Spotty Preferences

Story by WolfwithaDS on SoFurry

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This story contains content that may not be appropriate

for children under the age of 18. If you are not old

enough or are bothered by scenes of violence, rape, or

sexual acts between furry animals, please leave now.

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Foreword: Okay, time for my second story. If you're a fan of my first work and loved my style, this shouldn't disappoint you. This time I'm going to try and unlock a naughtier side of myself, but keep in mind that just like the first, this one shall remain free of harsh language. It's not that I don't deal with it on a regular basis, it's just a personal choice of mine not to include it within my own work. Enjoy!

Spotty Preferences

By: WolfwithaDS

I sighed as I looked myself over in the mirror. Why did I have to be so indecisive by nature? Why did everything have to be so complicated? And why is my fur being so adamant about sticking up this morning? I licked my left hand and ran it over my head in-between my ears, trying to tame a wild cowlick.

Maybe I should back up and start with what I am. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to figure out who I am, not that I'm even sure myself some days.

My name is Lucky. And don't for one second assume that I'm some white-with-black-spots dog morph.

Okay, yes, I am 100% bipedal dalmatian. It's just so stereotypical! My parents just absolutely had to give me the most simplistic, obvious name they could think of. Why couldn't I have some really cool name like other guys? Maybe when I'm older I'll see if I can do something about that.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right. I'm about 5'7" standing upright with a long, thin tail that's about two and a half feet in length. I'm covered in black spots, mostly circular in shape, ranging from 2 to 4 inches in diameter with a distinctive one surrounding my right eye. I've been told I have the softest, smoothest fur imaginable, and not by the guy who sells me my favorite shampoo. I love wearing the basic tee-shirt and shorts ensemble, my colors of preference being blue, blue, and more blue, in no particular order. I also enjoy long walks on the bea. . .oh, sorry, couldn't help myself.

"Where's my gel?" Yeah, I tend to speak to myself a lot. I searched through my various products of hygiene, seeking an answer to the unruly hairs atop my head. Aha! I found the gel and applied it to the rebellious patch of fur, taming it to my liking. Now satisfied, I came out. "Ready, Mom!" I called down the hall.

Yes, I know it sounds horrible. I'm 17, getting ready for my senior year of high school, and having to get my mother to drop me off at my friend's house because I don't yet have a car. Well, at least she makes it there a heck of a lot faster than I could without attracting the attention of the local police. Grown women never get pulled over for speeding unless it's serious, but young males? Oh we'd really get for even 7-8 mph over.

We made it to Ryan's house. Ryan has been my best friend since we met way back in the 1st grade. As I got out of the car, he came outside to greet me.

Well, this seems as good of a time as any to give you the physical rundown. Ryan is a zebra morph with a very interesting color pattern. You see, while most zebras have a bunch of stripes that go relatively horizontal starting from the chest, Ryan's stripes appear to be quite tilted. In fact, if you ever ran down them with your finger, you'll realize that it's actually one continuous stripe that keeps going around and around him. In fact, our furs were the reason we got together those many, many years ago. We always had this "stripes and spots" thing going on and we just went with it.

As for his shape, he was built very much like most other equines, but was much shorter in comparison. Having said that, he's still an inch, inch-and-a-half taller than I am. He's always enjoyed that, getting teased by his horsie brethren for being well below the species average. Still, he had a very awesome mane that he loved to shake around and very noticeable eyes. I don't know why I liked his eyes, as I couldn't decide on a definite color to describe them, but they just looked cool. Maybe he secretly wears colored contacts and changes them on me, but I think I would have caught on to that by now.

"Bye!" I turned around and waved my mother off. She knew as well as I did that Ryan's parents were gone for the weekend. He promised not to have a party or invite people over. However, being the best friend since forever had pretty much excluded me from the general reference of "people" as we were each considered part of the other's family. We really were that close.

"Haha, ready for some good, parent-free times?" Ryan asked. I knew we wouldn't be doing anything stupid or illegal. It was just that the prospect of not having any supervision was indeed exciting. It wasn't our first time, but it's not a very common occurrence. "Hey, we should download some porn."

I knew he was kidding, but shuddered at the thought. See, Ryan was gay. We figured it out about 3 years ago, during our freshman year. I wasn't really sure how Ryan came to such a conclusion, but I knew that he was quite certain of it and just had to tell someone. Being his best friend, I was naturally the first to know, even before his own parents. It wasn't that he ever came on to me in any way. No, Ryan has always had a confidence about himself that could easily be detected by his body language and voice. He had never been afraid of anything, although he wasn't reckless by any means.

No one ever seemed to mind Ryan being gay. There once was a day and age where that would have been socially suicidal, but in these times homophobics were few and far between. I guess society just stopped caring about stuff like that as more and more people came forth in realizing that they were different too.

In any case, the thought of pulling up images of guys going at with the intention of getting photographed in just the right places was sickening. It wasn't that I personally had anything against such acts, it just. . .bothered me in a sense that I really can't explain.

"Hello? Hellooooo???" Ryan waved his hand in front of my non-blinking eyes. "Earth to Lucky, come in Lucky!" Still not getting a response, he smacked the back of my head. "Yo, homedog, wake up!"

That got my attention, snapping me out of my trance. "Hey, what did I say about calling me 'homedog'? I'm spotted, not black, and this dog definitely doesn't stay home all the time."

"Yeah, yeah, let's get inside before you freeze up again. Curse the wrath of the gods for torturing us with this frigid eighty degree weather!"

I looked up at the sky. It was a perfect day, now that you mention it. Really, it was such a shame that we never really got into outdoor activities. I mean, come on, video games and such are majorly fun, but sometimes I would like to actually run around and stuff. You know, go practice throwing balls back and forth, having to chase them when we fail our catches. Or maybe we could find some sticks and spar with each other as though we were warriors wielding powerful swords. Go save some people from a burning building, even! Okay, I'm not willing to go diving into fire for anything. I really don't know why I always dreamed of it though. Maybe it's some deep-seated passion passed down in our heritage. I had always been a sucker for the hero stories, no matter how cheesy they got, or how much I'd grown past the intended age group. Again, I'm not going to risk my life or anything like that. I just don't have it in me. Although I could see myself becoming a sports hero if I only found something I was good at. . .

"No, seriously, do I have to pick you up and carry you inside? Come on!"

I managed not to avert my gaze from the sky. I knew he'd do it too. Unfortunately, the grin showing that I had registered what he said had plastered itself all over my face, throwing off my façade. I gave up and followed him in on my own two feet.

Ryan gathered some of his games from the storage bin they rarely actually inhabit and displayed them to me. "Any preference on which game I smash you in first? You know what I have and I'm up for any challenge you're willing to give me."

"I'm feeling aggressive, let's go with some fighting games. I want you to personally feel it when I kick your butt through the a couple walls, finally ending up at your final resting place until you hit the 'continue' button." He laughed and sorted out his good hand-to-hand combat favorites and we went at it for hours upon endless hours.

"Oooooh, my hands hurt now!" I no longer have the stamina to defeat you yet again! Mercy!" I cried in false submission, knowing very well that I won like 75% the matches of our now-ending marathon.

"Yeah, I see you've been practicing, but you still cannot compare with my fingers of steel! Slow as they might be, the will never wear down!" We both laughed as our fingers both ached. "Hey, before you go completely numb on me, how did you execute that one throw? I have never once seen somebody get grabbed out of the air by the crotch and put into such an awesome piledriver like that before! Heh, it would have had me aroused had it not killed me."

I thought for a second, the painfully grabbed the controller, not bothering to turn anything on. I always had trouble converting controller movement into words. I ran down the motions in my head, then slowly and deliberately executed them so Ryan could see. "Oh, I get it," he said. "Wait, is that down, left, right, up? Or is it down, right, left, up?"

"Neither, it's down, left, right, left, up," I replied.

"That's not what your digits are saying." I looked down and tried to do it again, realizing that I was failing to keep my directions consistent.

"Fine, we'll just look it up online. I'm sure the gaming site is right next to the porn on your bookmarked list." Hey, he mentioned it first. Poking fun at him for it was fair game.

"Everything is next to it." His words were followed immediately by more laughter. This is why parents must leave from time to time. Sure, we need them to survive for a while, but it's mandatory that they let us kids have a few days alone sometime before they kick us out.

As our antics died down, the images that had overtaken me in the front yard came flooding back. There was something oddly fascinating about the thought of what Ryan did when nobody else was around. Did he seriously have it all over his computer? I couldn't decide if he was truly joking or not anymore. Still, even if he did, I knew he wouldn't show it to me. After all, it might go too far and then we could end up. . .Huh. You know, that really doesn't seem as bad as I had previously thought. I mean, yes, I love him like a brother, but we weren't actually related. I ran the thought through my mind over and over again, not sure if I would enjoy it or not. After all, I was still a complete and total virgin, but the idea of exploring my sexuality had kept me up a few nights this past week. I couldn't decide for sure whether I would enjoy being with another male or not. I know for certain that I had a crush on some of the girls at school, but I wasn't sure to think of some of the hot guys. You know, the ones that really take your breath away when you see them in a tight shirt, seducing you without even making an attempt at it or knowing that they were doing so. Such encounters only left me puzzled, too undecided to tell the difference between enjoying it or not. I'm sure it takes a bit of getting used to, as it's not standard procedure, but maybe it's not like that and if I truly didn't enjoy it then I wouldn't be so turned on by the real thing. Life is overly complicated and I hated it.

"Lucky, are you okay?" Ryan's tone was uncharacteristically serious. "I mean, you're really starting to scare me, spacing out like that all the time."

"I'm so sorry. I'm just. . .I've been really distracted lately." Hmm, maybe he could help me out a bit. "Hey, I've got a question for you."

His eyes lit back up. "Fire away."

"What's it like being gay?"

Now it was his turn to freeze. "Gee, Lucky. That's one doozy of a question. It also explains quite a lot. I know how difficult it is to get your head on straight. . .or decide that it never will be."

I wasn't too sure what to make of that joke. Had I not been in such a mental bind that would have been hilarious, but the swirling mist clouding my mind kept me from enjoying it. "There's a lot of material to cover under that topic. Where would you like me to start?"

"Well, I, I. . ." Words were coming to me about as easily as a clear thought. "Um, um. . ." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yeah, I get it. We'll start with the basics. You see, when a man has an urge to explore the equipment of another--" I stopped him.

"That part I understand. I meant, uh, oh man, how do I explain this?"

What I wanted from him was some sort of checklist. Some way that would tell me whether I could be classified as gay or not. A test, perhaps. Come to think of it, I really couldn't ask for anyone better to administer such an exam. He really did look quite sexy if you thought about it, and being my best friend, I knew he wouldn't hurt me. I decided to pop the real question.

"Ryan, do you think we could try being partners for the night? You know, give me a point of reference to help me decide."

He was stunned. Coming here tonight I would have never imagined that some point in the evening I'd be asking him to partake in sexual activities with me. He finally recovered, having taken a minute to fully comprehend the request.

"No. If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that sex complicates things. I could never allow such events to come between us, regardless of the outcome. On one hand, you could get hurt, and we might never forgive each other or ourselves. On the other, it might elevate things to a degree that could wreck the relationship we've take our whole lives to build. You and I both know that we don't want that."

I could see his point, but I was unprepared for the rejection that came with it. "I didn't even think of that. But still, don't you. . .?" I looked down.

"It doesn't mean that I don't like you, Lucky. But this is something I can't help you with. You see, because we've been friends for so long, we have more than any gay relationship could ever hope to achieve. Those feelings would easily sway your perception and cause you to miss out on the truth that's hidden deep inside. You have to go search and find that yourself."

He was completely right. His sincerity and thoughtfulness touched me deeper than any physical exploring could have. My lip trembled, and I knew I was on the verge of tears. "How do you know all this?" I whispered.

"I was not as fortunate as you are. I never really got a chance to think about it before being thrown into both worlds without much say in it. It was only my will to survive that led me into the decision that made me who I am today. You see, Lucky, that fateful freshman year, I was raped. Multiple times."

My canine jaw dropped completely. "I never knew." The verge of tears I had been on before had evolved into my own personal set of waterfalls. I let him continue.

"My first encounter was with a fox. She was beautiful, but unable to satisfy herself with the other young males she was able to capture. Naturally, she was intrigued by my stallion-like form and took me. She forced me into orgasm, destroying my virginity at such a young age. I felt horrible. How could anyone ever do such a thing? It wasn't but two weeks later when a female wolf approached me with a similar desire. She was not as wicked, choosing to seduce me against any rational thought. I couldn't help myself, even though I was telling myself not to the entire time. It didn't help. The next month I was approached by this lion. He was stunningly beautiful and our encounter rendered me senseless from the first moment. Before I knew it he was on top of me, but he was not rough. He treated me with kindness, his gentle movements keeping my locked in his presence. Even though he had acted without my consent, I felt a love for him, one that only escalated as I felt, for the first time, the joy I could only get from another male. I was completely and totally hooked. I went to thank him the next day for opening my eyes to a world I had not even begun to imagine, but found that he had left the state completely. Unable to locate him, I went out in search of a new mate, this time ready and willing."

It took me minutes to realize he was done. He waited for me to respond, and I for my voice. When it finally returned, I said, "That must have been so painful for you. I can't even imagine what you've been through. But how will I know when the time is right? When will I discover that I'm ready to take the plunge?"

Ryan shook his head, his mane extending the motion, "You will know when your heart tells you it's the right thing to do." I quickly moved over to him and gave him a hug. He was slow to return it, but sensed that I needed to be comforted after being exposed to such an emotional tale. "You know, I don't think it would hurt if we did sleep together at least, but the pants stay on and there is to be no intimate touching, got it?"

"Of course! Thank you!" I checked my watch. "It's nearly eleven. Maybe we should go ahead and get started with that."

"Sure, let's turn in." He smiled, knowing that he would enjoy the night with my arms around him.

I woke up because Ryan was trying to escape my hold on him and make his way to the bathroom. I felt him move and held him tighter. Despite my doggie arms not being overly powerful, I somehow managed to keep him trapped in place. "You know, I really do have to go," he said, and I relinquished my grip on him. It had been nice falling asleep with him, but I knew it was because we were really good friends after a very emotional night. I knew that I would still have to search for my soul and find myself later, but I would have plenty of time for that. After all, I'm still young, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one trying to figure out on which side of the closet I was on. I heard the shower turn on, and I knew I'd be next.

Ryan came back, wrapped in a towel. "You can go ahead and take yours now." I started for the bathroom, but paused to turn around and grinned at Ryan, who responded, "Fine with me. It's not like we haven't seen each other naked before. I'm not afraid to change right here and now."

I exited the room and closed the door behind me. He was right, it wouldn't have been anything new. That, and I was still quite self-conscious of the things he had told me last night. I headed down the hall, when all of a sudden I heard a crash. I quickly dashed back into the room and swung the door wide open, only to see Ryan hastily finish pulling up his pants. "What was that?!" His eyes were wide, knowing that it had come from the wrong direction to have been my fault.

"I don't know! I thought your parents. . ."

"That's right, they're not supposed to be back until tomorrow. Look," he pointed out the window, "there's no car."

"Maybe something fell down on its own, or a small animal managed to get in." I was trying to convince myself as much as I was Ryan. "Let's go see."

We started moving in the general direction of the crash. It didn't take us long to find the source of the commotion.

"AAAAHHHH!" screamed Ryan as he was quickly grabbed by the intruder, who now had a gun cocked to the side of Ryan's head.

"You know, I thought the house would be empty, so I could make off with all of your valuables. But as I was scoping out the site, I found something even better! Two queer little boys, just ready to be given a taste of some real power!" I was completely frozen in place, unable to move. This wolf was very large and had a lot more fur than usual. But what could I do when he had my best friend held hostage and I was unarmed? "You, in the spots! I will have you first. If you choose not to comply, I'll shoot your little friend here!"

"NO! Get out of here!" I still couldn't move, my feet glued permanently to the ground. "Go! Escape while you still can!" Despite Ryan's pleas, I took a step forward.

"I can't! I can't lose you!"

"Please, don't let him do this to you! You still have your entire life to decide for yourself! I'm begging you, just let him take me and save yourself!" His words hit me harder than a sledgehammer. I turned and bolted for the door.

I didn't get very far. The gunshot was so loud, it might as well have hit me. I fell to my knees, not able to proceed any further. "Now look at what you've made me do." The wolf's words were cold and turned my heart to ice instantly. I heard a body drop to the ground heavily. I turned around and saw Ryan, lying dead on the ground with a hole through his head that was emitting unholy amounts of blood. The sight was too much for me. I remained lying there on the ground, with no will left to go on. I'd let him die, just like that! And now, I wasn't even going to fulfill his final wish of my freedom. I knew what was going to happen next as I felt a gruesome hand grab me by the neck and begin dragging me off.

The next thing I knew, I was facedown on Ryan's bed, the invader's weight pinning me down. I had failed. What kind of friend was I? If only I hadn't been so weak, so quick to make my escape, Ryan would still be alive. We could have gotten away with simply being humiliated and maybe some minor injuries, but we would have survived! Surely I should have just let him have me, to satisfy himself and be done with us. But now, now I had made such a huge mistake, and for what? I was still going to be violated, but now I couldn't even resist. I was too limp from the heavy emotion to even bother struggling. I prayed that he would spare me and just shoot me now, but I could tell by his movements that it was inevitable. He was going to have his way with me as soon as he was good and ready. I closed my eyes, hearing Ryan's final words in my head: "NO!. . .Get out of here. . .NO!. . ."

"NO!" I felt the weight come off of my back, just as the murderer was about to enter me. I turned around and saw Ryan choking the wolf from behind with a belt.

"Ryan?!?!" I noticed there was no hole in his head. But, that was impossible! I clearly saw him get shot and fatally wounded, but now, there was no trace of it!

"Lucky, listen to me," Ryan spoke to me while the wolf was struggling to loosen the belt around his neck, but too weak from the beginning of the rape attempt and lack of air. "Go into the garage, there's something sitting to the right of the shelves. I want you to get it and bring it here." Puzzled at the entire ordeal, I slowly turned around.

"What are you going to do to me?" I heard the wolf gasp, "You aren't gonna screw me instead, are you?"

Ryan yanked on the belt, pulling the wolf to his back. "Heh, nice try. You'd probably enjoy that, wouldn't you?" Ryan's voice was full of hatred towards the wolf that was now the victim. "Lucky, what are you waiting for?" With that, I left and headed to the garage.

Once inside, I located the shelves. They were full of tools, but what Ryan instructed me to get was to the right. As I spotted it, I stopped to stare. It was beautiful. Three-and-a-half feet of cold, black steel. I picked it up and ran back to the room.

Ryan was still behind the wolf, holding the belt fast, but had somehow managed to grab a rope and tie the intruder's hands behind his back in the process. "Ah, you found it. Good. Look, I've kept him fully erect for you."

I lowered my gaze and saw what was previously his weapon of choice for me. I now knew what the hedgeclippers were for. I walked up to the wolf, now barely conscious, and he begged for mercy. I didn't listen. Nobody shoots my best friend and gets away with it. I positioned the hedgeclippers over the base of my target. "No, I'm sorry! Let me go! I'll do anything!"

"Too late." I pulled the black handles together, making a clean and full cut.

It was a terrible sight. There I was, standing in the room of my best friend, who had seemingly been killed but was instead holding on to a belt that's wrapped around the neck of the injured wolf. He was bleeding profusely, and screaming in pain. But the screaming didn't last long as the pain and choking cut him off. I knew he could see his severed limb, what was once his most prized organ, now shriveling up on the carpet in front of him. Ryan yanked the belt, throwing the wolf face down on the floor.

"Never, ever try to hurt my friends!" Ryan had his face about an inch above the wolf's ear and was yelling angrily into it. "I don't know how many you've harmed, but it all ends now! How long did you think you'd get away with this? Huh? Did you ever expect your murder victims to come back and get you?" At this point, the bleeding had created a large pool around the wolf's midsection. You could hear the crying and see the tears flow, mostly from the immeasurable pain, but also because he heard every word Ryan was forcing upon him. "I don't know why you ever came here, but you shall not leave this place alive. This is the lesson that you will learn for trying to hurt the ones I love. Now, take it to your grave!"

Ryan kicked the wolf, causing him to roll over on his back. I began to wonder how Ryan was planning to kill him, then realized that it was not necessary. I knew that the wound I inflicted would be fatal and he would die from loss of blood. I couldn't bear to watch anymore. I turned around and dashed into the kitchen, away from any sign of the morning's unthinkable events. I sat down in a chair and closed my eyes and tried to forget, a futile attempt to purge these images of horror from my memory.

"Lucky?"

I turned around and saw Ryan standing behind me. "Ryan! I thought you had, you had. . ."

"Died? Yes. But I came back for you."

I heard his words clearly, but I just couldn't understand. "So, are you, just a spirit? A ghost? You won't leave me, will you?"

Ryan stepped forward and took my hand, raising it as if to prove he had physical form. "No, I am here, just as alive as you are, Lucky." He smiled.

"B-, but, how?" He closed his eyes and began to speak in a solemn voice. His words were so deep, so meaningful, that I felt as if I was reliving the event for myself.

"What's going on?" I opened my eyes and saw a light that shined brighter than a thousand suns. But it did not hurt to look at. Instead, it was pure, a light that could illuminate an eternity and never burn anything.

"A what?" I could do nothing but stare into the heavenly light, unable to find the source of the omniscient voice.

"My task? Why, what's going on? What's happening to Lucky?"

"No. . ."

"Yes, thank you!"

"Yes, I understand."

Ryan opened his eyes. "I was given another chance, reincarnated so I could rescue you. I'm so glad you're okay."

We sat there, in that kitchen, for the longest time. Finally, I had recovered enough to ask him about some of the specifics.

"What did you do with his body?"

He looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face. "I, I guess he's still back there. I waited until I was sure he was dead, but I guess I forgot to move him afterwards. I suppose we could bury him in the back."

"Yeah, we might as well. What will your parents think though? You can't possibly hide this from them, can you? Not with all that blood everywhere!"

He looked at me with a huge grin. "We can try. Hey, ever see those shows where they like, remake an entire room in a few days?"

"Uh, yeah."

"We're gonna have to work like that. We've got until late tomorrow. Whaddaya say, Lucky? You up for learning some painting and carpentry skills?"

It didn't seem I had much choice. "Sure, why not? Um, how are we getting the supplies and such?"

"We have plenty left over. We remodeled the house last year, and my dad's math is horrible, so we got entirely too much stuff. So naturally, we still have all of it in the attic."

"Cool. Let's go get it then." We started towards the attic entrance. "One more question, though."

"What is it Lucky?"

"Between dying, your holy vision, and coming back to life, where in the world did you get the idea for the most vile, most obscene, most gruesome use of hedgeclippers in the entire galaxy?"

"I don't know. But it did seem to be a fit punishment, right?" I shuddered, unable to continue the conversation.

We worked hard, although we had more trouble in figuring out how to make it look like nothing had ever happened than the actual labor. It's a good thing we had internet access, or we would have been totally stumped. But after much research, hard work, and pure determination, we finally completed our job. His room and the living room were now free of any traces of a struggle, much less death.

Ryan and I surveyed the area, trying to find anything we may have overlooked. He turned to me and said, "I can't believe we finished this. It's still gonna be a miracle if we get away with this completely. Certainly someone will notice something. And if not, I'm bound to say something about it without meaning to."

"Yeah, or you're gonna forget about that paint on your ear. Since when did zebras have blue ears?"

"What?!" He ran off and examined himself in a mirror. He came back. "You know, I'd kill you for that, except that we just worked so hard to clean up after our last adventure, I'd hate to undo all of our labor in an instant." We both laughed. We needed that joke badly.

A week went by. I didn't hear anything from Ryan. We decided between ourselves that no news would be good news, and that we'd meet up on the first day of class to discuss more than our schedules. I finally saw him, I figured I might as well ask.

"Nope, we really did a good job cleaning up. I'm so amazed that they didn't find out! Every time I see that spot I keep seeing fountains of blood coming from nowhere in particular, but obviously they don't know that." He sighed. "So, whatcha taking this time around?" We compared our lists and noticed we would see each other at lunch. "Sweet. I'm sure you know what table to find me at, since the class you have before is so much farther away than mine." I nodded and we parted ways, bound to begin our final year in high school.

As I walked through the halls, I saw many faces, a few I knew, many I did not. I noticed an increase in the number of pretty little kitties, most of which appeared to be freshmen. Oh come on, like you've never dreamed of. . .ooooohhh, one of them appeared to be lost.

"Hi! Need some help?"

"Um, yeah." She was so cute, looking up at me like that. "Where is this class?" She pointed to a spot on her campus map.

"Who knows, those maps are terrible. You're better off without it. You know, I've heard rumors that freshmen have been led out of the state by those." I took the thing and crumpled it up, throwing it in a trashcan. "What room number?"

"Two-thirty-eight."

"You're not far. It'll be the fourth door on the right." I pointed down the hall in the correct direction.

"Thank you." And with that, she was off. What? No little hug? What kind of thanks was that? Maybe she's not much for spotted doggies like myself? Oh well, at least I was nice. So much for being the big, bad senior.

I went through the day, filling out those same, boring old questionnaires that told the teacher who you are and a few things about you. I was so glad to get to lunch and meet up with Ryan. "Hey."

"So how's it been for you?"

"Pretty much the same as it has been each and every year. 'I'm miss so-and-so and I will be your teacher for blah, blah, blah this year. Now I'd like each of you to stand up in turn and tell me your name and something interesting about yourself.' Ugh, like they even remember our names the next day."

Ryan laughed. "Yup. Hey, I got this cute guy sitting next to me in physics. He's a lion, but he has like no mane." He shook his head back and forth, shaking his own black hair wildly. "I think he's jealous. He kept touching it. I know that's one class I'm bound to enjoy." His gaze wondered off, the grin on his face telling me exactly what he saw. "So how about you? Anyone attract your attention?"

"A few, but nobody really stood out."

"Male or female? I know you were still trying to figure that out last week."

"Some of each, actually. And one that I'm not even sure of. I honestly can't even tell what kind of morph it is. It's like the gene pool had a riptide and this individual got caught in it and dragged out to sea."

"Interesting analogy." Ryan seemed impressed by my seemingly newfound book smarts. "You know, if there's somebody you really like, you should tell me. You never know, I might could get you hooked up."

"You can do that?" I asked him, completely shocked.

"Sure! It's really not that difficult. Well, at least not for me." I knew he wasn't lying. Ryan was incredibly charismatic and good looking on the side.

"But what about all that about waiting until my heart decides on something?"

"Well. . ." He paused and took a deep breath. "This past week, I've done a lot of thinking. I've realized that life can be quite short. It might just come to an abrupt end as mine almost did. I can't just sit around and watch you struggle with yourself. Besides, you never know until you try. Just take it slow, Lucky. You will have to listen to what your heart says, but I doubt it would hurt anyone to get you set up a couple a times. You know, at least give you that chance if you decide you want it."

"You're right. What would I do without a friend like you?"

Ryan smiled. "I plead the fifth."

As the days went by, you could tell that everyone was starting to fall into his or her daily routines at school. After a while, going from one class to another becomes second nature, giving you plenty of time to let your mind wonder elsewhere while your body gets you where it needs to be.

"Hi, you're Lucky, right?" I noticed a female cat had walked up next to me. I recognized her from one of my classes, but for the life of me couldn't remember which class it was, let alone her name. She was very beautiful, and had the sweetest look on her face with those incredible amber eyes drawing me in. She appeared to have some tiger in her, but still had a small but sexy body.

"Not all the time, but that is my name. And I'm definitely feeling lucky now." She giggled at that.

"Why, you think I'm pretty?"

"Um, oh, yes, absolutely!" I knew I was blushing. I couldn't help it. Did she, did she like me? I didn't have to ask.

"Ryan told me about you. I'm free on Saturday if you were interested in showing up at my place around five for some fun. But you'd better bring your appetite!"

"I'd love to!" She wrote down her address and handed it to me. She gave me one last loving gaze and ran off. Now what was her name again? Eh, I'm sure it would come to me.

I looked down once more at the address. Yup, this was the place. I had made myself look all nice, but I was a complete wreck on the inside. I didn't know what to do at all. With a fist shaking like an earthquake was happening, I knocked on the door. She answered it.

"Hey Lucky! Come in!" I tried looking around as I stepped through the doorway, but my mind wasn't receiving data from my visual senses at the moment. I was entirely too nervous to think. "Hmm, and take your shirt off, you won't be needing it tonight." She looked over at me and saw me shaking. "Here, let me help you with that."

She came over and helped me remove my shirt. Rather, she kinda just pulled it off as I still wasn't comprehending much of anything at all. After that, she tossed me gently into a chair and climbed on top of me. "You're so tense. This must be your first time. Here, I can help you relax." She proceeded to start poking me in the ribs.

"Hahaha! Hey, that tickles!" I started squirming in the chair, unable to control myself, but there was no escape.

She started giggling again. "Gotcha!" She stopped, only to plant a kiss on me.

Okay, she had me relaxed now. Obviously she was experienced at this, unlike me. "You know, I was so scared on the way here, but you've made this much easier than I expected. I don't think I could have found anyone better for a first date than you, Jenny."

She laughed. "Close enough. It's Jessica. Don't worry, I've made guys forget their own names before."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I tried to hide my face, but she still had me pinned down, making it quite impossible. However, she could do nothing to stop me from turning a deep red.

"Aww, you're so sweet. I've been with a couple of guys before, but I've always wanted my own puppy." She started batting at my ear.

She went on for maybe an hour or so, playing with me and teasing me. I really didn't mind. I was having so much fun. Finally she kissed me and held on to me for a few minutes, before finally deciding I was ready.

"Hey, ready for some real action?" I nodded and she jumped into my arms. "My room's that way," she said, pointing down the hall. I carried her in and plopped her on the bed. She grabbed me and pulled me down with her.

All right, go ahead and use your sick, twisted little mind. Whatever you're thinking, we probably did it. All I remember is waking up the next morning, completely naked, a bit sore in a few places. Wow, she really worked me hard. So much for taking it easy on the newbie. I heard her wake up next to me and heard a growling from her stomach.

"Oh, man! I completely forgot about dinner last night!" Jessica turned to look at me. "I'm sorry, you must be starving! I know I am."

"No, really, I'm fine." But my stomach was agreeing with her and totally giving me away.

"Nope, I insist. We're gonna have the best breakfast you could ever imagine!"

She wasn't kidding. I didn't know that it was possible to enjoy such a meal so early in the morning, but Jessica convinced me otherwise. When we finished, we were both so stuffed we ended up taking a nap.

After we woke up from our delightful little nap, I turned and gave her a kiss. "I really had a great time last night. You taught me a lot. I wish I could stay longer, but I still have a paper to finish."

"I understand. How about I drive you home? We can spend at least a little bit more time together."

"Sure, thanks." One more kiss and we were off.

"So how she?"

It was the following Monday. I was back in the cafeteria with Ryan. "Oh, man! It was incredible! What did you say to Jessica to get her to treat me like that?"

"Haha, that's my little secret. That's why I'm so good at this. By the way, you weren't the only one getting it this weekend. Remember that lion I told you about? His name's Clinton and he's great. He is a bit soft in bed though." A look of disappointment ran across his face. "But he did say he'd be interesting in you though. I know you've never met, but he said any friend of mine would be worth it. So whaddya say? Wanna give it shot?"

"Oooh, wow, again? Hmm, I may have to think about this." I paused to visualize the suggestion and decided to go for it. "Yeah, okay. So what's the plan?"

"He said if you were to accept that the easiest thing to do would be to come to my house and let me take you there. It's incredibly hard to find due to recent construction that throws every map right out the door. But once you get there it's like finding Atlantis."

"Cool, so when do I show up at your place?"

We got it all worked out. Unfortunately, we still had more classes to attend and lunch was over. Of course, it's not like I'd be learning anything until this weekend.

"I'll be back for you tomorrow," yelled Ryan as he drove off. I waved and turned back towards the door in front of me.

"Come on, Lucky, just like last week," I muttered to myself before knocking on it. I was amazed when the door opened to reveal Clinton, just as Ryan had described him to me. But this time I got a different image than the one I had been expecting. Clinton was completely wet, wielding only a towel to defend himself from my sight. He welcomed me in anyway.

"Sorry, I overslept and had to take a shower before you arrived. Pretty good timing though." We both smiled. "So would you like me to get dried off and put some clothes on or would you rather just watch me like this?"

"I do think it would be better if you were dry, although I don't know that the clothing is a total necessity." I was taken aback by my own statement. I didn't realize that after only knowing him for minutes I'd be so bold.

"Sounds like a plan. Give me a few, I have to get a few knots out first. Feel free to look around, or you can turn on the TV over there. I'll be right back." And with that he disappeared.

I decided not to turn on the TV. I'd probably get too involved in something. Instead, I left myself to think about Clinton. He seemed very nice, and I could already feel myself wanting him. I know I just met him, but I completely trust Ryan. I started to ponder what Ryan meant when he said that Clinton was "a bit soft in bed". The only sexual encounter I've had was with a female, so I'm not sure as much how this is supposed to work. I began to run the possibilities through my head, and found myself liking each and every one of them. My thoughts were interrupted as I noticed Clinton watching me, wearing only some loose boxers.

"You look like a lost little doggie. Maybe I can help you find the ones you love." He came over to me and started to nuzzle up to me. "Oh! You're so smooth and soft!"

I enjoyed the compliment. I grabbed on to him and pulled him closer to me. "I'm not so soft everywhere, you know."

I could see him brighten up at my statement. "Is that a challenge?"

"Yup, and if I win, I get to keep the boxers."

"Hey Ryan, you were right!" He looked up from his lunch, which didn't seem to be interesting him too much.

"Well of course. What am I right about?"

I reached into my backpack and pulled out the pair of boxers and held them up for Ryan to see. He nearly died laughing, falling out of his seat and rolling on the floor in hysterics. When he finally found his voice again, he said, "Okay, you're gonna have to explain this one to me." I proceeded to tell him about the weekend with Clinton.

"Dude, that's great," he said when I was done; wiping a tear from his eye that was left over from the excessive laughing. "Man, you got further with him than I did. I'm impressed. Obviously you're a quick learner."

"If only my teachers thought of me the same way. . ." Ryan just smiled at that, too exhausted to laugh any more.

The month flew on by really quickly. Before I knew it, the first quarter was over. As I'm sure you're expecting, I'm picking my story back up in the cafeteria with Ryan.

"So how's the first quarter been for you?" Ryan asked me.

"Eh, pretty good. I might be failing my history class right now, so I'm really gonna have to work hard on that. The teacher in there is a real--" I noticed the blank look that Ryan was giving me and stopped suddenly.

"Dude, when have I ever cared about your academics? Come on, get to the good stuff already."

"Oh, right. Well, I've decided I'm just gonna call myself bi and be done with it. I've had so much fun with males and females that I really can't go one way or the other. Haven't found any one in particular that I could see spending the rest of my life with, but I'm not expecting anything like that at this age."

"Well, duh."

I grinned at him. "Hey, what about that bear morph in your first class. I've seen him around a lot and he's obviously gay. I caught him watching some guys in the locker room between classes before."

"Him? I don't know much about him, but I would think he'd be a bit big for you. No offense, but you aren't exactly a large breed of dog."

I looked at him oddly. "That's not what the elephant you sent to me said."

Ryan was in the middle of a sip of water and it ended up coming out of his nose. "What? I never talked to an elephant! You must be crazy!"

"Huh? That wasn't you? Heh, I'll have to see him again. That was one heck of a ride!"

Ryan's jaw had dropped completely. "Man, I don't believe that. That's. . .that's just insane. How did you ever. . .?" He stopped, apparently lost in thought. "Wow, you don't know what I'd give to try that. You may have to be the one that sets me up this time."

"After all that you've done for me? Of course!"

The bell rang and I watched Ryan get up and walk away, still shaking his head in disbelief. I slowly got up and headed off myself. This was the best school year ever, and I knew there was much more to come. As I started towards my next class, I caught sight of a stunningly beautiful white tiger. She was so absolutely gorgeous she managed to take my breath away. I felt my knees start to give, so I had to stop and lean against the wall before continuing. I collected myself and my legs got their feeling back. My class was really close by, so I had plenty of time to get there. I decided instead of getting there early like I usually do, I'd go over there and ask her out. Filled with a confidence that I had learned only this year, I approached her.

"Hi. And what would your lovely name be?"

Author's Notes: Well, that's it. Not quite as long as my first, but still quite big in length. After all, that is what most of you are looking for, right?

Anyway, I very much enjoyed writing this one, just like my first. And I'm sure I'll have plenty more to come in the future, just maybe not right away. Still, I'm sure most of you prefer quality to quantity, so naturally I try and give you both. If anyone has some good suggestions for me for a new story, I'd be glad to hear them!

Again, fan imput is not only appreciated, but greatly encouraged! If you've spent an entire (happy) hour or so reading my 2 works, surely taking another 10 minutes to share your comments with me wouldn't kill ya. Okay, I'm sure most of you read much faster than that, but please, I'd love to hear from you anyway!

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