Gossip
#11 of Love Letters - The Whole Story
Speckle meets up with an old friend.
Amazing fan art here today is of course by
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I had a day off, and Dan was at work, so, when my phone rang and my old friend Lucas called, I had no choice but to accept his invite out for a coffee. I put on my nice clothes and my scarf and rode the L to downtown to our usual meeting spot, where, as it happened, the lanky coyote was already waiting.
"There's my man!" he was all smiles, patting my back and grinning broadly.
"Here I am," I said.
"So glad you could come, I've been hankering to see you for a while now!"
"Sorry, it's really been awfully busy," I said as we strolled in the still somewhat crisp spring afternoon weather, enjoying each other as much as the bustle of the city only something in the size range of Chicago could provide, I thought.
"Heh, it's fine, these things happen," he said, "do you want to go to the usual place?"
"If you do," I smiled, wagging my tail a little.
"Great!" he patted my arm and smiled even more broadly. "I think I'm in the mood for some tiramisu myself."
"You might just tempt me," I said.
Lucas is great. We've known each other since high school, he moved in during my sophomore year and we kinda hit it off well from the start. I had a bit of a crush on him, too, if we're fully honest, but I didn't come out to him until we were both studying later on, me at the nursing school and Lucas looking to follow his mother's footsteps into the legal profession. He couldn't have cared less, I learned, much to my relief, and had said that he kinda suspected, considering whatnot I was always hanging out with those girls and not trying to screw them.
Ooops.
Guess I was obvious enough for those who could look, such as Lucas, but he never cared for it, it seemed. He was straight, too, which made it special enough. Sometimes an empathic "I don't care" can make a big difference, after all.
So we'd been friends for a long time now, busy in our own lives, but staying in touch over the phone, via meetings when we could catch up, and lately on the internet too, of course, what's with this new social media boon.
I watched him as we entered the stylish (and quite expensive) café, how smart he looked as he took off his coat to reveal a grey suit underneath, which he wore with a white shirt and a baby blue tie. He was oozing confidence and casual friendship even to the waitress who showed us to a table and took our orders...this was ckassy enough to serve to the tables...yes...yes, this was Lucas territory, but I was welcome to join in. It didn't matter that he made probably something like five times I did, paycheck-wise, but he never looked down on me, which was a great bonus, plus, he insisted on buying.
We settled cozily onto the plush seats and waited for our drinks and tiramisu, both just enjoying each other's presence for a moment, before the chatting began properly. It ranged from the weather to our jobs to me jabbing him about his banker girlfriend, to complimenting the barista for pressing our coffees, to teasing each other about messy cream on our muzzles...yes...good times were had.
But I felt a bit nervous, too, because...while he hadn't asked anything of the sort, I, with my fork in my paw and scooping up another little piece of the treat...I had a secret I desperately wanted to share, and I just...I wasn't perfectly sure how to start...even though I'd told him before, about my relationships, or attempts at that, but...this just felt so different. So damn serious and important and enough to make me blush like a giggling schoolgirl under my cheek furs and I just wasn't sure how the business-attired coyote would take it, me acting somewhat uncharacteristically.
I dabbed the corners of my muzzle with the neatly folded pink napkin before I put it down, cleared my throat, and looked him in the eyes.
"Lucas?"
"Yeeeees?" his ears flicked cheerfully as he leaned over the table, looking at me unhesitant.
I folded my paws gently on my lap and took a deep breath, and looking at him, and blushing...
"I'm in love," I said.
I let out a deep sigh and looked at my tiramisu, and waited for the response. I kept it up for over a minute of silence, and then I got nervous, and looked at him, and he was grinning at me...my ears flicked a little at that.
"Oh don't look at me like that," he said, smirking, "sounds like someone's been keeping secrets from me!"
He took a sip from his coffee, and I felt embarrassed again, but at least he wasn't being mean...not that I'd ever expect him to be, but...he wasn't even teasing, like I always teased him!
"Well, not really..." I said, still feeling somewhat flustered, "It's just...really new."
"Oh?" his ears perked almost aggressively.
"Well..." I mumbled.
"Sounds serious to me," he observed.
"It kinda is," I said.
Lucas smacked his lips.
"Does the lucky guy know yet?"
Well now I really was blushing, and it was kind of a struggle to meet his eyes...but I smiled and nodded.
"He does, yeah," I said, "and he...he likes me too..."
"Congrats!" he thrust his paw forward, over the table, and I really had no choice but to shake paws with him, as if he was just sealing a deal, and not just being a silly mutt.
"Thanks..." I murmured.
"So don't keep me waiting," he said, "tell me more!"
Well...what exactly could I tell about Dan...what wasn't there to tell...he was beautiful...he was great...and Lucas didn't get squeamish too easily, even when the reality of man to man relationships was raised...
"Well, he's...uh...he's called Dan...yeah, Daniel..."
"I guessed that," Lucas smiled, "unless his parents called him Danwood or Danton..."
"Oh come on," I pouted, amused by his wordplay, by all means.
"Dan...Dan and Speckle...that sounds something nice to put on your door nameplate..."
"We aren't living together!" I yelped.
Well, we kinda were, since he spent so many nights and had his own key...heh...
"But you want to," Lucas mused.
"Badly," I chuckled.
"How'd you meet?"
Now this was gonna be interesting...
"At the ER," I smiled shyly.
Lucas snapped his fingers.
"...you getting it on with a patient?" he teased. "Or is this a workplace romance?"
"Kinda," I said, "he works for the fire department...he's a paramedic and a fireman."
"Tough work," Lucas nodded.
"He's a tough lion," I said, with a smile.
"A lion..." Lucas mused.
"You went out with that tigress," I pointed out.
Not that it really mattered all that much, but sometimes...sometimes, and to some, it mattered. I was glad Lucas was beyond that kind of prejudice.
"I did," he smiled, "and now you're seeing a lion. And judging by how you speak about him, you're pretty serious about it."
"He's lovely," I said. "He's kind and gentle and goofy and smart and - "
"And gooooorgeus?" the coyote let his voice rise to higher pitch, just for a moment.
Well, two furs could play this game...
"He's hunky alright," I replied, matter of fact, "and he's great in bed."
"So is Camilla," he spoke, non-pulsed. "With a little bit of warming up, of course."
Two furs indeed could play this game, I felt reaffirmed in a moment's notice. We had had enough red wine-fuelled talks about the differences between dating guys and girls, and sometimes even about bedding them, and the old joke about women needing candlelight dinners and persuasion before surrendering to his manly woes while two guys could basically go...
"Yo, lift that tail!"
"Sure, stud!"
....the joke never went old.
"Of course," I chuckled.
"I'm glad for you, Speckle," Lucas smiled as he picked up his coffee again, "I'm really glad to hear you've found someone."
"I'm really glad too," I said, "I'd almost forgotten how it feels."
"Can you really forget?" he asked.
"I think so," I said, playing with my dessert with my fork now, "at least the memory can fade, I think."
"Perhaps it can," he smacked his lips and sent a coffee-scented breath in my direction.
"Yeah..."
We contemplated for a moment, ate, shared a few smiles, Lucas checked his emails on his phone, and I enjoyed the company, and the tastes, and the scents, and some fur-watching, as the tiramisu level declined.
"Am I gonna meet this lucky fellow soon?"
"Do you want to?" I asked, almost surprised by his quick curiosity.
"You've met Camilla," he pointed out, "I don't think there's a rule about how long guys have to date before you can show the boyfriend off to your friends, is there?"
"Oh I guess not..." I wagged my tail a little as I imagined Daniel walking in through the door of the café, dressed in a neat black suit and groomed and smelling beautiful and...hmmm...I wasn't going to stop blushing any time soon, it seemed.
"How about a double date?" he grinned. "Bet Camilla wouldn't mind the company of three gentlefurs at one time."
"As long as she wouldn't' think it was going to turn into a pure sausage fest," I winked.
"Nice!" the coyote laughed with a small bark.
Well this might be interesting. Not to mention that thinking and talking about Daniel was making me miss him so much.
*siiiiiiiiiigh*