Chivarosa - Chapter 2

	A full day had passed before I felt good enough to set a time for our date. She had stayed with me for another hour before her Uncle had come and picked her up from the hospital. The Doctor released me with some antibiotics and a few large sticky bandages. If nothing else I was going to have an interesting scar cutting into my hairline. The next twenty or so hours I lay around thinking about her or trying to watch something online. I had slept little in that time. She kept dominating my thoughts in a good way. I wanted to feel the warmth of her hands on mine again and to hear her voice. She had given me her phone number before leaving the hospital and I called her before noon the next day.

	Our phone call had been brief and it was hard to tell who was more giddy. I couldn't believe that she was still nervous over everything but she promised that she would be ready at noon. I wasted the better part of the hour cleaning myself up and looking presentable. I couldn't do anything about the giant band aid on my forehead. It looked so out of place with the off color. Whomever had decided that this was the color of skin had never really compared it to skin. I lightly touched the area and it was tender but not throbbing. That was the best I could hope for at the moment and I left the apartment.

	It had been a long time since I felt butterflies in my stomach. From the moment I saw her at the market I knew that I liked her. The fact that she stayed with me at the hospital showed that she had a good and honest heart. She was the type of woman you could take home to your parents provided they wouldn't have an issue with their son dating a goat girl. There was a bit of time left as I climbed into my car and I drove slowly towards her place. When I arrived I was still a little early but I stepped out and made my way to the front door. Taking a deep breath I tried to still the little murmurs in my heart. She already liked me so I did not know why I was so nervous. I raised my hand and knocked on the door. It took a moment then a short kid opened the door. He was dark in skin and hair color like Chiva's Uncle.

  “Hi... erm... Hola.. Don.. de... esta... Chiva?” I tried with broken Spanish.
  “I speak English.” The kid shook his head then shouted over his shoulder. “Chiva!”
  “Coming!” Her voice was from somewhere within the apartment.

	From where I was at the door I could see the apartment was not really all that big and there were several Satyrs inside. It looked cramped and I wondered how many people actually lived here. Everyone was speaking Spanish to each other despite what the kid had said. All the others were like him with dark skin and hair. When Chiva came to the door she was the odd one out being white with their dark latin skin. She gently laid her hand on my chest and pushed me away from the door then closed it behind her. She was dressed in a cream colored sundress that really accented her ample bosom.

  “I'm sorry,” She started in. “If you stay they will ask so many questions and we won't be able to leave.”
  “That's fine, you look beautiful.” I said that without stammering. I was proud.
  “Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself. So where are we headed?”
  “Oh... well... there's this great barbeque place down the street.”
  “Ah....” She hesitated then took a breath. “I'm a vegetarian.”
  “Oh sorry I did not know.” I bit my lip.
  “I should have said so when you asked me to dinner. most people don't know that Satyr's can't eat meat. But I don't mind if you do. We just have to go to a place that can cater to both.” She smiled
  “Ah...” I was completely at a loss of where to go.
  “There's a cafe two streets over that works.”

	I walked her down the cement path and opened the car door. She slipped into the passenger seat then I entered the driver's. This was the first time I was able to get a good look at her legs. I did not mean to stare but I couldn't help it. They were muscular and thicker than I expected. Just about the same size around as Human legs. Instead of a foot she had a large cloven hoof. They were polished and slightly shone in the light. The white fur was short and curly. It looked as soft as lambs wool and I wanted to run my fingers through it. I raised my eyes from her legs and she reached down to push her sundress further over her reverse knees.

  “I'm sorry I did not mean to stare.” I quickly looked away to hide my embarrassment.
  “So... that cafe...” She said flatly.

	The attitude of friendliness was gone and she had become cold. I thought in that moment that I had blown my chances with her. I started to speak but held my tongue not knowing what words I should use. Instead of speaking I drove towards the cafe and we both remained silent for the next two blocks. As we pulled into the parking lot I found an open spot then stopped the car and turned to face her. She unbuckled her seat belt and looked at me puzzled.

  “I'm sorry I can't help it.” I blurted out.
  “Maybe this was a mistake.” She said coldly.
  “No its not. I'm not... I mean... “ I took a breath. “Your legs are...”
  “Freakish?” She quickly turned her head to me, her blue eyes narrowed.
  “What? Not at all!” I loudly exclaimed. “They're pretty. I've never seen legs as beautiful as yours before.”

	She gasped and stopped breathing. Her entire face had turned red and I pulled the car into the cafe parking lot. Turning off the engine I got out and opened her door for her. She swung her legs out then stood up and wrapped her arms around me in a very tight hug. It lasted for a full minute with neither of us saying anything. I couldn't really move nor did I want to with her pressing against me so tightly. When she pushed away I could see tears at the corner of her eyes and she wiped them with her fingers.

  “Are you alright?” I asked gingerly.
  “No one's ever said they're beautiful before. All my life I have been made fun of because of my legs, horns, ears and tail.”
  “You have a tail?”
  “A short one yes. To hear you say they are beautiful makes me very happy.”
  “Oh... uh....”

	She laughed and slipped her arm into mine. The two of us walked into the cafe together and headed to a booth along the wall. When she let go of my arm I was reluctant but she sat down on one side and I on the other. Her fingers plucked two menus from the holder against the wall and she sat one down in front of me. I already knew what I was going to order. I knew what I really wanted but she was not on the menu. Not yet at the very least. After a bit the waiter came and took our order. She replaced the menus then clasped her hands together on the table and looked at me with a playful grin.

  “I want to ask you something.” She leaned in slightly.
  “Ask away.”
  “Why were you at the farmer's market?”
  “I... what?” I blinked confused by the question.
  “I mean you were probably shopping but were you there for any specific reason?” She shook her head slightly. “Were you there to buy something specific?”
  “Not really, I just thought vegetables for an omelet sounded good.” I shrugged my shoulders.
  “So you weren't... no never mind.” She flushed and tried to hide her face with the dessert menu on the table.
  “I wasn't what?” I rested my hands under the table.
  “You weren't following me?” Her voice had lowered to a whisper. She absentmindedly started nibbling on the top edge of the menu.
  “No I wasn’t, you've had someone following you?”
  “Only the past week. I've never seen them head on. Someone about your height that's always just at the edge of my vision. When I turn to look at them they're gone. Same clothes and height. I don't know I'm probably just being stupid.” She sighed then sat down the dessert menu.
  “Probably not, with someone as beautiful as you a stalker is a serious issue.” I pulled out my phone and brought up a recording app. “Tell me exactly what you saw.”
  “I...” She looked down at the phone and saw it was recording. “Someone taller than me. Short hair, well hair longer than yours but shorter than mine. Like shoulder length. Your hair color. Pants the color of yours that day in the market. I think a long shirt or... it could be a poncho. Like I said they're always on the edge of my vision and when I try to look at them they disappear.”
  “They vanish?” I sat the phone down on the table and kept it recording.
  “Not in thin air or anything. I think they might be pretty fast and they just run away.”
  “How many times have you seen them?”
  “Four. The last time was about ten minutes before you came over. I thought you might be them coming to say something at last.” She shrugged. “I don't really know anything else.”
  “That's enough to go on.” I stopped the phone and slipped it back into my pocket. “I can keep an eye out for them. If you don't feel safe you might want to see about staying some place else for awhile. Have they only been in the market?”
  “The second to last time they were outside my Uncle's apartment.”

	At that moment our food arrived and by the time we had finished eating I had forgotten that the stalker had been outside her place. She was so distracting in a good way. We had talked about the small things in life. Where she was from and where I was from. Chiva was South American, a fact that many of her Satyr relatives resented. I had no idea there was bad blood between Mexicans and South Americans. She had come to this country to work and could only do so with family on a limited visa. Her Uncle was her guardian and though he treated her fairly there was little family love. Always the outsider around here. That made me sad to see such a gorgeous woman pushed to the side just because she was not like the rest of them. She did stand out in a striking way and I was sure that was a sore reminder to the Mexican Satyrs that she would never really be one of them. I put down a tip and we walked back to the car. Being the gentlemen I opened the door for her again and she slipped inside. After I got in and started driving she put her hand on my knee.

  “Do you live far from here?” She asked softly.
  “Only a couple streets away. I'm at the Red Rock apartments. Number forty two.”
  “That's a good area. I should be getting back. I have some chores that need to be done.”
  “Alright.” I said with a soft sigh and in no time we were at the apartment.
  “Thank you for the date.” She offered another smile then leaned in.
  “You're wel....”

	I never got to finish the word as she kissed me harder than I'd been kissed at that point. Her lips were firm against mine and I tasted what I can only describe as peach nectar. She pulled back and turned to get out of the car then stopped and turned back to kiss me a second time. This one much lighter than the first and now out of my shock I returned the kiss. After a quick moment she pulled away and hopped out of the car. My mind came back to the stalker issue and I jumped out of the driver's side and leaned over the car.

 “Chiva!” I called after her and she stopped. “If you need a place to crash for a few days call me or drop by. I know how cramped it can get with a lot of people. It might also help with your stalker problem.”
  “Thank you, I will. See you soon.” She beamed then with a final wave went inside and closed the door.