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Chapter 53

Spec was upstairs in his bed room as he looked for a nice collared shirt to wear for his date. Cindy basically forced him to take off early to get ready for Estelle while she closed up the shop. He eventually decided on a navy blue, long sleeve button up. Before he left, he returned downstairs to double check on Cindy.

"You doing okay?"

"I'm fine big boy. Don't worry about me, you just worry about taking care of Estelle."

She walked from behind the check out counter and nudged him towards the exit. He girnned as he exhaled through his nose and fished his keys from his pocket while making his way to his car. He drove to Estelle's apartment to pick her up. When he knocked on the door Estelle quickly opened it to greet the wolf. She was smiling and wearing a cute lavender colored cardigan and dress.

"Hi Spec..."

"Hey Estelle, that your date?!" yelled a voice from inside the apartment. Estelle moaned as she called back, "Yes Sheri, it's my date". "Tell him not to be a bitch!", Sheri called back followed by laughing. Estelle growled as she closed the door behind her. She took Spec's arm and said, "Let's go Spec".

** ** ** ** **

"So your roommate seems..." Spec trailed off as he tried to think of a nice way to describe her. Estelle simply shook her head as she sat in the passenger seat.

"She's unique in many ways. Don't pay attention to her. She only gets stranger from here on out. Oh, and she likes to call everyone a bitch"

"I noticed" Spec said as he chuckled. It made Estelle smile that he could roll with the situation as they drove through the city. "So where are we going for dinner?" she asked as he stopped at a red traffic light.

"Well, since everything was short notice, I decided to try something casual but sit down. It's an Italian place that is pretty popular so I'm hoping we can get a table"

Spec noticed that Estelle was looking around and started to fidget. "You okay?" Spec asked as he pulled into the parking lot of Johnny G's. "I'm fine, just excited for our date" she replied as Spec parked the car. As the couple entered the restaurant, Spec noticed it was rather busy. "Man, hope they have a table open... Are you okay?" he asked Estelle as she seemed to be shaking now.

"I'm fine. It's just"

She was cut off by the fox hostess saying, "Estelle? Oh, your grand father will be so happy to hear that you came by. Come, we have a table for you and your gentleman friend. This way" she motioned as she took them to a small table in a quiet corner of the restaurant. The hostess handed them both menus and mentioned a server would be with them shortly.

"Is there something you want to tell me Estelle?"

"Well... My grandpa might own this restaurant. He always keeps a table available for me in case I decide to drop by for a bite to eat" she said as she opened the menu. Spec did the same as he asked, "You do know there are rumors about your Grandpa, right?" Estelle huffed as she replied, "My Grandpa is not in the mafia. Just cause he might have been a loan shark in the Navy, is nicknamed 'Johnny the Wrecker', and is Italian".

Spec sat there with his mouth open as he lowered his menu. "He's called 'Johnny the Wrecker'?"

"He's an automotive wrecker... He's not in the mafia, okay?"

The conversation was interrupted by a feline server with a bottle of red wine. "Madam, a suggested bottle of red wine, complements of your grand father". Estelle mumbled as she said "Thank you". The server poured two glasses as Spec continued to browse the menu.

"So, how about we split the Italian dinner for two? That way we both can have a little of everything".

"That sounds good. We'll have that please".

"Very good. Would you like the soup or the salad for your starting dish?"

Both replied "salad" as they handed the server their menus. Spec took a sip of the wine, which he found enjoyable. They made small talk while waiting for their food to arrive.

"So... Your roommate is something".

"Yeah, Sherry is... Yeah" said Estella as she took a sip of her wine. There was another moment of silence as they both had more to drink.

"This isn't weird, is it?" Spec asked as he sat his glass back down. "I mean, us dating again while I'm still with Cindy that is".

Estelle blushed as she let out a soft moan. "Well, I mean I guess we can make it work. Unless you think its weird" she said as the salads arrived.

Spec thought about it for a moment as he swirled his wine in his glass. He thought back to his sessions with Gwen and how she pointed out if you don't feel bad and you aren't harming your self or anyone else why should you deny yourself.

"You know what? I don't think its weird. I mean we all agreed to it, right?"

"I'm just happy to be with you" said Estelle who reached to take Spec's hand. He smiled and took it in his and gave her a firm squeeze. "Come on foxy, let's eat before the rest of the food comes out."

** ** ** ** **

Spec and Estelle put a decent sized dent into the main course but there was still enough left over to take home for a snack. As they were about to pay the check, the hostess informed Spec that it was covered. Spec left a generous tip for their waiter as they left with some left over meat balls, lasagna, and some pastries for dessert. They drove out of the parking lot and headed back towards Twilight books.

"So... Cindy says you have tomorrow off".

"Yeah, Orion usually doesn't need me on Thursday for some reason. I'm not sure what it is he does but he still pays me just in case he needs to call me in. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I wanted to see if you wanted to come back to my place since I have the day off too".

Estelle curled up a little and blushed as she let out a soft, "That sounds nice". Spec chuckled as she had not changed since the last time they dated. It made him wonder how much he changed as he pulled up to the shop and parked in the garage on the side.

The couple made their way upstairs from the side entrance. Spec flicked the lights on and told Estelle to "make yourself at home" as he put away the left overs. He left the pastries out on the kitchen counter as he was sure they would be enjoying them soon enough. Estelle had a seat on the couch as she looked around. She took in her surroundings as she had never been in Spec's apartment. She could tell from the belongings that it was his place. It just had an energy that screamed Spec.

It wasn't long before Spec took a seat next to her. They smiled as they looked at each other. Estelle seemed nervous about something as Spec leaned in to kiss her. Right before he made contact, she pulled away.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she looked down, away from him.

"Spec... I don't know if I can do this. I mean be in a relationship with you while you are dating Cindy at the same time"

"But you were okay with it when Cindy suggested it before"

"Yeah, I was... But the more I thought about it, the more I think I can't make it work. It just feels, complicated. I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense"

Spec sat back into the couch as he processed what Estelle had just said. He knew Cindy wouldn't mind the relationship as she was the one who suggested it. However, he also knew it might be a lot for Estelle. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Estelle speaking.

"You aren't mad, are you?"

"No, I'm not mad. I can never be mad at you" he said as he put an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close to him. She reached her arms around his torso to give him a hug. He put his hand over her head and petted her as she did. They were quiet for what felt like an eternity.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked as he lifted his arm to allow her to sit up properly.

"I don't know... Are you sure you aren't upset? I mean we can try to make it work if you want"

He shook his head as he smiled. He kissed her forehead and gave her a hug before sighing. He looked off across the room as he gathered his thoughts again.

"Estelle, you know I love you but I don't want you to do anything you aren't comfortable with. If you don't want to be in a relationship while I'm with Cindy, we aren't going to force you"

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She asked with concerned eyes. Spec simply smiled and nodded as he did his best to hid his feelings inside.

"I'm sure. I mean if you ever change your mind, we'll still be here"

"What about the robe and collar Cindy got Zenia to make for me?"

"You can keep those. Consider them a gift."

"Okay... If you are sure" she said as she leaned in to hug him again. She sighed before letting him go again. "We will still be friends and talk to each other right?"

"Of course we will."

"And I can still come and get books from your store right?"

"I don't see why not."

"Can I get a discount?"

Spec gave her a confused look at the "discount" statement. He grinned before replying, "Well, I'm sure you can use Cindy's" They both chuckled as they hugged again. Spec took his time, prolonging the embrace as he petted her hair. He let out a low, long sigh as the whole situation started to sink into his mind.

"Do you want me to take you home Estelle?"

"If you don't mind..."

"It's not a problem. Make sure you got your things and I'll get your left overs"

"You sure you don't want them?"

"Yeah. If I keep them I'm sure Luna will just try to eat them. She cah get her own damn Italian food"

** ** ** ** **

Spec spent the rest of the weekend alone. He wasn't sure how to tell Cindy about Estelle's decision about their relationship. He even thought that Estelle might have told Cindy herself considering how close they were.

He was depressed that he lost his first love again. He was also conflicted as he loved Cindy. He didn't want to lose either but he know deep down, Estelle was just being polite when she said she was okay in an open relationship.

Monday came and it was quiet in the shop, as expected. Cindy came in a little later after opening to find Spec leaning against the check out counter, sipping his coffee.

"Hey big boy. Estelle told me what happened on your date". She came around the check out counter and rubbed his back while giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You doing okay?"

"I could be better. It's weird losing her a second time, you know?"

"Hey, don't look at it like that. You're still her friend right?"

"I'm guessing you two had a conversation this weekend?" he said with a chuckle. Cindy replied with a smile and nod.

"She called Saturday night. She tried to return that robe to me, but I wouldn't let her. That girl can put up a fight when she wants to."

"Indeed she can. What about you Cindy, are you okay with this?"

"Yeah. I mean, it would be nice if we could date her too but it would be cruel to force that onto her. I'm sure we'll figure out a way to make it all work"

"Me too" he said as he finished off his coffee. There was nothing going on as Cindy took over the register. Spec took out a cross word puzzle and pencil as he started whispering to himself. Cindy noticed something moving around.

"Hey Spec, in theory, would it be bad if I saw Luna sneaking around while wearing a hoodie and sun glasses inside the store?"

"That's an oddly specific hypothetical question... Oh no"

As soon as he finished his sentence, he felt something heavy and flat hit him across the back of his shoulders. Cindy let out a surprised gasp as Spec fell to the ground, moaning. The floored wolf looked up to see his grinning twin sister standing over him holding a large coffee table art book. Luna placed the book onto the check out counter as she called out, "Ammo Party" before pushing the play button on her cell phone.

As Spec slowly pulled himself up, Luna continued to play some sort of theme music that consisted of a lot of electric guitar rifts. Spec growled at his sister while he supported his body against the check out counter.

"Care to give me a reason as to why I shouldn't beat you till you are as blue as your hoodie sis? And what the hell are you playing on your phone?"

"Well little brother, you looked down. I figured you could use some cheering up. Second, this is the theme for the Ammo Party. My new favorite wrestling stable. I just discovered them after looking up the indie wrestling companies. Check out the logo"

Luna opened up her hoodie to reveal a black tee shirt with a white print of a canine skull over crossed hunting knives and surrounded by rows of bullets. Spec blinked before scoffing at his sister.

"Still don't see why you had to hit me in the back with a book"

"Well you aren't' upset about what was bothering you now, right?"

"It's hard to be anything when your back feels like its been blown out Luna. Is there anything else you want before I maul you?"

"Yeah, I'm going to Japan to do a photo shoot for the magazine. You love birds want anything from the land of the rising sun? Cindy?"

"Well, I can't think of anything. You can just surprise me. I'm sure I'll love what ever you get me" replied Cindy as she rubbed Spec's back.

"Will do. And for you little brother?"

"A cybernetic spin to replace the one you just destroyed. And enough of the little brother crap Luna, You are older by 20 minutes, tops!"

"I'm still older" she said as she ruffled Spec's fur on the top of his head. He growled as he knew there was no way to do anything to her at the moment.

"Just get me whatever too. You know what I like. You need anything else?"

"As a matter of fact, I need you to do me a favor while I'm gone. Can you hang out with Scotty so he isn't lonely?"

"Scotty, your boyfriend or Scotty, some pet you just both and oddly named after your boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend."

"You need me to hang out with your boyfriend?... I mean I don't mind but why are you asking me to?"

"Don't need to. Just still distracting you from whatever is bothering you. You can tell me about it when I get back from the shoot."

"If it's still an issue, we'll talk about it."

"Sounds good sis. But seriously, why the hell did you hit me with a book?"

"Ammo Party baby!" she replied as she started up the theme on her phone again. Spec shook his head as Cindy continued to rub his back.

"Easy big boy. I'll help you feel better after we close up shop" said Cindy as she gave him a kiss on the forehead.