The woman advanced quickly, extending her hand for me to shake. "Hi, I'm Sarah Holden. I need a place to hi--
stay for a while. I'd hate to impose, but it's kind of an emergency!"
"Oh," I said, caught off-guard, "well, I guess you could stay here, with me."
I love you. Marry me?
"Oh, thank you!" she beamed, impulsively hugging me. I awkwardly hugged her back, feeling little tingles where our skin touched.
We embraced for several seconds, and were slow to draw back. Still holding hands, we gazed into each other's eyes, and I suddenly realized why it hadn't worked out with any of the men in Midnight Hollow.
I felt the sudden, irresistible urge to lean forward and kiss her, and immediately complied.
But Sarah leaned away, placing a hand on my shoulder to hold me back.
"You're very nice," she said softly, "and beautiful, but--I don't even know your name!"
"It's Usha," I replied. "Usha Moonstone."
"It's nice to meet you, Usha Moonstone," Sarah said shyly.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Sarah Holden."
Again, I wanted to kiss her--and this time I either caught her by surprise or she kissed me back.
"Wait," I realized, pulling away from the kiss. "I need to text my--my boyfriend. And break up with him."
"You have a
boyfriend?" she said incredulously, releasing my hand. "I can't believe you would lead me on like this." Turning, she ran back towards the road, leaving me to watch helplessly.
"No--wait!" I called desperately, racing after her. Catching up, I caught her hand, and spun her around to face me.
"I
had a boyfriend," I said, holding Sarah in my arms. "I don't any more."
That night, at sunset, I took her to the beach. We had spent the day talking, laughing, comparing stories, but she still hadn't told me where she came from. I wanted to know, of course, but if it made her uncomfortable . . . it was Sarah that mattered, not her backstory.
That's why I went down on one knee after sunset and asked her to marry me.
The sparkling of the ring matched the glowing silver of her eyes.
We were married right there on that beach.
"Usha, I'm so sorry," she said after the ceremony was complete. "When I was a young girl, I was kidnapped by an evil scientist, and his experiments turned me into a . . . monster. A werewolf."
"I don't care!" I said. "You're perfect to me."
"But . . . I heard about an operation that can turn me back," she said softly. "I don't know if I should--"
I cut her off with a kiss. "I love you. I will always love you, whether you're human or not."
Half an hour later, I waited outside the salon. When Sarah came out, her eyes no longer glowed so brightly, but instead shone with a sweet, silver light.
The rest of the night was spent getting a little . . .
. . . frisky.
