It Started with a Soft Smile - Chapter 1
#1 of It Started with a Soft Smile
A freshman in college, Adam the brown bear develops an enormous crush on the school's quarterback, a lion named Rhys who seems all too good to be true.
My first furry story. While this particular part contains a lot of backstory, I hope to expand upon it and get into the real meat of it in the future.
Thumbnail and cover art by Recurrent
The football game was already in full swing when Adam had arrived and plopped into an open seat in the bleachers. The air around him was tense, and it only took a quick look at the scoreboard to see why; there had already been a touchdown scored on us. Taking a quick look around, the brown bear scanned the crowd for anyone he knew, giving a smile of acknowledgement to a slender orange fox he had sat next to once or twice in calculus two, and and shy wave to a strongly built gray wolf, Tyler, who played on the soccer team. Both had signaled back to be polite, but he doubted that they remembered his name, even he had forgotten the name of the fox, and had only remembered Tyler's name because they had gone to the same high school. While Adam certainly took up shoulder room, he was not truly a large guy in either popularity or weight. He kept himself in shape, not built like Tyler, nor thin like the fox, nor even fat like the bull who was charging at our quarterback moments after he had thrown the ball, unable to stop what he had already started due to his momentum. No, Adam kept himself in a nice balance that had allowed him to eat rather unhealthy foods from time to time, much to his enjoyment, while still keeping his body in check through routine exercise at the gym. This balance was gentle, and Adam was well aware that if he had stopped one or the other, he could quickly find himself on either side of the spectrum, and while being well muscled like the quarterback always sounded nice, he could never find the willpower to give up his unhealthy splurges for more than a week or two. His average proportions, and a tad above average grades had allowed, or rather forced him to keep to himself in college, something he both hated and appreciated equally. His life was always balanced, and in accordance of such a balance, he felt rather neutral about his life.
While he didn't necessarily like or dislike his lack of popularity, both the disadvantages and the perks were easy to see, though he preferred to focus on the latter much more than the former. Adam found that the ease of his day to day life due to his seclusion had, in its own messed up way, allowed him to find a certain kind of freedom. Through his social isolation, Adam found ample time to observe the world around him; it was this freedom that had truly helped him come to terms with being gay. The first thing he had noticed about the college's student body, was that it was both welcoming of gays, and fairly comprised of them. While Adam could not say that gay students made up a majority of the college, as that would be far from the truth, there were a fair amount spread throughout the school, and he was quick to find out who was what around campus. While Adam was still very much a virgin, the community had cemented the truth that he had known about himself all along: he was gay. However, no matter the number of gay or supportive students surrounding him, Adam lacked a key feature, pride. While he would admit or affirm his sexuality to anyone who took the time to ask, it was not something that he would spread around for fear of bullying, something uncommon on the campus grounds, but very often occurring in his home town down south. Even the thought of being teased brought back bad memories of home, a place which Adam wished all too often to forget.
Adam had come to the football game to satisfy only two things: his desire to get a good look in the player's fiercely attractive bodies in action, and his lust for the affections of someone strong and determined, someone who would both make him feel safer at night sleeping next to, and comfortable with the knowledge that he would finally have someone to love and be loved by. Adam, like many other fans of football in the school, placed the quarterback at his highest level of attractiveness. The quarterback, a muscular, toned, hunk of a Lion named Rhys was both taken and straight by all accounts. These attributes only served to further Adam's questioning of his female friend's constant whining about how "all of the hot guys are gay." Adam was looking at one of said "hot guys" right now, and from all that he had heard, he was certainly not gay, no matter how much Adam wished or imagined him to be. Distracted by such thoughts, and many others involving the questioning of his major, what Rhys would look like without his shirt on, and whatever the hell his International Affairs teacher was talking about, Adam had not focused on the game at hand for a long time. A soft smile had spread across his lips when he saw that their team was winning.
It had been about another two and a half hours when the game finally came to a close. What had started as a sunny afternoon had slowly but surely become a cloudy afternoon, until it had finally started to lightly drizzle. While a large amount of fans left the bleachers, a few others had stayed to watch it to the end along with Adam; rain had never hurt anyone anyway, as far as Adam knew. When the game finally ended he rose from the bleachers and made his way back to his dorm. While Adam was a freshman, and had only been on campus for a month or two, he had quickly found his way around and always knew how to get back to his room, even from the slowly emptying football stadium, which he had only been to on one other occasion. Their team had not won this game, and as Adam passed by the field, he could clearly see a shameful look of defeat on all of the players face's except for one. The quarterback, Rhys, had a grin on his face, plain as day. His sharp teeth were clearly on display, as pristine as one's teeth could be, and his eyes were filled with determination, not as though he could somehow go back in time and change the outcome of this game, but with the knowledge that a loss like this one could only make their next victory even sweeter, and he was sure that such a victory would be on its way soon. As Adam neared the edge of the field towards the main campus, his eyes met Rhys', and it were as though that smile was just for him. Rhys quickly turned back to his teammates to give them a nice pep talk, but as Adam moved out of view of the field, Rhys took one quick look back and knew that he would meet this bear again.
Adam searched his pockets for the key to his room, but almost as if on cue, right when he had found it, his roommate opened the door and lead him in. "You know, you could just knock."
"Sorry," I scratched the back of my head, "I didn't think you'd be around, Derek."
Derek rolled his eyes and jumped back into his bed across the room from mine. He was a Folf, Derek, his father a fox and his mother a wolf. It was a complicated story that Derek never really felt compelled to tell, and though hybrids were not exactly rare, Adam had never spoken to one before. Cross-breeding was frowned upon in his hometown, but they never really gave a reason why. Nevertheless, his complex genealogy did not lessen his urge to further push himself out of the crowd. Two years ago, when he was seventeen, he had decided to get his fur permanently dyed a shade that closely resembled royal blue. He had two thick, black horizontal stripes around his biceps, and of all things he left his chest and belly fur their natural white color. Adam had to admit that while his palate was a tad strange, his fur was truly beautiful. His build, visibly toned though somewhat short in stature due to his fox lineage, along with his color came together to create a truly interesting friend, one who Adam fully intended to hold onto, even if it meant risking his life of constantly blending in with the crowd.
"So how was the football game?" Derek asked, taking a glance from the tablet resting on his lap.
"We lost, but it was a good time," Adam said as he sat down on his bed, sheets newly washed.
"Could you help me with some homework?"
Adam looked over at him, not expecting the conversation to change so quickly after such a short introduction. "Sure, of course." He made his way next to Derek and took a seat on the edge of his bed. Math was always Adam's strongest subject, and it wasn't uncommon for Derek or anyone else in his class to ask him for some help now and then. It was worse when the teacher forced him to help, though. A student would struggle in class, and she would skim through her list until her finger rested on Adam's name, or another student who was acing the class. It had only been Adam twice, but he hadn't been given a long grace period between each protege either, and so the task was already taxing him more than it would have had he volunteered on his own free will. It would happen tomorrow for sure. It had already been two weeks since his last session, and Adam knew that his teacher was just aching to call on him again.
Adam couldn't tell the future, but he could predict it pretty well when given the chance. Mere moments before his Calculus two class would end and he would be home free, his teacher assigned him his next charge. This, however, was not a bad thing, and not just because he would be given extra credit if he could help the student well enough, no. This time it was the student who had been chosen who had made Adam quickly snap to attention. As if fate had seen into Adam's very dreams, Rhys was the name that rang in Adam's ears. Adam looked around the class, never having even realized that the quarterback whom he had admired so dearly was in this very class. He had finally spotted Rhys in a far back corner of the class, wearing a tight fitting shirt and jeans, and blushed ever so slightly as the muscular lion waved at him with a smile. Adam was ashamed at never having noticed Rhys in the back of the class, while he had always kept himself isolated, he never intended to skip over someone so important, or so attractive.
As class was dismissed, Rhys ran over to me at the door. "You were that guy at the football game yesterday right?" he asked with a flick of his tail.
"I mean, I was there," Adam was taken aback by his confidence and charm.
"Yes you were," he nodded, "and I humbly thank you for your support!" He bowed ever so slightly, and Adam couldn't help but laugh, which spread Rhys' famous grin across his face.
"So, my room? Tonight? I mean," he laughed at a bit at himself, and almost started to blush, "if that's okay for you."
"Y-yeah," Adam stuttered out, "sounds good." Adam nodded and smiled slightly, unable to resist the lion's infectious happiness.
Rhys quickly slipped Adam a slip of paper, gave a joking salute, and ran off. "He's a bit taller than me..." Adam murmured under his breath, blushing at the thought. Adam quickly brushed off his sudden influx of emotion and headed for his dorm. He had a study night to prepare for.
After a good shower and a nice change of clothes, Adam quickly ventured off to Rhys' dorm, explaining shortly to Derek that he had to go give Rhys his lesson. Derek gave a knowing smile and nod, and Adam was off. The brown bear had not felt this way in a very long time, and this nervousness, this constant excitement had made him feel nothing but giddy. He kept this to himself though. Adam reviewed the conversation over and over again in his head, trying to find subtle hints that maybe, just maybe Rhys was hitting on him. He couldn't detect any sign but his smile, but that smile gave Adam hope, and he held on to it tightly.
It was, of course, just Adam's luck that when he softly knocked on the door of Rhys' room, which happened to be a single instead of a double, forcing upon Adam the realization that Rhys was a junior, two years older than Adam, that Rhys had answered the door without a shirt on. "Sorry," he said, blushing, "I was just getting changed, come in." Rhys beckoned Adam to join him in his room. Adam did not miss out on this opportunity to get a good look at the lion, and he certainly was a treat. His vibrant red mane fell to his chest and that same hair popped up from below his belly button extending past Adam's view, beneath his pants. Adam hid it as best as he could, but he could feel himself getting hard. Rhys was quick to throw a t-shirt on though, and he pulled up a chair for Adam next to his desk.
Needless to say, Rhys and Adam did get work done, and Adam had learned a lot about Rhys. He was a sincere guy, somewhat argumentative when he got something wrong, but willing to learn. He dominated the time they spent together in conversation, always leading it and pushing it where he may. It was only as it started to get late that Rhys offered to take Adam out to dinner to thank him for his help, and Adam graciously accepted.
Things were going quickly, much too quickly for Adam's liking, and while this wasn't a date, it sure felt like one. Rhys picked out a nice Chinese restaurant close by, and by the arm Rhys lead Adam there, shouting praise for its food and waitstaff. When the pair had finally been seated, and sodas and an appetizer brought out, a small platter of fish which both of them loved, Adam finally took the move to dig into the details of Rhys' life.
"So I've heard that you're with some bunny chick on the cheerleading squad." Adam dropped it quickly and without hesitation, hoping that it would either pass by or be answered easily.
"No?" Rhys said inquisitively. "Who told you that?" He raised an eyebrow, seeming almost nervous.
"Just heard it around," Adam took a piece of fish off of the tray that rest in between them, "wanted to see if it were true."
The lion frowned, "Well, it's not." He said firmly. He grabbed a fork and went to grab a piece of fish, but all he could stab at was air. He looked up at Adam, who blushed deeply. "You ate all of that?"
"Sorry..." Adam said, "I wasn't really paying attention." The food wasn't much, but it had all been sitting there only moments ago, and now it was gone.
"It's alright bud, I don't mind." Rhys smiled softly, and as if on cue their entrees arrived. Rhys took his time with his small plate of beef and broccoli, and it didn't take long for Adam to realize that he had accidentally ordered a fairly larger portion of sesame chicken, something which he didn't eat much of before, but was apparently loving now, having finished it faster than Rhys could finish his own, smaller dish.
Adam had not eaten in such a manner in a very long time, not since he was back home. Things were very different now, and the fact that he had fallen back into this habit of quickly and uncaringly eating so much rather scared him a bit, though he attributed it to his focus on Rhys. Rhys, on the other hand, was eating at his normal pace, but was much more focused on Adam and his eating. He had noticed that what had once been a slightly loose shirt now clung to Adam's slightly full belly, and there was still dessert to come!
"Besides," Rhys said, almost out of nowhere, "if I was dating someone, I wouldn't have taken you here."
Adam looked up at Rhys just as he had finished his drink in confusion and shock. Rhys laughed, "And I've got to say, I love a guy who can eat!" Once again Rhys' charming grin spread across his face. His tail swayed from side to side behind him, brushing against the floor. A paw was on his crotch, trying to conceal his growing boner.
Adam blushed deeper red, and nodded as if to tell Rhys that he would more than love to be his mate. Rhys clearly understood, and placed a free hand on Adam's across the table.
Adam noticed that two black, thick horizontal lines ran parallel to each other around the lion's biceps.
Adam sighed. That was all months ago.