Right In Front Of My Eyes
Here's the story I promised you guys. I hope you enjoy!
Right In Front Of My Eyes
By Serj Takayama
It was a typical rave. Bright flashing lights, sweet smelling fake smoke, and people everywhere. All of them rubbing up against each other to the beat of the music or rubbing up against the carpet and walls and anything else that happened to be within arm's reach. Jeremy sat at the end of the makeshift bar whishing that they would serve more than water but still knowing full well why they couldn't. Suffice it to say ecstasy and booze didn't really mix well. Still, he could tell that this was one of the better typical ones at the very least. He'd never seen a makeshift water bar like this before.
It had been almost an hour and a half since he had gotten to the rundown theater with Nathan. His ears ached and his legs were tired. Still, he didn't want to ruin his friend's fun. Besides, he still chuckled every time he spotted Nathan through the crowd with the giant pacifier in his muzzle, so he wasn't at a complete loss.
Jeremy turned around and wrapped his paw around his water glass. He had had his back turned to it for at least ten minutes now...yeah, there was no way he was drinking any more of that particular glass at this point. Gesturing to the water-tender-that's what Jeremy had decided to call him since there really wasn't a bar without booze-and sliding aside the most likely date rape drug filled water, Jeremy sighed as the giant Clydesdale almost slammed the fresh glass of water down on what used to be a concessions counter. Jeremy had no idea why the horse was getting so testy; okay, it had probably been his tenth or twelfth glass that night but that was the guy's job for God's sake!
Jeremy took the glass of water carefully in his paws-he wasn't going to let this one go lest he suffer the wrath of the water-tender-and turned to walk into one of the old theater rooms that was bursting with deep base beats and sweeping synth sounds. Everywhere the eye could see were people draped over chairs and rubbing up against one another. He tried to look through all of the people to find Nathan but the place was one giant puff of fur and tangled tails by then. Then Jeremy's eye caught the sight of a face from across the theater. It was orange with a perfect pattern of stripes and a pink nose that made Jeremy blush. When the crowd broke for a spit second Jeremy nearly melted. Perfect body, perfect face. Perfect eyes...that were staring right back at him!
Jeremy looked away, cursing himself for actually staring at someone at a rave, even if they were a perfectly proportioned tiger. In his defense, he really hadn't meant to he just...the light just caught him the right way. Besides, Jeremy knew not to try and pick up guys at raves; It had bit him in the ass before. They were never actually interested in him, just fascinated in the way his fur felt. Unfortunately, Jeremy had confused a certain husky for the touchy-feely type when he had started feeling him up and had sex with them under the trap door of the stage of the stupid old auditorium and spent almost a week crying after they blamed him for fucking them on ecstasy and ruining sex for them forever.
Nope, never again. Not after last time.
"Oh, hey Nathan." Jeremy noticed the dingo rubbing his cheek up against his arm and chuckled at the adult sized pacifier. What a boob. "What color was the pill?"
Nathan just continued to rub his paws all over Jeremy's fur and looking up into the air like there was a flock of marshmallow birds flying through.
"Nathan!" The dingo's eyes pointed to him so he knew he was listening even if he wouldn't take out the pacifier long enough to answer him. "What color was the pill?"
Nathan dug through his pocket and placed a little round red pill with a smiley face imprinted into it in the middle of Jeremy's paw and then proceeded to murr deeply when the pads of their paws brushed. Jeremy nodded and closed his fist around the drug.
"Here have this." Jeremy hooked his finger through the ring of Nathan's pacifier pulling it out and stuck the glass of water in his paws. Nathan didn't question him as they had agreed for Jeremy to be Nathan's water spotter. The dingo finished the water and pushed the glass back into Jeremy's paws. Jeremy flinched as Nathan bit down on the pacifier almost taking off his paw getting it back into his mouth. Jeremy watched the dingo walk back out into the crowd touching people and being touched left and right. Empty glass in hand, Jeremy snuck a peak over his shoulder and walked back out into the lobby, keeping an eye out for orange and black.
The giant Clydesdale that had been standing at the water bar before had been replaced with an even larger elephant who didn't look any more friendly than the horse had. Jeremy just sat down the empty glass on the wooden counter, Nathan's pill next to it, and watched as the water-tender filled the glass to the rim. For a moment he idly wondered where the tiger had gone but quickly decided that it would be better if he didn't see him again-him and his irresistible body.
Jeremy's stomach tightened at the sight out of the corner of his eye: orange and black stripes. Oh no. Jeremy really tried, he really did, but he just couldn't help but turn and look at the tiger sitting down from him at the bar. Now that Jeremy could see him properly, could see the way his fur disappeared and reappeared from under his clothes, could see his arms and shoulders and neck and muzzle and eyes that were...shit! Looking right at him again!
Jeremy tore his eyes away from the tiger and fixed them onto his glass of water. This was the last thing he could ever want right now. That tiger-sexy he may have been-was probably just has high as Nathan if not more. All he wanted was to rub all over him and watch as he morphed into something else right in front of him-at least that's how Nathan had described being high on ecstasy. Jeremy had been to plenty of raves but he'd never done the drug. He knew what pot was like but he figured that probably wasn't really the same thing. At any rate, he knew he didn't want to talk to the tiger while he was rolling because he didn't know if he was the incredibly horny type-which he'd had more than one experience with. If he was, then Jeremy could honestly say that by the looks of this striped and sexy feline, it wouldn't take much on the tiger's end to get him in bed. He hated to think something so...well, slutty. But Jeremy knew it was true; he tended to have a thing for Asian boys.
As the tiger sat down next to him Jeremy could hear voices all around and he dreaded to hear the tiger's voice. Thoughts were already rushing around in his head. He didn't need the thought of the tiger growling his name into the scruff of his neck to join the orgy in his mind. The elephant sat down a glass of water in front of the tiger and walked down to the other end to take care of another patron. Wow, the elephant must have been a better water-tender than Jeremy had expected. He hadn't even heard the tiger ask for a glass of water.
"Alright, that's cool. I guess you're just not that much of a talker." Jeremy looked at the tiger in surprise. Had he been talking the entire time? He had been expecting the tiger to have a deep and gruff voice and Jeremy had just assumed he wasn't talking when he didn't hear it. Instead he had a voice like a freshman in college right out of high school. Quick, he had to come up with something to say back to smooth this all over; he didn't want to offend the guy. Not that it mattered. It's not like he was trying to flirt with him or anything.
"Oh, uh... Sorry I was just, uh, thinking...about something." Smooth... Jeremy looked back to his glass of water in embarrassment. The tiger chuckled and held out his paw toward him.
"It's fine. My name's Terry." The tiger grinned at him.
Terry? Even the tiger's name caught him off guard. He had expected him to have a name like Butch, or Rob, or Cliff-something to match the usual body builder like physique; but Terry? Jeremy took the tiger's paw in his own and shook it. The handshake wasn't exactly firm but not full out fish-hand either. Not only this, but Terry's paw was probably no bigger than his own. Jeremy looked into the tiger's face properly for the first time and saw that it wasn't what he was expecting either. Slim cheeks, blue eyes, a wonderfully boyish smile; the only roundness in his face was from the cute little tufts of fur on the sides of his jaw line.
"Hey...um, Jeremy."
"No, it's Terry." Jeremy's head tilted to the side; he was stunned. Really? Had he just said...oh, he was laughing.
"Did you really think-? I mean, come on, I may be a college student but I'm not that ditzy." So Jeremy had been right about him being in college. Well then, at least he was eighteen. No, wait. Was he really thinking that? No, no more picking up guys at raves; he had already told himself this.
Jeremy chuckled back at Terry's little joke and told him that he could sit down if he wanted to. The tiger did so in the chair right next to him and picked up his glass full of water. Jeremy watched as Terry took a drink, a drop of water escaping from the side of his muzzle and trickling down his beautiful orange and black striped fur. Jeremy swallowed even though there wasn't any water in his muzzle. He brought his own glass of water to his muzzle to muffle his pained whimper of desire. It was like the tiger was trying to seduce him. Well it was working. The last time he'd seen anyone so beautiful was when he had been with his mate of four years, Harrison. Jeremy didn't like to admit it, but Terry really was one of the sexiest people he'd ever seen. It made him feel grubby thinking like that. It had only been a year since Harrison had gone. Yet, at any rate, he felt the need to give the tiger a chance.
Jeremy was surprised to go a whole ten-or was it twenty?-minutes of small talk without the tiger rubbing up against him and purring like his skin was having sex. He was impressed. He'd never seen anyone on E go this long without feeling everything they could see-and in some cases, things they weren't actually seeing. He must have been doing it for years and now it hardly affected him at all. Still, Jeremy was genuinely surprised to learn just how much they had in common. They listened to much of the same music, they liked the same kinds of movies, and they both agreed on more than one political subject. In fact, the longer they sat and talked and laughed-oh god it was such a cute laugh too-the more the whole thing started to feel like a date instead of just some hop head trying to get him to fuck on E. That was a bad combination. His libido already liked Terry; It had liked him since Jeremy had seen him from across the smoke and laser light filled room. Pair that with Jeremy starting to actually like his company; well, Jeremy just knew that he needed to get out of there before he ended up in bed with the tiger and another week of crying to top it off.
Surprisingly, it was actually much harder to abandon the tiger than Jeremy had anticipated. Even when he remembered that he was Nathan's water spotter and took a glass of water to him, Jeremy didn't take the obviously safer, smarter, and less degrading easy way out of abandoning him. He was giving in to Terry's charm and smile; his sense of humor and the fact that the tiger listened when he talked. And to his chagrin, and Terry's exuberance, Jeremy found himself walking back out into the lobby and meeting him by the old door that said 'Employees Only' like they had discussed earlier. He couldn't help himself. He knew that what he was doing wasn't the best thing to do and yet he was doing it anyway. It's because Terry reminded him so much of Harrison, Jeremy supposed. This wasn't fair. The tiger was playing on a really tender soft spot. How could he dare do such a thing? No, wait. Terry,of course, had no idea about Harrison. God, where were these mixed feelings about that tiger coming from? As Jeremy followed Terry up the tall flight of stairs behind the door, it seemed like his mind was going to rip in two: why not take a chance on him; no, not again you know what happens, you've been through this already. And yet his feet climbed on.
"Have you ever been up into one of these?" Terry said. Jeremy followed behind him as the tiger walked them both into what looked like the projector room of the theatre where the rave was happening. Jeremy took his eyes off of Terry's ass long enough to notice that the only light in the room came from one of the laser decorations flashing through the holes in the wall. As the light lit the room for a second or two Jeremy could see a long sofa along the back room. Jeremy scoffed to himself under his breath. So that was why Terry had brought him up here. Typical, Jeremy hadn't really expected much more.
"Jeremy?" Jeremy's eyes swiveled back up to the tigers as he finally remembered that Terry had asked him a question.
"Oh, uh-no. No I haven't. I'm usually just the one watching the movie."
"Heh, yeah, most people are. I used to work in this theatre before it closed down. It's not much for a college student, I know, but it at least paid the rent while my parents struggled to help pay off my tuition."
"Where did you go?"
"Groden University."
Whoa wait...so now this guy was not only a sexy bastard but also a genius? Only an eighth of applicants to that school had made it in last year. The odds were absolutely piling up against Jeremy's inhibitions at this point.
"Wow, that's really impressive. I can't believe someone with your smarts had to work in a dump like this."
"Actually, I really liked working here. I got free movies and free food from concessions. I think that's how I put on so much weight my sophomore year." Terry chuckled and slapped his stomach with his paw. Jeremy watched as the tiger's paw hit the fabric and sunk in another three or four inches before stopping on his abdomen. Terry was so obviously not fat that Jeremy couldn't tell whether the tiger had been skinnier in the past or if he was just trying to make another joke. Either way Jeremy couldn't think of anything to say and so just tried to stop the subject by chuckling and moving on. He moved over to the couch and flopped down, sending a giant cloud of stale dust into the air. Jeremy coughed and waved his paw in front of his muzzle.
"How long has this place been shut down?" Jeremy watched as Terry sat down on the sofa, causing more dust to fly, and Terry to cough himself.
"Well I was laid off about a year or so ago so it's probably been run down for at least five months." Jeremy made a 'blech' sound as he realized what he was sitting on and breathing in. That made Terry chuckle next to him; he loved it when Terry chuckled.
"What's the story behind this sofa?"Jeremy grappled for some kind of conversation to move things along. This whole thing was taking a really long time. He hoped that by bringing up the sofa he could get the tiger to ask if they wanted to have sex on it, thereby giving him a good reason to storm out of the room and avoid this whole encounter sooner rather than later. But to Jeremy's dismay, the tiger just shrugged and said:
"Not much of a story. Me and the guy I worked with, Paul, we snuck it up here one time when we got sick of the plastic fold up chairs our cheap-ass boss gave us. It's just kind of a sofa. Not much to it." Jeremy watched as Terry's eyes looked over and over the brown tattered sofa. It looked like him and Paul had hauled it out of a junk yard and had simply sprayed it down with a hose to get some of the stains out of it; and yet Terry seemed completely enthralled by the mere sight of it, as if the thing were made of gold. The tiger's paw traced the edges of the cushions and stopped on a spot just in the center of the second on the end.
This was it. Jeremy could tell that this thing was special to him. If any time was the perfect time for Terry to ask now would be it. Then Jeremy could stand up, slap Terry across the face, drag Nathan home from this shit hole and be thankful that he had dodged another bullet. Jeremy waited for Terry to turn around, to ask him to kiss him in hopes that it would lead to more; but the more Jeremy sat there, the more Terry just sat, lost in thought, staring at the sofa. He was going to have to take the initiative.
"Terry? Are you okay?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah... It's just a sofa." A couple more seconds of silence followed, Jeremy practically exploding from anticipation, before Terry finally spoke again.
"Anyway, do you want to go back downstairs and get a glass of water?"
Wait. What happened to the question that Terry was supposed to ask? Where was the, "kiss me now," or, "I want you so bad," or even, "fuck me."? This wasn't the way Jeremy had seen it playing out in his head. Now how was he going to slap Terry? How was he going to storm out in a huff and drag Nathan away from this shit hole? Where the hell was the dodging the bullet?
Jeremy gaped at Terry, his muzzle open part way like he'd just seen a nun turn into a rabbit and fly off.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that, Jeremy?"
"Aren't you going to ask me to sleep with you?" Terry's skin flushed bright red under his fur.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"Well, I mean you're not really very touchy feely-or horny for that matter-for someone who's on Ecstasy."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, please! You know, Ecstasy? The stuff everybody takes at these things?"
"I know what Ecstasy is, Jeremy. I mean what makes you think I'm on it?"
"Oh come on! I saw you down there," he jabbed his finger towards the holes in the far wall, "with everyone else. What else am I supposed to think? That you just like to be mobbed by a pack of people on drugs, all feeling you up and down because it's fun?"
"Jeremy, you were in there too, remember?" Jeremy was silent for a moment. Damn, he was right.
"Ok well at least I had a reason. I was getting water for my friend. What were you doing?"
"The exact same thing!" Terry stood up and moved in front of Jeremy, "God! All I was doing in there was trying to get Paul to drink before his brain fried, okay? I mean, the only reason I followed you out to the lobby was because I thought...well, I thought you were really cute and you just looked like a nice guy. It's always so boring coming to these things because all I can do is sit around and drink water for five hours while my friends are all getting high without me. So forgive me for maybe wanting to pass the time with a guy that I thought, just maybe, might enjoy my company too. If all you wanted from me was a quick fuck you could have just asked and I could have moved on to someone else who actually valued a good conversation. You didn't have to be a god damn ass about it!"
Terry turned and shoved his way through the door. Jeremy could hear him trudging down the stairs and a moment of louder music as the bottom door opened and then slammed shut.
What just happened? Wasn't it Jeremy who was supposed to be doing the yelling? Shouldn't it have been him who trudged down those stairs and dragged Nathan out of this shit hole? Jeremy was officially rid of Terry; hadn't he dodged the bullet like he had wanted to? Except Jeremy didn't really feel like he had dodged anything, he just felt like he had been a real asshole to a really nice guy.
Jeremy flipped the old wrinkled business card over and over again in his paws as he sat in his car. Nathan sat in the passenger seat next to him snoring with his tongue hanging out. In any other situation Jeremy would have laughed at this but right now all he could concentrate on was watching every single person walk out of the old theatre. He had to apologize to Terry. He would have done it earlier but after he had come down out of the projector room the tiger had been nowhere in sight. The only other thing he could think of was how bad he would feel if the tiger had left already. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Jeremy saw two forms getting into their car across the street. It was Terry and a kangaroo that he assumed was Paul.
Jeremy flung open the door of his car and started running in the direction of Terry's. A car honked and screeched to a stop as he darted out into traffic. Terry's engine started and began to roll forward before Jeremy finally caught up to it, banging on the trunk as hard as he could. The tiger lurched to a stop and rolled down his window.
"What the Hell do you want, Jeremy?" Terry glared at Jeremy as he stuck out his paw, business card protruding from it.
"What is it?" Terry looked at the card uneasily.
"Here, it's for you. Take it."
"I said, what is it?"
"Please...just take it." Terry stared at the business card and then back up at Jeremy. The tiger snapped the small piece of paper out of Jeremy's paw and drove off without another word.
Jeremy watched as Terry drove away and silently fretted that that would be the last time he ever saw him. Slowly he started to cross the street back over to his car as he thought about what he had written on the back of the old car dealership business card:
I'm sorry I'm such an ass.
Pleasecall me-
555-2857
What have I done? What have I done? The only thing that could run through Jeremy's mind were the four words that he could only ask himself and that he would never be able to answer.
Jeremy sat in his car and stared at the steering wheel. He knew he had to go to work that day but he just couldn't get his fingers to turn the key. He just couldn't get himself to move. He had fucked up. Plain and simple. The only worse part was that he didn't realize how much he had enjoyed the tiger's company until he'd stormed off and left Jeremy alone without it. He'd fucked up.
Without his mind's permission his fingers turned the key in the ignition making the engine rev to life. Without his conscious's approval he backed out and drove down the road. The highway was only two miles away and then the exit ramp to his office was right there. Jeremy drove past his exit and on down the highway. He didn't know where he was going. He just knew it was away for a while. At least he knew that for sure once he'd gotten on the interstate. And then there wasn't another doubt in his mind once he got onto a highway in a different state. And when he drove off the highway and onto the back roads of a town he'd never been in, it was absolute. He'd better call Nathan and tell him that he was going to be away for a while but his paw wouldn't reach for his phone.
Jeremy pulled over next to a lake in the middle of nowhere and sat on a large boulder on the shoreline. He wasn't sure why he was there. He wasn't sure why he'd driven out of the state. There wasn't a point, his problems had followed him. God he wished Harrison was here right now. If he were here right now instead of half way across the world he would probably have his arm around him, would probably be stroking his shoulder gently with his paw as he let him nuzzle deep into his neck. He could almost feel the black panther's soft fur. He could almost smell him in the air. He could imagine his voice saying exactly what he needed to hear.
He remembered the way he would use his arms too much when he talked and the way he could always make him laugh. He remembered him cooking for him-giant spreads of food sometimes-and when he would ask what the occasion was, he would just laugh and say that there wasn't an occasion, that he just felt like making him smile. Unfortunately, he also remembered the news: that Harrison's firm was going to be collaborating with a corporation and they would be snatching up a cheap piece of real-estate in the UK. Harrison had explained that he either had to move or lose his job; he told him that if he moved he would be getting double his salary and better benefits. Harrison told him that he was going to start looking in the newspaper ads for another job; he didn't want to leave him behind. But it was the opportunity of a lifetime and Jeremy loved him too much. It had been hard, there had been a lot of fights, but he had eventually convinced Harrison to go without him and ever since then he never failed to think of him every day. And even though he knew he had made the right decision by making him go, he just wished he could kiss him one more time.
Terry had reminded him so much of Harrison. When they had been talking at the rave, it sometimes felt like he were talking with him again. When he would turn his head away from Terry, he had sometimes expected to see the panther's sweet face looking back at him. And in a way he did. It was just covered up a little with some orange stripes.
Jeremy sighed as the sun started to set on the lake in front of him. The colors reminded him of when he and Harrison would fall asleep in the setting sun laying in a hammock together. The thought comforted him and let him get to his feet and move to his car. It was past midnight by the time he pulled back up to his apartment. The light was still on-of course. Jeremy could hear Nathan watching TV on the other side of the door and by the time he had opened it, walked in, and shut it behind him, his back was already against it.
"Where in the bloody Hell have you been?!" Jeremy just looked at Nathan with a dazed look, rubbing the back of his head. Nathan had pushed him against the door so hard he was worried he might be bleeding.
"Well?" The sharp look in Nathan's eyes slowly started to dissolve away and was replaced with an almost motherly looking worry. He pulled Jeremy away from the wood of the door and into his arms, squeezing him seemingly as hard as he could.
"Would you make up your mind, Nathan? Kill me or don't."
"I've been so worried. Where have you been?"
"Lake...something or another. I don't know I couldn't really read the sign."
"Well, where was the lake?"
"I don't know, out of state somewhere."
"You drove out of the state?"
"Yeah, I...had something I needed to think about."
There was a pause between them, "Was it about Harrison leaving again?" Jeremy shifted his eyes down to his feet. There wasn't a point in telling him the truth.
"...yes."
Jeremy sat on the front porch of his apartment slowly tending to the cigarette between his lips. With one last drag he finished it off and rubbed it into the ashes of five others. It had been five days since the incident at the old theatre and he still felt terrible about it. Day after day he had expected the person on the other end of the line to be Terry but it never was. His mother, telemarketers, the pizza guy asking for better directions, but it was never Terry. He worried that he wasn't going to call him after all and every day that passed he thought less and less that he would finally call.
Nathan walked out onto the porch and stood beside Jeremy. Pulling out his own pack of cigarettes, he lit one up and took a long drag. Exhaling, he stuck the pack back into his pocket along with his lighter and sat down in the porch chair next to Jeremy.
"So whose car were you chasing last Saturday at the rave?" Jeremy looked at him with a bit of surprise.
"You remember that? I thought you were asleep. You were snoring like a wood chipper."
"Yeah I know. I think the car honking at you woke me up."
"Yeah I suppose... what did you see?"
"Well, all I remember is you chasing after that little car, and then it driving away all of a sudden like whoever was in there was really mad."
"Heh, you're not too far off with that." Jeremy's ears twitched as the phone started ringing inside their apartment. He looked at his watch and sighed. 9:04, it was almost definitely his mother. She always liked to call him around this time for a reason that he really couldn't quite fathom. He generally disdained his mother's calls-they had long ago ran out of things to talk about-but tonight he was too apathetic to mind some idle jabber. Walking up to the kitchen counter he grabbed the cordless receiver.
"Hey mom, how's dad?"
"Hey Jeremy."
For a time there was nothing but silence between the two. On Jeremy's end it was from shear surprise that Terry was finally calling him; he couldn't say what it was for Terry. Thankfully, he finally spoke up before Jeremy had to.
"So, um...what would you say if I told you to meet me at the old theatre again?" Jeremy was genuinely surprised at this point. Was he actually asking to see him? After all that he'd done? All Jeremy had expected to happen, if Terry had called him, was to work it out over the phone and leave each other to their respective business on neutral ground, but nothing like this.
"Er, sure. When?"
"How about right now?" Jeremy did a double take at the phone.
"Now?"
"Yeah, I mean if you're not busy or anything."
Jeremy shook his head even though he knew Terry couldn't see it, "N-no, right now's fine. I'll be right over." They both said their goodbyes and Jeremy grabbed his keys, striding out the front door.
"It was a boy wasn't it?" Jeremy stopped in his tracks.
"What...how did you know?" Nathan paused and looked at Jeremy.
"Are you kidding? I haven't seen you walk that fast out of the apartment since you were dating Harrison."
"How do you know my mom's not in the hospital or something?"
Nathan shook his head and chuckled, "because you're smiling that idiotic smile you get on your muzzle whenever you are completely enthralled by someone.."
Jeremy grinned at Nathan and turned around to walk down the single flight of stairs down to the parking lot.
"You know, I can actually appreciate that smile. I don't see why you don't just date me." Nathan called after Jeremy.
"It's because you're too good for me, you know that Nathan. I could never live up to your expectations." Nathan just flipped him the bird as they both laughed and Jeremy started in the direction of the theatre.
Jeremy sat in his car in front of the old theater. This was familiar ground. Why was he being such a coward? He had already told Terry that he was going to be there, he couldn't pull out now. If he did, any opportunity for them to be together would be gone. On the other hand he was meeting a guy that he had recently hurt in an old abandoned theatre. Jeremy started wondering if it wasn't the better idea to just drive away and never deal with the tiger again. And yet, before he knew it, his legs were already taking him around to the back entrance-just like the note on the giant glass doors had told him to. And as he thought of how it would feel to make up with Terry, he walked through the theatre and followed the notes on the concessions stand and doors. Before long Jeremy was thinking of not only apologizing with words, but apologizing with a kiss. And as he thought of letting that kiss last longer and longer, he walked through the door with the sign that said "employees only" and up the flight of stairs.
Jeremy stood at the top of the diagonal hallway with his paw on the door. What was going to happen from here? It had been five days since he'd heard from Terry; he could have organized anything in that amount of time. He couldn't even imagine what was across from the inch slab of wood, but Jeremy was certain of one thing: Terry was either going to show that he had forgiven him, or he was going to enact some sort of revenge on him. If it were the latter, Jeremy was sure, he absolutely deserved it-though he was hoping for the first.
A curious smell wafted from under the door that made Jeremy's nose twitch. He could tell it was food but it honestly didn't really clear up the question of what was happening. With a sigh and a deep breath drawn in, Jeremy twisted the handle to the door and walked in. Jeremy stood still in shock and awe at the sight in front of him.
"Hi Jeremy." Terry waved to him to come closer as he stood there with a bit of a goofy smile on his face. Jeremy could tell the tiger was just as nervous as he was. And good God he was so cute standing there. He was no longer wearing the baggy sweatshirt he had been when they had met. Instead he wore a white t shirt and strait cut pants that showed off his very collegiate body. It still surprised Jeremy not to see the typical body building physique on the tiger. Instead Terry was slim and had a long torso. Jeremy adjusted his sign of pleasure in his pants as he walked closer to the table. Terry came around and pulled out his seat for him before walking around to the opposite side of the table and sitting himself.
Jeremy couldn't believe that Terry had done all this. A spread of food and two bottles of wine sat on the table in front of them both; a few candles burning as the center piece and the old wall fixtures with some soft glowing bulbs were the only source of light giving the room a warm ambiance.
Why was he doing this for him? It was nice, of course, but he felt like he didn't really deserve something like this. They hadn't really gotten off to the best start. But honestly, he'd never wanted to kiss him before compared to how much he did now. The elation he felt was better than anything. In fact, it reminded him of the kind of thing Harrison would do. Actually, it was exactly what he would have done.
"Well, what do you think?" Terry said picking up the bottle of wine and filling Jeremy's glass. It took a moment for Jeremy to come out of his trance but eventually he spoke.
"It's...It's one of the sweetest things anyone's ever done. Why?"
"Why what?"
"Well, why are you doing this? I mean we...well, I didn't really get us off on the right start." Jeremy said. Terry just looked at him for a moment and his head cocked to the side.
"I don't know." That answer surprised Jeremy. Terry continued, "I mean, you did accuse me of being high, try and procure sex from me not an hour after we met, and insult me to my face until I just couldn't stand to talk to you anymore." Jeremy's face and ears fell; his tail wrapped around the leg of the chair as he wrung his hands in his lap.
Still Terry continued, "oh and let's not forget the shallowness... and the fact that you trusted me... and the half-hour of meaningful conversation-how dare you-and listening to me, and treating me like a person. Oh God, and the apology note on the back of the business card? Yeah, you obviously don't deserve any of this."
Jeremy looked up and gave Terry a bit of a half smile. He couldn't help it. He knew he'd done all those terrible things to him but he was just glad that Terry had noticed the good as well. "I guess you're right Terry. I really shouldn't be sitting here right now."
"No you shouldn't," Terry smiled at him, "so it's a good thing I'm a forgiving person. I don't know, I guess I just thought you were a really nice guy up until our little spat. I figured that you might deserve a second chance...maybe. So don't mess it up this time, okay?"
Jeremy smiled back at Terry, "alright, I won't." Terry reached over and placed his paw on top of his making a nervous and yet excited shiver run up his tail and spine. The tiger squeezed his paw and drew it back to pick up his fork and knife. Jeremy followed suit and they both started into the dinner.
The inside of Terry's apartment was dark as they both strode hand-in-hand up the cement walk and to the front door lit by one dirty light bulb. The outside of the apartment looked as if it had been surrounded by a cloud of smog for years and the pollution had sunken into the very plastic siding. To say the least, it didn't really look like the best place to live provided you weren't a drug dealer. Jeremy looked around cautiously before taking Terry's paw in his own and looking deep into his eyes. God, they were gorgeous.
"You know, it's been a long time since anyone has ever done anything like this for me. I really can't think of any way to thank you." Jeremy's thumb softly traced around the tip of the tiger's own.
"Thank me? Why do you need to thank me?"
"Well, for one, you forgave me. I mean, before tonight I really believed there weren't any more decent people left in the world. And now I-well, I guess I do."
"Really? Are you really going for that?"
"Heh, going for what?"
"Well it kinda seems like you're determined to make this moment sound like a penny romance novel."
Jeremy scoffed and gave the tiger a light push on the arm. Was this for real? This guy standing in front of him, he seemed absolutely perfect. They way he talked, the way he walked, the way he could make him blush under his fur. Not to mention ever since he had been mated to Harrison, no one had had that certain thing that Jeremy just couldn't explain. That kind of umph when they kissed or the feeling of electricity in the ends of his fingers when they held paws or...well, it was impossible to describe; Jeremy just knew it when he felt it. And despite how long it had been since he had experienced it-all the while longing more and more to feel it-he knew he was feeling it now.
Terry replaced his paws in Jeremy's and looked into his eyes. With one swift moment Terry brought his muzzle up to Jeremy's, their lips meeting in the middle-and there it was; the umph.
"So what do we do now?" The tiger squeezed Jeremy's paws-and right on queue; the electricity.
"Well, I know how much gas prices are going up, and I'm sure that you're really tired from a long day. Oh, and also just because I want you to, why don't you come inside and we can, uh, have a conversation or something."
"Heh heh, well, aren't we just right to the point?" Jeremy could see the tiger blush slightly under his fur and he chuckled at the notion that he might not be the only one that was nervous, "yeah, I guess I'll come in for a while. Like you said gas is getting up there." Terry gave Jeremy a push away and in an equally playful moment unlocked the door and pulled him inside by his wrist.
In a moment their muzzles were once again entwined in a passionate connection that was only interrupted by each of their shirts, one after the other, being pulled off and tossed aside in a heap. Their paws struggled only momentarily with the only thing separating their jeans and the floor but once the buttons and zippers had been overcome, they found themselves closer than they had ever been; now only a thin layer of fabric deterred and contained what they both wanted desperately. An instant later they were on the bed, that final layer removed and thrown to the side ending in misshapen shapes on the ground.
At first, time had seemed to speed by faster and faster as each individual moment passed-along with each article of clothing-but now that they were both in their most vulnerable states in their most intimate position, every second passed slowly and sensually. A gentle grind of Jeremy's groin into the tiger's own elicited a deep purring growl from him. The two's tongues danced in each other's muzzles as their paws slid up and down the other's body, feeling every contour, every muscle, every bone. Their members slowly grew in between them as every movement of their bodies triggered a shock of pleasure deep into their beings.
The attention of Jeremy's muzzle slowly shifted down to Terry's neck. His paw cupped the tiger's cheek as if he didn't want him to get away-though the thought of escape hadn't even begun to cross Terry's mind. Jeremy shifted his entire body down the length of Terry's lithe body, kissing every square inch on the way down and his paws exploring already traversed territory. His lips met gently with Terry's collar bone and chest and nipple, slowly-almost painfully slowly-making his way down to Terry's member.
Instantly a grunt of immense pleasure erupted from the tiger as Jeremy finally met his mark and first with long firm strokes of his tongue eventually took the whole tiger in his muzzle, pressing with his lips and applying the slightest amount of suction. Jeremy circled his wet tongue on the inside of Terry's foreskin making him squirm in delight. Terry's claws dug into the sheets as Jeremy's maw bounced up and down, slowly raising the heat in the tiger's groin. After a time Jeremy brought himself off of Terry, a string of precum following him up to kiss Terry deeply once again. A whisper into Jeremy's ear directed him to the nightstand drawer. Jeremy reached in and pulled out a small bottle, applying its contents to his own ignored manhood.
Jeremy looked deeply into Terry's eyes as he positioned himself behind him. Terry reached up and put his paw to Jeremy's cheek. Once again they kissed before Terry nodded to Jeremy letting him know that he was ready. In one fluid, yet seemingly slowed, motion, Jeremy sunk himself into Terry until their groins once again touched. Pricks of pleasure shot up Jeremy's spine as he held his position inside the tiger. Terry kissing his neck gently prompted him on and Jeremy didn't argue. As Jeremy began to slowly plunge in and out of the tiger in front of him, the springs underneath them struggled to support both male's weight but still held true for the time being. Both Terry and Jeremy couldn't help but let their paws wander over each other, Jeremy's settled on the back of Terry's head and the small of his back. Meanwhile, Terry's paws decided to wander to his own muzzle and then down to Jeremy's tail hole slipping in and making him yip with pleasure and prompting Jeremy to move into the tiger harder and faster. And with every grunted movement forward, Jeremy's thrusts grew even faster as they both slowly but surely built to their orgasms.
His weight down on top of the tiger, the feeling of his slightly more course dog fur against Terry's soft cat fur, the thrusts in and out and in and out that sent bolts of pleasure up his back and into his every extremity: the feeling had only been matched once before when he and Harrison had first found themselves in the same bed. And now that it was him and Terry that were wrapped around each other, never wanting to let go, he couldn't have been in a more intense state of bliss.
Gradually Jeremy's grunts of pleasure became soft growls into the nape of the tiger's neck as both he and Terry came closer and closer to their final moments of intimacy. Jeremy's thrusting had become as fast as they could both stand but neither of them complained. Jeremy gave Terry one last peck on the lips before he moved his muzzle further and further down Terry's abdomen once again, still keeping himself inside the tiger. Terry gave a loud moan of pleasure into the open air as Jeremy's muzzle slid down onto his member, his tongue once again exploring every inch of him both inside and outside of his foreskin. Jeremy's moist muzzle on one end and Jeremy's thick manhood in the other was too much. Without enough time for a proper warning Terry was sent soaring over the edge into Jeremy's muzzle. Jeremy didn't miss a beat, however, as that had been what he was aiming for in going down on the tiger.
Even after Terry had finished Jeremy continued to lap and suck at the softening manhood in his muzzle as he drove into Terry again and again. The taste of the tiger's gratification had added a whole new level of sensation to the pleasure that Jeremy was now feeling and it threatened to send him over the edge. Terry laid under Jeremy reveling in the continuing pleasure of the falling climax, slowed by Jeremy's continuous thrusts. Reluctantly Jeremy tore himself away from the tiger's member as his thrusts became slower but more powerful. He could feel the familiar heat in his groin suddenly turn from a warm glow to a fiery blaze.
"T-Terry, I'm..." but the tiger stopped his mouth with a final deep and passionate kiss as he all at once melted into him and tensed at the final release.
Again and again Jeremy thrust, and again and again he moaned into the tiger's muzzle as he rode the giant waves of ecstasy that racked his brain and beat his heart and shook his very being to the core. And slowly as the waves became smaller and smaller, as if he were getting closer to the shore of their own private paradise, he gently let his weight down onto the tiger, settling into him. Sweat beaded on their skin underneath their fur as they panted heavily. Their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly like a pot and its lid. Jeremy whined in the pleasure of the afterglow as he embraced the tiger as firmly as he could. It would have been impossible to get too close to him at this point.
After a time Jeremy slid himself off of Terry and lay next to him as the tiger also repositioned himself so that they both fit together on their sides under the thin sheets. Terry's legs intertwined with Jeremy's as they lay still slightly out of breath in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Terry's sleek cat tail wrapped around Jeremy's waist as he grabbed Jeremy's paw in his own. The tiger kissed each of Jeremy's fingers before using them to pull Jeremy's arm around him.
The tiger's deep purr reverberated into Jeremy's body as his breathing got deeper and slower. He could tell that Terry had fallen asleep. Jeremy smiled to himself and gave the tiger's ear one last light nibble before tucking Terry's head under his chin and closing his own eyes, his lover quietly, peacefully sleeping in his arms.
Well there it is! I hope you enjoyed it. By the way as a fun little test just to see if you actually read it or if you just skipped to the yiff scene, what color was the pill that Nathan gave to Jeremy? and what was the name of the lake that Jeremy went to? You don't have to answer them but I think it'll be fun.
Fun Fact: This will officially be my first piece of yiff every posted onto the internet. If I did well please let me know so that I can do it again (and don't be afraid to go into detail, even if you have to PM me) and if I didn't do so well tell me so I can change. That would be an enormous help and I thank you if you take the time to do so.
Please rate and comment honestly. I am a person who thrives on opinion and improvement and your honest critiques will help me in this endevour.
Cheers,
Serj Takayama