Good Enough Chapter 19
#20 of Good Enough
Chapter Nineteen--Changes
Returning to school on Monday brought a series of changes that Damien hadn't really thought would happen. Firstly, his relationship with Thomas felt different. Though they had both made an agreement to keep it secret: Friends in public, boyfriends in private, they still found ways to convey their newfound feelings to each other. When Damien went to taste-test Thomas's culinary assignments, Thomas would leave him little notes beneath the plates, cute little messages to keep Damien's spirits high and Damien was often at Thomas's football practices, catching the panther's sights with small waves. And, at the end of the day, they would return to the dorm and sleep the night away in the bed that they would share, be it Damien's or Thomas's.
Second, his "friendship" with Anna, which didn't feel like much of a friendship anymore, was strained. Band rehearsal had resumed and Anna put on a strong face, but Damien could see through the façade with very little effort. She wasn't happy with this development, but he couldn't ask her about it; she was trying her hardest to be happy for them. And despite the almost palpable tension that existed between them, she didn't complain openly, nor did she get angry. She would smile at them when they were together and be as friendly as she could manage.
But of all the changes that came with dating Thomas, the biggest one hit him like a rushing train in the shape of Torrie Busch. Her absence was noticeable in chemistry, but when she returned one week late, she had made herself known in chemistry by not only coming in late, but by rambling on with a lengthy apology to the professor, who almost had to shout to convince her to take her seat. She made her way to the table, seating herself beside Damien.
"Hi," she said out of the corner of her mouth.
"Hi," Damien answered, inching himself away from her. She cast him a guilty look and his fidgeting stopped. "Welcome back," he said.
"Thanks."
James and Warren watched them suspiciously, the tension almost suffocating as both of them did their best to avoid any eye contact. At the end of class, Damien hadn't taken any notes or even listened to the lecture. Torrie's presence had commanded all of his attention and he was the first out of the door when they were dismissed, eager to get to the football field to watch Thomas' practice to distract himself from knowing she was nearby.
"Damien!" she called.
He stopped just a few paces away from the classroom, turning to see Torrie approaching, James and Warren right behind her.
"Can we talk?" she asked.
Damien hesitated, looking at James and Warren--he was positive that neither of them were aware of what happened at the cabin. He took a deep breath and spoke in a careful voice.
"I really don't want to talk to you," Damien said, "but I'm glad you made it back."
"Please, just let me apologize," she insisted, "for real. Can I take you out for dinner?"
"Sorry, I don't think that's a good idea," Damien answered. "I need to get to the field."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
He didn't immediately answer and Warren spoke up irritably. "Just let him go. He wants to see his boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" she repeated incredulously. Her eyes narrowed again as she looked him over. "Who's your boyfriend? I'm happy for you."
A very audible lie and Damien started to back away. "I'll see you later."
"Damien, wait," Torrie said, reaching for him. He slapped her paw away before she grabbed him and he saw a flash of rage wash over her face. However, she quickly calmed and Damien stepped away. "I'm sorry. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, bye."
The locker room was, as usual, filled with testosterone and odor after practice, but Thomas had become so accustomed to it that he hardly even bothered to pay it any mind. He had just finished his shower and was pulling on his clothes when he heard a voice beside him and looked up to see a mouse leaning against the lockers.
"Yo, Tommy!" Frederick Mallow called. "Who's that pooch who started watching you so closely?"
"Pooch?" Thomas repeated. "What do you mean?"
"You know," Jet Carson, a rather chubby brown bear, chortled. "That skinny little husky who's been spying on us. You know him?"
"Yeah!" Ozzy called. "That's his roommate."
"That puppy's your roommate?" Jet repeated incredulously. "Why's he looking at you like that?"
"Like what?" Thomas wondered, looking over at Jet.
"Like he wants to lift his tail for you," Frederick stated. "That little dog looks like he gets off on watching us practice."
"He probably does," Jet snorted.
"Guys, he's just a friend of mine," Thomas said, hurriedly zipping up his bag. He was eager to get out, but Jet and Frederick stood in a way that blocked any escape he had and Ozzy was with them, looking as impassive as ever despite the smug grin on his face.
"Yeah, well, your little 'friend' has been hanging around the locker room a bit too," Jet said. "And maybe I missed this, but wasn't he wearing one of your jerseys not too long ago?"
Thomas turned, eyes wide in amazement. He could see Ozzy snickering off to the side, barely able to contain his amusement. "Why would he be wearing one of my jerseys?"
"Probably going through your stuff," Frederick grumbled. "Five bucks says he's probably sniffing your drawers when he's pawing off."
"Dude, that's disgusting," Jet scoffed.
"Probably true," Frederick stated.
"Guys, he's just my friend," Thomas insisted. "Why do you even care if he watches us practice? A lot of people do."
"Yeah, but that dog's been hanging around us a bit too much," Jet said. "He's waiting outside the locker room for you. And that's a bit creepy, even if he is your best friend."
Ozzy's eyes narrowed and he let out a lazy yawn. "I'm going to go back to my room. I'll catch up with you guys later," he said as he walked out stretching.
"So, what's the deal with that dog?" Jet inquired.
"He's just a friend of mine," Thomas explained nervously. "What's the big deal?"
"You go chasing that fag after practice?" Frederick questioned.
"No," Thomas remarked. He didn't have to chase him; they were roommates after all. "And what difference does it make to you?"
"Cause it's creepy," Frederick explained. "That weirdo dog and his creeped out smile."
"And that stare," Jet added.
"Yeah, that dog's just..." Frederick shuddered. "How long you gonna keep letting that dog stalk you?"
"He's not a stalker! Just leave him alone," Thomas griped. "He ain't hurting anyone."
"Yet," Jet grumbled. "Look, I hate to be _that_guy--"
"Then don't be that guy," Thomas snarled.
"Dude, just listen," Jet insisted. "We don't want to cause any problems on the team; you're the best guy we got."
"But...?" Thomas prompted.
"But that dog's a bit of a problem," Frederick explained. "He just makes us uncomfortable."
"So what do you want me to do?" Thomas asked. His phone vibrated in his pocket. Withdrawing it, he saw a single word from Ozzy: Library.
"Well, just tell him to back off a bit," Jet said. "Keep his distance, you know?"
"I'll talk to him," Thomas sighed, shoulder his bag.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Damien asked as Ozzy led him away, arm wrapped around him as he did so. "I'm waiting for--"
"I know, but trust me, you want to get away from there," Ozzy remarked, glancing back at the locker room door. Thomas hadn't come out yet, meaning that he was still getting grilled by Jet and Frederick. "We'll just head over to the library. Tommy's gonna meet us over there."
"What's going on?" Damien questioned, scowling.
"I'll explain a bit later."
Damien allowed himself to be led away towards the library. He seated himself at an empty table as Ozzy went towards one of the shelves, pulling off a book. Damien preoccupied himself with his phone, hoping for some kind of message from Thomas but when Ozzy joined him at the table, there was nothing.
"Okay, talk," Damien said. "What's the big deal? Why'd you bring me here?"
"Thomas is having some personal time with the team," Ozzy said nonchalantly, "and it's better that you don't hang around for that."
"Personal time? What does that mean? He's not... is he?"
"Not what?" Ozzy asked, looking over. Registering Damien's expression, Ozzy just barely managed to suppress his laughter. "No! Not at all! First, it's wrong to assume he's cheating on you because he's around other guys."
"I'm not."
"And second, the guys on the football team aren't exactly his type," Ozzy continued. "Most of them smell like their own dirty jerseys half the time."
"Ew," Damien said. "Then what's going on? What's this 'personal time'?"
Ozzy closed his book and let out a small hum-like noise, his nose twitching slightly as he contemplated his words. "Well, it's kind of a delicate subject."
"Just tell me!"
"Well, you're not going to like it," Ozzy stated. "And I'd really rather not be the bearer of bad news." He glanced over. "Oh, hey, there's your panther."
Damien looked; Thomas had entered and surveyed the library briefly before seeing them. He walked over to their table and seated himself, taking Damien's paw beneath the table with a smile.
"So, what happened between you and the team?" Damien questioned.
Thomas's expression faltered and he looked over at Ozzy who glanced back. Ozzy chortled nervously as he stood and stretched. "Look at the time. Gotta go meet up with my people. You two have fun but remember you're in public."
"Ozzy--" Thomas growled. But Ozzy, with a small salute, walked away, leaving his book on the table. Thomas shook his head. "How much did he tell you?"
"That you were having personal time with the team."
"Personal time? Is that what he called it?"
"What would you call it?" Damien asked.
"Well, I don't think you'll like it," Thomas remarked. "The guys on the team aren't too fond of you."
"Of me?"
"Yeah," Thomas said. "They don't like that you hang around the locker room after practice. They said it was creepy."
Damien's ears fell and he looked away. "I'm sorry. I hope I haven't caused any really big problems for you."
"You're okay, it's all good," Thomas assured him. "You just can't come by the locker room anymore. From now on, we'll just meet up somewhere else. Like here. We'll still spend time together."
"Are you sure? I mean, if I'm causing problems--"
"Stop asking," Thomas replied. "Yes I'm sure. In fact, I think I'd like to go out to dinner with you tonight."
Damien chortled. "They're going to figure out that we're more than friends if we keep getting seen in public."
Thomas had no immediate reply. "Then we'll just have to go where nobody knows who we are."
"So, are you going to tell me what's on your mind?" Thomas wondered as they pulled into the parking lot of the bistro across town. He turned off his car and eyed Damien suspiciously. Damien looked away, unsure of what to say.
"What do you mean?"
"You've been kind of distracted the whole ride here," Thomas explained. "So, what's bothering you?"
"It's nothing," Damien said with what he hoped was an encouraging grin. "I was just thinking of something."
"Which is...?"
"I just ran into a friend today," Damien answered. "And we talked for a little bit and--"
"Who?"
Damien looked down. "Promise you won't overreact?"
"Depends on who we're talking about? Was it that tiger friend of yours, Ed?"
"No."
"Those foxes?"
"No."
Thomas's eyes narrowed. "It wouldn't happen to be a certain lioness would it?" Thomas questioned. Damien looked down, his ears dropping again as he shifted nervously in his chair. Thomas huffed. "So, she came back to school?"
"Thomas, please don't overreact to this! We just had a short conversation. It wasn't even a real conversation," Damien explained. "I welcomed her back and a few things were said and--"
"Don't talk to her," Thomas remarked sharply. "Did you forget she nearly drowned you?"
"I didn't forget--"
"Then why are you talking to her?"
"Thomas, I'm sorry," Damien said. "I didn't mean to upset you."
Thomas took a deep breath. "Damien, I can't force you to do anything. I'm not trying to control you or anything but I just want you to be careful. Promise me that?"
Damien nodded. "I promise."
Thomas smiled and leaned over for a kiss. Then, a loud noise caused them both to jerk away. Damien chuckled slightly.
"Was that your stomach?"
"Tommy hungry," Thomas said. "Time to eat!"
Chapter 19.5
The feeling of Thomas's rough tongue running along his neck made Damien shake with pleasure. The sight of his boyfriend hovering over him like that made him long for more. Damien did his best to bite back his moans as he felt Thomas's paws roam over him, lifting his shirt upward to feel along his stomach and chest.
"T-Tommy," Damien breathed.
Thomas didn't say anything more as he pulled the shirt off Damien, tossing it haphazardly towards the other side of the room before shirking off his own.
"I should take a picture of you like this," Thomas remarked, his voice husky and saturated with his own arousal.
Damien's retort died in his throat when he felt his pants and boxers start to lower. He felt his member rising from his sheath and Thomas's paws run along his length. Damien let out a moan as Thomas's paw gripped him, a smug grin spreading across Thomas's face when Damien failed to stifle himself.
"No, it's good. I like that you're loud," Thomas stated, leaning down to whisper into Damien's ears. "Let's see if we can get you screaming." He lowered his pants and briefs. Damien peered down, swallowing thickly as he watched Thomas's waist lower.
Their lengths met in a surge of pleasure as Thomas began to roll his hips. Thomas's tongue began to work on his neck again, and Damien moaned again, no longer thinking of how thin the walls were. His paws came up to reach for Thomas's shoulders, but Thomas quickly took hold of his wrists, pulling back with the most sly grin that Damien had ever seen. He held Damien's wrists just above his head, chuckling slightly.
"No, I'm taking you for a ride this time," Thomas remarked. His voice, laced with his own arousal and dominance, sent shivers down Damien's spine. "And trust me, you'll love it."
Holding Damien's wrists with one paw, Thomas brought his other one down to hold Damien's length, stroking it in his rough grip. Then, Thomas took hold of his knot, causing Damien to let out his loudest sound yet, pleasure flowing through him as he came, his warm seed splashing onto himself and Thomas's paw.
"Damien," Thomas said, bringing his cum-splashed paw to his lips. "Damien."
"Y-yeah?" Damien grumbled.
"Damien!"
Damien jerked at the irritable sound coming through, the naked Thomas over him replaced by one lying down beside him. Damien's head was no longer lying on the pillow, but resting on Thomas's chest, completely clothed and--oh...
"You okay?" Thomas asked, looking down at him. "You sound kind of--"
Damien jumped up and turned away from Thomas, hurriedly going through his clothes to find something else to change into. "I'm fine," he said hurriedly. "Just need to go take a shower." A cold shower.
"A shower? Damien, it's two in the morning."
"I know, but I'm wide awake and--"
"What's wrong with you?" Thomas demanded.
"Nothing! Just a--Go back to sleep!"
Thomas grumbled something irritably. "I feel like I should be questioning what you're up to."
"Please don't!" Damien insisted as he walked out of the room, holding his clothes and toiletries to cover the still-wet stain he was sure was visible through his clothing, clinging to his fur.
Thomas chortled when the door closed and he laid back down, running his fingers over his crotch. "Not the only one having that problem, pooch."