The kiss was perfect, warm, soft, full, and tender. He pulled away too soon.
“What’s wrong?” she softly begged while caressing his arm lightly.
“This is too. . . fairy tale perfect.”
“What do you mean?”
“This feels all ‘happily ever after’ and I’m not the prince, I’m the monster.”
“Monsters don’t get happily ever after?” she grinned sweetly and batted her eyelashes at him.
“No, they don’t.” He yanked his arm from her grasp.
The smile left her perfect features and she said with conviction,“You are not a monster.”
“What do you know?! You don’t know anything about me!” Suddenly repulsed, he backed away from her.
“Oh I know about monsters.” She stepped closer to him, face growing angry. A long, barbed tail crept out from under her skirt, curling around to her waist. His eyes opened wide, and his mouth began to open in a scream. She stepped closer, placing a strong hand over his mouth, “Now, don’t be scared. It’s more fun if you play along. We can both live happily ever after.”