FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Snow Dawgs

Chapter Fourteen

By Roofles

The day was going surprisingly well after getting caught making out with Duncan in the middle of the kitchen. I think we ended up making more of a mess than there originally was. Our bad. I blamed Duncan for that. The pit bull liked licking the whip cream off my body far more than he liked me licking it off his, and when Duncan got something in his head it was hard to stop the guy. Not only was he stronger than me, I kind of didn’t want to stop him.

Stop him from pulling off my shirt. Slathering the cool whipped topping over my body and feel his hot, smoldering breath wash over my naked torso as he licked it off. His tongue was so thick and wide, it slapped against me over and over again, lapping me up. Hot and heavy, he was on top of me. Panting down at me. The pit bull was drooling. He drooled over my skin. Getting it everywhere before lapping it up as well. It was nasty. It was disgusting and I hadn’t wanted it to stop.

I felt filthy and disgusting getting a tongue bath from the guy and there wasn’t a single time I had told him to stop as I squirmed and wiggled under him. Laughter replaced by moans of pleasure as he licked over one my nipples. Teasing the other with two of his large fingers as he nipple, I mean, nibbled at the other.

My brain had short circuited by the time he got to my neck. I was sure it was covered in hickies and was glad that I had brought a turtle neck sweater along for this trip. It would be the only way to hide what Duncan had done to me.

He was somehow both a gently and rough lover at the same time.

Duncan’s hands had ran up the sides of my body. Barely touching, yet his rough, dull nails scratching along my skin. Just the very tip. Just enough for me to feel it, feel him touching me. Scratching me without scratching. I couldn’t help the shivers that ran through me. It might’ve been from the cold seeping into the kitchen from the back door, but still. It was strangely invigorating, and I was a gelatin in his hands.

Playing with my body. Molding me as he pleased. My back arced up off the hard, cold floor and he slid a hand around into the crook of it. Holding me there as I gasped a breath. His lips had found my chest and was both kissing and chewing on it, nibbling the front of it as he held me up off the floor.

His large head hovering over my chest. That broad snout angled down against it as his soft blue eyes batted like butterfly wings, looking up at me. He looked so handsome in that moment… Or maybe that was just the lighting that morning. It was erotic as hell being man handled by the man with him on top of me like this. He’d trapped my legs between his knees and kept them pinned together as he scooped a hefty dose of the whipped cream out with a finger.

He let me watch. Watch as he held the finger up in the air, not letting a single drop fall. Let me watch as he lowered it. Even before the cold substance touched me, my breath hitched in my throat. Getting coat there as I watched his finger, and he watched me. With a smirk, Duncan continued.

He brushed it over a nipple, and I shuddered again. He really liked that. Loved rubbing and teasing my nipples. Playing with them. Teasing them between those coarse, paw padded fingers.

The whip cream was so cold.

He was so hot.

I could feel his breath against my face and knew I was sweating. I hated being breathed on. And Duncan knew that. That was why he didn’t stop. And that was why I didn’t tell him. I hated that he loved it, and I loved that he knew that.

Feeling that tongue press against my body, licking his way up to the spot. Over my nipple. Over the nub and giving it a flick with his tongue. I might’ve made a sound. Of course, I made a sound. There was no denying that. I tried to cover it, to keep quiet as he smirked down at me.

My blushing face under him. An arm over my mouth to try to stifle the groans filling the otherwise empty kitchen. I glared at him. Wordlessly telling him how much I hated him for doing this to me. Forced to stay quiet in the public space. He only smiled at that, his eyes laughing at my misfortune.

That stupid dumb smile of his. He knew exactly what he was doing to me as one hand slid down over my stomach and toyed with the top of my pants. Teasing the opening, groping me roughly, rubbing and kneading the big, strong hand of his down over my groin. The pressure of it never too much and, yet, never enough. Playing with my bulge and making me gasp and moan like his bitch under him.

“Bastard,” I hissed between clenched teeth, glaring at him with tears in my eyes from holding back. That made his tail wag. The pit bull tilting his head slightly to the other side as he smirked down at me. He didn’t stop and I moaned against for him when he slid a finger up between my balls, through what I was wearing, and up my rigid shaft to the tip of my dick. “Hate. You.” I gasped out. He didn’t need to tease the tip. He did anyways.

Duncan loved that. He clearly loved making me feel like this for him. It was kind of hot. The look on his face hearing the sounds I made for him, trying to stifle them. To hide what we were doing despite knowing the others were just in the other room. Knowing they could walk in on us any second now.

It was exhilarating. A thrill I hadn’t expected to enjoy. There was a word for it, but I couldn’t tell you what that was right then and there, lost in the pleasure of our secrecy. Our indecency. To do something like this where the others food was cooked.

I wanted him to put the apron back on. To put that dumb chef had back on and take everything else off. I wanted him to flip me over and spread my buns before slathering his tongue over them. Between them. Coating them before he stuffed me. Filled me with his cream.

“Fuck,” I could only curse at the thought.

“Oh?” Duncan formed the word with his lips, but didn’t say it. He didn’t need to. It was like a light bulb had flicked on over his head as if he knew exactly where my thoughts were leading me.

I felt hot in the face. So warm, despite the cold. I wanted it to continue. I wanted Duncan to do whatever he liked with me. He was incredible when he got like this. When he wasn’t second guessing himself constantly. I wanted to be the one to give him that kind of confidence, showing him in response to his actions just how great of a guy he was and could be.

Maybe, I wanted him to forget about his ex as much as I was trying to forget about mine.

That was the last thought I had in my head when he opened up my pants and went down on me. My rigid shaft easily slid into that steamy muzzle, and he had only begun to suck me off when the door to the kitchen had flown open and we were caught, literally, with my pants down. My dick still in his muzzle as we both looked over at a very pissed off reindeer who snorted his disappointed like a mad bull.

With a lot of hurried apologies, we rushed out of there with my dick still flapping around in the air as I tried to pull my pants up and leave with Duncan on my heels. There was enough cursing yelled our way, ladles and metal utensils being thrown at us, to make a sailor blush.

We were, understandably, banned from using the kitchen for the rest of our stay and Duncan said he’d apologize, again, officially when things had calmed down. I assumed that meant he was going to bribe them with a lot of cash. Money fixed all sorts of problems like that.

I hadn’t even realized it was nearly lunch time by the time we got out. Or maybe it was the afternoon snack period or tea time or whatever the fuck it was. It didn’t really matter as we laughed like a pair of idiots at our exploits. At what we almost, got away with. We weren’t up for seeing the others anyways by the time we were done with things. The two of us weren’t exactly up for eating anything else and had excused ourselves from whatever activities were going on.

We ended up taking up space in the main sitting area with the fireplace going nearby. It was a nice source of heat in the open room with vaulted ceilings and windows for days. I liked the hand carved wooden pillars that looked almost like totem poles. They were intricately carved and, later, I found out that one of the owners used to be married to a beaver.

It was a nice relaxing afternoon as I replied to the text I’d received on my phone, letting those who cared enough to ask where I was know I wasn’t up to anything today.

I surprised to see a text from Hunter. I replied with far less enthusiasm than I had to Buddy’s text. The two of us, Buddy, and I, had plans that I ended up canceling on. I would make it up to the golden retriever when we got back from the trip.

Right now, I just wanted to spend as much time as I could with Duncan. I know, I know. That sounds like I have a school girl crush on the guy. As if he was the first guy I ever dated, or something. I didn’t fucking care. It felt… good?

It felt good to be with someone that made me feel this way, again. Young? No, more like… fun. It was fun being with him. Fun getting in trouble. It was fun to have sex in all kinds of ways and, surprisingly, it had been fun just cooking with the guy.

Duncan, of all the guys here. I would’ve never guessed and I cracked a smile at that. Duncan gave me a look, but I didn’t explain. How could I? How could I tell him that I was this happy just to have him nearby.

Everyone else had gotten up to something else as we crashed on the sofa, looking at our phones while enjoying the silence of the others company. Duncan had some plans for later but, right now, I just needed to calm my libido down. If he had asked? I’d have followed Duncan right back to our shared room to finish things up. Or the broom closet.

The thought made me blush and I tried to hide my face with my phone.

In a way, I was disappointed we hadn’t? And in a way, I was thankful. My balls needed a rest as I checked out a few dumb memes on readit and watched some dumb cat videos on Furtube. Originally, I had planned to check on my socials but realized how difficult that was going to be.

Changing your social is kind of like changing your last name. You’d think it’d be easy and simple, but it’s not. You have to change everything! Every card, update your profiles, your information and just… well, everything. Breaking up with someone is a lot like that, actually.

Except for the additional questions that follow. When you change your name? It’s usually with a simple “congratulations.” When I changed my profiles from seeing someone to single? That was going to open up a whole can of worms I didn’t want to deal with.

I’d deal with that after this vacation I had, partially, paid for.

Hunter and I were officially over and, looking at muzzlebook, I realized I hadn’t updated that status yet, either. I hated that. Needing to go through everything and change it. Let alone for moving out when I got back.

How was I going to explain that to my parents? My friends? My coworkers, even, the nosy bastards.

What was I supposed to say? “Broke up with my ex, fucked a bunch of his friends before ending up with a guy I originally hated. Might delete later.” I mean, seriously, what do you even put down for that kind of thing? On one hand, I wanted just to ignore it and say something like “it’s none of your business” but, like changing your name, you kind of sort of have to do this. Eventually.

That eventually would be future Douglas problems as I watched stupid dumb fail videos instead. They were a good way to kill time, getting some sadistic laughs from me watching others be just as dumb or stupid as I could be. It was nice seeing everyone equally slipped down the steps and landing on their car keys as I had once done.

Big, small, cat or dog. Everyone ends up doing dumb shit and it was the great equalizer as I laughed at someone being taken out by the snow on their roof. The caption said they weren’t hurt, but I doubted that. I knew how heavy and dangerous a snowed roof could be.

“What?” Duncan asked after I laughed like an idiot for the third time. The pit bull was sitting in the middle of the sofa, my legs up and over his lap. Anyone walking in on us would’ve question things but, at this point, I don’t think Duncan really cared.

He was idly petting over my leg, needing that physical contact a lot of canine-Americans did. Only after flipping to another video and giggling like a preteen did he ask what I was up to. I think us just hanging out together was enough, right now, for him and that was nice to know.

That my mere presence could be enough. At least for someone.

“Just dumb videos.” I showed him the video after rewinding it twenty seconds with two taps. It was of an elderly couple slipping and sliding down their iced driveway, followed by a bride knocking over a champagne tower and ruining her wedding dress, with a car crash after that and then a near miss shark attack.

I turned the phone away and Duncan got angry at that.

“I was watching that.” He growled.

“It’s my phone!” I had to laugh at the absurdity of him getting upset. “You have your own phone.”

“I want to watch yours.” Duncan pointed at it, glaring at me.

“You have your own phone!” I said again, laughing this time as he leaned closer. “What? No! Get off!” My struggles were in vain as he laid out on top of me. He was a heavy man, and I did my best not to get crushed underneath him. What a way to go. “Heavy,” I wheezed.

“You didn’t seem to mind last night.” Duncan wiggled his eyebrows, and I tried to shove him onto the floor. He grabbed the back of the sofa and slid towards it, refusing to be kicked off. He nearly managed to knock me off before grabbing my arm at the last second. With a sharp tug and a flip, I somehow managed to end up on top of him the next second.

It was rather impressive how skillfully he had done that. As if Duncan had planned that maneuver from the very start. Sneaky dog.

Holding me, he took the phone easily from my hands getting an elicit “hey!” from me. Duncan ignored my bitching and held up the phone to the side for us to watch it as I used his pecs as a pair of pillows to rest on. Or rather, shoved aggressively against his chest and forced to do so. Not that I was complaining after realizing what he’d been going for.

Him saying he wanted to watch it was Duncan-speak for wanting to watch the videos together.

“Comfy?” I sarcastically asked. He gave me a painfully tight hug for my snarky remark. It had been more of a squeeze than anything else.

“I hate the videos of people slipping on their front porch or deck. We get it. They’re idiots. Don’t have to fill half the video with them.” Duncan ignored me and focused on the video instead. I didn’t say how much I enjoyed them and, sometimes, saying nothing was the best route to take.

Of course, that would’ve been the smart thing to do. I liked being an idiot around him. It was only when you could be stupid, like this, that you knew where you stood in a relationship. Even with friends. Being able to tease or pick on the other, acting like an idiot or even a spoiled brat? Knowing how the other would react was, in a way, testing the waters.

Testing a relationship… did you have to be the adult at all times? Were you the submissive one or the one who was forced to make all the decisions? Or could you actually relax and have fun. Not forced to watch every single dumb thing you say.

It was refreshing. And I hadn’t realized, until then, how much I’d been keeping my dumb mouth in check around Hunter, until now, here, with Duncan. Having to mind what I said and how I said it. How sensitive Hunter could be.

I didn’t need to worry like that with Duncan.

“I don’t know. I kind of like them. Seeing rich idiots hurt themselves is always funny.” I laughed seeing a woman try to bring up two trays of coffee and end up slipping, spilling the hot beverages over herself. It was followed by a clip of a guy breaking his extremely expensive looking putter, holding up the gold club after and gawking at the camera.

“How do you know they’re rich?” Duncan asked, eyebrow lifting up with one floppy ear as he looked at me. Was he actually expecting an answer? I’d usually get a grunt from Hunter that he’d been listening. Not… not this kind of attention.

“I mean, they got cameras on their front porch recording this kind of stuff. I just assume only the rich can afford that.” Duncan couldn’t see an argument with my half assed answer and just gave a heavy shrug of his shoulders in reply.

“Fair.” Duncan went back to watching the video. I noticed he would glance over at me every now and then, as if to make sure I was still watching it with him. He had a bored, lazy expression on his face. Most likely not enjoying the video as much as I was. A strong squeeze told me he was at least enjoying my company which made my cheeks feel all nice and rosy like as heat bloomed over them.

We stayed like that, easily, for over an hour. Duncan made a great bed.

His expansive chest was the perfect pillow and his bulk, combined with his strength, was more than enough to keep me comfortably upright as we watched videos for the next hour, possibly longer. I wasn’t sure how long it was. These videos could be anywhere from three minutes long to an hour and a half. While Duncan repositioned himself a couple of times, he never let go of me and that was enough for me to continue.

I almost dozed off at one point. Duncan was holding up the phone, leaving me to relax against him. Listening to the sounds of his breath, feeling him breathe under me. His body was firm and solid. Duncan was warm and I didn’t even need a blanket despite being out in the main room where there was plenty of airflow.

His heart beat was strong under my right hand. I could feel it against my finger tips as I placed my hand there. Pushing down softly at the spot. It was nice. Nice to be next to another warm body. To feel their heartbeat and just listen to the sound of them next to me. Feel their arms around me as I snuggled a bit closer.

I could smell him. He smelled of flour and sugar from our time in the kitchen. He smelled of canine, go figure. And Duncan smelled of man. A strong male muskiness underneath it all. He must’ve been getting hot with me on top of him like this. From what we’ve done earlier. Be so close to the fireplace, covered in fur as he was.

I didn’t mind. It felt nice. He smelled good and I pushed my nose against the crook of his neck. He stiffened slightly. Duncan holding perfectly still as I sniffed him. His ears perked up at that, a shudder running through his body at the action. I know it was a very dog thing to do. Maybe it was because I’ve been hanging around these guys as much as I was.

Still, I wanted to do it. I wanted to sniff him. To smell his scent and Duncan reacted strongly to the action.

“You smell good,” I said and knew it was a way a canine flirted. He shifted under me.

“I-I do?” Duncan swallowed as I sat up on his chest, to get a better look at those beautiful eyes of his. They were so bright and full as he looked at me, waiting for my response.

“Yeah.” I said with a soft smile, eyes half closed. “Does that bother you?”

“Nope.” Duncan replied instantly and I cracked another smile at that.

“What if I told you I wanted to sniff elsewhere?” He shifted again under me, and I was sure he spread his legs open a bit more after hearing that. Duncan was a lot of things. Subtle was not one of them.

“Like… where?” He swallowed again and I was sure his mouth had suddenly grown dry. It was nice. Teasing him like this, seeing how he reacted. It was, in a lot of ways, reassuring. Flirting with the guy got a reaction and that was far more than I could ever say about Hunter.

“What if I said…” I had to think about it for a second, or maybe I was just teasing him further. “Armpit?”

Duncan didn’t even hesitate as he lifted up his arm and, with a soft chuckle, I nosed the sweaty fur underneath there and took a deep breath of his body. He squeezed his arm over my head, shoving my nose closer and let out a low lustful growl.

After releasing me, I wiggled my nose. I wasn’t sure if the action itself or the fact Duncan had been so willing had been what aroused. I’d give it a fifty-fifty.

“Where else?” Duncan offered, never once taking his eyes off me. His entire focus and attention was on me, despite the video still playing on the phone in his other hand.

“What if I said… paws?” I asked and he looked down at his toes, wiggling them.

“Tonight.” Duncan promised and I laughed at that, knowing he would keep it. “A-anywhere else, Douglas?” He said my name and it sounded more like a begging whine. That did something to my dick, and it twitched in my pants. I was sure I was leaking, again, at this point.

“Well,” I tip toed my fingers down his chest and over his stomach. “I wouldn’t mind greeting you, sometime, like you guys do.”

“You know that’s a stereotype,” Duncan replied to me talking about sniffing butts. “Besides,” he fidgeted. “I rather you sniff the front… instead.”

“Yeah?” I didn’t want this to stop.

“Yeah.” Duncan adjusted himself with his hand, nearly dropping his phone between his legs. For a second I thought he had meant to do that. “I mean, after this morning, and getting worked up… I bet I smell real strong, right about now.”

“I’ll have to make sure to take a big sniff then, before you clean up.” I said, pressing closer against him.

“You’ll get a big sniff alright.” Duncan growl grew in volume. “Shove your face right down in there. Get a good whiff of me.” The pit bull was panting, and I was leaning closer.

His lips closed, mine only inches away from his…

That was about the time we were walked in on, again. At least, this time, I had my pants on.

“Douglas?” I’d recognize that surprised whiny bitchy voice anywhere and looked up to see Hunter standing there in the doorway. He had a tight, form-fitting sleeveless shirt on and a pair of loose shorts hanging down from his scrawny hips. It was thanks to his bushy, fluffy fur that he wasn’t freezing his tail off in such a get up.

Hunter is what you would call a twink. If he wasn’t a Canine-American, I would’ve been the bigger one during our relationship. Stupid genes.

“Sup?” I said with such disinterested that Duncan actually snorted a laugh underneath me, needing to cover it up after as he turned away. I was about to get up but Duncan’s arm around my lower back told me that wasn’t happening. The pit bull had pulled a pillow over his lap, however, hiding his arousal from our previous conversation. I was glad Duncan’s thick thighs could easily hide mine as I laid on top of him. “Need something?” I asked, flipping to the next video on the phone for Duncan.

A woman was trying to dye her fur with a self-dyeing kit at home but had accidentally mixed too much of one of the chemicals and ended up with her fur falling out between her ears. Poor thing, her fur was stunning enough without needing to bleach it blonde.

“Don’t you hate when that happens?” I asked Duncan. The pit bull didn’t respond, still glaring over at Hunter. His arm squeezed a bit tighter around me as he tried to contain the growl in his throat. It was a very different sound than the one he’d made earlier.

Not that I blamed him.

For a second, I thought it was a possessive tendency for the guy to have. However, it soon dawned on me that Hunter had been the one that his ex, Junkyard, had cheated on him with. The poor pit bull walking in on the two the other day when they were hooking up – at least according to Buddy that’s what they’d been doing. I hadn’t exactly seen what had happened personally but could imagine.

“O-Oh, hey there, D-Duncan.” Hunter stammered out as if only now seeing the massive pit bull taking up the entire couch. Duncan gave him a very dismissive snort in reply. “W-what are you, Douglas,” he added on quickly to make it clear he was talking to me, “doing out here with… with Duncan?”

Duncan let out a low warning growl again. Making it very clear Hunter was not to say his name right now, or possibly ever again.

“We were watching vids,” I shook my phone in the air as if it weren’t obvious what the two of us were doing with our faces glued to the small screen. The sound was even on. It was very obvious what we had been doing, and that Hunter was attempting, and failing, small talk.

I would bring the fact I had been dry humping Duncan to my grave.

“Oh. Fun. We used to do that,” Hunter stammered out before clamping his muzzle shut. I winced at the way he said it and Duncan rolled his eyes under me. The pit bull shifted his bulk a bit, wanting to sit up while also not wanting to let me go. I was worried Duncan might try and strangle Hunter with one hand, while holding me with his other arm. I wouldn’t put it past the guy to try such a feat, let alone succeed. His hands were massive!

“A lot of people do that.” I tried to keep my voice neutral, monotone. Giving no hint to how I felt about all this. I wasn’t even really sure how to feel. It would take a couple of days for things to really settle down for me to sort through all the crap that had happened these past several days. I was still sort of just living in the moment. “It’s a very common hobby to have.”

“Right, of course, heh, of course…” Hunter trailed off, shifting his weight as he fiddled with his fingers. He had rings on. The same ones he used when he was DJing. I wonder if he was showing them off to Junkyard and a bit of me felt bitter and jealous because of that.

Taking a breath, I pushed off Duncan’s chest and sat down between the guys legs. Duncan didn’t get up. He did put one leg over my lap, keeping me trapped between his legs. I tried not to let him distract me as I faced towards the German Shepherd.

For once I was thankful that such physical actions were common among canines. Hunter had asked why I was with Duncan, not why I was lying on the guy or that I was, now, sitting between Duncan’s legs. It was normal. If we weren’t in a public lodge, it wouldn’t have been strange for either of us to be naked while cuddling.

Canines were extremely open and expressive, even if they weren’t secretly sleeping together.

“Did you need something, Hunter? Duncan and I had plans here in a bit.” I said in that same tone as before, keeping a blank face the entire time. I didn’t want to start a fight. Not right now, or ever. Despite it all, Hunter was still my ex and still my friend… I think?

I wasn’t sure if we were really friends anymore. Another thing to look at after all this settled down. It’d be like pulling teeth or doing your taxes. I was not looking forward to dealing with all this shit after things calm down. I would keep the peace for everyone else’s sake. They didn’t need my dumb drama ruining their fun vacation.

“With Duncan?” Hunter jumped at that, ears shooting straight towards the ceiling as his eyes widened. He blinked several times, looking between the two of us before letting out a nervous chuckle when Duncan growled, again. It was louder than the previous one. Each time Hunter made Duncan growl, it grew in volume, and I was beginning to worry for Hunter’s safety.

“Yeah,” I said casually. Trying to keep up the airs of being bros, if not friends. “He and I have a lot more in common than I thought. He’s cool and fun to be around.” I kept it at that.

Oh, I wanted to say more. I wanted to say SO much more! I wanted to rub it in Hunter’s face. I wanted to tell him what an incredible lover Duncan was. How much fun it was to cuddle the guy. How we both liked the same taste of music and games. How Duncan had been filling the gaping hole that Hunter had left behind. Not just as a partner in the bedroom, but as a friend here during our vacation. I hadn’t hung out once with Hunter since this all began! Maybe bring up what a successful man Duncan was would’ve been going too far. A part of me still wanted to do so... Wanted to rub it in the German Shepherd’s face how good of a job Duncan had and how reliable it would be for the future. Not jumping from one gig to the other, unsure if you’d even get paid at the end of the shift.

I could easily bring up a half other dozen things Duncan was better at than Hunter ever was. At least Duncan tried!

So, so, so many things I wanted to say. I didn’t. I kept all that in. Chewing on it like a cow would cud. Letting it stew disgustingly until it tasted like the bile I swallowed down.

Hunter and I have a very complicated history. Right now? All the bad parts of the relationship were floating to the top. How much money he owed me. All the time I wasted on him. Be it driving him around, comforting him when he was having another emotional breakdown or just… everything. He couldn’t handle anything real. “No drama” was his mentality and I hated it.

Frankly, it was exhausting. All of it. Like taking care of a baby man who could barely feed and dress himself.

But, above all else, I hated how, right then, I couldn’t remember the good times. Maybe that was why I stayed seated there, on that couch out in the sitting area. Next to the fireplace. Sitting there between another man’s legs as I looked at my ex. Duncan might’ve wanted the physical reassurance of me there. I needed Duncan to hold me back from jumping up and shaking this bastard until all my time and money and wasted effort fell out of him.

I refused, though, to shed anymore tears for this guy.

“I see…” Hunter swallowed, eyes darting over to Duncan who was refusing to look at him. He was currently playing with his phone. I doubted the thing had even been turned on. It was just a means to ignore Hunter with. “I wanted to talk… with you. Privately,” he added on quickly. “About everything. Our future…”

“Future?” The word stuck in my throat and burned like stomach acid. I almost spat the word back out at my ex. I didn’t. I was keeping everything cool, calm, and chill. I was chill. I am chill!

“Not going anywhere.” Duncan stated without looking at him. His hand touched my arm, and his fingers gave it a soft squeeze. I was thankful for it.

“It’s fine.” I told him. “Duncan can be here. Right?” I asked, tilting my head slightly to one side. Baiting Hunter. My hand tightened into a balled fist. Painful. It was painful to do the act. To think about why I felt so betrayed. “I mean, after all, we both deserve to hear it… Right?”

“Hear it…?” Hunter was sweating bullets as his eyes darted around the room. He was picking at his nails again. Digging his dull claws in around his nails and picking at them. Picking, picking, and picking…

Dammit. All my anger began slipping away, burning off my like hot steam as I watched him.

“Hunter.” I said, finally getting up. I had to physically move Duncan’s legs off me. The pit bull frowned at this as I got up, walking over to the German Shepherd. “Stop.” I said, grabbing his wrists and pulling them apart. “You have beautiful nails,” I said in a softer tone. “Stop picking at them.”

The German Shepherd’s ears splayed out, muzzle dipping down as he looked at his hands. His anxiety was so bad that clumps of fur would fall out when he got really worked up like this. Stress was toxic to his system, and it made his luxurious fur feel dry and stringing, as if he hadn’t used conditioner in over a month.

“I was going to come find you anyways.” I finally threw Hunter a lifeline. My anger had died away and I was just… tired. Tired of dealing with the guy. I just wanted to get this over with and then smother my face in Duncan’s musky balls to comfort myself after. “I wanted to see you to talk to you about all this, as well.” My voice softened and I almost hugged the guy. I resisted it at the last second and sort of gave him that awkward bro hug with one arm. “Let’s all just sit down and talk. Do you want something hot to drink?”

“N-no, I’m good. I’m good.” Hunter nodded at this. He took a breath, leaning against me. Relying on me despite it all. Nuzzling against me affectionately as canines were prone to do so.

No wonder why so many people fell hard for dogs. They were naturally affectionate. It didn’t mean any more than what it was. And that, in a way, hurts far more.

“I’m glad your hear,” Hunter said naturally, as easily as he breathed, and it made something click in my head.

Ah, that was it. That was why I had originally ended up with Hunter. Hunter relied on me. He needed me. I was his life preserver when he got like this. The one guy at the party who would stop having fun and be there to console him when he got overwhelmed by something. Not exactly the best reason to hook up with someone, but it had been ours.

I had needed someone back then, not one to being single for long. I hated being single. Hunter had just happened to be there when I was at that low point. A random guy at a random party that the two of us happened to bump into one another. It was just a series of coincidences.

Some love story that turned out to be.

Hunter took a seat in the chair across from the couch and I took the spot next to Duncan. The pit bull had sat up at some point and was watching us closely. Duncan still didn’t say anything, which, honestly, was probably for the best. I could imagine what he would say seeing Hunter nuzzle up to me like that.

I was just glad there was this glass table between Hunter and the two of us. Fragile as it looked it was something. Something, at least, to separate the angry pit bull and the scrawny twink German Shepherd.

“A lot of things have been happening. So fast.” Hunter said my thoughts aloud, looking down at his hands. He held them tightly together on his lap. It was a means of not picking at the fur around his nails. They shook slightly and, previously, I would’ve moved over to sit by him. Pet his hand and calm him down.

Instead, I was across the glass coffee table next to the guy Hunter had cheated on his ex with. I placed a hand on Duncan’s when I felt him shaking slightly. The low growl in his throat was swallowed back down and he glanced over at me. I met his eyes for a second, holding it for another… then looked back at Hunter.

Hunter had missed the exchanged. I figured as such. Hunter was so self-centric that it was hard to see him looking at others when he got like this. He was waiting to be rescued. For someone to come to his aide. He loved being the victim and adored the attention that came along with it.

It was easy to play the victim because then you wouldn’t have to do anything. Someone else could take care of all the problems for you without you even trying.

“Yup.” I agreed with him. I did. I just left it at that. A single word reply. I hope I kept the bitterness out of it, but, frankly, I could care less if I actually did or not.

“You and me,” Hunter glanced up at Duncan. “Duncan…” He added, frowning slightly. He wanted Duncan to leave, understandably so. There was no way he was going to get a guy like Duncan to leave. Hunter would have to call or text Auto to deal with him. The blue heeler was the only one that could deal with a guy like Duncan. “A lot has been happening. It’s been a bit overwhelming.” He let out a weak laugh. “Just trying to wrap my head around it, you know?” He looked up at me, eyes pleading for help.

“Yup.” I replied with the same word, the same tone and in the same curt manner as before. As if to say “and?”

“I know we weren’t the best couple. We had a lot of ups and downs…” He glanced up, again, at Duncan as if hoping the pit bull would get the picture and leave already. “A-and things have been real rough for both of us these past couple months. You’ve been so busy and I… I’ve been trying to get work…” I hated how he said it like that. The tone he used. As if to imply that I had some hand in all his fuck ups. That I was partially to blame for why this relationship had crashed and burned. “We just weren’t there for each other.”

Hell, I would’ve been glad if it had been that bad of a train wreck as he was making it out to be. To be honest, it had been agonizingly slow. Like a pond drying up in the summer heat. Leaving nothing but caked mud behind. That was our relationship. How it had been and how it had gone. Dry and barren, devoid of life as it slowly evaporated until there was nothing left.

“I wanted to check on you.” Hunter brought up. As if, for a single second, he thought of thinking of me. Only to quickly add on, “I’ve been real busy. With my job, reconnected with old friends, been trying to get my sound board up and working again…” Before going right back to talking about himself. “I didn’t want you to worry about me.”

Classic Hunter. Even when it was supposed to be about we or us, he talks about himself. Unless something bad happened. Then, somehow, magically really… it was also partially my fault. So, the blame could never fully be on him. Evenly dispersed out and he wouldn’t have to look in a mirror to see where all these problems came from.

“I just hope you’re dealing with this well…” Hunter said, as if expecting, hoping, I wasn’t. I mean, no one wants the other guy in the breakup to be doing better than they were. You wanted them to be as miserable as you were. Or in Hunter’s case, pretended to be.

“I’ve been great.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. I don’t think he was expecting that kind of answer from the look he gave. “I’ve been hanging out with Duncan, mostly. Been great.” That had been a bit exaggerated, but it also hadn’t been a lie. “He’s been having a rough time…” I brought up and Duncan’s ears folded back at that. “Thankfully, I’ve been there.”

I didn’t want to bring up that kind of thing for Duncan, but I also needed Hunter to face the reality of our situation. What he’d done. That it hadn’t just been about him and I, but also others. His actions, like my own, had affected others here. Good or bad, they still were affected by them.

“You and Duncan?” Hunter asked with a soft whimper.

“We could relate on that.” I said and Hunter’s ears were the ones to fold back now, averting his eyes from us like a dog that had been caught red paw doing something he knew he shouldn’t. “After all that’s happened. You understand…”

“That’s why Duncan is still here…” Hunter said finally putting it together.

“I also wanted him here,” I added, and both Hunter and Duncan looked at me. “I’m not lying when I said I enjoyed his company.” I think Duncan’s tail wagged hearing that. He needed to hear something good right now. This involved him as much as it did us. “He helped me through it. This. All of this. Us. Breaking up. Duncan had been there, and I’ve enjoyed him. Enjoyed it, being with him. I mean,” my words came out a little fast, mumbling near the end before I abruptly stopped as I blushed.

Because I had. I had enjoyed the time I’ve spent with Duncan. I just hated telling my ex that.

I think it was clear how all of this hurt me. More than I had even realized it had. At the beginning, I think I was just having fun. Having another warm body there, next to me. I needed that. I really, really needed that. I’m not good at being alone. I work better when I’m doing it for someone else. It gives me strength that I would otherwise not possess without a reason to do all the adulting you’re forced to do growing up.

“Duncan’s been a really good friend.” I said that, touching his hand and the pit bull looked at me. The tension in his shoulders eased a bit and there was a pull of his lips into something that looked like a very tired smile.

“And I haven’t?” Hunter instantly twisted my words around, turning them around to focus back on himself. “I know I haven’t been there as much as I should’ve been. I’ve been busy!” He quickly stammered out, getting worked up now. Duncan let out an annoyed snort at Hunter overreacting. “With work. A new gig. Possibly a major deal that could make my career! I know you’ve never supported my choices. It’s been real hard on me too,” Hunter had tears in his eyes. “I know we should have talked about this sooner. I just needed to work up the courage to do so. To figure out what to say. How to say it. What… what to make of all of this. Of us.”

“Not what I was getting at,” I said my thoughts aloud, even knowing that he wasn’t fully listening. When Hunter got like this, others just didn’t matter as much. Even if I were going through the exact same thing he was, Hunter would always push his problems slightly above everyone else’s.

“It’s been hard sleeping at night. My fur is drying out. I forgot to bring my special conditioner with me, I thought you packed it.” Hunter continued to rambling on. Somehow continuously throwing me under the bus as he did so. “Then my phone died. You were charging it before we left, and I wasn’t able to use the cord.” That might’ve made me feel bad, like a piece of shit… but it didn’t.

We weren’t together. Not any longer. All the things Hunter said ran off my back like water on a duck. I just let him spew it all out before saying my piece.

“And like, what was I to do?” Hunter finished up with. “I’ve just been so overwhelmed, Douglas.”

“We aren’t together.” It wasn’t a direct answer to his question. It somehow, did, answer everything he’d been talking about. “We were together, Hunter.” I pointed out. “We aren’t any longer. When I thought you went missing at the start of this trip…? I thought the worse. Something bad had happened to you. An accident or something. But no, you left without telling anyone. Your boyfriend, included.” I made sure to remind him exactly why I had dumped his ass. “That’s why we broke up. Why I broke up with you,” I corrected. “We aren’t together any longer, Hunter.”

He could spin my words around as much as he liked, belittling me and blaming me, somehow, for all his issues and problems. Whatever. It didn’t matter anymore because we weren’t together. I wasn’t his boyfriend, and I think Hunter was beginning to realize that.

His jaw had dropped open slightly, eyes staring at me before he blinked and closed his mouth.

“Right. Well. I mean… At the start of this vacation-,” Hunter tried to defend what he had been saying.

“We aren’t boyfriends, any longer.” I said, again. To remind him. “Hunter. You and I are broken up. I’m here to just sign the papers,” I let out a laugh. It wasn’t lacking in humor. It was more of a self-deprecating laugh. Signing the papers, like a divorce couple would before never seeing each other again. “We are officially having the break up talk. Most people don’t have this because they can’t handle it,” like Hunter couldn’t. “What you chose to do after breaking up? Is on you. What I chose to do after breaking up with you? Is on me, Hunter. Not you. Not anyone else. These have been my choices, and I will lay with them.”

I hadn’t realized when, but I had been holding onto Duncan’s hand. Both for support and to get my point across. Hunter and I were done. It would take days or weeks, possibly, for it all to set in. But we were over. The years we’ve been together, gone. There was no getting that back.

I rather look towards the future anyways.

I doubted I would ever see Hunter after all this. Oh, we’d see each other at the gatherings or in passing, sure. Sure… but was that really seeing each other? Saying hi with a wave of a hand before continuing to walk past? To, maybe, mention the weather when we were waiting for the others. Exchanges you would make when waiting for the elevator. Not really talking. Not really caring about the others day or their reply.

That’s how things are going to be from now on, between us. And I think, I hoped, Hunter was finally beginning to see that. He couldn’t text me anymore in the middle of the night. He couldn’t come to me for emotional support, or financial help when one of his gigs crashed and burned. Which they would. They always do. The safety net that I had always been for him was gone and he was now forced to jump ship onto someone else’s boat…

Unfortunately, said boat stepped around the corner to join us at that time.

As if today couldn’t get any worse, Duncan’s ex had shown up as if one cue. I bet Junkyard had planned this. Told Hunter to come talk to me. It didn’t make sense why the German Shepherd had now, of all times. Junkyard most likely either tricked him or pressured Hunter into having this extremely uncomfortable conversation.

“Boyfriend?” Junkyard asked, the Doberman stepping out when he heard the word. I think it was a signal Hunter was supposed to give Junkyard as he walked over to stand by Hunter’s chair. “You finally tell them, babe?” Junkyard asked and, to his credit, I did get a good laugh seeing the look that passed over Hunter’s face.

Hunter looked like a deer caught in a pair of headlights that had just been told his subscription to Vogue had been cancelled… and also been shot all at the same time.

“Uh, not yet, babe…” Hunter said. He was far more nervous now than he’d been during this entire conversation. “Was still trying to get around to that…”

“Oh, well, now it’s out in the open. Cat’s out of the bag,” Junkyard flipped his hair to the side dramatically, posing on the spot as if expecting one of us to take his picture. The twunk of a man was almost as scrawny as Hunter was. Sure, they were bigger than me being canine-Americans, but that still wasn’t saying much. “Let’s just air it all out now. Get it out there. No reason to beat around the bush.”

The Doberman looked a lot scrawnier than Hunter did. He lacked the extra fluff and fur that Hunter had going for him. It helped fill out what Hunter was lacking. It was an aspect that I had been jealous about the German Shepherd. He could hide his lack of effort in the gym thanks to his fur and natural breed. I had to work my ass off for the little results I got from it.

Junkyard hadn’t been that lucky.

He was fit, like a runner’s build. He had some muscle, but he looked more bone and flesh than anything else. His thin brown and black fur hid very little. Standing in as little as he was wearing, a crop top and runners shorts, left him rather bare and exposed for the world to see and mock. Long, scrawny limbs with slightly larger paws. It was not a good look for the guy. He looked more comical than he was attractive; though, that might’ve been my spiteful brain thinking that.

“We’re together.” Junkyard said, pointing at me, then over at Duncan as if he hadn’t told the guy. Duncan growl increased in volume once more, renewing after the sight of the Doberman. “Hunter is breaking up with you, Douglas.”

“Right.” I laughed, openly, at that and Junkyard’s ear flicked. I had broken up with the German Shepherd days ago and this asshole was trying to twist things around that Hunter had been the one to break up with me.

“Look. He’s been wanting to do it forever. You should’ve gotten the picture before you, rudely, I might add, did so,” he didn’t need to say it but of course Junkyard did. I think he just loved the sound of his voice. “The two of you weren’t right together, anyways.” I wasn’t sure if Junkyard brought that up because he wanted to date Hunter or because I was a human. I would say… fifty-fifty.

Junkyard was just a racist asshole at the end of the day. I couldn’t see what Duncan or Hunter saw in the guy. Maybe he was super attractive from a canine-Americans perspective, and I was missing something?

“Hunter and I had a long, healthy, open conversation about us…” Why did it feel like he was taking some sort of jab at me when he said that? “And we both have decided to pursuing this further.” Junkyard said while Hunter just sat there silently.

It sounded like Junkyard was making all of Hunter’s decisions for him. Well, the German Shepherd had made his bed and now was forced to sleep in it.

“You two together, huh?” I asked, not really caring as I already knew. I already had time to process the news. Eating Duncan’s ass out helped. The quickest way to get over your ex was to jump in a better, bigger man’s bed. At least, that was the case for me.

Rebound sex was amazing.

“We didn’t want to hide anything,” Junkyard stretched the word out as he made a little wave with his hand at me. He was mocking me. Or, at least, trying to do so. Trying to come off like the bigger guy than the rest of us were by admitting to this secret that wasn’t a secret. “We just wanted to be careful with you, that’s all.” He focused on me as I was the easier target. It wouldn’t have been smart to call Duncan out right now.

The pit bull was painfully quiet, and I was beginning to worry for their safety. The quiet simmering anger was the most dangerous of all.

“Considerate.” I said the word harshly, looking over at Hunter who was refusing to look at either of us. Junkyard had placed his hand on Hunter’s shoulders. Rubbing and kneading it softly, offering the nervous German Shepherd the comfort that I once did.

No wonder why Junkyard could so easily step in and replace me. He was giving Hunter exactly what I had, what I did. Filling in that missing piece. Junkyard, though, was too narcissistic. He wasn’t focusing on helping Hunter. His entire attention was on us, or rather, me.

Was that why he hated me so much? Because I had somehow stolen Hunter from him? Like he was afraid Hunter would come running back into my open arms? One; Hunter was too much of a nervous wreck to come back to me without me offering first. Two: there was no way in hell I’d have my arms open for the guy. I wasn’t free of that shackle! And here Junkyard was coming at me as if I had a target on my back. Hell, I didn’t even know the guy existed before this vacation. He must’ve been just as full of himself as Hunter was to think I gave two pennies worth for what he thought or cared about.

“Yes. We both were trying to spare your feelings. We didn’t want the others finding out during the trip, but Hunter insisted that we don’t hide anything. Just in case someone does find out.” Junkyard might’ve been trying to make Hunter seem like the good guy in all this but had inadvertently tossed him in front of the bus called Duncan. “He wanted to talk to you about it and air things out. Hunter was the one to come to me.”

“You wanted to talk about this?” Duncan must’ve convinced himself it had been Junkyard. That Junkyard, his ex, had wanted to talk to him, us, about this. Them. Instead, it was now Hunter who had wanted to talk about this and not Junkyard.

Duncan could give two shits about Hunter at the end of the day. It was clear the pit bull had talked to Hunter only a handful of times despite being a member of this pack. Hunter was just a random guy, unlike Junkyard. To hear his ex say that, to turn all the attention to the German Shepherd who was trying to disappear into the armchair?

That must’ve hurt.

Oh, that must’ve hurt Duncan from the pained look that crossed his face as if he had been betrayed all over again. I placed a hand on his, holding it tightly as the pit bull processed all this. He must’ve been hoping for Junkyard to step up first. To talk to him about what had happened. Maybe even apologize for his actions.

That way Duncan could’ve pretended to be the bigger man, to forgive his heartless betrayal.

To save and respect Duncan’s pride, if nothing else.

Instead, it was my ex, the guy his ex had cheated on with that had initiated this conversation. This might’ve been the worse way to start this conversation. What little pride Duncan had left had just been spat upon, stepped on and kicked like a wounded puppy Duncan felt he was.

“Duncan,” I tried to say. To comfort him before either of the two others could do or say something we’d all regret. “I’m here-,” I wanted to offer my support as Duncan had for me. I knew how hard all of this was for him. Recalling how he’d cried in the shower after we’d been together.

Duncan really cared for and, possibly, even loved Junkyard.

“And what is this? I knew you were sniffing around this human before. I didn’t expect, didn’t think you’d actually do anything. I thought better of you,” Junkyard really needed to learn to shut the fuck up. He wasn’t just antagonizing Duncan, no, he was hurting the pit bull pointlessly now for pity’s sake. “I mean, I should’ve known. It explains it all. That’s why it’s not that big of a deal that Hunter and I-,” the Doberman shrugged, belittling what they had done.

“Not a big deal?” Duncan was on his feet, and I was soon following, trying to hold the pit bull back as he snarled at the Doberman across the glass table from us. “You could’ve just told me. Or called. Or fucking texted me!” Duncan yelled, reverting back to his old friend. To good old anger to mask his insecurities behind all this. Using the anger to hide his pain away. “Anything! Instead of me walking in on the two of you rubbing dicks up against each other!”

Junkyard gasped at this, placing a hand on his chest looking taken aback as if Duncan had slapped him. As if, somehow, Junkyard wasn’t in the wrong here. Damn, no wonder why Hunter liked Junkyard. The two of them were two peas in a pod. Always the victim, never the perpetrator.

“We were in the jacuzzi just hanging out. I already told you this. I had slipped,” Junkyard scoffed, rolling his eyes with his muzzle. The action alone pissed me off. Dismissing Duncan’s feelings on the spot. “Sure, like, we were talking about it. Hunter was opening up to me after what Douglas had done. We hadn’t done anything, yet,” but I didn’t let that slide.

“What I had done?” I wasn’t about to let that remark go. I was getting worked up now and looked at Hunter for some kind of context or explanation. The German Shepherd refused to look at me or respond.

“Please. We all know you were texting other guys,” Junkyard made a shooing motion at me as if trying to dismiss me from the entire conversation. “Talking to others. Spending time with them. Hell, look at you now.” Junkyard noted me standing next to Duncan.

“When did I…?” I took a second, took a breath to calm down. “Hunter. Do you mean my work calls? My clients that I see during work luncheons? You know those are business luncheons and I came to you,” fuck my voice caught in my throat at that. “I came to you for support after those creeps hit on me…” Did Hunter use what I had told him previously as ammunition to justify me breaking up with him?

Oh, I’m sure that Hunter was telling people that it had been mutual. Even deep down, we both knew it wasn’t. It never was.

The worried look on the German Shepherd’s face said it all. Being caught red pawed, again. Saying whatever he could to lesson his crimes. To tell others the secrets I had only told Hunter about. Like how much I hated my job and the creeps I had to deal with on a daily basis. The bastards who had gotten my boss to give them my personal cellphone number and text me after work hours...

It was the one nice thing about this trip, originally. I could leave my work phone at home. Where I couldn’t get those text messages. The same text messages I had told Hunter about. The ones I had cried to him about, telling him how much I wanted to quit my damn job because of how awful it was getting.

And here he was… using it against me.

“He told me how much you enjoyed them. Getting messaged by random guys. Even if you didn’t do anything, it was clear how much you liked it.” Junkyard sneered. He didn’t call me a whore but that’s what he was implying with the way he said it. “Just work calls, right? Business. Whatever it takes to make the sale. To get that sweet commission.”

Fuck, I felt embarrassed. Betrayed and embarrassed all over again. Oh, I was a slutty guy. I loved to fuck and suck dick. I would never deny that. I was a proud gay man.

I was not a whore. And I was not a cheat.

My job required me to talk to people, to suck up to them to get the sale. A lot of people have to do that. To put up with that kind of manipulative abuse. Anyone who worked at a bank or call center will understand exactly what I mean. Having every call recorded. Required to be as quick and efficient as possible while trying to push additional sales…

Something I absolutely hated. And here Hunter had used it against me.

Well, I was officially a mess at this point. I wanted to sit down with Hunter and explain those calls, all over again. As I’ve done multiple times before this. To tell him how uncomfortable they made me and how work wasn’t doing anything about them… and it made me feel worse that, even now, I felt the need to explain myself to Hunter.

Even when we were together, he never had my back.

“What about you?” Duncan snapped at Junkyard. He was getting angry; I was upset, and this entire thing was going blowing up in our faces. “You were with Hunter! Don’t deny it. I caught you with my own eyes!”

“AS I said,” Junkyard scoffed, dismissing Duncan’s feelings on the spot, for the third time. “We weren’t together. Yet. You broke up with me. Right in front of my friend,” Junkyard said as if he and Hunter had just been good friends at that point. “Hunter was there for me. Helped me through it. We stayed up all night talking about it. About you, about him.” Junkyard shot me a hateful look. “How much we had to put up with and deal with. How we carried the relationship. That our partner was never there for us…”

I think I was crying? My eyes stung and my vision was blurry, but no tears fell. I was about to start shouting again. My face was heating up. Fuck, I was heating up and Duncan and I were about to leap across this table and strangle these fuckers.

“Besides, we weren’t even really together. So, like, how can we break up?” Junkyard just had to twist the knife even deeper as he looked Duncan square in the face and spat the words out at him. “Who’d want to date you anyways?”

“…Douglas.” Duncan said and the three of us looked over at him.

“What?” Junkyard snorted, stifling laughter.

“Douglas would want someone like me! He’d happily date me and not be ashamed of that!” Duncan shouted back, barking out at the other two dogs as he slapped his chest with a meaty paw.

That caught them off guard. At first. Hunter looked astonished by this news while the Doberman quickly began finding a way to use it against us. Junkyard began working it out looking between the two of us, sniffing the air before taking what Duncan had said and turned it back on us.

Twisting his words like a knife.

“I knew it!” Junkyard lied, pointing accusingly at the two of us as if we were the ones in the wrong. “I just knew it,” he turned to Hunter to get the German Shepherd to back him up. “From the very beginning I knew something was off. That’s why things weren’t going so well for you,” Junkyard said, putting the words and thoughts in Hunter’s mouth. “I smelled that something was up, that something was going. You,” Junkyard sniffled as if his feelings were really hurt. I swear, he managed to bring tears to his eyes for the act. “You both were sleeping behind our backs this entire time.”

I wasn’t sure really how to respond to that as, in a way, he hadn’t fully been wrong.

“T-that’s different,” Duncan just put his foot further into his muzzle. Unable to come up with a coherent, logical retort for what Junkyard had accused us of in his fuming rage. It had blinded him from any rational argument. “Douglas and I, I mean, we were just friends and then…” He looked over at me and I knew I had to step in before this went any further.

How the fuck were we going to explain this to anyone else?

“Douglas?” Hunter asked, looking at me. He looked like a beaten dog. I wasn’t falling for that act. Hunter had been more than eager to jump on the idea that I had betrayed him first.

“We were broken up, Hunter. Stop that.” I said in a flat tone, leaving no room for him to argue. He whimpered pitifully, unable to believe I’d been with anyone since our breakup. If he only knew. “You don’t get to be mad about who I choose to be with or sleep with after breaking up with you. I dumped your ass for someone bigger and better,” I said my thoughts aloud.

It calmed Duncan down a bit, the pit bull perking up that not only did I have his back, but I was glad for what we’ve done. If I wasn’t here now? With Duncan? I could only imagine how horrible all of this would’ve gone.

It was still pretty terrible, admittedly.

“What about me?” Junkyard said in a whiny bitch voice, and I actually felt myself roll my eyes at that.

“Bitch, I don’t even know you.” I said matter-of-factly. It was true. I didn’t even know Junkyard’s last name. Or Duncan’s, but I could always figure that out later. “You’ve been chasing Hunter’s ass since we got here. And, as you said,” I made sure to add on. “You weren’t even dating Duncan. You might’ve been his fuck buddy, but that’s your loss now.”

I grabbed Duncan by the arm, pulling him closer.

“He’s mine now,” I said like a catty bitch and didn’t even care. I didn’t even care when I kissed him, or when Duncan kissed me. If felt good, with his chest pushed up against mine. The way he wrapped his arms around me. Kissing me in front of our exs.

Not my best moment, but I had to recover what I could after Duncan’s blunder.

“Get off him!” Junkyard shouted and I felt a sharp tug on my arm, my shirt ripping and I ended up getting roughly pulled off him. The Doberman must’ve been far more surprised by my actions than I had anticipated and hadn’t expected his retaliation, throwing me off balance.

“Leave him alone.” Duncan snapped at Junkyard, grabbing his arm.

“Your hurting me,” Junkyard whined, refusing to let go.

“Douglas!” Hunter shouted.

Then the glass table between us broke. I wasn’t sure what exactly happened. Something hit it and the next second we’re all stepping away from the broken glass.

It snapped me out of my funk and Hunter jumped out of the chair as Duncan let go of Junkyard who fell on top of the mess. Glass shards fell everywhere, and the pit bull was reeling back, away from the Doberman. He had been fuming mad the previous second and now looked lost and confused the next. I think that was exactly what Junkyard was going for seeing that shit eating grin on his face, his eyes practically dancing with delight as he looked up at Duncan.

Then Junkyard held an arm and let out a low, long pitch whine. “Why?” He asked, pitifully. “Would you shove me like that?” The Doberman could’ve won a freaking Emmy for the act. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” he kept it up, talking louder and louder as he did so.

Glass crunched underneath him. The Doberman looked bruised and battered, one of his palms bleeding from the glass as he rubbed the small amount of blood on his face and body.

Admittedly, it took me far longer to realize what was happening after the table had broken. Junkyard still lying there despite how painful it must’ve been, Hunter trying to help him up as Duncan stood there dumbstruck about it all.

Then it clicked as I heard the others running our way.

“What happened?” Auto was the first on the scene, calling out as he ran into the room. It took a fraction of a second for the blue heeler to figure out this twisted scene and snarled at him. “Duncan! What did you do?”

It was all to paint the pit bull as the bad guy here.

The sound of glass shattering brought the others and soon enough, Duncan and Auto were getting in on it. The blue heeler had asked what had happened and Duncan had jumped down his throat. Getting on him, yelling and barking at him for always getting on the pit bull when stuff like this happened. Redirecting that anger towards others after what had just happened.

“You always get on me!” Duncan shouted bark, looking furious as Auto was. The two practically snapping their jaws at each other. “I didn’t do fucking shit! You always blame me. Always!”

“You’re always there when this shit goes down!” Auto made sure to remind Duncan. With the pit bull’s history and anger, it wasn’t hard to see him as the bad guy.

It was as if Junkyard had orchestrated it all. The Doberman stepping back, off to the side with Hunter as he watched the show as the other tended to his wounds.

“I’m fine, really.” Junkyard whimpered as he tried to calm the others down. “He just pushed me all of a sudden. I hadn’t expected that.” His teary eyes and folded ears sold the picture perfectly.

Was he hoping Auto and Duncan would get into a fist fight? That Duncan would get kicked out of the pack so he could get the pit bull’s room after? I knew the two of them were living together from what Duncan had told me. My brain hurt going into overdrive trying to figure this all out. This entire thing had been staged?

Junkyard convincing Hunter, who was a known coward, to come talk to me? Maybe Junkyard had seen us together and knew Duncan would be here with me. He didn’t seemed surprised in the least to see us hanging out. He would get Duncan worked up and then create a scene if Duncan didn’t, putting all the blame on the pit bull in order to get rid of his problem in the pack? Letting Auto, the Alpha, take care of it all after?

Here and now, everything was about to blow up in Duncan’s face all because of a misunderstanding that he wasn’t capable of explaining as angry and frustrated as he’d become.

Buddy had come over to check on me. The golden retriever making sure I was okay.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Buddy asked with a worried soft whine. Even the golden retriever was expecting the pit bull to be the bad guy here.

Not a single canine from out group stepped up to defend Duncan. It was clear that no one here would. Duncan was all alone…

“It was Junkyard.” I said loudly, cutting through the two canines who looked about ready to rip each other’s throats out. Neither of the two seemed to hear me as the others looked in my direction. Placing two finger in my mouth, I gave a sharp painful whistle that made every canine in the room wince. “It was Junkyard,” I told Auto when the blue heeler looked at me. Our eyes met and I didn’t look away. “He antagonized Duncan after hooking up with Hunter.”

They all must’ve been aware of that aspect as that was the least startling news. No one seemed to bat a single ear at hearing that Junkyard had broken up with Duncan. Once more, making my heart go out to the pit bull who had no one here.

Duncan was standing off to the side now. Everyone else had at least someone else there. Not Duncan.

“Junkyard broke the table?” Auto looked at the mess, then over at the Doberman who shook his head.

“I didn’t break shit.” Junkyard lifted his hand up, showing the bloody marks. There were still shards of glass in his palm. Fuck, that must’ve hurt.

I knew Hunter wasn’t going to speak up. He was a coward like that. He needed Junkyard, more than the Doberman was aware of. How much Hunter was a leech in a relationship. He was smart, though, and wouldn’t risk ruining that after losing me. A parasite needs a host to survive. Hunter would bleed Junkyard dry before finding someone else to latch onto.

“Hunter and I were talking about our breakup,” I would just say the truth. All of it. “Junkyard antagonized Duncan ever since he showed up shortly after. He attacked me,” I motioned at my ripped shirt and Auto gave it a quick look, then another sharp look at the Doberman. At least Auto seemed to be aware of Junkyard’s disdain for me, not even questioning why the canine would do such a thing. “Junkyard attacked me, and Duncan protected me,” I gave the pit bull a single nod to know I would have his back even if no one else would. “Duncan kept me from falling over and Junkyard wasn’t expecting that. He threw himself on the table after, for whatever crazy reason he’s about to spit out… I mean, who makes a table out of glass?” I had regained my cool and, with a shaky breath, pushed everything else down. I would deal with Hunter exposing my insecurities later. Right now, I needed to be there for Duncan as no one else would.

“Is that true?” Auto asked Junkyard, then asked Duncan. “Is that how it went down?” I didn’t like how accusing Auto sounded. Duncan didn’t have the best reputation with the others, and I couldn’t fully blame them for thinking that Duncan had been the instigator. Still. The Alpha should’ve been impartial to these things.

“Like you’d believe me!” Duncan snapped back.

“Duncan.” I said his name harshly and he glared at me. Our eyes met and, after a good solid ten seconds, he finally eased up.

“Yes. He went after Douglas after I told him that we were together,” the pit bull said more than he needed to, and I got several looks from the others at that. Some were questioning my sanity, I could tell. Others were pitying looks and some were something I couldn’t discern in that moment.

“Not that it’s anyone else’s business,” I added on seeing as how everyone was eating up this drama with a spoon. “Hunter and I broke up. Junkyard was fooling around with Hunter in the hot tub,” I said this, giving Auto a look to remind him what he and I had done the same thing at the start of all this.

That jacuzzi hot tub area was a hot spot for sex it seemed.

“We weren’t!” Junkyard instantly jumped on, trying to recover from this. He must’ve expected Duncan to throw a punch. If Duncan had physically assaulted the Alpha, then it would be over for him. I wouldn’t blame Duncan for doing so. Be it to Auto, who never listened to him. Or to Junkyard who had broken his heart.

Duncan hadn’t though. The pit bull was surprisingly keeping his cool. I think I knew exactly why this was. Despite everything that had just happened, Duncan kept glancing over at me. To look at me. To see if I was bothered by his angry response.

Duncan had kept himself on a tight leash because I was there with him.

If I hadn’t been there? If Duncan and I weren’t as close as we were? Would he still have been capable of holding back like this when I called his name? That thought wasn’t comforting, and I quickly shook it away, afraid what would’ve happened if I had happened, to say, have chosen Buddy or Auto over Duncan at the end.

Just what would’ve happened, the what ifs that terrified me more than the current predicament we were currently in.

“Duncan and Junkyard broke up. You can imagine why,” I rolled my eyes not about to spoon feed all of this to them. They could figure out the dirty details later. “We were having a conversation with Hunter, or at least I was. Then Junkyard got involved and began goading Duncan into a fight. Duncan let it slip that he… he and I are together,” I had to clear my throat, feeling rather embarrassed to admit it like this. “Duncan is my boyfriend, and it pissed Junkyard off hearing that.”

“No, it didn’t!” Junkyard would’ve been far more convincing if he didn’t snarl the words out with a vicious growl, aimed in my direction. His teeth were bared and his eyes looked as if they wanted to kill me.

“Junkyard attacked me,” I repeated again. Fuck, was I telling this to the cops? Making me repeat myself over and over again as if expecting me to change my story. “And Duncan protected me from him.” I gave Duncan a smile, “thanks babe,” I added on just to rub salt in Junkyard’s wound.

“No problem… babe.” Duncan grinned at the end, tail wagging as he let out a heavy snort of a breath. He looked so damn cocky in that moment. Head up, shoulders back, chest pushed out as he showed off for everyone. It was like he was peacocking, trying to tell everyone that he, Duncan, had gotten laid before any of them had.

Auto let out a heavy, gruff sigh. I felt that. I was tired of this bullshit as much as he was.

“I think I understand the situation fully now.” Auto said in a gruff voice, shaking his head as he held it. He must’ve gotten a migraine from all this. Not that I blame him. It was our damn vacation, and he was still having to keep these idiots in line.

“You aren’t going to listen to this human, are you?” Junkyard was the one getting heated now. It looked like he wanted to throw hands, and I was sure I could take this douche. He was all bark and little bite. One good punch to his jawline and he’d crumble like the bitch he was.

“Junkyard. Hunter. Go back to your room,” Auto said, seemingly already knowing the two of them were sharing a room. They must’ve gone to him first after becoming a couple. Junkyard had meticulously planned all of this. “Douglas, could you please take Duncan… away? Anywhere else but here. I’ll get the staff and help clean up and pay for this shit.” He asked and I gave a nod after our eyes met.

I’m glad Auto was so reasonable. At least with me. I guess fucking the guy got me some extra brownie points. He trusted my word far faster than I expected him to.

“Thanks, Auto, if you need help… or, uh, money. Let me know.” I said and he gave another tired nod in my direction as he rubbed his eyes with a hand. He looked so tired. “Come on,” I gently touched Duncan’s arm. He jumped at the feel, so worked up by all this. He wasn’t expecting Auto to step down and looked like he still had things to say about this. Like why he wasn’t getting mad at Junkyard like he did Duncan. Why he trusted my word so easily. Duncan was pissed and needed time to calm down “Let’s go get some fresh air,” I motioned towards the outside.

The snow would help cool his hot head off.

“Douglas,” Hunter began. Standing there, in the hallway entryway, the German Shepherd looked at me. His muzzle opened, but I cut him off. Lifting up a hand, I stopped him before he could even begin.

“No.” I told him. I might as well have called him a bad dog from the whine he let out, ears folding back from my tone. “You chose this, Hunter. This is the bed you made. Now sleep in it. With whom you made it with.”

I left him and the others at that, escorting Duncan out of the room and away from them.

I worried that Duncan might need to move out of the apartments that Auto owned at this rate. No one seemed to like the guy, no one was in his corner and without me? He had no one. Not in this pack, anyways. It would take a hell of a lot of effort on my part to remedy that. If he wanted to stay…

“You good?” I asked after shutting the door behind us. I had grabbed my coat near the front door, but Duncan had removed it from my hands. Instead, he handed me his jacket and let me put it on. It smelled like him as we stood out on the back deck, looking out over the snow-covered field towards the distant trees.

“Do you…” Duncan was still wearing his shirt and little else. He rested against the railing. Resting his full weight against it as he took a moment to collect his thoughts.

“Do I, what?” I asked.

“Do you still want to do feet stuff tonight?” Duncan turned to ask me, and I actually laughed in his face, startled by such a question. “What? If you aren’t, just say so!” He growled and I hugged the bastard.

“Duncan,” I fussed with his hand until he let me take it. “I’ll do whatever you want, tonight. Tomorrow and however long we can keep this up.” I told him and he looked at me. His eyes focusing so intently on my own that I didn’t dare blink.

“I’d like that…” Duncan conceded our staring contest and blinked, looking away first. He looked down at our hands. He gave mine a strong squeeze. “I’d like that a lot, Douglas.” He took a second and I let him take all the time he needed to process all of this. “Does that mean, even after this trip…?” He finally asked.

“After this trip…?” I repeated his words, waiting for me to look at him. “Duncan. Do you want to ask me something?”

His ears folded back, eyes averting from my own as he gathered up his courage.

“Don’t make me punch you.” He said and I smiled at that.

“Is that anyway to talk to your boyfriend?” I teased back and he snorted out a hot breath into my face.

“Who’d want to date you?” He mocked and I laughed at that. “I would…” He said and he looked at me. “Douglas?”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to, officially, go out with me?”

“Can I still tease the fuck out of you?” I couldn’t help the cheeky smile on my face. I blamed the cold air for my rosy cheeks this time.

“Like you’d stop,” Duncan huffed a breath, rolling his eyes before turning to face me.

“I would love to go out with you, Duncan.” I said taking his other hand.

“Good.” Duncan wagged. “Like I was about to let you slip away so easily,” he grinned, trying to be cocky now after all that’s happened. “You’d be lucky to date a guy like me!”

“I would,” I admitted, and I don’t think he was expecting that. His ears splayed out. “I would be the luckiest guy in the world, if I could call you my boyfriend.” I stepped closer, wrapping my arms around his thick neck and looked down his wide snout into those beautiful eyes of his. “If you’ll have me, I’d gladly call you mine.”

Duncan placed a hand on my side, just above my hip. Then another on my chest as he looked at me. Waiting an agonizingly long time before saying anything again.

“I want to rail your ass so hard you can’t walk for the rest of the week.” He grinned, tail wagging. “Knot you. Fill you with my puppies a-and,” he swallowed. “Call you my bitch.” He said in a soft, meek tone as if worried I’d be offended by such a thing.

“Promise?” I smiled in reply. I brought a hand down to touch his chest. I could feel his heart beating so fast in his chest. “I’d love to be your bitch,” I stuck the tip of my tongue out and his ears jumped back up, tail wagging.

“Yeah?” Duncan asked. “Yeah!” He practically shouted. “You are SO my bitch!” He laughed and I joined in at just how dumb the two of us were, together.

We were two halves of a full idiot. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s a date.” And we kissed there behind the lodge on this very strange vacation.