Working Hard book 2 part 4
#12 of Working Hard
Finally Wip writes the next part!
Sorry for the wait :-(
Hope you enjoy, and if there is anything I can do better to increase your enjoyment, lemme know.
Thanks for reading!
4.
Trent came storming out of my room with a murderous glint in his eyes and a set of keys wriggling from his clenched fist. I jumped out of my chair and backed behind the couch in the middle of my living room.
"You- you corrupting little shit!" he spat at me. "My own brother?"
"What?" I tried feigning ignorance.
"His keys were in your room," he growled. Mick was on his feet, holding back the raging wolf. The key-chain was unmistakable. Alex had about four plastic rectangles with slogans and symbols of the environmental movement and a small pewter globe.
"It's not what you think." I took another step back.
"Don't even try to talk your way out of this! Let go of me, Mick, I have a fennec to stomp."
"Trent, take deep breaths," I said. I knew my friend was prone to hyperventilating when he got upset like this.
My concern just seemed to make him madder. He spun out of Mick's grasp and I started calculating how much it would hurt if I let him hit me, but out of nowhere Alex, my new personal hero as well as my crush, was diving horizontally, tackling his older brother to the floor. Thank goodness I liked thick carpeting.
I watched the two wolves grappling. In the back of my mind I was fully aware of how messed up and disrespectful it would be to get turned on by this. Yet the fun, pervy, front of my mind was off getting popcorn and hoping they'd wait for him until the clothes started getting ripped off.
The thrashing went on for all of three seconds before Alex came out on top - literally - straddling Trent's chest and keeping his brothers arms pinned under his knees. "Stop it!" Alex yelled.
Mick looked at me. "What should we do?"
I can whip up some jello for round two. I shook my head clear.
Trent was growling at Alex.
Alex, back to his calming soft, sweet, voice said, "please, Trent. Stop. Jody's telling the truth. I got drunk last night and he let me sleep it off. Nothing happened."
Trent wasn't struggling any more, but a snarl still curled his lips. I kept my mouth shut while Alex talked him down. This was terrible. I didn't want Trent to find out like this.
"Get. Off." Trent hissed.
Alex hesitated. "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"
"I think you've more than taken care of this city's quota of stupid when you let yourself be seduced by my ex-best friend."
The words were like a knife plunging into my chest.
Alex's temper flared. "Don't be a jackass. Nothing fucking happened! And you know what? Jody was the one rejecting my advances."
"What?" Trent asked.
My mouth shot off without waiting. "Yeah. Can we call it postponing? I mean, let's be optimistic here."
"Jody!" the brothers snapped at me in unison.
"You're gay?" Trent asked.
I listened intently. The seconds ticked by. He wasn't going to answer, and the knife twisted.
"I... don't know." Alex looked at me then back down at his brother. There was a look of panic in the eye that wasn't covered by his floppy hair. He push off of Trent. The relaxed Alex I'd been with all afternoon was gone. He was tense and rigid, like he'd been around me for the first year after I'd met Trent. Like he still got when he was stressed.
Trent sat up but made no move to stand. He looked right at me. "Tell me the truth, Jody. Did you do this?"
"N-no!" The question insulted me a little. "Of all furs, you should know these things just happen. Look," I scurried to him, "you've known me forever. I would never ever, ever ever hurt you or Alex. Or you either," I flashed a bright smile at the big dragon so he wouldn't feel left out. "I didn't plan on this, and it kinda scares the hell out of me that this is going to ruin everything I hold dear."
Trent ran his fingers through his long tangly hair and sighed with genuine exasperation. "Damn it."
"Do you still feel like hitting me? Because I'll let you if it means we can be friends again."
Trent snorted. "Nice. Make me look like a dick in front of my boyfriend and you look like saint in front of yours. Not happening." He reached out and Mick pulled him to his feet. "Were still friends-"
"Besties?" I leaned in.
"Yeah, besties. Damn it, Alex, of all the hot male assholes in the city, you fall for this one? I could have introduced you to literally hundreds of-"
"Hundreds?" Mick interjected.
I had to giggle at that. I looked at Alex as Trent verbally backpedaled faster than any fur alive. Poor Alex had his arms crossed, standing against the wall and staring at the floor. My ears angled back and I cautiously approached him. "I really fucked this up, didn't I?"
Alex blinked and took a moment to notice me, apparently able to lose himself in his own thoughts while the world nearly came crashing down on me. Not sure if I liked that.
"No. This is good... I think. We shouldn't have to hide from anyone."
Turns out I did like it. Two tickets to Alexland next time, though.
"Nothing wrong with us," he said with the same sureness he had when talking about his environmentalism stuff. "I like being around you. Why shouldn't we see if there's chemistry? Who cares what Trent thinks as long as we know why we're doing it."
Yes! "Oh, Alex!" I sniffled, trying really hard to hold back the tears of joy.
***
After administering reconciliatory hugs, I managed to get everyone back to the pizza. This time I sat right next Alex, where I got to enjoy watching him eat.
Let me tell you about the joys of seeing that dark wolf eat. Lush, perfectly kissable lips pursing, parting just enough to blow a kiss to cool down a slice of pizza and boil my blood. A casual flick of his thumb to move a lock of his wild hair and give me a peek at those deep, deep eyes as they'd flit around taking it all in, only for his hair to slid back to where it was a few seconds later. Watching his jaw part to slip in a bright white wedge of gooey pizza. Alex had the kind of tongue you could spend weeks getting intimately familiar with. And I've tried imagining what it feels like every time it poked out the corner of his mouth whenever he concentrates really hard, imagining what it tastes like after he'd wet it with a sweet drink. And fuck me, what I wanted to experience with that mouth! So hot it could have baked the pizza itself.
"Jody."
"What!" I snapped a little angrier than I meant at Trent, who, in my defense, has been cock-blocking me all day. I cleared my throat. "I mean, what?"
"Do you have any more?" Trent held up his empty glass.
"Yeah," I started to get up when the tightness in my pants shouted a clear warning that now is not the time. "Oh, uh... actually, no. I'm really sorry. Used the last of my rum, hehe." And I casually crossed my legs.
"That's for the best," Mick said to Trent. "I have to drive, and you don't want to fall asleep before we watch that movie." Mick to the rescue! "You don't mind if we take our leftovers with us, do you?" he asked.
Mick likes to play the adorkable card, but I'm pretty sure he knew what he as doing. Trent really did have great taste in boyfriends. "Aw, so soon? Can I get you a bag?"
"We're good."
"I'm still eating," Trent whined.
Mick leaned over and whispered something. I smiled at the infectious grin that spread over Trent. He stood and picked up the pizza box. "I'm gonna call it a night. Jody, I'm trusting you to take care of my bro. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you need to be the mature one here."
I nodded solemnly, Alex flipped him the bird. By then I was... calm enough to get up and see my friends to the door. Trent gave me a warning glare, doing that I'm watching you hand gesture before stalking off toward the elevators. Mick was more amiable.
"Good luck, Jody. You two make a cute couple," correctly observed the big dragon.
"Thanks, Mick. If Trent needs to vent, just agree with him when he calls me an asshole. I don't take it personally." I spread my arms and moved in slowly for a hug. Not to toot my own horn, but I've been getting a lot better dealing with skittish furs lately.
And that was that. It was just me and Alex. Alone. No pressure, but this was the time to turn on the Jody charm.
Alex sat rigid on the couch. I eased down next to him. "They're gone?" he asked.
"Yup."
"Then here we are." I smiled as he yawned and stretched his arms out in that classic date move to get his hands on me. But at the last second he pulled back and looked at me sheepishly. "Sorry. I really don't know what I'm doing. This is all new to me."
I held back a giggle. "You're doing fine, Alex. You're being yourself, and I love it. Go ahead and make a pass at me, I promise you'll find me receptive."
He laughed nervously.
"Or we could just talk," I offered. "See where that leads."
Alex nodded. A wolf of few words.
"Let's see..." I tugged at my lip ring thinking up an Alex-appropriate topic. "I bought a tote bag. For groceries. 'Cause last month you told me about all the waste those plastic bags were-"
"I do find you sexually attractive," Alex cut in.
Or we could talk about that.
His head tilted so his hair hid his eyes. "In case you had any doubts... I checked."
I opened my mouth and several disjointed syllables spilled out, but nothing approaching a word until my second attempt. "You checked?"
He nodded again. "I- I don't know about other males, but you... you, uh, yep."
You know those times where words just fail you but because you're naturally talkative you just sorta say the first thing that springs to mind? Well my big response to Alex coming right out and telling me sex was a possibility: "That's swell!"
He started laughing. "Gee-wiz, Jody, you make choking my chicken sound so wholesome."
"I've never used sixty year old slang before. I- I don't know what came over me. I promise all my other kinks and fetishes are far less disturbing than that."
It was great to watch Alex laughing and getting back to feeling relaxed. When he finally got a hold of himself, the walls he'd sometimes put up were gone and Alex was more open. "What else are you into?"
"That's a loaded question," I smirked. "And one that could fill a book."
Alex just smiled and leaned a little closer. "No, seriously. I want the whole Jody experience."
Where do I start, at wanting him to sit on my face while I tongue fuck him, or maybe my my wanting to put him on a leash and make him howl like a feral? "Why don't you start?" I deftly dodged. "What turns you on? Besides vaginas, that is. Not sure I can help you there."
"I don't know," Alex shrugged. "I'm boring. The wildest thing I do is watch porn on YiffHub."
No one is as boring as they think. "Would you watch me? I mean if I was in a video?"
"Are you?" His eyes widened and I could sense his excitement. My fennecy ears even picked up a soft thump as his tail wagged against the cushions.
"Not exactly... sort of. I've go this webcam. A lot of couples start out with cyber. Y'know, get a nice preview of the goods, but keeping it all low pressure with the distance. In fact, there's these streaming sites where some furs have cybersex in front of an audience. Not that that's what I'm suggesting, I'm just saying if it would make you feel more comfortable we-"
Alex surprised me, leaning closer. "I like what you're trying to do, but I'm not as shy as you think."
I opened my mouth to clarify that I wasn't just giving him a way to take things slow, if anything, I was trying to see if he's got any interest in public sex. He kissed me. Time stopped and my body recorded every tiny detail, from the beat my heart skipped, to the taste of pizza sauce left on his lips.
"See," his distant echo of a voice said. "How was that?"
"That was swell," I hummed.
***
We made out for what seemed like hours. I could smell his arousal, and I'm sure he could smell mine, but I kept my hands above the waist. Alex wasn't like any other fur I've fallen for. I was petrified I would move too fast and ruin things.
Alex was thankfully unaware of my inner turmoil. His youthful exuberance was on full display. My lip piercings were suckled one at a time, my neck was nipped until damp from his roaming mouth, and I finally got a start on getting to know his tongue. I'd never had this much fun and still kept my pants on.
Then he tried to talk me into making him a drink...
"What?"
"I- I think I can go farther... if I was a little drunk."
"Alex. That's not how this works. Would you pressure a fur on the first date for sex?"
He shook his head no. "But last night, I was ready."
"Last night you were drunk off your ass. I told you we don't need to rush this. When you're ready, you're ready. Until then I'm happy just hanging out with you like we always did. Although, this kissing is a freakin' awesome addition."
"Swell," he said with a crooked smile. "This isn't because of Trent, is it?"
"No! No, no, no. You clearly know how to handle him. That was so cool, the way you- gah!" Alex dived on me, pressing me into the soft cushions.
"Did this?" he smiled a toothy grin down at me. My vapid moaning was somehow understood by that increasingly irresistible wolf. "Yeah, I know. I can be pretty badass when it comes to defending what I care about."
"Ohhh." I was sure showing off the full range of my verbal gymnastics that night.
"Um, what now? Most of my dates don't get this far." Those sweet eyes and gentle lips robbed him of any menace we might have worked into a roleplay.
To tell you the truth, this wasn't exactly a typical date for me either. All those times I thought I was falling in love, I never cared half as much about building a foundation that went deeper than sex. "If you like me, I think this would be a good time to set up another date."
He bent lower and kissed the tip of my nose, jolting me with an electricity that was damn near orgasmic. "Jody. Would you go out with me again?"
"God yes!"
***
I sat down on my bed almost as soon as soon as Alex left and booted up my laptop. This was going to be so cool! Alex invited me to go to the mall with him tomorrow. But this is Alex we're talking about, so rather than shopping and stuffing ourselves at the food court, we'd be holding picket signs and hanging out with his smelly hippie friends.
But who cares? I'd be there with Alex! And it really was cute to watch him when he was struggling to come up with something romantic. I guess, in a way, this was going to be an intimate date. He was sharing an activity that he felt passionate about. Who wouldn't find that touching?
I brought up my streaming program but I wasn't doing a show... Shit, I hadn't thought about how my relationship status might affect my near-pornographic creative outlet. Some furs don't like strangers jerking off to their boyfriends' sextoy demonstrations. I suppose I'd have to let Alex in on my dirty little secret and see where he stands on things.
Anyway, I set up a private room and sent some invites to a few friends who I could always count on for romance advice. The bloops announce their arrivals and their cam windows popped open along the bottom of my screen. Garth showed up first, an orange lynx who I met through doing my live streams. We became fast friends. For about a month he told me he wasn't a hundred percent sure I wasn't a very high end artificial intelligence operated by the government. Garth is... what's the polite word for paranoid? But we ran into each other a club I was plugging and after he was sure I was real, and I was sure he was the nonviolent type of crazy, we got on famously.
Then Douglas's smiling face appeared. He was a bear I used to hook up with on a fairly regular basis, so he knows me pretty well. Very entrepreneurial. He's started domming professionally and says he's saving up to buy his own club one day. I needed his level headedness right now so I don't do anything stupid.
Also in attendance was my former boyfriend, Lee, polishing his horns - not a euphemism, he's a bull. I've known him for a long time. We dated for a week before I confessed my love and he broke my heart, but it's fine. I made it a point to remain friends with him. He always managed to know where the best parties were, and I kind of used him as a living reminder of why I needed to keep my impulsiveness in check. Sounds selfish when I phrase it like that, but trust me, we've both moved on.
These furs were my brain trust. I had a long talk with them earlier, trying to build up my confidence for my big evening with Alex.
"Listen up, guys. He just left, and we're seeing each other tomorrow," I told my friends.
"Congrats," said Lee.
"How'd it go?" asked Doug.
I shrugged. "It started a little bit rocky, what with his brother being there, and then the fight, but it went great after that."
"How well could it have gone? You're still wearing clothes," laughed Doug.
Lee put down his polishing rag. "Wait, why was his brother there?"
"Well... we sorta helped him move." Of course this lead to a long discussion about why I didn't want Trent to know about me and his brother, the consensus being that I was right, but still kind of a wuss. So supportive.
"We're going to be protesting at the mall tomorrow. What do you wear to a protest?"
Garth put on his glasses, making his wide eyes look like they were about to pop out of his skull. "Which mall?"
"North Bank. I've got a camo shirt that screams well dressed revolutionary, or I've got a tie-dye shirt I wore to a halloween party last year."
While Lee and Doug teased me about the venue, Garth was being productive, typing away. "Ok, here's what I found," he announced in all earnestness. "The North Bank shopping center is partly owned by the Mordern Group, also a major shareholder in Ratecliff Imports, who are tied in with offshore holding companies that act as tax havens for the global elite. I think we're looking at a pawn of the New World Order."
We were all quiet for a moment before I tried to keep things moving. "Sooo, tie-dye?"
"Yeah. The NWO hates cheerful colors."
Doug nodded. "Agreed. You look good in bright colors."
I gave Lee an expectant look. He was shaking his head like this wasn't normal date prep for me. "How- Jody, most protesters just wear normal clothes these days."
He had a point but, "two to one. Tie-dye wins. Now let's talk about shoes." This had Garth leaning in. The lynx had a thing for feet, but before I could show off my vast assortment of sandals, my phone chirped with a text.
"It's him! He says he made it home. And he was thinking about me the entire bus ride!" I quickly responded with a few carefully chosen emotes and a goodly amount of X's and O's.
"You made him take the bus?" asked Lee.
"I tried to get him to let me drive him, but he said he wasn't ready for his parents to know about us yet."
Doug winced. "Ouch, dude."
"It's not like that!" I said. "Until today he wasn't even certain he was physically attracted to me." Lee gave me that same damn pitying look he gave me when he tried to let me down. "Guys! You're scaring me," I pouted. It all made sense in my head, and seemed so right as it was happening, but now that I was saying out loud...
"Jody, it's ok," Doug unleashed his beary wisdom. "Always follow your instincts. If you feel things are on the right track, I'm sure they are."
I wanted to give that big grizzly a hug.
"Yeah," Lee joined in with slightly less enthusiasm, but he always was more reserved. "This is actually good for you. Taking it slow so you don't go off the rails."
I looked at the noticeably quiet lynx. "Garth, anything to contribute to Operation: Save Jody's Confidence?"
He stared blankly for a moment then shook his head. "Sorry, what? I- I thought you said something about picking shoes."
"That's the spirit, my horny friend. There's important business to take care of."