Elizabeth rushed to catch up to her friend who was fast walking towards the exit at a rapid pace. Trying to keep up with a Kitsune was a tall order, but she managed.
"Nadi! What's wrong??" Elizabeth asked, her concern lacing her voice.
Nadia wanted to keep moving, to ignore her friend, but when she used that sweet and caring tone of voice that she loved, she just couldn't bring herself to do so. Nadia turned around, and looked Elizabeth in the eyes.
Elizabeth saw the sadness in her friend's eyes that were wet and red rimmed, and she was havinf trouble figuring out what had her feeling like this. Regardless, this was her best friend in the whole world, and all that mattered was comforting her. She wrapped her arms around the Kitsune, and pulled her close. Kitsune didn't even resist, nor did she hesitate to return the hug.
"Nadi, please talk to me. What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked her.
Nadia wasn't sure what to say. Sure, she could tell her exactly what was wrong, but it felt stupid, as she knew that she shouldn't even be feeling this way. She barely knew Sid, yet she liked him. No, she really liked him, and hearing that he could be with Elizabeth, and then him saying he wanted to be with Elizabeth made her heart ache.
They both turned their gazes when they heard another pair of footsteps approaching. It was Ryanna, and she looked a little worried. Nadia tried to make herself seem smaller, but it did little good. Ryanna stepped up, took one good look at Nadia, and her face softened, as she seemingly realized what was wrong just from looking at her.
"I've known you for almost as long as my own daughter. I know what this is about." Ryanna said, then she sighed. "Perhads Thad is right. I need to calm down a little bit."
Elizabeth seemed confused, and when she looked back at Nadia, she only seen a sad acceptance in her eyes.
"I'm... jealous." Nadia said, finally speaking.
"Jealous?" Elizabeth asked, still perplexed. Jealous about what?
"I should have realized it sooner. The way you gazed at that boy should have made it clear, but at the time, I wasn't thinking about that." Ryanna said, and that's when something finally clicked into place for Elizabeth.
"Nadi, do you like Sid?" Elizabeth asked with the subtlety of a nuclear bomb.
Nadia winced, but slowly, she just nodded.
"I'm sorry Lizzie. I should be happy for you, and in a way, I am, but I'm also sad. I want you to be happy, though." Nadia said, seeming to accept the circumstances.
"Nadi, we aren't even together as of yet. Yes, he's nice, and quite handsome, but I don't know him that well yet. Not to mention... it would be hard to be happy with him if you aren't happy. Your happiness matters a lot to to me." Elizabeth said.
Nadia's eyes glistened with tears upon hearing her friends words, and she gripped her even tighter.
During this time, Ryanna was deep in thought. She may have made a spur of the moment decision, but her daughter potentially being with such a strong and handsome man appealed to her, but she also knew that Liz could never do anything that would make her friend unhappy, nor did Ryanna want to see Nadia unhappy. She loved that girl like she was her own.
That being said, she thought about how the situation could be remedied, when a thought occured to her. A thought that she wouldn't have even considered, and one that she couldn't believe she even entertained suggesting. It would most likely solve the issue, but would it create other problems? Furthermore, why the hell was she even thinking about it as a possibility?
"Say, girls, I think I have a solution. One that would benefit you both." Ryanna said, taking a deep breath, and then explained her idea. The girls eyes opened wide at her suggestion.
●●●
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. After finishing my talk with Thadwick, and hearing his wise words of wisdom, I made my way for the exit after we exchanged goodbyes.I got about 3 quarters of the way there, when I noticed Elizabeth, her mother, and Nadia all huddled together, talking in a very low voice. They stopped immediately once I got within range of them.
"Heading out, dear?" Ryanna asked me, and that definitely got me to blush. How the fuck did Thadwick marry a woman like this?
"Y-yeah. I'll be back over tomorrow around 7 in the evening though." I replied, and Ryanna clapped her hands together.
"Wonderful! I hope you make this a regular occurrence." She said, far, far to cheerily.
When I looked at the other girls, I gotta admit, I was more than a little confused. Both girls were blushing heavily as they looked at me, and when I noticed, they covered their cheeks and averted their eyes.
"Am I in a fucking anime now?" I said, but obviously not out loud. Magic and monsters being real is enough for me. I don't think I'm quite ready for that drop just yet.
"I...should probably get going. Thank you for inviting me. Nadia, Elizabeth, it was nice to see you both." I said, giving them a warm smile.
The redness in their cheeks only darkened.
"O-of course. It was nice seeing you again." Nadia said, her eyes brightening as she spoke to me.
"Thank you for coming, Sid." Elizabeth said, and her voice was so low that I could jist barely make out what she said.
We all waved our goodbyes as I headed for the exit, put on my shoes, and went outside. Once I stepped outside, I noticed that my vehicle was already waiting in the front for me. The valet waited patiently with his hands behind his back by the side of my car closest to the front door.
"Your vehicle, sir." The man said, extending his hand and holding my keys out to me.
"Thank you." I responded as I took my keys from him.
I gave a final wave before getting in my car, staring it up and heading towards the exit. The security immediately opened it up for me as I got to the gate, and even wished me a good day. All in all, I had a good time today, despite many awkward things taking place.
"I wonder what that was all about." I said, referring to how oddly the girls acted towards me as I left.
I won't lie and say I'm not an idiot, and in this instance, I genuinely felt like I was not getting something that was obvious. Oh well I suppose. With any luck, I'll find out more tomorrow.
The ride back home was pretty uneventful. I stopped at a fast food place on the way home and got a couple double cheeseburgers. I was pretty ravenous after today, but I didn't feel like cooking. I ate one on the way back as my car shook and thumped with heavy bass. I was, of course, listening to metal, because what else was there? I liked other genres of music, and didn't particularly hate any of the others, but this was the one that resonated with me the most.
I pulled into my apartment complex, and found a new place to park, because some asshole decided to take my favorite spot. Once my car was off, I grabbed my fast food bag and exited the car. Walking to my apartment, my mind continued to race, going a million miles per second. I could still scarcely believe how the past couple of days were. Magic, fantasy beings and creatures (Not so much a fantasy anymore), being a person with seemingly a lot of power myself, and that didn't even cover going to my crush's house, fighting her mother quite literally, and then being told I could date her.
I wasn't going to lie, the prospect of making Elizabeth mine was something I was VERY much interested in, but I still wanted to get to know her. I wanted to know what her hobbies were, what kind of food she liked, music she listened to, and all other mundane and seemingly non important traits. They were important to me. It signified that my attraction to her was more than just based on her appearance alone. All that being said, her gentle face with her cute dimples, her extravagant golden hair, her pointed yet sexy ears, along with her other assets like her firm and perky chest, her perfectly sculped ass, and her hourglass figure that could turn any man into puddy, those indeed were a huge plus in my book.
During this time, I had already made my way to my apartment and headed inside. The food must have hit me just now, because I realized that I really had to shit. After freeing up space in my colon, I hopped into the shower. I must have zoned out thinking about the girls, because i think I was in there for about 40 minutes. And, yes, I said girls, because to be fair, Nadia was a bombshell as well. Her shape was much the same as Elizabeth's, but while Elizabeth had a slightly bigger chest, Nadia had hands down the greatest rear end I had ever seen. Plus, I mean, she's a fox girl. Literally nothing else needs to be said.
Still, I had to banish those thoughts. I did like Elizabeth, and her mother did give me permission to date her. Besides, this was reality, and not some anime or harem novel where the dude gets all the girls, and all of them are perfectly fine with being with the same dude. I don't know how I'd even handle that, as I wanted to be someone who gave all of myself and my love to the person I was with. The idea always seemed interesting in my head, but that was probably just the hormones talking.
"Nope. I'm just a regular guy. A regular guy with lightning powers." I said to myself as I had finished dressing myself and headed into the living room.
Grabbing my controller, I turned on my TV and waited for my console to boot up. I wasn't even online for 30 seconds before I got a notification on my screen
"DankJohnny69 has invited you to party chat."
I snorted as I accepted the invite. His stupid fucking name never failed to make me laugh. Although, my cringey ass name of 'DeathSorcerer4617' wasn't much better. To be fair though, I made it when I was like 14 and thought it was cool. I should honestly just change it, but eh, that costs money.
And so our battle against a bunch of whiny little assholes began in full force as we teamed up to dominate the lobbies on our favorite hero shooter.
The next day I woke up, I felt really good. Actually, better than good. I was always super groggy when I first woke up, so not being so today was a welcome surprise. My guess had to be the changes that my body had gone through giving me more strength than I needed. I honestly felt like I could go without sleep for a while, but I wasn't going to chance it just yet.
It was roughly 11 am, so about the usual time for me to wake up. I had no idea what I was supposed to do today besides going back over to Elizabeth's house, but that was in like 9 hours. Just as that thought entered my head, my phone rang. I unplugged my phone and looked at who was calling me.
"Mom." It said, and immediately answered. My mom calling me trumped anything else I was doing.
"Morning, mom." I greeted, and I was happy she had called me. We weren't blood related, but I loved this woman. I may eventually find love in another woman some day, but nothing could replace the love I had for the most important woman in my life.
"Hey, sweetheart. I was pretty sure you'd be up by now, and I missed you, so I decided to call. How have you been lately? How's work? Did you find a girlfriend yet?" She asked, already fussing over me and asking her typical motherly questions. It made me burst out laughing.
"I've missed you too. And dad. How is he? I've been doing well, and work has been alright, if a little boring. And... maybe? I actually think I'm getting somewhere on that front." I answered. Don't get me wrong, my mom was great, but dad truly helped me become the man I was. He taught me integrity and respect, and I would always appreciate him for that.
"Oh! Really? You decided to get off your games long enough to actually talk to a girl? It was wishful thinking asking you, but now I have to know! Also, your dad is fine. He's with Jim right now, helping him build a porch in his backyard." She answered me, and that sounded about right. Dad liked to build things, but he also just enjoyed helping people, his friends especially. I think that's where I got it from. Dad always helping others inspired me to do the same because it just felt right.
"That's good to hear. I miss you both, as for the girl, well, I met her at work. We've hung out a couple of times now, and I won't lie and say I don't like her. Her mom even suggested we get together. I'm still wrapping my head around that one." I replied with a smile on my face.
I loved telling my mom everything. She never judged me and always did her best to help me. I couldn't help but wonder how she would react if she found out about my changes. To be honest, it really was a when kind of scenario. I didn't think I could hide it from her forever, and to be honest, I didn't want to. Yes, I am definitely a momma's boy, and I'm proud of it.
"What's her name?" She asked me, and I could swear I could hear the chair she was sitting in creak as if she was leaning forward in anticipation.
"Her name's Elizabeth." I replied warmly, but I paused as my brain simultaneously thought of Nadia as well. I forced that thought away.
I must have been internally scolding myself for a while longer than I must have realized, because she was calling my name and sounded concerned.
"Sorry, mom. I zoned out a bit. What did you say?" I asked, and not soon after that, my mother began a long winded explanation of how better to get Elizabeth to fall for me, and genuinely sounding excited. She even mentioned grandkids at some point, and I choked on my own saliva.
My chat with mom lasted over an hour, and after saying our goodbyes and 'i love yous,' i sat back in my couch and just sighed.
"Well, what the hell am I gonna do now?" I asked no one in particular.
I looked at the time, and it was rapidly approaching 12:30pm, and when I glanced at my table in front of me, I saw something that I had completely forgotten about. I picked up the check that was sitting there.
"I forgot to cash in my bonus check." I said, and deciding I had nothing better to do, I put on my shoes, my hoodie, activated my enchanted necklace, and made my way outside.
It wasn't too much, but I could probably make it last at least an hour. I smiled as I got in my car, started it up, and made my way towards the bank. I was excited to see Elizabeth and her family again, and part of me truly hoped that Nadia would be there again.