Both Ronnie and Lily sat on the couches in the living room, waiting for Ronnie's grandpa who flicked through channels on his small TV with a remote and barely said a word.
Ronnie looked uncomfortable, Lily on the other hand wore a clueless expression on her face.
Grandpa put down the remote on the table in a way that commanded attention. Ronnie sat upright, but Lily remained in her laid back position.
"Ronald," He called out.
"Pa?" Ronnie responded, he sounded uneasy.
"You're a cassanova now, are you? Is that what you've been up to lately?" Grandpa asked. He sounded very calm.
"No, Pa" Ronnie responded.
"That's not what this is. I can explain" Ronnie said.
"This is the second time I've caught you with a girl inside your bedroom without my knowledge. Remember last summer?" Grandpa asked.
Lily nudged Ronnie and gave him a mischievous smile.
"Pa! you know that girl came over without asking me first. She's this girl in my class—"
"Yeah yeah, a girl who liked you and you didn't. I got the story. What's the story for this one?" Grandpa interrupted, turning his sights to Lily who had Ronnie's shirt on.
"It seems like you've gone pretty far already, who might she be? What's my one rule?" He asked.
Cold sweat broke out on Ronnie's face.
"Real…men stick to only one woman?" Ronnie responded.
"Right, but I meant the other one rule" Grandpa said.
"How can you claim to have one rule if they're two?!" Ronnie asked.
Lily sat in silence observing the interactions.
"They look more like friends than a father and son. Humans casually talk to their guardians without formalities. Must be nice" Lily thought.
Ronnie cleared his throat.
"The other rule was to only let a woman who was your woman pass the night" Ronnie said.
"That's the one! so, did you break the rule? Or did you keep it? I asked who she was, " Grandpa said with a smile, it was more like a mischievous grin.
"She's—"
"Greetings Sir, I am called Lily, short for Lillian, Ronnie's long distance girlfriend. We have been dating for a few months now. I visited town to spend time with him" Lily interrupted Ronnie's stuttering, she spoke with a smile.
Ronnie's mouth hung open as he stared at Lily in disbelief, while Grandpa stared at Ronnie in disbelief.
He stood up, walking over to where Ronnie sat with cold eyes.
"Ronnie my boy! I can't believe you had it in you! Today, I am proud to call you a real man" Grandpa said after a few seconds of silence. He slapped Ronnie on the back repeatedly, laughing like an excited child.
"I— yes, she is my girl—friend" Ronnie stuttered over his words, his face red with embarrassment.
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, your father had a thing for old women, I did too. You can say it runs in the family. How dare you hide your woman like this? She deserves better treatment" Grandpa said, he looked overjoyed.
"Pa! you're being a bit much!" Ronnie said, his heart raced.
Just experienced a rare sight. Lily laughed for the first time since he met her. Her eyes lit up like a child's.
"That's— how can a demon have such an innocent smile? It's the most beautiful thing I've seen" Ronnie thought.
The drama came to an end, they had dinner together and Ronnie retired to his room afterwards. Grandpa suggested that Lily could use the extra room but she respectfully declined. Grandpa didn't mind it. He only bid them goodnight and Ronnie to be careful.
After his shower, Ronnie came out of the bathroom, dapping his wet hair with a short towel.
Lily sat on the floor by the mirror, she stared into it like she was expectant of something.
" Thought we had the kind of tie where we couldn't tell lies to each other." Ronnie said, looking at Lily.
"Master, what do you speak of?" She asked, still laser focused on the mirror.
"You told me other humans couldn't understand you. What was that whole conversation with Grandpa" Ronnie asked.
Lily kept her eyes shut, she had started acting mysterious again.
"You do not seem to understand the extent or tie. You speak and understand English, do you not?" Lily asked.
"So, due to our tie—"
"Yes, that's how I'm able to communicate with other humans now."
"How about the whole girlfriend story?" Ronnie asked.
"Oh, that? This is not the first time a demon has interacted with a human. I know one or two things about human culture, I just don't understand your behaviors and the reasons you do the things you do" Lily explained, she opened her eyes, resuming her watch in the mirror.
"Is there any reason why you're doing that?" Ronnie asked. Lily looked worried, an emotion he was seeing her show for the first time.
"It is nothing you should concern yourself with, Master. I am sorry if I scared you earlier in the woods or if I disgusted you but do you mind if I revert to my natural form? Maintaining this form causes me to burn through my energy too quickly" Lily said, getting up and sitting at the bottom of the bed
"No no I don't mind, you just caught me by surprise at that time. It's not everyday you see a woman with horns" Ronnie said.
"Much appreciated," Lily said.
The dark aura hovered around Lily for a moment. When it dissipated, Ronnie could see the same woman he saw in the woods.
"That's— so, so cool" Ronnie was short of words.
"I could use the extra room if it would be too hard to sleep," Lily suggested.
Ronnie looked at her, gave a brief smile and got in bed.
"Make yourself comfortable," he said.
"You're an odd human, truly" Lily said, laying next to him.
Suddenly Lily jumped off the bed, striking a battle stance.
"Master! There's a presence closeby" Lily said.