That Tingling Sensation
#37 of Hockey Hunk Season 5
The Hockey Hunk Season 5 returns!
Awesome cover art is once again by Frosted_Fur
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Hehhey, puffins!
You are most welcome to The Hockey Hunk - now returning from a Christmas break, and about to splash onto your screens on every Monday and Friday at the usual time of 16:00 GMT, give or take. *chuckle* It's been a while, and I hope this chapter helps you to both re-orientate and to get into the flow of the story. I have wonderful plans for the rest of the season as well as season 6, so do stay tuned. I hope you'll enjoy the story in the future as well, and I look forward to hearing from you all!
Also remember that all votes, faves and watches will help others to find these stories to enjoy as well!
Have a nice read!
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I tried to busy myself with serving our few morning customers, but there weren't too many, and that game me too much time to think, and in my current state, that wasn't a preferable position to be. There was also Crystal happily nickering by me, and a strangely predatory Marge stalking along the floor, checking the shelves nonchalantly. Me and Mason had already gone through them once after the crash incident to see if any of them were about to come loose, but so far things had seemed alright. Guess Marge didn't trust the male opinion today...after all, it had been Crystal who fixed the for Dummies shelf with Marge's pink screwdriver and with Marge's supervision and purring approval. If circumstances were different I might have even felt my masculine pride to be hurt by such things...but considering the state of affairs at the moment, I wasn't really in the position to try to assert myself.
Instead of pride there was only manly moping for now, and I wasn't really feeling good about it. Hell, even looking at the fashion magazines on the newspaper rack on the other side of the room reminded me of my prophylactic failure, considering that those thigh glossy volumes were wrapped so neatly in cellophane...good, tight, rubbered up tomes of fashion...surely nobody would want to buy one if the plastic was torn...
Oh, Jeesus...
I harrumphed to myself.
"Everything alright, Rory?"
Crystal was looking at me, and I hurried to smile and then quickly cricked my neck from side to side.
"Oh, just feeling a bit stiff," I replied.
Yeah, everywhere except my favorite Rory-part, the same one that got me into this trouble in the first place, too. I suppose that was a more than a natural consequence of it, too.
"Need to take a break?" she asked, voicing a little bit of concern that made me feel nice, if for a second.
"I might in a bit," I replied, knowing that if I wanted to stick to my plan of calling the hospital, I would have to do it quite soon before things got busier at the store, "I'm fine now."
"Alright," she replied, tail swapping against her not quite regulation jeans, but today Marge wasn't complaining about Crystal's clothing choices, "just whenever you need."
"Thanks, sweetie," I said.
Buuuuh...baaah...aargh...I wondered whether Victor was squirming, too, in his cozy office, surely...sitting in front of his computer, wearing a smart shirt with the top buttons open, because it'd be all casual and nice, and with this sort of heat, nobody wanted to be all buttoned up...maybe eve wearing his cute glasses...hmmmm...
Though more likely he was sweating his ass off thinking about...well...sudden impregnation that'd left both of us reeling. It's not like we knew...or expected something to be wrong but...we hadn't talked about it...always sticking to usual caution...
Aaaagh!
I really had to get this out of my mind.
"I think I'll pop downstairs for a little bit," I told Crystal, then, "check up on the boxes that came today, too, I think."
"Oh, that sounds good," she said, "I'm good here, and Marge can come over if we get a sudden rush!"
I smiled and purred a little, and we squeezed past one another, and I sauntered down the floor, trying not to appear nervy. Marge spotted me nonetheless, foiling my plan for a quick escape, of course, but I had been ready for that, considering her mood today.
"I have to stretch my leg," I said," my hip's getting a bit stiff."
"Sure," she said, observing my ass rather than my leg, perhaps, but whatever, "remember to put the kettle on, too, I shall need tea soon since I threw up my morning one about half an hour ago."
I winced mostly mentally at the image, but decided to cut it off with a smile...a nice, big, happyhappy lion grin.
"Sure," I said, "I'll get your favorite mug out."
"Aww, thank you," she smiled before sailing away to sell books to some raccoon browsing nearby.
I hurried down the stairs and found Mason at his usual spot behind the little downstairs counter, presiding over a nearly deserted floor with only two customers looking at the shelves of second paw books there. I gave him a polite enough a nod and disappeared into the cool comfort of downstairs. The rattling of the stairs made my tail and my ears bounce, and the cool air was welcoming, but still...this wasn't just a fun escape from work, I was a man on a mission. This drama had to be sorted out soon...it was the responsible thing to do, and the only thing to do, and then it'd be over, and there'd be a reunion...a hot one, hopefully, too...
I paced along the shelves for a while, trying to a comfortable spot. Maybe I really looked like that caged cat in Marge's poem, I thought, and snuffled. A strange time to be contemplating Marge...
I settled by the shelf where the extra college textbooks were kept and took out my phone.
Well...here we go, yeah?
I stared at my phone for a bit. I'd gotten the number off the internet and put it onto my phone. Now it was only a matter of having the balls to actually make the call. Typical. Served me right, considering that it was my balls that got me into trouble in the first place.
Screwing up by screwing...surely that was positively biblical in proportion.
I gave the phone another forlorn look and then quickly flicked through the numbers to find the carefully labeled "Taylor" there and hit the button.
Come on....come on....come oooooooooooooooooooon...
It rang seven times before someone finally answered.
"Hello, you have reached the Taylor University Hospital sexual health hotline. This is a free service provided by the Taylor University Clinic for Dermatology. Good morning, I'm Matthew, how can I help you?"
_ _
Damn...
That well-rehearsed voice on the other side of the line sure spoke quickly...and it was a man. Odd, somehow I hadn't expected a man...I mean...a man...and I was a man...and now I had to...talk about...man stuff...to a man...man to man...so why'd I thought it'd be easier with a woman? Kind of a...gender-related distance that came with talking about dicks with someone who didn't have one, or who at least got to sample the clinically, and not...well...
"Ahh...hello? Hello?"
"Good morning, sir, how can I help you today?"
_ _
The excessively polite, calm voice made me want to scratch the back of my neck and take a deep breath.
"Well, I wanted to ask about something, really..."
"What seems to be the issue today?"
_ _
"Well...ah...I was having sex and...the condom broke..."
"Are you worried about the possibility of unwanted pregnancy?"
_ _
"Ehhh..."
"If there is a fear of unwanted pregnancy and if less than 72 hours have passed since intercourse and your partner is over seventeen years of age, it is possible obtain emergency contraception from any pharmacy without a prescription. Are you familiar with the morning after pill as a form of emergency contraception when other methods have failed?"
_ _
Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit...
"Ah...actually...I don't think that's the problem...uh...it was actually...between men."
"Oh! Oh!"
_ _
Damn...what a way to make a first impression on a stranger I was going to tell all about my sex life to.
"Oh, do forgive me, sir! I presume you are worried about possible STD transmission because the condom broke, is that right?"
_ _
"Uh...yeah?"
"In what kind of sexual act did the condom break?"
_ _
Courage, Rory...just remember courage. Remember your lion pride.
"It was anal... "I blurted out, "anal sex."
"Were you the guy on the top or on the bottom?" the voice on the other end of the line questioned with that same remarkable calm.
"Eh...top?"
"Did ejaculation occur inside your partner? Did you shoot inside him?"
_ _
Good God...was this a confession booth or something? That guy sure didn't beat the bush, either.
_ _
"Ah...ah...yes, yeah, that's why we noticed that it broke...just when I...pulled out."
"Was this a regular partner or a casual partner?"
_ _
"Ah, regular, yeah," I said, glad I could say at least that in my favor, "and we haven't had anyone else recently."
"Did you have any other forms of unprotected sex? Oral sex, rimming, fisting, toys, anything like that?"
_ _
I just clutched the phone against my cheek and gawked in the air in front of me in horror.
_ _
"We stopped pretty damn quickly after that," I huffed, "no, no, there wasn't anything else."
"Have you and your partner been recently tested for HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases?"
_ _
"Well, I think it's been a while for both of us," I said, "we've always been safe though."
"Have either of you had any symptoms in your genital region or changes in your general health status?"
_ _
"I don't think so."
"Since it has been some time since your last test and this is obviously a subject of some worry for you, it would the best option that you seek free STD testing at our clinic or with your primary healthcare provider. Quick HIV tests are available and if anything shows up, and since it very soon after possible exposure, there are drug treatment options available that may be explored."
_ _
"Yeah, sure, sure, I think so too."
"Our walk-in clinic serves from nine am to five pm every workday. I'm afraid Mondays are somewhat more crowded, so it might be somewhat difficult to get an appointment today, but if you believe there is an especial risk of transmission, you can always seek testing at the emergency department. You should also refrain from any sexual activity with a partner before you have been tested."
_ _
"I don't think that's going to be a problem," I huffed desolately. "Well, thanks a bunch for help, I'll...I'll try to get it done as soon as possible."
"As it should be, sir. Have a nice day, and remember, you can always call back if you have further questions, or consult our website!"
_ _
"Yes, thank you, and good day."
"Good day!"
_ _
"Shit!"
Cursing and banging my paw against the nearby shelf felt somewhat satisfying. I let out a snarl and batted my tail onto the floor. It hurt a bit. The smack on the shelf made a much lounder noise than I thought it would, the steel reverberating and making my ears dance.
I picked up something else, too. I heard a shuffle of furs, and with my head turning quickly, through the shelf, I saw a glimpse of grey furs, followed by eyes and some telltale white earphone cables.
Oh.
Oh.
Our eyes met. My tail jerked against the shelf once more, a lower one, this time, and it almost hurt. My fingers squeezed the phone hard. Maybe the case would crack soon.
With slowness that could have been deliberate, Mason rounded the shelves and appeared between them, blocking the route out.
Trapped cat.
How could someone with such an unassuming, un-threatening body language as Mason seem so...so...something?
"Bad news?" the wolf asked.
"Huh?" I gasped.
"You seem kinda upset, and you hit the shelf," his tushy tail flicked from side to side behind him while he laid down some observations on me, "I know it's none of my business..."
The hell it isn't, I thought to myself hotly, feeling my mane bristle even more than before...going into big tough cat mode.
I looked at him, the suspiciously fluffy wolf, watching me still...making me wonder if he was feigning ignorance, or whether he really hadn't heard what I had said, or...or whatever. Because that was the thing...there were so many possible outcomes. He might have heard everything, which meant that he heard me talking about gay sex on the phone...he could have heard only the end part of it, which meant he'd know that I was worried about something on the phone...which meant I could...come up with something...or maybe he didn't hear anything, and was now just genuinely worried, or curious...so what...what to do?
"Well, uh..." I rubbed the back of my neck, quite sure that a splitting headache was to come soon.
His ears flicked...the earbuds flicking
"I'll just go then, if you like," he said, "someone asked me about the luxury leather bound Dickens collection they saw on our website and I was going to fetch it....so..."
Either he didn't hear anything or he was really enjoying making me squirm about it...not Mason, though...please not Mason...there had to be some innocence left in this world.
God I felt old, and tired, and a bad man.
"Sure," I said," I'm fine, I'm fine. It was just the..."
Oh forgive me, Victor, Peter, George, Faye, everyone...
"...just the bank," I smiled, "some sort of a student loan issue."
"Still?" Mason blinked. "Thought you would've paid it all off, since you're...you know..."
I couldn't tell whether he was buying it or playing along to my emergency lie...well knowing that he was now entitled to slip a letter into my locker with the letters cut out of a newspaper, or something. Maybe I could play it off as a gay conspiracy...me no tell Marge, he no tell Marge...
...considering whether he wanted to keep it under wraps...this younger generation could be so open about it...some even grew up being accepted, openly...
Was I jealous of Mason, as much as I was afraid of him, now?
What a strange world.
"Yeah, because I'm old," I snorted, "yes, of course. Well I've got a little bit left still. Let me show you where the Dickens is. Do you know where it is?"
"Not really," the wolf replied.
"Well, you weren't far off, it's on the next shelf from where you were looking before," I hurried to tell him.
"How can you remember?" Mason asked me as I pushed past him, stuffing my phone into my pocket as I did so, an ugly reminder of my call he might or might not have heard.
I let out a chortle.
"It's been there for a while," I said, circling the shelf, my heart beating like mad still in my chest.
Mason, in case you didn't hear from the call already, I'm gay.
_ _
I took another step.
Mason, as you and your secret gay lover Haakon surely know, I'm a tail lifter.
_ _
I walked past the shelf behind which Mason had been spying on me.
...there's no real danger, but you can never be too careful with sex, you know, Mason...duuuude!
Oh, damn, what a goddamn horrible mess.
"It's here," I tapped the plastic-wrapped mound of leather, "help yourself."
"Am I allowed to open it if the client wants to see it?" he asked.
If only all the worries in the world were of his caliber.
"Go for it," I said, "make a good sale."
Mason heaved the books onto one arm and I could see his shoulder visibly sag. Culture could be heavy.
"Thanks, dude," he said.
"Sure," I smiled, "you can tell Marge that there'll be water for tea soon. She wanted some."
"Oh, okay," he said.
"Tell her I'll be up soon," I said, "I just needed to stretch my leg a bit. Then the phone rang."
"Alright," the wolf mused.
"Don't let her see your earphones," I added.
"I've got it covered," the wolf said.
"Heheh," I grinned conspiratorially.
Charmingly, I hoped.
"Coffee too?" he said.
"Whatever you can find to put into hot water, it'll be there," I said.
"Good to have a houseboy then," he said.
He didn't just...
"Gotcha," I winked, "I'll make yours with cream."
"Please."
The wolf disappeared up the stairs, tail swinging about...and once again making me wonder just what way did he swing to. He could've technically been flirting with me...could he? But would he...no...the idea was ridiculous. He had a pretty boyfriend...he didn't need my old ass...unless he planned to blackmail me with it...
Oh, why couldn't he just dramatically yell "Are you gay, Rory?" and we'd be away with it...if he asked, I could say yes, and ask him to keep it between us...
But he didn't ask. He just went up the stairs and disappeared with a bang when the spring pulled the door shut.
Now embalmed as I was, I didn't really have much of a choice but to keep up the game.
Harrumph.
I went over to the kitchen corner, put water into the kettle and turned it on. I decided to move over to the old couch to mope rather than to supervise the water heads on, and crashed down with some satisfaction.
Damnit.
I took out my phone again. I had to put another ball rolling.
HEY VICTOR
CALLED CLINIC THEY TOLD
TO COME OVER FOR TESTS
WILL GO AND THEY CAN DO THEM
THE SAME DAY FOR BAD STUFF
WILL GO TODAY
YOU ALRIGHT?
RORY
_ _
I read it through to make sure I was happy with it, and then I clicked sent, and flopped down onto the couch. My eyes went around the big room and eventually settled onto the table in front of the couch, littered with old newspapers, catalogues, book samples and sandwich wrappers. The latest attempt to clear it up seemed to have failed severely, even with Marge's insistence that we should keep it all nice and clean and pretty. Now it looked like a frat house, after only a week or two, or so. I almost wanted to put my legs up on it, but once I caught the pink and blue cover of "WE'RE HAVING A BABY!" on a spiral bound book on top of the messy pile, I felt somehow disinclined.
Uhh...
I rubbed my muzzle with both of my paws, including the one holding my phone. I felt very tired suddenly...must've been the adrenaline dropping, slowly, out of my system. Even the old ticker was calming down.
What a fucking year was this turning out to be. George dead, drama lurking around every corner, a promotion for me...as much as it could be called one, improvement in the romance front...though of flighty quality for the moment, of course. It'd only been weeks, anyway. How would it feel when we were months along the road? Would there be months, anyway? What if we couldn't get through this...or was it worth it, anyway?
I knew it was. I knew that there were always trials and obstacles and there just happened to be a few extra ones right on the start right here, during my acquaintance with Victor. Maybe the world was telling me that getting through this meant things would ease out. We could explore. Hang out. Make up. Make out. Find new things to do and enjoy and see where everything went. See how life turned out .
Oh, philosophical now, Rory? Or just hysterical? I couldn't really decide. Maybe drinking some coffee would help. It was only two hours since the last cup but...who was I fooling? Caffeine was the way out of this. Coffee would help. Victor's warm arms around me roughly caressing my body all over would help me.
Asking Haakon on Facebook whether Mason knew I was gay, because he'd promised to be quiet, but if Mason came to him with that kind of gossip, he'd surely tell everything to Haakon...possibly right before Haakon's warm arms would be around him and roughly caressing his body all over...
I shouldn't have felt horny, not with the imaginary burn of the clap in my loins...which I was 99.999% sure I didn't have, but a scared cat was bound to think of all sorts of unpleasant things.
Plink.
_ _
Oh, Victor...oh Victor, don't tell me it hurts when you pee...
_ _
WILL GO TODAY AT LUNCH BREAK
TOLD EVERYONE WILL GO TO
CHECK CAR INSURANCE
FEEL SNEAKY
SORRY ABOUT THIS ALL
_ _
Aww....
How could I not feel anything but be sorry for his sadness too. I let my fingers fly.
BY THE END OF WEEK WE'LL BE
LAUGHING THIS OFF <3
WILL TALK TO YOU LATER
TODAY OK?
_ _
With a heart smiley and all...hopefully that would cheer him up! At least I smiled once I sent that text. It'd be nice, I hoped...really nice...
"I'm not smelling tea yet!"
_ _
Oh, damn...I cringed as I heard the stairs clatter.
Goddamn heightened sense of smell.
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And that's all for today, folks! We're back, and we'll be seeing you again on Monday at the usual time! Please tell me about your thoughts about the story coming back - your feedback is always most appreciated!
See you on Monday!
Cheerio!