A Fox’s Tale
By Joshua Fox
Susan Felin, Debbye Squirrel, Cindy Lapine, Clarence Skunk, Chris Foxx, Rodney Lapine and Wanda the Vixen are copyright Chris Yost. Zig Zag and Max the Black Rabbit are copyright Max Black Rabbit. Sabrina Mustelidae, Tammy Vixen, Sheila Vixen, Tor the Dog and Amy Squirrel are copyright Eric W. Schwartz. Lillian Batholomew, James Sheppard, Rhonda Badger and Tamara Rabbit are copyright James Bruner. Marvin Badger is copyright James Bruner after a description by Chris Yost. Robert Fale, John Anderson, Veronica Salese, Melanie Turres, Joshua Fox, Jim Leard, Ralph Dix, Shawna Coon, Kris Coon, Wilde Cat, Aaron Cole, Victoria Maine and Tara Nadine are copyright Joshua Fox. Blue Wolfe, Kyrin Cat, Metal-Head and Kittiara Seng are copyright themselves. Tyler Leone is copyright Mike Mullig. Thomas Woolfe is copyright Mike Higgs. Rava Purr is copyright her player.
Legal Notice: This story is copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by Joshua Fox. This story may not be sold or used for commercial profit in any form or fashion. This story may not be modified in any way. This story may not be posted on a mirror site or any internet site without the written permission of the author. This story may not be distributed on print, magnetic, electrical or optical mediums.
Permission to use characters that are copyright to other individuals was obtained prior to the appearance of said characters.
This is an independent work of fiction with no connection whatsoever to any other stories or works by anyone else and does not imply any connection to the above-named sources. As far as these sources are concerned, this story doesn’t exist. They disavow any knowledge and do not officially sanction the events in this story.
Chapter 17 - … but maybe not this.
Rob grumbled under his breath as he entered the restaurant. Judging by the severe amount of snickers and looks he got from the very moment he’d passed through the doorway, he was as much a spectacle as he feared he’d be.
Not that he had much doubt about that. The disguise provided for him had been an ensemble straight out of a campy sixties film. It was a violet vest and bell-bottoms set, matched with a dark blue shirt with oversized cuffs at the wrist. Completing this dreadful ensemble was a ‘male’ symbol silver medallion hanging from a silver chain and a pair of exceedingly thick-rimmed black glasses.
I’m going to find Reg and kill him. Rob thought decidedly as he turned right just before the main dining floor, climbing up the steps that led to the bar. That’s right. I’m going to wrap my paws around his throat and cut off his air supply. Then I will do terrible, unspeakable things to him. THEN I will kill him.
He adjusted the non-prescription specs as he entered the bar. The opposite wall from the drinks had been taken out and replaced by a guard rail, giving him full view of the restaurant’s main floor. After a quick scan to make sure his vulpine friend hadn’t arrived early Rob pulled up a nearby stool and waved to the bartender.
"Hey, barkeep! Can I get a margarita down here?" The fidgety ferret called over, trying to act as casual as he could.
"Sure thing, Austin Prowler," The relatively rotund panda quipped, flashing a smirk over as he got a fresh glass.
"Ha. Cute," Rob shot back sarcastically, giving the jovial bear a dirty look until the beverage was set before him.
"A little something to keep that ‘mojo’ of yours up," He explained as he dropped a miniature umbrella into the full glass, letting out a hearty chuckle as he walked down to help another customer.
"Yeah. I get it, ok?" Rob sneered at the bartender’s back before taking a sip of his frosty drink, taking a look about the cozy confines of the bar.
It wasn’t as crowded as the restaurant was, but it had its fair share of bodies present. Mostly guys and only a few femmes, most on the arm of a male, but there was one female at the other end of the bar that seemed to be unescorted this evening. In a very slinky dress with spaghetti straps, this particular canine looked quite fetching indeed. Her form was slender and muscular, very similar to the frame one might expect of a ballerina. She was a bit taller than the femmes Rob was used to and admittedly a bit more athletic-looking, but nonetheless she was getting plenty of attention from the other guys swarming about that end of the bar. From the looks of things she was enjoying the attention well enough, but seemed to be politely spurning some of the more direct advances. Or so Rob assumed, only being able to see her back from the particular angle at which he was sitting.
Not that he was complaining, mind you. From that same position he was able to properly oggle her shapely tush, the thin fabric contouring nicely over the lightly auburn fur. He grew a smug demure quickly, that signature grin of his forming all too frequently when he had a target in his sights. Such was the case now, and he was ready to act on it.
With smooth, firm strides he made his way down the length of the bar, drink in paw and grin on maw as he confidently took up the empty stool next to her.
"Hey there, Baby. That a keg in your pocket? Cause’ I’d love to tap that ass of yours," Rob brought out one of his ever ready lines just before tilting the drink back to his muzzle, sipping it down in his most debonair fashion.
"Aw, that’s sweet of you, Robbie."
"PFFFFFFFT!" Rob immediately lunged forward, spraying the contents of his mouth all over the floor in front of him as he recognized that voice. "BLAH! *hack* BLUE?!?"
"You got it," The supposed ‘femme’ confirmed with a spin of the stool, coming face-to-face with his startled friend. "Like my disguise?"
"BUT I M-, YOU’RE N-, HOW D-," Rob was too startled to finish a thought. Eyes as wide as saucers and practically slackjawed, it was almost too much for the poor boy to comprehend. "WHY ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE THAT?!?"
"I could ask the same thing of you, Mr. Swinger," Blue grinned as he gave the ferret’s outfit a lookover.
"Yeah, I know it’s stupid, but at least I’m not in a dang dress!" Rob exclaimedly pointed out with a wave of his finger, stopping immediately as it hovered before two shapely orbs filling out the front of the dress. "And since when do you have BREASTS?!?"
"Hey, sweet stuff," came a much deeper, almost booming voice from beside them. "Is this creep bothering you?"
Both ferret and wolf looked up to see a positively hulking hyena towering over them. This fellow, while certainly dressed more up-to-date than Rob, didn’t appear particularly neat and did seem more than a tad disheveled, not unlikely from a good amount of alcohol intake. Despite the fact that he was quite comparable to Josh’s size and build, Blue didn’t so much as blink to acknowledge him.
"No, I assure you we’re quite fine," Blue said pleasantly in a disturbingly convincing female voice. "Thanks anyway, Hon."
"Ooh, giving me the cold shoulder?" The hyena laughed as he took up the stool at Blue’s back, immediately moving his grubby paws to the wolf’s hips to try and bring himself closer, much to the wolf’s most apparent distaste. "Come on, I know just what femmes like you want. So how’s about it, Mommy?"
"MOMMY?!?" Rob shouted as he leaped out of his chair and pointed to his friend in drag. "THAT’S NOT YOUR MOTHER, IT’S A MAN, BABY!"
"Hey, get lost, shorty. This cute little wolfie and I have to get acquainted," He growled and began to stand, his face grimaced in a most threatening manner. "Or maybe I should show you ou-"
*crunch*
The movement had been quick, quiet and above all else beyond notice. The unwanted suitor’s eyes now bulged most extensively as he froze, silent not for lack of reason to cry out but for the unbelievable pain that was now coursing through his entire body. The source of this extreme discomfort on the other hand seemed quite at ease, three of his fingers pressed and clinched around the hyena’s most sensitive areas of his sensitive area. Blue spoke clearly, calmly and above all else confidently as he held the overbearing fur in his grasp.
"You don’t want to hurt my friend, do you?" Blue asked almost casually, no longer bothering with the fake voice.
The fellow in his grasp could only nod his head firmly, his expression that which one would have to see to truly believe.
"And you want to leave us alone now, right?" Blue continued with no change in his demeanor.
Again a hard nod was the only possible response forthcoming.
"You want to go home and rethink your life?" Blue added with only a hint of a grin.
As before the nod came hard and quick, the hyena absolutely desperate to be free of the stinging vice.
"Very well. Begone," Blue ordered most firmly without even bothering to look back.
Now freed, the damaged male did as he was told, slowly limping away with his tail quite literally between his legs.
"Geez. Remind me never to hit on you," Rob said after a moment’s silence, sitting down on the stool with a wince as he actually felt some degree of sympathy pains for his would-be assailant.
"Oh, don’t worry about that, Robbie," Blue assured him with a wink. "I’d never do anything to your crotch that you wouldn’t like."
"As comforting a thought as that is," Rob shuddered noticeably at that thought. "Why’d you have to come in drag?"
"Robbie, there’s a difference between drag and disguise," Blue explained as he ran a paw from his chin to his knees, as if to point out all the trouble he’d gone through to make it as convincing as possible. "Besides, Joshy won’t be expecting to see a brown-furred wolfette, now will he?"
"Neither did I," Rob shuddered again, the realization of his mistake taking hold of him.
"And to answer your question from earlier," Blue clasped his palms around his ‘breasts’ and gave them a little jiggle, causing the perky things to bounce a bit. "Latex. Basically really durable water balloons with little plastic nubs glued to the tips."
"Aw, damn," Rob cringed as he saw them jiggling. "They look so real, too."
"I’m told they feel real, too," Blue mentioned as his trademark mischief nature was aroused. "Wanna squeeze them?"
"WHAT?!?" Rob exclaimed surprisedly, immediately pulling his shoulders back. "No way!"
"Aw, c’mon, Robbie!" Blue insisted as he leaned forward, giving them a much bigger jiggle then before. "Squeeze my boobies!"
###
On the other side of the restaurant’s floor, a certain muscled vulpine was practically doubled over in laughter. Josh and Susan had been following the waiter to their table when he had caught sight of the flustered ferret and incognito canine. Holding well-founded suspicions, the observant fox had already been on the lookout for his friends. Though he had never expected even them to be so ludicrously noticeable.
Susan of course didn’t know either Blue or Rob and as such was completely in the dark as to her escort’s surprise outburst. All she could do was look in the direction that Josh had been looking a moment before and scan for whatever was so funny.
"Mind letting me in on the joke?" Susan asked sarcastically with her paws on her hips, showing by her expression that she was slightly perturbed at the spectacle he was causing.
"Oh, oh, oh I’m sorry," Josh desperately tried to catch his breath as he leaned back against the wall, fighting back the laughter to ensure there wouldn’t be another outburst. "I just… recognize two of the furs at the bar over there."
"Since I know for a fact you don’t break into giggle fits every time you see someone you know, I’ll assume there’s more to it than just that," Susan stated simply with a venturing gaze, her arms moving to a folded position across her chest.
"There is, I assure you," Josh continued after a snicker, his paw upturned as it gestured toward the object of his attention. "You see those two on the far left?"
"The girl and the weasel?" Susan further queried as she tilted her head to get a better view.
Josh just barely held back a snort at that one, the paw covering his mouth and nose the only thing preventing another foray into laughter.
"Um, not quite," Josh chuckled as they continued their walk towards the table, where their waiter had been standing now for several moments with a most confused expression. "They’re friends of mine."
"Oh?" Susan replied thoughtfully, her interest piqued. "Are these by any chance the ‘friends’ that followed us last time?"
"The very same, yes," Josh admitted now with a tiny hint of embarrassment in his voice, a bit self-conscious at having caused such a spectacle. "I told them not to spy this time, but I had a feeling they’d do it anyway."
"I see…" Susan spoke a bit distantly, looking off in the direction of the bar.
"You’re not… mad, are you?" Josh ventured cautiously, unsure of exactly what she might be thinking.
"No, not at all," Susan replied as an interested smile adorned her lips. "Can they join us?"
"… huh?" Josh said surprisedly, certainly not expecting that. "Uh… sure, I guess. Why?"
"Well I’m sure they’d rather eat with us than spend the whole evening worrying about us spotting them," Susan observed as she turned back to face him. "Besides, I’d like to meet these friends of yours."
"Oh… well, ok," Josh finally agreed, moving to stand next to her. "Mind sitting for a minute while I go get them?"
"I’ll survive," She said with another wink, confirming as he moved behind her.
True to form, Josh’s first action was to pull out the chair for Susan, which she went along with most happily. Some would certainly find it silly and even possibly insulting in this day and age, but Susan wasn’t one of them. She actually sighed as she sat, the chair pushed in ever so carefully behind her by the standing vulpine.
"Thank you, kind sir," The lioness practically purred as she saw him move away from the table.
"You’re quite welcome, Ms. Felin," Josh gave a little bow and turned to the waiter. "I’m sorry, Mr…"
"Dustin. My name Dustin. I your waiter tonight," The typically pudgy panda replied in broken english, obviously not his first tongue.
"Ah, thanks. Is there any chance we could get a couple more chairs? There’s going to be two others joining us tonight," Josh explained gesturing towards the two empty sides of the four-sided square table.
"Couple chair you say?" The waiter rubbed his chin in thought for a moment and then looked back towards the kitchen before responding. "Ok, I get you two chair, no problem."
"Thanks, Buddy," Josh thanked him before padding off, turning back a moment to call to Susan. "I’ll be right back."
###
"For the last time, NO!" Rob exasperatedly exclaimed, leaning back so far on his stool that he could well fall off at any moment.
"But you wanted to when you first saw me," Blue keenly observed, enjoying the writhing grimaces that immediately danced across his friend’s face. "Right?"
"I didn’t know you were… well, YOU!" The frustrated ferret finished by waving his paws about wildly, almost as if looking for some kind of gesture that could accurately describe his feelings. "It’s not my fault! You tricked me! And I would never ever ever ever EV-,"
"Hey, guys. Looking sharp."
Unlike before when the overbearing hyena had made his appearance, both Rob AND Blue’s eyes went wide the second they heard this greeting. With a slow, almost simultaneous turn of their heads they found themselves facing a most familiar fox.
"Uh… hey, Josh," Rob started with a bit of hesitation, his foot tapping nervously against the back of his seat. "… wazzap?"
"You two, apparently," Josh just stood there, grinning amusedly with his paws in his pockets as he spoke. "I thought you both might pull something tonight … nothing like this, but something."
"Mmmm… is this a friend of yours, Robert?" Blue said as his femme voice returned, silky and sultry as he apparently tried to keep up his end of the façade. With a smooth, tested motion he stood and sauntered to the voluminous vulpine, immediately running his paws over the broad, muscled shoulders. "How’s about we ditch your buddy here and go back to your place, hmm?"
Josh just looked down at this without his expression wavering in the slightest.
"Blue, we’ve been friends for the better part of a decade. Dying your fur and putting on a pretty dress just isn’t going to work for me," He explained in his usual light-hearted manner, giving his pal a pat on the shoulder.
"Aw, but it worked on Robbie!" Blue pouted and pointed over to the poorly dressed ferret, whose reaction was immediate.
"No! NO, no. It did not!" Rob exclaimed insistently… a bit too insistently, it seemed, as even Josh gave him a skeptical look. "Hey, he was turned the other way! All I could see was his backside!"
"Oooh, liked it, did you?" Blue pushed the tip of his tongue out between his teeth, teasing Rob as he gave a few suggestive swivels of his tush.
"Don’t you shake that thing at me!" Rob scolded as he shook his index finger at him in response.
"Guys," Josh interjected politely with a wave of his paw, looking to put a stop to the exchange. "As much as I’m sure you love being the center of attention, think maybe you’d like to tone it down a bit and come sit with us?"
Complete silence followed his remarks, both of the addressed furs completely dumbfounded.
"… what?" Rob finally spoke up, his expression more shocked than confused.
"Come sit with us," Josh repeated his offer with a smile, giving the ferret a pat on the shoulder. "C’mon, it’s gotta be better than spying on us."
"You’re serious," Rob went on, now looking more than a tad skeptical.
"I’m serious," Josh played back with an amused grin.
"… you sure?" Rob questioned incredulously, somehow suspecting that something was up.
"Yes, Rob, I’m sure," Josh gave him one final assurance, nodding his head for further conviction. "Now you two going to come or not?"
"I’m up for it," Blue chimed in, putting his arms around Josh’s and giving it a squeeze. "I’d never turn down dinner with my Joshy!"
"Sorry, Blue, but I’m Susan’s date tonight. You’ll have to settle for Rob here," Josh winked as politely removed his arm from Blue’s grasp and began to walk out of the bar, pausing and turning around after a moment’s passing. "And don’t call me ‘Joshy’."
###
Susan waited patiently for her date to return, thanking the waiter when he brought the extra chairs and then returning to her uncomfortable of sitting. The dress she had on looked great, certainly, and was very flattering to her shapely figure, but it was most decidedly unpleasant to sit down in. The fabric was a bit more starched and rigid than she was used to and as such didn’t move in a very smooth manner when bent, meaning the only position she could be reasonably comfy in was when she was sitting up perfectly straight. She was never one to slouch much, but wasn’t used to such a rigid stance either. And it was in this stance that she remained as Josh approached with a pair of furs following up close behind his tail.
"You wanted em’," Josh grinned as he stepped to the side, extending his arm towards his companions. "You’ve got em’."
"Well there’s a stirring introduction if ever there was one," Blue began in his best femme voice, sauntering forward as Susan rose to greet him.
"Susan, this is my good friend Blue," Josh announced as he moved over to his chair, arms outstretched between the two.
"Pleasure to meet you," Susan smiled pleasantly as she extended her paw into Blue’s. Despite the outward appearance, though, she was mentally sizing the wolf up. Female friend. An ex, maybe?
To Blue’s credit, he picked up on it immediately, practically glowing with self-satisfaction at his convincing ruse.
"The pleasure’s all mine," Blue replied as they shook paws, raising one eyebrow mischievously and shifting his eyes to indicate Josh. "And his, occasionally."
"Oh, really?" Susan immediately looked over to Josh, very interesting in this bit of info, not realizing the ruse just yet. "Josh… why didn’t you tell me Blue was a girl?"
"Because HE isn’t," Josh tried his best at a scowl to Blue, but couldn’t force himself to anything harsher than a wry grin. "And you can cut the voice, too."
"Hmph. Fine. I was getting tired of it anyway," Blue responded in his normal voice, causing Susan’s eyelids to practically jump open.
"Ohhhhhh…." Susan let out slowly as the lights came on in her mind. "So you’re…"
"Yup," Blue stated simply as he brought his up and down his body. "One hundred percent male."
"Then those…?" Susan furthered as she looked down, eyes squarely fixated on the wolf’s ample bosom.
"Just part of the costume, Hon," Blue winked as he carefully sat down in his own chair, making sure not to wrinkle his dress.
He looks better in a dress than most of the femmes I know. Susan blinked a few times before looking past him to the other new male present. "And you are?"
"Uh, the name’s Rob," He very uncomfortably introduced himself, acting unusually shy.
He had remained silent this whole time in the hopes of drawing as little of Susan’s attention as possible. The last thing he wanted was for her to connect him with the guy who oggled the cheerleader squad from afar during each practice. As Susan continued to look at him with an intensely thoughtful look, his hopes to avoid such a thing grew slimmer and slimmer.
Please don’t recognize me. Please don’t recognize me. Please don’t recognize me. Rob repeated over and over again in his mind as he awkwardly moved over to the spot next to Blue, placing his hands on the back of the chair.
"Hey, I recognize you!" Susan exclaimed excitedly from her seat as Josh took the chair next to her.
Oh crap. Rob could think only this as a form of semi-panic gripped him, wanting to do something but not having any really good notion as to what.
"You’re our number one fan!" Susan completed her previous though, a broad smile coming across her muzzle. "Sorry, I didn’t recognize you without the binoculars."
Josh and Blue almost in sync turned to face the embarrassed ferret, eyebrows arched most liberally at hearing this.
"I beg your pardon?" Josh inquired curiously, his attention immediately focused on Rob.
"Don’t you know? He shows up at every cheerleading practice we have," Susan then grinned over to the topic of conversation. "Seems he enjoys watching our routines."
"Uhm… yeah…" Rob swallowed a bit, cracking a weak smile as he desperately hoped for someone to bail him out of the conversation. He found his salvation in the form of a poorly spoken panda.
"Ok, I start you off with drink?" Dustin spoke as he brought out his tiny notepad and pen, looking almost comically diminutive in his large paws.
One by one the gathered furs sounded off what they wanted, the panda’s tiny pen scribbling quickly on the post-it -sized paper. After that he took his free paw and reached into the front pouch of his apron, removing a quartet of fortune cookies and placing them down in the center of the table.
"You enjoy, I be back," Dustin bowed as he tucked the pad away and headed back towards the kitchen.
After what appeared to be a simultaneous nod, four paws reached into the center of the table and plucked a cookie for themselves, each causing the familiar crunch sound as they broke it open to read their fortunes.
"What you actively seek shall evade you, but your true desire shall be fulfilled," Rob read his off aloud, an eyebrow arched over the thick black rim of the glasses he wore.
"Ooh, ominous," Josh chuckled as he unfurled his tiny slip of paper, squinting a bit to make out the tiny writing. "Give heed not to the nagging doubts of the mind, but the tender cravings of the heart."
Blue took a moment to nod in agreement before reading his. "Seek not that which comes to pass by the efforts of man, but Providence."
"And I thought Rob’s was cryptic," Josh commented before casting his gaze over to the one remaining fortune holder. "What about yours, Susan?"
Susan read hers over with a slightly confused look, finally just shaking her head.
"I think I have all of you beat," Susan announced as she sat up a bit more straight to be more comfortable. "That which you thought impossible and unattainable are present; to possess them, you must give yourself to them."
"Oh, yeah, you win," Blue chuckled as he read his over again. "I always liked these things. When I was a kid I always thought they were written on tiny typewriters."
"No typewriter," came the familiar dialect from behind them, finding Dustin already having returned with their drinks. "Written by my Uncle. He wise man."
"Your Uncle writes them?" Susan repeated as she looked up, taking her drink from the panda. "He must be a very… interesting person to talk to."
"Yeah, he great man," Dustin confirmed as he pulled out his handy-dandy pad and pen, holding it poised and ready in his paws. "You ready to order?"
"Sure, Hon. I’ll ha-," Blue started before Rob placed his paw on the wolf’s shoulder.
"Uh, one sec," Rob grinned at the waiter before turning to Blue, whispering in his ear. "We’ve already caused enough disruption, so none of your cute plays-on-words now, ok? Just stick to items on the menu."
"Don’t worry, Robbie, I know," Blue whispered back before turning to the waiting bear, smiling innocently as he finished his statement from before. "I’ll take the cream of sumyunguy!"
###
Jay whistled as he turned the TV off, tossing the remote over to the other side of the couch on which he had previously been laying. It was a lazy night for him and he hadn’t even really been paying much attention to the various images flashing across the screen, instead occupying himself with his little sister’s newest beau.
A fox. Pfft. I dunno why she even bothers. Jay thought as he removed the couch cushions and tossed them messily away, getting ready to fold out his bed for a pleasant sleep. I dunno what she’s thinking.
After fully pulling out the foldaway bed, Jay paused a moment, a kind of deeper, more pondering expression forming across his muzzle.
"… I wonder what Dad’ll think," Jay thought aloud as he reached for the phone, his index finger heading straight for the speed dial.
###
"Oh, no. You did NOT just tell her that!" Rob exclaimed in a manner that showed he was most severely irked, pointing a finger directly at his vulpine friend.
"What? It’s a funny story!" Josh defended with as straight an expression as he could manage. "Besides, it was just a couple of porn mags. It’s not like she burned your twenty-sided dice or anything."
"OH! OH! YOU DID NOT! YOU DID NOT!" Rob’s eyes flew open as he removed his specs and laid them firmly down on the table, not pleased in the slightest at what he just heard.
"Twenty-sided dice?" Susan asked confusedly as she looked back and forth between the two of them, Blue removed from the conversation by a sudden fit of giggling.
"Rob’s a closet Dungeons and Dragons geek," Josh finally said with a very clear grin as he watched Rob fume.
"Yeah, yeah that’s real funny," Rob suddenly broke out into a grin of his own, meeting his friend’s gaze from across the table. "You know what else was funny? That incident in the gym freshman year."
"Whoa, Rob. No way," Josh pointed his index finger squarely at the ferret. "That is off limits."
"Hey, you crossed the line. Deal with it," Rob stated flatly as he turned to Susan, grinning from ear to ear. "Josh ever mention the time he worked out with the cheerleaders in high school?"
"Why, no. No he didn’t," Susan’s expression lit up immediately, extremely interested to hear about this. "Would you be so kind as to tell me about it?"
"Nothing would please me more," Rob replied with a firm nod before leaning in a bit further towards Susan. "You see, Josh was in the gym after school one day waiting for his ride home when the cheerleaders came in to have practice. Being the good gentleman that he is, he got out of their way and sat in the bleachers to wait until his ride home got there. Minutes passed uneventfully, but after a while with no sign of a car, he decided to do something. Why he did this is still open to speculation, but the most promising theories state it had something to do with goblins. Anyway, for whatever reason, Josh descends from yon bleachers and actually joins in with the cheerleaders’ routines! And did he ever get into it! He stepped, he twirled, heck, he even cartwheeled through ever song and formation they did! He indeed did impress them, versatile stud he was, and they began to wonder about just what his ‘abilities’ were. So they had him flex and stretch, these upperclass femmes strangely fascinated by the wily Freshman. All seemed to go well until he performed what turned out to be one trick too many. From my… observations at your practices I know you’re certainly not unfamiliar with a jumping split. Well, Josh was. And as most pants aren’t designed to take that kind of punishment, a blind man could have well seen what was to happen. He jumped and split… his pants. And no, not the seat as so often happens in stories similar to this in nature. Nay, it was the crotch that split good and wide. The sound of tearing fabric filled the air and in that largely empty gymnasium there wasn’t an ear that it didn’t find. So there stood poor Josh, paws attempting to cover the horrendous split in his crotch when a great gaggle of giggled rose up about him. He was embarrassed, of course, but did his best to try and take it in stride … that is until he heard some much deeper, more forceful laughter coming from behind him. Oh, yes, much more manly laughter. In that adequately dramatic fashion that he seems to do everything in, Josh turned to find males, yes, but not just any males. The entire football team was in the throes of most mighty guffawing, having a snicker or twelve at the expense of poor Josh. Understandably mortified though he was, our hero bore no grudge against them and even smiled as he removed himself from the gymnasium. Now that is not the only adventure Josh had in those pants… but that is a tale for another day."
Rob then promptly gave a most regal bow from where he sat, garnering a few claps from the amused furs that were his audience.
"He always plays the bard, in case you’re wondering," Blue gave a wink over to Susan, noting her subsequent giggle.
"Yeah, yeah, Blue. The show’s over, get back to your dinner," Rob chortled a bit as he sat himself back in the chair.
"Don’t mind if I do!" Blue grinned as he brought another spoonfull of what he’d ordered to his lips. With a pronounced slurp he downed even more of the gooey white mixture, sending it down to add to the warmly satisfied feeling in his tummy. "Mmmmm… the sumyunguy is good tonight!"
"I’m still amazed that’s actually on the menu," Josh announced with a smile and a shake of his head.
"And I still find it incredibly gross and creepy," Rob added his two cents, grimacing as he watched Blue finish his meal.
"You should really try it some time, Robbie," Blue grinned with a slurp of his lips. "It’s very high in protein."
"And on that delightful note," Josh chuckled as he stood, pushing his chair back under the table behind him. "I’ll be back."
Rob and Blue both kept a close eye on Josh as he ventured in the direction of the restrooms, both nodding to one another once he had ducked out of sight.
"Hope this doesn’t take long," Rob grunted as he stood up and also left the table, instead heading in the direction of the head waiter’s station.
"Where’s he going?" Susan asked, tilting her head slightly sideways as she watched him pad off.
"To pay the bill," Blue smiled genuinely at the question. "Joshy’s so stubborn about this sort of thing that he would never let us do it, so we’re just doing it behind his back."
"Oh, you don’t have to do that," Susan started but paused when she saw Blue shaking his head.
"Of course not, but we want to," Blue said as assuredly as possible, linking his paws together and resting his chin on them. "This was yours and Joshy’s date and whether we meant to or not, we did kind of hijack it."
"Besides, it’s Robbie’s money," Blue continued after taking the last sip of his drink. "His high-and-mighty tech writer’s salary will more than cover it, trust me."
"Loaded, is he?" Susan stifled a giggle as she took in the pure amusement of it all. "Say, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Go right ahead," Blue smiled sweetly as he awaited her query.
"Where did you get your fur dyed?" Susan gestured over the auburn surface of Blue’s form. "It really looks professionally done."
"Oh, it is. I know the owner of Tai’s Texturing, that company that opened up here a couple years ago that ‘caters to the texturing needs of any and all furs’, according to the ad," Blue took a moment to show off the job he’d had done. "They do dyes, clothing, you name it. Any color, any pattern and just about any shape. They do ‘specialty’ items, too, of course. In fact that’s where Sabby gets those adorable pants of hers."
"Really…" Susan said most thoughtfully, an amazing assortment of different ideas and images flashing through her mind before she spoke. "I think we might have to talk again soon."
"I certainly wouldn’t object to that," Blue replied with a glint of mischief in his eye. "I imagine I could tell you some things about Joshy that you’d be very interested in…"
"You don’t say…" Susan’s eyes mirrored those of Blue’s as they continued chatting, waiting for Rob and Josh’s return.
And there they sat, two furs in dresses. One male, one female, and both getting their fair share of inquiring glances from the passersby.
###
"Are you feeling ok, Susan?" Josh asked curiously as he drove, taking a look at Susan out of the corner of his eye.
"Oh, I’m just fine," Susan purred as she rubbed her left paw lightly up and down his right arm, absent-mindedly going through the things Blue had mentioned before they had been interrupted by her date’s return. If half the things he told me are true, then things could get really fun.
Much of the brief ride back to Susan’s building was like this, Josh not objecting to the extra attention she was suddenly paying him but a bit curious as to where it had come from.
When they reached their destination, the scene essentially mirrored what it had been the week before, similar looks, similar small talk and indeed they ended up the same place as they had at the end of their first date as well, standing on the doorstep.
"So you really didn’t mind Rob and Blue tagging along at dinner?" Josh asked a bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in the same nervous motion as always.
"Not at all. I’m glad I got to meet your friends," Susan responded truthfully, smiling as she looked into his face. "I feel like I know you better already."
It was in this moment that Josh’s eyes connected with hers, the transparent brown and green pools of their souls staring right into one another. This trance-like state fell over them and draped the moment in grand volumes of silence, a blanket cast over the face of time itself as if to make the moment last forever.
But nothing does last forever, sadly, and after an indeterminate amount of time, Josh shook his head and broke the trance, immediately scolding himself within his mind for doing it again.
"Heh, uhm, sorry… again," Josh blushed a bit and coughed as he tried to regain his focus. "So, ah, would you by any chance… want to see me again?"
"Well that all depends," Susan partially answered as she pressed her tush back against the door and then her shoulders, arching her back slightly and crossing her feet in front of her. She playfully moved her paw back over her cheek to her ear, ever so slightly ruffling her recently let-down headfur. "Am I going to have to remind you to kiss me again?"
"Not in the slightest," Josh confidently replied with a warm, happy smile as he drew into close quarters with her, standing as close to her now as he did that first night on her stoop. As he had the previous time he leaned forward, his paw gently lifting her up from underneath and bringing it to his lips, giving it a soft kiss.
Now Susan as before delighted in this gesture, an indescribable shiver shooting through her arm and up her spine as she felt the tender caress of his lips on her paw. But she was also never one to shy away from taking just what she wanted, and what she wanted was one heck of a lot more than a peck on her fingers.
Sorry, my big fox, not tonight. Susan grinned most ferally now as he began to lean back up.
Before Josh could stand up straight once more Susan’s body was pressed firmly against his, her arms flung around his neck and pulling him into a firm, passionate kiss. Her paws gripped the shoulders of his jacket, holding him most tightly as her luscious lips parted to his in this surprise embrace.
To say that Josh was surprised may just be the greatest understatement of all time. Shocked he was and doubly so, not just at the very fact that Susan had brought his face to hers, but also of the magnificent sensation that came along with it. He felt her, smelled her, even tasted her as his arms instinctively linked behind her back. There they held for what must have been a full minute if not slightly more, Josh’s wide eyes and dilated pupils fixed upon Susan’s closed lids as they kissed.
Just as Susan made the first move, she made the last one as well, gently breaking the kiss and bringing the fox’s powerful arms down around her. She then turned and stepped away, opening the door to the building and stepping in, looking back and smiling most sultrily to the stunned vulpine.
"Sweet dreams, Josh," Susan wished him with a wink, closing the door teasingly slow behind her.
Not bothering to venture in further, she leaned back against the now-closed door, reflecting with a ferally satisfied smile as she licked her lips.
Mmmmm… Blue was right. He *is* a good kisser.
###
Josh stood just where he had before, his expression a motley mix of a broad range of emotions, with shock being the dominant. He let a moment pass before he turned himself, walking with short steps down the path until he reached his car.
There he paused once more, mind cloudy and just a tad confused as he desperately tried to sum up his feelings in thought and speech. His moistened lips moved several times in an attempt to form words, but were unsuccessful until they were capable of giving their final appraisal.
"That… was… AWESOME!"