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Resolutions (Part 8)

August: Recreation and Parks

By Al Song

August 16th, 2015

A few days after I had that talk with Nathan I did ask for some time off and my coworkers were understanding even if they looked a little sad and disappointed. It was nice to have more free time to learn new Italian and French words, especially the slang and profanity. I really enjoyed watching indie and art films with Nathan, Arvin, and Geo. After the movie ends we liked to figure out in which Hollywood film they shared the same universe with. It was nice being able to spend more time with them before the school year started up again. It's not that classes were bad but they added a good amount of stress to my life and I wanted to cherish the free time I had with the people I cared about.

In the middle of August on a hot Sunday morning I went on a jog with Nathan to the university campus and then to Gasworks Park. I was already huffing and coughing as we ran through campus and my legs were burning as we got close to the park.

The russet rusted towers stood tall as remnants of an old power station chained off to the world with ivy and thorns surrounding their bases, yet the blemished spires of yesteryear were coated in neon graffiti advertising profanities that would make callous and bitter high school students blush. It probably wasn't too hard to get over the chain-linked fences but it still looked like a challenge for me since I still got tired pretty easily, but then again I had no desire to hop the fence.

My attention shifted focus from a piece of anatomy hidden in bright green calligraphy to Nathan yelling, "Race you to the top of the hill!" He then started to sprint to the large mound of grass and earth past the towers.

I then gritted my teeth and accelerated my pace to my full capabilities yet my lungs and legs wanted to destroy me for betraying them so mercilessly. I sucked in air and shot it out of my chest just as quickly. Nathan was already near the top of the hill and then he stopped and turned around. He then started to cheer me on.

Even though my body wanted to terminate me and this ridiculous exercise regime I still kept going and I made it to the top and flopped over.

"You did it!" Nathan said and sat down gently next to me. His fluffy black tail swished and danced gleefully next to my large brown one. "That was otterly amazing and we otter do that again sometime."

"Really!?" I said back to him.

"Yes, you definitely won."

"I know that you know that I know that I'm an otter. Why am I even explaining this to you? Ugh," I sighed, "whatever, I need a breather."

"Let's take a break. I mean we've reached our destination."

I sat up with crossed legs and looked at the scene before me. There were a couple cubs playing tag together near a few couples having a brunch on picnic blankets splayed out on the healthy green grass below us. Above us a clear cyan sky was the backdrop for a few people flying diamond kites and a sun illuminating the city. Lake union had many sails cruising along its surface powered by light zephyrs of the atmosphere. The lake shimmered and glinted in the sunrays. To the left of us stood the university tower and the tall apartments and dormitory halls of the campus. To the right of us the residential hills of the wealthy along with grand mansions imposed themselves against the sky and water. All of this framed the steely gray of the downtown skyline. The Space Needle protruded to the right of the skyscrapers reaching towards the limitless turquoise ceiling. As I looked at downtown there were memories of the parade that filled my mind and I smiled. My gaze then went slightly to the left as I traced the formidable layered concrete highway with my vision connecting north Seattle with the metropolitan steel and glass of downtown.

I closed my eyes and took a few deeps breaths. I heard the sounds of the children laughing and the sound of velvety gusts passing through my fur.

My eyes gently opened to the sight of the lake again as I stared into the hypnotic, gentle waves of the water. I saw a few people rowing canoes and kayaks near the tiny beach at the edge of the park.

"They all have pretty good form," the wolf said as he noticed me looking at them. I smiled at him and nodded. He would know better than me since he was on the rowing team. His arms were pretty ripped and his hugs always felt so tight. I always felt my cheeks get hot when he wanted me to feel his biceps.

I then kept looking at him and thinking about his biceps and how tight his gray workout shirt was. I glanced at his pecs and his abs then looked back up nervously at his face.

"It's so beautiful out today, isn't it?" Nathan asked and stood up. "The sun is smiling at us and giving Seattle a big warm hug."

"It's been too warm for my taste and I'm _really_sweating now. You just had to make me run."

"They say breaking a sweat every day is good for you," the wolf said with a grin.

"Who are they?" I asked and raised a brow.

"I don't know. I saw it in an ad."

"Exercising and sweating every day is probably good for you, but right now I'd kind of like to be in shade."

"Speaking of exercise... race you to the picnic benches!" he shouted and stood up and then started running towards the picnic shelters.

"Really!? Come on," I yelled to him.

"I said this is a race, so you come on!" he retorted.

I sighed and started to jog down the hill but gravity yanked me and I started sprinting.

"That's the spirit!" Nathan shouted back at me.

Soon I passed the gated rusty pipes and towers but Nathan was already close to the picnic shelter. He then stopped immediately right before he crossed through the entryway and smiled at me as he turned around.

I looked back at him glumly and he grinned back at me. I then turned my attention to the shaded shelter and longed for some relief from the sun. I kept staring at Nathan and he gave a thumbs-up with a closed-eye smile. I panted as I ran into the shelter and felt a coolness cover me and I sat and leaned back against a concrete partition in the shade.

"You won again," he said pretending to be astonished. "You're getting really good at this."

"Really?" I asked after a few pants and coughs. "Stop patronizing me."

"But you won fair and square. You got in here before I did," Nathan said and sat down next to me again.

"You got here before me."

"I said that you got in here before me. That's the important preposition," he said with a digit pointed to the sky.

"You just stood outside... Why am I even explaining this to you? You know exactly what you did."

"Aw, why can't I be silly once in a while?" he asked sweetly as he looked at me with gentle eyes, and then I hugged him. He put his own arms around me and gently squeezed.

"You're always silly," I responded, and he smiled at that. It made the corners of my own muzzle perk up. He then kissed me on the cheek.

"I know," he whispered. We both tilted our heads and I felt my heart exude an unruly bass beat of joy. Our lips met and I only remember Nathan and the feeling of his lips and how hard he was holding me. My mind went numb at the emotions swirling around in my head and the sensation of feeling his muzzle on my own. We stayed that way for several minutes before we started to let oxygen seep through our lips again.

His gaze was so endearing when we looked at each other again. I leaned on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me and gave me a gentle kiss. I nuzzled his chest and he hugged me tightly. I felt his muscles surround me and cover me in bliss.

"So, you like me?" he asked and turned his gaze away shyly.

"I do," I admitted with a smile at the kind, black wolf. "I wish I had known that you liked me or that I had said something before, but then I also wish that we could have been friends before."

"We still have a lot of time to be together and it's better that we're starting now than never."

"True, but I wish I would've said something to you when we first had a class together. I just thought that we would never actually get along. I feel bad that I judged you so harshly for being on sports teams and for being a jock in general. You're a really nice, caring, and thoughtful person and you're incredibly smart," I said, and then he stroked my cheek and grinned at that.

"I have to admit that I've judged you too. I thought you were a sour hipster. It turns out that you're a sweet one," he said without breaking the smile.

"I'm not a hipster. I actually don't know how to dress," I said calmly.

"That's a clever ploy," he chided.

"You."

"Yes, what about me?"

"You're the best."

"You are too," he said and we kissed again at that. "When we did start hanging out and being friends I didn't want to make the first move or say anything because I thought that you would think that some creepy thirty year old was trying to hit on you."

"I thought that a gay guy hitting on a straight guy would end up with the gay guy getting punched in the face."

"Hey, I would never hit you," he said as his countenance turned to concern.

"I know, but I thought that I would make you really uncomfortable and that you wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore."

"It would take a lot for me to not want to be friends with you anymore."

At that moment my heart felt even warmer.

"I really don't mind that you're thirty. I like you a lot and I guess I don't really think of you as a thirty year old or I guess what most people's perceptions of how thirty year olds are supposed to be."

"Sometimes..." Nathan then sighed and looked blankly at the partition. "Sometimes I think back to my time on the ship and I feel like I've wasted so much of my life on it. I could've been in college ten years ago doing stuff like this."

"If you went to college ten years ago then you probably wouldn't have met me."

"Yeah, that's true, but I still wish that I could get that part of my life back. A few years in I figured out that I'm actually bi. This was when 'don't ask, don't tell' was still a thing and I a part of me wanted to tell someone but most of me was afraid that someone would want to hurt me or kill if anyone found out. I had a really big crush on this coyote I shared a cabin with and you do kind of remind me of him. He always hated needing to get dressed up in uniforms and formal attire, but he was also sweet and loved learning languages so I had someone to practice French with."

Nathan then paused as I listened intently.

"One night he was having a break down and told me that he couldn't take it anymore being on the ship and being away from friends and family. I hugged him and he cried into my chest. He looked up at me and he kissed me. He was my first boyfriend and the first guy I've ever made love with."

He beamed at his last statement and I smiled up at him.

"But we became paranoid," he said and deeply sighed, and then he closed his eyes. "We got into arguments about how we almost got caught. One day I found out that he was in the infirmary and someone left me a note saying that we need to stop or else either he'd be dead or I'd be sent to the infirmary too. He kept avoiding me along with a lot of others and he left before me and I never saw him again. That's why I'm paranoid about coming out as bi. I don't want my boyfriends getting beat up and I don't want to be ridiculed by society and left alone in misery."

"I don't want to force anyone to come out. It's important that you choose when you come out and to whom you come out to. I don't want you to feel bad for not telling me sooner," I replied.

"Thank you," he said as he caressed my face again.

"You shouldn't have to thank me for that."

"But I want to."

"Alright then," I said and then we paused and admired each other.

"I really like you Wes. You can be so sweet and wonderful. A lot of people tell me I have a chip on my shoulder," I frowned at that.

"It's a sweet chocolate chip," he said quickly with a grin.

"I thought we were having a moment."

"I wanted a silly moment in there too."

"I really like you Nathan. You're so handsome and nice and you've helped me improve a lot of parts in my life, so, you know, I'd love to date you. I mean, if you want to that is," I said as blood rushed to my face and warmed it up.

"I'd love that too. I'd love that a lot," he said and we shared another kiss at that. "Hey, you want to get out of here and go back to my place? My roommate won't be back until tomorrow." The question came with him scratching the back of his neck and a nervous look.

"Sure, I think I can get muster some energy back for the walk back," I said sitting up.

"Hmm, I've got an idea," he said and looked up gleefully. "How about I carry you on my back?"

"Won't people think about us in like a gay way if you did that?" I asked.

"I'll do it so that they think I'm just being silly," he responded.

The wolf hoisted a slightly overweight otter onto his back and darted back towards his apartment.

-To be continued...

By the way, yes, everyone stared at us.