The Hottest Day of the Month
#16 of Hockey Hunk Season 4
Rory's pretty much a guy for a steady life...but sometimes even the lion likes a surprise...or two! Who's gonna be providing those for him? Tune in on The Hockey Hunk!
Some sizzling Rory fan art by :iconBuckwulf: - thanks for generous sharing!
HH#125
S04E09
Hello, dearies, and welcome to the Hockey Hunk! I'm so glad to be back - I missed the times when I had 40 comments waiting to be answered in my inbox! Yay! *chuckle* Oh yes...it's good to be doing what I do best again - the one-smuts might be fun, but they aren't conversation pieces, exactly. I'm so glad that this story still keeps you curious and hanging on - keep it coming!
Don't forget that
As always, your feedback is appreciated, and I look forward to it as well. Also remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well.
Have a good read!
EDIT: Thank you for everyone for pointing out typos and mistake s in the story, and extra thanks for :iconAkeron-Valanx: who pointed out my cultural blunders about the cab being of wrong colour and white tie policy being a bit too much even for a very luxurious hotel! This is what comments are for, saving the story! *chuckle*
*
My muzzle was probably hanging a bit open with surprise as I watched the Dobie navigate through the paw traffic, a steady expression over his cute face as he cut a path through the throng of leisurely walkers amblers. That V-necked shirt sure fit him fine, not to mention the jeans that hugged his hips pretty low...and he was even wearing his glasses, too, I noticed, and felt my tail give a little jump.
"Hi!"
He stood close by, paw still holding the phone, looking at me, down at me, since he was so much taller, obviously, broad-shouldered and smiling and hunky and he was smiling because of me and making a damn fine job making me forget about the hardships of today. And all he had to do was to be there.
"Hey!" I mumbled, my ears perking up. "What are you doing here?"
Victor grinned and flicked his ears - both the unharmed one, and the now slightly drooping one, which looked much better, too, since the bandages that had covered it for a great part had been replaced by a couple of smallish white patches that must've covered the still-healing scars. The fine line on his face where he had stitches before seemed much less obvious now as well, I noticed, this being the first time we were face to face since the show-off at the park last week. That was promising, as was the smile.
"Thought I'd come and say hello," the Dobie replied, thumbs casually tucked into the corners of his jeans pockets in a most amusing gesture. "You coming off work and all..."
My tail gave a curious swish as I watched him once more, and I couldn't help but smile at the earnest tone of his voice, combined with that smile and a hint of scent I could pick from him, too. The smell of his fur and skin, finally starting to smell normal again, weeks after the accident.
"Well, yeah," I rumbled, "it was a bit of a day."
"Are you alright?" his eyes gave me an once-over as he questioned me.
I shrugged a little. Was I really? That was a complicated question to answer for sure. Ugh. I smiled, though.
"Yeah," I said, "I'm fine. It was just a bit more tiring than I thought it would be."
Well, that, and the possible promotion, and Mason, and Alex, and...
Victor smiled and patted my shoulder, gently, and openly, too, right there in the middle of the slowly crowding street.
"Hope you're not too tired for a little something," the Dobie said, his smile not wavering.
My ears jumped curiously.
"What do you mean?"
Victor lifted one of those hefty arms of his as he scratched the back of his neck, and seemed almost coy as he spoke again.
"Well, you're off work now, so how about a snack and a nice talk?" he proposed, smiling.
Such a nice offer, I thought, and smiled, helplessly and happily at the earnest eagerness of his to spend some time with me...and I remembered that a sour Peter was currently in the process of likely keeping a chicken feast warm in the oven while waiting for me to show up already. My tail's cheerful angle waned a little as I thought about it, torn between my two loyalties. Victor, whom I hadn't spent time with properly in all too long and Peter, who obviously needed the company, and might need a shoulder, too, and....
And all the time I had Victor looking at me with those nice, friendly eyes, obviously enjoying the sight of me, and really looking forward to the chance of spending some time with me...
Oh, damn.
"I'd love to," I replied, finally, after a few seconds of tense waiting, I was sure, "I'll just have to tell Peter that I'm coming in a bit later, since he was expecting me for dinner."
Victor gave me a nod.
"As long as it's fine with him," the Dobie murmured.
I wasn't so sure of that, but I wasn't going to let my worry on the subject to spoil Victor's mood, too, now, as I smiled a little, and dug out my phone.
"I'm sure he understands," I said, flipping my phone about in my paw, "just a sec..."
I gave the screen a nervous, thoughtful glance as I contemplated what to say....how to lessen the impact...somehow...shit. '
Well, nothing quite like the truth, eh? I swallowed my pride and typed.
VICTOR SHOWED UP AFTER WORK
AND ASKED ME OUT FOR A QUICK
BITE TO EAT OKAY IF I COME IN A BIT
LATER? PROMISE TO SAVE ROOM FOR
CHICKEN!
_ _
I wondered whether that was just pathetic, considering how much Peter must've looked forward to sharing the dinner with me, but that was the best I could do. Placate him a little, make my amends, and tell him the truth. That ought to do fine. Peter was a reasonable man, after all.
For most of the time.
The phone chimed as my message was blasted into the ether, and then it was me and Victor again, the Dobie giving me a curious eye.
"All set?" he asked.
"I think so," I said, secretly hopeful that it really was the case.
"Well, let's go then!" Victor cheered, head nodding towards the direction he had come from.
"Lead us on," I spoke with a smile.
Victor let me set the pace, halving his own steps so that he could walk alongside me as I trod along on all fours, so to speak, hehe, my tail swinging for balance and having a hard job not smacking Victor with its jaunty sway. He seemed to be walking without a trouble, which was a good thing to notice. I knew that he'd gotten pretty damn battered up in the crash, so seeing him move easily was a relief. Well, seeing him, simple as that, was a good thing for me, considering that the past weeks had been so fraught with worry, pain, anger and arguments over so very little. What was going o n now felt...normal.
"Everything alright with Peter?" Victor asked, once we were on our way.
My ears dropped a little, but I managed to smile.
"He's like he is for most part," I replied, carefully, not wanting to dwell on this morning too much, even if it was in my mind, automatically, upon Victor's mention of the cougar in question, "he's got good days and a bit less good days...but that's to be expected, I guess."
"I suppose," Victor nodded gently. "He seems sad."
"He can be," I replied. "Sometime it 's more apparent, though."
"Obviously," he mused. "But I'm glad here's there for you, though. Taking care of you."
"As much as I take care of him," I said, softly, as I should. "In my own little way."
"That's good."
My belly clenched briefly as I again wondered just what the fallout would be of me being late for dinner, and hoped that it could be dealt with in a mature manner suitable for grown-up cats without too great a tendency for the dramatic.
Speaking of which...
"How about you, then?" I said. "How did you escape Nurse Cobb this time?"
I grinned toothily as I made my statement, and got an ear flick from Victor, as well as a rumble that I would classify as being cheerful, I found out, thankfully.
"Promised to buy him a PlayStation," Victor said.
My ears must've jumped funnily enough, because he was chuckling soon, openly, deeply, and it sounded nice.
"Just kidding," he said, paw brushing my arm briefly, as if by accident, as we walked along still, side by side, "I told him that I was going out and that he should fix his own dinner and amuse himself while I'm gone."
For a brief moment I imaged Cobb jumping on Victor's bed with a gleeful soaring WHEEEEEE! coming out of his muzzle, but I made sure to get rid of that quickly, even if it did make the corners of my muzzle tickle with a grin.
"Heheh," I said. "That's good."
"So no need to be worried about Cobb stalking us, if that's what you're thinking," he said. "I told him to mind his own business, and he's been following that order quite well recently. Hasn't even tried to read my emails over my shoulder."
I snuffled at that, but nodded, too, smiling.
"Guess I won't be looking over my shoulder, then," I smirked.
"Heheh," Victor rumbled. "You really don't have to."
We reached the end of the Lewis Boulevard and now stood on the intersection of the Marsh Avenue, busy with traffic, cars and buses going on both directions, and furs flocking to the pavement on either side. Victor gave a look on both directions and then led us right, heading towards downtown. I followed along, curious still, despite the little soreness that was building up in my arms from keeping this up for a while. Maybe he had a restaurant in mind here, they had plenty here, even outside the Promenade Quarter. They tended to flock.
"Are you hungry?" Victor interrupted my musings.
"Yeah," I said. "Not quite starving but I could definitely use a bite."
"Then you'll like what I have in mind," Victor grinned.
"Aren't we coy," I retorted to his cheekiness. "You're really making me curious."
"Trust me," Victor mused, and to my surprise, he came to a halt right there, right next to the Marsh Avenue cab stop, and walked over to the yellow car soliciting for potential clients.
Before I knew what was going on, he had the back door open, and gestured with his paw.
"Hop right in!"
My face must've been one big furrow of a surprise as I stared at the Dobie standing there, by the black car, beckoning me to get in.
"We're going to take a drive to get there?" I asked.
"Just a small one," Victor said.
This surprise was getting more and more elaborate by the moment, it seemed.
"Alright," I mused, crossing the pavement to get over to the car.
"You need any help?" a voice echoed from within the cab, belonging to the otter behind the wheel who spotted me over his shoulder as I approached.
"I'm fine, thanks!" I replied.
"Let me just..."
Victor squeezed himself onto the back seat quickly and shuffled over to make room for me, and I put myself there with by now practiced eased, or so I hoped, as I tried my best not to scrape the car with my crutches. It was nice and cool inside the cab, too, thanks to the air conditioning, and feeling the cool air really made me realize just how warm it was out in the direct sunlight. I buckled myself up as I waited for Victor's next move.
"I'd like to go to the Thirsk, please," Victor addressed the driver.
"Sure do!" the cabbie replied, the engine starting a rumble as he began to bait for an opportunity to join the throng of traffic.
The Thirsk!
Oh, damn...
"That's a four-star hotel, Victor," I rumbled, feeling a hint of a wholly different kind of heat sneak over my muzzle as I realized just how elaborate a plan the Dobie seemed to be hatching.
"Is it now?" the Dobie appeared most comfortable sitting on his corner of the backseat as he looked over to me and grinned.
"Their ad on local TV has classical music on the background, and they have real bell boys with red uniforms on it, too," I replied.
"Tah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-daah-daah--da-daah-daah," Victor hummed musically, and oh so teasingly.
"And it's only six blocks away," I mused, realizing the extravagance of the cab trip.
"And you're supposed to take it easy on your leg," Victor replied. "I'm supposed to take it easy generally."
"But the Thirsk..." I replied again, "isn't that a bit..."
"It's a great deal, is what it is" Victor winked. "You'll see."
"Well..."
There might have been a lot of traffic at this hour of the day, but indeed, it was only six blocks away, and soon the cab stopped itself in front of the sand and cream-coloured façade of the hotel, named Thirsk in golden letters on a black front, and they even had one of those top hat-wearing doormen standing by the glass doors adorned with shiny brass handles. Victor was in the process of paying the otter cabbie, while I noticed, to my surprise, that the very same doorman was now approaching, and soon got a very determined vulpine smile as the fox pulled my door open.
"Hello, sir! Do you have any luggage I could help you with?" the middle-aged fox spoke in the most polite tone I had heard since...well, I don't know!
"Uhmmm..."
The fox looked at me down along his long muzzle, and couldn't have missed the crutches resting by my knee, since he immediately launched himself at me again.
"Oh, sir, do you require assistance in getting out of the automobile?"
AUTOMOBILE!
"I...uh...I can manage, thank you," I muttered meekly.
The fox tipped his head a little and moved aside, to stand by the open car door, in attention, none the less. I felt horribly self-conscious, getting out of the car in the clumsy way I did, getting my crutches out and my paws down to the curb, carefully, my tail stretching itself out comfortably after the brief car trip. Victor soon followed, big and handsome, as always, and looking nice in the sunlight that streamed down here in slightly smaller quantity because of the high buildings surrounding us. The fox bowed to him as well and rumbled a polite "Good afternoon, sir" to Victor as well, whom returned it with a smile.
"Let me open the door for you, sir," the fox hurried up the marble stairs and opened the wide glass door, ready to welcome the two of us in. The fox was standing in attention and tipped his top-hatted head again, as we reached the top of the stairs. "Welcome to the Thirsk."
"Thank you," Victor didn't seem too fazed by it, and even I managed to smile, though as soon as we were through the doors, my head was again spinning with the sight of all the marble, the chandeliers and the thick carpet that seemed to give an inch underneath my paws. For a moment I worried whether my crutches might be damaging it, somehow, and gave an extra careful look to see if the indentations I made with them lasted for more than a moment after I moved my crutches along.
I definitely felt out of place, surrounded by staff in black and white and shiny shoes, or the likes of that German Shepherd coming down the stairs, wearing an expensive-looking suit and carrying a black case and speaking to a cell phone as he hurried past us. I felt a decisive lack of glitter in my part, let alone being suitable for even a snack in an environment like this. A further set of glass doors towards the right, past the stylish seating group of leather armchairs around a small table, projected into the restaurant. Was that where Victor was taking me? A super-glitzy coffee at the only four-star hotel in town?
What a man of man surprises!
Victor, however, padded along across the lobby and to the long, polished wood counter, behind which there was a rack of the traditional pigeonholes for the mail, I suspected, though there was no sight of the romantic board of keys hanging off their little numbered hooks. The snow leopard in a deep blue suit and with a golden name tag more than made up for it, though.
"Good afternoon, sir," he addressed Victor, whom had sought eye contact with him earlier, leaving me standing to the side a little.
"Hello," Victor said. "I have a room reservation under the name Holden."
"A moment, please," the mottled concierge flashed Victor a vivid smile before his paws began to move over what the sound told me to be a keyboard hidden behind the tall counter, and I presumed he had a computer screen there as well, for his eyes soon twinkled with curious light.
"Ah, yes...reservation made this morning through the Save-A-Room service...under the name Victor Holden...yes?"
"That's me," Victor replied.
"Could I see some form of photo ID, please?"
Victor obediently dug out his wallet and showed his driver's licence to the snow leopard, who made some one-pawed typing while he looked at the plastic card. That equally polymeric smile remained throughout, even as they exchanged a few words about credit card billing, "special enquiries" and a few other things that were murmured between the two males before a black plastic card was placed onto Victor's out-stretched paw.
"Your room is three-oh-five, and it is most easily reached via that elevator," the all too sweet feline replied, a delicate paw flicking towards the shiny doors onto the side. "The room is ready for you and your associate."
The room...
_ _
"Thank you," Victor replied as he swiped the card into his palm.
"You are most welcome, sir," the snow leopard rumbled, teeth showing. "Please enjoy your stay at the Thirsk and if there is anything you need, simply call reception and ask for David."
"I'll keep that in mind," Victor replied most suavely as he turned towards me, giving me a smile.
I just...stared.
"Come on!" Victor beamed. "We've got a room waiting."
My blush was by now a permanent feature on my face, it seemed to me, as I followed the Dobie across the glitzy lobby and then into the elevator.
I let out the breath I had been holding, and looked at the Victor with wide eyes.
"A room?" I mumbled.
Victor waved the black card in his fingers and grinned.
"Thought you'd enjoy a more relaxed affair," he said, "besides, the restaurant has a black tie policy, and we're not exactly dressed up."
Well didn't I know that!
"It's still...."
Victor let out a chuckle and patted my shoulder.
"Well, I got us a real credit-crunching deal on this, so it's not as much 'too much' as you think it is," he said. "So bear with me for a moment to see just what I have in mind, okay?"
"Okay," I mumbled.
The elevator doors opened with a melodic chime and we stomped out into the corridor, as richly carpeted and bathed in golden light and reminding me of Home Alone 2 in all sorts of ways that were probably all too immature...but I did love that movie when I was just about the right age for it, so perhaps I was allowed that much immatureness, just now, as I trailed the definitely not immature Dobie who seemed to be navigating this glittery place with much more confidence than I was. Judging by the flicking of his ears, he was enjoying himself, too.
"Three...oh...five...here we go!"
The room was huge.
Well, so it seemed to me, at least. I wasn't sure how used to Victor was to four-star hotel rooms, but to me it seemed like it was bigger than my apartment, which it probably was. Everything was colour-coordinated from the armchairs to the very sizeable bed on one side, and the flat screen TV on the wall was bigger than my windows combined, I suspected. The air smelled vaguely of strawberries.
"Nice?" Victor elbowed me and grinned back to me and my "Wow!" face, and he got a tail swipe from me in return.
"I guess that would be an understatement," I said.
Victor closed the door behind us and took the room in with a curious gaze, and as he did so, I felt an arm sneak around my shoulders, the Dobie holding me close to his warm side.
"Maybe a little," he said, breath whispering against my ticklish ear.
Victor kissed the corner of my muzzle and even lapped there, eliciting an easy purr from me, my body tensed and relaxed in rapid succession, and I felt instantly safe in his arms. I wished I had my paws free so that I could put them onto him, to hold him in return, somehow, but they were occupied yet...but I hoped for a chance soon.
"It's great," I whispered. "Thank you."
"Come on," Victor rumbled, low and sexy, "let's see about those snacks."
He didn't let go of me as he steered me towards a table with two chairs set around it, and I could see that it was loaded with foodstuffs, enough to make my maw water a little even from a distance.
"Foie gras and caviar?" I mused, wobbling a little under the influence of Victor, surprise, and my crutches catching on the carpet.
"Try luxury sandwiches, chocolates, wine, crackers..."
I chuckled.
"Even better."
"Let me pull you a seat."
"Thank you."
Did I even deserve this? I wasn't sure, but the chair felt nice and...solid, I guess, and it was good to be off my paws again, even if I did make a clatter when I fumbled with my crutches. Victor moved the second chair from the other side of the table and seated himself right next to me, which was most pleasant, too, I mean, having a Dobie at a paw's reach. The bowls, bottles, crystal glasses and packets of things wrapped in cellophane sure looked attractive...but so did Victor, sitting there by me now, obviously pleased with himself and what he'd gotten for his money...for a sum I was almost scared to think about.
"I don't suppose these are the complimentary snacks," I mused, waving a paw over the great supply.
"I did an extra order they were more than happy to accommodate," Victor grinned.
"You could order all this online?"
"Like I told you, the credit crunch has made the hotels to search extra income, and that includes hiring their rooms out only for the day," Victor explained with obvious delight at his savvy innovation. "Throwing in some snacks for a modest extra sum seems only logical."
I snickered.
"You don't say that they've turned the Thirsk into one of those legendary places that hire rooms by the hour for...transient guests?" I proposed with a quirked brow.
Victor snuffled and elbowed me gently.
"More of the day spa variety, I think, judging by the website," he replied, fingertips thrumming the tabletop now as he admired the food, "get pampered, gussy up and then enjoy a light dinner in your four-star hotel room. It's like being Angelina Jolie for a day."
I flicked a cheerful ear at him.
"You planning to make me feel like Angelina?" I suggested.
Victor's spare paw caught mine into a gentle squeezing grip just as he leaned over, to once more kiss me. This time he was slow enough that I had the time to prepare, opening my lips a little just for the moment when his met mine, surprisingly softly, whiskers tickling. It felt good, oh, so good, the kiss that was our proper one in so long, and even when it became a nuzzle, rather, I was still purring softly.
"I'll make you feel like anything you want," Victor rumbled, hot and heavy, and just the way I liked it. His breath warmed my cheek even more.
*
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