The Masters Chapter 7
The Masters... ...of Confidence
(September 18th)
Tuesday had come and gone like every Tuesday before. History, Math, PE, Lunch, English, and Science ate away their parts of the day, leaving the rest of it to an evening peppered in homework...
...and, as always Tuesday broke inevitably into Wednesday, where Elliot Masters once again found himself in the less than hallowed halls of Sibirskaia High.
History and Math trudged by again, and soon enough, Ell was back in PE. Again, for the second time in as many days, Hunter was nowhere to be seen. All through changing out in the locker-room, roll call, the particular inane waste-of-time-game of the day, and the final whistle...Hunter's rich orange fur never showed.
The young husky dejectedly placed the basketball onto the rack with the others as he made his way to the locker rooms at the period's end, its orange rubber painfully reminding him of that fur he already so desperately missed.
Out of sight of the furs in the locker-room, though, and the husky within...the coach's feet came to an abrupt stop in the shadow of a fur easily the same size or larger than the coach himself. The coach's paw extended to take a slip of paper from the orange paw offering it, and his eyes read over it quickly.
With a short, sympathetic sigh, the coach simply returned the paper to that orange paw, and continued on past the fur it was connected to. "I wouldn't even be at school right now, if I were you," the faculty member offered a half-hearted laugh and continued on toward the coaches' office.
Meanwhile, Ell stepped out of his shower alcove, already being done with his 'shower' which was no more than a sweat rinse-off. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with showering with the other males; he knew if his eyes wandered too much, something 'unfortunate' could happen to him, so he got out of there as quickly as possible, and headed right back to his locker, seeking the comfort his clothes gave him. Despite all of his continued trepidation, though, and his worry over the whereabouts of his feline friend...he felt proud. Before Monday, before Hunter, he could never have mustered the courage to do this.
And out in the hall, as the husky slipped his damp fur into his clothes...Hunter Thurman stood patiently by the locker room door. He had no reason to go in today, except to say hi to his friends -- most importantly, now, to Ell -- and he would see them soon enough when the bell rang and they made their exit. So he waited, raising his arm and looking at his watch, set almost right with the school bells, and tapped his thigh lightly with his other paw as he watched the second hand creep closer and closer to 12...
And nearly right on cue with that secondhand reaching the top of its arch, the bell rang and Hunter lowered his arm with a smile, waiting for his surprised classmates, including a hopefully even more surprised husky, to come flooding into the hall.
In between the large rush of furs who hadn't shower and just wanted to go to lunch, and the rush of furs who actually took the time to fully bathe themselves, was the anticipated husky.
He exited the locker room, his backpack pulling heavily on his weary shoulders and his head hung low, until he looked up finally, to see that none other than Hunter waiting for him outside the doors. At least that's what Ell hoped the tiger was waiting for...
"Hey Hunter," Elliot nearly murred to the cat, cautiously optimistic about his friend's arrival.
"Hey, kid." Hunter managed a weak but visible smile and gave his friend a little nod, "How was PE?"
The husky smiled a bit more enthusiastically at the tiger, though not as noticeably as he intended. "It was good," he stated rather simply with a short nod of his own. "We played basketball today."
"That's cool." Hunter's tone remained rather blank, his small smile showing as much as he could mange, "You look a little damp. Did you shower?"
Ell nodded again, smiling proudly about it as he elaborated further, "Yeah! It was just a quick 'rinse-me-off' kinda' thing. I did yesterday too, though." He held his proud smile on his muzzle, hoping it would help cheer him up until he finally managed to find a way of broaching the subject of Hunter's absence.
The tiger smiled a more genuine smile at that, "Good for you! I knew you had it in you." He took in a breath, and cocked his head toward the cafeteria, "Well, I'd love to sit here in the hall with you all day...but it's lunch time."
Elliot nodded, not entirely sure if Hunter would want him to join or not, "So...can I tag along? I've got nothing else to do...but...you know, if you don't want me to, that's cool too..."
Hunter blinked, "I was expecting you to." He tilted his head at his younger friend, "Why wouldn't I want you to eat lunch with me?"
The husky shrugged, rubbed his shoulder a bit, and began walking on toward the cafeteria with the tiger, feeling a bit embarrassed he thought wrong, "Well, before Monday, we never really spent lunch together and...since you weren't here yesterday..." He looked away, nervous about what Hunter's response could be to that statement.
Hunter stopped walking, "Since I wasn't here yesterday, what?"
Ell stopped, too, and moved to the side of the hallway so furs could pass, "Because you weren't here yesterday...I wasn't sure if you'd still..." He took a breath and just said it, "I thought you were skipping Gym to avoid me."
"Whoa...whoa..." the tiger waved his paw in front of the husky. "Look at me."
Elliot did as he was asked and looked up to the taller tiger, still clearly worried.
"Ell...why would I be avoiding you? We're friends...good friends, I thought." Hunter blinked, looking almost hurt, "Hell, after what we did on Monday -- both here and in my car after school -- we SHOULD be."
The husky hurriedly looked at a lone otter who passed them just as Hunter spoke of 'what we did' and he gulped nervously. "Uhm..." he waited for the fur pass by them before he looked back up at Hunter to respond, "I know. But...but you just like, left, which would've been okay, I guess, but then you weren't in class today either. The coaches didn't know why you weren't there yesterday and today, and I thought..." he looked down and crossed his arms in front of him protectively, "...that maybe..."
Hunter sighed and extended his arm, pulling the dog up to his side with his arm around the younger teenager's shoulders, "Do YOU regret what we did?"
Ell just shook his head, "I thought YOU did."
"Well I don't." The tiger tugged on his friend lightly as he started walking again, "Come on...lets head on out there to lunch so we can talk," and his arm stayed tight around the husky's shoulders as they went.
Elliot smiled softly up to Hunter, glad that he said that wasn't it...but a small hint of skepticism lingered.
"Ell...you really need to relax, kid." Hunter glanced at him and chuckled, "I swear: if it was anybody else, I'd probably be pissed right now."
The husky looked up, concerned about what he did, "Why? What did I do?"
"I was gone for two days! I could have been sick. I could have even been in the hospital. Granted, I came back right after PE today, but before you saw me in the hall, you didn't know one way or the other." Hunter raised an eyebrow as they entered the large cafeteria, "You were so worried about whether or not I was avoiding you...you haven't even once worried about whether I was okay or not. Or, if you have, you certainly haven't asked."
Ell quickly responded with his own plea, "No! No Hunter, I've thought about everything that could've happened. I was worried that you were sick: seriously sick, even, because you weren't here today, either. But...but you avoiding me just seemed more plausible. After Monday...I just...I felt bad, because I didn't want you to think all that I wanted was-" he stopped abruptly and looked to see who was near them, "...well, you know."
"Calm down, Elliot," the tiger squeezed his friend's shoulders and smiled. "First off, I told you I'm not mad. I know how difficult all of this must be for you; you've never done anything like this before. And that's why I'm talking to you about it: I'm trying to help. Secondly..." he chuckled a little, as he completely avoided heading for the lunch-lines and kept their path pointed for the other side of the lunch room, "...I was JUST as eager for it as you were. I never felt like you were just using me for sex."
Elliot took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly, too caught up with figuring things out with Hunter to notice that they were avoiding the lunch lines. "Thanks Hunter, I'm sorry I thought that. It's just that...I try to be fairly decent with everyone, right? And if something goes wrong, like even if you were having a bad day today, I'd think I did something wrong to make you mad...which I'm sort of doing anyway..."
Hunter shook his head, "You worry too much, Ell...about everything." He chuckled, "I'm surprised to haven't freaked out yet about my arm being around you this whole time," he shook his friend lightly. "Just try and relax...okay?"
Unfortunately, the tiger pointing out his arm was around him, didn't help the husky at all. He'd just taken comfort in it until now, not really thinking about how it looked. But, not wanting to offend his friend by pulling away, he just gulped and smiled, "I'll try Hunter. And...I didn't notice your arm was around me because..." He blushed gently, "Well...I like it."
"I'll bet you do," Hunter shook Ell again and let go as they came upon a rabbit.
His fur was a soft, dusty tan, his ears, high and erect, and he dressed in an expensive, but not overly high-end suit. Two paper bags were in his paws, and a smile broke on his small muzzle as he and Hunter spotted one another. He was obviously waiting on the tiger.
Hunter smiled as well. "Sorry if I kept you waiting, Stan! I was having to deal with this one," he pointed his thumb at Ell, now a step behind him.
The rabbit, Stan, just shook his head, "Not a problem."
Ell grinned nervously, wondering who this fur was but not knowing how to broach the subject and ask.
Hunter took the bags from the rabbit and sat them on the table, "Just like I asked for, right?"
"Both double-meat...one plain & dry..." Stan nodded and motioned at the drinks already sitting on the table, "and two cokes." He smiled at Elliot, "So is this him?"
Hunter smiled back at Ell as well, "Yep...that's the one."
The husky just raised his open-palmed paw to the rabbit, in a wave, "Hey."
Stan held out his paw and tipped his head forward, letting his ears fold over a bit, "Dr. Jones..."
Hunter had already turned back to the food, removing it from the bags, "You can call him Stan."
Ell reached forward and took the rabbit's paw in his, giving it a few tentative shakes, "And I'm Elliot."
"So I've been told, Elliot. Firm grip..." He removed his paw and looked at, "I'm willing to bet that's fun."
Hunter laughed, "I keep telling you that all that soft fur of yours would be better." He winked, "Doctor's delicate touch..."
"And I keep telling you that you'll never find out." Dr. Jones turned to leave, "I'm picking you up today at 3:30. Be ready." He waved over his shoulder, "Nice meeting you, Elliot."
Hunter called out, "Aww -- come on! Would it be that bad?"
Ell just stood there silently amid the nonchalant, casual conversation the two were having. "Uhm...bye...?" he managed to mutter out.
The tiger looked back at Ell, finally, "Gonna' take a seat, or not? I already have your food all laid out..." He patted the table by a hamburger, fries, and a drink sitting out for his friend, "I got him to get it plain & dry for you...since I wasn't sure what you liked."
Elliot nodded and took a seat in front of the offered food, "So...you know that guy? Should I trust this food?"
"Stan? I should say so! The guy's like a father to me." Hunter sat down by his friend and winked, "Or maybe an uncle."
The husky paused for a moment. He knew what Hunter meant by that: a confidant he could talk to, and had probably come out to, like Ell had with Will. But for a moment, his mind went to other comparisons, before he shook it off, picking up his burger and taking a large bite. "Is he YOUR doctor?" he asked, though a bit muffled by the large mass of food in his cheek.
"He's the one that wrote me this..." Hunter pulled the slip of paper out of his pocket that he'd shown to the coach earlier, and sat it on the table where Ell could read it. Among the bits of typed and handwritten words on the paper, was the phrase 'passing kidney-stones:' Hunter's excuse for having missed more than a day of school.
Ell read the note and immediately felt much more sympathetic to Hunter's absence, "Oh geez..." He sat there quietly for a few moments before reacting further, "Are...are you alright, now?"
The tiger, though, just let out a short laugh.
Elliot perked a bit, wondering why it was so funny, "Uh...am I missing something?"
"I'm fifteen! What 15-year-old has kidney stones?" Hunter kept chuckling and took the paper back, "It's a lie. You should've seen the look on your and the coach's faces though!"
The husky playfully pouted as he continued with his food, "So what if you conned me!?"
"Hey! You're lucky I didn't let you believe it!" Hunter nudged him playfully, "I haven't even heard HALF of a thank you for that food you're eatin'!"
Ell smiled widely, feeling a bit more at ease now that he was sitting with Hunter, "Oh come on now! There's no cheese, no ketchup, no lettuce...all the good stuff is gone! And why would I thank YOU? Stan was the one who got it for me." With that, he took a large, mocking bite out of the burger.
"And I'M the one who came all the way to school just to see you and bring you lunch!" The tiger pretended to pout, "Just because I didn't buy it doesn't change the fact that I coulda' stayed home today."
Elliot nodded...a warm tingling feeling washing over his stomach when Hunter admitted that he came to school just for him, "Thank you, Hunter." He smiled warmly at the cat, before catching himself, and looking away, as to not appear too terribly doe-eyed, "So if that note was bullshit, why were you gone?"
Hunter finally started eating his own food, large bites at a time, "Well, Stan...err...Dr. Jones is my grandmother's doctor." He took a big drink and chased it with a few fries, "I'm not sure if I ever told you, but I live with her. My parents disappeared when I was just a kid, and she took me in. She's pretty well off, so I don't have to work yet or anything...but she needs my help around the house. Especially when she's sick. And she's been pretty bad off the last few days. It's been...taxing."
The husky just nodded while Hunter told him his situation, "Wow. Should...should you be with her, right now?"
"No. She's doing okay, today. Not amazing, but okay." Hunter ate a bit more, "Stan offered to let me stay home again, and write my excuse for as many days as I wanted until she was better. I told him being around the house like that was driving me crazy, though. It's how I spent the whole weekend, too. Plus," he smiled sheepishly before he continued. He was never one to hold his tongue, but that didn't mean he was always comfortable saying what he had to say... "I kind of missed you, too. And when I told him that, he made the time to get me up here so I could have lunch with you."
Ell smiled wide and blushed rosily, looking away from Hunter as he finished his statement, but was too shy to say anything about it, "...S-Stan seems pretty cool."
The tiger nodded, smiling at the younger dog's nervousness, "He is. If I didn't have him around, I sometimes wonder how I'd stay sane," he took yet another large bite of his burger. "Y'know, without a male to talk to...father type..." he continued eating.
"Speaking of talking to him," Elliot ate a few more of his fries, "how much of me does Stan know about?"
Hunter sat his burger down, "Well...he's known I've had my eye on you for a week or two. He kept telling me he thought I had a crush." He chuckled half-nervously, "I uhm...I saw him after you and I parted ways on Monday, and he stayed with me and my grandmother all night. We stayed up pretty late talking about a lot of stuff," he shrugged, "Y'know...I only see him when gramma's sick, so when he's around, we talk a lot. We talked about her, about school...and of course, about you."
The husky nodded and took a drink of his soda to hide his nervous gulp, though his wavering voice as he asked his next question gave away his true demeanor, "Uh...h-how much does he, you know, does he know about...us?"
"Well, I told him..." Hunter paused and smiled softly. He'd always told Stan everything, and this was no exception. Stan was trustworthy, and Hunter knew that...but Ell obviously didn't. He figured it was best not to shock the poor Husky too much, revealing that the rabbit, by now, knew every inch of the dog as well as Hunter did. So, he just turned to look at his friend, the smile still on his muzzle, "I just told him that I finally got the kiss I'd been wanting."
Ell nodded again and exhaled deeply, soothing his nerves more so than what the tiger had just said. He was genuinely glad that Hunter didn't tell anyone the truth about what they did, "Cool. Thanks Hunter."
"Would it have been all that bad if I'd told him more?" The tiger went back to eating his food, this time nearly shoving it down his throat, wanting to hurry up and finish since their conversation was getting in the way.
Elliot shrugged as the tiger wolfed down the remainder of his food, allowing him to devour it all before he continued, "K-kind of? I mean I'm...I'm not even happy that he knows we kissed, but I'm not really upset about it either." He picked up his soda and drank from it, considering himself done with his food as well, even though a bit of burger and a few fries were left, "It's just that...a stranger like Stan knowing about me...it's like a cub-step toward being honest with everyone. And I'm not ready for that, yet."
Hunter very shortly replied without even looking at Ell at first, "And what do you plan to tell your uncle about what happened on Monday?" He turned and raised an eyebrow.
The husky thought for a moment about what he WOULD tell Will. To be honest, he figured he'd babble on about the whole damn situation with his uncle the next time he saw him -- every sordid detail -- while giggling like a ten year old girl. But...if he told the tiger that, he couldn't really justify wanting Stan to be kept in the dark... "Uhm...he may know I'm gay, but I don't really think he'd want to hear about his nephew's gay relationships just yet."
Hunter smirked and kept his eyebrow raised. "Yeah. Of course," he chuckled lightly. At least they were both lying.
Ell wrapped up what little burger he had left, and then, after eating a few more fries to make room, stuffed the burger and wrapper into the fry container. "Thank you for the food," he finished with a hint of sarcasm, "Hunter."
"Hey, now," the tiger crumbled up his completely empty wrapper, stuffed it in his fry container as well, shoved both in one of the two bags, and held it open for the husky's trash as well. "If you're gonna' get lippy, I might stop doin' nice things for you. I might even make YOU pay for our," he tilted his head, "...date...on Friday."
Elliot smirked playfully and put his trash in the bag, but kept his soda, "I could pay for it, just fine! So long as playing video games at my place and having my mom make us dinner is considered a date."
Hunter smiled proudly, as he stuffed the empty bag into the one they were using for trash, "Well look at you! You didn't freak out that I called it a date OR start looking around to see who heard me!" He stood up.
Only when the cat mentioned it did the husky do exactly that: blushing and looking to see if anyone was staring at them, or who was pointing and laughing. Of course, no one was doing either. He looked back at his friend, chuckling nervously, "Well. Yeah, well maybe I'm just distracted. Got a headache."
Hunter tilted his head and held out a paw to help the freshman, "Do you?"
Ell took the paw, turned, and stood out from his seat, smiling softly, "No...I'm just jerking ya around."
The tiger smiled back. "Well that's good! Cause I was thinking of suggesting that we uhm..." he raised his eyebrows once, "How can I put this? Make a new memory we'll be keeping from your uncle and Dr. Jones?"
Elliot let go of Hunter's paw when he realized he was still holding it, and adjusted his backpack nervously, "I...I don't wanna' say no, but...do we have time?"
"For you to pay me back?" Hunter headed toward the nearest trashcan, their trash in one paw and his drink in the other, "Of course!"
The husky looked up at the tiger as he followed, "What exactly am I paying you back for?"
Hunter dodged another student on the way to the trashcan, "Well...you remember most of what happened on Monday, right? Do You remember any of what we talked about in the locker room?"
Ell nodded in affirmation, "I think I do..."
The tiger finally made it to the trashcan and tossed their bag into it, "Well, then you should remember me telling you about..." he spoke almost ominously, "...the rule." The sophomore turned around and leaned against the wall by the trashcan. "When friends do this sort of thing, there's this whole...reciprocation rule we're supposed to follow, right? You might remember how I told you -- since you didn't know about the rule -- that I wasn't gonna' force you to follow it in the locker room."
Elliot thought back those two days and then smiled when that memory did, indeed, return, "Yeah! I remember that."
Hunter smirked, "However...you DID know the rule by the time we left school. So it seems to me...you owe me for what I did for you in the parking lot!"
The husky blushed and nodded with a gulp, remembering how scary that ordeal was, "Th-that's fair. So do you want to wait until after school?"
Hunter laughed, "Oh no! I just told you that we have plenty of time for you to pay me back right now." He winked, "Plus, I didn't bring my car today...and I don't think Stan would want us doing that in his back seat..."
Ell grinned, holding back a chuckle of his own, "Aww...and I thought he was so cool!" He looked around a bit to see if anyone was watching them, yet, "So...where am I supposed to pay you back?"
The tiger blinked and recoiled, "Uhm...right here, dude. Where else?"
Elliot looked around at all the other furs, and gave his friend a wide eyed stare, "In the lunch room??"
"Sure!" Hunter just smiled a big toothy grin.
The husky rolled his eyes with a sigh, only then realizing his tiger friend was joking, "Yeah! Good luck with that!" He flashed a peace sign and then turned to stroll the in the opposite direction.
Hunter, though, reached his long, orange arm forward and snagged the husky by his wrist, pulling him all the way back to him, "Oh, come on now! Don't be like that! It's simple." He looked Ell in the eye as seriously as he could manage, "Trust me," flashed a big fake smile, and bated his eyes, "no one will see."
Ell raised a brow to Hunter and pulled his wrist away, "Uh-huh."
The tiger let out a long, exasperated sigh, "Fine! If wanna' be a kit about it, YOU choose the place!" He playfully nudged his friend's shoulder.
Elliot just grinned up at his friend, "Good!" Beckoning the cat with a finger, he led them far and away to the wing of the school farthest from the cafeteria. He took the long route behind the school, though, to minimize the amount of furs that saw them, plainly highlighting to Hunter just how nervous he still was about the whole idea. Once they got to the specific wing the dog had planned on he jokingly asked his friend: "So, we still have enough time?
"All the way out here? Definitely. Even after the bell rings it'll still be 5...6 minutes before anyone gets this far." Hunter looked around, "So where are we going, exactly?"
The husky nervously gulped, reached to the tiger's side, and took his orange paw into his own as they continued to walk, more specifically to the center of the wing and to the boys' restroom. He looked up to the tiger during the short trek, nervous about holding his paw even though it didn't seem like anyone, teacher or student, was around to see.
Hunter smiled down at the paw, "So many things a gay guy will do with me that my curious straight friends won't." He looked back up with a short chuckle, "So much less insecure about being intimate...and cute," he tugged the paw until the husky's shoulder was against his. "This the place?" he slowed alongside the restroom.
Ell nodded and blushed at being called cute, "It's good isn't it?"
"The restroom?"
"Yeah."
The tiger smiled and nodded, "Yeah, it's good. Probably better than the locker room was." He tipped his imaginary hat, "Lead the way!"
Elliot simply led the tiger to the center of the restroom where he stopped an turned to face him. Leaning up there in their temporary privacy, he kissed his friend deeply and simply, remembering that the cat appreciated being able to kiss him back in the showers.
Hunter gently laid his paws onto the husky's hips and kissed back, much less aggressively than before, still a little worried that he scared the freshman on Monday. He slipped his tongue out and into his friend's muzzle and then pulled away swiftly, only to lean back in for a second quicker kiss, and a third, nuzzling him afterward.
The husky giggled childishly after the quick, playful kisses and blushed heavily. He was quite enjoying his new explorations with Hunter but wondered if every time he and the tiger were going to 'play,' it was going to be in a public spot.
Shaking the thoughts away for another time, though he simply pointed to the wall across from the entrance with a smirk across his muzzle, "Lean on the wall like you do everywhere else."
Hunter raised an eyebrow, "Do I do it that much?" He backed up toward the wall, "I guess I'm trying to keep an image going, or something." He smiled and stopped when his shoulder's hit the wall.
Ell smiled at his friend reassuringly, as he dropped his backpack and went to stand in front of him. "I like it when you do it! It's like you're a," he placed a paw on the tiger's left hip and the other on his package, massaging it through his pants, "rebel from the fifties. 'Too cool for school,' or whatever..."
The tiger smiled wider as he pressed back against the kneading paw, "Like the Fonze if he'd been a big orange cat instead of a dog? I can live with that."
Elliot grinned up at Hunter and kissed him gently again, while his groping paw shifted and undid the tiger's pants to begin toying with his now exposed and quickly filling sheath. Then, with the paw on the tiger's hip, he hooked the boxers and pulled them down, releasing his scent and package to the world...or at least to the empty restroom.
Hunter pushed a bit more aggressively into this kiss than he did the last, but did his best to control himself from going overboard...and simply let the husky lead the way with the goings-on father south.
The husky pulled back from the kiss, sucking gently on the tiger's lower lip before parting, and grinned widely as he lowered himself down that large, orange, barrel chest and onto his knees, so he was eye-to-ball-sack with his friend. After a quick moment of admiration of the tiger's heavy package, the dog looked up for some form of reassurance.
Hunter just smiled and winked down at his friend, speaking very simply but with a hint of playful whining in his voice, "It's been days. Help me out?"
Ell nodded quickly, and without thinking about keeping up the front that he was still a virgin, leaned forward. After nosing behind the tiger's sack a bit, he licked from behind it, up and over those reflexively constricting balls and up to Hunter's stretching sheath, where he topped it off with a gentle kiss to his emerging tip.
The tiger groaned lightly, his head leaning back against the wall as he unintentionally repeated the husky's own requests from Monday: "Short on time, remember? Tease me next time..."
Elliot tugged down on Hunter's sheath, letting his large pert cock stand proud before his muzzle. He licked his lips in preparation, tilted the shaft to an angle more easily sucked upon...and then wasted no more time in doing just that. He drew in first third of his friend's meat, savoring its taste in his mouth while his tongue flicked out and experimentally played with the unfamiliar sandpapery barbs.
Hunter purred loudly, almost as if he was growling, and broke it with a gentle mewling, almost like a kitten, "I was right."
Completely ignoring what his friend had said, the husky placed a paw around the base of the tiger's shaft, and after a few long moments of his sensual sucking, and of exploring the barbs, he finally nearly the entire length into his muzzle, just short of his throat. He uncontrollably murred as he sucked it in, finding the smell and the taste -- even if only because, unlike Will, it was so very much unlike his own -- intoxicating, and feeling like he was about to burst through the fabric of his pants at any moment.
Above him, Hunter began breathing heavier and heavier, each and every one a purr on the exhale, as he strained not to moan too loudly. In only a few seconds, he was rocking his hips, not fast, not hard, but enough to gently hump into his friend's muzzle. He'd playfully threatened to 'face-fuck' him two days earlier, but had no intention of actually following through...
Ell reached his free paw into his pants and began to quickly paw himself off, while he emulated the movement of a paw with his muzzle. He pulled back from Hunter's cock while sucking hard on the meat, his lips pulling teasingly on the barbs, only to slide as much of the exposed shaft as he could right back in, letting the tip spew its pre all over his tongue and into the back of his throat.
The tiger groaned finally, unable to hold back anymore. He'd only pawed off once over the weekend, never got his favors returned on Monday, and had been too busy with Stan and his grandmother since then. He'd be teased and denied and he needed to cum. His paw found the back of his friend's head and he humped more openly now, while taking care to ensure that the husky's paw was in still the way, gripping his base, so he knew his friend wouldn't choke.
Elliot just whimpered submissively and let his friend go without argument. The cat's scent had long ago overpowered the musky scent of the restroom, and had, combined with his constant flow of pre, made the dog nearly ache to achieve his goal: to make his friend finish. He sped up, in time with the sophomore's humping, and repeated what he did, letting his tongue tease the tip when he pulled back and toy with his barbs when he slid back down. Soon enough, Ell could take no more -- the taste, the scent, the feeling of his maw being used -- and he exploded, coating the inside of his underwear as his muffled moans and hard clenching eyes signaling to Hunter, if he was even watching, exactly what had happened.
Hunter wasn't watching, though. He heard, but his eyes were clenched as tight as he could manage, as he simply held back the urge to slam himself into the dog's throat. He was coming so close. So close. He reached his other paw forward and used it to hold the husky's head still, not realizing that by doing so, it basically negated the next thing to roll out of his muzzle, "I'm cumming...really soon...God..."
The husky continued his pace, though, unphased by his own climax or the tiger's warning. He wanted this precious gift which, judging by his copious amount of pre, he knew was going to be good...and plentiful.
Hunter gritted his teeth and held back a roar, letting it fumble in his throat as a groan and a purr as he pushed forward, both his paws holding the husky still. He came, long ropes of seed jetting from his tip and into his friend, just as the husky had done with him twice only two days before.
Ell hummed out another muffled moan and eagerly sucked down what the tiger had to offer. It was oddly masculine, which was a trait he shared with Will, but nothing else was even remotely the same; the cat was sharper, thicker, almost tart, and had just the tiniest hint of a sweet after-taste. The dog's ignorance simply attributed his taste to him being a feline, completely unaware, yet, of the differences from individual to individual.
After a few moments of suckling on Hunter's softening cock, he pulled away as the paws on his head relaxed. He panted breathlessly and finally spoke up to the spent tiger, "Are...are wev-" he coughed gulped hard again to clear his throat and mouth of the still thick taste. "Are we even?" he clarified.
The tiger smiled down at his friend, "More than..." but was breathing too heavily to speak further.
"Now uhm..." Elliot stood up, a hint of worry in his voice, "Wh-what was it you were right about?" Somehow he was convinced that the slightly elder cat was going to say he knew Ell had been lying -- knew he'd been with someone else before.
Once Hunter's breathing slowed enough to answer, though, he surprised the freshman "You did a great job! I knew you would."
"You did?" The husky swore he felt his heart skip a beat. After one dismal and one...less than stellar showing with his uncle over the weekend, he was still convinced he was no good. He'd let his worries escape him while so wrapped up in all that fun on his knees. But in his more lucid moments since this weekend he'd been convinced, still, that he'd be no good for someone once it really counted. That is...until now.
Hunter just smiled and nodded, completely unaware what kind of opportune compliment he was giving the dog, "Yeah. I was right because...well, I knew that it would be better if the fur doing it actually wanted to." He chuckled lightly and leaned his forehead against the husky's, "And that was seriously the best I've ever had."
No sooner had the tiger's mouth closed than the bell rang. And Elliot jumped.
But he didn't jump at the sound of the bell. The bell fell on deaf ears, as the husky dived forward, beaming as he slammed the tiger back into the wall in the tightest hug his monochrome arms could manage.
And Hunter just laughed as he returned the hug. "You're welcome! But," he pointed with a wry smirk at the speaker in the ceiling over head, reminding his friend of the bell, "mind if I cover myself up?"
~
Across town...
William Masters closed his paperwork and looked at his watch with a smile. It was lunch time, and his date would be here any minute.
Whistling to himself, he went about stowing the papers and manuscripts he didn't need away in their drawers, and a few others -- Mr. Roark's included -- snuggly in his briefcase, before finally stopping and surveying his office. It was done...he was ready.
With a nervous breath he walked across the room to the mirror, which he kept around so he'd always look respectable to his clients. With shaky paws he fidgeted with his head-fur and the rather shaggy husky-fur of his cheeks. He straightened his suit and his tie, and stood up straight...
...no, it wasn't good enough. Again, his paws wandered through his fur and along his suit, determined to make it look just right. He knew he was being silly; he'd just finished making sure he looked okay for a client less than an hour before, there was no point in this. He looked fine, and it was just a lunch date anyway; he needed to control himself.
He whimpered and messed with his head fur and his cheeks again. Was thirty-one too late in life for a first date? He was thirty-one! How much younger was Patrick? Was he too old for the rabbit?
Was this really his first date!? No. No. He'd had others, surely. Maybe in high school? Sure. Those counted. One night stands are still dates. Three night stands, too. And he'd had a few glorified cover dates with girls since then too. So this wasn't his first.
So why did it feel like it was his first?
He smiled a toothy grin and surveyed his teeth. They were clean...they were always clean. They had to be for work. He breathed into his paw; his breath smelled fine too. But then he blinked. Why was he so worried about his teeth and his breath? Was he planning to be kissing someone today?
He shook his head. Don't be silly. Why wouldn't he be planning to kiss someone? He'd been over this with himself a hundred times...this date wasn't turning him gay. The fifteen years of casual gay sex did that. If he could mess around with a guy, why not date one?
He took a deep breath, finally comfortable with the husky staring back in the mirror...but then he just whimpered again.
Would Patrick think he looked okay too? The suit didn't make him look stuffy did it? He couldn't help it, though. He was leaving work and didn't want to go back to the house for something more casual. Should he though? Or maybe he should just leave the jacket and tie here...
His paws darted up, intent on loosening and removing his tie, but before his pawpads even touched the silk, his phone rang...direct from Denise...
~
There we go! The Masters continues!
* Starring: Frost Rime Borealis as Hunter Thurman Doctor Stanley Jones and William Masters Phil Anthro Pist as Elliot Masters *
If you'd like to go say hi to Phil, he's got an account here at http://phil-anthro-pist.sofurry.com/
I told you we'd be switching back and forth! And yet another new character! Stan!
But, either way: Hunter's back! And isn't that cute? He likes Elliot ^_^ I find them adorable together. I hope you do, too.
And speaking of cute -- Will seems very nervous for his date! I bet we'll see how that goes next time.
SIDE NOT: I chose "Confidence" for the title for multiple of its meanings: "Self-assurance," "the quality of trusting," and "information held in secret," because I felt all three were relevant to the events of the chapter and Will's epilogue.
Anyway, thanks for reading!
I welcome any feedback! Comment or PM me here, or email me at frostborealis[at]gmail.com
See you for the next 8 chapters of The Masters! ...for the next 5 chapters of A Warm Bed! ...and, in due time...Sibirskaia!