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Jasper was lost in his own jubilant thoughts. The cougar's long tail was looping and popping against the side of the sofa where he lay sprawled over its entire length, and his eyes were clasped firmly shut--lips frozen in a grin--as he imagined all of the things that may go down in an hour or so. Still, his nose crinkled as a sharp, stinging scent burned into his nostrils.

"The fuck," he hissed, eyes opening and watering as he gawked about and saw the smoke creeping out of the kitchen and into the living room. His fur stood on end as he leaped up cursing and spitting like a kitten, running to the oven...and the slab of salmon that was burnt beyond anything recognizable as edible. He just stared at it. Then he squealed, turning the oven off with a slap when the "meat" burst into flames. He quickly donned his oven mitts and pulled out the dish, smothering it with a lid.

Then the fire alarm went off.

"Bloody-bastard," he growled, snatching a wash cloth and waving it under the alarm to disperse the fumes setting it off. Once it stopped screeching he lugged the remnants of his romantic dinner out of the backdoor to the garbage. It hit the bottom of the plastic container with a stiff thunk, reminding Jasper of the time he'd hit a bird with his car. He couldn't help but stare in horror at the meal for two as if he was once again scraping blood and gore and feathers off of his windshield. What was he going to do now? Despairingly, he put the lid back on the can and rushed inside scrounging through his thoughts for something to replace the fish with.

He'd spent fifteen dollars on that salmon. He'd bought it fresh that morning from the dock-market. The salty, Calico vendor said it was the most splendid fish he'd had in months. Whether or not that was true, Jasper wasn't sure--but Riley would have been worth the splurge.

The maned wolf--Jasper's maned wolf--was coming home.

And he loved salmon. But now there was no salmon.

Throwing open the fridge door, Jasper's ears plummeted back at the sparse collection of foodstuffs within: a carton of egg whites, some cheese, a jug of milk, some spinach that was browning and curling at the edges of their leaves, a half-eaten bagel with blueberry cream cheese. Nothing--absolutely nothing--worth serving. It was embarrassing. The icebox was just as bad, with nothing but some freezer burnt fish sticks and trays of ice.

"Goddammit, Jasper," he half growled half whimpered to himself. "Why can't we go grocery shopping every week instead of every three?"

He'd have to start doing that again, he pondered. It'd be nice. He wondered if Riley's tastes had changed any. Hopefully not.

The fridge door clapped shut and he decided not to even bother rummaging through his cabinets. There wouldn't be anything in there either; nothing but dust. When Riley left Jasper didn't have anyone to cook for anymore, so he didn't find pleasure in doing it for just himself. His meals were mostly microwavable or from fast-food joints; it was just quick and convenient, but still not the healthiest of diets.

His ears drooped as he peered down at his stomach. Would Riley think he'd gotten fat? He pressed a paw against his middle, shrugging and deeming his belly just as flat as it had always been. His furnace-like metabolism hadn't failed him yet, it seemed, still burning off the flab. Riley--when they'd Skyped last--look just about the same as when he'd left, which Jasper was glad for. Not that he wouldn't still love his boyfriend if he'd sprouted a muffin top or gotten even lankier than he already was--or had been...still was. No matter how much the maned wolf may have changed, Jasper's affection for him wouldn't. To the cougar, his boyfriend was beautiful both inside and out...which--according to Jasper's girlfriends--was beyond true.

Riley was a rare individual. Jasper felt that he was lucky to find him. He hated to imagine how things may have turned out had he not bumped into the lanky, crimson-furred canine at that Thai food joint. Jasper smiled, still pacing around the kitchen, as he thought of the violet button-up hanging in their closet upstairs which he'd never been able to get the curry stain out of. Well, he'd honestly never tried to get it out. The brown blotch told a story...one which Jasper never wanted to forget. He'd even kept the menu from the place and stuck it to the fridge...

The fridge! The menu!

Jasper's ears shot skyward, his eyes widening, as he remembered the menu stuck to the front of the refrigerator. He padded quickly over and plucked it off; the magnet holding it on clacked to the floor and rolled beneath a cabinet. He scanned over the glossy piece of paper hungrily.

"Please oh please oh please..." Then he found it. "Yes!"

They delivered!

His stomach squirmed, though, as he shot a look toward the clock ticking away on the wall. Would there be enough time? But...he glanced at the menu again, his eyes pinching with glee and tail dancing against the back of his legs. "Delivered in thirty minutes or it's freeeeeee! Thank. You. God!"

This was too perfect. It really was. He was glad that he was a sentimental packrat; he'd even circled the dish Riley had gotten. The cougar's lips wriggled awkwardly as he read over the dish, recalling the nervousness in Riley's voice when he'd ordered, remembered that night that seemed so long ago. Then he fingered over the menu, found the number to the restaurant, and called. For some reason he worried they may have closed down--it had been about five years ago since the blind date--and he stood biting his lip as his cellphone dialed and dialed and dialed and...

Click. "BASIL THAI RESTAURANT. WHA'CHOU WANT!?"

Jasper gasped, recoiling from the phone and the very angry sounding individual on the other end. The person sounded familiar...not that he could forget a voice like that--feminine, yet violently loud and thick with an eastern accent. His and Riley's waitress had had a similar tone.

He quickly ordered, the lady shouting everything out in quick succession--to the cooks Jasper guessed--and then she took his address and bellowed "THIRTY MIN'AHTS OR IS FREE. THANK'YOO, HAVE GOOD AFTAH'NOON. DINE WIT'US AGAIN." Click.

"Oh," Jasper mouthed, laying his phone on the counter daintily. "Okey-dokey."

Then he grinned. He grinned so wide his face pinched and his whiskers poked him in the eyes.

With dinner taken care of, he hummed a bit to himself and glided back into the living room. The smoke had cleared; the smell of it had dissipated thanks to the vanilla scented candles he'd lit a few hours earlier. The house was clean--thoroughly clean. He'd even managed to clear the garage of junk so that, once again, Riley could shelter his car there. Jasper's motorcycle didn't take up much room anyway; he'd propped the V-rod close to the wall out of the way. Riley had never liked the Harley. He didn't like motorcycles in general anymore. To him, that bike was a two-wheeled death machine. The maned wolf wouldn't go near it, let alone imagine riding it, even though Jasper loved the idea of sitting behind his boyfriend and wrapping his arms around his waist. It was a romantic image to the cougar. The machine roaring and vibrating through their bodies pressed so close together...

But Jasper knew that wouldn't happen.

He sighed and fluffed up some of the couch pillows before straightening them. He fussed with some other insignificant things--dusting the TV screen, rearranging some magazines on the coffee table, setting two plates on the dinner table with forks and knives and glasses. Ten minutes and he'd run out of things to occupy his time. He started to feel antsy and nervous, like things were going to go wrong. But Riley was going to arrive soon. He knew everything would be great. It had to be great. He'd make sure it was.

Jasper glanced at the clock--half-past five. Riley had called at 4:00 and said he was coming through Columbia, maybe thirty or forty minutes away. The cougar hissed through his teeth as he realized how close the meal arriving and Riley arriving was going to come. How embarrassing would it be if there was a knock at the front door and Jasper opened it to his boyfriend standing befuddled behind a Thai food delivery person.

Then the cougar's fur hackled as--low and behold--there was a knock at the door.

His ears fluttered nervously as he raced across the living room and glanced through the peephole of the door. He knew it had to be Riley; fate always through him curveballs. But, instead of a tall, handsome, crimson-furred canine, there was a short, pudgy black bear with an armful of bags. Jasper hastily opened the door, and the bear put on a semi-genuine smile as he stepped back to give the cougar some space.

"Hi," the guy mumbled, glancing up at Jasper. "Mister, uhh..." He ruffled a receipt out from under a bag and squinted at it. Then he squinted at Jasper. "Mr. Lauren?"

"Lawrence, actually," Jasper said, grinning slightly. He could smell the spicy food through the plastic, and it made his mouth water.

"Oh," the bear said shrugging. "You ordered a Salmon Sweet and Sour? Chicken Masaman?"

"Yes sir!"

"$18.25, please."

The cougar whipped out a twenty and told the bear to keep the change. The round little guy nodded appreciatively and waddled back to his car idling in the driveway, stuffing his tips into his pocket.

Jasper waited for the car to vanish around the curb before he rushed inside with the food. The bags rustled, moisture from the warm containers sticking to the cougar's fingers as he pulled them free and sat them on the dinner table. He carefully spooned each dish out onto plates and arranged them as professionally as he could so that they looked pretty. Riley was going to have a cow! Why hadn't Jasper thought of doing this before? More or less recreating their first date in the comfort of their own home? The cougar's belly tingled pleasantly at the thought of his inner Casanova breaking free.

He sashayed about, smiling wide as he poured some Pinot Noir for Riley and a Sauvignon Blanc for himself. He sampled some of his chicken and even tried a piece of Riley's fish. Scrumptious. The curry burned and tingled pleasantly across his lips. He put on some jazz music--turning it up until the windows rattled--and took a quick swig from the bottle of his white wine, and then he nearly spat it across the dinner table as there was another faint knock at the door. He barely heard it. He glanced at the clock. It'd been only ten minutes since the food was delivered. Jasper sat the bottle of wine down, turned down the music, and tiptoed to the front door. His body was shaking as he looked through the peephole, his teeth bared in a monstrous smile. He even giggled. He giggled like a two year-old.

But there wasn't anyone there. His brow furrowed as he whipped open the door and stepped out onto the porch with nothing but cool air to greet him. There were no strong, warm arms to embrace him; no soft red fur to nuzzle and no goofy, grinning face to look up to and say "I missed you."

Jasper frowned. Then he scowled. His muzzle contorted into a silent snarl as he heard a rumbling and then a metallic clap from somewhere close by. His ears fell back as he stood stock-still, listening. But he heard nothing else. Ding-dong-ditch? Really? Well, knock-knock-ditch really, but still...

He growled, sighed, looked around from the porch in the hopes that someone would show themselves, but then went back inside feeling defeated.

He'd been so excited. Now he felt as if he'd been socked in the stomach. He'd gotten his hopes up. But, damn, he missed Riley.

There was a clink from the kitchen. Jasper stared wide-eyed toward the noise, his ears flicking. His heart started to pound.

"What the..."

He started to pad toward through the living room, but then there was a steady tump, tump, tump. There was a sniff. There was a tink. There was a new scent.

There was someone here.

Jasper's breath nearly caught in his throat. "H...hello?"

Tump, tump, tump.

A tall form filled the threshold to the dining room, pausing and peering at Jasper. It held a bottle of Pinot Noir in one paw and supported itself with a cane in the other. "Hallo, love," Riley purred--a strange and erotic sound when it came from a canine. His enormous ears were perked toward Jasper who hadn't made a sound upon seeing him. The maned wolf smiled cheekily, swirled the wine in the bottle, and then took a swig. He leaned heavily on his cane, swallowed and smacked his lips, and then he gazed toward the cougar frozen in shock. "Lovely year, Jazz," he said. And then he was crying. He wobbled forward and sat the bottle of wine on a side-table; it rocked precariously before settling. His cane swiveled unsurely in his grasp and in his haste.

Jasper gasped and flew to him, his own eyes clouded with tears. His paw gripped Riley's over the handle of his cane. "Don't fall." He wrapped his free arm around the big canine who fell to his knees and pulled the cat down with him, dropping his cane and embracing him fiercely. Jasper buried his face in the maned wolf's chest; he breathed in his scent; he let his ears fill up on the sounds of his boyfriend's heart beat and shaky breaths.

Riley nuzzled Jasper lovingly. His sharp nose combed through the cougar's hair, brushed against his cheek; he licked his mate and relished in the purrs rumbling from his chest. "I missed you, Jazz" he whimpered.

"I missed you, too, baby," the cougar muttered.

Riley shook from a wet sigh and tightened his arms around Jasper. "I'm so glad to be home. I missed you so much."

Jasper giggled through his tears. "You're home."

"I'm home."

"I made dinner," Jasper said.

Riley eased his grip and leaned back so he could peer into Jasper's warm, moist eyes. They sparkled gold. He'd missed those eyes--that glittering, treasure-like shade. "I know. It smells lovely."

"Are you hungry?" Jasper asked.

Riley just nodded. Then Jasper gasped as his boyfriend pulled him into a tender, blazing kiss. They breathed one another in, tasted each other's lips, and then broke apart panting. Riley's face scrunched up quirkily and he smacked his lips. "You taste good. Spicy."

Jasper chuckled, his tail winding around Riley's back and draping across his injured leg. "You like it?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll love what's waiting for you."

"I know I will," Riley said grinning. "I already do."

Jasper stood and helped the big canine to his feet. He held Riley's paw as he situated himself, and then they walked together toward the dining room. Jasper glanced toward the bottle of Pinot Noir on the side table, but he left it where it sat.

Riley's cane beat a gentle rhythm. The jazz music continued playing soft in the background.