FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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Hehhey, muffins, and welcome to the first of three Hockey Hunk season finales, starting with today's chapter! Yes, it's time to wrap things up for this season, but worry not, season 5 is well in the works and coming to your screens, tablets, smartphones and Kindles this autumn! Before that, however, we indeed have three more chapters to go, and that means, more fun! Yay!

Well, that was exciting! But of course I am, knowing how much work needs to be done...and words to read...and comments to type...but that's what this story is all about!

Hopefully you'll enjoy the read, and leave me some interesting feedback!

Cheers!

*

Blaaaaah. So hot today. So very hot. I even had to unbutton my waistcoat and hang it on the hook where I usually kept my beret! Wearing a long-sleeved shirt to work seemed to have been a fashionable misjudgment on my part today. Ugh. Give me one of those little paw-held fans any day to appoint at least a small sense of a breeze upon my poor hide. My eyes wandered to the half-filled mug of tea still resting on my desk next to the little plate that had contained cookies. My stomach grumbled. I should have invested some time to a proper lunch and not just guzzle down hot drinks when the weather was of this kind. Give me some rainy London weather any time, please, oh please!

My chair squeaked a little as I allowed myself a small kick and a rotation that took me to face the cluttered shelf behind my desk as well as the window, which opened a view across the inner courtyard to the rows of windows on the other side. My tail smacked the floor, now that I came to a rest and it needn't act as a brake anymore. I folded my paws behind my head and let out a deep breath, looking out to the old brick walls and the shining sunlight. I couldn't see the sky but I suspected not a single friendly rainy cloud could be seen.

Sigh.

Rain...Liam loved rain. Must've come with being one of the riverfolk, as he'd sometimes call himself cheekily while batting me with his tail. Making all those silly little boasts and grinning, showing off that toned, sleek body...how we'd cavorted in that pool until my pads would prune up...

I snorted and told myself not to dwell there too much. That phase of my life was over and this was another time, another era, another place, and that happened to be at a transatlantic distance from that smiling otter. It was a mutual agreement, after all, we were never that serious, we had fun, we'd been companions and friends more than lovers...

The Skype calls were becoming more infrequent, though. Seemed that both of us were busy during the evenings...well...whatever was called an evening in each place, considering the several hours of time zone difference...we'd managed to catch some time last night, staring at each other through our cameras and smiling and speaking little things like we used to. Only the kisses were missing...except for the little one I'd blown to him, to say goodnight.

Sigh.

Oh Nicholas, you sentimental fool. Don't blow things out of proportion here...it's just a time of adjustment, that is all. A new life, the one you hoped for, and here it is...at your fingertips...

I wrenched out my paw and looked at the stubby feline fingers, gave them an once-over, back, palm, little squeeze, to see the tips of my manicured claws, then back to relaxation, while the fur under my collar seemed to gain another Fahrenheit in surface temperature. I was sweating. I was outright sweating now, in this strangely hot and oppressive weather. It felt damp under my arms, too, which was a most distasteful fact to discern. I'd need a shower after today...such a shame that there wasn't a bathtub in my new apartment here, like I had in London...

Silly lion.

Treating that place like a demi-paradise was probably not the healthiest outlook on things, but it as probably harmless. Just a hint of nostalgia for those two years spent hard at work and...hmmm...play...

I yawned, and the breath I expelled was decisively tea and cookie-flavored. A hint of nuts and chocolate. Hmmm...one thing we did right on this side of the pond. The cookies were unhealthier (and hence, more delicious) than anything I'd tasted on that other end of the world. Though except perhaps anything with Nutella in it...or anyone...hmmm...

Ugh. This weekend might pose a challenge when it came to relaxation. I didn't have papers to mark nor any other basic errands to run, but the weather was hot rather than pleasantly warm, and the air conditioning helped only that much. Something about the weather made me feel restless...not looking forward to the possibility of catching up on some reading I'd had to postpone due to the woes of being an university lecturer...

And that's exactly what you wanted.

And it made me so busy sometimes that the "to do" list of enjoyable activities was growing at a rate I would not have guessed it would. Books, DVDs, magazines - some of them still unwrapped from their Amazon packets, even! - everything spoke of things I could be doing once the clock hit 3:30 and I would be off...office hours over...finished...free to bolt out of my beautiful alma mater and find out the joys of freedom...

Hmm. Perhaps the weather was not so good for bolting...more like a gentle shuffle, perhaps. Ice cream...should I indulge myself and visit the cafeteria on my way home? But didn't they close at 2 on Fridays, like they always did? Checking that out from the "What's on the menu today?" page on the official university website would've offered confirmation but the effort of flipping myself around on the chair and then the necessary locomotion to operate the keyboard and the mouse...could I manage it without suffering a heat stroke?

At least the afternoon was cleared...no fixed appointments, no staff meetings, no rehearsals...only next week, when we'd start doing four nights a week, to really get to the core of things, or might I even dare, the routine...we might get to do our first full playthrough...definitely on the week after that, if we didn't feel confident enough next week...and it was getting better and better...more confidence in the cast, the live music, and the costumes.

"Heheh."

Oh, the eagerness...Reilly, even, making her own costumes, as well as Lambert...hahah...that swishy little thing...ahhh, to be so young and excitable...ready to seize the opportunity for fun, friendship, poetry, wine...

Well, I was still seized by the office hours for two more hours, and just singing out for the day wouldn't do. Some poor student might still appear asking me about something...or a colleague in distress, or a delivery fur, or...hmm...perhaps I was overthinking this. Too much caffeine, perhaps. I might have to go and pee...maybe in...I glanced at the clock...10 minutes? That'd make it a nice round figure. 1.30 pm...the time when Nicholas Faye went to the loo.

Hmmm...bathroom...oh dear...and even if my British accent was slipping, the words were still coming to my mind...I smiled at the thought as I scratched the side of my muzzle. At least not everything was lost yet. There was yet hope that I would impress someone with my lovely elocution without sounding like a total fraud. Just a little phoney.

Oh, bugger...I didn't feel like waiting anymore. I got up and wandered to the staff bathroom on the end of the corridor, and did what boys did there, and remembered to shake and stir afterwards to be extra clean and comfortable, and I felt a little better upon my return to the stifling hot office. A quick check on the computer told me that there were no new emails, either, which meant that I was still left to my own devices for now. I could've occupied myself with one, really...maybe for 5 minutes, maybe even for half an hour...that'd been a big improvement.

I yawned, scratched my muzzle and gazed into my tea mug to consider whether to try the lukewarm beverage or brave the coffee room to fetch something more fresh to consume. It might not be worth it, not now, with so little time left before I could go home and take the red wine out and kick back.

But not before the shower. My armpits were starting to feel more like cesspits. I even had to take a sniff to make sure I wasn't stinking yet. Thankfully not. Perhaps the promises of that deodorant ad were not too good to be true. I was alright for now. A bit hot under the collar but alright for the moment. Hmmm...

The phone!

Oh, the phone...I grasped it like a man possessed, glad that it didn't slip from my bathroom-damp palm. Whoever was vying for my attention was bound to be more interesting than just sitting here and contemplating language without having a clear aim to the action of doing so.

"Doctor Nicholas Faye, Department of English Language and Literature speaking," I answered, leaning back on my chair as I prepared to dazzle.

"I...seem to have the right number, indeed."

What a curious voice this was, flowing through my ear...made my other ear flick with surprise.

"Yes, this is Nicholas Faye at the Taylor University, how may I help you?"

A small chuckle.

"We'll see. How are you, Nicholas?"

Now it clicked into place...now I knew why that voice was so familiar...that tone and that little rumble...what a surprise!

"Peter Sinclair!" I exclaimed happily. "What a surprise!"

"Is that so?"

"Well I would say so...considering it has been a while since I sent you that letter on the email..." I mused as I recalled my extension of best regards and introductions, after such a long time out of touch.

"Ah, yes..."

"Have you been busy, Sinclair? Has our mutual friend Gliese kept you occupied?" I chuckled, remembering the lion's battered state when we had met, briefly, at the university, some time back.

"You could say so, Nicholas, indeed," the cougar murmured.

"Are you faring well?" I asked, also recalling his constant battle with his health as of late, as he had related to me indeed, before.

"As well as can be expected, I would say."

I wondered whether that was the whole truth, but it would be impolite to make further inquiries at this point, I thought.

"Well that is splendid to hear!" I declared. "I have not seen you at the department yet since the last time, have you been working from home?"

"I always work from home," Peter Sinclair replied to me, "I only occasionally visit Professor Hartnell to chat about the progress on my transcriptions. I will only be coming in next month."

"Oh dear...it would have been so nice to see you again!" I said happily. "I still owe you that coffee in the staff room!"

"You're a man who keeps his promises, you are."

"I'd like to think I am," I smiled to myself as I groomed my mane while holding the phone with my other paw.

"Yes...yes indeed..."

"The weather is quite awful, isn't it?" I proposed a new topic with easy, considering that it's what furs talk about, isn't it? "I'm sweating all over myself!"

"It is promising to be a very warm weekend, the forecast says."

I cringed.

"Of course it is...of course."

"I was wondering whether you were busy, in fact", the cougar spoke then, "I have been left to my own devices now that Rory moved out after his leg has recovered, and I was wondering if you would like to meet up."

A meeting...some real contact...chatting, food, wine, fun...and not just of the kind where you'd go to sit on a café on your own with a book to "soak in the atmosphere" and you'd only end up being soaked in sweat...hmmm...yes...a real, long, good old-fashioned chat, to properly catch up. That'd be splendid.

"I'd love to!" I beamed. "I have been looking forward to catching up with all my old friends, but it has been so very hectic recently, there has been barely enough time as there is!"

"Very well then."

"What would you like to do, Sinclair? I'm sure at least some of the old places are still around, aren't they? Maybe a nice dinner to brush up the memories?"

There was a pause.

"I don't eat out, I'm afraid. I have trouble trusting food I haven't cooked myself, you see. I have to avoid crowds, too, and all those furs sneezing...it makes me uneasy."

Hearing this was enough to make me feel uneasy indeed, but I did remember that he had had an organ transplant, and wasn't there always an issue with medication, and how it disposed one for infection, getting sick easily because your body no longer had the strength to fight off infections, due to the medication? Even I knew as much...I had even looked up kidney transplants on the Wikipedia after learning that Sinclair had had to undergo such a drastic procedure to ensure his long-term health and wellbeing. Such a traumatic event, it must be, I thought. And he had made it...and would hopefully thrive.

"Oh, I see..." I noted, "well that is unfortunate..."

"I am quite happy to cook for you, though, if you'd like to come over, Nicholas. I would enjoy that."

I grinned.

"A bottle of good red wine shared between friends while enjoying a hearty homemade meal!" I exclaimed. "What a wonderful idea! Splendid!"

"Heheh...quite, yes...it would be most splendid."

"I've been looking forward to catching up!" I grinned. "When would you like me to come?"

"Is seven pm alright for you? I like to relatively early, and that'd give us both time to prepare, if we need to, of course."

"I think it sounds just fine!" I smiled. "Quite fine!"

"Well that is most nice. I am glad we were both available tonight."

"Well I am all for anticipation, Sinclair, but I am not beyond enjoying instant gratification, either!" I chuckled. "Oh yes, I'm so pleased about this! I'm sure it'll be so much fun to catch up!"

"I'm sure."

Well wasn't this a nice surprise!

*

Only a few hours later I was sitting on a couch in a very neat, very well-arranged apartment, cooled by air conditioning that definitely beat anything the university had to offer, holding a tall glass of cold water, cold enough to make the glass damp under my palm, with my host hovering nearby, and with the fresh scent of the disinfectant still lingering in my nose. I had to admit, the initial welcome and the order to strip away my shoes and then soak my footpaws and even my tailtip in these strong-smelling solutions was quite the surprise...but his explanation offered me the logic behind this behavior. I could understand the need for hygiene to prevent transmission of germs, of course, but perhaps his methods were slightly more extreme.

"I hope you don't mind that I only have water to offer," the cougar spoke to me now, watching the seated me while he remained upright, "I do not have any alcohol at home since I don't drink anymore."

I raised my glass in a little toast and smiled.

"It is fine," I replied, well aware of the plastic bag containing the red wine, now resting against my leg, "I will refrain from consumption, of course, if you find it unpleasant."

He shook his head quickly.

"By no means," Sinclair replied. "You are free to indulge yourself as much as you like."

"Heheh," I chuckled I made the bottle cling a little with a well-placed kick, "as long as you don't mind."

"Of course not," he replied, "help yourself whenever you like. I'll just fetch you a glass."

"Oh I'm fine for now, thank you," I took a hearty sip of my bubbling water to prove my point, "though I must say, I am curious to see what you are cooking."

I sniffed the air and smiled, very eager to hear what he had in mind for our meal, since I had not been divulged that fact yet. The cougar seemed pleased by my curiosity, standing there in his black T-shirt and some paints, arms folded over his chest.

"It's a fairly simple fish dish, but I think you'll enjoy it," Sinclair replied.

"Oh, splendid!" I smiled.

"It won't be long," he promised.

*

Well, it didn't take long, and it was delicious, and so was the cake he provided. Chocolate filling and all that...I was licking my lips clean by the time my plate was empty.

"Oh well that was..."

"I'm glad you enjoyed," Sinclair replied, now busy loading up the dishwasher even as I was finishing up my own half of the mea, the cougar wearing a pair of plastic gloves for the act, "just something nice for my guest. I'll start coffee soon. I don't usually drink it but I think I can make a little exception tonight. It won't harm me."

"As long as you're sure," I replied. We'd touched upon his health during our conversations, and it had become clear to me that many things I took for granted were now something he should consume only moderately, so as to make sure that his good health remained so.

"I'm quite sure," the cougar replied.

I patted my stomach.

"Well I hope there's some room left here, heheh!" I grinned.

*

"Oh, so you finished it?" I held up the DVD box from the little table and smiled as I then glanced at the cougar.

"I did," Sinclair, seated on his couch next to me, replied, "It was quite entertaining."

"Oh I think it is great fun," I said, "can't wait to see more."

Sinclair nodded while rubbing his arm, slowly.

"A little camp in places, perhaps, due to the excessive dramatic tension, but I suppose it gets away with it," he said.

"For sure!" I giggled. "And Maggie Smith delivering one-liners...so glad to see her working still!"

"She is quite the highlight, I must admit," he said.

"That she is."

I rolled my shoulders and let out a pleasurably deep purr.

"Ohh I'm so full...you claimed it was only a small dish, but there was so much to eat!"

Sinclair chuckled.

"Well you did take several helpings of the salad, too."

"Well, I did," I confessed easily, "so perhaps I am to blame as well."

"Perhaps indeed," he smiled.

I fanned myself a little with the DVD box of the Downton Abbey to try and lessen the flush on my cheeks.

"Wow...I really did eat so much...almost sweating now..."

"More than necessary to simply relax now, then."

"Oh, definitely," I smiled as I kept the little self-made breeze going.

His paw landed onto my thigh, suddenly.

"How about we relax in the old fashioned way, Faye?" he was looking seriously at me, now.

*

Thank you for reading my story! Hope you enjoyed the read, and hopefully you'll leave me a comment now that you have read the story! Also remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well!

See you on Friday for the next season finale chapter!