Tough Lessons - Part II
#2 of Tough Lessons
Jonah awoke to a feeling he was not used to, at least physically. He's read all sorts of fantasies, and he's seen too many lewd movies to count. Nothing happened last night, right? Then why was he being spooned by a demon tiger? Jonah stretched his neck, his alarm clock reading 5:00. In an hour, the alarm clock was set to wake him up. In another 2 hours, he was expected at work. He could get up now, make a proper breakfast, watch the local news and dress for the weather for once. Or he could stay in bed with Max. The wolf sighed. He never thought he'd want this.
It was for him hard to tell exactly what this dynamic was. A mentor? His father wasn't around much, is this what it feels like to be able to trust someone, to have someone that's always in your corner? Or was the tiger more of a boyfriend? Well, they are sleeping together, only technically, but Jonah knew nothing about the warm purring mound of fur. It can't be a relationship unless you know a bit more than their (admittedly very unpronounceable) name. At least, that's what his rational brain was telling him, his morning wood certainly felt otherwise. Jonah tried to relax again, to forget about these questions, but before he could fall back asleep, Max stirred.
"Mmmh, morning Ji." The words slowly dripped out of the tiger's mouth. He was not a morning furson. That makes two things Jonah knows about his tiger demon. Wait, did Max call him Ji? The tiger's face soon turns red. He tried covering up his slip of the tongue with a cough. "Are you late? You were supposed to take me to work, remember?" The tiger said, still trying to cover his lapse.
"No, that starts at 8, it's only 5:30. We have some time to relax, if you want." Jonah rolled out from his spooning position, looking right in the tiger's red eyes. "I feel like I barely know you. Maybe I can help you more if I know more about you? Like, who is Ji? A lady demon from home?"
"If I say yes, will you forget I called you that? If you have any other questions, I'll answer provided you let me rest a little bit longer." Max yawned, his teeth catching the light from the clock. "Forgive me, it's been ages since I've last slept."
"Wait what? I thought you said demons needed to sleep. Why were you going to make me sleep on the floor?"
The tiger grinned as only a demon could. "You caught me. Our biology is mostly optional. One of the perks of being an incubus, I suppose."
"Just one of the perks?"
"It's not like I'm magic, I can't grant you 3 wishes. Most of my abilities are tailored to the job we once had. Lotta sex stuff, not a lot can translate into what we do now. Well, we still use our pheromone glands to get people together."
"That explains why that otter at the bar was so into me. Why didn't your pheromones work in the stall?"
"Again, it's a technicality of the agreement. It also doesn't count unless both parties' consent to sex without direct demonic duress."
"Any other rules I should know about?"
Max chuckled. "Forget about the rules. You have much more important things to worry about."
It was true. Jonah's cell phone was ringing. Although he quickly picked up the phone, he regretted it almost instantly. Work. They want him in early. They didn't give him the choice, either.
"Alright Max, it's time to get up. Work wants me in early. Someone quit last week, some stuff never got delivered." Jonah sat up on the bed, to the displeasure of the tiger.
"Mrrrrwl... You go. I'll catch up with you later." Max could barely be heard as he curled up on the bed. Jonah wasn't sure if he could argue with the demon. The tiger couldn't be of any help to Jonah at home, but he'll probably be of little help as tired as he looks. A shower and a bowl of cereal later, Jonah began his early walk to work.
Nothing could have prepared me for what awaited me at work. I couldn't believe my eyes when the elevator doors opened to reveal the state of the mailroom. The hell happened here? Not only was there mail strewn all over the place, the carts and shelves were knocked over too. A look at the schedule confirmed my suspicions. Fucking Jeff screws me over again. At least it'll be the last time this happens. I start getting things back into shape, sorting the clutter on the ground into the bins for each floor. Four paper cuts and an hour later, the room was cleaner than it's ever been. What's with this feeling of pride in my work? I don't give a shit about these people. At least I'm not thinking about Max.
What was he even talking about, optional biology? The real question is, does he have a dick or not? He's gotta have one, as an incubus sex was their whole thing. I really should have checked him out last night. Gah, now all I can think about is what could be under that tiger's pants. I bet Ji knows. Lost in thought, my body switches to autopilot; I grab one of the carts and push it to the elevator like I always do to start my route. My body rolls the card to the freight elevator, punching the button labeled 10, causing the doors to creak shut. The 10th floor is mostly executive offices. After the doors opened again, I stepped out into the bustling office. I must have looked happy, who could be unhappy thinking about the kind of cock your demon sex mentor has? My train of thought was quickly derailed by my first delivery on the floor.
"Hey Jonah, had a good weekend?" A horse, one of the executive assistants, noticed me walking by. Fuck, what's his name? Luckily, he was expecting mail.
"Can't complain, Caleb. Here's this for you."
"Thank you very much!" Caleb hesitated, he clearly had more to say. Was I missing one of his deliveries? The horse wasn't making eye contact, he's distracted by something.
"Was there anything else?"
"Yes! Nice weather we're having, don't you think?" This was the worst part of the job, the forced social interactions. There's no meaning behind their words, just garbage to fill in the air. Maybe some people need garbage. The horse was only wasting his precious time.
I couldn't tell you. I really need to get going..." Caleb stuck a hoof between myself and the doorframe, blocking me in, an intense look on his face. Did I say something wrong?
The horse took a deep breath, but it didn't help his stutter. "T-there's something I've been meaning to ask you. You're still pretty new here, but I know you eat alone at lunch. Truth is, I do too, but normally my boss keeps me much too busy. He's out of the office for this week's conference, so this was my chance to ask you out."
"What, like... a date?" I was bewildered. I had no idea anyone in this building even knew I existed. Caleb had always been nice to me. He wasn't bad looking either. I regret playing dumb, his embarrassment was rubbing off on me. As the horse's mouth tried to form more words, I decided to throw him a bone. "I'd love to. Meet me in the café at 12?"
"It's a date." He seemed as surprised as I was. We shook hands, but it felt a little too formal for what we agreed to. I didn't want to ruin things before anything even began, so I smiled and waved goodbye. It's going to be a long four hours.
11:55 rolls around just as Jonah finished up all the deliveries. No one gave Jonah a rough time about the late packages, thankfully, but he had left his wallet in the basement. The wolf probably made much less than Caleb, but it was a matter of pride to him to at least pay his half. Returning to the mail room, an unusual sight startled him, a white tiger sitting on the sorting counter.
"Jonah! How has work been?" The tiger said, now clearly awake.
"This morning was rough, someone left me a lot of work I had to handle. I was actually just about to eat lunch."
"I see. Maybe you can tell me all about it then?"
"I... uh... actually have a lunch date. Caleb, a horse. He asked me out when I was making deliveries on 10."
"I had a peek at the building directory map. That's the executive floor, right? I thought you weren't into older men." The tiger smirked, his tell that he wasn't serious.
"No, he's just a lowly assistant. Around my age, about a foot taller."
"And he's... into you? You're sure?"
"Isn't that your job?"
"For all you know, these pheromones could be extremely painful to emit." Max scoffed.
"He did ask me first. Just come along with me, like last time."
"Lead the way."
The café was only a small room on the first floor. It was usually empty; most employees could afford to go out to lunch most days. Even so, the café was one of the nice perks of working here. Jonah normally brought his own lunch from home most days. Although, he's never had a bad meal here when he forgets to bring something, or forgets to go shopping. Jonah saw Caleb waving from a corner booth.
"Hey Jonah! I almost thought you forgot about me."
Jonah glanced at his watch. 12:04. Max made him late! He'll have to think of a punishment for him... later.
"Sorry, you know how work is. Something interrupted me right as I was leaving."
"Haha, I know. Just giving you a hard time." Caleb said with a wink.
"Oh fuck, he's totally into you, no pheromones required. This is great!" The tiger continued to follow the horse and the wolf as the latter two got up to order. Caleb went first, grabbing a salad and some chips. Jonah normally gets the cheeseburger, but seeing what his date ordered made him feel extremely self-conscious. With a sigh, he grabbed another salad and joined the horse at the register.
"Are you two together?" asked the cashier.
"Whoa, I mean, it's only a first lunch. Well..." Jonah realized what the cashier meant way too late to play it off. He froze.
"Yes, just put both salads on my tab. Thanks Mark." Caleb smiled at the cashier before turning back to Jonah. Jonah was still frozen in a block of embarrassment. A soft reassuring touch from Caleb later thawed the wolf's legs for now. They ate in silence for a while; what seemed like hours to Jonah was only a few minutes. An elbow from a demonic tiger caused Jonah to attempt to form words.
"S-s-sorry. Can you tell this is my first date?"
"Heh, you'd be surprised. It's my first as well."
"No, every time I'm up there you're chatting everyone up."
"Yeah, all the married old folk. My dad got me this job, it normally takes an employee a while to get to where I am."
"How old are you?"
"I just turned 24 about... a week ago?"
"Oh, same. Just had mine yesterday." A realization was slowly dawning between the both of them. Jonah chuckled.
"Goddamn demons." Jonah glanced to where the tiger was sitting, but did not find him. A confused look from Caleb confirmed the disappearance of his demon.
"I guess we're finally alone. Can we restart this date?"
"You're funny, Jonah."
In another dimension, an argument broke out between the bursts of fire and brimstone.
What the fuck are you doing Max?" the tall green dragon yelled angrily as he grabbed the tiger by his neck.
"Ack... let... go..."
"I thought I made it clear last time I saw you. I never wanted to see you in the mortal plane again" said the dragon, loosening his grip but still holding the tiger. "Such a weakling, even after what you did."
"I'd apologize again if I thought it would get through your thick skull this time, Jiang."
"Save it. Who cleared you to mentor that wolf? That city is in my region, I should have been notified! Not to mention how much of a bad influence you'd be; It looks like you've already done so much damage." Jiang shook with anger.
"No one, I stole his contract. I haven't been allowed to take a contract since the incident, okay? This is my chance to get back in the boss's good graces." The tiger put on a sad face, Jiang hated when he was sad before.
"If you think for one second that face is going to work, you won't be back out there for another... thousand... Fine. It won't make a difference. One successful contract won't save you. And if you fail... You know the boss doesn't give 3rd chances." Jiang really didn't have the energy to fight his ex any more.
"What do you mean, 'If I fail'? Look how we became aware of each other. Jonah and Caleb make the cutest couple, am I right?"
Jiang gave Max a defeated look. "Honestly, I don't know. Caleb's a tough case. We tried that bar on Main St three times, that horse just wouldn't seal the deal."
"My guy was the same way. Same as another guy I once knew." Max said with a wink.
"I loved you, Max. But you can't expect this plan of yours to work."
"Boss is going to love me after I show what I've done for Jonah."
"Not that plan. You still want to get back together with me after all this time."
Max smiled. Jiang was always too smart for his own good. "You know me too well. But we're stuck together for now, at least. It seems like Jonah is Caleb's best hope for completing the contract." Max could finally breathe as the hand that was choking him earlier finally relented.
"Fuck you Max. And not a word of this to the boys." His words echoed against the cave walls as Jiang faded back to the café. Still smirking, Max followed his ethereal path. All was going according to plan.