Stretch It Out (HH)
#30 of Hockey Hunk Season 6
Cover art is today by Valanx - give some love to him and his art and writing! He's a bit shy at the moment but maybe he'll answer :P
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Hello, folks,
and welcome to The Hockey Hunk! I'm very glad to present to you this new chapters fresh off the press, and I hope you'll enjoy reading it! I can't promise you the next chapter outright yet, but I will be informing you beforehand to its posting, so stay on the lookout for more Rory!
Amazingly, too, this is my 599th submission on SoFurry...wow...I'd never thought I'd get there in the end. But here we are. Thanks, everyone!
Have a good read, and don't forget to leave me comments!
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Oh, purrr...nothing like a good stretch...damp from the shower, naked and with my tail lifting along for the ride, my paws high above my head, my jaws joining in, raising myself on tiptoes until it felt like I was going to fall over, and I finally opened my eyes, feeling renewed and warm and...suddenly very hungry.
I walked over to the kitchen side of things while scratching my butt and wondered how much effort I wanted to put into cooking. There was some stuff I'd gotten from the supermarket on my way back from work, but the couch seemed to be beckoning to me, with his lush pillows and a good lion-scented covering that was just too nice to lie on...
My scratching paw moved over my belly, quiet for now, though. I decided to grab a banana from the bowl of fruit sitting next to the coffeemaker, and busied myself with peeling while I walked over to the couch.
I might as well relax for a bit, right? It'd been a long day, what's with new staff and Marge not in and having to deal with shopping vixens (let's not go there), and everything that goes to running a store. At least everyone was being helpful, and the new guy seemed to know what he was doing.
I slumped down onto the couch, a banana planted suggestively on my lips when I reclined down onto rest and resurrected my computer from sleep mode with a quick tap on the Spacebar. The old thing took its time to wake up, but it was nice to busy myself munching on the banana and scratching my balls. Let it all hang loose, so to speak.
I'd barely logged in onto my sites when a nudge already (a)roused me.
Peter Sinclair says: Hello stranger!
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I snuffled.
Rory Gliese says: has it really been that long?
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Surely not...we'd talked only a little while back.
Peter Sinclair says: No. But I like teasing you.
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I smirked, licking a little bit of banana crumbs off my lips as I did so. Murring.
Rory Gliese says: I've noticed.
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Peter Sinclair says: You don't say.
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Typical.
Rory Gliese says: How are you?
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At least he sounded normal, however much one could claim to be able to tell from the typed word instead of being muzzle to muzzle with someone, to hear the timbre of their voices, see the angle of their ears, smell them, everything that made real communications happen.
Peter Sinclair says: That's a loaded question.
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That good?
Rory Gliese says: Are you teasing me again?
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Peter Sinclair says: Potentially.
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Rory Gliese says: Are you well?
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Peter Sinclair says: Not pissing blood, so I suspect I'm well enough.
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I cringed at the idea, but at least that was reassuring in its own way.
Rory Gliese says: Okay then.
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Peter Sinclair says: I was just watching TV. Did you know you can now get the new Sauna Belt slimming system for only 69.99? It heats up the slab in your belly and causes the fat cells to give up their lard through sweating?
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I chuckled.
Rory Gliese says: I've been thinking of losing a couple of pounds.
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Peter Sinclair says: You? Since when have you had any extra pounds?
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Rory Gliese says: Maybe I'm self-conscious.
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Peter Sinclair says: Oh now that you've got someone to show off your naked body to regularly? *poke*
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I squirmed a little, as if he'd actually nudged my ribs with his thumb while my butt swiveled on the sofa.
Rory Gliese says: Maybe so.
Peter Sinclair says: So start working out together. You'll lose the slab, gain muscles, and the you'll feel like having an extra workout in bed.
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It was a cheeky thing to say from Peter, but Rory Junior agreed, with a little twitch inside his sheath. I avoided my paw going there for now, because fondling myself while chatting seemed rude, even if Peter couldn't know. The idea of Victor pumping iron or maybe bouncing on a treadmill which could be observed from a strategic angle...
Oh damn.
Rory Gliese says: Not a bad idea.
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That didn't sound too enthusiastic, did it?
Peter Sinclair says: Which does raise the question of why you're not currently...'working out' even as we speak.
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I snuffled.
Rory Gliese says: We do other things too, you know.
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Peter Sinclair says: Did I interrupt you watching The Bridges of Madison County on the couch?"
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I chuckled. I wondered if that really was Victor's kind of a movie. He seemed more of a fan of contemporary action flicks rather than Meryl Streep.
Rory Gliese says: Not really. We're not seeing today.
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Peter Sinclair says: Are you arguing again?
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I chuckled softly to myself. Peter really seemed to be intent on being Peter tonight, so I might as well humor him.
Rory Gliese says: We do have our own lives too, you know.
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Peter Sinclair says: I presume that means that he's got something to do today, since you never do anything.
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Ow.
He wasn't really too wrong, either.
Rory Gliese says: He's gone out. Said he wanted to go play hockey.
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Peter Sinclair says: Oh? He well enough for it?
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Rory Gliese says: That's the point. He just wanted to go and skate a bit. It's not an actual game.
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Peter Sinclair says: Makes sense. It's what I'd do.
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Rory Gliese says: It's been a long time for him, yeah. He just wants to try it out.
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Peter Sinclair says: Hope it goes well.
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I ruffled my tail up to my knees and rubbed my fingers through the tuff on the tip.
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Rory Gliese says: I hope so too. He sounded a bit worried about it, but excited, too.
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Peter Sinclair says: That's understandable.
I imagined Victor standing on the side of the ice, skates in paw, and staring at it. I wished I'd been there, but he'd said that he was fine upon my order to make the trip through town to the Winter Sports Pavilion. He wanted to do it on his own, and his own terms. Maybe he thought I would be a distraction...a thought that alone was enough to make me smile a bit. A shy Victor...uncharacteristic, perhaps, but amusing to think about, while I relaxed there in the banana-scented air, with Peter on my lap.
Rory Gliese says: I think so too.
Peter Sinclair says: I should have you guys over for coffee one day. Shame that Victor's lovely brother isn't around anymore.
My nosepad wrinkled at the idea of Cobb drinking daintily with his pinky held up and complimenting the poppyseed scones.
Rory Gliese says: You really miss him?
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Peter Sinclair says: Why not? He was like a gentle hurricane upon our Kansas.
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Whoah.
Rory Gliese says: Did you just imply that Cobbs are made in Oz?
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Peter Sinclair says: In some kind of a fairytale land, I suspect, at the very least. Not necessarily Oz.
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Rory Gliese says: That's a disturbing thought.
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Peter Sinclair says: I like it.
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It sounded like his kind of humor alright.
Rory Gliese says: As long as you won't click your ruby shoes to summon him.
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Peter Sinclair says: I could click my ruby call button and give him a ring.
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Rory Gliese says: gulp
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Peter Sinclair says: _ Don't worry. I'm not quite that desperate to see him again. _
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Rory Gliese says: Phew.
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Peter Sinclair says: That's cute.
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Rory Gliese says: What?
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Peter Sinclair says: That relief.
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Rory Gliese says: You haven't dealt with him as much as I have.
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Peter Sinclair says: I still have a pretty good idea.
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I was just about to type in a reply when my phone rang. It made my ears perked and prompted me to put the computer down to the side and get up and wander over to where my phone was on the table.
DAD IS CALLING.
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Gulp.
"Hey, dad," I chirped.
"Evening, Rory!"
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"Evening, dad," I repeated.
"How are you?"
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"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary going on," I replied, a paw rubbing through my mane in a gesture that was quite natural while spending time on the phone. "Just relaxing after work."
"Busy day?"
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"Nothing out of the ordinary," I said. "Just the old grind."
"That's good, isn't it? Just doing like you're always doing. Is your leg giving you any trouble? Or your paw?"
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"I'm fine, dad," I said. "I don't have any pains or anything, I don't take any pain medication anymore, and I go to the physiotherapist once a week, so I'm taking good care of myself."
"That's good to hear! It's really good to hear you're making progress with your recovery! Your mother and I were talking about just the other day."
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Gossiping, in other words, I thought, as I wandered back to the couch and settled down, tail swung to the side for comfort when I put my golden butt down again and raised my legs for a nicer posture...indeed, without a painful twinge to my once dislocated hip, I found out with increased relief. It wasn't even sore, despite standing around most of the day. I felt happy about that.
"How is mom?" I decided to misdirect dad to another topic while I typed one-pawedly to Peter.
Rory Gliese says: Apparently whenever Cobb calls, it's like he tries to crawl through the phone line.
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"Your mom is fine, of course. She enjoys her work and keeps busy, but not too busy, like I've been telling her. And we had a barbeque last Saturday with the Scotts, it was a great success!"
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At least dad hadn't set the barbeque on fire or something...
Peter Sinclair says: I've gotten that impression alright. I think my ear was sore after my call with him.
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Rory Gliese says: Or in nature.
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"I'm glad to hear everyone enjoyed themselves," I said.
"It'd been lovely to have you and your Victor around, too! Your mother wouldn't stop talking about him during the night."
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That conjured up two images. First one was me and Victor, Victor likely wearing a nice cuffed shirt with two top buttons open to the warm evening air, holding a big wiener in one paw and a beer in other while we stood there on the backyard and listened to my dad talk about painting the back wall. Me lingering next to Victor, of course, maybe letting my tail brush his ankles every now and then for good effect.
The other image was mom, with an audience of the Scotts, middle-aged wolves, listening to my mom, likely in a floral blouse or maybe a sweater if it was a cool night, practically foaming in the maw while telling the two wolves this and that about "our Rory's boyfriend Victor, you know, the Doberman we've been talking about all summer!"
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Hope they weren't choking on their beers...
"Perhaps we'll manage to visit at some point," I offered, knowing it was expected of me, the good son, "we're just so busy at the moment..."
Dad chuckled.
"Oh I know. I know. Need lots of quality time, I know how it is..."
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I cringed a little at the thought of dad imagining some gay quality time, but I hoped that he hadn't scarred himself doing that.
Peter Sinclair says: Has he stopped sending the apology gifts for your night of passion?
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Trust Peter to distract me from any such thoughts.
"We're both of busy and doing a lot of work, me with my promotion and all," I told dad, my phone balanced between my muzzle and my shoulder while I typed to Peter.
Rory Gliese says: Victor told him to quit the gift baskets, yeah.
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"Oh, we're so excited for you!"
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Peter Sinclair says: I kinda liked the jam. That's a shame.
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"Thanks, guys," I told dad. "It won't be for a while yet, but I'm slowly taking on more duties."
"Well that's the way to go, isn't it?"
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"I think so."
Rory Gliese says: I'll make sure to ask Victor if he wants to part with his share.
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"We've been telling your brother that you're now a boss."
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I huffed.
"Isn't that a bit premature yet?" I asked.
Let alone grandiose. It's just a bookstore, after all, a single one.
I was still really curious to know what Justin would think of it...not that I was ever a real...superb role model, I guess, but I could always try, showing that you could always go forward in life, even in small ways.
"Well why not? It's definitely happening, isn't it?"
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"As far as I know," I rubbed my chin. "I'll take over once Marge goes on her maternity leave."
"Wonderful! All rearing to go!"
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Peter Sinclair says: You're too sweet Rowreeh.
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"I guess so."
"You should celebrate a bit! Come over here, maybe..."
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Oh really, dad? That's your next strategy to try to get me home? Preferably with Victor, of course, so that they can snoop some more.
"Maybe when the time comes," I replied vaguely. "But that'll be a while yet."
"Well, for Christmas at least, your mom is already drawing up plans."
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Why did he have to make it sound like a military operation?
Rory Gliese says: So is the jam for me. : )
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"Well, let's see how it goes, shall we?" I offered. "I hope it turns out fine."
"Of course it will! Why not?"
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Well for any numbers of reasons why things generally turn into fuck-ups came to mind, especially if you hoped too much about them.
Peter Sinclair says: Nice catch Rowreeh.
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"Well, I'm sure it will go well," I told dad, "like I said, still a bit premature to celebrate. Still got a lot to learn."
"Wish my students had that attitude to learning new things," dad rumbled.
"They're kids," I mused, "kids don't know what's good for them."
All grown up lions neither, sometimes.
Rory Gliese says: Have you heard from Nicholas?
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Dad was chuckling on the phone.
"That's an universal truth, whether you're a professional educator or a parent. Or a big brother, that is."
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"Has Justin done something stupid?" I asked casually.
"Why would you think so?"
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"That big brother you added there made me wonder if I needed to be more stringent with my sibling duties, is all," I replied cheerfully.
"No, he is perfectly fine. Still listening to that godawful music and playing his games like all kids of that age. And playing around on Facebook, of course."
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"Sounds like everything is normal, then."
Peter Sinclair says: No. He hasn't phoned and I haven't called him, not after the call I talked to you about.
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"Oh, everything is just fine, you know how it goes here. Slowly and surely."
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I smiled.
"That's good to hear, then."
Rory Gliese says: Maybe he doesn't have anything more to say about it? At least for the moment.
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"And it's very good to hear from you too, of course, Rory! You should call more often!"
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Chastised again...sigh.
"I call whenever I can, dad."
"Oh, we know, we know, you've got your own life and it's keeping you very busy, it's very understandable. We just hope to be part of it too."
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That was a bit much.
"You still are," I said, "I tell you about everything important that is going on, don't I?"
Perhaps with a tactical delay in communications to avoid the worst of meddling, but still!
"We do know, and we appreciate it a lot."
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Peter Sinclair says: It's hard to read someone like Nicholas. He doesn't let out all that much when you try to find out what he's really thinking.
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Rory Gliese says: True that.
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"And it's always good to hear from home, too, dad."
"I know I should call more often, but you know how it is...I feel like if I start making it into a scheduled thing, then I'll feel like it's forced, and then neither of us will enjoy it quite as much."
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I snuffled.
"How'd you read my mind?"
Peter Sinclair says: I'm sure he is dealing in his own way. He'll be pestering us in no time.
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"Fatherly intuition?"
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I did know that my granddad phoned every night at six, so perhaps that had something to do with it.
"Something like that," I suggested instead.
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Rory Gliese says: You sound like you want that to happen.
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Peter Sinclair says: Well at least it's not boring when he's around.
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"So how is that friend of yours, then, Rory? Victor? Is he alright from the accident? Still working hard? Seeing you a lot, I bet!"
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Here we go again.
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Thank you for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed the read, and I look forward to your feedback!
See you soon!
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