FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Weeks had gone by, with Eva becoming more and more of a staple of Enrique's existence. It had become a ritual of theirs to have their breakfast, often at Eva's behest, and have a dab of television to go with. While she still didn't make for the most intelligible conversation, she had at least gotten a handle on the simple “yes" and “no", which made their day to day a little smoother.

Of course, with their close day to day life came with even closer little events. The kind that Enrique didn't want to think about, but always had kicking in the back of his mind, especially when his eyes grazed across her more feminine features. She was all too happy to indulge in his desires, and Ricky was a little too weak to her goading.

And outside of the day-to-day, Enrique had made it a point to take Eva outside in the camper in the dead of night. Alonso was more than happy set up payments for Enrique to take ownership, adding something about it being tainted by a wild animal. Most likely in jest, as his relationship with Florence had grown some surprising roots, and most likely didn't want to have the thing in his driveway.

With those extra visits outside came with the few close calls of being caught. Ricky still wasn't sure how the average person would react to Eva, but seeing as how he still hadn't heard any mention anywhere of creatures like her, it was fair to assume they'd react poorly. He would always make sure she was within sight, and managed to wrangle her back into the camper whenever someone came within a country mile.

Despite all that, it almost felt like Eva had always been a part of Enrique's life. Something he couldn't be without.

Enrique stirred from sleep, light nudging at his eyelids. He furrowed his brow and slowly opened his eyes, finding himself oddly on his back for once. A warmth proliferated near his groin. His eyes drew downward, finding Eva prodding at his crotch, huffing nose blowing warm air across it. He sat upright.

“Eva," he said.

“Ricky!" she replied, nuzzling further in, thin tail whipping at the air.

“It's… It's too early for this."

“Rise and shine, this early morning," she replied.

Still impossible to tell how much she really gathered from what she said.

“No," Ricky said simply.

Eva raised her head from his groin, huffing and clacking her jaws. “Yes."

“No."

Eva raised herself up, then tilted her head. She opened her mouth again, then darted down and quickly licked at his groin. Ricky winced, pulling his legs together. She let out a series of croaking laughs. “Yes!" she said, then fell back to his side, still letting out whistling giggles.

Ricky shook his head and chuckled. She still had her ways of getting at him, even if she was told no. He tried to pull his gaze away from her splayed out body, eyes sliding along her slender form. It's morning, it wasn't time to indulge in this kinda stuff. Or ever, really, but Enrique had quietly accepted their few illicit affairs. Battling against his masculine side, physically and mentally, Enrique got out of bed and slipped into some proper shorts.

As Enrique dressed, he noticed a card that had slipped between his nightstand and the wall. He plucked it out, looking at it. Right, the veterinarian, Ms. Florence. Ricky shifted his gaze to Eva, who had already turned on the television and began casually flipping through channels. It was dubious as to whether or not she even needed any kind of doctor, but there was still the pounding worry that she might fall ill to her frankly all-over-the-place diet or her existence in this small home.

Could go through a couple of hoops with the vet. After all, who wouldn't want to take a look at something like Eva? Then again, Florence was the one who didn't want to hide away any sort of “scientific discovery" from the world. Wasn't like Ricky could flat out say that Eva belonged to him so as to deny Florence's wishes of exposing the cryptid. One, because that didn't sit right with him, and two, she was essentially free to leave whenever she'd like.

“Check out our low, low, low leases!" Eva said.

Ricky shook his head. Well, maybe she was a slave to the television. At the very least, he could call up and ask some vague questions. Eva likely wasn't supernatural, even if it might seem like it, ergo, there might've been some shared advice between mammals. He grabbed his phone and walked out into the hall, dialing up the number. It rang for a few seconds.

“Hello?" a feminine voice greeted. That wasn't Florence.

“Uh, who's this?" Ricky asked. “I mean, isn't this the number for the vets? Ms. Florence specifically?"

“Oh, it is, you're just speaking to her—" the woman cleared her throat “—less appreciated assistant." She added a laugh.

“Is that so? I was hoping I could ask Ms. Florence a few questions. Is she there?"

“This early? Not a chance. But, I mean, I could probably answer a few questions you might have. Not that you should take it as gospel or anything, but, you know, if you were curious."

Ricky looked to the card. Maybe this was who he needed. There was just one question he had to ask.

“I do have a question for you," he said. “If you'll indulge me for a sec."

“Go for it."

“If you had a cryptid animal in your possession, what would you do? Keep it a secret? Experiment on it?"

There was a pause, then some laughter. “Um, OK, I guess I can work with that. 'Spose it depends on the cryptid."

“One that's not liable to kill you."

“Then, I guess, I'd try to research it on my own, you know? I'm more personally curious than anything. I wouldn't want someone to take that away from me."

“Sounds good to me. I'll call back later," he said. “Thanks for answering my ridiculous question. Just thought I'd toss that out there, uh, get to know how you guys think."

“Uh, alright. Certainly livened up my morning. Have a good day."

“You too."

Ricky hung up and pocketed his phone.

“ 'Spose it depends on the cryptid," Eva said.

Enrique whipped back around to find Eva standing there. She was good at that. Her mimicry captured the subtle hiss of the phone. He reached over and rubbed her neck.

“Just checking in with the vet," he said. “You know, it's hard to find you a doctor, so I thought I'd find someone trustworthy. Can't have them running off and letting everyone know you exist, right? I guess that's a little selfish, but I can have that, can't I? Just a little bit. Special, special Eva."

“Ricky, Ricky!" she said in response.

“I'd ask your opinion on the doctors, of course, but I'm guessing you don't care about bedside manner."

“I'm guessing you do," she replied. “Opinion on bedside manner."

Ricky chuckled. “Yeah, I do. It's important to the checkup process. Wouldn't want to be annoyed with the person dealing with your health." He tilted his head. “But the most important thing is how you feel about them, I guess. You wouldn't be scared if you saw someone else, would you?"

Eva merely stared, head tilting with his rubbing. Ricky hadn't ever let her see anyone else. Sure, she saw them on TV, but it's not like she tried to run into it when she saw food. The concept of a screen must have at least somewhat equated in her head, right? Maybe not. She did seem to have a more extreme reaction when a deer came on-screen.

“I should probably vet the vet, at the very least, huh?" he asked.

“Vet, vet, vet, vet, vet, vet," she replied.

“Exactly. And check out the facilities. Assuming I'd even bring you there. I'm sure they allow housecalls, right?"

“Call now and you could get a great mortgage on your house," she said.

“Maybe we should switch you to something without advertisements…"

---

After setting up Eva with a few movies to cycle through and a fair amount of snacks for the afternoon, Ricky drove off to the veterinarian office. It was just beyond the lip of the city. Not too far from home, but definitely more of a trip than most. As he drove, he wondered if he would have to bring Eva along in the camper. He hummed to himself. Better they come over, if they could. I'm sure they'd understand the problems with moving a large animal. Almost a shame he couldn't bring her with at that moment. There was plenty of open space for her to run around in these parts.

After some more driving down a long, long road, Ricky finally came upon the office. It was a modest thing, nestled against a small forest. Didn't seem like they had an area for larger animals to enter through, so they definitely had to come to the patient in some cases. Well, naturally, if Ms. Florence was helping to deliver whole foals. Ricky pushed that visceral thought out of his head.

The parking lot itself was relatively empty. There were four cars. One was definitely Ms. Florence's, then another had to be her assistant. Maybe the other two were nurses? Whatever the case, Ricky made sure to give them space in the wide lot, then walked on inside.

The reception area was clean, good start. The receptionist herself seemed a little bored, but who wasn't on a slow work day? Her demeanor flipped like a switch into cheery-happy mode the moment Ricky drew near, like she had been replaced with a whole new person.

The receptionist wore blue scrubs that loosely fit her lithe body, and had cut black hair.

“Good afternoon! Do you have an appointment, or are you here for a pick-up?" she asked, without missing a beat. Her eyes seemed to light up with those words. Wait a second.

“I think I spoke to you on the phone. I thought you were Ms. Florence's assistant?" he asked.

“Oh, I sure am. When she's not around, those calls directed straight to the front desk here." She furrowed her brow, smiling. “You're the guy who asked about cryptids, right?" Her face was mixed with incredulity and humor.

Ricky nodded. “Yeah, that's me."

“What brings you in?" She leaned toward him. “Got a Loch Ness monster to get checked up?"

“Well, firstly, Nessie is only one, unique creature," he said with a smile. “And secondly, I doubt she would enjoy being out of water for so long."

The woman chuckled. “So you'd need some sort of mobile pool for her, right?"

“Something like that. Whatever they transport whales in." Ricky paused for a moment. What do they transport whales in? Not important. “I came by to check the facilities, is all. Wanted to make sure it was a place I could trust." He shrugged. “Hope that's not too weird."

“Not at all." She shook her head. “If anything, it's kinda impressive. I'm not sure I've actually seen someone do that for their pet's care. Guess that makes sense why you got Ms. Florence's number directly."

“Oh, so I'm part of some special club, now?" he asked.

She nodded her head side to side. “Sort of. Just don't expect any discounts on treats. So, do we match up to your standards?"

“Seems like it. You guys do house calls, right?"

“With the farm life we've got around here? Sure do," she said.

“That's what I figured, just had to make sure. How about you? You do any of the doctor-ing work around here?"

“Some day, yes. Right now? I'm not qualified just yet. Not in the eyes of the state, anyways."

“So, you think you could do it?"

“Sure. I mean, you didn't hear this from me, but I've already done a few successful examinations for friends. Practical work is how you really learn, you know what I mean?"

Ricky nodded. She seemed like just the woman for the job. Plus, she was kinda cute. Of course, that didn't mean she wouldn't actually explode in fright once she saw Eva, and of course, the reverse was possible for Eva herself. Both of them were volatile elements. But at least hearing the attendant say she was less interested in touting around a creature for the sake of science eased his nerves a little, and really, what other options did he have?

“Do you mind if I ask you your name?" he asked.

“My tag says it loud and proud," she said, tugging on the plastic rectangle on her scrubs. Lillian was written in blue. “It's a little official, though. You can call me Lily if you prefer."

“I'm fine with the extra syllable, don't mind me," he said.

Lily chuckled. “Alright, if you need the vocal exercise, I guess."

Enrique smirked. Yeah, she seemed like a nice, loose person. In the friendly sense. He wondered briefly if he could spring the question on her. His thoughts slowed to a stop for a moment, realizing just how bizarre it would be for him to just walk in, see her, and ask her to come on over to his house to tend to an animal he wouldn't even be able to describe to her. No, that would be weird, for both of them. Hey, lady, wanna come over to my place and check out this as-of-yet unseen creature? Worst pickup line ever.

“Where's Ms. Florence at the moment?" he asked.

“She's in the back with some other nurses going over some updated medications. Have to stay on top of that stuff, for the sake of patients. And money, of course, but patients first."

“Well, good to hear. About the medication part, that is."

“Do you want to leave her a message or anything?"

“Uh, no. No. I'm good. Like I said, just a quick look to see if you guys were trustworthy."

“What kinda animal were you hoping to bring in?" She pursed her lips. “Or, I guess, wanted a housecall for?"

There was the million dollar question that not even Ricky knew how to answer. Dog? Exotic animal? Really fuzzy horse?

“Canine," Enrique blurted out. “Yeah, she… doesn't care much for car rides. I'd pay extra for any fees that racks up, just want her to be comfortable."

“Poor thing. I've met a few dogs that don't enjoy cars. It's so weird, since you'd expect them to be all tongue out and enjoying the wind."

Enrique couldn't help but imagine Eva doing just that. She would have to, right? It'd be an awkward fit in the passenger's seat. Heh. Alright, keep focused.

“Yeah, that kinda thing." He crossed his arms. “Plus, I haven't been a… canine owner for very long."

Looking at Lillian, it almost made him feel bad to lie and avoid the truth like that. Her eyes were all too trusting and bright. There was almost a naivety there, but Enrique was probably just imagining things, he figured. Lily was likely leagues smarter than he was. Putting it like that made him realize just how hard it'd be to convince her of this whole thing.

“We've got brochures for that kinda stuff if you're interested." Lillian began rolling her chair to a small stand of the things behind her.

Enrique raised a hand. “No, no, that's not necessary. She's a handful, and no brochure is ever gonna prepare me for it, believe me." He glanced outside.

“You got pictures of the poor girl?" she asked with a soft smile.

“Y'know, I hadn't even considered it. Don't have any, sorry."

“A name, at least?"

Well, there was no harm in that, right? “Eva."

“Cute! Well, I hope I can meet Eva on good terms at some point."

“Yeah. Yeah, I'd love to show her off." Enrique looked outside again. “Speaking of which, I should probably get going, see how she's doing."

Lillian nodded. “Right. Say hi to her for me!"

“Will do."

As casually as he could, Enrique turned on his heel and headed out the front door with a wave. It didn't take him long to pile into his car and head on back home, thoughts swirling about how this whole thing would go down. Kinda ridiculous, wasn't it? He essentially had to lure her on something of a false pretense, which he had to admit to himself, felt a little creepy. It was for a good reason, though, and if Eva didn't freak her out, well, that was like a once-in-a-lifetime thing, right? Plenty of people would want to see Eva. Ricky shook his head. Now he was thinking of Eva like some kinda gift to bargain with.

---

Eva was naturally fine. In fact, she seemed almost entranced by the bedroom television when he got back home. She had curled up at the foot of the bed in a cutesy pose, legs at her chest as her head gently bobbed from side to side.

“Enjoyin' the movie? Sorry I didn't get you popcorn to go with," Ricky said.

It took her a second or two to perk up from her position and move over to Ricky. She shoved her nose against his body, loudly sniffing. Across his arms, down his chest. The sensation lightly tickled him.

“That's probably dog you're smelling. And cat. And maybe a little horse, too," he replied.

Eva's probing nose prodded against his crotch, causing Enrique's legs to pull together. He hastily moved to the side and looked to the television. Eva immediately shifted back up again and sidled up next to him, giving his shoulder another quick sniff. He shifted it, causing her to pull back.

“So how far in are you?" he asked.

“Far, far away." She looked to the screen. “Ricky, Ricky."

“I'll catch the rest of it with you. Let me just get outta these before the animal scent get into the sheets, too."

Enrique started pulling his shirt over his head. Eva made some sort of halting gasp and grasped at the shirt, yanking it off of him. Her hands came upon his bare body, rubbing gently against him as she looked to him. Her head lacked the ability to convey emotion, but she raised her snout and twisted her head, looking down at him.

“Ripply," she said.

“No." Ricky gently placed his hands on hers, stopping them in their tracks. “No ripply." How did she even come to associating that word with more explicit matters? Should he even try to correct her? Probably not.

“Yes!" she said. “Yes, yes, Ricky, yes." Eva nudged her snout against his neck, huffing. Her tongue darted out at his bare skin. “Ricky, Ricky."

“No, Eva, please. We're gonna watch TV, aren't we? Movie? See, look." Enrique nudged her head over to the movie.

Eva nudged back at first, but slowly became entranced with the screen again. Her hands slipped away from him. That was just the distraction Ricky needed. He hastily switched into a simple shirt and shorts, then buried himself under the bedsheets. Eva looked back to him, then crawled onto the bed, eyes intently on his form. It was then that Ricky really took in what she was watching. Some romcom he had downloaded a while back and had never gotten around to watching. Someone in his family probably told him it was good, and he simply said he'd check it out. Likely downloaded it so as to not technically be lying.

Snuggling up to Ricky, Eva grabbed at his arm farthest from her, all the while looking at the screen. The female protagonist was rattling off some dialogue about relationships. Eva snapped her mouth open and shut, then looked to Ricky.

“Look," Eva started, “I know it's been hard between us, but I hope you know I love you."

Eva was repeating the movie, word for word. She was only a second or two behind, at that.

“Uh, Eva," Ricky said. “You don't need to--"

“When I'm with you, I can feel like I'm a normal girl. Someone who can just be who they want to be."

Of course, this was all mindless repetition, but Ricky couldn't shake off how odd it felt to hear Eva say those words. He glanced to the screen. Maybe this was just what she expected out of romance. Or, no, perhaps not even romance. The simple act of wooing a mate. It showed some intelligence on her part, in any case. She adapted her attempts to what she had seen.

“I don't wanna see you go," she said, adding a sniffling as the actor did.

“Eva, please. Don't do that." He pursed his lips. “I'm not going anywhere." Of course, she didn't truly understand what was being said, but he had to say it, just to soothe his nerves. He wrapped his arm around her. “No more of that, alright?"

“No?" she said.

“No."

Eva clacked her mouth loudly, then snuggled against him, leg wrapping around his. Already he was getting hot over this. Temperature wise. And maybe a little psychologically, too. Eva's fur immediately warmed him up as he sank into her.

“I wonder if you're ever going to start shedding and get a winter coat," he said.

“Winter is coming," she replied.

“Eventually."

Being out in the wild, no doubt she'd have to have some sort of serious protection against the elements. Or, maybe, being such a unique creature, she had a unique way to fend off the cold in her own way. Ricky pulled back to look at her. Eva did much of the same, looking to him. He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of her all poofy. Eva chuckled back. Or maybe she'd look more husky. That… wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, would it?

“Are you sure you're not going anywhere?" she asked.

That didn't come from the movie. Ricky paused. Must've been earlier.

“I'm staying right here," he said.

Eva stared, and stared, and stared. Then, she huffed.

“I hope that was the response you were looking for," Enrique said.

A quick lick to the neck at least implied that it was.

“You know, at the vet, I met this really nice girl. Name's Lily. You might like her. I'm hoping she can do a checkup on you. Not that I know she won't go crazy upon seeing how pretty you are. And she's a bit of an amateur." He rubbed Eva's neck. “But it's better than nothing, right? I can't just haul you off to the best doctors in the world. I mean, I would if I could."

“Would've, could've, should've," Eva replied.

Ricky laughed. “Right." He sighed. “When do you think I should bring her over, huh? Promise me you won't get all spooky if she comes over, alright? You promise?"

“Promise?" she said.

“Yeah, you promise?"

“I promise. Ricky. Promise. Promise."

“That's good to hear. You be nice to anyone who comes here. Well, guests, that is. If it's an intruder, then…"

Ricky's thoughts immediately swerved into that sort of nightmare scenario. Someone breaking in, seeing Eva, then panicking and hurting her in some way. His eyes traced along her jaw. It was doubtful that even bone would stop her bite. He continued down to her arm, which was tenderly holding onto him. And those would have little issue tearing apart anyone that could get in her way.

That should have been a terrifying thought, and it was, in a way, but Ricky felt oddly happy. She chose to keep herself calm for him, all soft and cuddly. Maybe it was naive of him to think that she was intentionally deciding not to crush his skull, and not that it simply hadn't crossed her mind in all these months. Many a person had fallen to that very notion with other animals. Sometimes you simply cannot tame the wild.

Nonetheless, Ricky couldn't help but feel only trust and care when next to Eva. He told himself over and over that it was ridiculous, that he couldn't truly understand how she felt. He was right, to a degree. Not until she could talk, right? And they were making slow but steady pace on that front. His mind still fought back on that. What if she could never learn?

“Ricky, Ricky," she said.

Those simple words broke him out of his stupor.

“I guess I should just be thankful you're here, right?" he asked.

“You have my thanks," she replied.

“Well, if you insist," he said with a smile. “How should we even bring you up to her, huh? Can't just spring a beauty like you on her."

“Beauty."

“I think it's a good word for you. You know, like pretty. Pretty Eva. Beautiful Eva."

“Beautiful Eva," she replied. “Beauty. Beauty-iful." Her ear flicked. “Beautiful Ricky."

“I appreciate it, but I'm handsome. Or, I hope so. Not like I can really judge myself on that front."

Eva merely stared.

“Handsome Ricky," he said. “Beautiful Eva, handsome Ricky. Yes."

She again, offered no response. Eva had a cuteness about her when she didn't quite understand something. A sort of puppy dog look that was unmatched, even with her bony exterior.

“We can leave that one for later. I'm sure you'll figure it out. For now, we've gotta figure out how to gently let Lilli in on this." He sat up, looking out of the room. Eva copied him, reminding him how tall she was. “I think you'd spook just about anyone seeing you for the first time." He tilted his head, and of course, she followed. “Maybe just show a picture or two of you first. Whet her appetite."

“Picture it'll last longer," she said.

“It'd go a long way, wouldn't it?" Ricky looked to Eva.

It was sometimes easy to forget just how closely she followed the human form at times. A little too closely. Sure, she had a human shape, but with her more hunched over posture and digitigrade gait, it really did “other" her to a hefty degree. Certainly helped focus away attention from her bare chest and uncovered crotch.

“Take a picture it'll last longer," she said.

Amusement and a tinge of embarrassment hit Ricky. He gave an awkward laugh and looked away. In any case, it'd certainly look weird to anyone that he was keeping such a humanlike creature in his home. A female one. That constantly walked in the nude. Wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea. Not that… Ricky hadn't already crossed a few lines with Eva that he still struggled with. It would still be a better option for them to not think he was ogling her at every waking moment. He was a guy, after all.

“How's about we get you some clothes? Something loose, I guess," he said.

“Clothes." Eva looked to the screen. “Latest sale fashion clothes summer, winter, fall, spring. Clothes."

“Yeah, like when you put a couple of holes through my shirt, remember?"

She looked back to him. “Shhhhhhhirt."

Ricky nodded and moved to the closet. Best to give her a physical demonstration. He pulled out a shirt.

“Eva pretty. Ripply!" she said.

Immediately, she yanked it from his hands and scrambled through the thing. As expected, her horns hitched on the thing. Ricky raised his hands, wanting to help her, and yet worried he might accidentally catch a poking horn. She did manage to push through it, though.

“Looks like your experience from before paid off, huh?"

The shirt, a plain white thing, tightly hugged Eva's body, showing off her curves and musculature. The ring of fluff popped out of the collar, the cutesy look clashing with the sex appeal.

“Ripply!" she said.

Ricky pursed his lips. Rippling muscles? Is that what she meant? Or, what she took that word from? What had she been watching? His eyes clung to her form as much as that flimsy thing did to her body. It was too good at its job. If anything, it might've had the opposite effect. It just made it seem like he wanted to play dress up with his feminine monster.

“I don't think this is working. Maybe we should take that off of you."

Reaching out, Ricky grabbed at the hem of the shirt.

“No! Ripply! Pretty!" she said. Eva placed her hand over his and tugged on the thing, stretching it out. “Pretty! Pretty!"

“Eva, we'll get you something nicer."

“Pretty, Ripply." She turned around and pounced onto the bed. Eva pulled her body close together, bringing her into a fetal position, all the while nodding. “Pretty, pretty."

In the light cascading down onto her, Ricky could see how it even pressed against her nipples, outlining those dark nubs. Really, this was another problem of his own making, and as usual, he wanted to completely undo it. Ricky began to turn, then Eva zipped off the bed and stood in front of him again. His nerves flared. Jeez, she was fast.

“Ricky ripply," she said. “Yes, yes, yes."

“I'm not quite there yet, but…"

Eva dove into the closet and pulled out a brighter red shirt. She haphazardly placed it on his head, pulling downward with that strange gasping laugh.

“Wait a sec!" he said, barely managing to get the shirt over his head.

Despite his protests, Eva kept pulling. Ricky could only barely manage to push his arms into the proper holes and eventually popped his head through to the other side with a sigh of relief.

“Ripply, ripply!"

Eva brought her head over to his shoulder and gently nipped at it, tugging it while her hands tugged on other parts of it, straightening it out. She let out small squeaks and growls as she did. Once she was done with the strange ritual, she took a step back and began shifting her body around, examining Ricky.

As she looked, Ricky did more staring of his own. The shirt didn't exactly fit to her stretched, gangly body, leaving her abdomen bare and crotch on display. Those were always on display, but now the addition of a shirt drew the eye lower and made her bare form stand out proudly.

The examination grew closer. Eva practically wrapped her body around him as she went over him, rubbing up against him. Not far off from the motion of a cat marking a person, right down to the tail brushing across his hips, pressing against his form. Eva let out a low whispering chatter that grew in volume.

“Ricky, Ricky, fresh touch summer clean." Her tail snaked up to his neck, rubbing the fluffy end of it against him. “Skin, skin, ripply, ripply." Eva leaned over his shoulder opposite to her tail, pulling him back into her embrace.

“A little touchy today, huh?"

Ricky could only hope that any sort of skinship like this would be kept to a minimum during any sort of visit. He relaxed into her hug, enjoying her fine fur against his body. Perhaps a little too much. She was a comforting treat that no one else could get to enjoy. Truly, he was blessed. He settled a hand on hers as she nudged her head up against his.

How could he give up this? He couldn't. The imagined critics in his head could call him selfish as much as they wanted, he wasn't about to give up Eva to anyone anywhere. Ricky lightly tightened his grip on Eva's large hand. What if she enjoyed Lilli more than him if she came over? What if she actually wanted to go with Lilli when the time came? Who was he to stop her?

Lifting his other hand up, Ricky graced the bottom of Eva's neck. She let out a low growl that seeped through him, growing higher in pitch as his fingers slid forward to her bottom jaw. He could be selfish in that one regard, couldn't he?

“Slick, bounding, ripply! Skin. Skin. Moisture."

“Right. All of that sounds good," he replied. “Isn't there a movie we've gotta get back to?"

---

The next few days saw Ricky constantly contemplate how it was that he was both going to get Lilli to his house and also not freak her out with a mystery of nature. It'd definitely have to be under the pretense of helping an animal, right? But she'd probably find the whole thing suspect. The thought that luring her over was scummy was there, too, always reminding him how terrible it was that he was even considering it.

At that moment, he was sat in a customer's car, idly toying with its interior to make sure it was all in working order.

It was kind of like this was a terrible horror movie premise. Strange guy creeps on a girl, gaining her trust, all to bring her back home and offer her up to the monster that lived in his house. Ricky scoffed at himself, shaking his head.

“C'mon, keep your stupid head on straight," he said.

Could always just tell her the truth, right? Let Lillian take the reins on whether or not she wanted to go through with this. Ricky pursed his lips. As if she'd say yes. He braced his elbow on the door and propped up his head. What if they just had a casual hang out? Get to know her first. That way he could at least vaguely earn her trust.

That was sorta like… dating, right? Ricky narrowed his eyes, looking into Alonso's office in the distance. He was shuffling through papers with chipper motions that betrayed his more hardened features. That'd be an awkward situation. Alonso was dating Ms. Florence, and then it'd seem like Ricky was dating her protege, as if he was going after the scraps or something.

No, that'd be a weird situation all around. Ricky pictured asking Lillian over to his house with the promise of some sort of casual affair. He reflexively winced at the thought of her automatic rejection. The way her face might switch instantly, if only for the briefest of seconds, into a disdain. Then he'd blurt out some nonsense about it not being a date, further digging the hole to his damnation.

What did she even like, anyways? Ricky couldn't invite her over without even knowing what kind of person she was. Lilli was just chipper, right? A sort of bubbly that caught his attention more than he would wanna admit to himself. Only way to know was to ask, but how would he even justify turning up to the vet's office again? He rubbed his forehead.

“Alright, now you're trying to make up excuses for how to talk to a girl. Your life is officially over," he told himself.

Ricky finished up with the fiddling in the car and stepped out. He paused for a moment, staring at the oil-stained floor. Maybe he could say he wanted to ask about medication? He shook his head again.

“Having a little brain trouble there?" Alonso asked.

Ricky snapped to look up at his boss, who just slipped out of his office.

“Pretty weird way to greet someone," Ricky replied.

“Not when it comes to you."

“I'm fine."

“No, wait, let me take a guess." Alonso tapped his chin.

“Let's not--"

Alonso held up a hand. “Almost got it." He nodded. “This is either about your dog or a girl."

Ricky hated how it was actually both. “What gave you that idea?"

“What else you got going on in your life?" Alonso asked.

“Yeah, well, until the horse midwife came in, your life wasn't much different."

“Don't ever call her that again."

Ricky chuckled. “I thought you'd wanna know where those hands have been."

“Alright, alright, fine, what I wanted to say was, I'm all ears. If it's about the girl. Far as I'm concerned, you still shouldn't have gotten the dog."

“You've gone on a few dates and suddenly you're the master of all things feminine?" Ricky asked.

Alonso shrugged. “Better track record than what you've got going on."

“What's that mean?"

“I mean, in all the years you've been working here, I've never seen you talk to or about a girlfriend of yours."

Wasn't wrong, really. Ricky's brow still twitched all the same at the jab at his masculinity.

“Look, I'm just not in a position for one," Ricky said.

“C'mon, Ricky, the only reason a guy isn't in the market for a girl is if he's already got one or if he bats for the other team." Alonso raised a brow.

“Oh, don't look at me like that. I remember telling you I don't need someone to sap my wallet. Still true."

“It's a relationship, buddy, it goes two ways. You work together."

The twitch in Ricky's brow turned to a full furrow, with a slight turn of the head. “That's the last thing I expected to hear out of you. Where's the real Alonso? The one who talks about women's cans?"

“I can change, too, can't I?"

“In what, a few weeks of dating?"

“That's all you need when you're with a girl as good as her."

“I guess a vet really can work wonders with animals," Ricky replied.

Alonso huffed in amusement, shaking his head. “So do you actually have a girl in-mind or are you thinking about the dog?"

Ricky thought on the question longer than he wanted to. A girlfriend wasn't something he necessarily wanted. Sure, to some degree he always wanted a family, but he always ascribed it to some masculine urge to do so, not a true want. And now… Now his girlfriend was basically Eva. They had fallen into their strange habits that he refused to acknowledge. Though, whether for one reason or another, he had slowly accepted that Eva was capable of thought on his level, she just never had a reason to do so.

“Sure, I just wanted to be friends with a girl, but I don't know how to approach that casually," Ricky said.

“You're friendzoning a girl? You really are a trendsetter, you know that?"

“I doubt she'd be interested anyways. I'm interested in what she has to say on a few topics due to her field of research."

“What?"

“I need her expertise."

“All I'll say is, guys and girls can't 'just be friends,' alright?" Alonso replied.

“What happened to that changed Alonso from just a few seconds ago?"

“Just 'cause I've changed doesn't mean I got dumber in the process. Still have to keep your head on straight, even if you've gone through some life changing event."

“Ms. Florence is that big of a life changing event?"

“To me, she is." Alonso's expression softened.

The honesty caught Ricky off-guard. Having a partner that special, to crack at Alonso's shell, was an incredible feat.

“Well, I can only hope to be that lucky with a girl," Ricky replied.

---

“Ricky, Ricky, Ricky!" Eva said, pushing up against and towering over Ricky as soon as he opened the door.

“Happy to see you, too, Eva," he replied.

“Car. Car. National car."

“I know, I know, you wanna go to the park. Later in the day, though, OK? Can't have you spooking everything in the woods this early." He shut the garage door behind him. “I'd like at least a little bit of deniability if someone sees you."

Eva had on one of his discarded shirts he gave her to wear. The collar on it had begun to wear thin where she had jammed her head and horns against it. As much as Ricky realized it was a bad idea for her to go walking around in these skimpy shirts, he wasn't about to deny her a little bit of enjoyment. Though, his eyes tended to linger a little longer than usual when she fussed with it, teasing a look at her breasts. Steering his gaze away from her all-the-more-bare bottom was also harder.

“Maybe we should try getting you some shorts," Ricky said.

Immediately he pictured her in tight short-shorts, tail swishing about through a specially crafted hole. Ricky rubbed his eyes, pushing that vision from his mind.

“I'll bet you're hungry for something, too, huh?" he said. “Let's get you something nice."

Ricky moved to the kitchen and fixed up a quick chunk of meat on the stove. Of course, he had to nudge Eva back a few times as she snapped her mouth in anticipation. Once it was ready and cool, Eva took it into her hands and began tearing off chunks. With that settled, Ricky tried to distract himself with a more solitary and pleasurable task, something he could use his hands in. Videogames.

All the same, Eva followed after him, munching next to him as he fiddled with his expensive computer. Ricky opened up the platform all of his games were tied to and idly scrolled through it, occasionally looking back at Eva enjoying her meal.

“I'm guessing you're a 'blue rare' kind of girl, but I figure I should be on the safe side," he said.

Eva responded with another chomp and quiet hums and groans as she delighted in the feast.

“But I guess this one ain't bad either, huh?" he said with a smile.

After much mulling, Ricky decided on something horror related. Easiest way to get his thoughts off of everything that had been plaguing him as of late. He was hardly going to be reminded of his daily life when faced with the undead aboard a space station, right? The goriness started right up, and he sunk into the pleasing repetitive slaughter of clicking the undead into messy chunks.

Had to lower the volume, as well, so as to not startle Eva. Not that Ricky was sure anything could startle her of all people, but it was polite. She likely had better hearing than most. As usual, videogames seemed to charm her in a way that television usually didn't. Maybe she had gathered how it was interactive with her vague understanding of a keyboard and mouse and how those things influenced the screen.

Eva paced back and forth behind Ricky as he played, loudly munching away. Occasionally, she'd pick up a random sound from the game, crudely mocking it before getting it down to a fine point that would throw him off. Ricky chuckled and shook his head. Not like he could blame her, he was guilty of doing that very thing so many times.

Only, the problem got a little worse when she'd pick up on the habits of the undead. Human voices were already her forte. It was only a messy alteration from something human to the croaks, gasps, and groans of the reanimated corpses he cut through with industrial precision. Wasn't a big deal at first, she hadn't quite gotten it down pat, meaning Ricky pretty quickly picked out the inaccurate noises coming from the actual large monster behind him.

Then she started getting it real good. A grunt or growl usually sent Ricky spinning around to find the source in-game, only for Eva babble something and make him realize his mistake. At some point, she even found it funny, letting out a chitter when she managed to send him into a frenzy. She even made sure to space out each noise, letting whatever was actually on-screen have its turn menacing Ricky with its voice before she made her move.

“I swear, Eva, if you do this at night, I'm going to jump out of my skin. You don't want that, believe me. No more gourmet, uh…" Ricky looked back, noting the meat scraps on the ground. Eva met his gaze, running a tongue across her jaw. “Well, you're not gonna get meat seared like that out in the wild, let me tell you." He turned his attention back to the screen. “Maybe we should get you acquainted with the broom and dustpan. Actually, I should clean that up real quick."

Ricky got up, carefully stepped around the meat chunks, and grabbed the broom and its dustpan from the kitchen. A growl made his head swivel. Eva looked at him with a tilt of the head, almost as if saying, “What? I didn't do anything."

“If you keep doing it, I'm gonna get used to it. Really." One could pray to God that would be the case. Ricky got to work sweeping. “Or maybe we should acquaint you with plates a little better."

Eva opened her mouth to let out an agonized groan. Ricky quickly put a hand on her shoulder, wincing.

“Please, just not that one. No," he said.

She slowly closed her mouth shut again. A few clicks came from her, almost like she was thinking on it. Eventually she turned her attention back to the screen, propping herself up on his chair. She continued to mumble the other sounds she heard like a demented tape player.

“How come you don't mimic all the fun little songs and noises from the other games I play?" he asked, tossing out the scraps. Ricky shrugged. “Not sure I'd wanna hear them whistled in the dark either, but better than being screamed at by the unholy." He briefly wondered if space zombies would be considered truly unholy before discarding the thought. Ricky set the broom and dustpan aside, settling back into his chair. “I'll look on the bright side and at least it makes this a more tense experience." He looked up at her, gently scratching her neck.

Fortunately that little bit of affection caused her to lapse into her regular round of noises. Ricky realized those would be freaky to anyone else, but now they had just become a part of his daily routine that he looked forward to. Certainly, he could be thankful she hadn't looked like anything he saw on-screen now, otherwise making their fantastical connection would have a few more roadblocks. Well, she did have a distant passing resemblance to…

Ricky's hapless character stumbled into a room of large rectangular obstacles for any number of enemies to hide behind, but a familiar cry caught his attention. He wouldn't forget that. The roving pack of creatures that played a deadly game of hide and seek. Or maybe peekaboo. As if on cue, Eva made a complimentary chirp in return. Soon enough, there was a consistent back and forth. A conversation of creatures.

With enough skill, one could dispatch each creature before it made its deadly attack. Though, that did come with the caveat of Ricky realizing she was just as good at mimicking sounds played in slow motion as well. No matter, he had a grip on this now. Both the game and Eva's new penchant for the horrifying noises. He managed to dispatch them with a quick aim and his absurd memorization he gained after replaying the game so many times.

A shriek caught him off-guard, and one of the creatures plowed directly into him. Ricky huffed and immediately returned fire, managing to catch the damned thing before it could sprint out of sight. A few meaty stomps made sure it was dead. He sighed. Easily the worst part of the game. Well, barring--

That trilling shriek smashed into his right ear. Ricky's nerves flared as he nearly stumbled out of his chair, his body seizing up in fear. He stared down Eva, who looked to him curiously.

“Don't do that one either!" he said. Ricky hammered the pause key and relaxed back into his seat. “See? I told you. I nearly lost my skin on that." He placed a hand on his chest and took a deep breath.

The only upside to that was that she didn't hear it at full volume, meaning it didn't quite pierce through his skin and chill him to the bone. No, more of a mild heart attack than a true gripping fear. Ricky winced when she gently put a hand on him. Eva nearly retracted her hand, but placed the other one.

“Ricky! Ricky…" She pulled him into a hug. “Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. Eva! Eva." Her head nuzzled against his. “I'm so! I'm so… Did you hear that? What was that? I didn't hear anything. Open your ears."

Ricky's fear quickly wore off as he tried to imagine what she pulled that from, a smile growing across his face.

“How is it that you know how to say all the right things?" he asked. He patted back. “I'm fine, but like I said, you're a little too good at these."

“You're good, real good. Have you ever thought of going pro? Pro. Professional."

“Something like that," he replied.

Admittedly, it was a little less fun to hug her like this, with the shirt in the way. Eroticism aside, Ricky's more tame guilty pleasure had become her fluffy fur. He shifted his face into her neck, burying it in fluffiness, and her own unique smell..

“I'm here for you," she said. “Let it all out." More reassuring pats came his way.

It really seemed like she wasn't far from understanding words and their gestures. Ricky had half a mind to give her a random word to see what she'd come up with, but he was a little too preoccupied with the sudden comfort session. He looked up at her.

“You just promise not to do any of that stuff outside, alright? Promise me that," he said.

“I promise!" she replied.

Ricky let out an awkward chuckle. Eva laughed right back. If only he could actually hold her to that promise. It was bad enough in here. Imagine out there, in the dark, with only the faint silhouette of Eva cast against dead trees.

“Ricky!" she said.

Hard to think she could come across as devious. He looked back to the screen. Ricky figured he was done playing that for the day, or anything else for that matter. For a good week or two. He reached over to quit out of the game, before stopping himself. Wait, you can't save whenever you want in this one. He eyed Eva. Just a few more minutes, then. Maybe headphones would be best.

---

The rest of the day continued on. Eva would occasionally continue to make those unsettling noises, but lightly, and only when he wasn't looking. It was like she was measuring which ones were most annoying, or maybe he was putting too much thought into it. Being Eva, she could just as easily figured his quick glances and hurried words were amusing.

As much as he wasn't thrilled at the idea of Eva being set loose with those new sounds under her belt, Ricky helped her into the camper all the same.

“Car! Car! Out here! Out there!" she said excitedly, settling into the simple mattress inside. “Camper car! Car!"

“You be safe in there, OK?" he said.

“Safety first in there, OK?" she replied.

He had helped her into another shirt, and, oddly, she insisted on shorts as well. Not that she would let him fit them to her, so they were a little awkwardly worn. They sat a little low on her for the sake of her tail, which teased a hint at her rear end. It was truly befuddling how more clothes actually added to her desirable nature. Ricky gave her one last casual, innocent look, then shut the door tight and went on his way to his car.

Driving in the dark had also become another strangely appealing part of this new trend of theirs. As much as it was hard to appreciate nature in the pitch dark, he did love the near non-existent traffic and what glimpses he could catch of the wild, graced by the light of the moon. It got all the better when he neared the park and lightly cracked the window, allowing all the living sounds to seep into the cabin.

Ricky gently swerved around each winding corner to get to his and Eva's new home away from home. Just far enough from the other campers, but close enough not to completely lose his way if any worst case scenarios came to light. He turned off the engine and made his way back to the camper, gently opening the door.

Eva was already there, her hands gripping on the frame of the doorway and hopping up and down. She scampered down the steps and nudged up against Ricky before scampering off into the clearing. He watched her go with wild fervor, switching from various bestial gaits to something more human. Ricky sat down on the steps and sighed, allowing nature to tend to his nerves. Of course, he kept his eye on Eva, but that helped to ease him as well.

Originally, he held the slight fear that Eva might simply bolt out of sight, never to be seen again, but she always seemed to have the foresight to stay near him. Out of all of her behaviors, this was the only one he'd allow himself to explain so selfishly. Maybe she really did like him and staying with him. Right? Why else would she not simply sprint out into the wild when she had the chance? He smiled. Silly as it was, that was probably the best ego boost Ricky could ever get.

It was kinda funny watching Eva prance about in her clothes. Would that make her scarier to the outside observer? Or would they assume she was just some weirdo having a laugh at the expense of others? It wouldn't be until they saw her unique visage that they would find anything truly amiss, right? Ricky pursed his lips. He'd probably be terrified of anyone galloping toward him like that, human or not.

“Having fun, Eva?" he asked.

Eva turned mid-sprint, now barreling toward him. Even that gave him a bit of start. Eva stopped just in front of him. She leaned forward, bracing herself on the doorway, looking down at Ricky. He craned his neck to look up at her.

“Car, car, car. Ricky! Car!" she said. One hand of hers tugged at his shoulder. “Car, car, car!"

“Alright, OK, I'm getting up." Ricky stood up. “I'm guessing you don't mean that you wanna go home, huh?"

Eva took him by the hand and began excitedly hopping forward, back toward the forest. Their hands interlocked their fingers, keeping Ricky firmly in her grasp, which was good because it would've been nigh impossible to keep up with her anyways. He laughed, trying to keep up with her strange skipping as they ran in circles around the small area.

“You're right, this is pretty fun!" he said.

Eva only increased her speed, Ricky now stumbling alongside her. Her breathing became heavy and peppered with various grunts and deep laughs.

“I don't think I was really made for this!" Ricky said.

His only response was a stuttering laugh and another speed up. Ricky was practically being dragged along now, with his feet only barely making purchase every few seconds.

“Eva! Easy!" he said.

A misstep sent him off balance and toward the forest floor. His body tensed up, only to be swept back upward and into the air. The motion stopped, but the world continued to spin. Ricky shook his head, settling his vision somewhat. Eva stared up at him, snapping her jaws. She held him out in the air, hands underneath his shoulders.

“Ricky, Ricky, Ricky! Round and round! Car!" she said.

Before he could offer some sort of reply, Ricky was stuffed against her chest, face pressed up against her neck fluff. For the moment, he tried to ignore the two breasts pressed up against him. In vain, mostly. Not that he could hold all the blame. His other senses were still occupied with the wobbling world.

“I think there really is a thing as too much fun," he said.

Eva pulled Ricky away from her neck, then nudged her nose against his, adding a clack of the skull.

“Fun!" she said.

“Yeah, you were having quite the ball, huh?"

Maybe Eva wasn't harmless after all, if she could bring him to near nausea like this. He continued to blink, not daring to shake his head in the off chance she took that as a negative. Instead, he opted to place a hand to his head. Eva placed a hand on the opposite side, rubbing it. She whistled, ears flittering.

“Ricky?" she said.

“Don't mind me. You just went a little fast for me, is all. Like a rollercoaster. A very fuzzy one."

In a flash, Ricky was pressed back against her, smothering his senses again. She stomped back to the camper and stepped into it. Ricky could only tell from the way her heavy footfalls sounded in the small space. She gently set him on the bed, clacking all the way.

“Feel good. Feel good," she said. “Park a car. Yes."

Eva gently stroked his hair, which was oddly comforting. It should have been cute, or quirky, something she picked up from watching television and decided to perform on him. But it was tender, with a loving touch to it.

“I've gotta stop making so many assumptions, huh?" he said softly.

“Assump-tion. Assump. Stop."

The stroking continued on for a while longer until Eva suddenly stopped. She swung her leg over him, straddling his legs, then lay down on top of him. Ricky strained, adjusting to her weight. There was barely enough room for him to peek out over her shoulder. Her face pointed away from him, preventing it from digging into his face. The small bed got a little smaller.

“You know, I haven't tried out this mattress." He shifted, trying to get a scrap more of comfort. No use. “Probably, uhm, better for one guy, huh? We should get an RV some day. Then we can really travel. Would you like that?" Enrique moved a hand to her back, gently stroking her.

Eva moved to the side, allowing her to turn her head toward him.

“I'd love it!" she replied. “Park a bed. Park on a bed, Ricky." She let out a low groan. “Bed a ripply. Ricky." Eva raised off of him, propping herself up with an elbow. Another one of her hands picked up at the hem of her shirt, daring to reveal a breast. “Ripply, ripply."

Ricky's ears immediately started to burn. He nearly protested, but the proximity, the darkness, her soft breath. All of it was working against his better judgment. He could only just barely see her body with what light that filtered in from outside. Her breathing picked up as her shirt neared her nipple.

“Ricky," she said, nipping at his neck. The simple word sent a hot breath into his nape.

Goosebumps erupted across his skin, bringing with it a delightful tingle he just couldn't ignore.

“You don't really wanna do this here, do you?" he asked. Moreso for himself than her.

“Yes," she replied.

Ricky swallowed. She knew what she was doing. Eva pulled her shirt over her breasts, lightly chuckling in the process. To her, it was likely that any subtle sound or movement he made was as bright as a firework. That included any change in his breathing, or, as her traveling hand likely found, the hammer of his heart.

It was sometimes hard to remember that Eva wasn't simply idly there. She was always watching every motion and action. Her mind picking out and trying to deduce cause and effect. Precisely as she did with words, trying any mixture she could to get the right result. In this case, a small tease to get to his own lust.

The low whine coming from Eva grew to a heavy breath. Her hips lightly ground against him, her posture straightening up to look down at him. The new angle was a firm reminder of just how poorly those tight shorts fit, teasing the gentle slope that led toward her groin. The top button had gone untouched, further begging for a look inside. Begging to be fully undone.

Eva leaned down, pressing her huffing nose against Ricky's neck. Her chest lay on his own, bare softness waiting for his touch. A tongue darted out, licking his skin. Ricky sighed. His mind was running out of excuses as to why this shouldn't happen. Only the vague uncertainty that it didn't feel right, which was a fleeting thought disappearing into the depth of his mind. Ricky swallowed and brought a hand up to her stomach, slowly sliding it upward. Eva raised her torso, allowing him to cup a breast, letting out a low, guttural groan as his fingers sunk into her.

“Ricky, Ricky, Ricky," she muttered. “Ripply sleep."

The huffing grew heavier. Eva's own hand landed on Ricky's hips, nails teasing around the band of his pants. Goosebumps spread across his skin, his member stirring at the touch, desiring more.

“Ripply," she said again. “Ripply, ripply."

She wanted this. He wanted this. Ricky shut his eyes and let out a low sigh. His free hand moved to his trousers, slowly unbuttoning and unzipping them. There was supposed to be some sort of pullback in his mind, but it wasn't there. Once it was undone, Eva immediately tugged his pants and underwear down, helped along by some shifting from him. His engorging length was exposed to the cool air. It took mere seconds for Eva to wriggle out of her own shorts, letting them drop to the ground. She lowered back down onto him, abdomen pressing against his erection. Eva was so warm and soft. It was hard not to press back, feeling her form against his bare body. He wanted her.

Suddenly, Eva braced herself on the bed, hands on either side of Ricky, looking down at him. Her hips ground against him, a sort of animalistic humping mixed with a crude attempt at being sensual. Ricky let out a low sigh, body nearly trembling at the thought of what might play out. A small sense of doubt held him back, but it wasn't enough to stop his hands from moving up her thighs and onto her hips. One of his hands splayed out on her abdomen. Eva let out a yelp, but didn't move. Ricky's hand traveled lower and lower, bumping into her clitoris. Her hips jerked against him, adding a dab of her wetness to his finger. His own erection nearly jumped in response. Eva's head craned further down, looking at their bodies nearly touching. She snapped back up to him.

“Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Ricky," she said. She added another grind of the hips.

Eva knew what she wanted, but he had to make sure. The last barrier of guilt.

“Do you want this?" he asked softly.

“Yes!"

All that he needed to hear. A simple, perhaps misguided word to soothe his worried thoughts. Ricky was free from his woes.

Ricky took a deep breath, then grabbed at his erection. He pressed the pulsing head against her entrance. Eva let out a low purr, back arching and hips coming down on him, bringing his length into her. The pair hissed. Immediately, his mind latched on to the warmth and tightness he plunged into. Ricky moaned. All that worrying and fretting had finally built up to the relief he had been denying himself so long. His hips pushed up further in, completely embedding himself deep within Eva's folds. Her tail loudly slapped against the bed and she let out a few shaky barks.

The pair remained there for a few moments. Ricky couldn't exactly contemplate what was going through Eva's mind. The thought of being deep inside a creature as beautiful as her was a deep taboo that continuously rattled inside his mind. That forbidden lust only added to the plucking of his nerves as Eva seemed to lightly squeeze around his member.

It was Eva who made the first move, gyrating on top of Ricky. Her movements were jerky, excited. She didn't sit her entire weight on top of him, but he could still feel just how massive she was all the same. This powerful creature – woman, chose to lay with him. Working up his fortitude, Enrique chanced a squeeze of her thighs. Eva let out a few chuckling groans. She lay a hand on his, rubbing it.

Ricky's eyes had begun to adjust to the dark, further allowing him to adore Eva's form. Her nearly golden visage stared down at him, head cocked at a strange angle as if one eye was scrutinizing him. He ran a hand up her chest, fingers sinking into her wonderful layer of fur. Her movements slowed, body pushing against his touch. Eva followed the same movements on his chest, sharp claws dancing along sensitive skin. A dangerous game, but he knew she wouldn't dare hurt him. They shared this moment as strange lovers.

Slowly, Eva began to raise her hips. Ricky groaned, eyes shutting at the sensation of her lips running across his engorged member like that. She teased her entrance all the way up to the edge of his glans before gliding back down, hilting him again. An added wiggle of the hips drew another gasp out of him, which Eva seemed to excitedly nod at. She knew exactly how to tease, but perhaps at this point, anything would have tantalized Ricky. He certainly couldn't resist pressing his hips against her, a desperate need to draw out more of the pleasure he craved.

A slow bounce began to form from Eva's teasing, hopping up and down on Ricky's manhood. She snapped her jaws and began to huff with every slap down onto his hips. Ricky did much of the same, little grunts escaping his mouth every time she came down. It took a considerable amount of effort to hold back the moans threatening to flow from him. All an effort to remain calm and enjoy this moment for as long as he could.

Eva herself was wildly enjoying it. One leg had hung off the side of the minuscule bed. She reached up to brace herself on the ceiling of the small camper, allowing her to push down a little harder. The whole thing slowly swung along with her bouncing. It became all the harder for Ricky to hang on. Usually he might get away with distracting himself for a brief moment, but that was impossible now. All of his senses were consumed, intent on taking in all that Eva had to offer.

The loud clap of their bodies, the creak of the mattress, the smell of sex on the air, the pleasure jolting through Ricky, the touch of Eva's fur. All of these things compounded on one another. Ricky would remind himself of what he was doing, making love to such a mysterious woman, and the taboo delight would spark all over again.

The raucous bouncing slowed to a simple grinding of the hips again. Eva looked down at Ricky, huffing. Hot breaths blew down on him, nearly enveloping his entire body. Enrique's mind was steeped in a haze. He was aware of the situation, mostly, but in that moment, only felt a raw disappointment that the pleasure had stopped. She reached down and grabbed at his shirt, pulling him back with her, coming to a prompt stop. It took Eva for a second to realize her movements wouldn't work with her position.

Fortunately, Ricky was cohesive enough to pull his legs out from under her, now resting on his knees. He did have to pull free of her depths, much to his chagrin. With that settled, Eva gave an excited nod and leaned back fully, pressing up against the side of the camper. Her hand tugged on his shirt, urging him on with another yelp.

Ricky eased forward, settling into her spread legs. The copious amounts of lubrication allowed him to easily slide in, pressing his hips all the way against her. He grabbed at her thighs for balance.

“Oh, fuck," he moaned.

“Fuck," Eva cooed back.

Ricky melted further into her, face pressing up against her chest. He worked up into a steady stream of thrusts. Eva riding him was a treat, to be sure, but to take her himself, to indulge in the bestial urge to indulge in raw thrusting, was a bliss he hadn't expected to be so good. From this position, Ricky could hear all of her sounds through her powerful lungs as he pressed against her chest.

Through the haze, Ricky realized this might've been a little too one-way. No doubt, Eva seemed to delight in his arousal, but she needed something more, too. He slid a hand from her leg, over her thighs, and neared her groin. It was warm and wet, fur made slick with their hasty lovemaking. Ricky could hear her breath pick up as his hand edged closer to her folds, spiking when his finger bumped against her clitoris.

“Fuck!" Eva said.

The walls that clung to Ricky's member briefly tightened to that. He wanted to please her, certainly, but he also wanted that brief taste of more tightness. Ricky continued to prod and press at Eva's clit, whenever he could muster the energy or the consciousness to do so. He often found himself losing himself in the repetitive thrusts, primally building toward an orgasm he so desperately wanted and so acutely wanted to escape.

At some point, Eva had wrapped her legs around him, slowly restricting Ricky's hips. Not that he could care. All the pleasure he could gorge on was at his fingertips, continuously sinking him deeper and deeper into a haze he sought no escape from. The very end was near, and he could scarcely stave it off any longer.

With a grunt, Ricky pressed his length as far as it would go. He trembled as the first shot of hot semen spilled into Eva's waiting body. She let out stuttering groan, legs bound tightly around him now. Ricky's body tensed as the next rope fired, panting. He shoved his face into her fluffy fur and wrapped his arms around her, vainly humping her as the final load dribbled down into her. Eva let out a squeal that lowered into a growl, walls twitching around him.

The two lay limp, gasping. Not a single thought crossed Ricky's mind for a few seconds. The bliss had gently settled onto his body, relaxing into his larger partner. Eva. Her name pulsed in his head. They were partners now. Eva and Ricky. Lifting up his head, Ricky looked to Eva. She stared back, head tilted down. The angle almost made it look as though she had a devious smile to her. Ricky smiled at her and lay his head back down, petting her backside as he lay. She returned the favor, petting his head.

At some point, Ricky pulled his softening manhood out of Eva. He didn't realize just how cold it was outside of her. There was a slight soreness to him, meaning he likely overdid it. Ricky quietly chastised himself for his overindulgence, but at the same time, another part of his mind screamed in joy. Whether or not this was the right thing to do, they had crossed the line. Finally. Perhaps crossed was too mundane. They smashed right through whatever barrier held him back, and they both loved it. Or at least, Enrique hope she loved it. He sighed. Of course she did. They wouldn't be held in this embrace if she didn't. His grip tightened on her.

A dizzying thought hit him. A sense of admiration. Love. His lips briefly parted, wanting to say those words, but he fell silent. Eva shifted her hips downward, letting her rest her head next to his. Ricky's hands slid across her body, lightly petting her. He could appreciate her with those movements if nothing else. She shifted more to his side, allowing her to lay her head next to his.

Those touches helped calm his hammering heart, even if just a little bit. Ricky reminded himself of just how blessed he was to have her. To be able to enjoy this intimacy with a special woman. To have her enjoy his presence, no matter how mundane.

Eva herself continued to stare at Ricky. He would occasionally return the gaze, giving her a smile. She would clack her jaws back at him. It was good just to lay there, basking in their messy afterglow. With her nude body so close, his thoughts would rile up all over again. Her leg had draped over his groin, idly rubbing against it. There was still a touch of soreness, but it made his slick member stir again.

While Ricky's breaths managed to slow to a more steady pace, Eva's breathing grew more ragged with every minute. Her ears perked up again, nose pressing against his neck. She gave a few heavy huffs, exciting his skin with warmth.

“Ricky," she mumbled. Her tongue darted at his neck, tail rising and smacking down on the mattress. “Ricky, Ricky."

Before Enrique could ask, Eva was up again, straddling his waist. In what little light there was, he could see his seed glimmer at her groin. His cock twitched. She sat him upright, then turned around, ass on full display. Eva swung her tail from side to side in tandem with her hips, begging for him all over again. She wanted more. Ricky's body automatically shifted him onto his knees, cock quickly rising back to attention.

Was he really going to do this again? So soon?

Ricky shuffled forward, pressing the tip of his erection against her entrance. Eva cooed, looking back at him. He swallowed and eased into her all over again.

Their sexual exploits continued one after the other. Some more primal positions, just the easiest way to allow a man and a woman to breed. Others were more blatantly thought out by Eva, mimicking certain positions she wouldn't have known about without the computer. Riding his lap from a sitting position, standing up against the walls, even with her legs split wide, one draped over his shoulder. And several more. It added a taboo edge to it all. She was trying to enjoy all that she could, perhaps even trying to impress Ricky.

Orgasm after orgasm racked the both of them. At some point, Ricky was entirely spent. His body still provided the flood of delight once he reached a peak, but a shot of pleasure deep into Eva didn't follow. Neither cared. Ricky had mostly lost himself in the pleasure of it all, relishing in the line they had long since passed. Eva would still ravish him as much as she wanted, seemingly growing in vigor with each round of sex.

It wasn't until hours later where fatigue had finally set in and Ricky found himself limply laying there. His muscles ached, his eyes burned, but an all encompassing feeling of comfort wrapped around him. That was compounded with Eva wrapping him tightly against her bosom. They had long since foregone their clothes, so he could immerse himself entirely in her soft fur, nearly losing himself to sleep.

Ricky blinked, noticing a beam of light pushing up against his tired eyes. He shifted his head to get a better look. The sun was peeking over the horizon, light filtering through the foliage and shining upon the small camper. His eyes widened. Had they really been going at it for so long? Despite the weariness set on his body, it hardly felt all that long. He tightly shut his eyes for a moment.

“Eva, we've gotta get going," he said.

She tightened her grip briefly and let out a low whine.

“I'm sorry, but it's morning and… you know." He lightly tugged away from her. “Can't have someone finding us like this."

Eva eventually relented, letting Ricky roll up and out of bed. She curled up on the small mattress, draping an arm over her eyes. He pulled out a blanket from one of the cabinets and draped it over her. She gave an accepting mewl and grumbled something. He groggily wriggled back into his clothes and stumbled back out into the world, shutting the door behind him. Thank God nobody rolled on by when they were going at it.

After a few stretches and several eye rubs, Ricky slunk back into his car and made the slow drive back home. His head was pounding, contrasting weirdly with how satisfied he felt. There was, of course, the lingering guilt that sat squarely in the back of his head, judging him. But, somehow, he felt like it would all work itself out. Whatever guilt he was feeling was easily blocked out by remembering Eva's form embracing his own.

It was possible that… Eva might want to do this again. A lot. Ricky shook his head, trying to calm his battered heart. He enjoyed himself. A lot. But the last thing he wanted to do was have it become a more physical thing, something they did out of pure lust. He furrowed his brow, realizing what he had thought.

Then, he wanted it to be a sort of romance? Ricky chuckled at the thought of trying to romance Eva. What would that look like? Did she even have a concept of romance? Surely she did. At least some sort of close connection that bound them together. Eva was a smart woman, she could even learn it, if she didn't understand it already.

Strange to think he would be OK with spending out the rest of his life with Eva. He had to admit to himself some amount of that had to be lust talking. Ricky relaxed into the seat, watching the early sunlight bounce off the trees. But he wouldn't ever want to let her go, and he hoped that she thought the very same.

That moment in bed came back to him. I love you. He couldn't say those words. Why not? Was there truly some sort of hook that prevented those words from passing his lips? Ricky felt awkward just thinking about them. Not like he had often dared to share such intimate words with anyone else.

It's not like had Eva had many choices when it came to someone she loved, right? Ricky was lucky she stumbled into his home of all people. Though, at the same time, he supposed she was lucky in the same vein. Not too many people would have taken her appearance well, certainly not in the middle of the night. And as he had already told himself, it wasn't as though she was being held against her will. Eva was more than capable of leaving if she wanted to, calmly or violently.

Just another bump on their strange path together, he supposed.

---

Back at home, Eva had slunk from the camper and eased into bed with a pleased hum. Ricky lay down next to her, lapsing in and out of sleep. Occasionally, in those brief moments of wake, he had told himself what had happened was all a dream, but then reality came seeping back in just as he drifted off to sleep again.

With every awakening, Ricky became more and more lucid, thoughts returning to his love of Eva. His eyes drifted to her. At that moment, she had grabbed a pillow and held it tightly against her chest, head resting on it. What would loving her mean, exactly? Ricky already took care of her physical needs, and in that way, he felt like sort of a glorified pet owner. He pulled the sheets over himself.

But it was clear she needed some sort of emotional connection to Ricky as well. There was no need for her to chatter back at him or try and make sense of his words. She could mimic things quite well, probably for the sake of catching prey. Not like she really needed to do that here, when she was fed whenever she needed to be. Whatever sounds she made otherwise were far more guttural, bestial, likely how she communicated with the rest of her kind, wherever they may be.

Certainly, then, any of Eva's words were purely directed at Ricky as an attempt to connect with him directly. Each time he spoke with her, she was picking up each word and trying to dissect it. Same with gestures and movements… and sexual positions. But as always, Enrique knew he was putting too much of a human mindset in his observations. It could have been a mental compulsion for her to make those sounds, or she might have simply found them amusing to repeat.

What did it really matter, anyways? If they were happy together, then that should've been the end of it, right? Ricky shut his eyes. Still, somehow admitting his love for her would feel odd. Some part of him was still holding back. Perhaps the last bastion of his reservations. Lust had pushed back everything else, but it wouldn't let the one final line of morality falter, the commitment to another person.

This process of self-doubt and sleep continued for a while longer until Eva nudged Ricky back awake. She stared down at him.

“Ricky? Ricky gets a rise. Sleepyhead!" she said.

“Morning to you, too," he said. “Uh, probably not morning, but you know. Close enough for us, I suppose."

“Eggs and bacon. To your local store."

“You'll probably need something bigger than that for breakfast." He pursed his lips, thinking back to last night, or early morning, or whenever the hell it was. “We should probably get you in the shower, though." Ricky's brow furrowed. “And me, too, to be honest."

Eva perked up at that word, shower. She stuck out her tongue and licked her arm. Ricky was about to chastise her and tell her that wasn't enough. Then he realized she must have licked up some of his… Ricky's heart pumped faster.

“Bright and lustrous all day," she said.

“I know you clean yourself up, but still, we should get you washed off, alright?" Ricky sat up and moved over to the door. He gestured for her to follow.

“No," she replied.

“C'mon, Eva, pretty please? Last night was… you know." He shrugged. “Something to clean up after."

As usual, Eva's staring contained no judgment, but it still felt embarrassing to be underneath her gaze after remembering what they had done.

“Just a quick shower, please? It'll make me feel better," he said.

Eva tilted her head then scampered off the bed. Ricky moved into the hallway and then the bathroom, with Eva close behind. He turned on the shower and made it lightly warm. Ricky stuck his hand into the water and Eva copied him.

They had gone through this routine several times in the months Eva was living with Ricky. It had been somewhat of a struggle to get her to get used to the idea of water splashing down on her, but she quickly warmed up to it. He looked to her hand and how it twisted and turned as he did. Now it seemed like it was a coinflip whether or not she loved or hated it.

“Alright, I think that's good, hop on in."

“Hop, hop, hop, hop," Eva said as she stepped into the shower, easing under the warm flow of water. She let out a few clicks and nodded in tandem. Then she plopped down onto the floor of the tub. She seemed so large in it, only adding to the cutesy silliness.

Ricky chuckled and shook his head. He knelt down next to her and began working his hands across her body, letting water sink into her fur.

“Hop on in, the water's fine," she said.

“I appreciate the offer, but I'll take my own shower later, alright? My tub's a little too small for the both of us."

Through little twists of the body and neck, Ricky could tell Eva was in one of her better moods for a shower. Or maybe she just had a newfound appreciation for being touched. Ricky quietly chastised himself. In a way, it felt like he had to talk with her about it, ask her how she felt. As intelligent as she was, he wasn't sure she was really capable of grasping, or expressing that just yet.

Nonetheless, it was important, wasn't it? If he wanted something more with her, he'd have to ask her. Who was to say she even wanted anything more? Maybe if not romance, just the physical aspects of Ricky's existence made her happy. As he had thought many times before, it all came down to food, shelter, and comfort. Was there anything wrong with that, really? Not really. Not for her. If they were going to try and be an item, however, Ricky hoped that he could base their relationship on something more.

There had to be some sort of anchor of mutual desire between them. It couldn't just be that Ricky was a good caretaker, he wanted her to be truly happy with him. In a way, that seemed selfish. Ricky ran a hand down her back, further running water through her coat. He just couldn't be happy with what he had. Always had to have more. More love. More romance. More attention.

“I'm not too greedy, am I?" he asked.

Eva looked to him, ears flittering. Maybe this was all for naught. Ricky was begging for too much. He had an incredible woman in his grasp, who wanted to live with him with no questions asked. There was no telling if she would ever wrap her head around this world. Almost a damnation if she could. Ignorance was bliss, and he was trampling all over that innocence, chasing after an impossible romantic dream.

“Look at me, getting all worked up over nothing." He moved his hand underneath her chin, both to wash and to gently pet her. “I go from wanting to get you to the vet to thinking about how we should be boyfriend and girlfriend. Weird, huh?"

“Weird, huh? I've seen weirder," she replied.

“Oh, believe me, you haven't." He chuckled. “Not every day you get a guy thinking about how he should date his lady from the woods. What about you? What do you need from a guy?"

No answer came from Eva, instead she pressed against his rubbing hand. For that brief moment, he desperately wished that was her answer. He gave a soft smile. Just accept what you've got, alright? Ricky added a small dab of shampoo to his hands, rubbing it into her. She stuck out her tongue.

“Yeah, I know, but you're not supposed to eat the stuff. Found that out the first few times, didn't you?" he said. “We'll get it all washed out."

Yeah, it should've been nice enough that he could do all these things for her. How many other people got the same honor?

“You know, when I get older, you're going to have to start doing this for me, alright?" he said. “And you'll have to carry me everywhere, too. I don't do wheelchairs, or walkers, or even electronic scooters." Ricky shrugged. “Alright, maybe I'll do scooters if I can work on them."

“Ricky is how many years old today? Time flies, doesn't it?" she said.

“Sure does. Before you know it, I'll be an old man, so you better cherish me, too, alright?" Ricky shrugged. “You, though, I bet you've got hundreds of years ahead of you."

Eva shrugged back.

“Yeah, you wouldn't know, I guess. Not like I've got any idea how many years I've got left on the clock."

That would be round about the point where Ricky would wonder what he's doing with his life, but it didn't come. Yeah, he had Eva, after all. He was putting his efforts toward something meaningful. Aside from work or play, he was taking care of a potentially endangered species. Something like that.

Ricky ran his hands all over her, scrubbing in the shampoo. It made him feel just a tiny bit better about himself every time those soapy bubbles washed away. Didn't exactly make his conscience clean, but physically wiping away the evidence did make him feel at least slightly bit better. Eva, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Just another casual day in her life with her caretaker.

Thoughts began to wander off again, and Ricky wondered just how much sex actually meant to one of her species. Was it as casual as a rabbit fling? Or was this something deeper, like what wolves might do? Ricky's hand slowed as he scrubbed. Was she… perhaps expecting to gain some children out of this? There had been many amusing stories of animals trying to woo humans for whatever reason, was Eva any different? Perhaps that's even what led her to him. She was looking for a mate.

Suddenly, Eva looked to him directly, eyes locking onto his. Ricky froze for a moment, guilt creeping up over him.

“You can't read minds, can you?" he asked with an awkward smile. “I guess I wouldn't be too surprised if you could, but you probably woulda teased me a lot more if you were."

Rather than say anything, Eva leaned forward and began gently licking him, adding cute little grunts with each pass of the tongue. Ricky chuckled.

“I appreciate it, really, but I'll take my own shower, OK? Humans don't do too well with lady slobber all over them." Ricky gently nudged away her muzzle, and she seemed to eventually get the idea. “This is your time, OK?"

“My time to shine."

“Exactly."

And how. Ricky's mind always meandered back to their little rendezvous. Not little. He couldn't even downplay it. Lust had entirely taken hold of him and he didn't struggle. Nor did she. They had fully enjoyed themselves past any sort of reasonable excuse of being caught in the moment. There was no explaining away or apologizing for any of that. Ricky had simply wanted her, and she obliged in-turn.

The shower continued smoothly enough, and before long, Eva was back upright, with Ricky drying her up. Should really get her a nice brush, too. Something that could run through her hair easily. Ricky continued to dry her until she nudged away the towel and began licking herself dry.

“Alright, OK, you can dry up yourself, but can we at least go to the bedroom, Eva?" He motioned over to the door. “Gives you a little more space."

Eva stopped mid-lick and stood up. Ricky's eyes followed her from his sitting position. There was a sense of awe, then a touch of arousal as she peered over her breasts down at him. He stood to attention and led her into the bedroom, where he spread out a fresh towel over her side of the bed. Eva immediately snuggled into it and began licking again. Enrique set the towel he was using earlier aside, just in-case he could sneak in a few more drying rubs here and there.

In all senses, Eva and Ricky were essentially partners now. She lived with him, had her own spot on his bed, they shared several moments of intimacy, and were always around for one another. So, why did it seem so hard to commit to her? If she can grapple with all of those, surely she could comprehend something romantic. Though, with some of her more animalistic behaviors, Ricky had to chastise himself for even considering it. That's what you would be spending the rest of your life with.

But, was there anything really wrong with that? If she could understand him and be there for him, that's all that Enrique really needed. During his staring, Eva had stopped and returned his gaze, sitting upright properly and turning her body to better face him. Ricky looked away and grabbed the TV remote control. Eva crawled over to him and rested her chin on his shoulder, giving him a huff.

“Don't mind me, just beating myself up," he said.

Eva sat up again and gently pushed his head to look at her. “Ricky?"

“Like I said, don't worry about it." He cast his eyes away.

“Ricky."

Enrique looked at her. Somehow, it hurt to do so. Might as well tell her. She either understands or she doesn't.

“See, I've got this brain problem." He smiled, then quickly snuffed it out. “I want to say it. I love you, but I'm not sure if it's there or not. Maybe I'm just blinded by all the… y'know. What we did last night. It's stupid to get hung up on, I know."

Eva said nothing, but her head slightly shifted as she listened. Her tail remained static on the bed.

“I just want to say, you make me happy, Eva. Not sure I could describe just how much I love having you here." He pinched at the sheets next to him, rubbing them between his fingers. “My funny, lovable girl. I want you to know I'd do anything for you, alright?"

“Ricky," she replied.

Enrique pursed his lips. She might've understood there was some gravity to his words, but probably only through his tone. Already, he was wondering how he might convey it another way.

“Eva-Ricky," she started, “in a hold touch." She clasped her hands, squeezing them together. “Park now. Tomorrow always and forever." Eva's jaws clacked. “Ripply touching, Ricky. Hold me like this." She pulled him into a hug. “Ricky! I won't let go. Do you hear me? Anything for you, alright?"

It took a moment of parsing for Ricky to settle those words together to form something coherent in his mind. His heart hammered as his eyes widened.

Simple, scattered words that meant so much to him. Enrique tightened his grip on her. He could scarcely work up the energy to cast doubt upon them.

“I love you," he said.

“I love you," she replied.

Enrique couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. There she was, repeating words again, plucking on his heart with ease. Innocence and ignorance came with Eva's every word, but something told Ricky that the strumming was genuine this time. Perhaps he had just been consumed by denial at this point. He wasn't about to entertain that thought.

The two pulled away, brought back into another comfortable gaze between them. Eva bowed her head slightly, which almost looked like a shy gaze. It was cute to think that she could be embarrassed over some sort of admittance of love.

“He's always staring at me," she said. “Do I have something on my face?"

Too cute to pass up. Enrique reached forward and gently pat her head. Eva mewled and pressed back against it.

“Alright, let's get back to drying you. Don't want you to get too cold, alright?" he said. Enrique reached out with the other towel, scooting over to her, and began patting her down again. “Towel's gotta feel nicer than your tongue, I bet."

Eva's shy gaze flipped upward, now eyeing down at him She leaned over and pushed her side into him, nudging him onto his back and shifting her weight onto him.

“No," she said.

However, despite that, Eva let him continue to gently rub the towel across her body, shifting and stretching to let Ricky get every part of her dried up. Once he was done, or more accurately, once she seemed tired of it, Eva grabbed the towel and threw it aside, snuggling up to him and leaning more of her heft on him. It was a comforting weight. Sometimes he just needed to be reminded that Eva was with him. Ricky idly stroked her neck, staring off into the distance as his mind ran over her words again and again. It felt like the start of something great.

Strange to think that some jumbled words were all that were needed to settle Ricky's worried mind. But if she was able to get her thoughts out in something vaguely coherent, she could only go up from here, right?

“Eventually we'll be talking about philosophy. Then you can tell me all about your worldview," he said. “I bet the human world is super weird compared to living out in the forest, huh?"

“The beautiful forest canopy hides many wonders away from prying human eyes," she said.

“I'll bet." He wondered what documentary she heard that in. “You know, maybe some day I can get a better paying job and we can move out there. In the middle of nowhere. Just the two of us." Ricky realized he was sounding a bit like a hopeless romantic, but he could share that little embarrassing tidbit with her, surely. “It would give me another reason to go outside for sure."

Ricky relaxed further into the pillow. That would be nice. Seeing her enjoy the wilds without fear of approach or worry. He wondered if he could get into that kind of life. Somewhere distant, away from all the hustle and bustle. That city life, while annoying at times, did keep him somewhat sane. He looked back to Eva. She was good enough for that, anyways.

Naturally, thoughts of home life came flowing in. Ricky pictured Eva wearing some kind of motherly getup, working away at the stove. He smiled to himself. Not impossible, but probably not the kind of thing she'd enjoy stomping around in. Though she had already proven that she could don any sort of clothing and look charming.

“I don't expect any home cooked meals from you, but I wouldn't mind seeing you in an apron," he said.

“Seeing you in a… Put some clothes on," she replied. Then she let out a gasping laugh.

Ricky furrowed his brow but chuckled all the same. The fact that she was able to fashion some words into something intelligible certainly implied she was putting more than a little bit of thought behind what she said. Anything now held a heavier meaning than simple repetition. Rather than a simple call and answer that one might see in the wild, she could have been formulating her words carefully. Or she had only just begun doing that.

“You know, even if some scientist got their hands on you – they never will – but if they did, they still wouldn't even be able to figure you out," he said.

Eva looked back up at him, then straight forward again. She snuggled further back against him, head now next to his. Ricky rested his head on hers, and she let out a low sigh. Yeah, there was no doubt about it, through all the tedium life had brought him, he had somehow been blessed in the end. He eased his muscles and closed his eyes.

---

A hissing hit Ricky's ears and his eyes popped open. There was a disappointing lack of warmth and weight on his chest. Glancing around the room yielded no sight of Eva. He stumbled out of bed and toward the sound of the hissing, finding Eva over the stove, pan in one hand and prodding spatula in the other. Bacon was sizzling on the pan, immediately hitting Ricky with a pang of hunger.

“Eva?" he said, locking eyes with her.

“Ricky. Tasty, tasty. Yes, yes, yes." She tapped the spatula on the side of the pan.

Ricky opened his mouth to warn her, but she seemed to be holding her own fairly well. He looked over at the counter, finding a bacon package torn open with blatant teeth marks. The implication was worrying, but considering how much he was indulging in her body, that was the least of his worries. Consider it an indirect kiss.

“Uh." He approached her, scratching his neck. “Are you alright? Didn't hurt yourself, right?"

No response from Eva, aside from more prodding of the bacon and tapping against the pan. She seemed to be in good spirits, so no reason to assume she had messed up yet.

“Watched me enough to figure the whole thing out, huh?" he asked.

“Huh? Huh? Huh?" Eva repeated.

“Now I know you're being smug," he replied with a chuckle. “I guess it was only a matter'a time but…"

Worry still wormed around in his skin. Ricky supposed if she was going to be following human sensibilities and discussions, she'd have to do more human things as well, and that included cooking. Or maybe his mention of a homecooked meal kicked off this sudden activity? That'd be another dollop of proof that she was understanding what he said. Or maybe she just thought it would be nice to surprise him with food. Hard choice, both were wonderful.

Ricky stared a while longer before he realized how awkward it was for him to just stand there. He nodded and ambled over to the couch, all the while giving worried glances back at Eva to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself.

Just when Ricky was able to relax into the couch, Eva opened the fridge and pulled out some eggs. She crushed two of them in her hand and let the yolk dribble out into the pan. Enrique winced.

“Eva?" he asked.

Eva's head swiveled back to look at him, nearly 180 degrees. Bits of egg shell and runny yolk continued to drop into the pan. Ricky swallowed.

“Never mind," he said.

At least she had a shower not too long ago. That counted for something, right? Ricky's tongue folded over on itself as he tried to ignore the mental image of the egg yolk dribbling through her hand. At least that meant… Eva understood actions, rather than miming them. If she was just copying him, she'd have just knocked the eggs against the pan. So she understood that she had to get the yolk out. He winced again. Yeah, he was trying a little too hard to make that one out to be a positive, but he should at least try to be supportive toward her in this moment.

Bacon and eggs were nice, but they usually didn't get mixed together. At least he'd have the opportunity to try something new, and it didn't sound unappetizing. Ricky sat there, still occasionally looking back at Eva. Maybe he could teach her to cook properly. Then she could be properly independent at home. That is, if she didn't cook everything in his fridge and then proceed to eat him out of house and home.

Enrique realized he hadn't exactly gone out of his way to teach her anything other than speech. His mind had hung up on that being the ticket to making all of this less taboo, but also, it never really felt necessary to explore anything outside of that. She had all she needed here to live and enjoy herself, didn't she?

The clatter of plates came, then Eva walked over to Ricky, placing the meal on the table. That was indeed eggs with bacon poking out of the fluffy yolk. She knew he liked them scrambled, at least. Eva then walked behind the couch and crawled over it, settling next to Ricky's side.

“Bon appétit. Bon appétit. Bon appétit!" she said. “I like that one, too. Have you seen it? Pancakes in the morning."

“Thanks, Eva," Ricky replied.

There was a lack of certain silverware needed to eat, but he wasn't about to complain. Partially because it would be rude, and partially because she might not even understand. Ricky picked up the plate and held it close. It smelled nice, even if parts of it were clearly a little singed.

“What's cookin', good lookin'?" she said.

“That's my line, I'm pretty sure," he replied. Ricky's gaze stuck to the eggs. “Uh, just remember next time to crack the eggs on the side of the bowl, alright?"

“Alright. Alright. He'll crack like an egg. Toss it in the bowl."

“You got the idea. Yes."

“Yes, yes, yes!" She nodded.

Ricky hesitantly grabbed at the egg-bacon pile and took a bite.

“Definitely crispy. Uhm…" He continued chewing and swallowed. “I guess I like the added crunch of the bacon in the egg?"

Eva clacked her jaws, adding a hiss with each one. Her tongue flicked out.

“I'll keep eating. Don't worry."

All things considered, it wasn't a bad meal. Eva could've gone way worse with her ingredients. Could've been a start of a whole new culinary fascination for her. Maybe his dreams of a stay at home wife weren't all that far off. Ricky looked to Eva, chuckling to himself.

“Maybe we can get you to bake some muffins for one of the vets before they come over. That'd be a reveal for sure, huh? I bet they'd calm right down the moment they realized this sweet girl is the one who made some muffins." He tapped her nose.

Eva huffed and nuzzled up next to him, intently watching him eat.

“We'll have to get enough muffins for the bake sale," she said.

“A bake sale, huh?" Ricky nodded. “Like, for a school?"

Enrique was hit with the mental image of Eva dressed in casual motherly attire, mingling among the other women as if there wasn't an issue in the world. Perhaps she'd even be visited by her children. Enrique swallowed. What would they look like? Would they be his? Would they look like their mother, then?

“Ricky," Eva said.

Snapping back to reality, Ricky flinched. He hurriedly took another bite of his egg mess, trying to push back those weird thoughts. Biological impossibility. Well, not technically, as far as he knew, but… Ricky took another bite.

“You know, this might be good as a breakfast sandwich kind of thing," he said.

“A breakfast sandwich kind of thing. A breakfast tasty kind of thing. A breakfast thing." Eva tilted her head. “A tasty sandwich."

Finishing off the rest of his plate, Enrique added a delighted hum and nodded. Eva nodded back, then licked the plate clean. Her table manners were still something to be desired. One step at a time, he supposed.

“Maybe next we should get you learning how to clean dishes, huh?" he said.

Eva straightened out, turning her head away from him.

“No," she said.

---

Ricky sat in the parking lot of the vet's office again. A weird ritual he had been taking up as of late. He told himself he was just building up the nerve to go inside, but it seemed nigh impossible. Any choice he made could potentially be the worst one he ever made in his life. But it was necessary for Eva's health. This would have to happen at some point.

And further still, there was the newly introduced creeping sense of worry that they might actually discover what the unlikely couple had been up to. Enrique had perhaps gotten over that hump, but to others, that was beyond immoral. They might be able to tell if one of their patients was sexually active, right? Enrique pursed his lips and shut his eyes. Oh, God, why did this have to be so damned hard? It always seemed like he had another hurdle to jump whenever he wanted to do this.

“Alright, just go in there. You have nothing to lose." Except everything.

Oh, screw it. Enrique turned on the engine and drove out of the parking lot. Today wasn't the day for it. He didn't have the time to try and lure a girl to his house to take a look at an urban legend. No, sir, he just couldn't do that today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week.

---

Enrique stood in the back room of the auto shop, mentally ticking off boxes of stock. Mostly.

“Just had to run off, didn't you?" he mumbled. “Couldn't just go in and make a proper offer. Ask politely. Lily would get it, right?"

“Muttering to yourself and staring at the wall isn't the weirdest thing I've caught you doing," Alonso said. “Is this about the girl?"

Enrique snapped to him. “Girl?" he asked.

“My girlfriend's assistant."

Of course he had to put it like that.

“Not sure what you're on about." Enrique shook his head.

“She saw your car, she knows you've been prodding about Lily. Just ask her out."

“This isn't about--"

“Look, we can set you up, no worries!" Alonso put on a genuine but sly smile. “We think it's kinda cute you're going after Lily."

“This isn't about Lily!"

“What would it be about then?"

Enrique paused, brows furrowing. What the hell could he say about this whole thing? It did seem like he wanted to ask her out, didn't it? No. Not a chance. Not after what happened with Eva. Might have been ridiculous, but he wasn't ever going to pursue someone else now.

“It's just not about that," Enrique said with a sigh.

“No need to be embarrassed. I think you guys are on the same wavelength."

“And what's that supposed to mean?"

“You like the same things, don't you? That sorta… you know, nerdy stuff."

“Real nice. Thanks."

“Am I wrong?" Alonso asked, shrugging.

“No, I guess you're not. Just get some tact, will you?"

“The guy with no girlfriend saying I have no tact. Please."

Enrique rolled his eyes. He decided to let him have that, seeing as how it seemed like nothing else was going on in Alonso's life. That aside, maybe he should play along, just in the off chance that it made it easier to ask Lily for her help. Then again, he wasn't into playing potential boyfriend, and if Alonso and Ms. Florence took this too far, he might have to directly turn Lily down.

There was no getting out of this one. Alonso had stepped in front of Enrique, meaning he would drag him kicking and screaming back into the conversation he actually tried to return to work. Didn't everyone always complain about their slave driver boss? This guy couldn't stop tugging Ricky back into petty conversations about love and life. Well, he supposed after years of banter, this was finally the little victory that set them apart.

“Look, this isn't about her, trust me. Not in the market for a girlfriend," Ricky said.

“Check your pulse. If your heart's still pumping, you're in the market."

“I'm serious."

“So am I."

“Can we just drop this whole thing?" Ricky asked.

“And miss out on the chance to help out a friend?"

That was probably half joke, half friendly truth. Almost made it more annoying that he was being serious.

“I already have a girlfriend," Ricky said.

“No you don't," Alonso instantly replied, unfazed.

Ricky raised a brow. “What? You're just gonna tell me no?"

“Would've shown in your mood. You're still constantly in daydream land. I can tell from the look in your eyes. And of course, all the mumbling you've been doing."

“What if I'm mumbling about my girlfriend?" Technically not far from the truth, really.

“I guess that's possible, but you would've still been all peppy and happy."

“Yeah, well, I like her a lot, thank you very much."

“So then you're unsure about this whole thing," Alonso replied.

“When he hell did you become a shrink?"

“It's called being a friend."

“Yeah, well, just be happy for me then, as a friend."

“Sure, sure, but if you want, we can always hook you up with Lily. In case this whole supposed girlfriend thing doesn't work out."

Ricky crossed his arms, shrugging and rolling his eyes. “Sure, whatever."

“We'll put in a great word for you, don't you worry." Alonso winked.

With that, Alonso walked off, clearly with a sense of pride in his step. Ricky frowned, shaking his head. Yeah, it was probably weird that he was going to great lengths to essentially scope out a doctor to perform a check up on his girlfriend from the woods. He was trying a little too hard, and everyone was taking notice. At least it was better than them actually realizing what was going on.

Alright, then what? Ask her out to scope out her personality? Not on a real date, but just to be friends? What kind of guy does that? Enrique rubbed his eyes. Every angle he approached this from was so terribly stupid. At least with Ms. Florence he could reasonably ask and poke and prod at her with questions while she was here. Lily had no reason to visit this weird guy who talks about cryptids in his grimy mechanic shop.

Ricky looked in the direction Alonso took. Well, there was one clue there. Supposedly they were on a “nerdy wavelength". He winced at that descriptor. Seriously? Wasn't wrong or anything, but he didn't need Alonso of all people saying it. In any case, that did give them some sort of starting point to begin a proper interaction. Only problem was, he'd still need an excuse to actually approach her, one that didn't begin with “so, hey, I heard you're single."

And so Ricky thought, and thought, and thought on that prospect. All throughout work, and eventually when it came for his work to end. Though, rather than head straight home, Ricky stopped at the supermarket and idly walked through the aisles looking for a nice treat to bring home.

It was ridiculous, but Ricky didn't want to think about another girl while in the presence of Eva. It felt almost disrespectful or somehow disingenuous. Ridiculous, he could tell, but it at least soothed his conscience to do so in the mental privacy of the outside world. Or maybe, deep down, he did truly worry she was some flavor of telepath.

In any case, Ricky began building a shaky plan around this whole Lily ordeal. He could go to the vet to buy something, anything, routinely, and slowly build some kind of a rapport with Lily, or Ms. Florence. Anyone, really. Just someone who could help him get a better idea of how to take care of Eva and for a general checkup. But at this point, he had to wonder if that was even a noble goal. Was it worth it? She seemed entirely healthy despite all that she had eaten and done. There was a gamble there of losing her forever, and sealing her away from freedom. Even releasing her back to the wild was preferable to that.

Ricky stopped in front of the frozen meats, staring hard at nothing in particular.

Then again, what if there was some medical reason she and all the rest of her kind were so unknown to the world at large? What if there was some sort of easily preventable condition that kept their populations so low? Ricky paused, realizing how silly that sounded. Was it, though? He pursed his lips. Eva was still an enigma, and it seemed like anything was on the table when it came to her.

“Whatever," Ricky muttered.

Taking the nicest chunk of meat, Ricky set off for home. After paying for the meal, of course. Thoughts about his precarious position still swung around in his mind. Even as he stepped through the door to find a couch lounging Eva, he was still pondering his strange future. She perked up and scrambled to her feet, greeting him halfway.

“Have a nice day, dear?" she said.

“You could say that," he replied. Ricky held up the bagged meat. “Got something for ya. Mostly to make myself feel better, but you'll enjoy it, too."

“Got something for yaaaaaaa," she repeated in her feminine tone. Eva gave him a small lick on the cheek then pawed at the bag.

“Alright, alright, gimme a second."

Enrique brought the meal over to the kitchen counter and cut into it. Eva stood nearby nudging her nose into his shoulder in anticipation. He wondered if he should maybe bring something of Lily's over, just so he could acclimate Eva to the smell. No, no. That would be too weird, even for him. He looked over at Eva sniffing up the meat, while he placed a gentle hand on her nose to stop her from downing the whole thing right then and there. Alright, maybe his life was already pretty strange, but it's not like he'd be able to get anything large and personal enough to carry that scent.

All the while Ricky prepared the meat, Eva was right alongside him, loosely miming his actions. From putting it in the microwave to poking and prodding at it on the pan.

“Hard at work, huh?" he asked.

No response from Eva, instead she continued to poke at the air, eyes focused on his hands. Maybe teaching her how to cook would be a good little treat for the both of them. Though, knowing how much she could eat, it was possible she'd clear out his fridge to make culinary delights.

Once the meat was properly seared, Ricky got a plate and set the treat out on it. Surprisingly, Eva didn't pounce on it just yet. Instead, she waited until they were back on the couch before tearing into it. Table manners were nice, but he had to admit there was a fun to be had in seeing her enjoy something so viscerally.

The ravenous eating came to a sudden stop, with a little over a third of the chunk leftover. Eva let out a chirp and presented the ravished mess to Ricky.

He gave a weary smile and looked up to Eva's expression. Blank as ever, but she held her head up, looking down at him from an angle. She must have really wanted him to have it. The plate lay on her lap, covered in a mess of juices and scraps.

“Alright, uh, thank you," he said.

Ricky took the plate and the meal from her hands and began to pick away at it.

“You got me eating like an animal, you know?" he said. “I was supposed to be teaching you how to eat all ladylike."

“Straight off the grill!" Eva replied.

“Eh, not exactly, but we'll get there eventually."

Made him wonder if he could keep Eva here forever, without some real space to stretch her legs. Though, even with land, he'd have to be out in the middle of nowhere for her to go unbothered. Maybe that's what he should be working toward, rather than just screwing around for a paycheck. Ricky looked up into her curious eyes. Was she the kind of kick he needed to make something of his life, truly?

“See something you like?" she said.

Ricky smiled then returned to eating. “You really can be sassy without even knowing it."

“I don't even know it."

“Or maybe you know more than you're letting on."

Eva merely tilted her head, tail swinging off the edge of the couch.

“Would you want a bigger house to walk around in?" Ricky asked. “Some place you could really call your own?"

“A home of my own!"

He had to wonder what she would even consider home. Seeing as how Eva-like creatures haven't been seen before, or at least not enough to be known in modern science, maybe they were migratory? Though, if that were true, she would have felt the urge to move on, wouldn't she have? Then again, that would also imply she was a slave to some sort of instinctual desire.

“You're smarter than that, right?" Ricky said quietly.

Eva stared.

“I'm getting all worked up over nothing, huh?"

Her head slowly leaned to the other side, ear flittering.

“Yeah," he said. “I should stop overthinking things. I should just go right ahead and work all of this out." He nodded. “For you."

“For me," she replied.

Just then, Ricky's phone went off, Eva perking up. He set his plate down on the table, and with his less greasy hand, pulled out his phone. Alonso? Must've been behind on some kind of job. He accepted the call and put the phone to his ear.

“Hello? Alonso?" Ricky said.

“Hello? Alonso?" Eva repeated back.

Ricky pursed his lips and put a finger to them. Eva snapped at the air and bobbed from side to side.

“Ricky!" Alonso said. He chuckled. “Good to hear from you!"

“What?" Ricky replied.

“I said it's good to hear from you."

“I heard you, I just never expected it."

“Don't be such a killjoy. Look, I'm here with Florence."

Why did he call her that? Surely they could be on a first name basis as boyfriend and girlfriend? It explained his weird happy-go-lucky demeanor.

“Alright, and?" Ricky asked.

“And, I got her to talk to Lillian for you," Alonso said.

“Lillian?" Ricky said. His eyes widened.

“Lillian?" Eva said.

“You got an echo going on? Yeah, Lillian. Assistant to Florence. I pulled some strings and got you set up with a date. No need to thank me."

Ricky smacked his forehead, quickly realizing that was a bad idea with the miscellaneous steak juices clinging to his hand. He winced.

“Why would you do that?" Ricky said.

“Because I know when I see a guy in need, especially a friend in need. All over your face how much you were freaking out about this whole thing. So I just gave you a push. Take it as a friendly nudge."

“I can get my own dates."

“Clearly not."

Ricky sighed.

“Look," Ricky said, “I appreciate it, but I really don't need this right now. I didn't want a date. I told you."

“It's gonna turn out fine, relax. Put on your cleanest clothes, without all the grease on 'em, and be yourself," Alonso said.

Ricky raised a hand and paused, unsure of what the hell he should do in that moment. Cancel? Go through with it? It technically wasn't his fault, but no doubt the two of them would probably convey to Lillian that he was too scared to ask, so she'd think he wanted it anyways. It'd be rude to not go. But who cared? Ugh. Ricky sighed again. He cared. Especially if it put him on worse terms with one of his few chances at getting Eva properly cared for.

Eva looked at him, turning her head every which way. She scooted closer now, breath cascading down Ricky's side. Almost like she was judging him, somehow. Or maybe stress was getting the better of him.

“Ricky?" Alonso said.

“Ricky?" Eva said.

“Fine. Fine! I'll go. Just… Where did she want to meet up?" Ricky asked.

“Oh, she'll be calling you after her shift's all finished up. So in about an hour or two." There was a pause as someone else spoke. “An hour. Florence says an hour."

Fucking hell. Alright, he told himself, relax. It's not like the date would have to be the very same day. They were adults, they could work out a better time. Ricky shut his eyes. Not a date. It's not a date. There was a reason he was doing all of this, and it wasn't for the sake of getting into Lillian's pants. Eva nudged against his face, making his eyes open again.

“So, you're down, right?" Alonso asked.

“Yeah, sure," Ricky replied. Not a chance.

“Fantastic. I knew you'd get someone eventually."

“I'll bet."

“Tell me how it goes, alright? Florence'll be interested, too!"

“I'll bet on that, too."

“See ya. Have fun."

The line dropped, leaving Ricky back with Eva, her still pushing against his face. Ricky set down the phone, then he nudged back against her, giving her a kiss.

“It's not a date, I promise," he said.

“You make a lot of promises," she replied.

“And when have I not followed through on them?" Ricky smiled. “I just don't want you freaking out, OK?"

Even if she had a scant grasp on what he said, it still soothed him to try and placate her. More for his sake, he supposed. Would feel too guilty cheating on your monstress, right? Well. Ricky looked back to the steak on the table. That was what the meat was for, right?

“Maybe I should whip you up something real nice while I'm out," he said.

“Real nice while you're out," she replied. “Be real nice." Eva lowered her chin. “Assistant to Florence."

“She's a nice girl. From what I've seen, anyways. You remember, the one I want to help us? A lady like you needs a proper check-up."

Eva bobbed her head from side to side. She seemed almost pensive, but Ricky knew he was ascribing too many emotions to whatever she was doing. For all he knew, she could've just been thinking about how to mash that sentence with something else she had heard.

Not wanting to worry her any further with simple platitudes, Ricky reached over and began to pet her with his still good hand. She gave gentle clicks, so that was good enough for now. Though, while she got better, he slowly began to think about all the crap he'd have to do to have a faux date. Maybe he could at least explain to Lillian that it was a big misunderstanding. As if. She'd only think he's even more pathetic and weird, right?

“You don't know how lucky you've got it, Eva. You don't have to deal with a bunch of silly people." He nodded. “You only have to deal with one." Ricky's expression softened. “I hope you know how much I appreciate you, and I hope you do like staying with me."

“I appreciate it," she replied, leaning into his hand.

“Alright, you can show it by letting me have this weird get together, alright? I promise I'll just be friends with Lillian. Hopefully you can meet her, too. I bet it'd be nice to see someone other than me all day, huh? Especially someone who might have a clue about you."

“Nice to see you, again. Again. Again. Again."

“Now I gotta finish eating and wash up."

Wait, he could just get a knife and fork.

---

Ricky sat in his car in his garage, tapping on the steering wheel. It was the only bit of privacy he had away from Eva. Still felt weird setting up a date with someone in front of her. That little guilt went a long way. In his other hand he shifted his phone around, waiting for that call.

The vibration came, then the ringtone a second later. Ricky sighed and held up his phone. Funny how he was more worried about dealing with a regular woman over Eva. He briefly wondered how sad that was before accepting the call.

“Hello?" Ricky said.

There was a pause. Scam call? Robot?

“Enrique? Nessie guy?" a voice came. Definitely Lillian.

He winced. Was he really going to be Nessie guy forever now?

“Oh, hey, Lilian. What's up?" he asked. Was that casual enough?

“Well, uh, you know, funny thing," she said, “my boss rings me up and says she has a date for me. And it turns out it's you."

“She what?" he said.

“Yeah, apparently… Well, I don't wanna get into details, but she said you were interested in something like that."

Because those details were no doubt, incredibly embarrassing to rattle off. Yeah, my boss just said you were stalking me for a few days and thought we'd make the greatest couple! Christ.

“Uhm, I suppose I am. Not that I asked for one, but someone got the wrong idea and—" Fuck this. He scratched his head. “Yeah, I think it'd be great if we could go out. Just something fun. Haven't had the time to myself lately and you seemed cool."

“Guess there's nothing wrong with that." A pause. “Sure, yeah, I think I can do that. What's a good time for you?"

It was really happening? Sheesh. “Uh, well, we should go with your schedule. My time's a little fluid at the moment, so I can pretty much match up with whatever you've got going on."

“Wow, putting the pressure on me." She chuckled. “Alright, how about we have dinner. Tomorrow. Some time after uhh… Six, maybe? Yeah, 6:30, let's go with that. Sound good? Fluid enough for you?"

“More than fluid, sure. Any specific place, or…?"

“We can decide as we go along. Might not be in the mood for whatever I pick out today, you know? So, we can cruise around a little bit, see how our guts figure it all out."

“Right. Right! Sounds good. Just let me know if you want to be picked up or if I should… Whatever, we'll figure it out tomorrow as the day goes along, right?"

“Right! Anything could happen."

Those words didn't settle nicely in Ricky's head.

“Alright, see you then. Have a good day— Evening. Have a good evening."

“You, too!"

He hung up and sighed. Ricky hoped that the unease he was feeling was more about being disingenuous rather than actually being uneasy about asking a girl out. Fake or not, it was a trial. Not to mention the whole veterinarian part. Yeah, that was the whole reason this started. Focus on that.

Now he just had to find a shirt that was free of any grease.

---

“You having a good time?" Lillian asked.

Ricky looked up from his menu, finding himself at some kind of BBQ place. It was all a blur getting here and sitting down with her. A cold drink sat in front of him, a small comfort. Apparently Lillian got a ride here after work, which only made Ricky question himself more. Was he too weird to get a ride from? Maybe it was just more convenient.

“Yeah." Ricky nodded. “I am."

“Just been a little quiet is all!"

“Sorry, had a lot on my mind as of late. Was hoping this would settle things."

“Alright, OK, so we should go with questions, right? Icebreakers!"

“Sure."

“You work at the car place, with Ms. Florence's boyfriend."

Not even she said Florence's first name?

“Yeah, Alonso. Real piece of work kinda guy," he said.

“But you like him, right? That's the whole vibe I got from that."

“I do, sure. Sometimes. When he's not being a bit of a dick."

“So the kinda guy you love to have but not be around!"

“I guess, yeah." Ricky shrugged. “He's come through for me a lot of times, at least."

“Like right now?"

Ricky paused. Right, they were technically here because of him. Still felt like a loaded question, even if it was a marginally good outcome.

“Yeah," Ricky said. “This would be one of those times where he actually pulled through." He pursed his lips. “So I guess this is the part where I ask you questions."

“If you were interested, yeah!" Lillian added a smile to that.

“Assistant, right? But I'm guessing that's not the real job title?"

“I suppose you could call me the nurse. A nurse. I don't have the sexy outfit to go with, but it's something. I'm a little more special since I was handpicked by Ms. Florence." Her smile had a touch of smugness to it now.

“Handpicked, huh? Makes you sound like a prized catch."

“Aren't I?" She stifled a giggle. “I mean, just something I got in from a program at college. Ms. Florence and I met for some hands-on training and snatched me right up when she could."

“Surprised you have the time for this, then," he said. “Or anything, really. I feel like I barely have enough time with work." Even if he didn't do a whole hell of a lot of it. Hopefully that didn't come across with whatever Alonso or his girlfriend said. Should he apologize for that? Not that he knew the extent of how bad it was. “Uh, this is random, but I hope our bosses didn't say I was too weird."

“Like, Donnie Darko weird or Paprika weird?"

“I guess the first one."

“I didn't get that vibe. Why?" She turned her head, raising her brow. “Were you being Donnie Darko weird?"

“No, I wasn't." Sort of. He took a sip of his drink. “Just that Alonso gets some strange ideas in his head and tends to make a lot of assumptions. Bad assumptions."

“Really? What about your figurine collection? Did he make that up?"

“Well, they're not called 'figurines,' but no, that one is real."

Lillian huffed in amusement. “Alright, well, sorry for that. No offense meant."

There was an awkward pause between them as Ricky realized just how embarrassing of a response that was. Damnit, damnit, damnit. He took a sip of soda. Lillian did much of the same. She smacked her lips together.

“So, if they're not figurines, what are they called?"

Ricky perked up. “Uh, well, I've got a lot." He mentally scrolled past all of the bits of plastic he had on his shelf, stopping on the very one he named Eva after. How was she doing? Was she still good with him being out? What was she up to right now?

“Enrique?" she said.

“Oh, uh." He snapped back. “Gunpla. Most of them are Gunpla. It's…" Jeez was he really explaining this? “Plastic models you put together. A whole hobby kit kinda deal."

“Neat. I always wanted to get into statue collecting stuff, and figurines, and all that, but I've just got no place… in my place"—she stopped to giggle—“to store all that stuff. And what's the point of collecting if you can't have it neatly displayed, huh?"

Ricky let his muscles unwind just a little. Alright, OK, this was going fine.

“Yeah, I set myself up with a few shelves and everything. Not like serious woodwork or anything, but I've gotten handy with a drill for sure."

“I wonder if they've got any models like that for some of the classics. You know, Babylon 5, Space: 1999… Andromeda."

“Andromeda? C'mon, Lillian, that show came out in the year 2000. Hardly classic."

“Over 20 years ago now, that's pretty much retro." She sipped her drink loudly, brow raised, clearly holding back a smile. “Call me Lily, by the way. You don't need those extra vowels."

“Alright, Lily." He nodded. “I gotta admit, the Andromeda Ascendant would be a pretty kick ass model project. It'd have to be pretty sizable though and have the uh…" Ricky waved his hand from side to side. “Battle frills that slide out."

“Battle Blades, Ricky. Battle Blades."

“I got the ship name right, that should net me some points," he said.

“It does. A few. Just a few."

Ricky and Lillian continued to chatter throughout their meal. Eva continued to drift into Ricky's thoughts, but he managed to keep himself largely occupied with that nerdy wavelength Alonso spoke about. While none of it carried any weight or interest, it was nice to just chat about something he was interested in. Food wasn't half bad either. Though he wished he had brought some home for Eva.

And there Eva was again, prodding at his thoughts, a tug on his skin telling him he just had to go see her.

Lily had asked him for a ride home, and the two sat in his vehicle. She chattered on about all the nerdy things they had brought up during their pointless dialogue in the restaurant, with him simply thinking about Eva again. He had to check, right? Just for a minute? It was getting late. He was usually home by now.

“Lily?" he said suddenly.

“Yeah?" she said, stopping mid-talk about some flavor of sci-fi.

“You mind if I pop my head in back home for just a minute? I really need to check on Eva. It's driving me nuts."

She laughed, cooing at the same time. “That's so sweet. Of course you can. I knew you were a big softie."

“Ha. Yeah, that's me. I'll be real quick. In and out, then I'll get you home, OK?"

“Sure, sure, no problem. Take all the time you need. I'm in nooooo rush."

That was good at least, meant she wasn't hating this.

Ricky made the appropriate shift in route, steering down onto his street before long. His fingers clung to the steering wheel up until he pulled into his driveway and the garage. Felt dangerous to have someone so close to Eva, but he had to check.

“Just gimme one second," he said.

“No problem!" she replied.

Nearly stumbling out of the car and shutting the door behind him, Ricky rushed inside.

“Eva?" he called out. “I'm home! Sorry I was so long!"

The house was dark, with only light from his room. Ricky could faintly hear the television, and he began walking toward it. A second later and Eva came bounding out, coming to a stop in front of him. She was silhouetted by the television's bright line.

“Ricky! Ricky? What time is it? Ricky, Ricky, Ricky," she said, pulling him into a hug.

“Happy you're still good," he said, pressing against her, “I'm almost done, OK? I'll be right back."

Her nose pressed up against him, loudly sniffing. Ricky squirmed against her, trying to pull back.

“Right back? Right back. Ricky parking parking."

“It'll be like, twenty minutes at worst, honest."

Ricky pulled again but Eva held onto him, nose digging into every part. She could probably smell Lily. Was that it?

“Alright, Eva," he said.

She continued sniffing.

“Eva, I really have to go. I'll be right back, I promise."

And sniffing.

“Eva!" He tried pushing back.

Eva pushed back harder with a huff. The sudden force nudged him off balance. Ricky fell, hand reaching out to brace himself. Instead he caught the table, but only managed to take some of the wares with him. Utensils, a cup or two, and a plate. All of it, along with Ricky, came crashing down onto the floor. Glass and porcelain shattered.

“Ah, jeez. Eva!"

“Ricky!" Eva barked back. She stepped forward.

“Dammit, should've put all that away."

Ricky began picking up the pieces before Eva stepped on them.

“Ricky?" Lily's voice came from the garage.

All was silent. Eva bit at the air, perking up. The door to the garage opened.

“Lily?" Ricky snapped back at the door. “Everything's fine!" He started scrambling to his feet

“You sure? I heard some crashing and—"

Lily stepped through the threshold, illuminated by the garage light. She froze, face contorting in confusion, then a split second later, fear. Ricky's mind raced as his heart hammered. He raised a hand.

“It's fine! It's fine," he said, “Eva's fi—"

Eva let out a trilling shriek.