Morning Brew
So this is officially my first ever completed furry story. Woot! It took about half a day to do, and I made sure to check for grammar and mechanics and such. Please, please leave a comment telling me how you liked it, and I am totally open for some friendly criticism. Note that I will most likely not continue this story as a series, so this essentially is a one-shot to give you all a sampling of my writing style. Actually, I wrote this story for a friend and decided to share it with my fellow furries as well, hence why I am posting it. Also, I'm sorry if it's sort of rushed/short. Normally I would write more, but I was sort of running out on time Thank you Kaarsten for reviewing it for me!
Alright guys, disclaimer time. This story, though not containing any graphic details, contains relations between two males of the furry kind. If that's not your thing, then I ask you to leave now. And if it is? Kudos to you, and enjoy the story!
*****
Chime. Tyko quickly glanced up while furiously jabbing the register to see who had walked in, praying that the door chime had signaled the entrance to a one person party, or, even better, the departure of a ten person one. No such luck, the youthful otter giving an exasperated sigh as a group of five teenage furs entered the quaint suburban Starbucks. 'I hate my job,' thought the sixteen year old mustelid as he adjusted his cap and returned to the register, frantically inputting orders as to not be on the receiving end of a lack-of-coffee induced tantrum. 'That is one learning experience I would like only once, thank you very much.' The otter gave a slight shudder as the image of frothing male dingo came into mind, the youth quickly shaking his head as to dispel the memory.
'Come on Tyko, keep your head in the game. Focus on the prize. Why are you enduring this godforsaken work? That's right bub, minimum wage, and don't you forget it!' Braving to give another glance upward, the youth's heart sunk at the sight of an apparently never ending line, two furs seemingly replacing every one fur that was serviced. 'Dear God. If there's one thing I hate, it's gotta be the damn Saturday morning rush.' Turning around to glance at the clock, Tyko felt his mood lighten at the realization that his shift would end in less than twenty minutes. And what with today being payday and the first weekend of summer, minimum wage would never feel sweeter.
"Hey there, Tykes. I didn't know that you worked here." The otter glanced up to come face to face with a taller, gray wolf smirking at him, the lupine having leaned on the counter as so that the two were eye level with one another. Tyko suddenly felt his heartbeat hasten at the realization of his proximity to the wolf, the lupine's muzzle being no more than four inches away from his own. Seeing the sudden nervousness that overtook the otter, the wolf could only chuckle in response. The lupine turned himself in a fluid motion so that his back was now facing the otter, his head cocked to the side to reveal a sheepish, almost intimidating grin. "Just hit me with a tall strawberry banana smoothie, will you Otz." The wolf made a quick hand gesture, flicking a carefully folded slip of paper and landing it squarely on Tyko's nose. "And keep the change," said the wolf in a voice that could almost be described as seductive, the taller male winking over his shoulder at the cashier as he sauntered off to an empty seat in the corner of the store to wait for his order, the wolf's tail rhythmically swaying in time with his stride as he walked.
"Yeah, sure thing..." mumbled the otter long after the wolf was out of hearing range, Tyko nervously shifting his feet as he glanced at the folded note, opening it hesitantly to reveal a five dollar bill and a scrawled message on the interior. 'Feel free to come and chat with me whenever you get on break. There's something I want to ask you. ;)' read the note. Tyko's heart quickened as possibilities and scenarios began to flow through his head, most ending with not all too great results. 'What could he possibly want...?' The otter's brow scrunched with worry as he thought for a moment, before he realized that the female tiger in front of him was about to blow a gasket if he continued to ignore her any longer. Hastily tightening his apron and spewing a mix of jumbled apologies, the young otter pushed the note and the wolf sitting no more than ten feet away from him to the back of his mind, at least for another fifteen minutes.
***
Dante gave a relieved sigh as he took an open seat adjacent to a front side window, the lupine turning and resting his head on his paw as a he looked vacantly to the street. He was at first surprised that so many tables were available in the medium sized café, considering the incredibly long line he had to wait in to place his order. Then again, as the wolf noticed when he was waiting in line, most of the patrons left the coffeehouse as soon as they received their order, either to take advantage of the seating available outside of the establishment to bask in the early morning summer warmth or just to get a head start on their Saturday, preferring to drink their smoothies and overpriced caffeinated drinks in stride with the day.
The adolescent wolf grinned his signature wolf grin as his mind raced through all the happenings within the past month. The lupine had recently moved from a small Nebraskan town to a suburb in Georgia, just an hour's drive off from Atlanta. Though not really having been all that enthusiastic with the move, especially since it was so close to the end of the school year, Dante knew there was little he could to do about it. Jobs seemed to be getting tougher and tougher to come by with each passing day, what with the recession and all, and if his dad's company told them they had to relocate, they had to relocate. It was unfortunately as simple as that. 'Overall, the move hadn't been all that bad,' he thought. 'I mean, I now know why Dana and I never got past first base, why I kept ignoring those hints she kept throwing me, telling me she was ready to move on...' The wolf thought back to his former girlfriend in Nebraska, a stunningly beautiful vixen by the name of Dana. He remembered the disappointment in her eyes when he told her the news that he was moving. He also remembered the relief that he saw mixed in as well. 'Guess she and I were on the same page. Both of us wanting to end it but just not wanting to hurt the other in the process. Hah, knowing her, she probably knew exactly why I was never all that interested, even before I did, a quick-witted vixen like her. Still, how could I have ever known that I would fall so hard... for him?'
Dante never was one to even consider the possibility that he was gay. Who would expect something out of the sociable, good-looking wolf? He acted perfectly normal, and thus he was regarded simply as that: normal. Queer in any way? Hah, that's just the charisma showing! At least... that's what he'd always told himself. The wolf gave a sigh, dropping his head and thinking back to his first day at Jefferson High School... how he was seated next to a mustelid in homeroom--how his world changed from that moment onward.
Dante could remember the day so well, how he had turned to glance at the sketch that the otter was intently working on. It seemed that the otter's world at that moment was enveloped by the half-blank notepad in front of him, concentration clearly visible on the mustelid's face. And then it happened. The otter glanced up from his work, as if knowing he was being watched. The two pairs of eyes met for the first time, and the wolf knew. He knew he had fallen in love. Dante never did know what the otter saw in his eyes as all this happened to him in that brief moment, but whatever it was, it had made the otter blush, the red only slightly visible through his short brown coat of fur. The adolescent otter quickly turned back to his work, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing by moving his head closer to the notepad. But the wolf could see that his concentration was broken, his new classmate's mind now preoccupied with another matter. He even caught a few of the side glances the otter sneaked when the mustelid thought that the lupine was not looking. And by the end of that period, Dante was certain that he had a chance to make the otter his.
As it turned out, Dante shared four other classes with the otter, learning that first day that the mustelid went by the name of Tyko. 'It's a cute name,' Dante thought, temporarily interrupting the montage that was going through his head as he recounted the next few weeks. The wolf sighed as failed attempt after another of admitting his feelings to the otter played through his head, most ending in awkward situations with the otter blushing like mad. Now back in the present day, Dante could only smile as he considered his luck in meeting the otter so soon into the summer. Sure the wolf had been able to procure the other's phone number, but he still was having trouble in trying to figure out what to say to him. That's the whole reason why Dante had come to the coffeehouse in the first place, in hopes that the change in scenery from that of his still unpacked room would be enough to get the juices flowing. It was only by mere chance that the wolf had noticed who the cashier was, and gut instinct is what made him hastily scribble the note against the wall before his turn in line came up. Still, even with his cool and charismatic figure displayed for all the world to see, the wolf had no idea how to approach this situation.
"Cripes, what am I going to do? I never had this much trouble with talking to someone before. Dante, you have to get a hold of yourself, boyo. Just tell the boy you're in love with him. I mean, how hard can that be? After all, he's just another guy. Gah, who am I kidding? Who knows how the hell he would react? I'd probably scare away the poor thing for good..." The wolf gave an exasperated sigh, burying his head inside his arms as he gave a moan of anguish. "What the hell am I going to do?"
"Well, if you were talking about me like I think you were... I guess we could always go catch a movie and dinner together." Dante immediately shot up and jerked to the side to see Tyko, the otter looking to the ground and twirling his fingers as his face burned the brightest shade of red to date. Dante could do nothing to hide his shocked expression, until the full weight of what the otter said hit him like a ton of bricks.
"What... wait. How long have you been-"
"For a few minutes now. I just finished my shift and was going to talk to you, but you just looked so deep and thought and all, I didn't really want to interrupt. And then you said that, and I just thought maybe..." The otter turned his head so that he was looking into the eyes of the shocked wolf. "I always thought you were really cute. And I would love to go out with you."
The otter leaned forward and pressed his lips against the wolf's, the two blushing in perfect unison.