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My mind was awash with mixed emotions the morning after my mum's visit.

I was brimming with anticipation to discover more about Lachlan's idea, but I was also concerned as to why Hudson was not messaging.

I mulled these thoughts over as I drove to campus. My phone buzzed and I waited until I reached a red light before I reached for it.

My dear Shep, I have booked a table for seven tonight. Shall I pick you up from your auntie's house? I hope you're excited? I am :). Your fox xx

I grinned as the light changed and I continued driving. I knew I had Lachlan's class, but I knew I had to force myself to act as normal as possible. Once university was finished for the day I could go back to being romantic.

The campus carpark was filling up, but I grabbed a space at the side. As I got out and locked the car I noticed Hudson walking towards the green. I swallowed and tried to keep calm. The jindo was one person I never thought I'd feel nervous of seeing. Hudson turned and saw me. He paused and waved. A positive sign at least.

I hurried over as Hudson waited for me.

"Hey," I said sheepishly.

"Hey," he replied.

"Um, I'm sorry I hung up on you like that," I sighed. "I was being out of order, I know."

"It's okay dude," Hudson said, fixing me a reassuring smile. "I saw your message so I knew you felt bad. Shall we walk and talk?"

"Sure," I replied, as we started walking.

"I'm sorry I didn't respond, I was having some drama with my parents," he explained. "After arguing with them and you I wasn't in a talkative mood."

"What happened?"

"They were nagging about doing a video call, so I finally gave in and they discovered my blue fur and piercings. They weren't too happy. In fact, they were more pissed off at that than me being gay."

"Oh man."

"Yeah, well, they couldn't do much about it," he huffed. "So, did you tell your mother, I should have stopped brooding and called to ask?"

"No," I sighed. "I forgot how gossipy she is, if you met her you'd see how she is with my aunt and her friends. You can't get a word in edgeways."

"Yeah, that's hard. Gotta find the right moment," Hudson nodded. "And you said Lachlan invited you for dinner?"

"He did," I replied cautiously, not wanting another argument.

Hudson nodded again.

"I guess I've said all I can on that one dude, and I still hope you're careful and not rushing things, but there's nothing I can do to stop it I suppose, and if it makes you happy then I'm happy," he said.

"You've changed your tune," I replied, feeling both relieved and surprised.

"I guess having my parents give me an earful about my choices put things in perspective a little," Hudson explained. "So, where's he taking you?"

"I don't know yet," I grinned. "It's a surprise."

"One thing though Malc, just don't drool over him in class or get a bulge. I mean that's hot for me to watch, but it'd kinda make things obvious for everyone else."

"Okay," I laughed, feeling more relaxed. "Even though you and Charlotte said it was obvious before?"

"It kinda was," Hudson chuckled. "But ya know what I mean. I just want you to be careful, but I don't want to," he paused, trying to find the right word.

"You don't want to piss on my parade if I'm happy," I filled in for him.

"Yeah," Hudson said. "Hey, I didn't know you and Foxybutt were into that."

"Into what?" I asked, before realising what he meant. "Mate, that's vile," I sighed.

"Kink-shamer," Hudson teased, sticking his tongue out. "So, tell me more about Foxybutt in his speedos. I want to picture this hot concept in more detail so I can beat one out over it."

"You're planning to have a wank over my man?" I grinned. "That's rather pervy."

"It's a compliment dude," Hudson laughed.

"Well, he looks great," I sighed dreamily. "I'm thinking of getting a pair too."

"Seriously man, you're gonna get me worked up with that image in my head of you two. Please send me a picture of you both."

"You jealous?" I teased.

"A little," Hudson sighed. "Okay, I admit, even though I wouldn't date Foxybutt for all the reasons I've said, he is hot, and on a certain level I'm a little jealous you've bagged a sexy guy."

"Bagged a sexy guy?" a voice said.

I yelped and turned around, but it was only Charlotte standing behind us.

"Um, hey," I said, putting on what was probably the world's fakest casual smile.

"What are you boys talking about, or do I not want to know?" she said with a wry smile.

I was lost for words but thankfully Hudson came to my rescue.

"You don't wanna know."

"Fair enough," Charlotte replied. "So are we all ready for your fox's class," she added to me.

I felt my ears splay a little and my tail tuck itself behind my hind-paw but I forced myself to relax and hoped no one commented on my body language. Charlotte and Hudson were talking and didn't seem to have noticed.

"Did you have a fun weekend?" I asked her.

"It was good, I played golf," Charlotte explained.

"I didn't know you played golf?" Hudson said. "You don't strike me as someone who would do that."

"Oh, my parents own the golf course," Charlotte said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Wow, that's cool," Hudson and I said in unison.

"Usually when I mention that people think I must live in some really huge house and my family are rich," Charlotte explained. "I try to keep it quiet."

"You shouldn't. I have blue hair and wear t-shirts like this," Hudson said, gesturing at his shirt.

"What that's pattern of?" I asked. "It looks like a print of a spark plug."

"Your innocence is cute, and amusing, no offense dude," Hudson laughed. "I've been thinking."

"That's new," I teased.

"Hey! Anyway, I've been thinking that the three of us should stick together from now on and never care about what anyone thinks," Hudson said.

"That's very zen-like of you, but I agree," Charlotte replied with a smile. "What did you guys do this weekend?"

"Swimming," I replied innocently.

"Getting in an argument with my parents over my piercings," Hudson sighed.

"Never a dull moment," Charlotte chuckled.

"I'm glad they didn't learn about my Prince Albert," Hudson grinned as he fixed me a wink.

"Did I need to know that?" Charlotte sighed.

"I can testify from experience that Hudson doesn't have one," I sighed to her.

"I'm not sure if that reassures me or not," Charlotte replied with an eye-roll as we reached the building.

Everyone was standing outside the lecture room and we joined the line.

"Make way, I know you're all excited!"

My stomach performed a backflip as I heard Lachlan's voice. I turned to see him wearing black jeans and his leather jacket. His eyes met mine and the warm smile spread across his muzzle, causing the dimples to appear. My tail tucked itself behind my hind-paw again and I felt a rush of adrenaline.

Everyone filed in and Hudson made straight for the front row. I followed him and sat down. Charlotte sat on my other side.

"Morning everyone, I hope you all had a good weekend," Lachlan said.

I certainly did.

"Today, we're going to be focusing more on the heavy stuff and looking at how modern warfare began to take shape before we convene for our seminar groups. Now, who here knows much about the Boer Wars?"

A few paws went up.

"Yes, Ian?" Lachlan said. "Tell me what you know."

I waited until Ian had finished talking and then Lachlan dived straight into his lecture. As everyone took notes I sat and listened to his warm, melodic voice.

"It was a conflict in which standards of modern warfare began to be used more commonly, for example the use of Khaki and camouflage."

I was sure that he kept fixing me subtle smiles as he spoke, not overtly enough for everyone to tell, but clear enough for me to register. I tried smiling back, but I didn't want to make it too obvious.

The lecture eventually came to an end and we filed out to go to our seminar groups. I felt a pang of sadness as I realised that it meant I had to wait to see Lachlan again.

The grass outside was too damp to sit on, so we made our way into the student union building.

"I might get a coffee," Charlotte said. "Who else wants one?"

Hudson got himself a coke while I also opted for coffee and we sat on the yellow chairs at the side.

"You went swimming at the weekend?" Charlotte asked casually.

"I did," I replied. "And my mum came to visit," I added, trying to divert the conversation away.

Even though Hudson had said we shouldn't judge each other, I wasn't sure if Charlotte was ready for the news yet.

"That must have been nice," she smiled.

"Kind of," I sighed. "I think she was more coming to see my auntie if anything. They love to chat and forget everyone around them."

"I think that's a middle age female thing," Charlotte laughed.

"True, although since my parents split up, and Aunt Ruth's husband left they've become worse."

"Guys, did we have reading for this?" Hudson piped up.

"Yes," Charlotte sighed.

"I was saying to Hudson though, I want to tell my mum I'm gay," I continued. "But trying to find the time and place is difficult."

"Malc, could you like suck Foxybutt off or something in return for not giving us reading or essays?" Hudson groaned.

"I'm going to borrow a phrase my dad uses, consider your audience," Charlotte said, with her half-sigh, half-laugh.

"Sorry," Hudson grinned.

"But as I was saying, I want to bite the bullet and do it," I said.

"Hmm, I wish I could think of a solution to this," Charlotte mused as she turned back to me. "It's sad you have to go through this situation in the first place."

"It is," I grumbled.

We spend the next minute in silence glancing over the reading on Charlotte's tablet before we finished our drinks and stood to leave.

Adrenaline began pumping through my body as we walked to the seminar room and my stomach performed another backflip as we reached the door and I saw Lachlan standing at the front.

"Come on in, don't be shy," he grinned to us. "You're the first to arrive again."

I thought I saw Lachlan fix me a surreptitious wink as we sat on the front row and I responded with a smile.

"Did he just wink at you?" Charlotte whispered.

I opened my mouth but the sound of the rest of the group filing into the room make conversation impossible.

"Okay everyone, did we all get time to do the reading?" Lachlan asked.

There was a murmuring of yes and nodding heads.

"Good, so I want you to get into groups of three, spend the next five minutes discussing it and then we shall go around the room and share our thoughts."

I was worried that Charlotte would ask about the wink again, but Hudson launched straight into the reading.

"Okay, time for our discussion. Timothy, Gareth and Lucy, why don't we start with your group?" Lachlan announced.

Everyone began discussing the reading in turn, but I was paying more attention to Lachlan. The fox turned his head slightly and fixed me another surreptitious smile.

He's going to make my stomach do backflips all day!

Eventually it was the turn of our group and Charlotte did the talking with me adding in various comments.

"Excellent, good job everyone," Lachlan said. "Now, I'm sure you're all aware that it's reading week next week."

Wow, I'd forgotten!

"Which is great, however I'm afraid this will cause groaning, but your first assignment will be set soon, so make sure you try to spend some time in that week reading around it. There are a choice of four essay questions on the virtual learning environment, I want you all to have a go at writing a graded outline on what you will include in your essay with a detailed plan. The deadline for that is the Tuesday after reading week. Any questions?"

The class was silent.

"Good, if you have any shoot me an email, although be aware I'm off for a few days over the reading week. I'll let you know the dates."

He's off during then?

Everyone in the class was standing to leave. I wondered whether to head back or not and I glanced over at Lachlan. I realised he had his phone on the table next to him. He glanced at me and tapped his claw gently against his phone. I realised what he meant; he was going to message me later. The last thing I saw before I left the room was Lachlan shooting me a brief but warm smile.

"I might head to the library to start doing some reading around this," Charlotte said.

"You're a good girl," Hudson teased.

"I want to beat the mad rush to get books," the vixen sighed.

"True dat, I'm going to go back to my place and chill for a bit, and then maybe join you. Want to come Malc?" Hudson asked.

"Thanks, but I'm going to head home," I replied.

"Oh right, yeah," Hudson said, suddenly realising why. "See ya later you two," he added, pulling us into a group hug.

"See ya," I replied, before rushing off.

I thought I heard Charlotte say he's eager to get home as I hurried away. I knew I'd have to tell her at some stage and I hoped she wouldn't take it badly.

I raced over to my car, threw my bag into the back and began driving home.

I snaked around the traffic and pulled up on the drive just as the sun was starting to set. There was no sign of Aunt Ruth and Thomas so I let myself in and hurried upstairs.

There was a message waiting on my phone from Lachlan.

My dear Shep, please forgive me for waiting to message you. Shall I come by your aunt's house at 6.30 to get you? Your fox xx

I smiled and messaged back.

My dear fox, not at all. I can't wait to see you at 6.30. I've been waiting all day for this moment. Your Shep xx.

I had no idea where Lachlan was taking me, but I wanted to dress nicely. I shed all my clothes, grabbed a towel and went to get showered.

Once I was clean, I rifled through my dresser for something to wear. My jeans that emphasised my butt I'd worn to Adam's infamous party had dried off, so I pulled them out with a pair of blue and white Pump! briefs I had saved for a situation of in case I get laid.

I knew they were the same pair I'd worn at Adam's party, but I didn't care.

Okay, so you remember Monica from the sitcom Friends and how she kept different categories of towels; guest and fancy guest?

I should explain I categorise my underwear in a similar order; everyday, fun with Hudson and getting laid (although since starting at university most of them fitted the laid category). I knew underwear was there to be taken off, and I hoped that after Lachlan had seen me in my underwear at the gym that this time he might have the pleasure of tugging them off me.

I then tried looking for a smart shirt that wasn't crumpled, and settled on an olive green button up shirt.

Feeling presentable, I sat down on my bed and waited.

I heard the sound of a car pulling up on the drive and I went to investigate, expecting to see Aunt Ruth. My heart jumped as I saw Lachlan's Audi pull up. I made sure I had my phone, keys and wallet before I made my way outside.

I could just make out Lachlan waving to me from behind the wheel and my tail was wagging frantically as I opened the door to climb in.

"Long time no see," Lachlan chuckled as I closed the door.

"I couldn't wait for this," I replied, bobbing around with excitement.

Lachlan smiled and thumped his tail as we pulled off the driveway. As he turned the wheel to drive off I noticed Aunt Ruth's Volvo coming up the hill. I waved to her as we drove by.

"She's home late," I laughed. "All the better for a swift exit I suppose."

"Indeed," Lachlan replied. "What does she do?"

"She's an accountant, but based on what I've witnessed her do it's not a profession I want to be in."

"It's well paid, but if you're not passionate about it, there's no point," Lachlan agreed. "Are you feeling hungry?"

"I am," I grinned. "Where are we heading?"

"You'll see," Lachlan replied.

He reached over and gently gave my paw a squeeze. I smiled back at him and noticed he had changed his clothes. Lachlan was also wearing a smart white shirt and a pair of grey dress trousers. I opened my mouth to comment on his clothes but Lachlan got there first.

"You're looking very handsome tonight, I must say," he said.

"Heh, thanks," I replied, splaying my ears. "I was going to say the same about you."

"Why thank you," Lachlan said, and I noticed he was pulling his bashful expression.

"I feel quite underdressed compared to you in fact," I added.

"Nonsense, not at all," Lachlan replied. "You look nice, well more than nice you're a very handsome Shep."

"The last time I wore these jeans and underwear it all went horribly wrong," I admitted out loud.

"I like to replace bad memories associated with something with good ones," Lachlan reasoned. "You're wearing them with me now, so there's no need to associate them with anything negative. And underwear you say?"

"I did say that," I said, laughing and splaying my ears.

"Well, I guess that's something we can examine closer if the situation calls for it," Lachlan replied, fixing me a grin in turn.

I realised I was growing hard at the thought of Lachlan seeing me in my underwear again. I kept the image in my mind as I glanced out of the window. The sun had almost fully set and I noticed we were driving out into the countryside.

"Is this place close to Durlington Green?" I asked.

"It's not too far," Lachlan said as he followed the winding country road. "It's a secluded spot, but a nice one."

My sense of anticipation was growing as we rounded a few more bends in the road. The sun was casting the last of its orange light over the fields as it disappeared over the horizon. The night sky turned into a deep shade of mauve. I thumbed the stitching on my seat and felt the same sense of contentment I had felt with Lachlan in the pool.

The fox seemed to sense my mood as he reached over and took my paw again.

"I've been waiting all day to do that," he said gently.

"Same," I replied, giving his paw a squeeze.

"We're nearly there," Lachlan said as he turned his car down another lane.

I watched with interest as we drove up outside what looked like a thatched barn at the sight of the road.

"It doesn't look like much from the outside," Lachlan explained as we pulled into a parking space. "But trust me, when we get inside I think you'll like it."

We climbed out of the car and Lachlan led me to the other side of the barn. I see what he meant; the rear had a glass door entrance and modern windows. Light shone out invitingly. I could hear the faint sound of music playing and smell the scent of food cooking in the air.

"Ready?" Lachlan said.

I nodded and we made our way to the entrance.