We talked for hours, as if nothing had ever happened. Finally, I swallowed my fear and let out the words I had been avoiding. "David, I want to talk about what happened a few weeks ago. When you stayed over, the last time." I was met with silence, and worried I'd made him hang up. "Okay Rye...What about it?" His tone was nervous, worried. As if he wanted to be talking to anyone else now. "I thought about it. I still don't really know how I feel about it but I couldn't come up with any reasons against what you said. I couldn't find any reason to turn you down. But more than that, I didn't want to find any. I realized it this morning. I woke up and...well I wanted to see you this morning. But I wasn't about to call you while you were working. I kept thinking about it and it hit me that I don't want to send you away like that ever again."

I heard his breath catch, and what sounded like a quiet sniffle. "So...What are you trying to say, Rye..?" I sighed, covering the phone. The last thing I wanted was to make it seem like this was out of pity. It wasn't. "I'm saying I'll give it a shot. I've known you my whole life, you've always been there for me and I've always been there for you. I don't really know why it never ocurred to me to ask you out before. I guess...I just never saw you that way until recently. Call it a trial period. I...still don't know for sure what I think of it, but this will help me figure it out." I smiled, even though he couldn't see me. "Rye, are you sure about that? I don't want you to do this just because you want me to feel better." He didn't get it, did he? "David, I'm doing this because I want to. You're sweet, you're caring, every guy I've seen you with has done nothing but give me examples of what a great boyfriend you are, and I know you have a thing for me. If I were doing this for just your sake, I'd tell you. This is for both of us. Now...Come on over. I wanna hang out." I heard a happy gasp, and after we said goodbye he hung up. He'd be here soon...

I waited for what felt like hours, and when I finally heard a knock at my door, I glanced to the clock. It'd only been eight minutes. Getting up, I answered the door and smiled as I saw David standing there. "Hey Davey. Come on in." I stepped aside, letting him in and sighing in relief. He hadn't looked upset, which was a relief. "So, what do you wanna-" I was cut off by a sudden, resounding clap sound, and a sudden stinging sensation all across my cheek. He had just slapped me. "That, Rye, is for dodging me for three weeks and leaving me in the dark. I thought you hated me." I looked at him, eyes wide, and rubbed my cheek. "Davey, I-" Cut off again, this time with a warm pressure on my lips, his meeting mine and his arms wrapping around me. I could tell he was on his tip-toes, he couldn't reach my lips otherwise. Kissing him, once again, felt strange but far from wrong. As he pulled away, I sucked in a breath, not realizing I'd been holding mine since the slap. "And that...That's for everything you said on the phone today." He smiled, rubbing my cheek on the side he'd slapped, the pain quickly fading. There hadn't been much to begin with, David wasn't very strong and I had a high pain tolerance.

We decided to watch a movie, and I drove us to the theater. David never once took his hand off mine, as if he were afraid that I'd fly out the window if he ever did. We got to the theater and settled on a movie, making our way to our seats. Throughout the movie, David rested his head on my shoulder. It felt good, having someone giving signals like that to others. The kind of signals that said I was his, that said flirting with me was a bad idea. It was cute, if not a little jealous.  Once the movie was over, I started to get up. David stood with me and we left the viewing room, only to have a couple of girls stop us outside. I knew them, they were regulars at one of the clubs I tended to freelance for. "Hey guys! Enjoy the movie? Jessica and I did. Say, Ryder, I haven't seen you at the club in a few weeks, what happened?" I smiled, instantly getting into work mode. "Well, they offered me a gig there last week for a couple hundred bucks but I got a better offer from the place across town. Other than that, they just haven't been calling me up." She giggled. "Well, I'm sure I could get them to. I've got my ways. Care to know what they are~?" Now I was getting uncomfortable. David must have known, because he wrapped his arms around one of mine, looking up at me. "Rye, we're gonna be late for the reservation. Paveaus won't give us our seats if we're late hon." Internally, I was thanking him again and again. "Yeah, sorry but I've gotta get to Paveaus. C'mon Davey." I smiled, walking away and, to my surprise, I found myself leaning down to kiss David. Maybe it was the territorial side of me, but I wanted those girls to know he was mine. I was the one they were flirting with, but something in me said I needed to show Davey was mine, and I was his. 

So far, this felt good. Not quite right, but good. It felt like an adjustment period, like I was still trying to get used to it. We drove back to my house in silence, but he never stopped smiling. I decided to just dive into this. "So, want to cuddle again this time or did I put you off them for life?" I gave him a grin. He punched my shoulder lightly, and giggled. "I'm always up for cuddles. Especially yours." As we arrived at my house, I helped him out of the truck, bowing as I opened his door to drive the joke home. He curtsied and giggled, walking up to my door with a bounce in his step. We went in and I flopped onto the couch. It wasn't long before David flopped on top of me, holding a couple bottles of soda and handing one to me. I coughed a bit, the sudden addition of his weight knocking the wind out of me for half a second. "Hey now, careful. You're light but everything's heavier when it's falling." I smirked, wrapping my arms around him. All he did was giggle, and nestle in against me. It was peaceful, and calm, and felt comforting. Right, almost. [i]Almost.[/i]

I don't know when I fell asleep, but I awoke to the smell of bacon and the sound of sizzling meat. Rolling out of what I thought was my bed, I didn't realize there was nothing but air beside me and landed muzzle-first on the floor, groaning as pain flooded my senses. "Ow..." The sound of a gasp and hurried steps came from the kitchen, and David was with me an instant later. "Ryder, are you okay? What happened?" I groaned, raising up and rubbing my nose. "I thought I was in bed...When did I fall asleep?" He giggled, a fact I didn't quite appreciate at the moment. "You conked out about twenty minutes in to our little cuddle sesh, hon." [i]Cuddle sesh? Oh..Right, we were laying on the couch  together last night...[/i] I took a second, one hand on the couch cushion to steady myself as I got my bearings. Standing up, I sighed, rubbing my head once more. "I only made it twenty minutes before biting the dust, huh? I'll have to do better next time." I saw him grin, and his tail swayed behind him in an alluring way. "Next time, huh? How much better you gonna do?" I smirked at him and, without giving him any warning, scooped him up in my arms, one hand purposefully grabbing at his butt. "Hm, dunno. Depends on how good this breakfast you're cooking turns out to be." I growled at him playfully. [i]I'm settling into this awfully fast. Should I slow down? Or does this just mean it's good to keep going? Gah..Why are emotions so confusing?[/i] "Well big guy, if you'll set me down I'll finish it up and bring you your plate."

I set him down and he bounded off to the kitchen again, smiling all the while. I sat on the couch and lay back a bit. I would normally be the one doing breakfast, but with him waking up sooner I wasn't about to complain. A minute later he returned with breakfast as promised. Taking a bite of my food, I let out a groan of satisfaction. "Did I over-pepper it, Rye?" Shaking my head, I swallowed my food and smiled at him. "You perfect-peppered it." I grinned, beginning to dig into the rest of my food, eating with sheer glee. I was a good cook, but this was better than anything I'd ever made. Not for lack of trying, of course. I just wasn't much of a cook. As I ate, I felt eyes on me and, looking up, saw David staring at me with a soft smile. "Hm? Shup?" I swallowed the bacon that I'd been chewing. "Something in my fur?" He shook his head. "Just admiring ya." I felt a little uncomfortable at that. He'd never just sat and stared at me before. I wasn't used to being watched like that. "That's new. You never used to do that. That a dating thing?" I'd expected a bit of an explanation, but instead he simply nodded and went back to eating his own food. I'd have to get used to that if we were going to stay together. Everything else had been fine so far, and this wasn't a dealbreaker. If anything, it was more embarassing than uncomfortable, and I knew that would pass. "So...Got any plans for today?" I looked at him between bites of food, enjoying the taste of his cooking. He nodded as he swallowed and smiled. "Trace and I are going to the mall. He's supposed to meet his sister there since she's coming to visit for the week." [i]Trace? The gas station guy?[/i] "Trace Parker?" He nodded again. "Huh. His sister lives way east, right? On the coast?" Another nod. "Why isn't he just meeting her at the airport?" He giggled this time, before smiling at me. "Why you wondering? Jealous? Worried~?" He stuck his tongue out at me. "Relax, he's as straight as a brand new nail." I hadn't realized it until he said that and I felt a wave of relief that he was right. I was worried. [i]Am I the jealous type? I've never had that issue before.[/i]

I nodded, my face burning with blush as I went back to eating quietly. David giggled at me, making me blush harder, and he stood up. A second later, he was behind me. His arms wrapped around me and he leaned over my shoulder to kiss my cheek. "I wouldn't let him get away with anything anyways, Rye." He grinned and walked off to the kitchen with his plate. As I finished my own food, I did the same, helping him wash the dishes he'd used. Afterwards, we sat around watching tv. As an episode was ending, I paused it on the credits. "Hey Davey?" He looked up at me, and cocked his head to the side. "Yeah?" I shifted to get comfortable and looked away nervously. "How long you wanted this, man? I never noticed, so I thought it was a recent thing but...you settled so quickly into it, and looking back, you've done a lot of this stuff anyways even before...So I guess I'm just confused. I dunno how you could hide something like this so long." He raised an eyebrow at me and gave me a stern look, which felt all the more intimidating from him since he never did that to me. "How long I've hidden it?" He shifted to face me easier. "Rye, I've never hidden this. I've wanted this ever since middle school. It's not my fault you're just oblivious." I looked away again, unable to meet his focused stare. "Sorry...I just never thought of y-" He cut me off, and smiled. "You never thought of me as a potential partner. You always saw me as the cute little cat you had to protect, keep watch over, and care for in the most platonic sense." He giggled. "Never thought that maybe you were the big strong wolf I wanted to be protected by, watched over by, and cared for by, in the least platonic sense." I nodded, and felt my blush returning.

He shifted back to watch tv, but I couldn't start the next episode yet, I wasn't done talking. "Davey?" He looked at me again. "Yeah?" I swallowed hard. "David, I think you just taught me something." He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. "You're...really hot when you're being serious." I blushed harder. This stuff wasn't easy for me to admit. I was used to being told I'm hot. Plenty of the girls at the clubs I did work for would say that sort of thing to me all the time. Usually just to get me to order them drinks so they wouldn't have to pay, but still. I was used to hearing it, not to saying it. Now it was his turn to blush. His fur wasn't as thick as mine, and I could see the lightest hint of red beneath it. "R-Really?" I nodded and gave him a grin. "Very~" I growled the sound of each letter, drawing out the word for the sake of teasing him a bit more. He mewled, turning away and grabbing the remote, starting the next episode. He tried to hide his enjoyment, but I felt his tail moving around between my legs, likely something he didn't mean to happen. It sent a slight rush through me, knowing how easy it was to set him off. I simply looked to the tv and allowed myself to let me emotions shine for once, my grin refusing to leave my face anyways. I wrapped my arms around him, tenderly rubbing his stomach as we watched our show.

As we finished the season, it was time to take him to the mall. Getting ready, I tugged my shirt off from the previous day, slipping into a clean one before starting to take off my jeans. It was, of course, right around that time that David walked in. I thought nothing of it and kept going, turning away from him to look for another pair. He'd seen me naked before in the gym showers, seeing me in my boxers wasn't going to be an issue. I was the only one who felt that way, however, as David cleared his throat and I heard the sound of him stepping out and closing the door. "S-so, Rye, sorry to barge in. Um...I was j-just gonna let you know I'm ready." I picked out a pair of pants and, figuring he wasn't in here anyway, decided I'd do something a little special that I hadn't done in a while. I slipped out of my boxers, putting my pants on without them and grinning. It'd be a hell of a surprise for him tonight, if things went that way. I doubted they would, but I decided to go commando from now on anyways. Then, when the day did come, it'd be easier, and I'd get to see the look on his face at the lack of extra cover. Stepping out, I smiled and wrapped an arm around him. "Alright. Let's head out." He nodded, and we set out. As we drove, I glanced over at him now and then. He was smiling, and he looked content, looking out the window. His tail wrapped around my leg idly. Returning my focus to the road, I saw the mall in the distance. "Alright, we're almost there. When should I pick you up?" He looked ahead. "Hm...How about at 3? That's a few hours from now and should give us time to look around the mall, meet his sister, and hang around for a while." I nodded, and pulled into the parking lot. "I'll be here at 3 then. I'm just gonna drive up by the doors so be ready to go, okay?" I leaned over and kissed him, the corners of my mouth lifting into a smile as I did. He kissed back and giggled. "See you at 3 then." He hopped out of the truck and ran inside, and I couldn't help but watch as he did. He was cute, what else could I say? I wondered if I should take him to eat anywhere when I came back by to pick him up? [i]I suppose I'll find out.[/i] I drove out of the parking lot, a smile on my face as I began to think about all that had happened in the last few days alone, and what could happen in the next few...