Cloud Nine
By Chaos Blackwing

“First time?” the greeter at the club’s reception asked with a soft smile.

Swallowing past his nerves Davin nodded his head. “Yeah. Just moved here a few weeks ago and have been busy with my new job and a co-worker mentioned the place one break and even though I don’t care for most clubs I decided to-“ The human paused as a hand reached over to rest against his chest, the skunk on the other end smiling in a comforting manner.

“Easy there, deep breaths, nothing to be nervous about. You said one of your co-workers mentioned the place?”

Following the other’s advice Davin took several deep breaths to settle his nerves, a nervous smile on his lips. “Yeah, said something about it being a nice place to relax, maybe even meet someone. I’m not sure about the second half, as I’m still settling in after the move here, but a place to unwind after work would be nice.”

With a touch of a grin on their face the skunk walked back to the front desk, taking a seat in the plush chair behind it as they looked up at the human. “Well, we can certainly offer both or just one of those, depending on what you’re looking for. Now then, did your co-worker happen to mention just what kind of club this was?”

Scrunching his face up slightly in confusion Davin shook his head. “No, all they said was to make sure the rest of the day was clear any time I wanted to come, since it was ‘easy to lose track of time’ or something like that.”

The skunk’s face lit up in anticipation, eager to enlighten the newcomer. “You’re in for a treat then, Cloud Nine is unlike any other club you may have been to before. Here there is no loud music, frantic dance floors, or large crowds of people, instead we focus on the individual, offering personal attention in a softer, more relaxed fashion.”

While it seemed that the skunk was repeating a pre-written sales-pitch it was clear both in their tone and expression that they had a true passion for their work, and really believed it. That said, Davin was still rather confused as to just what kind of place it was.

“So... what all does that mean? Is it like a massage parlor or something?” he asked with a slightly tilted head.

Chuckling at the question, the skunk tried again. “Sorry, I suppose that is a little vague, though to be honest it’s rather difficult to explain in words. To answer your second question, while I suppose you can get a massage here if you wish and your partner is willing, that’s not the primary purpose of the club.” Drumming their fingers atop the desk, the skunk had a contemplative look on their face and they tried to figure out how to word it. “Society has this... taboo almost against personal contact you could say. A person might get a slap on the back from a friend, a short hug from a friend or family member, but beyond that it’s expected that you keep to yourself, touching only when you have to. We here at Cloud Nine believe that this is an unhealthy way to live, and aim to do something about it in a safe and confidential environment.”

Suddenly the skunk smiled as a thought struck them. “Perhaps this might help shed some light. While the official name of the club is Cloud Nine, the unofficial name that many of our customers have for the place is ‘The Cuddle Club’.”

Davin couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. “The Cuddle Club?”

Chuckling himself in agreement, the skunk’s face had a wry smile on it. “Indeed, I had that same reaction when I first heard the name, even if it does rather accurately describe what we offer here. Cloud Nine, or The Cuddle Club if you will is a place where one can come to relax with another, and more often than not that entails a nice relaxing cuddle on a nice soft bed.”

As strange as the idea was, Davin couldn’t help but be tempted. Something like that did sound rather relaxing, though there were a few details to clear up before he could make a decision.

“So say I was interested, how exactly does payment for something like that work, and do the customers decide who to pair up with, or is it more random?”

Seeing that the ‘bait’ had been taken, the skunk moved on to reeling in the ‘catch’.

“Your first time, today if you wish, is free, just to let you get a feel for how the club operates and see if you are interested. After that you can either pay per visit, buy a ‘limited’ membership, or a full membership.”

“What’s the difference between limited and full memberships?” Davin asked curiously.

“A limited membership basically allows you to pre-pay for visits, giving you five for the price of four. A full membership on the other hand is unlimited and lasts you two months. You can come in once a week, twice a week... whatever works for you.”

Standing up the skunk motioned to the door past the desk behind them after pressing something on the desk. “As for how the system itself works, I think it would be easier to show you.” Looking over to the side Davin followed the skunk’s gaze to see a badger approaching, garbed similarly to what the skunk was wearing. “John, sorry to pull you away from your break but I was hoping you’d cover the front desk for a few while I show a prospective new member about.”

Nodding pleasantly to the pair the badger smiled as they took the seat recently abandoned by the skunk, dropping a book on the desk as they sat down. “No problem, I can read here just as well as I can in the break room. Have fun you two.”

Following the skunk through the doorway Davin came to a hallway leading to the left and right, the walls dotted with doors with small lights above them, some lit, others not. Directly in front of them on the wall was a large screen with three buttons displayed, ‘Male’, ‘Female’ and ‘Random’. 

Moving so that they stood slightly to the side of the screen the skunk explained. “Now then, the setup here is rather simple. Once you’ve checked in at the front desk here’s where you pick your partner for that particular visit. As you can see you have three options, all pretty self-explanatory. ‘Males’ lists the males, ‘Females’ the females, and ‘Random’ as you can imagine picks one at random from either group.” 

Though the skunk had been focusing on the screen as they explained it, they now turned about to meet Davin’s eyes. “Any preference for today’s visit?”

Struck for a moment by the speed at which things were going, Davin stuttered for a few seconds. “Uh... female I guess.”

Smiling in an encouraging manner the skunk obligingly reached over to tap the ‘Female’ option, the screen now filled with headshots of numerous smiling females, with names below each picture.

“As you can see once you’ve picked a gender you’ll then be presented with a listing of all the partners available at the moment. Swipe up or down to scroll through the listing, and should you change your mind at any step simply press the arrow in the upper left and you’ll be returned to the previous screen.” Waving their hand towards the screen, the skunk smiled at Davin. “Now then, any of them catch your eye?”

Swallowing past the nerves that had reappeared, Davin took a step forward to better see the screen, looking over the listings on it. After a few seconds he settled on a friendly looking wolfess, ‘Jasmine’, one who’s smile seemed to have just a touch of mischief to it. Tapping the picture resulted in it’s enlargement until it took up almost the entirety of the center of the screen, with a new bar, ‘Confirm’ below the name. Looking up at the skunk resulted in a nod, so with a slightly shaky finger Davin reached over and tapped the screen again. As soon as the ‘Confirm’ choice was pressed the picture was replaced with one displaying an arrow to the right, with #08 listed below.

“Once you’ve made your choice the system will give you directions to the room, from there... well, that’s up to you and your chosen partner.”

A short walk later left the two in front of a simple door with a brass plaque inscribed with the number eight in the middle. Turning to Davin the skunk had an encouraging smile on his face as he reached over and patted the human’s shoulder. “Well, this is as far as I go. Just knock and go in when you’re ready, I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself.” With that the greeter turned about and headed back to his desk, leaving a nervous human standing at the door.

Davin must have stared at the door for several minutes, trying to build up the courage to knock. Logically he knew that he had nothing to be worried or ashamed about, the people working here were hardly going to judge people for showing up after all. Finally mustering up his courage he tapped lightly on the door, then again slightly harder when there was no response.

“Come in,” came from the other side.

Swallowing past a dry throat Davin twisted the doorknob, opening the door to reveal... a surprisingly normal room, about as large as you’d expect at a decent hotel, and furnished similarly. Along the back wall was a very sizable bed, queen or king at least, with plenty of pillows scattered about atop what looked to be a plush blanket. Towards the center of the room was a large couch facing a flatscreen tv attached to the wall, though currently it appeared to be in use as a music player, with the screen itself filled with shifting colors and the speakers playing what sounded like a relaxing instrumental piece. Movement drew his attention back to the couch, where a charcoal grey wolfess was sitting up, having been reclining along the couch. Peering up she spotted the frozen form in the doorway. 

“Well come in, no need to stand there I won’t bite that hard.” She flashed her fangs in a playful grin as she waved the human inside, quirking her eyebrow as he moved in just far enough to close the door before pausing once more, his previous courage having fled now that he was actually in the room.

Her voice lost some of it’s playful predator tone, replaced with a softer, more reassuring one. “Goodness but you’re a skittish one, is this your first time? I’m sure you’ve been told, but there’s really nothing to be worried about, this is meant to be relaxing, not nerve-wracking.” Patting the couch next to her she smiled. “Why don’t you come over and sit down, we can introduce ourselves.”

Though his first step was more than a little hesitant Davin was able to cross the distance quick enough once he got started, and soon found himself on the opposite side of the couch from the wolfess, not quite brave enough to sit right next to her just yet.

Still bearing a gentle smile on her face the female relaxed against the couch arm. “As you probably saw from the sign-in screen I’m Jasmine, what’s your name?”

Taking a calming breath the nervous human did his best to relax. “I’m Davin.”

Nodding the wolfess scritched her stomach a moment before resting her hand along the couch arm. “Nice to meet you Davin. 

“Still a little nervous?” she asked after a few moments of silence as Davin tried to figure out what to say.

“A bit.”

“There really isn’t any reason to feel that way, though I suppose I can understand why you might. People are always so uptight about getting close to others, as though the only reason to do so is the good old bump and grind. Completely misses that sometimes it’s just nice to press fur, or fur and skin together a bit.”

Davin let out a chuckle, his nerves settling some with the banter. “Yeah. Doesn’t help that I’ve never really been the kind of person to spend much time around others, so something like this is a little...”

“Overwhelming?” she finished for him with an understanding smile.

“A little.”

Silence descended between the two again after his reply. Although both of them knew what he was there for he found himself frozen, unable to make the first move and get things going. Fortunately for the both of them however Jasmine had no such hesitation.

He hadn’t noticed it at the time, focused as he was on what she was saying but the entire time they’d been chatting the wolfess had slowly but surely been scooting over until she was but a short foot away from him on the couch. Before he could fully process the change however she flashed him a grin before reaching out and pulling him over until his head was resting against her shoulder, her arm wrapped around his shoulder to keep him there.

“Got ya.”

The move was so quick that it took Davin a few seconds to realize what had just happened, and when he did he froze in place, his mind temporarily blank of any ideas as to how to respond. Before he could get too worked up however her other hand came over and started gently rubbing circles against his chest through his shirt, as her muzzle moved over to rest lightly atop his head.

“There now. See? Nothing to be worried about, this is meant to be relaxing and feel good, that’s why you’re here and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

As her hand slowly ran across his chest Davin gradually relaxed, his tense posture losing it’s tightness until he was able to breathe calmly again, enjoying the contact. She was right, this was good, and with the ice broken by her action he was starting to be able to get into the right mood to appreciate it.

Several minutes of silence passed as the wolfess softly rubbed Davin’s chest through his shirt, moving up and down to get the whole of his front from beltline to neck, both enjoying the contact before she spoke again. 

“Up to a change of position?”

His mind having gone somewhat fuzzy from relaxation Davin’s response was a somewhat muffled, “Hmm?”

Laughing softly she muzzled the top of his head. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Pushing him away for a moment the wolfess shifted the two of them about on the couch. “Here, move over a bit for a moment... yeah, like that, now...” Laying down she stretched along the couch, patting the spot in front of her. “... why don’t you set yourself down right here, should be much more comfortable.”

Much more comfortable with her by this point Davin was quick in complying, and soon found himself snug against her, his back nestled to her front. As soon as he was settled in her arm draped itself over him, pulling him even closer as she once more nuzzled the top of his head.

“There we are, much better for some long-term cuddles.”

Davin had to admit, the wolfess was right, this position was much more relaxing. He did however have a question.

“This is nice and all, but isn’t it a little well, boring for you?”

Davin felt more than heard the chuckles from behind, as the female cuddled against his back shook slightly. “It’s nice to be able to relax some times, but if you want something else there are certainly options. The rooms are outfitted with several ways to pass the time, from listening to music, watching a movie, reading together... and if you’re not in the mood for anything even that strenuous there’s always a nice relaxing nap.”

Davin was somewhat confused. “A movie? Isn’t that rather long?”

“What do you mean?” Jasmine asked, clearly not getting his question.

“Well, I mean I thought this was more a quick visit type thing. Show up, relax for half an hour or so, head out.”

Jasmine aah’d in sudden understanding.

“No, there’s not really a hard time limit for your visits here. We generally suggest that visits be kept below three hours, and at four hours you may be asked to leave for the day, but that’s primarily to prevent people from monopolizing those that work here and let others have their turn.”

Nodding slightly Davin responded with a simple “Oh.”

Stretching slightly the wolfess snagged the remote on the end-table next to the couch, pointing it at the tv and pausing the music as she brought up a simple interface, displaying two icons, ‘Music’ and ‘Movies’, before looking down at the human spooned against her front.

“So, any preferences? Read, watch something, just take a little nap...?”

Davin thought over the question. What did he want for his first visit here? Reading was out, he had several books at his apartment but hadn’t though to bring any today, he was awake enough that a nap probably wasn’t going to happen, which left...”

“Movie sounds good.”

A nod against his head was felt as the selection was chosen, opening up a new set of icons. “Now then, what were you in the mood for? We’ve got sci-fi, fantasy, action...”

**

Several hours later found Davin walking back to the front desk, a soft smile on his face and more relaxed than he’d been in weeks. The simple act of watching a movie, something that he’d normally do to pass the time with some easy, no-effort entertainment became something else when it was done in the embrace of a friendly companion. After a bit of back and forth on what they both wanted to watch they’d settled on an older fantasy film, one Davin hadn’t seen in years and one he’d quite enjoyed watching again with the wolfess behind him.

Time had passed quickly as the two lay curled on the couch and watched the movie together. All too soon the credits were rolling down the screen, leaving Davin feeling remarkably refreshed and relaxed, if a tad disappointed that the movie, and therefore his visit, was at an end. 

Several minutes of small talk passed before Davin decided that he’d probably best be off, only to be caught in an engulfing hug from a smiling wolfess once he said as much, with an open invitation to come back any time and a knowing grin as Davin returned her smile with one of his own before heading out.

Entering the lobby Davin wasn’t overly surprised to find the same skunk as before sitting behind the desk, leafing through a paper-back as they relaxed in their chair. Catching sight of the approaching human the greeter slipped a piece of paper between the pages before looking directing at him, a wide smile on their face.

“Well now, good to see you again! Enjoy your visit to our fine establishment I hope?”

Coming to a stop in front of the desk, Davin still wore the same smile he’d had the entire walk from room to entrance.

“As if you didn’t already know.”

The skunk chuckled, smile getting if anything just a little bit wider.

“Indeed, it’s a rare person who walks out of here with anything but a smile, I’d be worried if you hadn’t enjoyed your time here.” Flicking their eyes to the screen before them they tapped a few keys, clicking once or twice before looking back up.

“So then, am I safe in assuming you might wish to come back in the future? Whether on an individual visit basis or a membership, we’d love to have you back.”

Given how good he was feeling after his visit to the club it wasn’t but a moment of thought for Davin to decide.

“Yeah, I think it’s safe to say I’ll almost certainly be back when I can.”

Upon hearing this the skunk smiled widely. “Great, good to hear. Now then, if you’ll take a seat off to the side there I’ll explain the different options you can choose from. For single visits…”

Listening to the other male explain Davin couldn’t help but smile softly, already looking forward to his next visit to Cloud Nine.