Shadows
Quick flash fiction I wrote and thought I'd share to DEPRESS YOU ALL BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS. Enjoy!
The jackrabbit turned the key slowly, but the lock still slid back with a loud thunk. He flicked his long ears and winced, waiting. No sound came from inside the apartment. He took one breath, then another. Slowly, he eased the door open.
I met this big stallion. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a gold chain and had pride beads braided in his mane. He bought me a Cosmo and we talked about the election. He put his hand on my thigh and I let him.
He closed the door behind him, breathing in the scents of the tranquil apartment. Home. The electric clock buzzed quietly, muted traffic rumbled outside the closed window, and a short snore came from the bedroom. The jackrabbit dropped his keys gently on the table, ears perked as they clinked into the silence, and then walked to the refrigerator.
He leaned in closer. I smelled broccoli and vodka on his breath. He had a great smile and big, warm hands that curled around my leg. I could talk to him about a lot of stuff. Then he asked me to dance.
He drank down half the glass of water with the first gulp, held the cold glass in his paw as he walked to the window. The lights of the city smeared color across the curtains.
The lights of the club felt really bright. We danced fast at first, and then I got dizzy. I probably had a little too much to drink. I stumbled, and he caught me. He had big arms, and he nudged my ear and asked if I wanted to slow it down. I couldn't think. It wasn't really me. I said yes.
The water chilled his mouth and throat, going down. He turned to the silent TV and looked at his reflection. Shirt buttoned, hanging loose over his jeans. One finger trailed down the buttons, stopped at the belt buckle, checked the zipper below it. Rubbed there gently for a moment.
His thigh pressed into my crotch. I knew what was happening, but I was tired and a little drunk. Yeah, I got a little drunk. I wasn't really in control. I rubbed back because it felt good, and his arms around me felt good, and when he rubbed his crotch against my hip, it felt better than good.
The empty glass clinked on the counter. He'd put it in the dishwasher in the morning. He walked to the bathroom and closed the door before turning on the light. In the mirror, the fluorescent light shone harsh detail on his fur and whiskers. He rubbed his eyes, but still his eyelids sagged. He looked sleepy, only sleepy.
Click! The lock in the bathroom of the club. The lights stay off because that way I can shut off part of what happens. The smell of bleach, overwhelming the smell of him if I keep my nose turned away. He doesn't mind. He doesn't want to kiss my mouth.
In the bedroom, he stripped his clothes off slowly, the shirt shrugged over his shoulders and down his arms, the pants dropped to the floor and kicked free. He stared down at the bed, the tangle of blankets and the large, gently breathing shape of the lion. The golden mane spread across the pillow and his feline scent filled the room.
I could've taken him in my mouth. I could have held his length in my paw, drawn my fingers along it and felt him shudder. I could have pressed my body against him and felt his arms around me and I could have gotten his number and arranged to meet him again, another night. I might have done all those things, in that locked bathroom at the club you let me go to by myself.
He pulled the covers up to his chin and stared at the ceiling. Beside him, the lion snorted in his sleep and rolled half-over. "Hey," he murmured.
"Hey," the jackrabbit whispered back.
He waited, ears quivering, but the next sound from the lion was just a snore, the creak of bedsprings as the large form settled back into sleep.
He could still be down at the club, if he weren't afraid. He could still be there, and maybe that stallion would still be there, and maybe all those things might happen just like that, just like he'd been imagining. And would his boyfriend care? Would he even ask? No "how was the club," no "you're home later than I thought."
You turned over and smiled at me. "I missed you," you said, and you pressed your mouth to mine. I wrapped my arms around you, breathed in your scent, felt your need against me. We held each other and made love, like that, in the middle of the night, and then we fell asleep in each other's arms.
The jackrabbit closed his eyes.