Million Dollar Rory
#29 of Hockey Hunk Season 2
Tuesday
Hehhey, welcome to The Hockey Hunk -slightly delayed or not!
The plot thickens, and our lion is as busy as ever...but otherwise, it wouldn't be a soap opera!
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Have a fun read y'all!
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"I can still recaaaaallll our laaast summmeeer I still see it aaaalll I seeeeeeee waaalks along the Seine laughing in the rain our last summer memories that remain...!!!"
"It'll be 34.95, ma'am," I tried to keep my face straight as I punched in the last products into the cash register and called up the grand total.
She wasn't listening to me, not a chance. The cougar woman's eyes and ears were wholly fixed upon the black menace standing behind the cash register next to me. Alex had the paw-held barcode reader held up to his muzzle and he was pretending that it was a microphone, while he gave a jarring performance of off-key Abba.
"Oh that's so wonderful!" the middle-aged cougar clapped her gloved paws together and let her tail flick cheerfully while she paid all too much attention to the Lab.
"34.95, ma'am," I repeated, a bit louder than before, trying to keep my lips steady so that my teeth wouldn't' show. My tail was already tucked around a leg.
Alex put his makeshift mic down to the counter and gave the cougar a theatrical bow.
"Thank you, thank you!" the smirking doggie beamed at the woman.
"Ohh I do love Mamma Mia, it's so romantic!" the cougar purred in a high-pitched voice, her face alit with joy.
"Excuse me ma'am..."
"Oh it's so much fun isn't it?" Alex cut in again. "And yesterday I sang along the whole soundtrack in my karaokespinning class, it was just fantastic fun!"
The cougar's ears flicked curiously.
"Karaokespinning?"
Alex's whip-like tail slapped my knee as he got even more excited about the prospect of converting yet another fur to his wicked ways.
"Oh yes, it combines the joy of the song with the heat of the exercise and makes it double effective as cardio!"
"Oh, my indeed!" the cougar fumbled with her pawbag, curious eyes still upon the Lab behind the counter.
I cleared my throat loudly.
"Excuse me, ma'am, it will be 34.95, "I spoke firmly. "Would you like to pay with cash or your credit card?"
Her beady eyes snapped upon me, rudely, for her I'm sure, torn away from the charming, fit, nice-smelling, attentive, smiling canine standing next to me, now forced to look at me...yeah.
"Yes?" the cougar spoke.
"Your purchase costs 34.95," I spoke, my thumb tapping the key of the till.
The cougar's eyes were blank for a couple of extra seconds, before she gave a quick nod and opened her bag.
"Of course."
I spent the time she took fumbling with her money to snap a plastic carrier bag from under the service counter and stuff the Adalmina Woolsworth novels into it. I lifted the bulging bag onto the counter and then received a credit card, which I quickly swiped and then handed back, along with the receipt.
"Thank you for visiting the Albrecht Brothers, hopefully you'll come again," I put up my happyhappy smile and appropriate ear flicks which the cougar probably didn't really see, for she was all too busy folding the receipt.
"We also serve you at the Stepford Center, so whenever you are going to do some heavy duty shopping, please pop by!" Alex added his own share, much to my chagrin.
The cougar's eyes lingered on Alex for a few more moments before she uttered a polite "goodday" and then she was off, tail swaying and all that. The Lab's smile did not falter, not even when, once she was gone, he grabbed the side of his head and tilted it to both sides in quick succession, accompanied by loud, ear-flick-rising pops. Then he pushed his paws high up above his head and stretched, his tail wagging and missing my legs only by an inch.
"Ahhhhhh that workout did so much good!"
"Still sore from yesterday?" I suggested, giving him a sideways glance and not giving him the satisfying of getting my stare, no matter how well he filled out his shirt or his pants.
Alex chuckled, a ringing sound you wouldn't expect from a dog of his stature.
"Oh, silly, of course not, from this morning!" the Lab smirked. "Did a quick set before work. Coming to work here actually leaves me extra time for a few more reps, since it only takes 15 minutes to get here, when it takes a half an hour to get to the Stepford Center."
"How convenient," I mused.
"Oh yes," Alex's pawfingers tapped the glass surface of the counter in an idle rhythm that nonetheless made my ears flick in rhythm to it.
Damn.
It felt like the day had gone on for hours, even though it wasn't even twelve yet. I did suspect that spending time with Alex caused every hour to feel like two, or maybe four normal hours spent without Alex. Perhaps his boundless energy caused me to feel like a sloth, a slow-moving beast in comparison to the bouncy Lab, and that also caused the illusion of the time also going into bullet time. The paws of the clock barely moved, it seemed, and I found myself glancing at it way too often than I usually did...hoping for the minutes to pass.
Bah, I thought as I uncoiled my tail and let it make a happy little number seven and a number nine behind me before it flopped comfortably between my footpaws and played possum. I cracked my knuckles and puffed out my chest and stood tall and with my back straight. I didn't want to look puny compared to the muscled doggie standing next to me and radiating energy at the rate of a small collapsing star. I was a tall, nice-looking lion with a thick mane and a nice smile, I could stand up to him, even if I didn't give impromptu lounge singer performances nor exercise tips.
Alex was a minor complaint, anyway. My life was going great at the moment, I thought. I had a job, I didn't have major drama going, and I had a full fridge. Peter was doing fine with his leg, as he had told me on the phone last night when I checked up on him, and he was not dwelling in the darker reaches of his mind, which was something I always feared he might end up doing. I had managed to think a few ideas about what to do with Mason and his eager man-date to come on Thursday, and I hoped that what I had chosen would be innocent enough for an all-male outing of the sort that the frat wolf was probably expecting out of his straight co-worker Rory, with the purpose of getting dating tips. A bit strange, maybe, but I was gonna do my best with what I had been given. That was another less thing to worry about. Then there was also the knowledge that this afternoon, I was going to have another chat with the tiger, the originator of the chocolates that had puzzled me so much over the weekend, and that would probably be a nice change of the pace as well, considering that it meant getting out of my sinkhole of an apartment and actually doing something besides working or jerking off. The Mist-fellow probably needed the off-time, anyway, so that he could talk with someone who wasn't 12 years old, or a Ms. Lopez.
And then there was V-I-C-T-O-R...
Oh yes...Victor Holden, who had finally managed to shove Cobb out of his bedroom, lock the door, and we could actually talk for ten minutes on the phone, before Cobb was caught eavesdropping for the fifth time, and we had to switch over to Facebook. It might have lost the aspect of Victor's nice rumbling voice, but he was still funny, and time seemed to fly, even with Cobb demanding that Victor come to watch Frasier with him. Oh well...that might have been the end to our virtual evening together, but I knew that in only a few days Cobb would be back home and Victor would be free to do exactly what he wanted...and if that involved receiving anal penetration from a pent-up lion...
Damn...Rory Jr. was doing the thinking again.
I know I could have blamed the fact that I hadn't jerked off last night, or even the morning, or the fact that Victor's scent could be sold as a perfume called Eau de Sex, and that I had a very convenient pillow that still retained that very same scent after Victor's visit...
It wasn't just the sex, anyway. Victor was fun to hang around with, we could talk about this and that and there'd be little smiles on my lips to his clumsy little jokes, and I was sure that he was smiling too, in his own part, having a good time with me...at least I hoped he did. I had put an extraordinary lot of effort into finding him again, dwelled and thought and wondered about the Dobie, thus, to not to do anything...to not hope anything, that'd be a complete bust. I wanted to see where this was going, and I hoped that the next weekend would be a step in whatever direction this would lead. Just maybe.
At least it was something fun to think about while dodging Alex for as much as I could, though being tied to my cash register while Alex manned the next one really didn't leave me much breathing space behind the counter. Alex had sprayed himself with an extra dose of deodorant, it seemed to me, and the lingering vapor was coming off him in eye-watering quantities. De-odorant...anti stink spray...and it stank!
It was only half as annoying as him stealing the customers, though, but I guess I could live with that for the day. Marge was coming back tomorrow, after all, or so we heard that she would, and I really didn't want to even think about the prospect of having Alex here for longer. Hopefully what Marge had was just a false alarm, and that she would not have any need to be off-work for any extra days. It felt weird without Marge to begin with, Alex got onto my nerves in a wholly different way, and I almost missed Marge's constant flirting and nuisance-making.
Well, not just almost, I really did miss her, and was worried about her, and hoped that everything would be fine, for everyone's sake.
"Welcome to the Albrecht Brothers, how may we help you today?"
Alex had been faster than me once again, and this time I didn't even get to open my muzzle before the Lab was at it, greeting and charming the latest customer, a wolf girl with a shoulder-slung bag and a plaid beret over her headfurs. She gave the dude duo behind the counter a look and then approached...Alex...her tail wagging gracefully.
"Hello."
"Hello!" Alex's dangerous tail wagged all too cheerfully. "How can I help you?"
"I would like to see what you have about archaebacteria," the girl stated.
I found extraordinary pleasure from the reduced rate of wagging I noticed in Alex's tail. She obviously had a lot of brain...and maybe brain wasn't Alex's thing.
"Of course...why don't we go and see what we have in the Mad Scientist department?" the Lab's smile did not falter as he removed himself from behind the counter and joined the wolf in the search for the secrets of life. I was left behind the counter on my own for now, but that was hardly something to complain about. It wasn't very busy at the moment, and I wouldn't be swamped, and it also meant a few extra minutes of peaceful do-nothing, unless someone had the bizarre idea of buying books, but that was an acceptable risk.
I only really had a minute just to myself before a pair of sharp eyes sought mine, accompanied by a careful ear flick and a little smile. I smiled back.
"Hi, Mason, what's up?"
The frat wolf, tail swaying behind him as he walked, came over to the staff side of the counter and stood by the unmanned cash register, taking over from Alex who had disappeared to the back of the shop with the biology-enthusiastic wolf girl. Now I got the boy wolf looking at me curiously, though his expression was the same slightly dreamy one that was often there, especially when he had his MP3 plugs in. I didn't see during my quick glance to check for them, so I guess it just was the standard Mason face I got.
"Hi, Rory," the wolf replied. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, splendidly," I rubbed the back of my neck, both to stretch out a little and because it felt good, and since it was a nice, casual gesture to give when being asked how I was doing. "Nothing to complain about."
"That's great," Mason said, giving me a look.
My tail flicked a little upon me trying to project an especially cheerful demeanor for the wolf's benefit, as I smiled for him.
"Yeah, it's going nicely. How about you?"
Mason shrugged.
"Still getting a lot of homework, even with the finals coming up."
"Those are always the funniest part of the year," I chuckled a little.
"Yeah," Mason rumbled. "A lot of stuff to read, is all. But doesn't mean I won't have time for Thursday, don't worry about that, Rory."
I felt an odd twinge in my belly over the mention of the top secret man-date, and almost looked over my shoulder to make sure that Alex hadn't come back yet. It's not like it was such a sneaky thing to do, the date, but still...damn...yes. He would not shut up about it, I was sure of that.
"Well as long as it won't interfere with your schedule."
"Of course not!" Mason enthused. "I've been looking forward to it ever since you said you would do it!"
His tail swished around and the boyish look of excitement on his face was really adorable, all things considered. He really wanted to go out with me, it seemed...something that made me feel nice about myself, even if it was just to hang out in a friendly way and show Mason a trick or two about having a nice, civilized time.
For a while there I almost felt...fatherly about it - no matter how old that would make me feel, ewww, but still, he really looked up to me on this, and I really would have to try to make something good out of it, and not give the wolf any traumas that might hurt him later on when he'd do this for real and really try to charm someone with his awesome dating skills.
I decided to smile broadly and give his calf a little tail-bat, for the fun of it, and conveniently hidden behind the counter as well.
"Well, that's wonderful!" I smiled. "I'd hate for it to be a chore."
"Of course not," Mason's ears flicked. "It's going to be awesome, I know it will, because you've thought it all out, haven't you?"
Damn...had I thought about it enough? I did have a few ideas alright, but whether it'd be enough to please the eager wolf, I wasn't too sure about that. I would hate to disappoint him on his first man-date...
"Well, well-planned is half-done, but there always has to be room for...uh...spontaneous things to happen, too!" I flicked a cheeky ear at him and even gave a quick wink, to make sure that Mason understood that I wasn't being very serious.
"Sure," the wolf replied, sounding eager.
"So, you get yourself there in time and we'll see what happens, alright?" I smiled again, hoping that it would be enough assurance for now. "I want you to relax, that's the point of it all, you know."
"Sure do", Mason smiled, his tail wagging more energetically again.
"Heheh," I replied. "Do you have anything fun planned for today, though? Maybe a favorite TV show to watch?"
Introducing Mr. Lame again, ladies and gentlemen!
"I have to meet Haakon at the university around two, we're gonna study at the library," the wolf smiled. "Thought it'd be the most peaceful place."
Oh my God...
I was sure that Mason might have a small heart attack from running into his all time favorite author in his very own university library, but should he do that while I was there having my secret encounter with him...how could I pull that off? There'd be questions and the dinner at the Lefties might be mentioned, and then Mason would make more questions and then, if things went for the worst, there might be a repeat of what happened between me, Victor and Haakon, and I didn't want that to happen ever again! Shit, shit, shit...
Maybe they'd leave before it was my time to be there, maybe I was being hysterical for no reason at all, surely I was... they were frat boys, anyway, I was pretty sure they wouldn't have it in them to study all the way until five thirty...they'd be bound to clear up the place by then, leaving me to go on my own merry way.
Well...
"Heheh, hope you'll have some time to relax in the evening, too," I suggested, hoping against hope that they had plans to be somewhere around, say five pm, that wasn't the university library.
Mason rubbed his chin and snuffled as he thought about it.
"We might go and catch some dinner, yeah, that's probably what we'll do, and hang around a bit, heheh, don't know how long it's gonna take in the library."
"Heheh," I replied, a death mask-like smile on my face.
"That's about it, I think," Mason continued, "so much work to do that there isn't too much time for other stuff during the week."
"That's a shame," I nodded sympathetically.
Damn...if only they would have had the time...
"Well, a lot of fun times ahead on Thursday, this is gonna be great!" Mason grinned, just as I heard the eager chattering voice of Alex approach, behind me, causing my ears to flatten.
The wolf girl was giggling.
"Heheh," I grinned and winked again at Mason, just when claws rapped on the glass by me, and the stink that was Alex was upon me.
"Shop assistant Rory will serve you, miss."
"Ohh, thank you!" the wolf clattered.
"Please, call me Alex."
"Ahahahahaha, of course, Alex!"
Of course.
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There we go! Hopefully you enjoyed the read, and don't forget to tune in for the next chapter to see how our lion shall fare!
Thank you for reading, and a big cheerio to you all!