Five Stars - February 2010
February 2010
Don shifted nervously outside the apartment door. He felt over dressed, even for a first date. He spent extra time that day grooming his fur. It looked cleaner and sleeker than it had in months. The three showers through out the day saw to that. His natural smell had turned artificial from all the shampooing and conditioning. The red wolf wore a black suit and white shirt. A cinnamon red tie had been selected to match and accent his natural fur tone.
Don clutched a bouquet of red roses in his paws. He pondered if he was being too overbearing for a first date. Maybe the fact that this would be his first blind date wound him up the most. Don contemplated tossing the roses away before his date answered the door. His mind raced with these worries in the ten seconds it took for the door to open from the time he knocked.
"Hey there!"
A Mexican wolf in a polo shirt and slacks stood in the door way. A wide smile on his muzzle.
Fuck. Over dressed.
"J-Joel? Right?" Don stammered out.
"Yep! Don?" He asked back.
"Uh-huh."
Don had met a few Mexican wolves before. Unlike other wolves who filled their frames, this breed of wolf were similar to boney coyotes. One of Joel's skinny fingers was pointed right at Don.
"Are those for me?"
Don did a quick examination of himself before realizing that Joel meant the roses in his paws.
"Oh! Yes!"
Don handed of the roses as quick as he could. Joel gave a devious smile as he padded back into the apartment.
"Come on in," he hollered back to Don.
Don timidly stepped inside. The apartment had a similar feel to his own. Except this one had a couple of more rooms instead of a studio layout. Joel was in the kitchen putting water in a vase that now held the roses.
"My roommate is out of town. So I have had the whole place to myself."
Don's ears flicked when he heard that and gulped. Did he hear his date right? Did he just openly invite him to sex at the end of the night? No. Don's mind had just instantly gone to the gutter. Even now he found himself undressing the Mexican wolf with his eyes. Picturing himself holding the nude, lanky wolf in his paws.
"How did you meet Kent?" Joel asked, snapping Don out of his dirty mindset.
"Work," he replied without hesitation. A skill he mastered in high school whenever teachers caught him daydreaming. Don had no problem tricking them into thinking he paid attention to pointless things like Calculus and how to write a résumé.
"Oh! So you work for the newspaper?"
"Yeah. If you can call it that anymore."
Joel set the vase with the flowers on the table of the kitchen. Don still smelt their aroma on him and now in the room as well. Overall, the room had a peculiar scent. A clash of good versus evil. Since Joel's scent indicated he had bothered to clean himself as well as Don had, he assumed that the mexican wolf contributed to the nice scents that lingered. Fruity shampoo mixed with dirt was the simplest terms Don could put the scent into. He wondered why Joel would have a roommate (especially one who did not care for proper hygiene). Kent described Joel as having a good job. Don could not see himself living with anyone he was not romantically involved with. Too many complications.
"Kent told me you were switching to the web," Joel said as he crossed the room to the couch where his jacket rested. "But I guess you need to do what it takes to stay in business."
Don had been against moving away from print. He did not even use eBooks. He liked being able to hold things (and sending clips of his reviews to his mother). But Patty had used the same point as Joel.
"So," Joel began as he zipped his jacket up. "Where are we going?
***
There are anomalies on Earth. Things that are not explained. They are called advanced science, miracles, magic, for a few names. Don chose the word anomaly to describe them. In Havenbrook there is an anomaly. It had been dubbed the "Havenbook Star" centuries ago.
The anomaly had been named this by its appearance. A bright orb that looked like the Sun close up. Hence why it had been named a star. No one ever figured out what it did apart from glow and hover in the same spot. Since its discovery the site had become a tourist attraction (obviously). The town had built a pedestal beneath the star with a plaque on it commemorating its discovery.
Of course, with any tourist attraction, plenty had to cash in on its attention. Don and Joel padded through the crowded site. The star had always been described as being the best at night when its light clearly illuminated the entire square it sat in. Just about any night of the year the square had plenty of couples, families, individuals, and friends all gathered. Stands selling things ranging from beer to souvenirs to food to desserts were all placed around.
Don and Joel got sandwiches from a booth they both liked. Already a good sign for Don that things would be well. It never had been a problem for him if he and a date (or boyfriend) disagreed on things. But it did not hurt his karma if they did. Don hesitated as they were about to pass a booth selling ice cold local brews. Either Joel sensed that Don wanted a beer or his karma kept on the positive side because Joel said he could go for a cold one.
The two managed to find a bench near the front just as another couple were leaving it. A lion male and female couple. As they made their way out of the area, Don imaged what their life was like. The male lion had been given a traditional childhood and had been told to be proud of his roots. However, the female lion had been given the American childhood and been taught about equal rights. The two disagree on the female's role in their relationship but slowly learn from each other.
"Are you okay?" Joel asked.
Don looked over to his date and realized he had been standing around, transfixed on the exiting lions like a fool.
"Oh! Yeah," Don said as he took his seat beside Joel, being careful with the open beer bottle and sandwich in his paws. "Just thinking of a story idea."
"You write fiction?"
"Yes. Well...not really. Well...not traditional creative writing," Don tried to explain. "My degree is in film with a focus in screenwriting. So I write scripts."
"Why don't you live on the west coast?"
Don had pondered the same thing. He had never quite figured out why he had been drawn to Havenbrook. He could go for the New York filmmaking scene, but never tried to. Don had several completed screenplays sitting on his hard drive. They had never been seen by others for proof-reading or coverage in hopes they could be purchased by a studio.
"You got me on that one," Don replied with a chuckle.
Joel smiled before taking a bite of his sandwich. Don could smell the barbecue sauce and deli meats from Joel's sandwich. Don had taken a different route, ordering a veggie based sandwich with ciabatta bread and vinegar and oil for the dressing. He was not one of those carnivores that rebelled or tried to be progressive by being a vegetarian. There were just times he did not feel in the mood for meat.
"What do you do for a living?" Don asked after swallowing a bite.
"I'm the secretary at law office," Joel replied.
He makes a living that way? Kent might have embellished.
"Do you dress in skimpy clothes, answer the phone in a seductive voice and constantly flirt with the other employees?"
Don's ears flattened to his head and he immediately felt like punching himself. Normally he would say something like that to one of his close friends. He blamed his writer's mind the most though. Don had a secretary character in a comedy he had written a while back that acted the way he described.
Joel laughed out loud, "What?"
Don blushed and smiled.
"Sorry, it's just... sorry. I don't know where that came from," Don said as he laughed as well.
The night went on. Families went home, lovers kissed, friends drank. Booths began closing for the night. Plenty of visitors stuck around anyways. Don and Joel each had two more beers and Don now found himself lucky enough to have his arm around Joel. The past hour had been filled with stories and jokes, but now the two sat in silence with their eyes fixed on the glowing star before them.
Don finally broke his gaze to look over at his date. Joel looked to Don and in that moment Don had his nickname for the Mexican Wolf. Bright Eyes. Joel's eyes had a radiant glow. The star did not even contribute to this. They had a glow like fire. Don felt himself drawn into the warmth of their light. He felt himself leaning forward towards him. Joel's eyes closed and Don felt their hypnotic hold release. Only then did he realize that their muzzles were locked in a kiss.
Don put his arms around Joel and pulled him in closer. Time moved at normal pace, yet it was the most beautiful kiss he ever experienced. Though movies had promised Don that it would slow down and a camera would do a three hundred sixty degree spin around the couple. Don thought to himself then that this would be the one. After a few more dates the two would be a real couple and Don could stop playing the dating game.