FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

By the time we got downstairs to eat, Dad and Ms. Amador had already started in on their plates, with the cheetess looking as though the enchiladas had saved her from death, and my dad eagerly watching her muzzle. His face lit up when he saw me come through the kitchen, Tony close behind me.

"Matt!" he said around a mouthful, then swallowed. "These came out amazing! I've never tasted anything like this before."

"Mm." Ms. Amador pointed her fork at him, a thick string of oily white cheese dangling from the end. Gotta say, the smells floating around down here made my mouth water. "It is the cheese. You did a wonderful job, cariño."

"Thank you, Ms. Amador... oh, Tony, plates are up there - yeah. Can you reach 'em?"

"I got it..." He had to stand on his tiptoes to reach them way up there, and as he did that, his tail flicked behind him. Though the sight made me smile - his shirt lifted up along his back a little bit, showing his sleek, lithe form beneath black-speckled gold fur, clean spots like sharp shadows along a field of grass bending beneath the breeze, towards the center line of his spine. And then he grabbed his plate and settled back down, and after a moment turned a questioning look on me; I blushed and glanced away, stammering for something to say.

"Um - we have some of that cheese leftover, so we could probably... experiment with it." Each of the adults had taken two enchiladas, which still left a good number for me and Tony. I got one for myself and one for him, but he bumped my arm with his plate in a silent request for another. When I looked at him - no way that someone with his build could eat a lot - he held my gaze with one just as level for a moment, then split into a sharp-toothed grin.

Dad spoke up between bites: "Oh, yeah, I bet it goes great on... what... pizza?"

Ms. Amador breathed a laugh. "James! You are so American. It goes excellent in soup, on quesadillas... mijo, Mexican food is not complicated. We always joke - you need tortilla, cheese, meat, maybe rice... 'Tonio, what else?"

"Aaah." He followed behind me to the table, and took his place in the nearest empty seat to mine. That put me next to Dad, Ms. Amador across from us, and Tony at the head of the table. "Whatever else you would like, really."

"Yes! Of course! Avocado! You cannot forget avocado."

As he leaned in to slice off part of his first enchilada with his fork, the younger cheetah's whiskers twitched, and I heard him murmur beneath his breath - "I wish I could."

That almost made me break out laughing. "You don't like avocado?"

"Aah, he does not. That is good for me, though." Ms. Amador rocked her shoulders. "That means I do not have to worry about someone eating all of my guacamole. Ah - Matt, your father told me that one time you-"

I rolled my eyes. "Was it the breadsticks story?"

Tony made a sound halfway between a scoff and an amused grunt. "The breadsticks?"

"Yeah, one time I left some breadsticks in the bag the restaurant gave 'em to us in, and I didn't notice that there was aluminum foil on the inside, so when I put 'em in the microwave and turned it on..."

That set the general mood for dinner, with the adults making up most of the conversation and Tony giving a little chuckle every now and then. He seemed a bit... distant at first, focusing on his food and hardly even eating at that, but as time and the conversation went on, he perked back up to his normal self. Right as I was finishing my first enchilada and he'd gotten halfway through his second, there was a bump against my ankle, so I instinctively moved it away - only to feel it again, and then realize it was a bare cheetah paw just kinda nudging against me.

So, of course, I rubbed back. I don't think anyone else noticed - how could they? - but at one point Ms. Amador had focused her sunset gaze on me, and I froze up. Then, though, that look turned into the sweetest of smiles, and I couldn't imagine how I'd ever felt threatened.

After we'd all eaten and me and Dad had wrapped up the leftovers, the older cheetah turned to her son and said something in rapid Spanish, for him to quickly peer over at me, then shrug, then look at me again. Then he asked if he could stay here a little later - I looked at Dad, who gave the thumbs-up, and I said I could drive him home later in the night, which seemed to be an acceptable answer for Ms. Amador. Before she left she thanked me for cooking, then again launched into Spanish for something that I think was a compliment, listening to the tone of her voice; then she drew all three of us individually into a hug, and kissed our cheeks before leaving. Dad's paw hovered over his cheek where her lips and touched, and when he noticed me looking, his flashed from flustered, to embarrassed, to indignant, and then to composed mockery: he ran his tongue over his lips and gave a flirtatious raise of his eyebrows, again making me laugh.

On our way back up the stairs (with a joking "Behave, you two" from Dad behind us, which caused Tony to straighten upright as if he'd gotten an electric shock), I tried to sneak a few looks over at the cheetah beside me, to see if I could figure out what was going through his head and if he was feeling okay. Part of me still worried that I'd pushed him too far in inquiring about his last... boyfriend wasn't quite the right word, and neither was it too close to it, really.

"Did you love him?" Stupid. So stupid. That's not something that you just ask the guy that you-

The floor board beneath the carpet up at the top of the stairs creaked just like it always does when you make it up there, and with that, Tony suddenly intertwined one of his paws with mine - and threw his other arm around my shoulders, bringing me in for a surprisingly warm hug. Warm because he's a cat and gave off heat like a goddamn stove, and then - also warm because of the way he squeezed me, because of how he touched his nose first against my shoulder, then my jaw, then my neck, warm because of his other paw trickling its way down along my lower back.

Squeezed between a cheetah and a wall... I still had the taste of cheese and tanginess of the tomatillo sauce on the back of my tongue, but with him so close to me like this, his familiar scent very quickly started to dominate my senses. It was like... like opening the lid for a pot of soup that'd been simmering all day, and even though your nose isn't right in the roiling steam, the rich, spicy smell still floating its way into your consciousness. And, for that moment right there, your stomach growls and your mouth waters-

After that moment, he rolled back out of the hug to meet my eyes, though still kept his paws lightly around me. Concern flashed briefly through his eyes, then something like fear, and then...

Well. Then, he leaned in and touched his nose to my cheek, followed by his lips... which remained there for a few seconds and slowly drew away. Except for the slight note of worry lingering beneath his otherwise spicy-sweet scent, fire and cinnamon, I would've thought I'd imagined things. The two of us just stood there for a moment, eyes flicking back and forth over the other's, leaning our weights into the gentle embrace. Dad turning on the TV downstairs broke the moment a bit, and the faintest ghost of a smile twitched at Tony's lips, then was gone.

I half-tilted my head. "Is everything okay? You were a bit quiet at dinner."

"Mhmm." He remained there for a moment, then leaned in again and settled his shorter muzzle into the space between my neck and my shoulder. That felt... good. "I am just... ah, I do not know..."

"Worried?"

Little ear-flick... "Yes."

"Well, yeah. Understandably, after what you've told me." I slid one paw down along his side, nudged at his arm to uncurl it from around me... and brought it down, to intertwine my fingers with his. Once we had that between us, I nodded down the hall towards my room. "Are you - sure that you wanna... y'know... be my boyfriend? I mean - I don't wanna push you into anything you're not comfortable with, or anything you're not sure you want."

But then, with that, did I really know what I wanted? Leading up to when I'd asked him, just this past fuckin' weekend... well, it hadn't really stuck in my mind as something that would happen. It hadn't been something that I'd actually really thought about it. I mean, I guess that's how it went with Sasha too, but... this time, I was the one to start things. That said something. And, I mean - how he makes me feel, like in that hug and kiss right there, and how I still couldn't really stop rolling and squeezing my fingers over his paw, since it felt like there were a hundred tiny feathers tickling at my palm whenever we touched.

Oh. And the whole dream thing. He's shown up in my mind a few times after I've crawled into bed.

"No, no, Matt, I know... I know that I want this." As we reached the end of the hall, the cheetah turned and took my other paw in his, and tugged me back with him. With the confidence in his voice, sounding as if he meant to convince me as much as... well, he wasn't trying to convince himself. That's where that confidence was coming from. I think it was his insecurities that that statement had been directed at. "You had a girlfriend, yes?"

That made my ears perk. I actually hadn't expected him to ask about that. "I mean. Yeah? Sasha. We broke up last semester. I don't think you've met her."

"Will you tell me?"

I'd half-bumped the door with my hip after he brought me into the room, and now he stood here with his paws still around mine and his ears and whiskers perked, and - goddammit. Thinking about her too much still made my blood boil and gave me that feeling like I could run two miles out of annoyance and anger, but there's no way I could say no to this boy right here.

So I sighed, and rolled my eyes, and brought him over to the bed to sit, just where we'd been for his tale. He scooted closer to me and intertwined his arm with mine, and bumped the side of his muzzle against my shoulder. I had to admit, his presence did give me confidence.

But, then, how to start? "Man, I haven't really had to think about this for a while. We had a class together sophomore year, an English class, and the teacher assigned us to be partners for a project..."

Beside me, Tony breathed a quiet laugh.

"I liked her. I mean, like... as a friend at the time, nothing special. I didn't really think anything special of her, and I think there was another girl I liked at the time, but I don't remember. Me and... and Tyler were great friends back then - I think this was around when he and Lexi first got together - and Sasha came by when we were hanging out at lunch to say something to me, right? So I said hi, and we talked for a bit, and after a while she went off to do something else, and I turned to look at Tyler and he was just kinda... kinda starin' at me... so, y'know, I'm like, what? And apparently, or at least according to him, she was totally flirting with me."

Tony made another small noise, something like interest mixed with amusement. I looked down at him, and saw he had his eyes closed but ears perked in listening.

"I didn't know that, see. I told him that that was just how she'd always acted around me and talked to me, and - oh, you should've seen his face. I think he was jealous for a bit. So anyway, he was talking to me about how Sasha's all thirsty and whatever and she likes me, and of course I was taking that with a big grain of salt."

"Grain of salt?"

"That's - an English saying. It's like... when someone tells you something, and you only kind of believe. Or like, when you're expecting it to be false just as likely as true. Something like that. Anyway - I had Sasha's number at the time, but Tyler said that it'd be a bad idea to text her and bring it up? I don't know? But the next day at lunch, sure enough she showed up again, and this time she asked if I wanted to come work on the project with her. So I said yeah, and..."

The cheetah's ears flicked, and he raised his head. "And?"

God. Felt weird that remembering this still made me blush. "She brought me to our English room. We were the only two there. As soon as the door closed - and it locked; I dunno how she got in without the key - she... well, we sat down, and started working. But halfway through - we were sitting side by side - she kinda... put her paw on my leg, and didn't take it away, and just kind of slowly kept moving it up. I was a young teenage boy then, right? So I bet you know how I - how my body reacted to that. I'm sure she noticed, but she didn't say anything about it, and when we'd finished our work, she asked me out, and... and since Tyler'd just gotten a girlfriend, and so had some of my other friends... I dunno. I hadn't thought of her like that before, but I didn't mind, and I thought it'd be alright, so. I said yes.

"See, it seems dumb when I'm telling it like this. That was - that was how we started going out. She'd been flirting with me for, like, a month, and I'd never once picked up on it." I shifted where I sat. Tony had lowered his head back down, though also had let his arm relax from around mine a bit. Part of me wanted to lie back and look up at the ceiling, since that'd be more comfortable... and also, kind of, since I thought he'd sprawl out across me if I were to do that. "Sophomore year was when I got my first job. It was after we started going out, and... well, you don't know her, and I don't think I've talked about her too much around you, but you still might not be too surprised to hear that she made me start paying for everything as soon as I got that job. Normally that might not be so bad, but like... she was the one that always said 'let's go out' and 'hey, let's go see a movie' and things like that. You know? She was inviting herself out with me, and using my money to pay for it. That was something that bothered me from the start, but it's not like I really needed that money for anything else.

"That was all before I had a car. Dad still drove us around, mostly. The way she acted around him and my friends was... noticeably different than around me. At first that was because she was really... well. Really playful, really flirty when it was just us. And I liked that at first. Can you blame me? It made me, who hadn't been in a relationship before, feel good. Feel wanted, feel desired. I liked that. I tried to pay it back to her, even if I... didn't always actually feel those things.

"At first I thought something was wrong, that I wasn't feeling quite as strongly for her as it seemed she was for me. I liked her well enough, and once we started... you know... I didn't really, uh - have any trouble." Another little snicker. "But... well, um..." This part would be more that I'd even told Tyler or Lexi, simply out of embarrassment about broaching the topic itself. "Outside of that. When we weren't together, or she wasn't over when Dad wasn't, or whatever. When I was... on my own. You know? I never really... never really thought of her. I don't know why. It just... didn't occur to me. I realized that early on, but it wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, so I didn't think it was a problem.

"Summer after sophomore year, Sasha spent most of her time at my house. Dad still had work during the day, and she knew that, and she'd invite herself over - sometimes without telling me - and play games on my computer, and watch movies on our Netflix, and eat our food. And she'd always ask me to do things for her. Hey, Matt, can you get me a glass of water? Hey Matt, I'm cold, can you get me a blanket? Hey, Matt, come cuddle with me. Matt, where are you going? I'm falling asleep. Lie down with me. It felt nice to be wanted, and to be... depended on, I guess. But it quickly got on my nerves, too. I started looking for opportunities to get out of my house, to hang out with Tyler and Lexi, just so that I wouldn't have to deal with my girlfriend taking up all of my time."

"Did you not talk to anybody about it?"

This time it was my turn to scoff. "See. Funny thing. I've got perfect twenty-twenty hindsight. But at the time, it really didn't seem that big of a deal - like, yeah, it annoyed me, and yeah, technically I was going out of my way to avoid her, but it's not like I'd had a good relationship to compare that too. I thought that was just the way that things were supposed to go. And, like... even if I got annoyed with her one day, later that night I'd be missing her. That sucked in its own way. Sometimes she got upset with me when I had to leave for work, and she'd try to get me to stay home and call in just about every day. Eventually Dad started telling me that she couldn't stay here during the day when neither of us were home, so I used that as an excuse to get her off my back, and... she only half-listened. I'm just glad we never gave her a key to the door.

"I think I got mostly used to it over the summer. Once school started back up in the fall, it didn't feel so bad, though I did want more me-time just to do what I want and relax. Sasha wanted me to send her my schedule actually the day before it was decided, and kept bugging me about it for two weeks until I did. Junior year, when it came to classes and work, was considerably tougher than sophomore year for me, and I clearly remember on more than one occasion thinking about breaking up with her, just because she imposed herself onto my time so often that sometimes I had to stay up past midnight to get homework done. About halfway through the semester she got suspended for a week for getting caught smoking in the bathroom, and... well. I didn't really miss her.

"That was when I first started talking to Lexi and Tyler about what was going on. They both kept on telling me, wow, shit, you need to break up with her if that's how you're feeling, but... I don't know. It's weird. All those bad things, all those things that annoyed me and bugged me... they always seemed bad at the time, but afterwards they just kinda were like, 'well, that really wasn't that bad, and I do like her, so it'd be a waste to break up over something small like that'. And I just kept on telling myself that, through that semester, to winter break, through the spring semester, through prom... oh, God, don't get me started on junior prom. We almost didn't go."

Tony's fingers squeezed in on my arm for a moment, but then just as quickly released. Maybe he'd wanted to say something, but then changed his mind.

"So then there was summer break. And I was remembering how the last summer had gone, and I really wasn't looking forward to this one. But, for some reason, Sasha didn't... didn't really bother me too much? I was driving at this point, and I thought that that was weird since I'd really expected her to latch onto me even more for that. Maybe she got a job? I don't know. For all the time we spent together, she never really talked about her own life. Hell, during that time she might've had another boyfriend, and I'd just never known about it." That was actually a thought I hadn't considered before. And now thinking about it, I felt... well, nothing, really. That was in the past. I didn't care, and it didn't do me any good to even bother to care. "I dunno. By the end of summer she and I had just settled into that kind of 'well, this is just the way it is' kind of rhythm in our relationship. Like, we both knew that we weren't the best option for each other, but it was better to have that than to have nothing, right?

"Dad had long since given up trying to get her to quit spending the night. I guess he figured that since I hadn't gotten her pregnant so far, that it wouldn't happen? Not for her lack of trying, of course. That was actually the first big fight we had - she wanted kids. I didn't, because I couldn't drive and didn't have a job, and also because we were both fifteen years old. God, I was so relieved when she stopped pushing that. Once senior year started, I think we kind of... I think we were both tired of each other, but just didn't want to break up because we didn't want to be alone? I don't know. The sex was plenty good, don't get me wrong. One time I tried to break up with her, and a few days later she showed up at my house, pushed in past me..." I think I'd told Tyler this story. "And dragged me to my bedroom, and threw me down to the bed, and-"

"I - think I see where this is going." This time when Tony sat up, he untwined his arm from around mind and sat with his paws clamped in his lap, tail flicking idly behind me.

"Yeah." Again, I shifted. I wasn't about to admit it to him, but I guess I couldn't lie to myself that, maybe sometimes, I still thought about Sasha and some of the times we'd had together, and some of the... pictures and videos she'd sent to me.

I guess 'enjoyed' is a better way to put it than just 'thought about'.

After him giggling again, I went on. Normally when someone laughed at this story it felt as though they did so at my expense, but when Tony did it... I don't know. It felt kind of like he lifted a weight from my shoulders, one that'd been there for so long that I'd forgotten it was bearing down on me at all. "So we kind of, sort of, delayed breaking up for like... another month or so. I don't know. She started bugging me again like she used to, inviting herself over and blowing up my phone late at night because I wasn't talking to her, 'I'm your girlfriend, pay attention to me', whatever.

"Of course by that point I'd lost patience for it. I spent my winter break with family out of state, though Sasha made sure I kept her up to date on what I did almost to the hour, and had me call her and talk to her on the phone for two hours a night, even though most of what I said was just variations of 'mhmm' and 'yeah'. It felt like... like she was trying to force it to happen, like she no longer really wanted us to be a thing, but still felt like it had to be. I only lasted for like three weeks after the spring semester started back up, and when I broke up with her that time, I knew I wasn't gonna go back on what I'd said. She still tried to get back with me for a while after, wouldn't stop texting and calling, and she showed up at my house, and one time she even tracked down Tyler to get him to blab about where I was... eventually, thankfully, she stopped trying. We had a class together this semester, but she dropped just about as soon as she saw I was in it."

From there I kind of trailed off. That was how it ended. The whole thing didn't really have a good, coherent ending: it all just kind of tapered off, crumbled away, until nothing remained to hang on to. I don't know if I preferred it that way, or if we'd had a big fight and both gone our separate ways. That would've been emotionally harder

maybe

but at least it would've brought closure. After sitting there for a moment longer, the idle click-click-clicking of the ceiling fan as it spun seeming obtrusively loud in the space left by my voice. Tony sat beside me with his mouth pursed, as if in though; I reached over and patted his leg (and he briefly rested his paw atop mine), and then rested onto my back across the mattress like I'd thought about earlier.

And also like I'd thought about, the cheetah remained where he sat for a moment and then came down beside me... and rested his arm across my chest, warm and heavy, comforting like a thick blanket. Sure, even that little touch sped up my heart a bit, but it felt nice, felt right. I moved his arm a little further up my chest, and he let me.

"That seems like... like a big mess."

Couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh yeah. It definitely was. I don't know if, like... she thought that that's what love was supposed to feel like? Or, like, if that's how she's supposed to treat someone she loves? I mean, for the first half-year or so we were together, I thought... I thought that what I was feeling for her was..."

All of a sudden, the word felt wrong on my tongue. Like how it feels when you want to say one thing, but the only thing that comes to mind is a word or a saying that you know is wrong, and you're reluctant to say it because you know that whoever hears will be able to pick it out as wrong, too.

Tony rested his head along my chest, too, so that his muzzle rose and fell, rose and fell with my slow, steady breathing. I really, really hoped he couldn't hear my heartbeat right now; if he did, at least he didn't comment on it. His claws, sort of always sticking out but still somewhat retractable, gently pricked into my skin through my fur and shirt, again and again in a slow rhythm. For a while, I actually thought he might fall asleep.

Then, quietly, more of a warm rumble than an audible sound: "Thank you, Matt."

"Huh? What for?"

"For telling me."

"Well, I mean - you asked about it, and..." Again, though, I trailed off. He'd trusted me enough to tell me about his thing, and why he seemed so... reluctant and cautious when it came to anything romantic. I think he understood what I was saying, though, and after a moment, he nuzzled in a little closer to my neck.

I don't really know how long we spent there, our legs hanging off the edge of the mattress, me on my back and him on his side, half-draped across me. This was closeness the kind of which I hadn't felt in a long time, and which I hadn't actually enjoyed in even longer. All of these - feelings and everything else that he brought up in me... they all seemed new, almost. Familiar only in the slightest, refreshed, enhanced, revitalized. The longer he lay across me like this, the more I became aware of this pulsing, fluttering warmth in my chest, deep inside of me, that filled me with something like excitement crossed with bubbling, radiating energy, as well as contentment and relaxation. All of this, balled up into one.

I guess it wasn't really the most proper emotion to feel after sharing the story of my longest, my only, and my worst relationship, but... I don't know. However many times I say it, my own mind still has a bit of trouble believing it and accepting it, though my heart knew it to be true: with Tony, I felt good, I felt right.

That warmth continued bubbling and churning until - until my body just about moved on its own. I reached up, curled my fingers around his, squeezed his paw in mine; he half-lifted his head and looked up at me, sleepy contentment in his eyes; I leaned in, touched my nose to his forehead, breathed in his scent - soft, warm, spicy, more pleasant than anything else I'd tasted - and... set my lips there, just for a second. I think some of his fur stuck to my upper lip when I moved away, but I didn't really care.

With that kiss, another soft smile lifted his lips, and his whiskers twitched briefly back as if he were readying to say something. I even tilted my head, brought my ear closer to his muzzle... but instead, he returned the kiss, settling it light upon my cheek as a leaf drifting down to a still pond. Then another, and another, each one making its way slowly down towards the line of my jaw, and in towards my lips...

Until we both heard Dad's footsteps coming down the hall outside, and shared a surprised glance before sitting upright. Now my heart beat strong and fast for a different reason, even though we weren't really... doing anything. I guess it was still just the natural nervousness, jumpiness about - you know. Being with another boy.

Not like it mattered, though; Dad didn't even come this way or knock on the door. Still, the moment was broken, and me and the cheetah looked at each again and both laughed about it, and soon I had him sitting down at my desk and playing a game I thought he'd like. As the time passed though, and as the weight of sleep started to drag on my eyelids and pull my maw open into a yawn, I tapped his shoulder and let him know I'd be taking him home soon... and he opened up a menu on the screen, one that I hadn't expected him to. When I asked what he was doing, he turned another bright grin up to me and said, bouncing in the chair, "I am adding you to my friends list".

Night had long since begun its trek across the sky by the time we finally pulled ourselves away and to my car, with me shouting to Dad as we made our way downstairs. Not even halfway there our paws intertwined again, and this time I wasn't sure which of us had initiated it. Even on the car ride over, the classical station on but turn down quiet and AC on a gentle cooling breeze against the warmth of the evening, there was that... I guess that atmosphere between the two of us, that something had been cemented in our relationship tonight. That was another thing that felt vaguely familiar, yet wholly new.

"I enjoyed tonight, Matt," the cheetah said, as we pulled up to a red light. The neighborhoods always looked different at night beneath the sour yellow light of streetlamps rather than smoother, cooler white of daytime sun.

I looked over at him. "Even with both of us dredging up relationships that I'm sure we'd rather forget?"

Quiet chuckle, another shrug. "Yes. Well. It felt okay telling you. It has been a while since I have felt like I can really trust someone... and, um, honestly... you telling me yours made me a little more certain of that. That - that I could trust you. That I can."

Don't think it needed saying. "You can."

"Yes. I know." And comfortable silence came between us again, or at least until we pulled up by the curb outside his house not some five or so minutes later. The cheetah glanced up towards the front door, then back at me. "Looks like Mamá is still awake. She really enjoyed your cook- ah! Darn it. She would have liked me to bring some home with me..."

"If you come over again soon, you can probably take some of what we've got leftover home. As long as Dad doesn't eat it first, I mean."

"It was very good..." He fell into mumbling to himself for a moment, phone held in his lap with what looked like his messages open. Then, quickly, he glanced up at me, and again gave that same sweet smile that made my heart flutter all over again. "Oh. Um. Matt?"

"What's up?"

"We are still on to finish our project, right?"

"Oh, yeah." I'd forgotten about that. Honestly, it's such a low-effort assignment that I wouldn't be surprised if we were the only group that actually bothered to get together to do it. Not like I minded that time spent, of course. "Friday okay?"

"I actually have an orchestra rehearsal Friday..."

"Saturday, then?"

Another smile. "That will work. Um..."

He seemed to falter for a moment, halfway between reaching for the door to let himself out and leaning over to do... something. Unsureness flickered across his face, but within just a few seconds I'd find out what that something was: he sniffed, licked his lips, swallowed, and rested his paw across mine, hanging off the armrest between us. And then, slowly but confidently, he continued to lean over, and I expected another kiss on the cheek.

I was right. At first, at least. Just as soft, just as slow as the ones he'd given to me while we were lying on my bed back home earlier in the night, and as his lips touched my muzzle, his soft scent floated dreamily over me again, the kind of scent that you just want to shove your nose into and get a few good, deep breaths of. With those small, pleasant kisses, I couldn't help but let my tail thump against my seat behind me. I closed my eyes and leaned into it, and breathed out a soft sigh.

And that was when I felt his fingers tickle up along my chin and jaw, and tilt my muzzle closer to his. In that moment I guess my heart realized what was happening before I did, because just like so many other times, I could feel it start to pound, and my eyes jerked open-

-and then just as quickly fluttered shut, first by the warm, slightly-rough surface of his nose against mine, then by that gentle huff of exhaled breath through my whiskers, and then, finally... finally, by his lips brushing so softly against mine, holding there, half-pulling back, pressing in to commit to it. Hardly anything more than just that, than just him pressing his lips to mine, but - God. Sweet electric shiver sent down through my back, rippling along my forearms and thighs in tiny little goosebumps, bouncing back up my spine and leading me to lean into the kiss, to hold his muzzle against mine.

There was the slightest of noises as our lips parted, and then as if missing that contact, and I know that we both did, we closed that distance again, this time more firmly, more readily. I straightened up in my seat and pulled myself against the armrest to get in at a better position, and I could feel Tony adjusting himself similarly; his paw on my jaw slid down, down along my neck, towards my shoulder, back up to my neck to pull me in again. We broke apart again, and then dove right back in.

And I just - God. Before I knew it, my paw had made its way over to his thigh and halfway up his his sleek back, fingers brushing up along the hem of his shirt, pressing into the heat of his body. Soon my muzzle was tilted against his, lips meeting and parting, meeting and parting, and tongues barely - barely flicking between, just giving a little hint, a little scintillation, the kind of flame that flickers to life atop a heated coal when blown on.

His scent, his taste, his presence... I licked my lips halfway between the last kiss in that string, caught his upper lip against mine for a moment, and then we both tilted back out of the kiss, though kept our noses together. And in that moment, in the light of the streetlamp positioned a little bit down the street and shining its wan glow in through the windshield, his eyes looked and even brighter, richer sunrise than their usual.

I don't know about him, but that kiss left me feeling something new, too. Warm, pleasant, slightly uncomfortable so that I had to... well, I had to adjust the way I sat, and try to discreetly reach down and fix the fit of my pants.

"Um." Sounding somewhat breathless, Tony's little pink tongue swished out over his lips. Watching that sent yet another shiver through me; I'd felt that tongue just now, just against the surface of my own lips, and of my tongue as well. "I will... um, go now."

"Yeah." I found that I was just as breathless. "Thanks for coming over tonight."

"Thank you for having me..." He swallowed and slid his paws down between his legs for a moment, a shy smile and blush on his lips. "Text me tomorrow?"

"You know it."

"Goodnight, Matt."

Wasn't hard at all to mirror that smile. "Night, Tony. See you soon."

I watched him as he made his way up the sidewalk to his front door, tailtip flicking behind him. That warm, sweet fluttering in my chest persisted, caught in blooming as rich and bright as a spring rose, held in the midst of a warm, soft breeze.

This was something that I hadn't felt before.