FSE

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All things considered this had been a pretty good Saturday for Eric so far; His bills had been paid, he'd looked at some apartments, all his chores and most of his tedious errands were done, hell he was even thinking of visiting a car dealership later on. However, the she-wolf sitting across from him at the café table had decided to completely ruin all of that with her presence alone.

"You are such a brat! Why are you being like this? You can't even have a pleasant conversation with your ex?" She snapped, gathering the attention of several other patrons.

"I'm sorry is that what I'm supposed to do?" Eric growled out as he continued his angry stare down with the pissed off she-wolf. "Sorry if that's a little difficult for me, ya see, I'm still a little sore since you dumped me through a fucking text, kicked me out of MY apartment and then left me homeless for almost three weeks before I could even grab any of my shit."

"What? Like that's my fault? You could've found a place in that time."

"YES IT'S- Jesus fuck- do you not understand how long it takes to get approved for a new lease? Remember when we had to wait almost a month before we were allowed to move into the old place? On top of that I barely had the money to afford a hotel-"

"That's not my fault! Maybe you could have afforded it if you'd had a decent job like everyone else-"

"A decent job!?" Eric snapped again. "Are you STILL on that shit!? I told you, several times, no one would hire me! And the job I had still paid the bills! Not to mention that between the two of us YOU were the only one in debt!"

"You're a fucking janitor! You make fuck all! Not surprising I guess, since that's all your worth." She snarled back.

Eric knew what he said next was a low blow, he definitely knew it, but he didn't care. "Yeah? At least I didn't fuck my professor for those passing grades, just so I could get approved at 'daddy's' law firm." He didn't even flinch when she tossed her drink into his muzzle, wasn't surprised either when she stormed out of the café calling him a fucking prick. The only fortunate part of this situation was that she'd ordered something cold, a smoothie. It wasn't much better though; the slush was quickly melting into his clothes and it reeked of coconut. Eric HATED coconut. Another stroke of fortune was that he wasn't wearing his work uniform, that would've been a tragedy, it probably would've cost him two grand to replace it. The t-shirt, jeans and leather jacket he was wearing weren't cheap either, when he received that first paycheck he decided spent a day shopping to treat himself, which meant a bunch of very new, VERY expensive clothes, some of which were now stained and reeked of fucking coconut.

One of the baristas, a Shiba Inu, handed him a towel, giving him a sympathetic smile. He quietly accepted the towel from her and tried to clean himself off as best he could, not that it mattered at this point, he was still walking out of there looking exactly like the guy who just had a drink thrown in his face, obvious sticky fur and soaked clothes standing out. It really sucked, just one thing, one person, could do so much in so little time to turn a great day into a shit one.

The ding and vibration of his phone snapped him back to reality, although it wasn't much better as he saw who the call was from. "And then there's this bitch." Eric muttered to himself as he swiped to answer.

"Heeeey, Eric." Cassandra cooed.

"Cassandra." He responded gruffly.

"Wow, you sound chipper. Busy right now?"

Eric took a deep breath as he prepared himself for whatever bullshit she was about to throw his way, whatever it was he did not need this. "I'm heading home right now."

"So, nothing important, perfect! Because I've been bored all day and really need-"

"No." Eric said flatly, cutting the collie off.

"Pardon me?" Cassandra growled into the phone, obviously not appreciating that he'd cut her off before she'd even had a chance to explain.

"I said no. I'm having a shit day and I'm going home. I don't care about whatever it is you need."

"Oooh, is that so?" Cassandra said, her voice taking a strained edge. "Now you listen-"

"NO! YOU fucking listen!" Eric barked into his phone. "I WAS having a good day, a great one! Then my shitty ex decided to show her fucking muzzle to me, turned it into a shouting match in the middle of a coffee shop and then threw her drink in my muzzle! I'm sticky, I'm soaked and I'm pissed off. I'm going home to shower and forgetting this day ever happened, goodbye and fuck off!" With that he ended the call and shoved the device back into his pocket.

No question that this was going to come back to bite him in the ass later, he knew that, but right now he just didn't care.

Eric was still seething as he stormed into his apartment and slammed the door shut, throwing his jacket across the room as he began stripping on his way to the bathroom, he didn't care, he'd pick everything up later. He ignored the string of dings and vibrations coming from his phone, no doubt Cassandra was huffy and wanted to tear him a new one, once again, he did not care.

The shower did little to improve his mood, but at least he didn't reek of coconut anymore and his fur was no longer sticky. He kept thinking about the conversation with his ex, Tabitha really could be a self-centered bitch, why had he wasted four years of his life with her? Although he knew the answer to that, rhetoric as it was, at some point he'd loved her.

Not madly or blindly in love, but actual love, the kind of love where you could be doing any mundane thing and that spark of realization hits you, that crystal clarity that THIS, those average moments with the person you loved that came and passed every day as easily as you drew breath, is what you want to do for the rest of your life, this is the person you want to do it all with. Every event, no matter how big or small, like moving in together, paying your bills, getting frustrated over canceled plans with your friends, lazy days where you sat around and did nothing, celebrating the holidays with family, having kids, starting a family, parenting together, family outings, growing old together, all of it.

Eric had seen an actual future with Tabitha, maybe that's why it pissed him off so much when she dumped him without any real explanation. Just sent a text that said they were done and he could grab his shit when she was ready to deal with him. It was how everything ended, the callousness of her attitude, not caring what happened to him, destroying the future that they'd been working towards, not a damn explanation for any of it, although he could take a wild guess, she was moving up in the world and didn't want to be with someone with such a 'low level' job. Then she suddenly showed up wanting to have a friendly chat? As if nothing had happened? No, fuck that and fuck her.

The doorbell caught his attention, bringing him out of his thoughts. It also made him aware of the sharp pain in his forehead, only now realizing he'd been banging his head against the wall, evident by the new cracks in the ceramic and the blood seeping into them.

The doorbell rang again and Eric growled. "I'll be just a second!" He shouted, out of some anger and so they could hear him. Wrapping a towel around his waist and grabbing a hand towel to press to his forehead he made his way through his apartment, kicking his discarded clothes out of the way on his way towards the door, he reached it just as the third ring sang throughout his apartment.

Eric recoiled as he saw Cassandra standing at his front door, looking up at him surprised as he opened it so suddenly, his own surprise came from her choice of clothing, a white sweater and tight jeans instead of her usual business suit, he'd never seen her in normal clothes before and was almost convinced she didn't own any. It only lasted for a moment as he glared at her.

"How the hell did you find me?"

Cassandra crossed her arms and raised a brow at him, as if saying 'are you serious?' "Your address is in your employee file, I looked it up and drove over."

"Greeeeeat." He drawled through clenched teeth. "Look, Cassandra, this isn't a good time."

"You made that perfectly clear over the phone." She said sharply. "Tell me what happened."

He raised both paws in the air in an exasperated gesture at the collie's insistence. "Cassandra, this isn't-"

"Oh my god, what the hell did you do to yourself?" Cassandra demanded, grabbing his muzzle so she could get a better look at his still bleeding forehead. Was that concern in her voice?

"It's nothing."

"No, that's something." She said as she marched past him into his apartment much to his disbelief.

"Are you serious right now? I keep telling you that I'm not in the mood for whatever it is you want." Eric growled.

"You keep mentioning that but frankly I don't care, you're bleeding and need to get that looked at. Do you have a first aid kit?" She asked as she started looking around.

Eric clenched his jaw tighter as he marched up to her, he was done. "I'll deal with it myself, now get the hell-" He didn't get to finish as Cassandra roughly shoved him onto his couch, pouncing him as she gripped his shoulders and narrowed her eyes on him.

"I'm not leaving, not until you grow the fuck up. You're being an unbearable asshole right and you need to snap out of it. You don't want to talk about what happened? Fine, but I'm not leaving until THAT is properly taken care of. Now where the hell is your first aid kit?" She snapped at him, leaving no room for argument or negotiation.

All Eric could do was stare at her with his mouth hanging open, this was... new. Really weird on top of that, despite looking angry she also looked deeply concerned, she was worried about him?

"Bathroom, under the sink." Eric said dumbly as he pointed down the hall.

Cassandra straightened up and went off towards his bathroom, leaving the half soaked, naked wolf sitting dumbstruck on his couch. She returned a moment later, hefting the sizable case onto the coffee table with some effort. "Good lord, are you preparing for war or something?"

"Uhh, my brother is- was in the military... Made sure we all had one." Eric explained.

It was Cassandra's turn to stare at him dumbly as she processed his statement, probably drawing the same conclusion everyone else did. "...Was?"

"Still alive, he had to retire early."

The tension visibly left Cassandra and he could see the relief on her muzzle. "Oh! That's good! I think? Good that he's alive! But why did he have to retire if you don't mind me asking?"

"Not exactly a fun or entertaining story." Eric said hesitantly.

Cassandra shrugged as she kneeled down in front of him, putting on a pair of medical gloves and taking out the plastic bag of cotton swabs. "Tell me anyway, or the abridged version if you don't think I'll be comfortable with it."

"Ok... I guess the short version is this, his leg got crushed by falling debris and a grenade went off near his head. Lost his leg and went into a coma for three weeks because some shrapnel pierced his brain."

Cassandra's paw stopped just before the alcohol soaked cotton swab in her paw touched his head, she stared at Eric in horrified disbelief over the explanation he'd given her. This was pretty standard whenever the story was brought up.

"Yeah, that's the usual reaction. Luckily it didn't cause any brain damage, he lost his helmet and barely managed to grab it before the grenade went off so it mitigated the damage, he was still conscious for all of five minutes before they pulled him out of there. The worst he walked away with is a missing leg and some scars on the right side of his head."

"O-oh! Well... that's not so bad then." Cassandra said, trying to avoid the awkwardness she was no doubt beginning to feel. Instead focusing on her original task as she dabbed the cotton swab against his injury. Eric hissed as he felt the sting of the alcohol but managed to stay still while she worked.

"So...What happened to cause...this?" Cassandra asked, gesturing to his forehead.

"I was in the shower and it just... happened?" Eric answered vaguely.

Cassandra nodded at his short explanation, clicking her tongue, knowing there was more to this. "Like, you slipped and fell? Oooor you did something?"

Eric simply shrugged. "I was thinking about... stuff and when I came out of it, I was banging my head against the wall."

To his surprise the collie gave him a heartbreaking concerned look as her paw rested on the side of his muzzle and she gently caressed him. "Oh, sweetie"

This was very strange for Eric, no, strange didn't even begin to cover this. Cassandra... wasn't like this, ever. She was sassy, crazy, and sometimes, ok most of the time, a total bitch, but worried and affectionate? Not her, not that he'd ever seen. Although there wasn't a lot that he really knew about her, she hadn't shared much with him, all he'd seen was an easily amused collie who mercilessly teased him and plotted various ways to land him into sexual shenanigans. This was a new side to her that he was seeing but it was still her.

Eventually her paw left his muzzle and she reached back into the first aid kit, pulling out a band aid that she quickly unwrapped before sticking to his forehead. "There you go, good as new." She said with a soft smile. They sat in silence for a moment, not really sure what else to say. Eric finally decided he needed to properly dry off and to grab a change of clothes, grabbing his pants on the way to his room.

Eric quickly dried himself off, or as quickly as he could, given the amount of fur he had, he should really think about installing a full body fur drying vent in his new apartment if one of the one's he looked at didn't have it installed already. Now he was wondering how many of them actually had one installed, shaking his head as he realized it didn't matter right now, that was something to think about later.

After a few minutes he stepped out into the living room, Cassandra sitting on his couch, obviously avoiding the damp spot on the edge that he'd made previously. "All changed." He announced, spreading his arms to show himself off.

A small grin curled her muzzle. "I can see that."

Eric nodded as he clapped his paws together and exhaled and exaggerated breath. "Soooo, is there something you needed?"

"Yeah, let's talk." Cassandra said as she patted the spot beside her, glad she wasn't making him sit in the damp spot.

Knowing this probably wasn't up for negotiation and having lost his anger Eric obliged her, taking his spot on the couch beside her. As soon as he sat down she took one of his paws in hers, thumb gently rubbing against his knuckles. "Talk to me, sweetie. What happened today?"

"Pretty sure I told you. Had a run in with my ex that went sour." Eric reminded her flatly.

"Yeah, I get that... but what exactly happened? You said she turned it into a shouting match, how did it get to that?" Cassandra asked with a slight frown, obviously trying to piece together the event with what little information she had.

"She tried to say hi and I... just wasn't polite?" Eric grumbled as he scratched the side of his head with his free paw. "We didn't part on great terms and she just... acted like nothing had happened, I didn't want to talk to her and she got offended that I wasn't happy to see her."

"Oh, that makes some sense. Must've been bad if you snapped at her that quickly." Cassandra said with a small laugh, he couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

"I didn't snap at her. She sat at my table, tried to start a conversation and I gave her short replies. I was trying to make it so she figured it out on her own that I didn't want to talk to her, but I kind of suck at subtleties" Eric explained, correcting her assumption, although he couldn't blame her for thinking he'd snapped.

"Why didn't you just tell her straight out? You've had no problem doing that with me or Mollie." Cassandra reminded him.

Eric couldn't help the slightly amused smile as he shook his head. "Yeah, because I know how you'll react, same with Tabitha, I knew if I told her it would've been the same conclusion but a lot faster and much uglier."

"Ahhhhh." Cassandra said, nodding as she was starting to understand. "What happened between you two? I've seen you mad but not 'I never want to speak to you again' mad."

Eric hesitated, opening his mouth and closing it as he thought about how to explain this properly. "It's a little complicated." He started slowly. "She kind of dumped me over text and left me homeless for a couple weeks, didn't even let me come back to get my stuff. She just... ended everything."

He looked over to gauge her reaction, her ears perked, she was listening intently, it was hard to tell if she was surprised or was expecting something else, regardless he continued. "It was really sudden, our relationship had been going good so I don't get why, I can make guesses but she hasn't told me her reason. She put me in a really shitty position, especially since I didn't have access to any of my stuff."

"Why didn't she let you grab anything?"

"Said she needed some time before she saw me again, which isn't reasonable considering I was the one who got dumped. I called her and told her I at least needed my clothes but she snapped, saying if I showed up before she was good and ready she would call the cops. Her dad's a big-time lawyer too and would probably back whatever bullshit story she fed him."

"Wow... that's... that's really fucked up." Cassandra said, processing everything that Eric had said. "I can see why you wouldn't want to see her again."

Eric shook his head. "That wasn't the worst part of it, yeah that sucked but what sucked more is she's THAT ex."

"The obnoxious bitch ex?

Eric laughed at the blunt statement. "Well, she could be sometimes. But no, she was... you know when you're dating someone and you think 'I want to spend my life with this person' Like, this is the person you want to have kids with and grow old with? Then they dump you without a second thought? Just right out on your tail."

It finally clicked in Cassandra's head what he meant and just how big of a deal this was. "Ohhhhhhh, she was THAT ex."

"Yep. It just... makes me angry. Like we had a good thing going, right? I didn't cheat on her, I wasn't an asshole, she even admitted that I was probably the best boyfriend she'd ever had and the fact that I know that messes with me." Eric huffed as he leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "But I've got a good idea why she dumped me."

Cassandra cocked her head, at him, she was about to ask what his guess was but Eric continued on his own. "I mentioned her dad's this big-time lawyer, right? She got into the family business and I was doing all these crappy jobs. She probably got frustrated that I couldn't find anything better, not for a lack of trying. It would've made her look bad; how many lawyers are in relationships with labor workers and janitors? Probably doesn't want to admit that's the reason either because she'd look shallow."

"It's as good a guess as any." Cassandra said, she decided she wasn't going to agree or disagree with him on the subject because his guess was only speculation, he brought up a valid point though, but in the event that it wasn't the correct one she didn't want to be feeding a false delusion. Instead of pushing the topic any further she decided to shift gears. Her paw moved away from his and back to his muzzle, thumbing the side just like she'd been doing to his knuckles. "Are you ok, sweetie?"

"I..." Eric started, pausing hesitantly before he let out a sigh that sounded more like a low growl. "I don't really know. I feel all mixed up right now."

"Which is understandable. It sounds like she put you through a lot and it brought up a lot of unresolved feelings." She rolled her eyes when Eric stared at her incredulously. "What? I know shit."

"Yeah, it's just... kind of weird to hear you say it. A lot of this is really weird, you've never been this... Nice." Eric admitted, still staring at her.

Cassandra bobbed her head from side to side in a form of agreement. "Yes, well, I'm still a person too. Look, I know I can be harsh, and ... 'insane', as you've put it. But I do care about people, I care about you. Seeing you like this makes me worried and hurting yourself like that." She stopped to point at his forehead. "Makes me even more worried."

Eric froze as Cassandra sat up on her knees, leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in for a hug. "Next time talk to me about it, talk to Mollie, talk to someone! Bottling it up and dealing with it by yourself doesn't work, not for something like this, ok? Just... don't try dealing with it by yourself anymore."

Eric was left speechless; he honestly had no words. Not only was Cassandra acting like a genuine, caring person, being completely understanding and giving him advice for his wellbeing but it was also decent advice. His emotions were still mixed up but for entirely different reasons now. Rather than respond with words he simply nodded his head, wrapped his arms around her waist and returned the hug.

The moment he hugged her back Cassandra used her body weight to pull on Eric until he was laying on top of her with his head resting against her chest. "Uhh, Cassandra?"

"Shhh. Just relax." She whispered to him, one of her paws stroking the back of his head and running down his neck while the other rubbed a slow circle between his shoulders. Eric had been constantly surprised throughout this whole visit but this... this was a nice surprise, at least. Deciding he didn't want to question or think about it he completely relaxed his body against her and closed his eyes as her paws ran through his fur and rubbed his back, enjoying and savoring the feeling of being embraced.

"Hey...about earlier." Eric mumbled against her chest.

"Hmm?"

"When... When I snapped at you, on the phone... I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that. That was shitty of me." Eric said, fully sincere in his apology.

"Water under the bridge hon, no worries." Cassandra whispered.

***

Eric groaned when he opened his eyes, he felt... Groggy, tired. Had he fallen asleep?

"Good morning, sunshine." Eric craned his neck so he could look up at the smiling, somewhat amused border collie.

"How long was I out?" He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and blinking to clear his vision.

"A few hours, maybe three." Cassandra explained. "You passed out pretty quickly, surprised me a bit."

Eric shrugged as he pushed himself off of her, twisting his neck back and forth and side to side to work the kinks out, satisfied when he felt several cracks. "What can I say? When I get relaxed and comfortable, I get sleepy."

"So I noticed." Cassandra said, sitting up and arching her back until Eric heard a series of pops. "I'm not complaining, you're a cute sleeper."

"Thought you'd already know that; doesn't Mollie tell you everything?"

Cassandra shrugged in response. "Not everything, the juicy details most of the time, but not everything."

Eric shrugged; it was a good enough explanation. He stood up and stretched before making his way to the kitchen. "Coffee?" He asked as he pulled out everything he needed.

"Sure, a little cream and two sugars." Cassandra said.

Eric nodded as he scooped the grinds into the filter, he didn't have one of those new tablet coffee makers and frankly didn't want one, he much preferred this compared to all of the various choices. Maybe he was old fashioned but he just wasn't big on all the new flavors they kept introducing for coffee, he simply enjoyed a classic brew. He decided to check his fridge while he waited for the coffee, he hadn't eaten since breakfast and ended up skipping lunch, not that he was complaining since he'd had a cute collie as a body pillow but his stomach was demanding food. Apparently, he needed to do a grocery run because his fridge was looking pretty bare at the moment, a few eggs, several half empty bottles of condiments, three cans of soda and some veggies that were starting to rot. Anything in the freezer wasn't an option, it would take too long to defrost and he didn't want to wait that long.

"Hey, you feeling hungry?" Eric asked, turning to the collie as he closed his fridge.

She shrugged before answering. "Not terribly but I could eat."

"Cool, I don't have much here but we can order takeout, feeling for anything?"

Cassandra leaned back and thought about it, bobbing her head side to side as she did. "Pizza? I haven't had a good deep dish in ages."

Eric smiled as he pulled out his phone and searched for his usual pizza place. "Toppings?"

"Hmmm... peperoni, ham... maybe just get a meat lover's or something."

"Sounds good to me, stuffed crust?"

"Yes!" Cassandra answered excitedly, tail wagging behind her. "I haven't had stuffed crust in so long!"

"Yeah, you're usually getting stuffed yourself. No wonder you want the meat lovers" Eric couldn't help but add with a smug grin.

Cassandra crossed her arms and gave him an amused, challenging look. "Well look who has food jokes... Candy boy."

"Hey! Only Mollie gets to call me candy boy, she earned it." Eric snapped in mock seriousness.

"Oh, I bet she did." Cassandra said, a sultry grin curving her muzzle. "But what about me? I'm sure I've earned it."

"There's a lot of things you've earned. I think a healthy dose of hate fucking is at the top of that list."

"Promise?" Cassandra asked as she placed her paws on her lap and gave him an innocent, expectant look. Trying to make herself look like a good girl. Eric bit his lip and resisted the shudder that wanted to work through his body, it never surprised him just how hot she could be, especially when she played innocent like this.

"Don't tempt me Cassandra, not until I've eaten something." Eric said, waving his phone at her.

"But it's ok after you've eaten?" She asked, trying to contain her excitement.

Eric rolled his eyes and shook his head but he couldn't help the slightly amused grin that spread across his muzzle. "Sure, go nuts."

Cassandra looked like she was about to say something before she paused, reconsidered and shook her head, trying to hold back a smug grin. "Not gonna say it, too easy."

Eric rolled his eyes and shook his head, knowing exactly where her mind had been going with that one. Instead, he focused on placing his order. It would take twenty minutes or so, which he figured was better than most places. Bringing the coffee over he handed Cassandra hers and sat himself down beside her again.

She took a sip and seemed to be contemplating it, after a moment she scrunched her muzzle slightly and shook her head. "Eh, alright but not the greatest I've ever had."

"Not all of us have tried every single coffee from around the world." Eric said as he downed a generous amount.

"I haven't tried ALL of them... and besides, I still think I make better coffee." She stated as a matter of fact.

"You make your own coffee?" Eric asked, somewhat amused by her confidence in coffee brewing.

"Yep! Learned how to in university." She answered with a proud smile. "I worked as a barista at this really nice café, they didn't use any of those tablets or store-bought grinds, they prepared the beans in house and we grinded them ourselves. Nothing has been able to compare since."

"Huh, I'll be damned. Mollie did mention that you did a couple of different jobs in university but I can't imagine you working as a barista."

The collie smiled as she let out an amused laugh. "I know, right? But it was a good job. I figured if I couldn't make it big with the company then I could always try with a coffee shop instead, everyone needs coffee."

A valid point. Coffee was the life blood for many, many people. "What else did you do? Mollie said you had something like three jobs on top of classes and now I'm kind of curious."

The collie grinned as she leaned her head back and thought about it. "It's been ages since I've even had to think about that! Oh! I was a delivery girl for a pizza place and I was a bartender for this really popular nightclub downtown, you've probably been there before. Technoize?"

Eric grimaced as he inhaled sharply, oh he was VERY well aware of Technoize. "Yeeeeeah... I kind of took my ex there... a lot." Which was an understatement, it had been their Saturday night haunt for years. Now that he was thinking about it, he hadn't been back there since they'd broken up.

"Oh... shit." The collie shifted uncomfortably as he dropped that on her. "Sorry, I didn't think about that."

"No worries, you didn't know. But tell me about it, what was it like working there?" Eric asked.

This perked Cassandra up again, glad that she hadn't stepped on another emotional landmine. "It was fun! I enjoyed working there and sometimes I'd spend my Saturday nights there even if I was off. The place just has this... I don't know, energy to it! I guess it was just addicting being around so much life."

That was true, that was one of the reasons Eric had liked the place so much, the atmosphere of the club itself almost felt like it was a living, breathing thing. Like it could come to life at any moment, as if it was another patron ordering drinks and dancing to the music. "It definitely did have a good vibe. I guess that's why it's so popular."

"Right! I actually take Mollie there sometimes, whenever we've had a really rough week, you should come with us next time. If that's something you'd be comfortable with" Hastily adding on to the offer, in case Eric felt uncomfortable with the idea.

It had been a long time since he'd been there, some fear of running into Tabitha and ruining the club for him but if he was with Cassandra and Mollie... "You know what? I think I'd like that."

They continued talking for some time, even after the pizza arrived and they'd finished most of it off they continued talking. Eric discovered that when she wasn't being a completely manipulative, crazy bitch, that Cassandra was actually a genuinely interesting person to talk to. She had amazing stories from her university years and everyday life, like how she'd met Mollie. Currently she was telling him about the trouble they would get up to when they had free time and wow, they had lived an exciting university life!

"So, there we are, completely COVERED in goddamn peanut butter and chocolate sauce while at least thirty frat boys and sorority girls are chanting all around us while the other two girls are trying to wrestle us. I think at one point we were wrestling our own partners, imagine my surprise when Mollie yelps and I'm like 'Oh shit! I'm fighting the wrong girl!" Eric was howling with laughter as he listened to her story, it took a bit to compose himself before she continued.

"And-And then! The corgi we're fighting shouts. 'I'm gonna fuck you up!' Before she fucking leaps onto my back! But the best part, THE BEST PART! When she grabs me, I ended up slipping, and when I slipped, I spun around and landed right on top of her! Just a full body 'SPLAT'! Eventually they both gave up and we were declared the winners. So of course, we're given our prize and we just shout 'Screw the trophy! Our girl is single and want's Brayden Boldum's number!' And THAT's the story of how Mollie and I got roped into a sorority food wrestling competition just so we could hook up our friend with a long-time crush!"

"Holy shit!" Eric wheezed; he was still finding it hard to breath as he laughed and repeatedly slapped his thigh.

"That's not even the best part." Cassandra pulled out her phone and snuggled up beside Eric as she searched through her gallery, finally finding a photo of a very gorgeous looking Australian Shepard in a bridal dress who was being carried in the arms of a handsome, tuxedo wearing Alaskan malamute, both had the happiest smiles he'd ever seen on a couple.

"That was them two years ago. And this..." Cassandra scrolled through her gallery once again until she found the picture. "-Was sent to me last week." She showed the picture to Eric, he saw the two dogs standing side by side the malamute had his arm around his wife, both still smiling but with the Shepard holding a sign over her stomach that read:

"Cassandra 2.0!"

(In the making! Progress update: 12/40 weeks)

"No way! They're naming their kid after you? That's amazing."

"I know, right!? I won't lie, I started crying when she sent it to me and I was still crying when I called her. I also laughed a little too, I kind of forgot they were both huge nerds and the sign definitely reminded me of that."

Cassandra stared at the picture fondly for another minute or so before finally putting her phone down, now she was simply snuggled up next to Eric. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer until her head was resting against his chest. A content sigh escaped her as she settled in and draped her arm over his stomach.

"This is nice."

"It is." Eric agreed. "This whole visit has been pretty nice."

"Surprised that I can be so sweet?"

Eric shrugged. "I'm more surprised that you can be normal." That had earned him a playful slap across his chest but he saw the smile she was trying to hide.

"I can be normal, when I want. It's just more fun to be... adventurous!"

Eric let out a low chuckle as he shook his head at the collie. "Adventurous? Is that what we're calling it now."

"Well... we could call it other things." Before he could ask what else it could be Eric felt her paw drifting south until she was cupping him through his jeans. A hiss escaped him as she slowly but purposefully groped and stroked him through the thick denim. "But I think adventurous fits just nicely."

Eric dipped his head down and kissed the collie, a pleased groan escaping from her as he did. They started off slow, their tongues lazily brushing against one another. Cassandra stopped stroking him as Eric grabbed her hips and carefully guided her onto his lap. She gently ran her paws through the scruff on the back of his neck as she straddled him, deepening the kiss as she did until she could hear ragged, pleasured huffs from the wolf beneath her and felt the growing bulge in his pants pressing into her rear. Eric wasn't in much of a rush, he felt the mood was good for lazy Saturday sex, but even still he wanted to see her naked sooner than later.

With that in mind he started lifting the sweater off the collie, he must've been a little too eager as Cassandra giggled when he reached her chest, lifting her arms up so that he could easily remove the clothing before wrapping them around his neck once more. Eric couldn't help the appreciative grin as he saw that Cassandra had a hidden surprise for him, she'd decided to forgo a bra today and instead wore a nearly see-through lace black camisole underneath. He took a moment to appreciate the sight, something that apparently amused Cassandra as she giggled again.

"Like what you see, hun?"

Rather than respond with words he brought his muzzle to her chest and started to lick her nipples through the silky fabric, the collie softly moaned and shuddered as his tongue slowly rolled across and teased her nipple with his tongue, savoring the feeling of silk and warmth until it became erect, moving onto the next one and repeating the action until both her nipples were peeking through, Eric might have enjoyed size but there was something really hot about those small perky breasts and the way her nipples hardened almost instantly.

"Stop teasing!" Cassandra groaned as her paws tightened their grip on his neck. Eric took a moment to debate whether he should move on or to continue teasing, he decided he wasn't done yet as he suckled her nipple through the fabric, eliciting a gasp from the collie who pulled him closer. He sucked and teased for an almost painfully long time before moving on to the next one, repeating the same actions, throwing in some playful nibbles as he did. While his tongue and mouth worked on her breasts his paws found a good use as they slowly caressed her back, massaging the fur underneath, claws digging in but careful not to tear through the thin fabric.

"Ugh! You tease!" Cassandra growled.

Eric gave one last playful nip before looking up at her with a devious smile. "You haven't seen teasing yet." He rolled them over until he was towering over her, taking a moment to capture her lips in another slow kiss before he started to undo the button on her jeans, slowly pulling them off, unintentionally bringing her underwear with them but that was just fine by him, it made the next part easier as he spread her legs and brought his muzzle to her pussy. Taking a moment as he brought his nose to her folds and inhaled deeply, appreciating the sweet scent of her sex before he decided to have a taste. He slowly dragged his tongue across her lips as the collie exhaled above him. Eric knew what she wanted but he was going to take his time before he gave it to her. Slow laps of his tongue barely pressed passed her folds, a flick of his tongue every time it reached her clit.

"Y-You're f-fucking- hah- evil!" Cassandra panted out while Eric chuckled in response, continuing his tongues torturously slow assault on her pussy. Whines and growls escaped the collie as she writhed above him, twisting and turning, edging her hips closer in an attempt to have him bury his tongue deeper. Eric decided she'd been teased enough; his next stroke plunged his tongue into the dog who released a surprised gasp at the sudden shift. While he tongue fucked the collie he grated his teeth through her fur, making sure they brushed against her clit as he did. With all the teasing he'd inflicted and the sudden shift in tempo It didn't take long for her to reach her peak as she arched her back and let loose a lust filled howl, grabbing the fur on his head with both paws as her legs clamped around him and her folds clenched against his tongue, spilling a rush of juices into his muzzle.

Something new he'd learned today, Cassandra had very powerful legs. Her thighs were squeezing around his head so tightly, cutting off any source of oxygen, that he was almost scared that he'd black out. Thankfully her legs relaxed and he quickly came up for air. She hadn't noticed his near suffocation, she was flat on her back with her tongue lolling out as she stared up at the ceiling, shallow pants and gasps escaping her.

"So, what was that about me being evil?"

It took some effort but Cassandra raised her head and narrowed her eyes at him, but it wasn't out of anger. No, he recognized the glint in her eyes, she was horny and wanted him right now. Eric figured he'd teased her enough; he could give her what she wanted. Cassandra wasn't going to wait for him to start, evident as she managed to push herself into a sitting position and started lifting his shirt up, she didn't take it off right away, taking a moment as she trailed small kisses and bites from his stomach, up to his chest and finally to his neck. A low, pleased rumble in his throat made the collie grin as she nipped his neck again before she lifted his shirt over his head. He tossed it to the ground and placed his paw on the collie's muzzle, guiding her into another kiss. He'd forgotten just how nice lazy kisses like this could be, there was no question that he loved rough and feral kisses, hardcore making out aroused and excited him, but lazy kisses had their good points too. There weren't any real expectations and it gave him a chance to savor the taste of his partner, it was so relaxing that he felt like he could do it forever.

Cassandra had a different idea as he felt her paws undoing his buckle and unzipping his pants, almost desperate in her attempt at releasing his swollen member. Eric grinned into the kiss, amused by her enthusiasm. He shifted to get his pants off, but Cassandra pulled on him until he was on top of her, his pants barely dropped below his thighs. "It's fine, just fuck me already!"

Yeah, she'd definitely been teased enough. Cassandra grabbed his cock and rubbed the tip through her lips a few times until he found entry, once he felt himself slipping inside of her he gave a hard thrust and buried his length inside of her until it nudged against resistance. The collie threw her head back and screamed as she arched her back, she hadn't been expecting him to bury himself that quickly and it shocked her. Eric grinned again as he saw her immediate reaction, he'd warmed and slicked her up nicely but she was still naturally tight and he was simply big. It didn't matter though as he started pounding into her with fierce, merciless strokes. He'd wanted lazy sex but knew that wasn't an option, by working Cassandra up he'd worked himself up until it was almost unbearable, they could take it slow after this, for now he needed to fuck her raw.

"W-Wait! Eric! Slow-Fuuuck!" She groaned out as he slammed his cock into her tight folds over and over again, every thrust must have been knocking the wind out of her as she could barely manage to take in shocked gasps each time he filled her. It was a surprise when he felt her fur against his, he thought it would take a lot longer before he could hilt her. Eric decided to change his pace, he didn't want to knot her yet, he wanted to take his time with the collie now. He slowly pulled his cock out of her folds, feeling her walls clenching against him as he did, when he was almost free, save for his tip, he rammed it back into her. Cassandra screamed again and let out a drawn-out whine as she grabbed for him, Eric wouldn't let her, he grabbed her by the wrists and pinned them above her head. He repeated the action of nearly withdrawing from her soaking cunt before ramming it back into her for the next dozen or so thrusts.

The way she arched her back and thrashed under him, the gasping pants and growls as he felt her breath on his muzzle, her eyes fluttering as she felt those jarring jolts of pleasure with each hard thrust, he knew that she was loving this. Eric was too, he was enjoying this immensely, he still didn't know what it was about Cassandra that drew him back to her but he was starting to get an idea, Cassandra was like a drug. Everything about her when they had sex was addictive. The way she clung to his body, how perfectly snug his cock felt inside of that inviting warmth, all the noises she'd make weather she was howling in lust or whimpering, the way she clenched around his cock and curled against him when she came, everything was addicting and he couldn't get enough of her.

Cassandra squirmed against him as she moaned, she was trying to get her paws free from Eric's grip, He couldn't help but grin at the knowledge, she might not admit it herself but Cassandra was an affectionate lover, she loved wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. She proved him right, as soon as he released his grip her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him down into a fiercely passionate kiss, her tongue lashed against his as she panted heavily into his mouth as he fucked her. His knot was beginning to inflate but Eric wasn't ready to tie her yet, he wanted more. Cassandra gasped into his mouth as he completely withdrew from her, strands of her juices and his pre dripped from his cock, and instead replaced it with his fingers.

"N-No! Put it back in!" Cassandra cried out as she gave him a desperate stare and whined at him.

"In a bit." Eric growled as he curled his index and middle finger inside of her, rubbing her clit with his thumb while he stroked her insides. The lust drunk collie ground her hips against his paw, it didn't matter if it was his fingers or a cock she'd contend herself with anything as long as he filled her. She howled as his fingers found her g-spot and began to vigorously stroke while his thumb flicked at her clit. Cassandra arched her back again and let out another lust crazed howl as she reached her peak, humping furiously into Eric's paw as she soaked it with a torrent of her juices.

He didn't give her anytime to savor the afterglow of her latest orgasm, he finally got his pants off and pulled on Cassandra until she was straddling his lap, a yelp escaping her muzzle as his paw smacked her rear and gripped it.

"Ride me." He ordered. The collie stared at him blankly for a moment before a mischievous grin spread across her muzzle. Cassandra grabbed his cock and guided it to her entrance before quickly lowering herself to take his whole length, enjoying the pleasured groan she elicited from Eric as he felt himself completely buried inside of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and once again locked him into a deeply passionate kiss as she started to bounce on his throbbing member. As Eric wrapped his arms around the collie and held her close, he realized this might have been a bad idea, he'd given Cassandra full control of the situation now and knew she was going to make him regret it. The idea was reinforced as she roughly grinded her hips against his crotch every time she lowered herself onto him before lifting herself up and dropping to repeat the motion, the entirety of his length and knot buried deep inside of her with every hilt, his tip trying to nudge past one final resistance that refused to give until it was almost painful.

Eric felt Cassandra grinning against his muzzle as a whine escaped him with the next series of determined drops. "Is the big bad wolf about to blow? Gonna huff and puff and blow your thick, hot load into me? Yeah? You wanna do that?" Cassandra teased in such a sultry voice it made Eric whine again. It wasn't a question of 'want' anymore, he needed to cum inside of her, he needed to fill the collie up with his seed until it threatened to flood her. The need was so great that Eric grabbed her by her hips and began to pound upward into her with his own determined thrusts. Cassandra gasped before locking her muzzle with his in an attempt to muffle her desperate gasps and whines, they quickly found a steady rhythm as she matched his thrusts and groaned every time their hips met. Eric's knot was almost fully inflated and the ball of cockmeat was slapping lewdly against her soaking lips, he knew he was at the point of no return as her lips stretched and essentially sucked in his knot with a lewd slurp. Cassandra's head flew back and her muzzle hung open in a silent scream as she felt his knot grinding against her insides as it was intended to do. Eric hammered into her and wrapped his arms tightly around the collie, burying his muzzle against her chest as his eyes screwed shut, he was getting close now.

Eric grunted and groaned loudly as he finally hit his peak, his cock throbbing and jerking inside of the collie as he filled her with rope after rope of his thick, virile seed, he was so deep inside of her that those first shots had nowhere else to go but into her very womb. The collie shuddered before a high-pitched whine escaped her, she tightened her hold around Eric's neck and curled against him while she desperately humped against him as she rode out her orgasm in an attempt to coax out every drop of seed and pleasure that she could from him.

Cassandra twitched against Eric as she took in deep shuddering breaths, her body randomly jerking as a wave of pleasure would hit her again while Eric simply held her close as he savored the afterglow of his orgasm. His lust muddled mind drifted back to his previous thought of Cassandra and how addicting she was, in all honesty he could probably do this for the rest of his life and never get tired of her. Strange though, he could've sworn he'd had that thought before-

A cold rush flooded Eric as he remembered, the only other time this thought had occurred to him was when he'd been with Tabitha. When he realized he'd wanted to spend his life with her.

...Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Eric kept his body neutral; he forced himself not to tense, knowing Cassandra would figure something was wrong if he did, he was NOT explaining this to her! Shit, why was he having this particular thought now!? He'd already been in love with Tabitha when the thought had hit him, he didn't love Cassandra. Was he in lust with her? Absolutely, but nothing resembling actual love. Ok, he needed to calm down, think about this rationally, it had been an emotional day, Cassandra had dragged up a lot of unresolved feelings and pent-up emotions regarding his ex, if he looked at this from a psychological point of view, he could simply rationalize it as projecting these feelings onto Cassandra, yeah, ok, that actually was helping him to calm down.

Eric was broken from his thoughts as he felt Cassandra pressing her muzzle to his in a lazy kiss. His body acted automatically as he slowly kissed the collie back before she broke the kiss and gave him a tender smile that made his heart stop. "God, you're amazing." She breathed before resting her head against his chest.

.... Fuck.

***

"I don't know, I think you're overreacting a bit." Mollie said as she rested her head in her paws, leaning forward on Eric's desk as she stared at the clearly exhausted wolf.

"I know I am, that's not the problem." Eric groaned as he lightly banged his head against the desk. He'd informed Mollie of his weekend affairs, running into his ex, his day with Cassandra, everything that had been on his mind, it was only fair that he kept her in the loop and even more fair to tell her something this big since it could affect their relationship as well.

"It kind of is, the problem that you think is the big problem isn't actually a problem." Mollie said, which finally got Eric to raise his head, even if it was to give her a very confused look. "What I mean is, you already thought it over, right? You know it's just your mind getting all mixed up but you're turning it into a bigger deal than it really is."

Eric groaned as he put his muzzle in his paws and shook his head. "It feels bigger than that. There was this moment, I tried to rationalize it but then she looked up at me and it was... all I could think was 'Fuck' because my whole argument got blown out of the water, it was like the universe decided to slap me with a 'But what if you ARE in love with her? Or starting to fall for her'. I don't know, this whole thing's been messing with me."

Mollie bobbed her head side to side non committedly, she could see where Eric was coming from but knew that it might not actually be the case, on the other paw this was also kind of fun to watch, how often was she going to see some Rom-Com bullshit like this in real life, especially in her life!? Ok, she might have been around Cassandra for too long, but that was beside the point.

"Ok, look at it from another angle. Let's go with the VERY big stretch, that you MIGHT be falling for Cassandra... Would that actually be so bad?"

"Yes!... Maybe?... Ok, I don't know." Eric huffed as he leaned back in his chair. "It's just... I don't know enough about her. I know what she's told me and what I've seen for myself but that's not really much. Not to mention that she's still my boss. On top of that, as inappropriate as our relationship is, I don't think she'd even consider me as a potential boyfriend or future husband."

Mollie rolled her eyes, men, why were they like this? "Isn't that the best part about dating? Getting to know more about someone? And why do you automatically think that she wouldn't want to date your or possibly marry you? Yeah, ok, marriage is too far into the realm of possibilities right now, but dating at the very least wouldn't be out of the question. She does like you."

"She likes me because I'm her source of fun and entertainment!" Eric countered.

"See? You might as well already be dating." Mollie said with a particularly cheeky grin.

Eric groaned again as he shook his head. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"That's besides the point!" Mollie got up from her seat and walked around until she fell into Eric's lap, gently grabbing his muzzle to look up at her. "Sweetie, you're never going to know unless you talk about it. When it comes to people Cassandra isn't as cruel as you think she can be, if you talk to her about your feelings then she will talk to you about them properly, no teasing or joking involved, she'll help you figure out what you want or what works out best for the both of you."

"But... What if I'm making a mistake? What if I'm just mixed up and I end up in something bigger than I bargained for and it ends up screwing us both?"

Mollie shrugged. "Then take some time to think about it, if you're really not sure just yet. Maybe even consider talking to a therapist, we have some good recommendations and they could help you sort out your feelings, that way when you do eventually sort yourself out and talk to her you will be properly sorted out."

Eric stared up at Mollie for a moment as he processed this, honestly, she was giving him some pretty sound advice, but there was still that nagging in the back of his head that was telling him he might just be making a big mistake and that he shouldn't bother doing any of that, that it would be better to just wait and see how things went. Of course he knew that listening to that voice wouldn't actually help him, Mollie was being the smarter of the two here.

"Ok, Yeah, I'll think about it."

"Good." Mollie smiled at him and kissed the tip of his nose before getting up off of him, smoothing out her skirt before heading for the door. "I'm serious, Eric. Don't just bottle this up and try and forget about it, figure something out, something helpful and constructive, ok?"

Eric nodded as he gave the husky a small smile. "Ok"

Satisfied, Mollie walked out of his office and left Eric to his work. Thankfully work kept him distracted, beyond file management and running around Mollie had actually gotten him to speak on the phone with their clients, simple stuff like booking appointments, reminders, contract dates, easier stuff compared to what either the husky or border collie did. He'd just finished his second to last call when his phone went off. Eric froze as he saw that it was a text from Cassandra.

"Hey, I'm going to need you in my office, it's important."

Eric swallowed the lump that had started forming in his throat, he was hoping this was work related, really, REALLY hoping it was work related... but if it wasn't, he was screwed. He knew that he was worrying over nothing, this was definitely a work thing, but his conversation with Mollie was too recent to not entertain the possibility that it was something else. Had she noticed something before she'd left on Saturday? Sensed that something was off after they'd had sex? He couldn't underestimate Cassandra's observational skills, she was scary good at finding shit out.

Having become fed up with the thoughts tormenting him Eric shook his head vigorously and slapped his cheeks, he was NOT a child, he was a grown ass wolf, whatever she wanted from him he could handle it, he would deal with it like a proper adult. With that decided he marched out of his office and headed towards Cassandra's. He sent her a quick text telling her he was on his way and simply received a reply telling him to let himself in. As soon as he reached her office and opened the door he froze at what he saw. Whatever delusions he'd been entertaining had most certainly not included the hell he was now staring at.

Cassandra looked over at him and smiled as she gestured for him to join her and her guest, a very proper looking wolf in his late fifties who stared at Eric, mirroring the same surprise on the young wolf's face. A genuinely pleased smile broke out across the older wolf's muzzle as he stood up and marched towards Eric.

"Well I'll be damned, Eric!" The older wolf said as he shook paws with a still stunned Eric.

"Uh, Jim, hey." Eric said as he looked past the older wolf at a very confused Cassandra.

"Look at you! I didn't know you were working here now, you've come a long way from sanitation, haven't you? Very good!" Jim said with a somewhat amused tone as he clapped Eric across the back and led him into the office. "It's good to see you, lad, it's been a while."

"Y-yeah, a couple of years." Eric said as he sat beside Cassandra, who still looked confused.

"Bah! There's no need to be so nervous, I'm not mad that you and Tabby broke up, it happens, that's life!" Jim said as he gave Eric a reassuring smile and winked.

Cassandra, who had been absolutely confused through this whole interaction quickly put two and two together as to how the two wolves knew each other.

"So... What's going on?" Eric asked as he looked between the two canines.

"Oh! Uh, Jim is the managing partner of his firm, which Kharness entertainment is partnered to for legal consultation." Cassandra explained.

"That's right! Have been for a number of years now, ever since this one was just starting out actually." Jim said with a smile as he gestured to Cassandra. "We've had a long and prosperous partnership; I'd even say we're friends but I don't want to presume."

"Jim! Why would you ever think we're not?" Cassandra said in mock offense, switching back over to her social business persona.

"Well, you know what they say about assuming." The older wolf said with a small chuckle. "Anyways, this is a surprise! Hope this won't make things too awkward for you, lad."

"Awkward? Why would things be awkward?" Eric asked, it was a genuine question, Eric actually liked Jim, still did even after his falling out with Tabitha. Despite being a lawyer Jim was a good and honest man, probably the only lawyer who would ever see the pearly white gates they used to joke!

Before Jim could answer the door to the office flew open and Mollie walked in, along with another painfully familiar wolf who stared at Eric with such a wide eyed and shocked expression he swore her eyes were about to pop out of her head.

"... THAT would be why." Jim said as he coughed into his paw.

Cassandra, and even Mollie who quickly realized the situation, held their breath as Eric and Tabitha continued to stare at each other in open shock. Not surprisingly both wolves were of the same mind when the same first thought popped into their heads.

'... Fuck.'