Friendship Benefits
#22 of Hockey Hunk Season 4
A day in the life of Jacob Holden...6,.000 words spring season opener!
Cover art by Gritou - cheers!
HH#128
S04E12
*
Hehhey, dearies!
You are most welcome to indulge yourself in the latest chapter of the Hockey Hunk - my first for 2013! Woot! It's been a while, and it sure is nice to be back here - and with an extra length installment, for that! :P
As always, your feedback is most appreciated, and I shall eagerly await your comments! Also remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well!
Have a fun read y'all!
*
"COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBB!"
My ears flip-flopped a little and my muzzle dipped upstairs, all of me listening to my brother hollering from his room. I was sitting on the kitchen table, Victor's computer in front of me, and a nice tall glass of orange juice to keep that nippy feeling away until the dinner of pork chops that I was planning to cook in a couple of hours...if I'd make it that far.
"WHAT IS IT?" I hollered.
Victor appeared in the doorway to his bedroom, shirtless for now, and clutching something in his paw. He gave me a look across the room and I flicked my ears at him curiously at the sight of the cologne-scented scowling brother-dude.
"Have you been using my trimmer?" Victor shook the black and silver item in his paw at me.
I pouted.
"Huh?"
Victor waved the item again.
"I can tell that it's not my fur that's in the blades!" he grunted.
I shrugged.
"But our fur tone is identical..."
"Ha!" Victor's unbandaged ear almost slapped the side of his head as he exclaimed. "It's not."
I thrummed my fingerpads against the tabletop and huffed.
"Mom says so."
Victor grumbled.
"I can still smell the difference," he said, the now named trimmer close to his muzzle as if he was sampling that scent he was talking about, "don't you have one of your own with you? You had so much luggage!"
My ears drooped.
"Well, one day I was cleaning your bathroom and I kinda ended up looking at myself in the mirror and thought that I might have to trim my jowls a little..." I confessed.
Victor let out a full-fledged grunt and bared his teeth momentarily.
"There we go then," he snuffled.
"I can wash it for you..." I pointed at the object, hoping to make it into a token of good will. "I can buy you a new blade set to it..."
"I don't want you to buy any more gifts, I just want you to stop using my stuff!" Victor rumbled before he disappeared back into the bedroom.
Oh well...poor boy...so edgy nowadays, even after that strange mess with Rory was sorted out. I still felt kinda guilty about that, having made both my brother and the lion feel extra bad, and I had no idea how to make up for that. Seems that a new fur trimmer wasn't going to do it yet.
Oh well.
The aforementioned trimmer began to buzz in the distance after a few moments, which told me that Victor had gone back to mowing his face. That meant that he was too busy to come and shout at me, and that meant that I could do some more...Facebooking! Yay! I had already commented on Evelyn's post about Olivia's new Super Soaker and checked for updates on the NCIS fansite, but there were still items to consider, and gossip to read! A couple of clicks took me back to my wall and the flood up updates from everyone I knew, and while it wasn't an exactly a flood, it still seemed that the summer was giving everyone lots to do. There was Morgan, posting about beer - like! - and a sale on shorts and other beachwear at Sears - now that I could do...hmm...click click click...so much to like, there was...
"Ohhh my!" I had to explain when I scrolled down to the next item. "Ohhhhhh, Terri Hedley's gotten engaged! Wow! VICTOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!"
The gentle buzz quieted down, and soon a slightly less scruffy-chinned Victor appeared in the doorway again.
"What is it now Cobb?"
My ears flicked rapidly as I waved for him to come over.
"Come on take look at Terri Hedley's new engaged ring!" I grinned.
Victor's brow jumped.
"Who's Terri Hedley?"
I clicked my tongue.
"WHO'S TERRI HEDLEY?" I yelped.
"Humor me," Victor snorted.
I flipped the computer around on the table so that Victor could see the screen across the room, complete with the picture of the broadly smiling vixen showing off her bling bling ring.
"Terri Hedley! She lives down the road from mom and dad!" I exclaimed.
Victor rubbed his chin as he squinted a little, trying to make out the details of the picture of the woman with a bouffant hairdo and skin-tight spandex pants.
"Wasn't there a Terri...something..."
"She used to be Terri Ballot back when we were kids!" I disclosed. "But then she married Cody Hedley of the Hedley & Hedley Air & Water, and after being former Mrs. Hedley for four years now, she's about to become...Mrs. Jed Walcott of the Walcott's Frozen Foods!"
Victor rumbled and squinted some more.
"Yeeeah...wasn't she the one who smelled like booze at any hour of the day?" he muttered. "Can't say she looks too familiar..."
"She had her boobs done when she turned 50, she looks a bit different now," I noted as I flipped the computer to face me again.
Victor chortled.
"How do you know about a Clevelander seductress' boob job?"
I shrugged.
"It's all on Facebook...I could show you the before-after picture if you like but it's pretty long way down there..."
"No thanks," Victor's ears flicked again.
"Well, spares us the trouble," I grinned toothily.
Victor shook his head and made a turn for it again, walking into the bedroom. He left the door open so I could hear the sound of drawers being pulled. Guess he was trying to choose something to wear now.
"So where are you and Rory going anyway?" I questioned, one eye on the computer as I slowly scrolled down my wall.
"WE'RE JUST GOING TO GRAB A BITE TO EAT!" came Victor's response. "ALREADY TOLD YOU!"
"Ohhh but that can mean so many different things!" I called back. "Especially with you guys!"
"DON'T YOU START!" Victor replied with enough power to make my ears jump.
"Well sorry if I don't know too much about your mating rituals!"
Victor stomped into the doorway, holding some sort of a purple shirt in his paws. He didn't look too keen.
"Mating rituals?"
I nodded in the general direction of my brother and smiled.
"Well you're all gussied up and spending more than 10 seconds in trying to choose clothes..."
"Ha!" Victor huffed.
"It's true!" I said. "I can spend up to half an hour trying to choose something to wear for a date! And don't you claim this isn't a date..."
"I didn't claim that it wasn't a date," Victor waved his shirt at me.
"Ohhhh it's a date!" I whooped.
"Oh grow up!" Victor stormed into the bedroom.
"Drama queen!" I replied.
"Brother!"
"Always!" I grinned to myself as I clicked myself down a notch after liking Terri Hedley's new engagement ring. "Oohhhhhh what do we have here...Tate Michaels has liked my funny Pawn Stars link! That's nice! Haven't heard from him in a while since he went abroad!"
Victor ventured into the doorway again, this time holding a slightly off-white shirt in his paws.
"You hear from Tate Michaels?" he questioned.
I shrugged.
"Don't you hear from any of our friends from school?" I asked. "Isn't that what Facebook is for?"
"I don't spend much time there," Victor said. "Have better things to do."
"That's why I'm in the 'CLASS OF '98 FOREVER' group and you're not, I guess," I replied. "Half of the old football team is there! Some of the hockey guys are there too! Charles Evans and Mickey Potts and Tony Marl..."
Victor snorted.
"I don't even remember half of the names."
"Where's your sense of nostalgia?" I snuffled. "You didn't even come to the reunion last year! Everyone was asking about you!"
"I WAS BUSY WORKING!" came his unseen reply.
"You can't be that busy"
"AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING TOO?"
My ears drooped at the memory of the hundred non-urgent messages waiting to be read in my mailbox, and tried not to think of that.
"Maybe I'll catch up a bit today!"
Victor walked past the doorway, this time wearing a shirt and not just holding one. I smiled to myself a little. Victor was such a funny guy when he was fussing up like this. Hopefully that Rory was worth it, too. I didn't like seeing my brother feeling bad. It always made me feel bad, and I hate feeling bad. Who likes feeling bad?
"Well Victor I hope the place you're going has easy access so that Rory won't have any trouble getting there!"
"HE CAN WALK YOU KNOW!"
"Well it's the gentleman's thing to do!"
Victor walked past the doorway again, this time busy buttoning up his shirt, and his footpaws were enclosed in the pair of shoes he had slipped on during his latest disappearing act.
"I'M SURE WE WON'T HAVE ANY TROUBLE!"
"You could've always asked him over!" I proposed. "I could have made a light salad and some drinks and we could have had a great time!"
"NOT IN A MILLION YEARS, COBB!"
"Owww....." I pouted.
Victor stormed out of the bedroom, patting his jeans.
"Where did I leave my phone..."
"On the small table by the couch," I replied without looking up from the computer. "You were sitting there the last time you were texting Rory..."
Victor harrumphed.
"Why do you think I was texting Rory?"
"You're always texting him."
Victor sailed into my line of sight and went to get something from the kitchen now that he was presumably in possession of his phone.
"Hmmm."
"Do you want me to cook for you as well?"
"I'll eat whatever is left, doubt I'll be very hungry," Victor swept into the hallway.
"Well if you're going on a romantic afternoon dinner with Rory..."
"Just cook enough so that I've got something to microwave if I feel like it, okay?"
"Sure! I always do that, because I always feel like microwaving something!" I grinned.
Victor walked back into the living room, seemingly happy with himself now, standing there in his shirt and jeans and pockets packed with phones and keys and everything else he might need...I hoped!
"Well, as long as you won't be waiting for me," he said. "We'll probably be a while."
"Is that so?" I looked up to him and smirked.
"Yeah," Victor flicked an ear at me.
"Well, I hope you'll have a good time then, "I said. "Don't forget to use plenty of water-based lubricant!"
My brother snorted, but left it there.
"Alright, I'm off now, don't burn down the place or anything."
"I won't play with matches!" I promised.
Victor snuffled and nodded at me.
"See you, then."
"See you, brother!" I gave him a wave.
*
Bleeeeeeeh.
I dropped the soapy sponge and studied the gleaming surface of the kitchen sink for a moment and snorted at the strong scent of the detergent that was all over everywhere, including the big green rubber gloves I was wearing to keep that stuff away from my fur. It'd d still need a bit of a rinse, but otherwise the place was starting to look good. And how could Victor claim that I made a mess? I had been scrubbing and washing and airing and dusting from the moment I came over...well...almost always...
I splashed some water onto the sink, soaked the sponge, squeezed it dry, and then took off my gloves and tossed them down to the dishes drying area. That was one major cleaning thing done, and I wondered whether I should do my bathroom yet or start on the dinner. My stomach would be liking the second option much more than the first, though the other one would keep me busy...for some time. Maybe not the most fun kind of business, though. A glance at the computer reminded me that there was other kind of business to do, too. Hmm. I rubbed my chin with a thankfully dry if a bit weird-smelling paw and weighted my options. So many things to do... maybe I should've worked...
Speaking of work! Just as I was wondering what to do, the phone went off in my room, muffled by the closed door, but still unmistakable. I'd set my work phone to have a different ringtone so that I would always know which one I had to answer, surely, and this probably meant that there was something urgent going on in the warehouse that needed my help, however remote it would be under the circumstances.
"COMING! COMING!" I mused to myself upon crossing the room and then entering into the darkness of the bedroom. The phone was buzzing on the small table by the bed, which soon creaked under me as I sat down comfortably and put the phone up to my ear.
"Holden Cyberlogistics, this is Jacob Holden speaking!" I put up my most professional voice and grinned at myself for it, and scratched my ass while I waited for the caller to state their business.
"Hello? Is this Jacob Holden I am talking to?"
It was a weird voice, well, I dunno, maybe not weird, kinda soft, feline, I guessed. Maybe someone who worked for one music company or another. Wanting us to sell even more stuff for them and take a nice commission out of that. How could I turn them down? As long as it wasn't one of those teen girl bands, or anyone from American Idol...those never sold for long. A lot of work for a brief profit. Guess someone had to do it.
"Yes, I am the vice president in charge of the logistics management," I replied. "How can I help you?"
"Well, this is Peter Sinclair, the Rory's friend. How are you?"
_ _
Oh, dear, I thought, as I blinked. Why would Rory's friend be calling me? How did he even know my number? Did Rory give it to him? Why?
Why...
Why, damnit, I gave it myself, at the hospital!
I wanted to facepaw myself for not remembering such a basic fact, but that could have interfered with the phone call, so I just grimaced, and reminded myself to not be so dumb.
"Oh...hello!" I cheered up. "Well this is a surprise!"
"I am sure it is," the same voice purred back at me.
Wow...wasn't this a bit strange, talking with Rory's friend with no Rory here...
"Well..uhm...what's up? Is everything alright? Is Rory alright?"
Oh my God, what if he was trying to tell me that something had happened to Rory and he didn't have Victor's phone number or something...I tensed as I thought about it. Maybe the lion had a fall or something and Victor had just gone to meet him on a date and...
"Everything is perfectly fine with him, I would imagine. Is your brother home?"
_ _
Hmmm...curious.
"Well, he left on a date with Rory about an hour ago..." I mused.
"Interesting..."
_ _
I wasn't sure what that purring voice meant by that. I hadn't really talked much with this Peter guy, and didn't really know what to make of him, really. Maybe he was checking up on Victor...maybe they were friends...I wasn't sure!
"Did you want to talk with Victor? I don't think he'll be back until late in the evening."
"Oh is that so..."
_ _
My ears jolted.
"Yeah, I think so. He said something about going to eat with Rory but didn't tell me anything else. He never tells me anything about his dates...not that I really want to heat about the stuff that goes on there, hah, but I do like to know where he's going, you can never too careful, you know, what's with all that...gay bashing and whatnot."
"Quite...well...that explains why Rory couldn't come to dinner..."
_ _
"Oh? Was he supposed to eat with you?"
"Well I was meant to cook for him but he just told me that he can't come to dinner because he was intercepted by Victor on his way from work..."
_ _
"Ohhhhhh!" I practically jumped up from the bed. "So it was a surprise date...wow..."
"It was certainly a surprise for me, and apparently for Rory as well."
_ _
"Well, cool, heheh!" I scratched my belly. "Seems that my brother's quite the romantic. Who would have known hah!"
"So it seems..."
_ _
Why did I feel unnerved by that odd tone? It's as if he was sizing me up or something...or maybe sizing up Victor. I kinda got the feeling that Peter might've been a bit jealous of Victor, at least from what Victor told me, how they were the best of friends and always looked after one another. Well, Victor had even stayed over at his place once, hadn't he? Guess they knew each other a bit by now, too, besides both being friends of Rory's. I dunno what I had to do with that.
"Well I'm sure they'll have good times!" I chuckled. "Good to get them out of the house, I've been worried about Victor not really going out...always lying in bed..."
"I could say the same for Rory as well...indeed..."
_ _
"Well, I hope it's not impolite of me to say this, Peter, but why did you call me exactly, unless you were checking up on Victor?" I asked honestly.
"Heheh...well I already knew that he was with Rory, so that was not the question...but that knowledge did raise the question of you, Jacob."
_ _
"Me?" I moaned. "What about me?"
"Well, you are a lonely Doberman in the city, and since our...kin are intensely occupied with each other, I am sure, perhaps it would be useful that we, too, would...gather together."
_ _
Oh my God...oh my God...was this...well I must've been imagining it but...well, could you ever know with those...those furs...I mean, I wasn't bad-looking, and I had a decent job and judging by Victor's popularity, Holdens weren't exactly without sex appeal in that...THAT market either...but...
Noooo, I had to imagine it, why, it would be outrageous, would it be now?
I hoped so!
"Uhm...yes?" I tried.
"Well I'd hate that big, juicy salmon to go into waste, so if you like fish, I would be glad to share it with you, now that we're the ones who have been stood up."
_ _
Oh, shit...so was he really...asking me out something? I'm sure he had to know I wasn't...not even slightly...I mean some guys are just a bit gay, not all the way gay like Victor...whatever the percentages, I wasn't...and I'm sure this Peter guy had to know that! We weren't twins in that sense!
"Oooouuhmm...."
"Of course, if you had other plans, it is fine, but quite frankly, you're the first fur to come to mind, and since we have the common interest of Victor and Rory, I am sure we would have a lot to talk about."
_ _
Well...now that he put it like that...maybe I would learn some extra things about the lion...and you never knew too much about furs, like that...hmm....
"Well of course..."
"Unless you think it'd be strange, of course..."
"Oh, not at all!" I said quickly, even if it was a bit strange.
"Well, then I suppose I won't have to throw the fish away..."
_ _
My stomach grumbled at the idea of any kind of a meal, and I had to agree that it would be a terrible waste.
"Well, if you'd like to..."
"I have to ask you something, though, if I may?"
_ _
"Uhmm...sure?"
"My medication means that I catch diseases very easily, which means that I have to be quite careful. That's why I have to ask whether you're currently taking any medication, over the counter or anything, and whether you're feeling any symptoms of a cold. I don't do well with flu, I'm afraid."
_ _
"Well...uhh...I use eye drops during the springs to keep them from watering up...but I guess that's it...and no, I don't have a sore throat or runny nose or anything..."I put a paw over my forehead and felt for it, "and I don't think I have any fever, either..."
"Well, then! Let me give you my address and you'll be here in no time. I hope you like lemon and white pepper."
_ _
"Uhm...sure do!"
"How nice! I shall see you soon, then, Jacob!"
_ _
"Thanks!"
_ _
He muttered a few more words, made sure I had gotten it, and then we exchanged pleasantries, the line clicked, and I was quiet, and holding my phone, and contemplating my first ever date with a man.
*
Oh, geezz...how was this going to go...I hadn't even brought a gift...
Well, here we go...take a deep breath...be a smart Doberman...make Victor proud...make Rory proud...
DING-DONG!
There we go...that was a loud doorbell, I thought, my ears hopping about.
The door opened and a whiff of something strange came out of the apartment...hahah...came out, got it? - and I was face to face with that small cougar dude who smelled odd, and had those sad eyes and a funny little smile. He had stepped a little bit away from the door, and looked over to me across the small room, maybe making room for me to step in. I could fill spaces, or at least make furs feel like they wanted to step aside. Dunno why.
"Good afternoon, Jacob," that purring voice rumbled out of his throat. "Excuse me that I don't shake your paw, but I don't do paws."
I looked at the big, fluffy paws he held close to his chest, and wondered what was wrong with them, but I didn't ask.
"Hello..."
"The food is ready, but before that, I'd like you to remove your shoes first, and then scrub your paws with the stuff from that big bottle, that's the bottle there," he pointed at a big pump bottle standing on a small table next to a chair and a few pairs of shoes on the floor.
"Uhm...alright," I said as I did as I kicked my shoes off and then went over to the bottle that squirted cold, hospital-smelling stuff onto my palm.
"Just rub it onto your paws until it evaporates," the cougar said, "by then it should have worked to kill off all the germs."
The stuff on my paw made a slippery sound when I started to rub it around, and it really got everywhere and seeped between my fingers and dribbled down to the bare floor.
"Oh damn!" I said as I noticed the small puddle on the floor next to my socked paws. "I better get a tissue or something...."
"Hmmm..." the cougar rumbled, "I think you just dropped the soap, buddy..."
Did he just...
My paws stopped moving, but the cougar's tail flailed, and he snuffled, maybe at the strong stench of the stuff soaking up my fingers. He was smirking.
"Heheh. Don't worry, it will evaporate," Peter said. "Don't bother with it."
"Uhm...okay," I said.
"Try clasping your fingers and rubbing the back of your paw against the other palm to get the stuff there as well," he commented my technique after a few more moments of scrubbing, and I did as I was told under the supervising gaze of the cougar.
"What's this stuff, anyway?" I asked. "It smells like a hospital."
"It's just a normal high-grade paw wash I get from the hospital wholesalers," the cougar explained. "I have contacts."
"So you...uh...mentioned a...medication?" I tried to make some small talk and not to listen to the squelching sounds.
Peter patted his side and nodded.
"I had a kidney transplant a few years ago because my own just stopped working. I have to take pills to stop it from being rejected, and that's why I catch bugs easily. But I'm doing fine with it."
Well, he did smell a bit weird, from the start...
"My sister Evelyn's husband's aunt had to go to that whatyoucallit...the machine that you have to use..."
"Dialysis?" the cougar offered.
"That's it!" I smacked my paws together and wondered if they were clean enough yet. "She had to go that every week."
"Well that wasn't enough for me I'm afraid. I had to get a replacement part. But it's fine now. I can eat pretty much what I want and I'm not tied to machines or other emergency measures."
"Well that's great," I smiled, honestly, because nobody was meant to suffer like that.
"I think you're done," the cougar said, then. "Come on in. Try to not to fondle anything, it's already a pain to keep this place clean with Rory here...he sheds fur everywhere...I have to hoover twice a day..."
He muttered along to me as I followed him into the living room, which contained a couch, a TV setup with bookshelves, a messy desk with a laptop on it, a treadmill running device on one corner, and not much more. Guess he really liked keeping things clean, because there was clutter to speak of, no beer cans or clothes or mail or anything on the floor, and no rugs. The plastic mat on the floor felt a bit cool under my paws, but it was alright. It smelled a bit better there, too, mostly of...well, food, I guess, coming from the kitchen which I could see through a doorway.
"I would ask you to sit down..."
I almost jumped when he spoke again, suddenly close to my side, and I stepped back a little, to give him more of the room he seemed to prefer, and looked down to him, while he looked up at me, whiskers shaking a little with his breathing. His paw was pointing at the couch.
"Yeah?" I asked.
"...but the food is ready, so I think I'll just invite you to the dining table."
I smiled.
"Well I sure am hungry!"
"How appropriate. Come on."
He headed for the kitchen, and I followed, trying not to collide with his long tail. Damn cat-tails! They were dangerous like that! Never had that trouble with myself...I'm docked...nhnmm...
"Uh...nice apartment!" I said, trying to be polite. "It's quite...spacious!"
"It is very comfortable, yes," the small guy replied as I squeezed myself through the doorway into the kitchen that was, as expected, spotlessly clean, but smelled great.
"Thank you."
I looked down at the small dining table, which was laid for two, well knowing that the food I was about to eat was meant for Rory, not me. I wondered what the lion might think of that, and what Victor would think of it, too. Maybe they'd think that this was weird or something. Hell, I'd prayed with the guy, could you get more intimate with someone like that, without going into the gay territory? Well I guess it was that territory for this Peter guy...maybe he didn't know how to hang out with straight guys, since they only hung out with girls and other homosexuals. I better give him a good example, them, I thought, as I sat down politely on the chair offered to me.
"Well I hope this isn't too mild for you," Peter said as he put on mittens and took out something nice-smelling from the oven, "but it's got some seasoning, and I think you'll like it...I do like it..."
"Well I do love to cook!" I smiled big time.
"I've heard all about the Filet Wellington you cooked for Victor and Rory," he spoke, back to me, tail flipping, doing something with the as of yet unseen fish, "Rory was most impressed."
"Well I'm glad!" I barked out. "It's a lot of work but it tasted so great!"
I slurped.
"Yes..."
The fish was brought to the table, along with other pots and bowls that were uncovered quickly with those fluffy paws before he went to the sink and gave them a good rinse while I watched at the assortment and felt even more hungry. I knew you really had to wait until the host comes in and tell you're allowed to take, but...damn, it all looked nice! No wonder all the TV chefs were a bit gay...though this Peter guy wasn't too gay. He wasn't even wearing anything pink. Even his kitchen roll was plain white and pretty normal. He dried his paws on it.
"Well, we've got...fish...obviously, cooked in some cream...and rice here, with some ginger seasoning on it," he pointed out each bowl, "there's this salad which Rory likes...there's bottled water, mind your own bottle...there's bread..."
"Well, I sure am glad I didn't start cooking yet myself!" I said, watching it all unravel.
"How convenient" the newly seated cougar said.
So there we were...sitting on that table...food...cougar...me...my brother's gay boyfriend's gay friend and one Cobb. What a novel situation. Were there some secret social rules to this, I wasn't sure of, but I guess I would find out soon! Hopefully without making too much of a fool of myself or Victor in his eyes...I didn't know this guy much yet.
"Well, now your food won't go to waste!"
"You look like you've got one healthy appetite."
Was he looking at me now? Well...sure he was but...my body? Weird...
"Well I am hungry..."
"I hope you don't mind if I serve myself first," he said, and without further asking, grabbed the big spoon he had set for serving the fish, "I don't deal well with shared utensils."
HE held up his plate and flopped some of the juicy, pink fish onto it, and even stronger, even better scent whiffed into my nosepad. It was hard not to lick my lips.
"Okay..."
"There is plenty. I don't think Rory will be hungry. He can fix himself a sandwich if he feels like eating once he comes back."
"Well I don't know where my brother is taking him but he seemed to have great plans."
"I'm sure."
He put rice onto his plate and moved onto the salad, then, and put the sauce over everything, to make it even nicer. Then he put his plate down and gestured for me to dig in. Oh, yes! Give it to me...my plate was soon topped with a good helping of everything that was one the offer, and I hadn't even buttered my piece of bread yet!
"Is it looking good?"
My ears wouldn't stop flicking.
"It sure does!"
He forked some salad into his muzzle and I took that as my cue to get a taste of the fish. It sure was sweet, and that nice spice in it made my lips tingle a little. I soon had to grab my bottle of water and take a big swig. The Peter guy stopped eating when I did that and I guiltily wondered whether I was supposed to pour it into the glass first. I quickly put the bottle down and took a napkin from the table to wipe my muzzle.
"It's nice," I said.
"Thank you, Jacob," he nodded a little.
Well wasn't he polite...should I be suspicious of that...I didn't want to accidentally give him the wrong picture...
"Everyone calls me Cobb," I told him. "Always have."
"Why not Jake or Jack?"
I giggled.
"Well that's funny," I said as I played with my rice with my fork, "according to mom and dad, when we were like...one...they fried some corn cobs and Victor and I wanted some too, and apparently I kept pointing at them and saying 'coooob' or something like that, and they thought it was so cute that they always called me Cobb from then on."
"Quite the story," the cougar nodded again.
I shoveled some rice and fish into my muzzle and chewed it alright before I swallowed
"Yeah, I guess," I scratched my muzzle. "that's what mom and dad tell me, I doubt they'd make that up."
"Do you have other siblings?"
I gave him a bit of a look. He was making an awfully lot of questions to a stranger, I thought, but maybe that was what he did. Victor did say that this Rory's friend didn't get out much...
"Evelyn's our older sister," I smiled. "She's got a daughter who's six, Olivia. She's super smart and likes trampolines and water guns!"
"Just like her uncle I'm sure."
What'd he mean by that??
"Well I'm too big to her trampoline..." I confessed.
"I'm sure I would have loved to have one when I was six."
"Do you have family?" I asked, hoping that it sounded polite enough.
"I have a brother, Ray, and a half-sister and a half-brother from my father's second marriage, but I really don't have much in common with them. They're in college now."
"Ohh..."
"Different lives," he shrugged. "It happens."
"Guess they're much younger huh?"
"Indeed," he nodded.
"Well I guess that's a problem...I mean, Victor's only ten minutes older than I am but we're still different..."
"So you seem to be...even though my experience is limited."
My ears flipflopped.
"Well I guess so...I mean...we haven't...met...anywhere besides the..."...my chest felt cold even at the thought of it, so fresh in my memory still, "...the hospital and the park..."
"Neither have I spent too much time with your brother, besides the one evening he spent here after his argument with you."
I could've blushed, thinking about that mess I caused. Sometimes I had so much trouble figuring these things out, and it didn't help that Victor had been keeping secrets from me. No wonder I had trouble keeping up with his social life at times.
"Uhm...yeah..." my ears drooped.
"But we talked all about that, it's past now, isn't it?" he dug back into his plateful of fish and rice.
"I think so," I said, watching him eat carefully and without making a mess. I checked my lap quickly to see if I had dropped any rice there. I could see a few grains. Damn!
"How nice..."
"Well I'm glad Rory wasn't a cheat, because I won't have that," I told him. "Can't let Victor go through that again. It's hard enough for him as it is, being...what's the word...marginalized because of his alternative lifestyle."
The cougar chuckled, purring and rumbling a little.
"I don't see it as a lifestyle, myself," he said, "more of a drudgery imposed on us the same way the joys and woes of heterosexuality are bestowed upon us. We can't choose. Lifestyle in a word itself seems to imply a choice to me. A conscious effort to do something according to some pattern you prefer."
"Well whatever you call it, it's not easy for him," I said.
"How about you?" he looked directly at me now.
"What about me?" my fork stopped mid-movement in the air.
"Is it easy for you to have a gay brother?" Peter asked me. "Because frankly, I don't know what that is like."
What a weird question.
"Well I try not to make a fuss out of it," I said, "I mean, it's just...well he's...like that and I don't interfere. It's not like I have to do anything special because of it, now? I took him to the Pride once but he didn't like that so much, so I don't know what else to do...I just want him to be a normal guy, and happy..."
"That's all very noble of you, Jacob," the cougar said. "Very fine of you."
I scratched my muzzle.
"Well, thanks."
"Does Rory make him happier?"
"I think so," I nodded. "I try to ask him about it a lot but he won't tell, but I know he doesn't think about much else. I can tell. I could always tell."
"I see."
*
Thank you for reading! Hope this return of the HH was as enjoyable to you as it was for me!
See you on Friday!
Cheerio!