7. Texting with a wolf
Story by WolfySpy on SoFurry
Alrighty, here's the 7th chapter. Lukas gets a chance to get to know the mafia wolf from the first chapter, at last.
Hope y'all gonna like it! Enjoy the chapter.
And don't forget to leave a comment to share your thoughts, it's always appreciated!
Chapter 7
"Hello, what a pleasant coincidence to run into you again." The cougar purred, his ears flicked carefully and watched me take the seat beside him.
"Oh it's a pleasure alright, do you often take this bus? I don't think I've ever seen you on here before." I engaged small talk with much self restraint. Getting to know new furs could only benefit me, I didn't have to be an social degenerate.
"No, in fact I rarely ride on public transportation vehicles like this." He said, throwing a small glance around the crowded bus before he would look at me again and grin.
"Is that so? Then why are you here? Not for the scenic view I'm sure." I nodded my head towards the windows, my point being all the buildings wasn't too appeasing for the eyes.
"Heh, I quite like the city view actually. I'm a city guy at heart, always have been, always will be." He snuffed, twitching with one of his rounded ears. "But no, my car refused to start today, some issue with the radiator I couldn't figure out. So, like a good citizen here I am. Commuting to work like everybody else." He raised his paws like he waited for applauds, looking proud of himself like riding the bus was an accomplishment.
Still, good for him I suppose.
"Well that's a shame. I don't own a car for myself, so this is the only way for me to get around." I shrugged my shoulders.
"Hmm, I see. And where are you heading this early?" He asked.
"To work." I gave a curt reply. "You?" I asked, tilting my head slightly as I looked at the grinning cougar.
"Same reason as you. Heading to the office to crunch numbers and suck it up to the big man." He mused.
I nodded and turned my attention to the electronic sign overhead which told the new upcoming stop. Ah there was a couple of more stops before I could get off.
Hm, what was that? I felt something wiggle next to my thigh and looked down to see the cougar's beige tail flick and rub against my leg. I wanted to ask him to mind his tail, but something held me back. It was actually quite pleasant with some physical contact, even if it was from a complete stranger.
"I never really caught your name yesterday." The cougar suddenly said with a purr, and I looked up to meet his yellow eyes.
"My name is Cha-... Hrm, name is Lukas. Lukas Rosenberg." I made sure to use my Swedish when mentioning my last name, to give it that little exotic twist.
"Oh? That's a curious name indeed, are you not from around here then?" The cougar's eyebrows perked, his ears twitched and his eyes sparkled giving me all his attention.
"Not originally, no. I moved here to Rosewood from Sweden after my college graduation." I said under heavy scrutiny, feeling just a tad uneasy under the cougar's hungry eyes.
*Ding* Apexis mall next stop. Oh thank fuck.
"Uhm, my stop is coming up so..." I pushed the 'STOP' button on a nearby pole, messaging the chauffeur somebody wanted to get off.
"Of course, it was nice chatting with you Lukas. I'm Ray Henderson by the way, so you don't forget who that strange cougar on the bus was." Ray winked when I stood up, and I could practically see his eyes wander down my back when I turned to leave.
"Likewise Ray, I hope you'll return to dine at The Lounge sometime." I offered a patented charming smile to Ray. Walking off the bus I sighed rather heavily the second the doors closed behind me.
Hmm... Meeting a lot of new furs recently. I wonder how Matt is doing. I wonder -what- he's doing. He never mentioned what he works with. Maybe it was the mafia after all, and I was just lucky enough to survive an encounter with their boss?
Wait... Ticket. Matt. It's perfect! Oh wait a second... Would he even be interested in comics, books and cosplay? He... just doesn't seem the type. Big, hunky wolf daddy who probably was twice my age. Mmhm... I should just send him a text and see if he's interested. The worst outcome is that he says no.
Let's see...
Hello! Lukas Rosenberg here,
the human you rescued
last sunday.
I was wondering if you want
to/have the time to come with
me to comic con this
weekend. I got two VIP
ticket from my friend and
no one to go with.
No one yet, anyway. And away I send the text, hoping I would get an answer soon.
I arrived at The Lounge and circled around back, walking inside through the back door. Inside it was quiet, not many customers yet during breakfast hours. Kieran and Simone also didn't usually start working until after, or before their college classes. And today was one of them days when both of them had morning classes.
"Hiii Charming!" Alice called out to me and waved a paw franticly. I waved back and smiled at the well endowed fox.
"Morning Alice, everything running smoothly?" I asked. Pulling at the collar of my shirt to hint I was going into the locker room.
"Oh yes, very smoothly Charming." Her white fangs showed through her sly grin.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Felicia." I hissed.
Alice's eyes rolled upwards to stare at the ceiling innocently.
"Let me just get into uniform before anything else." I said with a sigh. I could hear Alice giggle behind me when I went inside the break room, my eyes wandering over to the coffee machine for just a second, then I pushed the door open to the unisex locker room.
*Sniff sniff* It smelled of perfume in here, perfume and detergent. Ah well, I've certainly changed clothes in worse conditions. Don't even get me started on the heavy deodorant that Kieran frequently douses himself in whenever he's in here.
Hum... I opened my designated locker and pulled off my shirt. Well, today I was on paper processing duty so, out comes the assistant manager shirt...
"...Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin..." I sang quietly under my breath. Careful to not be heard by my coworkers.
"Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in..." I straightened out the white and red uniform shirt, making sure my tag with my title was showing properly.
"Do you ever feel already buried deep, six feet under scream but no one seems to hear a thing." I pulled off my jeans to get into the black trousers that went together with the uniform.
"Do you know that there's still a chance for you." I turned around while looking myself up in the mirror hanging on the inside of my locker.
"'Cause there's a spark in you. You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shiine." I nodded after my inspection and closed the locker. Making my way outside the locker room.
"Like the fourth of July... 'Cause baby you're a firework..." I hushed my singing down to a humming after I exited the perfumed room. Giving my uniform a quick sniff I confirmed I smelled just like Alice did.
"...Come on show 'em what your worth." I whisper-sang reeeeaaally quiet, peeking around, nobody around. I exhaled.
If I didn't want my coworkers to know I'm gay, I sure as hell did not want them to also know I was a decent singer. Not good, but not bad either. Just decent. Decent enough to win at karaoke, but still. I found it helped to release stress by singing.
*BAM!* I slammed the door open to the office. There it was, a mountain of paperwork left neglected on the desk.
My eye twitched.
I need some coffee...
Walking back into the break room I began preparing a can of coffee for myself. This would last for a few hours at least, as long as no sneaky coworkers would dare steal -My- coffee.
"Make 'em go 'Oh, Oh, Oh' as you shoot across the sky-y-y." I measured the coffee into the right amount, poured water into the back and... Boom. One can of coffee brewing.
"Baby you're a firework., come on let your colors burst." Hm, hm. I waited patiently by the coffee maker.
"Make 'em go 'Oh, Oh, Oh'. You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe." There, done. I poured a large cup of coffee and turned to leave for the office.
"Oh, you're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awee." I pushed the door to the office open and closed it firmly behind me.
I took a deep breath, looking over at the pile of paperwork Felicia had graciously left behind for me to handle. Huff... Oh let's just get it over with.
"You don't have to feel, like a waste of space. You're original, cannot be replaced." I sang just a tiny bit louder, walking over to the desk and planting my rump on the swivel chair.
Time to get to work I guess.
• • • • •
"Oh! Charming! You're done with the paperwork? Ehehehe, I knew I could count on you-... Nyah!" Felicia praised me as I came walking straight up to her, pinched her whiskers and tugged lightly.
"Nyaah! Ah! It huwts! Staph it!" The short cat tried to struggle, but when she did pulled on her own whiskers which I had a firm pinch around.
"Feeeliiiciiiaaaa...." I wheezed out her name while I tormented the irresponsible calico kitten. The fur on her multi-colored tail stood on end and she made whining noises.
"Am sowwy chawming. Lemme go!" She said with a high pitched whining voice.
"Good. I hope you've learned something. I know you loathe paperwork, but leaving -everything- to me is just, it's just not fair kitten! How the hell do we even have that much paperwork to process? We're a restaurant, not a mega corporation." I released the mewling kitten, keeping a stern eye on her while she stroked her tender whiskers.
"Uhm..." She started, folding her ears back over her curly hair.
Uh-oh, it was never good when she hesitated like that and folded her ears at the same time.
"Well, spill it. What did you do?" I asked with a voice of authority. It wasn't even a question -if- she had done something. That much was clear.
"I uhm... have been neglecting doing paperwork... for a few days now. And it began piling up. And since you was going to do some anyway-..." Felicia went silent when I held up a hand.
I sighed.
"I understand. Just... forget about it, okay? It's all in the past now. But in compensation I demand a parfait, on the house. As large as you can make it without anything spilling." I said and put my hands on my hips. Standing firm.
She opened her mouth.
*Pling*
Hm...
Oh that was me?
"You know what, I'm going to read this text right here, right now. And if I don't have my parfait within five minutes I'll tell Kieran you have a crush on him." I took up my phone with a huff, poking my tongue out Felicia.
"But I don't even like him in that way!" She protested.
"That makes it even worse! Getting his hopes up like that!" I felt a grin play on my lips, despite everything.
Felicia also smiled. Some friendly banter between the calico cat and me was not too unusual.
"Right, so, I'm just gonna see who texted me..." I held up my phone and raised an eyebrow at Felicia. To protect my privacy I held the phone far above her.
Ahem...
Hi Lukas!
So nice to hear from you
again. Was starting to
think you didn't want
anything with me to do.
Anyway, I've heard of this
comic con you speak of
but I've never gone before.
What do you do there?
Aww, he's never been to a convent before. That's... gonna be problematic. It's so hard to explain in words...
You're pretty hard to forget.
You made quite an impact
on me by taking care of me!
And comic con...
Well, it's kind of... a huge
science fair, or an exhibition.
People promote their products
comics, books, art, music. etc.
And there are people who
cosplay game characters,
you could call it dress up
in other words. Lots of good
food and stuff too!
Wondering how quickly he will reply... Hopefully he had lunch break or something now so that he could. I can't really imagine the hunky daddy wolf going to a convention... He'd just be... so out of place. Not that I am the one to talk about being out of place, me, a human living in a city populated by furs.
*Pling!*
Ohh, sounds weird lol.
Though I guess it could
be worth checking out,
since your friend was
generous enough to give
you VIP tickets.
Are you sure you wouldn't
mind going with someone
who actually knows these
kind of things? And probably
closer to your age as well.
Hah! He was using the age card on me. What he doesn't know is that I have an reaaally open mind about what I find attractive...
Consider it compensation
for your help the other
day. It's not alcohol,
but its the company that
matters yeah? Besides I
don't think you're that
much older than I am.
I'm not as young as I
look.
Send. And another before he has time to ask.
28.
Haah... Now I felt old, even if I'm not! Despite my age I still carried a hint of youthful look, as if I was fresh out of college still.
Felicia shuffled close to me in humble silence, holding up a giant banana parfait with chocolate sauce and walnuts. Boy I sure do love nuts, ehehe.
"Thank you dear. Your debt has been paid in full." I took the offering from her paws, giving her a smile and a wink.
She smiled back and flicked a salute my way. Skipping her way out of the break room and towards the floor, I hope.
*Pling*
Could of fooled me, I
thought you were a
college kid lol. And
you're right about
being close, I'm 31
myself.
What.
I mean what?
Eeeehhhhhhh! That hunky wolf daddy, with the looks of a battle hardened veteran mafia boss, only 3 years older than I am? You gotta be shitting me.
Really? Wow. Now who's
fooling who? You look so
... rugged. Older, yeah, but
you're like... Handsome.
And you carry yourself
with such authority, I
thought you were with
the mafia first lol.
Gulp. I hope poor old Lukas wouldn't find himself sleeping with the fishes at the end of the day... And I hope a certain wolf didn't mind being complimented via text, I can just see his scary face, all flustered and blushing, tail wagging.
... You... thought I was
part of the mafia? That.
That's just so.
Incredibly stupid? Haha
hahaha, omg. The mafia.
Seriously dude? I don't
even think this town
has a mafia! Omg I'm
dying.
Would you look at that. The wolf knew how to text like a teenager. That's so weird! It doesn't fit his image at all! Is this his true colors? A real goof under all that intimidating, hulking, angry look?
It's true thought, I felt
like I was on the edge
of being 'taken care of'
at any moment. Good to
know that's not happening
then! Whew. Felt like I
dodged a bullet there. Literally.
Mmhmm... this parfait is really good.
*Pling*
Hehehe, well there's no
worry there. I'm not a
mafia boss.
But I am a boss over the
Rosewood Tech co.
So there's food for
thought.
Anyway I'd love to go
to this comic con thing
with you! When & where
will we meet?
Oh, okay.
Well we have VIP tickets
And the event lasts all
weekend so-
HOLD ON A CHERRY PICKING MINUTE! Boss?! Rosewood Tech corporation? What. Just what? Back the fuck up. Matthew Sanders, giant, hunky wolf daddy, only three years older than I. The big boss of a whole corporation?
What. I mean. What?
I swallowed.
so we can go whenever
you have time. I'm supposed
to meet my friend there on
Saturday though, so I hope
you won't mind if we do a
detour while we're there.
I'm cool. Yeah, it's all good, I'm cool. I mean I'm already best friends with a renowned author, I'm used to having friends in high places. Yeah.
No wonder he lived the way he did...
*Pling!*
Well I can't spend my whole
weekend having fun, so
Saturday sounds good for
me!
After all I didn't get to
where I am today by
slacking off. Had to
kick plenty of butts
to whip this corporate
into shape lol ;)
I'm sure you have Matt. I do not doubt it for a second. I fear for anyone who gets in your way.
Okay, so, Saturday at
10am? We get there
early and we can look
around before we go
see my friend.
The idea was sound, kill two birds with one stone. In a manner of speaking. I get to hang out with Matt, and a chance to introduce him to Ian. I know the white fox will appreciate meeting someone I will be introducing, and I could get a reaction out of the wolf about his thoughts of my best friend. I don't need him to like Ian, but I need him to accept that I will always consider the crippled fox my best friend.
This is why I'm still single.
If I were seeing someone I would never sleep around, not with Ian not with anyone. Ian knows this. But I still gotta spend some time with my friend every now and then, and most furs I've dated well... I guess they got jealous? Or they couldn't handle my high maintenance to keep my sanity in check... Which included alcoholic or coffee consumption by the liter, and a lot of sexual release, and some singing.
There was also the occasional PTSD attack, and night terrors which made me scream out loud...
But we'll get to that.
*Pling*
You got it :)
Ops, gotta dash now.
The others are looking
pretty pissed at me for
being on the phone during
this lame ass buisness
meeting.
Talk to you later!
Oh god... I need a moment.