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Coffee? Do I smell coffee?

Slowly waking up, I sniffed the air. It wasn't a dream! The rich smell of mocha drenched my nostrils, as my ears picked up the faint sounds of gurgling and dripping. I laid back on my pillow, relaxing and anticipating getting up and taking that first morning sip.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

What the fuck?!

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" Fucking alarm. Looking at my phone, I saw that the time was 5:30am.

Why the hell did I decide to get up this early?!

Shaking my head, I remembered. I wanted to get up early so that I could go to the martial arts training center before work.

Well, that was a dumb idea.

Sitting up in bed, my mind wandered ahead to what I had to do to get ready.

First things first...I need coffee!

Stumbling along to the kitchen area, I grabbed that first cup on my way to the bathroom.

---

A short time later, I was in my car driving along main street. As I pulled into the parking lot adjacent to a rectangular shaped brick building, a large blue and red sign, Eastern Lake Martial Arts, showed that I had arrived. Looking around at the number of cars, I was surprised by how many people were already there. I usually went to the center in the evening, so I was not sure what to expect during my early morning visit. Walking inside, I showed my membership card to the badger sitting at the front desk. She verified my information on the computer screen and handed me the electronic fob to my locker. Once in the men's locker room, I changed from my work clothes into my gi, along with its accompanying purple belt. Walking towards the main area, I looked around to see if there was anyone who I knew. Over at the sparring ring, I noticed two cheetah's practicing with a type of bladed weapon called a kama. They were quite skilled, and I was watching their technique when a paw grabbed my shoulder, causing me to just about jump out of my fur.

"Care to practice with them?" a deep, but soft voice said.

I turned around and looked into the hazel eyes of a black german shepherd grinning at me.

"Marko!" I shouted as I gave him a big hug, my tail wagging happily. Returning to a normal voice, I continued. "What brings you here at this time of day?" Wagging his tail, he returned the hug and said, "I have the week off from work, so I figured I would volunteer this morning. What are YOU doing here? Usually, you come in the evening."

Disengaging from our hug, I said, "Well, yesterday was a difficult day at work, so I figured I could use a bit of physical and mental grounding before I go to that cage again."

"You certainly picked the right day! You can train with me!" he said wagging his tail again. "What were you going to practice today? Tai chi? Mediation? Yoga? A grin appeared on his muzzle. Or perhaps something more physical with a sparring partner?"

Returning the grin, and with a gleam in my brown eyes, I said to him, "I was going to work on my katas, but it sounds like you are willing to get yourself pushed around some!"

His black muzzle parted to reveal rows of white teeth as he smiled wickedly at me.

Gads, he has a great smile.....

"You? Push me around?" he laughed. "How long since you have been here to practice? I haven't seen you in, what, four or five months? FarFar, you are dreaming! I can outthink and outwit that Corgi head of yours with one paw behind my back!" He gave me a playful shove as he turned around and started to walk to another part of the facility. "Come on. Let's go stretch out."

Truth be told, Marko is more skilled then me when it comes to martial arts. He is an ardent enthusiast and has the body, mind, and color rank (first degree black belt) to show for it. As we walked to the warm up room, my mind drifted back to the history that Marko and I shared. We first met in a class that we were both taking at the Riverside Art Institute. We worked on a few projects together and during that time, we found out that we both shared an interest in the martial arts. He volunteers and occasionally teaches at the martial arts center. I took a few lessons there and though he was never my sensi, I did notice him around. Hard not to with his big body, black fur, and hazel eyes. The center occasionally held social mix-up days and we would oftentimes hang out with each other. I knew that he worked as an assistant engineering professor at the university, and that we also shared similar life interests such as cooking, trail hiking, and eating out.

Walking down a hallway, we reached the warm up room which was already occupied by a couple of wolves, a Doberman, and a hyena. They were already on the mats performing various stretching exercises.

Standing on our feet paws, Marko and I began stretching. Silently moving through our routine, we soon finished and took a water break.

"How has work been?" I said.

"Same shit, different day," he said. "It is good to work with the students, but it can sometimes be a grind. How about you?"

"Hummph. Same shit, different day." I then laughed, "I guess work is work, no matter where it is at."

"True enough," he laughed. He then leaned up against a wall, placing a hind paw flat against it. "That is why I like coming here. Gives me a chance to unwind and do something different. You should come here more often. I bet it would be good for you." A smile ran across his muzzle.

Damn, there he goes again! You can keep doing that if you want...

Thinking a bit, I asked:

"How's it been with you and Frick? You were dating each other the last time I saw you."

Marko gave me a lopsided glance. I wondered if I asked something wrong. My ears splayed back as I waited for an answer.

He picked up on my uneasiness. "Hey, don't worry 'bout that. I thought you knew." He placed his hind paw back on the floor. "Frick and I stopped dating each other a long time ago." He sighed before continuing. "It wasn't a nasty breakup. He wanted an open relationship. I just wasn't ready for that."

I understood what he was saying. My last relationship ended in a similar way. Kintra wanted to date others while we were together. I wasn't comfortable with that, and even though we left on good terms, it still rubbed my fur the wrong way.

Sighing again, Marko said, "Frick and I are still good friends. We talk to each other and hang out sometimes. He is a good shepherd and I want to keep the friendship intact."

"I sometimes see him working at the art institute, but I didn't know any of that. He never talked to me about it. Glad things worked out ok for the two of you."

"It is all in the past, my friend!" Marko started to stretch out his arms a bit. "What about you? Last I knew, you were dating that Akita. Are you two still together?" His muzzle broke out into a grin.

"No. We stopped dating about five months ago." It was the best for both of us," I said with a sigh.

"Hey, I'm sorry to hear that. Hope it wasn't a bad breakup." He put a paw on my shoulder.

Hmmmm...that feels nice....

"It was ok. I guess I feel that we both have moved on."

"Good! He removed his paw from my shoulder. "Speaking of moving on, we should begin with our sparing. Whatda you think?"

Flexing my legs, I said, "Works for me! Empty paw or weapons?"

"You wanna spar with weapons?" The wicked smile was back.

That is sooooooo cute!

"Sure! If you are up to it!" I said with a grin.

Marko returned the grin. "Go for it!" He waived me forward with one of his arms.

Walking towards the weapons room, I was thinking of our conversation.

He is not dating anyone.

Once together in the room, Marko moved ahead of me and surveyed the array of weapons hanging on the walls. His eyes settled upon the rattan staffs. Turning around, he glanced at me with a questioning look.

"Yeah, that's good," I said.

Marko picked a five-foot staff. I picked a shorter four-foot version.

"Shorter is not necessarily better, but we will see what we will see. Of course, it is not just the length that matters. Technique is also important." Marko twirled his staff in a lazy circle. "Come on, let's get to the mats."

He led the way as I followed behind him. The main ring was occupied by two wolves, so Marko chose a smaller ring.

"Sorry we can't do full contact," Marko said. "All of the protective gear is being used."

"That's fine. I'm good with that."

We stood on our hind paws facing each other with the staffs in our fore paws. Snapping into the traditional ready stance, we paused while making eye contact.

Such nice-looking hazel eyes...

Marko started to circle, his staff pointing forward, trying to lead me. I didn't fall for it and I continued to match his moves, forcing him to strike first. As he swung his staff towards my legs, I moved forward to block it with my own. A quick series of strikes and counterstrikes ensued with neither of us scoring a contact blow. After a short time, we broke apart and paused in our sparring.

"Not bad FarFar, not bad at all!" Marko panted at me.

"Thanks! You're not so bad yourself!" I panted back to him.

Continuing to attack, Marko scored a direct hit to my left flank. I quickly answered back with a hit to his lower back. Renewed in his determination, he came at me fast and hard with a series of short swings and thrusts which ended with a jab into my gut.

Breaking off from the attack, I tried to lead him with a series of short swings. He was having none of that. Copying his previous technique, I sped up my pace and eventually scored another hit to his lower back. "Tied score," he panted. "Next hit wins!"

Wanting to keep my momentum, I didn't answer back. Instead, I circled around him, my staff pointed at his torso. He matched my stride but did not strike first. Taking the initiative, I stepped forward into his guard and swept towards his lower left leg. Lowering his staff, he quickly blocked my efforts and with a smooth rotation of his staff he gently tapped the back of my head.

I looked up at him, my ears splayed back.

"Score. You lose," he quietly said to me. The grin on his muzzle was back.

Standing fully upright, I gave him a respectful bow. He returned the bow, ending the session. Deciding to take a break, we walked over to where we left our water bottles.

"Not bad at all," he said to me. "Just think of what you can do if you were to practice more."

"Yeah, I know. I do practice some at home," I swung my forarm to encompass the room, but I know that it is not the same as practicing with others."

Marko gave me a look of concern. "You used to come here often. But you stopped about five months ago. Any reason why?"

I hesitated before I replied; "Not really. Busy with work mostly."

"Hmmmmm, I guess that is a reason. Not a very good one, just saying."

I took a swig of water. "Well you have always been more dedicated then me. Speaking of work," I looked at the clock on the wall, "I should probably think about going." I ran a paw along my green head tuft and felt that it was wet with sweat. "Hmmmm. I think I should shower first."

"You go right ahead," he said to me. "I need to help that dingo over there with her kata's. I will catch up with you before you leave."

Once in the locker room, I took off my gi and placed it into the rucksack that I left in my locker. Grabbing a bar of conditioning soap, I turned on the shower and quickly lathered up my black and white fur. Rinsing off, I shook vigorously and began to towel dry. Finished. After putting on my work clothes, I grabbed a protein bar from the rucksack and walked towards the exit area. Handing my locker fob to the badger at the front desk, I looked around to discover that Marko was striding towards me, a smile on his muzzle.

"Hey Marco, thanks for sparring with me today. You're right. I do need to come here more often."

"Glad to hear you say that! So, here is something to remind you."

He placed what looked like a business card into the front left pocket of my vest. Keeping his paw there for a moment, he winked at me and said:

"I gotta get back to help that dingo. Catch you around, FarFar!" He walked away from me, wagging his tail._ _

_What was that all about? _Already thinking about work, I left the center wondering what the day will bring.

---

At my desk. Turning on the computer, I was sipping a cup of coffee while thinking of my workout with Marko. With a start, I remembered that he gave me... something. Reaching into my vest pocket, I pulled out a business card. On the front was the logo of the training center. The words "turn me over" were written on it.

Hmmmmm...what the hell.

On the back was some writing and a series of numbers.

As I read the message, my body started to quiver.

Enjoyed seeing you today. Would like to see you again. Text me. Marko.