Settling Down

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#1 of Allie

A story about a woman wondering if she's ready for something more.


Another day leaving the bank left Allie feeling somewhat despondent. It's not that she exactly hated her job as an investment manager for the small, local branch she worked at. In fact, it was often quite fun for her to try and find ways to maximize returns for her clients as part of her own efforts to build up her own account. But, even so, it was undoubtably monotonous many days when she found herself reviewing the same weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual reports just to identify minute changes in percent values that ultimately told her whether to move money or leave it put. Thrilling was not an adjective that one would use for her job.

Many people preferred such a life. Stable, predicable, and profitable. Allie had certainly been able to appreciate the benefits of such a life and didn't take it for granted. But on days like today she often found herself wondering whether she was satisfied with such a bland approach to life. If she thought back on it, she remembered that she was once a bright eyed and bushy tailed young woman, looking to finally leave the small Podunk that she had come from to find an adventure out there in the bigger world.

When she had first arrived at the city, she had been excited. For the first time she had seen other red pandas, unlike in the small suburb where she stood out like a sore thumb in her bright red fur with accents of black and white markings on her face and limbs. The people weren't mean to her, per se. But it's hard to not feel out of place when everyone around you constantly comments on how "pretty and unique" you are. They meant well, but that sort of attention doesn't help an adopted child feel welcome.

Allie shook off the memory as she buckled up and drove herself home. The thought of calling Kelvin crossed her mind almost immediately. Though Allie's professional life was one that could be defined as "standard," her home life was another story. She worked hard to keep her personal life a complete mystery to her coworkers, who often saw her as standoffish and antisocial. In fairness, she recognized that she basically was to them. But that was the only way she felt safe to indulge in the one adventurous part of her life she kept, which could only be described as a voracious sexual appetite.

Ever since she was old enough to recognize that she had sexual organs, Allie had been interested in exploring every which way to use them. It was the one way in which she was thankful for her unique appearance growing up; high schoolers were easily wooed by pretty things, and she was not afraid to get what she wanted by flaunting what she had. Early on she had been indiscriminate, letting just about everyone in her class have a turn so that she could sample all that they had to offer as well. Unfortunately, that made for a widely known reputation that, though it never hindered her, it had followed her and given a lot of people a lot of definite ideas. When moving to the city, she decided that being particular was the proper way to go about it.

She had multiple partners on standby for any mood she was in. Henry was the man for her when she felt like being a submissive size queen. Bruce and Beatrice were for when a single person wasn't enough. Clouse was the best masseuse she had ever met and was damn good at giving a happy ending. And, of course, Heather was always up for a romp when Allie felt she needed a woman's touch.

But Kelvin was different. He was certainly open and experimental, often helping to expand even Allie's pallet. But he wasn't one to have dozens of partners at any time, like this more modern Allie. He was devoted. Allie knew that he only ever saw her and Clouse, who had been the one to introduce them. Allie knew that Clouse and Kelvin had a more serious relationship and that they basically viewed Allie as the third in this "polycule" of sorts. They knew Allie had other partners but that never seemed to bother them. Allie also had, curiously, never been with Kelvin and Clouse at the same time. It was all rather complicated, and Allie chose not to think on too much.

What Allie did allow herself to acknowledge was that being with Kelvin was the closest to having a comfortable relationship that she had now or could tolerate at all in her life. While the intimacy was always fun and exciting, his relaxed demeanor and kind friendship was always a comfort for her, giving her a sense of ease amidst the stresses of life on the whole. Sometimes she even wondered if she wouldn't be happier cutting ties with her other squeezes and letting herself fold into the closest thing to a committed relationship she could stomach with Clouse and Kelvin.

These thoughts rambled around in her head as the various lines, signs, and lights of the road passed her by on the way home. Pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex, she noticed the familiar silver sedan that belied Kelvin's presence. Smiling to herself, Allie thought for the umpteenth time that Kelvin always seemed to have a sixth sense about when would be a good time for a visit.

Pulling into her reserved spot, she was able to see Kelvin standing in the recessed entryway outside of her front door, patiently waiting for her with a bag of some sort of takeout in hand. He gave her a wave as she pulled in, lifting the bag as though to say, "look what I got us!" without words to do the job. Smiling, Allie, got out of her car and walked up to him.

"It's posted on the drive to the parking lot; 'No Loitering!'" Allie suppressed a giggle, trying without success to sell the bluff of annoyance.

"Must have missed it. You guys have terrible security if that's the case though. I've been here nearly twenty minutes, and nobody said a word!" Kelvin leaned in to give Allie a kiss, but she stopped him with her hand, letting his foxy lips press against her fingertips.

"Hey now, you know the rule. Inside only." Allie took a glance around to make sure there were no neighbors spying on her before unlocking the door, satisfied they were unobserved.

"Are you ever going to let the paranoia go? You're a 32-year-old woman! You're completely allowed to have whatever adult relationships you like. Also, despite what you may think, you're not nearly interesting or important enough for anyone to spy on." It was the usual routine between the two. Allie made the effort to maintain a façade of isolation while Kelvin gave her a hard time about it. Although Allie sometimes worried perhaps Kelvin was growing less amused and more genuinely annoyed or hurt by the forced distance when not behind closed doors and drawn curtains.

"You know how it is, Kelvin. I just don't like people knowing what I get up to in my personal life." Allie closed the door and locked it, finally turning to Kelvin, ready to be more personable.

"I'm extremely aware of your intense privacy, Allie. And I accept it." Kelvin gave a gentlemanly nod before turning to bring the food to the kitchen.

"So, what did you bring me to eat?" Allie called after him as she removed her shoes, letting her black, padded feet breath for the first time all day.

"I brough us some sushi. Not the crappy kind from the grocery store stall either. I went to one of the bougie places downtown where all the rolls have fancy names like 'Dragon Fire Kickstarter Grand Slam Roll,' or 'Long Names Mean It's Fancy Roll.'" Allie could hear the rustling as Kelvin removed the sushi from the bag he had carried it in.

"Ooh, so fancy! So, what ridiculous rolls did you get for us?" Allie asked as she entered the kitchen, matching Kelvin's emphasis on their evening together.

"Cali and Philly rolls." Kelvin lamely plopped the plastic trays down, punctuating the letdown of such simple rolls with the loud clack of plastic on Formica. "I'm not made of money and bougie is expensive."

Allie couldn't hide the smile that crept up. She liked Kelvin's unwillingness to splurge on needless extravagance. Her working world was one that was overrun with people spending way too much to prove way too little to people that never mattered at all. It was nice to be away from all of that. Despite her motivations to earn big salaries and bonuses each year. Allie didn't like to spend big. She preferred fantasies of retiring early to enjoy more life spent having fun in her own low-cost-of-living ways.

"I think it sounds perfect. Philly rolls are my favorite anyways." Allie leaned in and gave Kelvin a kiss, which he happily returned.

The two grabbed the sushi and moved to the living room, where they sat on the floor on either side of the coffee table to enjoy dinner together. They shared stories of what they'd been up to in the past week since their last "date night," and laughed as they both spilled rice on themselves. As they talked, Allie found her mind wondering about Kelvin. His bright orange fur with white and black markings had always been eye catching to her. But even more than that, she admired his personality. He always had an ease about him that seemed unbreakable to her. The way he was so relaxed and open about is strange sexuality and romantic life of dating a man while "dating" a woman too and yet refusing to break the exclusivity was foreign to Allie. Having spent so much time hiding away her personal life, she wasn't sure how to even go about being open about relationships.

But as she watched his slim figure sitting on her floor with her, she started to wonder about her own life again. She wondered where she saw herself in ten years. She knew that she intended to be done with the bank by then, having saved up enough to supplement spending the rest of her life doing something else only part time that was more enjoyable, if less lucrative. But she hadn't considered her relationships. She would be an aging woman in ten years. Would she still be pulling in the tail that she could now with her well-kept body and carefully groomed fur? Would she still even want to? While she did quite enjoy her wide-ranging sexual exploits, she found herself less and less interested in new partners, choosing instead to stick with her familiar ones. And even then, not all of them were people she would regret never sleeping with again. Henry was fun, but more and more she found herself preferring companionship rather than domination games. And while Bruce and Beatrice knew how to party, they tended to leave Allie to fend for herself in the afterglow phase, instead focusing on each other as though she was simply the toy meant to facilitate their relations.

"You still with me, Allie?" Allie blinked and saw Kelvin sitting there, one eyebrow raised, watching her.

"Oh, sorry, I sorta spaced out there." Allie tried to play it off, but Kelvin knew her well enough not to fall for it.

"Come on now. Something's on your mind. I won't force you to talk about it, but you know I'd prefer to hear you out rather than wonder what's bothering you all night." Kelvin leaned in, making sure Allie knew his full attention was on her.

Allie let out a sigh, trying to figure out how to explain it. She decided to ask a question instead. "Kelvin, does it bother you that I hook up with so many other people?"

Kelvin pursed his lips in thought as his ears turned back to concentrate. After a moment of genuine consideration he replied, "No. I know you're smart enough to be safe about the other people you sleep with."

"No, I don't mean diseases. I mean, you and Clouse only see me besides each other. So, basically, it's a committed relationship between you two. But then you treat me as though I'm part of your relationship too, even though I treat you guys like just another hookup." Allie tried to articulate her confusion but found it difficult. This was the first time she had ever tried to untie the knot in her head surrounding the issue.

"We've never asked you to be exclusively ours. We know you have a very active appetite. Plus, we know you like to be private about your personal life, which wouldn't exactly jive with you moving in with us." Kelvin spoke matter-of-factly about it, as though there was nothing strange at all. "And, just to be clear, we definitely don't feel as though you use us just for sex. I mean, you and I are sitting here having a date and we haven't done more than just a quick kiss. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna fuck your brains out before the night is over as long as you're in the same mood for it as I am. But this relationship or whatever else you want to call it is not one I would characterize as one-sided booty calls."

Allie let that hang for a moment, wondering about the nature of her relationship with Kelvin. She would never have actively thought that the word "relationship" was the right one. But as he mentioned it, she couldn't think of any other way to describe what she was with him.

Sensing the confusion and hesitation, Kelvin spoke again. "Come on Allie, what's this about? Talk to me."

Allie hesitated a moment more before coming to a decision. Kelvin deserved honesty from her both for how good he had always been to her. "I guess I'm just hung up on trying to understand where I go from here. Maybe it's some sort of life crisis because of work or whatever. But I'm sitting here with you, loving how nice this is, and wondering why I'm so afraid of 'settling down,' with you or anyone else. I mean, you and Clouse are so happy in your life together, but I can't figure out how I fit into any sort of life of calm and happiness like that. I want the closeness, but I don't want to give up adventure in my life either. So, I'm stuck in this limbo of not knowing where I'm at or where I want to go."

Allie hadn't meant for so much emotion to infiltrate this tangent, but she found her voice growing hoarse and the beginnings of a few tears moistening her eyes. She tried to blink them away and turned her head, hoping that Kelvin wouldn't see.

But as she looked away, she heard Kelvin scooching closer to her along the carpet, eventually reaching his hand out to grab Allie's. "Okay, so there's a lot of emotion here and just as much to unpack. But let's get into it if it's bothering you. Is that something you want?" Kelvin looked at Allie expectantly. After a split second she sighed and nodded, reluctant but still willing since the can had already been opened.

"Alright, let's tackle this conflict of wanting stability and adventure at the same time. Who's to say you can't have both?" Allie looked at Kelvin quizzically but didn't interrupt. "Look at Clouse and me. We've lived together since before you came into our lives. Yet, when you did, we ended up both entering a serious, sexual relationship with you. How would you describe that if not 'adventurous?'"

Allie didn't have an immediate response for that, and so settled for a sheepish chuckle through the tears that were still threatening to break through the dam. After a moment she said, "okay, that's fair. But you still only see me on the side. What if either of you ever wants even more?"

"Then we talk about it and figure out a solution. Allie, that's what a relationship is. Or it's what a good one is at least. We don't stop being individuals, we start being a team of individuals who communicate and work together to make our own individual lives even better. If Clouse wants to start banging the cute boy at the checkout counter who's been giving him the look for the past three grocery trips, then he can just tell me and we'll talk about what we would be comfortable with and go from there." Kelvin spoke with a tone of amusement, as though it was silly that Allie had never considered all this already.

Allie, for her part, felt her brain short circuiting. Sometimes things were so obvious they were hard to understand. "I guess I never thought about that."

Kelvin chuckled and said, with a roll of his eyes, "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

Allie furrowed her brow and asked Kelvin "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Allie. You spend so much time trying to keep the entire world out of your personal life. Of course the concept of being open with someone about your wants and needs is foreign to you. It's okay, I know that's who you are. But in this world, you can find just about anything you want if you're willing to communicate it with the right people." Kelvin gave Allie's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Allie lifted her gaze from where it had landed on their clasped hands to look into Kelvin's eyes. He had on his genuine smile that always seemed to disarm her completely. "So, what if I told you I wanted to try being a bit more serious with you and Clouse?"

Kelvin's smile broadened, keeping its warmth as he responded. "I'd say we should have a date sometime with the three of us so we can talk about it. I know for my part I wouldn't be opposed, and I don't suspect Clouse would mind. But, as I say, communication is an important part of this all."

Though Kelvin was affirming her desires, Allie still wasn't at ease. "Even if I say I'm not ready to stop seeing all of my other sexual partners?"

Kelvin gave that one more consideration. After a moment, though, he responded by saying, "I wouldn't have a problem with it. I might ask you to at least let me know who all your partners are so that we can make sure we're comfortable and I do trust your judgement. But we'll still need to talk with Clouse."

This got Allie to smile. "I've been wondering if I want to reduce my sexual circle a bit. I'm not ready to go through with it, but some of them aren't as satisfying as they used to be."

Kelvin looked quizzically at Allie. "What do you mean?"

Allie hesitated out of habit but decided to stay open. After all, she was making unexpectedly good progress towards things she knew she wanted in the long run, so she might as well keep the momentum going. "Well, the sex is still fun for when I'm in the mood. But the personalities don't always mesh as well as they did at first. A lot of the times I feel like I'm still craving something, even after the physical needs are met."

Kelvin still looked concerned. "Am I included in that?"

"No! You're the opposite! You and Clouse are two that make me feel good at the end of any of our hookups!" Allie's startled response had pulled an amused grin out of Kelvin. But as she thought about the words that she had just blurted another connection was made in her head. "Maybe that's where all of this is coming from. I still like variety in my sex life. But as soon as the sex is done, I want a little more connection. You give me that connection."

By now, Allie had lifted her other hand to where hers and Kelvin's were clasped. She was absentmindedly tracing the back of his black, fuzzy hand while the thumb of her hand that was interwoven with his ran along his knuckles. She looked up and saw that a knowing smile had spread across Kelvin's face. "What?"

Kelvin chuckled and said, "Oh it's nothing. I was just thinking that this is the type of conversation that good partners with a good relationship often have."

Allie blushed, though she couldn't exactly understand why. She let a smile escape her as she sheepishly looked away, feeling far more like a schoolgirl than she wanted to feel. But she felt Kelvin's hand gently reach down and cup her chin, pulling her gaze back to his.

"Don't be embarrassed, Allie. I like you a lot too and I like the idea of being closer with you. With our lives and how we live it'll take some work and time to figure out exactly how it all looks moving forward. But I love the idea of you letting yourself be closer with me and Clouse. You offer a lot to us both, even if you don't realize it." With that, Kelvin leaned in to give Allie a kiss.

The two had kissed countless times before. But somehow the gravity of the moment made this kiss feel special to Allie. There was more emotion and a new willingness to give into that emotion for her. She didn't just want Kelvin's body, in that moment, she wanted him. And what was even more interesting to her, was that she had an even stronger desire to give herself to him.

Kelvin must have sensed it because he acted accordingly. Adjusting himself, he rose onto his knees and pressed forward, deepening the kiss. Allie needed no instructions as she let herself slowly roll to her back, lying on the floor as Kelvin crawled over top or her. She couldn't remember the last time that she had made love on the floor, but the passion of the moment would never allow them to break the stride that they were in.

As Kelvin continued to kiss her, Allie reached her hands down to grab the hem of Kelvin's t-shirt. Feeling her fingers brush against the fur of his stomach, he leaned back, momentarily breaking the kiss and leaning back so that Allie could slide it over his head and off, revealing his orange body with white stomach markings.

No words were said as Kelvin placed his hands back on the floor on either side of Allie's body, supporting himself as he leaned back down to resume the locking of their lips. Allie's hands worked furiously, unbuttoning the blouse that she still had on from work. Eventually, she slid the garment off, leaving her in the uninspiring bra she had chosen for work. On another day she may have regretted not having the foresight to wear something more alluring, but right now she didn't even think about it.

Allie's hands didn't stop there, though. They reached up to find the belt holding up Kelvin's pants and frantically undid the clasp, moving next to the button and zipper before sliding them down over the curve of his orange, foxy ass.

As Kelvin adjusted his weight to a plank position, working on clumsily kicking the pants off with his feet while still kissing Allie, the red panda bridged her hips, grabbing her own skirt's waistband and slid it off, catching the hem of her panties and taking them off too. In a few frantic seconds, they were both nearly naked, save for Allie's bra and the left cuff of Kelvin's pants, which clung to his ankle as he had given up trying to dislodge it.

With her hands free from the task of disrobing the two of them, Allie then moved them to the firm member standing at full attention between Kelvin's legs. His cock was dark like the skin beneath his fur, and it pulsed gently in her hands as she started to stroke it. Already she could feel the precum slowly dripping in strings from the tip. Kelvin had always been rather "expressive" down there since the first time they were together.

Allie could feel the vibrations of Kelvin's voice as he moaned through their kiss at her touch. Wanting to hear more, Allie started to stroke faster. The anticipation was exceptional, and she couldn't resist bringing one hand to her own crotch, rubbing at her slit which had already begun to moisten the soft fur surrounding her red panda pussy. Her own moans joined their now shared chorus as her hands worked to pleasure them both.

It wasn't long before Kelvin started pressing his hips downwards, closer to Allie's own. Soon, there was very little room for her hands to stay where they were. On other nights Allie might have wanted the foreplay to keep going. But tonight was different. Tonight there was an urgency and desperation in her that she hadn't felt before. She needed this fox inside of her and she needed it now. Sliding her one hand away from her own slit, she briefly used the one on Kelvin's cock to guide him to her entrance.

Taking her cue, Kelvin pressed his hips forwards, sliding his fox cock into her red panda entrance. The two shared a gasp and a moan of pleasure as Kelvin immediately found a rhythm. It seemed to Allie that he was in the same intense mood as she was. His pace belied a man who felt a desperate need to connect. A feeling driven by instinct and urgency, not by measured or planned action. His hips pressed and slapped against her pelvis, soft pats filling the room as their furred hips bumped and battered one another's. Allie could feel her own wetness growing as his warm member filled her. She had a brief thought that she would need to pull out the carpet spot cleaner when they were done, but quickly filed that into the "worry about that later," folder in her mind. For now, she wanted them to make all the mess in the world if it meant never stopping.

Kelvin broke their kiss as his breath grew ragged from the effort. He let his lips wander to Allie's neck, kissing it the entire way before directing himself up towards her soft, rounded ear. He nibbled gently at it for a moment, before seeming to settle on simply tucking his chin into the crook of her neck. She felt his hot breath on her neck and ear. His body was pressed against her. She felt slight regret that she hadn't freed her breasts from the bra that was still between them. But she knew tonight wouldn't end after just one go. There would be plenty of time for her to feel his hands cupping her tits or his lips suckling her nipples. For now, she only wanted more of exactly what was happening.

If at all possible, it felt to Allie as though Kelvin was growing bigger and harder as they went. His hips slammed against hers in frantic rhythm, pressing her firmly into the floor below. Her tail stuck out from beneath her, rapidly shivering in expression of the pleasure that the rest of her body was feeling. She could see his tail flicking back and forth as though acting with a mind of its own. He pumped and pumped his hips again and again, letting his cock rub and stretch her inner walls, giving her a sense of fullness and satisfaction that even Henry couldn't match.

"Fuck, Allie, I'm already so close." Kelvin's voice was haggard, and it was clear what little control over his orgasm he had was nearly depleted. Luckily, Allie was desperate to feel him finish inside of her.

"Good! Fill me, Kelvin!" Allie managed to gasp the words as she felt him press deeper and deeper inside of her. In another moment, she was hearing him moan as he pressed his hips down hard. His cock twitched inside of her as she felt the spurts of his cum filling her one by one. The new heat from his seed sent shivers up her spine as his body shook with the orgasm. Allie reached her hands up, grabbing the fur on the back of Kelvin's neck so she could pull him in for a kiss while he finished climaxing inside of her. Their lips met and they both moaned their way through the rest of Kelvin's finish.

A moment later, Kelvin was supporting himself above Allie, gasping and looking into her eyes. "Did you finish?" Kelvin asked.

Always the gentleman. Allie smiled and said, "Not yet, but you're insane if you think we're done for the night."

Kelvin smiled, satisfied that he'd have the chance to finish what they started before going home.

"Kelvin," Allie said, letting some vulnerability enter her voice. "That was the most intense and enjoyable sex I think I've ever had."

Kelvin smiled but didn't speak, letting Allie finish her thought.

Allie said, "even though it was just sex, it felt better than anything. Is this how good things feel for you and Clouse?"

Kelvin smiled again and said, "Most of the time. The emotional side adds to it, right?"

"Yeah. I've never felt that before. I think I get why you guys are mostly fine with fewer partners. I'm not ready to give up all the kinks, but if it's gonna be like that with you from now on it'll be rare for me to be in the mood for something else."

The two of them smiled together as Kelvin leaned in for another kiss. The night went on with the two of them experimenting in just about every way they could think of. When it was over, Allie lay exhausted, with plenty on her mind. She knew she wouldn't be abandoning her open sex life yet, if ever. But the thought of settling down just a little seemed much less frightening to her now. As Kelvin lay snoring next to her on the couch, Allie leaned over and snuggled against him as best she could. She'd wake up with a crick in her neck, but that seemed like a pretty fair price for the happiness his talk and love had given her.