Chapter 7: Sheepish Romance
 
I kind of 'dread' going through the cupid effort Damien put me through. Trust me when I say that I find it nice of him to try and find me a girl, but one thing was trying and another was succeeding. It wasn't an easy task, not when many in towns turned out to be quite depraved in their own ways and prone to be cheating around for sex's sake.
 
I wasn't going to kinkshame them for that, but I wanted a stable relationship so I couldn't see myself going through that. I just couldn't.
 
So, I had a rather strict rule despite not having a major list of preferences when dealing with women to date- they have to be committed in a relationship. It may sounds as something reasonable, but it was rare nowadays to get a 'loyal hoe' as many would be keen to say in some parts of the city.
 
So, when it came to the Doom Session of Today, I went on with a 'doomer mindset'. I expected to be treated to some surprises which would have soured my mood a fair bit. And I have to say that...
 
Today I was wrong.
 
Then again, Damien has a tendency to get me to know musicians that shared his musical tastes in regard to Metal and Heavy Metal- I was not expecting a 'Rocker' today. Slightly shorter than me and with an adorable kind face, the gray-furred sheep-girl with ruffled black hair and amber eyes that was Dakota was someone that left me a bit breathless at first.
 
It's been a while since I felt somewhat interested on someone at first glance, especially when we are talking about non-humans.
 
"It's so great to finally meet you, John. Damien brought your name up a few times in some meetings, but I never got much of a chance to learn more until recently," She greeted jovially, and with a hint of shyness to her overall delightful expression. "So... It's nice to meet you."
 
I chuckled a bit at how deflated she appeared at the end of that strong approach. "It's alright, Dakota. Dam told me that you were a lovely individual and, I have to say, he didn't lie at all. In fact, I would say he undersold you."
 
"Hey now, there's no need to get a praise out at my expenses," Damien whined from the doorstep. "Still, today's Doom Session will be Dakota's first time playing the game."
 
"I have heard of the franchise," Dakota hummed. "It's about a guy that goes super-rage on a bunch of demons."
 
"That's... pretty much it. It's more like this guy got stuck in the middle of a hell invasion, tore demons' butts for a while, then spent time in hell for centuries to further decimate them."
 
Her eyes widened as Dakota grasped the topic. "So, the game starts with the main character being strong?"
 
"Yup. You just need to find new weapons to make him even more brutal and save the world."
 
"That sounds fun... but I also heard it's a bit difficult."
 
I nodded. "If you go with the mindset that it's a normal FPS, it will be tough. If in games like CoD and Battlefield you can stop and take cover, in Doom you are advised to be fast-paced, never stop and adapt to a more 'frenetic' pace to outspeed your enemies. The logic is that all foes are trying their hardest to focus their weaponry on you, but you zoom around to dodge all of that."
 
The girl beamed at that. "Zoomin' sounds fun~."
 
And Dakota had a blast with the game. She struggled a bit with the early bit as she had to learn from the Tutorial, but once she got the gist of it, she was off slaying demons left and right. I sat on her left while we both were occupying the couch alone. Damien was a bit busy and couldn't play because 'he was finishing fixing part of his guitar', so it was just Dakota and I on the couch.
 
As we were talking, she had unconsciously leaned to rest her head on my shoulder, eyes aimed at the screen as we chatted on a few things. At first it was about normal stuff like what we liked to do on our own and what we disliked. Our passions, jobs, and then the thing that really mattered in this situation- our capacity to handle relationships.
 
"I kind of get it, really," She hummed, nodding while taking a moment to rest after an intense battle in the game. "When I started my previous relationship, I had a single goal in mind: be flexible but still establish some sort of responsibility with my partner. Like, I don't tend to do it with people as I used to but... but I know it can spice things up when we have another partner in bed."
 
I could get behind it.
 
"That's a fair point-"
 
"So you can guess how frustrating it can be when he just lies about sleeping around with others and doesn't tell me. I... I liked his honesty but-"
 
"But he felt like a guilty person if he just couldn't tell you who he was with?"
 
A sad smile appeared as she nodded at my guess. "I don't mind it that he was sleeping with other girls. Hell, I could understand it that he has his own libido to deal with- but telling would be nice instead of just keeping it under the rug."
 
"...Dakota?"
 
She hummed quizzically and I continued.
 
"Even if this doesn't go anywhere... I really hope you find someone that can treat you right. You really do sound like a wonderful person."
 
Her eyes lit up to that. "You... You are really kind to say that."
 
"I just-" I sighed, shaking my head. "I just think that you are being quite honest. And your requests are not absurd to keep up with. If someone really wants to derail those then... then that's on them. You really live up to being one of the prettiest women I have met."
 
Dakota nodded and... lifted her lips to my cheek. A soft peck, nothing lasting as she went back to my shoulder to nuzzle against it.
 
"T-Thank you."
 
The overall experience was quite pleasant. Sure, it was a bit sad at this point, but the mood improved a lot before the session ended. She had to leave because she had other stuff to do, but the girl looked visibly more at ease around me and with herself.
 
"It was one of the best hangouts I had in years, thank you," Dakota commented happily. "John... my number."
 
The little blush on her cheeks as she gave me a paper with her phone number was just lovable. "Oh? I can give you a quick call so you can memorize mine in yours."
 
A nod and then we did so.
 
"I am happy too, Dakota. You are one of the most levelheaded individual I had the chance to spend some time with in a while. Well... Damien is that too, at times."
 
"Stop dissing me, bro," The metalhead groaned. "Still yeah, you both are hitting it off the best ever. Never saw you two that happy around someone else."
 
We both turned to look at Damien at the same time, noticing this shortly after and... appearing a bit embarrassed by the shared reaction as the guy chuckled at us both.
 
"See? That's what I am talking about."
 
Instead of denying it, we just... shared a tiny smile together. And then it was time for Dakota to leave. It's been so long since I felt so much... well, nervous around someone I was slowly starting to love as much as I was with the sheep-girl. Yet, I didn't obsess over it.
 
It wasn't my first rodeo, and I knew that I had to be cautious with what to do next. Nothing too soon, but definitely something had to happen by the next week. A date? Maybe we could go to one of the local bars nearby to chat a bit more and get this tested within a more public environment.
 
Yes, today was a good day.
 
Damien looked absolutely happy when I told him that I connected with Dakota and started to boast about being a 'master matchmaker'- ignoring the fact that it took him months to get this victory. I didn't crap on his parade though, having to go back home to rest a bit as tomorrow was going to be a rough day of work. Mitsy was out at the time and was going to return around the late evening, but I told Damien to say hi to her for me.
 
Once I was done with that, I found myself making my way back home and ultimately on my couch as I rested a bit and smiled at how wonderful of an interaction that one had me. Dakota's smile was so... bright. I just couldn't help but feel like a moron with how much I wanted to stare at it and- and I felt my stomach craving for food.
 
It was late afternoon, and I recalled having some snacks to try out. Rambi had passed by early in the morning with a box of sweet Cornetti that 'she made with her mommy's help'. I took two and they were just delicious. I went on with my day without any major issues. I felt a bit tired by the time I was done with dinner, and ultimately decided to go to sleep earlier than usual.
 
More hours of sleep sounded like a good idea to have a headstart for the next day.
 
...
 
I just didn't expect to wake up with my body suddenly deaged and barely fitting my sleeping wear.
 
-------------------------
 
AN
 
Girlfriend material found!
 
Also, Rambi's surprise is now revealed! But the deaging is not the only thing John has to worry about. One thing has remained 'unchanged' after all.
 
Also, Dakota is a character created by: Kaggy1.