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#18 of Hockey Hunk Season 1
Standard disclaimer:
This is a furry adult story containing gay males in sexual situations as well as explicit language and descriptions. No kids are allowed so this story is only for those who are 18/21 or whatever the age is at your legislation. If you are not of the legal age, you shouldn't view this story because you might lose your innocence. Also, by browsing this story you have done so by your own consent and wish to view such material. if you do not wish to view such material you should leave this site immediately.
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Crap, I've got a date!
Well, a date was the last thing on my mind as I stomped along the curb, clutching my paws against my body for extra warmth as I battled the cold breeze that had decided to make its home in town again and freeze everyone's balls off.
I guess it froze the girls' boobs off, too, so we were even, guys and girls, I decided as I fought the elements to reach the Albrecht Brothers Bookstore. The main street was not particularly crowded, it being stupid o'clock in the morning, Friday or not, and I appreciated the relative peace. They didn't have to be subjected to the sight of a lion who looked like he was participating in a one-fur zombie walk, and had also forgotten the fake intestines and stage blood home.
Instead, I ambled along, my tail hanging limply between my legs while I walked along friskily. I regretted the decision to do as I always did and walk over the last few stops to my workplace...it hadn't felt this cold when I left home!
The initial source of misery was staying up too late with Victor, of course, there was none else to blame but me spending the night until 1 am trading small talk with the Dobie on Facebook and settling the details of our date next week.
A date! A date!
Damn date.
Date or not, only five, six hours of sleep did not make Rory a happy boy. I knew that I needed an extra fix of caffeine as soon as I was in the shop, hidden in the comfortable warmth of the sales floor and standing up with my best leonine smile of my maw while I would serve the happily unaware customers. I was really good at pretending, I really was. Happyhappy wasn't as happy as happy, but today Rory was barely happy, and happyhappy would need some extra effort...or so it seemed.
I rounded the last corner before Albrecht Brothers and noticed with a mild snuffle that there was no queue lining up on the sidewalk, of super-eager fans waiting to get their paws onto their new favourite book. Marge had once claimed to me that when they launched the last Harry Potter book, the line had extended down three hundred yard down the curb, causing disturbances in the traffic.
There were no little witches or wizards in sights, not even at the immediate vicinity of the door when I reached the shop front. There was a cardboard sign on the display window, though, probably put up by Mason last night after I had left, because it certainly wasn't there before.
** LORD MISTWILLOW THE FAMOUS AUTHOR OF THE CALEDON ROCKS SERIES WILL BE VISITING ON THURSDAY 19TH 10:00-14:00**
I chuckled at the messy paw-writing, made with a red marker pen, as well as the smaller sign that had been taped up next to the other, that read:
** GET THE NEW EXCITING SEQUEL TO NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER LIST NOVEL SERIES "CALEDON ROCKS"** _ THE JUSTICE OF HELIOS_ ** BY LORD MISTWILLOW NOW 10% DISCOUNT ON SPECIAL GIFT EDITION FOR FIRST DAY ONLY!**
The screaming headlines made me smile mildly despite my ambulatory comatose state, and even my frozen tail woke up to flick meekly with my amusement while I fumbled for the keys and cursed the cold and realized that I was going to have a date!
Well, it was just a date, just a meeting between two furs to see how they did the entire dating thing, the...whatever you were supposed to do when you weren't screwing. I wasn't unfamiliar to it, sure I had went on to plenty of dates, especially when I was young and innocent and believed fully in the beautiful nature of the love that dare not speak its name. While my quest for beret-wearing soulmates might not have been too successful, at least I had gotten laid, and what else a 19-year-old gay fur newly released from the oppressive influence of his parents could want?
Bah...this was an adult date, a real man date, between two guys, me and Victor. Big guys, burly guys, especially Victor. He looked like he could lift the entire service counter of the bookstore in the air, with one paw. Maybe he'd lift Marge up with the other. She'd be all over someone as big as Victor, I decided as I finally managed to penetrate the lock with the phallic symbol that was my key, and the click signalling its opening was almost orgasmic.
I decided that I had drunk too much coffee in the morning and scolded myself for my weird trail of thought while I entered the warm safety of the shop and sealed the door behind me to keep the treacherous air away. Why couldn't there be a gentle breeze instead of the minor hurricane that was raging on outside and threatening to tear away my mane in the process? At least here the only movement of air came from the quietly humming air conditioning that kept everything suitably humid for the books and also retained the extensive collection of scents that was put out by our customers. Nobody wanted to buy stinky books, after all.
I paced down the red carpet that was the main walkway of the shop, passing the currently derelict counter and rounding down to the small flight of stairs into the comfortable darkness of the downstairs section where exiting and obscure books simply waited for eager fondling, and, hopefully, buying. On my way, I caught a glimpse of the double cardboard cutouts of the hunky wolf knight and a buxom tigress wearing courtly dress and a crown with rubies on it. They adorned the large cardboard stand holding piles of the new books, carefully arranged by Mason, of course, who had taken special responsibility for his pet project, the book launch.
The thick metal fire door that led into the storage room on the back clanked shut behind me as I walked down the rattling stairs, my tail swaying slowly now that it had become defrosted. I was even tugging off my gloves when I noticed Marge sitting on the old leather couch, her knees pulled up to her chest while she stared straight ahead of her. Crystal sat next to her, sprawled on the other side of the old sofa, her tall ears flicking quietly while she, too, seemed impassive. Two coffee mugs of enviously full quality sat on the small table next to them. Neither seemed to react to my arrival.
"Hey, sweets, hey, Crystal," I tried my best at smiling and reminded myself that I had a date coming, and smiled some more.
Neither of the women answered me immediately, though Crystal's eyes followed me while I walked to the coffee corner and searched the cabinet for a clean mug to drink my lifesaving coffee from. I flicked my ears and snuffled, deciding that this had to be some sort of a new game they must have come up with to mess up with me like they always did.
"Damn cold outside, I'm surprised I don't have icicles on my tail, "I mused, flicking the said tail around to highlight the big, tuffed tip for their viewing pleasure.
I poured water from the electric kettle into the relatively clean-looking mug and measured Folger's into it with the familiar spoon. The rush of caffenine-laced vapour in my nose practically made me purr once it hit my sensibilities, and my eyes were fixed on the sight of the dark powder turning the clear water into a murky pool of morning delight.
"No queues outside I'm afraid, but at least Mason's done a great job with the notices and the stand so that ought to bring in some curious clients, "I rubbed my chin that felt slick with the newly found warmth in it, and stirred my coffee to perfection while looking over to the stoic figures the two women cut in silence.
I shook my head and flicked my ear.
"Why do you look like that? Did Grey's Anatomy get cancelled or something?" I snuffled, wondering how long they could keep up this "let's be all silent and mysterious so that Rory gets weird" game.
Crystal snuffled and Marge flicked her ear, and I saw how her thin lips pursed as if she was about to say something, but bit the words back at the last moment. I shrugged.
"Whatever, you are being silly," I snorted at the pair of weirdoes and left my coffee onto the counter next to the sink to cool down a little while I went over towards the locker room to get changed.
The moment I opened the door, the two girls exploded in a round of loud, clattering laughter that echoed off the concrete walls of the storage room. My ears flattened even before I saw what I did see, that being...
...
Oh...
My eyes met those of Mason, the wolf standing with one footpaw propped against the small wooden bench. His paws were hard at work negotiating some kind of a leather boot on, and the rest of the wolf was covered in what looked like a chain mail...falling all the way to his mid-thigh and held together with a wide belt.
He also had a sword.
And an ear piercing.
Whut?
My eyes widened and my ears stayed flat, both from the shock and the recoiling laughter coming from behind me. Damn those two, they must have known what I was walking into and tried their best to keep a straight face while good ol' Rory walked into Camelot.
"Hi, Rory," the wolf spoke to me as if I had simply caught him putting on a pair of sneakers to go with his work outfit.
"Ummm...morning...," I rumbled, still staring at the wolf, his chainmail and how his tail flicked from underneath the suit of armour he was wearing, and...this couldn't be true...he had a green ribbon tied around it, near the base, and another near the tip.
I tried to smile neutrally, but failed at it utterly, and simply stared.
"You like it?" Mason smiled happily as he finished with his boot and let it join its twin down on the grey floor.
"It's...I don't know what to say about it," I rumbled, my paws clutching my gloves almost convulsively. "Did that...uh...did that come with the rest of the PR stuff for Caledon Rocks?"
"Nah, I got this chainmail and the stuff from some guys at the LARP club," the wolf beamed, patting his armoured chest with a paw that was enclosed in a long-sleeved leather glove. "They're currently doing a nuclear holocaust post-apocalyptic LARP so they don't really need this fantasy stuff at the moment."
"Ohh..."
I was still staring.
"Ain't it cool!" the wolf grinned, turning around quickly to show the full extent of his work on himself, and I ogled as compelled by Mason, not really knowing what to think about this.
At least he was hardcore about it, the same way I had been hardcore about berets.
"So...uhhh...are you supposed to be some character from the books?" I tried my best in small talk under the circumstances.
I even dared to move towards my own locker, hoping that I could keep myself distracted long enough to survive this...apparition.
"Yeah, sure," Mason grinned, checking some clasps on the chainmail with careful paws. "I am Knight Brother Beckett, a trainee of Wilbur, the Lord Protector."
"Another fan favourite?" I chuckled as I opened my locker and showed my gloves up to the small shelf.
"Yeah, I guess so," Mason mused, rubbing his muzzle now. "Especially the girl fans like Beckett."
"Hmmm...," I rumbled, my head practically buried in my locker while I searched for my work shoes and my shirt.
"Heh, probably because there's so much Ho Yay with Beckett and Argon," the wolf rumbled.
"Huh?" I peered at him over my shoulder, squinting a little.
"You know...the more weird fans ship Beckett and Argon," Mason shrugged.
"Ship?"
"Don't you read the Internet?" Mason looked at me with a bland expression.
"Sorry, come again, I'm a bit slow today," I pouted a little and smiled for the best effect.
Mason scratched his head behind his ear and nodded.
"I mean, they want to think that there's a bit of hanky-panky going on between Beckett and Argon, one of the alchemists of Caledon Rock," the wolf explained to me with remarkable patience while I was more concerned with trying to find a fine black shoe from the confines of the locker.
I chuckled a little and flicked an ear at the wolf's expert opinion.
"Hahah," I commented. "Any particular reason for that?"
"Guess the girls really dig the idea of the burly wolf knight and the young, gentle alchemist getting it on," Mason continued. "Dunno why, I've never got any vibes off the books, and there isn't any word from the author so I dunno."
I finally found my second shoe and put them down to the bench for the time it took me to remove my coat and my sweater before I started to button down my red uniform shirt, going at it slowly and meticulously to make sure it remained neat.
"Vibes, eh?" I spoke, contemplating my picture from the small mirror on the inside of the locker door and not turning to look at the armoured wolf.
"Uhh...yeah, you know, gay vibes."
Now, I almost stopped buttoning while I peered at the wolf through the mirror, noticing his impassive expression and the casual way with which he flicked his ears as he spoke. He had also procured a dark cloak from somewhere, possible a sports bag that was down on the fleer next to him, and he held the garment in his paws while his tail wagged slowly. He must've been having great time.
"Ohh," I mused, trying not to choke up in my words. "So you're saying that the readers...well...at least some readers think they should be an item?"
Now wasn't this curious.
"Yeah, pretty much," Mason unfurled the cloak and held it out, studying it for a while before he shifted it about his shoulders and clasped it in place with some silvery metal hooks that attached to the collar of the chainmail. "There's no canon evidence to support it, though, so it's just the shippers going on, seeing things."
"Hahah," I chuckled, really unsure what to think about imaginary gay romances between imaginary characters in a book I had never read.
"You should see the fanficcers, they're totally shipping everyone," Mason continued on, obviously in need of an ear to share his enthusiasm, "I mean, there's Beckett and Argon, and of course plenty of Wilbur and Ballodior, Catalina and Annette..."
I flicked an ear and turned to face the wolf now, frowning with a puzzled expression on my face.
"Are they all just wanting for single sex pairings?" I was starting to wonder what kind of books those Caledon Rocks books were after all.
I also wondered just how had I ended up talking about gay romance with Mason of all furs, here at the locker room, just hours after I had made arrangement of a real gay date with a gay guy, Victor, and I was a gay guy, too, Rory. Mason didn't know of neither of these facts, and I didn't intend to tell him, for it was none of his business.
Marge and Crystal would never stop letting me hear about it, either.
Mason shrugged.
"The shippers ship everyone, I guess, dunno why, guess it's the girls writing most of the romance stuff and wanting to see that kinda thing," the wolf spoke, finished with his cloak now.
"And how do you know about it so much exactly?" I couldn't let him get away so easily, now that he had started going on about a potentially embarrassing knowledge of gay fiction...or probably gay fuction, if written by especially pent up individuals.
I was pretty damn sure that fan fiction romance was far more worse than the Harlequin books we sold. Or Adalmina Woolworth, for that matter.
"They terrorize the Character Relationships sections on the character wiki pages with so-called evidence," Mason snuffled. "It's a menace."
"Ahhh...," I snuffled.
"It's not as crazy as the shipping that goes on with some other stuff, but it's still heavy enough," the wolf rumbled.
I smirked.
"Well, perhaps you can ask the fur himself when he comes over," I suggested cheekily. "Get the word of authority upon any speculations."
"Bah," Mason's nose wrinkled.
I finished my buttoning and put on my shoes and escaped the locker room of madness to enter the coffee room of madness. I claimed my coffee from the kitchen counter, but not before I shot dirty looks to the happily smiling pair that was Marge and Crystal. Their curious eyes followed me while I retrieved my coffee and took a much-needed nerve-soothing sip before I made my way to the usually Mason-occupied armchair and flopped down, happy with the knowledge confirmed by the clock on the wall that told me that there was still fifteen minutes left before we had to open the doors.
"Very funny, girls," I sniffled once I was comfortably settled and had some fresh coffee in my system.
Marge was already purring, her coffee mug held up close to her muzzle. She was still leering at me, and Crystal wasn't much different, much content at giving me amused eyes and the odd snuffle of delight.
"Couldn't help it, I almost busted my gut laughing at it," Marge snickered.
"I practically peed," Crystal neighed, flicking her ropey tail.
I shook my head and flicked my ears at both of them each in turn and tried to look a bit scorning, but I really couldn't muster it up. It was really funny, now that I thought about it, the wolf's gear and all, considering how he had set himself up for the purpose of the book launch. We weren't even talking about a new Harry Potter book, but something obscure...cult following, guess that was the word. Maybe I wasn't good enough a geek anymore, I decided, and simply chuckled at the women's comments.
I wondered if Victor liked books.
"Well, at least he takes the effort to publicise the books properly," I tried my best.
"Hope that thing doesn't chafe, I'm not sure if he's wearing anything underneath," Marge winked.
Crystal giggled, and I had an acute wish to bury my muzzle in my paws while listening to the cheeky chatter pass between the two women.
"Yeah!" she exclaimed.
"Good morning to you two as well," I snuffled from behind my coffee mug.
"Hey, you!" Crystal replied in her cheerful way. "How's you?"
"Terrible," I smiled.
"Great!" Crystal replied.
"You look like you skipped your waking up post one minute coffee," Marge mused.
"Just one of those days," I tried.
One of those days when I stayed up to one am with Victor!
"I feel like I might be getting one of those days," Marge chuckled and patted her belly with a meaningful smirk on her lips.
Crystal shook her head.
"Shit, not you too, Marge!"
"Huh?" the cougar's brow rose.
"Two pre-menstruating zebras complaining of bloating and cramps before seven am is quite enough for me thank you," Crystal snorted.
"Awwwwww!" Marge exclaimed.
I wasn't sure if I should flinch at the extreme girl talk, but I prevailed. I could survive a little bit of it, sure, maybe be one of the girls, even if I didn't happen to have an uterus.
"Yeah, talk about it."
"Well, thankfully mine works like clockwork, so I can mentally prepare," Marge replied. "Reminds me, though..."
The cougar stroked her chin and then Crystal made the question.
"Gotta text Goggy and ask him to pick up some Always Ultras when he goes shopping after his shift, I'm working all day," Marge smirked.
Damn...girl talk cancelled!
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Cheerio!