for a moment following the words; I hoped he would just take the hint and go, but of course, we had no such luck.

"What? No! That's not it at all; I've got a girlfriend. I'm just saying, I could set you up with one of my friends - that way you can actually be yourself."

"Yeah, no, I'm good." Rose replied, shaking her head at him before she looked over at me and smiled. Her smile faded as she turned back to Dylan and spoke up again. "Anyway, if that's really all you came here to say, you can go now." Dylan sighed as he fished a white business card out of his back pocket and held it out to her. "Look, all I really wanted to do was to give you this. Give it a look, and just... do yourself a favor, and think it over, Rose." She hesitantly looked down at the card in his hand and stared at it for a moment before finally taking it from him. With that, he turned around and stomped off, leaving us alone again among the bookshelves as the rain continued to fall outside. Rose held the business card up and stared at it curiously as she scanned the contents for a second.

"W-what even is it?" I asked, trying to get a look at it. "You know, I'm surprised you even bothered to take it."

"It's a card for some new political movement I've never heard of: Pure Pollies," Rose said as she lowered the card and looked at me. "I've never heard of it before, so I just wanted to do a bit of research into them. That's why I took it." She opened her purse and stuffed the card inside it before snapping the bag shut. "I'll look into it on my own, though, later on. Anyway, yeah; fuck that guy. God, he was a dick."

"I know, right?" I asked, shaking my head. "Hey, you were right about not being the only Polly around here, though," I said.

"Yeah, well that guy fucking sucked. You know, I always hoped to make some Polly friends on campus, but it sure as hell isn't going to be with him... probably not any of his 'friends,' either, if they're anything like him."

"Yeah, he was definitely an ass, but... there is something I'm curious about: how could he tell I wasn't a Polly?"

"Oh, that's an easy one - your eyes give it away," Rose replied. "All Polymorphs have blue eyes, Matt. The coloration may be a little different, but they're always blue. It's the reason our emotions are so easily tracked. If we all had different eye colors, it would be a lot harder to tell how we're feeling. For instance, if a Polly had green eyes, maybe their eyes would turn blue if they were happy. Or gray, or brown... who knows? You get the point. Honestly, I'm glad it's simple; it would be a pain in the ass, otherwise. Plus, blue's my favorite color, so it works out for me." She punctuated the final point with a little grin.

"Ah. I get you," I said. Now that she mentioned it, Dylan's eyes had been blue like hers. I looked over at Rose and the corners of my mouth drooped into a slight frown. "Does it ever... bother you, that people can tell how you're feeling from the color of your eyes?"

"Pfft, not at all," she said. "Hell, if you couldn't tell from my eyes, you'd find out as soon as I opened my mouth," she said with a smirk. "Besides you're pretty easy to read yourself, Matt, and you don't even have mood rings like I do."

"I-I am? How so, exactly?" I asked, though it really wasn't that much of a shock to me; I wasn't exactly hard to read. I was more curious to see what she was picking up on, though I think I knew the answer already.

"Yes, Matt. You've blushed about a thousand times today already. You get flustered a lot... either that, or you like what you see." she mused, with a wink. "I'm right, aren't I?" My cheeks felt like they were actually going to light on fire - my suspicions were indeed correct. "See? There you go again!" My mind drifted back to Dylan's accusation, and I felt shame creep over me and mix with my embarrassment; it was a decidedly unpleasant feeling.

"Listen, Rose, about what he said back there, about me-" I dropped my voice low before I continued, "-fetishizing you, I just want to say that I'm sorry. I... that's not my intention at all."

"Oh, my God, do not let him get into your head, Matt," Rose replied, rolling her eyes as they turned gray again.

"Well, I mean... he's not wrong. I clearly have a thing for Pollies, Rose." I said the last bit in a hushed tone.

"So?" Rose asked, with a shrug. She leaned in a bit closer and whispered to me, "And I'm a Tabbie. Who cares? That's just one part of you; it's not everything, and just because you have a thing for Pollies doesn't mean you're a bad person, Matt - no matter what some random asshole thinks."

I nodded at her before growing quiet. The seconds marched on in silence as we stood there for a bit as more rain pattered against the roof of the building above us. A large thunderclap boomed from somewhere nearby. Rose gasped and jumped a bit at the sudden interruption, and I was a bit concerned about her; she looked nervous.

"Are you okay, Rose?" I asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she replied, as her cheeks turned crimson. She looked down to the end of the aisle. "Um, did you want to go see if they've got any fantasy books around here?" I nodded, and we both headed off to look for a fantasy section. As we walked, I scanned the shelves as we passed, finding myself in awe at the sheer number of books they had for sale.

"My mom would absolutely love this place," I said. "She reads a ton; she even has a library room back home with a couple hundred books. I... read a lot as a kid. Still do, actually."

"I read a lot, too; it sounds like I would get along well with your mom," Rose said, with a grin.

"I bet you would... with both my parents, actually. My mom's a librarian, and my dad owns the local bar."

"Hold up; your mom's a freaking librarian, and you still didn't to check the library for books on Pollies?" she teased me, with a grin.

"Shuuuuuush!" I said, chuckling despite myself as I failed to suppress a grin.

"I'm just messing with you, Matt," Rose said, thankfully looking a bit more relaxed. "So... booze and books, huh? Those are two of my favorite pastimes," Rose said, with a chuckle. "Sounds like your parents have got the bases covered, don't they?" I nodded. "Your folks rub off on you a bit, then?" Rose smirked as she gently nudged me with her elbow.

"Well, when your town consists of two traffic lights, the bar, the library, and a tiny grocery store, those are about your only options if you want to go out... unless you feel like making a drive out to the city, that is."

"Oh hey, don't forget about your lackluster high school," Rose added, with a smirk.

"Oh, yeah. That too. To give you a bit of an idea about the quality of my education, I was one of only twelve graduates my senior year."

"Jesus," Rose said, with a grimace. "Out of how many?"

"Eighty," I answered flatly.

"Yikes," Rose said with a bit of a grimace before her features softened and she smiled at me. "Well, hey, at least you made it out, though, right?"

"That I did," I said with a smile, as we finally found the fantasy section.

The rainfall intensified as it continued to pound against the building while we scanned the shelves. Rose looked uncomfortable again, but she redoubled her search efforts, pouring all of her focus on finding a book she was interested in. I put my hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze, and she looked over at me and smiled. Once again, the shelves held an eclectic mix of various fantasy genres, authors, and titles. Rose's eyes fell on a certain book, and grinned as she eagerly snatched it from the shelf and held it up for me to see.

"Hey, have you read this? It's fucking amazing." I took the book from her and checked the cover. It was called 'Starch and Sacrifice,' by R.M. Therris, and I turned it around to see what it was about. The synopsis promised a magical, danger-filled tale of romance between Brad Loaf, a baker who crashes his hot air balloon into a magical small town, breaking his legs in the process. He winds up being rescued and nursed back to health by shy yet sexy local outcast Lynn Guini, a pastamancer whose powers allow her to summon pasta at will. I shook my head in disbelief that this bonkers-ass book had somehow managed to get published.

"Nope. I have definitely not read this. How the hell do you find this stuff, Rose?" I said, smirking at her eclectic taste in books.

"Oh, I have my ways," she said, with a smirk. "Anyway, you should check it out sometime. It's really good," she said, as she held her hand out toward me.

"I'll... take your word for it," I said as I gave the book back to her. She flipped open the front cover, and she gasped as her eyes blazed like emeralds. "Oh my God, it's even signed! This place fucking rules!" She eagerly dropped the book into her basket with the other books; there were two of them now, so she had evidently decided to grab whatever it was she had picked up back at the romance section, too. "You see anything that looks interesting?"

"Not really," I said, with a shrug.

"Damn," she said, as she frowned a bit for just a second, but then she perked up. "By the way, last week you mentioned that you write?"

"I mean, yeah... mostly for class, though."

"... Mostly? You got a little side project going?" Rose asked, clearly curious.

"I have... an idea that I've been kicking around for a while. It's... just an idea, though. I don't know if I'll ever get to writing it, though."

"You should!" Rose chirped, as she grinned at me enthusiastically. "Um, can I hear it? It's okay if not, I'm just curious as to what your wheelhouse is."

"I, uh... write romance stuff," I said, sheepishly. When Cait found out, she made fun of me, and I was a little afraid of what Rose would think; it turns out, I had nothing to worry about.

"Ooooh! What kind?" she asked excitedly without missing a beat, as she shot me an enthusiastic grin. "Are they spicy romances?"

"Well, the ones for class aren't, but the, uh... side project... might be a little spicy," I said, shooting her a nervous grin as my cheeks turned pink. "I've got an idea for a fantasy romance story. It's actually a, uh... shifter thing."

"I thought you didn't like shifter stuff," she said, shooting me a weird look as she cocked her head to the side a bit.

"I mean, I... I don't know, I wanted to try and do my own thing, I guess?" I said, feeling a bit silly at the prospect. I probably didn't have any business writing a shifter novel, but I still wanted to try.

"Alright, then," Rose said, with a shrug. "Lay it on me." My cheeks burned for a moment before I spoke up again.

"So, uh... there's this lady who works at an animal shelter who comes from a family of animal shifters, but, unlike her siblings, she can't really control her powers very well, so she, er... turns into a dog sometimes... like, when she gets excited, or... well, sometimes it's just random." Rose grinned and nodded as her eyes flashed green yet again.

"Okay. Sounds good; I'm totally on board so far."

"Um, thanks," I said, as my cheeks blazed even hotter, somehow. "Anyway, the male lead is afraid of dogs because of some trauma from his past, but he winds up volunteering at the shelter where the shifter lady works to try and overcome his fear. It's like that... that one therapy thing. Like, if you're afraid of spiders, they put you in a room full of spiders, you know?" Rose arched her eyebrows and chuckled at that.

"Matt, I don't think they would use a room full of spiders. Maybe, like, one at most. If a therapist ever tries to put you in the spider room, please run very far away. But I get you. Go on." I flashed her an embarrassed smile and nodded before I continued.

"So, anyway, they work together, she tries to hide her secret as they get closer, start dating, and eventually fall in love. He ends up overcoming his fear of dogs with her help, but while all of this is going on, they have to solve a supernatural mystery together before all the shifters in town get trapped in their animal forms."

"Damn, I wasn't expecting a mystery element! I love the idea, though, Matt; it sounds really fun, and I love stories where people work through their issues and end up becoming better versions of themselves," Rose said, with a warm smile, but then she frowned a bit as her cheeks turned pink. "Um, this guy, though... he doesn't, like, uh... bang her while she's in her dog form, does he?"

"What?! No! She stays human for that stuff!" I answered, with a grimace. "Jesus, Rose. I mean, maybe she grows, like, a dog tail or something, but like... doing the deed as a dog? Yeah, no." I shook my head.

"Oh, thank God. I thought I was gonna be in for more thoroughly researched animal porn, or like, another dog-on-human BJ, or something." she said, brushing past that last bit as she breathed a sigh of relief.