\n Part Nine

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\n Some hope had returned to Jake's eyes. "So you're not going to kick me to the curb?"

\n "Well, not right now," Kip said, feigning disinterest, "but I might later."

\n Jake's relieved smile was bright enough to shame the sun. "Cool."

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\n Jake locked the door behind them, and the two walked out to Jake's truck. "You gotta get some stuff from your place?" Jake asked.

\n "It would be nice to not be wearing the same clothes for another 24 hours," Kip said, giving his shirt a quick sniff. He wasn't offensive yet, but it wouldn't be long before he started to ripen.

\n "You gonna tell me where you live?" Jake asked, pulling onto the road with a roar.

\n "What, didn't Carl tell you that, too?" Kip laughed. "Take the freeway north to Springdale and make a left."

\n Jake whistled low, "That's a pretty nice part of town, buddy. You one of those rich kids?"

\n "Don't get too excited," Kip said,"you didn't hook yourself a rich one. I just live in a nice old widow's pool house."

\n "That's a ways from the gym," Jake said, "I'm guessing the gym is close to your work?"

\n "Yeah, I'd rather lift right after work while the traffic dies down. And Carl's place has the reputation of being where the biggest, baddest guys in town lift. If I was going to overcome a phobia, that seemed like the place to do it. But hey, we're talking about me again. I've talked your ear off. Tell me about your folks."

\n "Not much to tell," Jake shrugged. "Two brothers, a sister, mom an dad still happily married,"

\n "They all still live around here?" Kip asked.

\n "All but my sister. She married a lawyer, he became a lobbyist in DC, and they had to move. I really miss her, but he makes her really happy so I'm happy for them."

\n "You grow up around here?"

\n "Yep. Dad was in the dockworker's union, same as me. It's kind of the family business. Both my brothers are on the docks, too."

\n Everybody do the same thing?"

\n "My younger brother's an accountant," Jake told him, "he's got the brains in the family. My big brother's a forklift driver in a warehouse. He's dumb as a post, but he makes me look small in comparison."

\n "Wow," Kip said, taking out his telephone and opening it up. "What's his number?"

\n Jake reached over and pinched the fox's phone closed, removing it from his grasp and rolling down the window to throw it outside. Kip grabbed it back at the last minute and stuffed it back in his pocket.

\n "You're mine for now," Jake said, play growling. "No more calling other men while that's the case."

\n "Well, you're mine too, so keep telling your story," Kip retorted."Your dad still work?"

\n "He retired a few years back," Jake said, "Full pension from both the docks and the military. He's doing all right."

\n "Your Mother?"

\n "She was a nurse when Dad met her, and she worked until Martin was born, but after that she gave up working to raise a family."

\n "Sounds like they were living the American dream," Kip said. "Stay at home mom, hard working dad with a stable job. No wonder they were happy."

\n "Kinda," Jake said, "They would have been a lot better off, except that Dad has a tendency to blow their savings on hairbrained ideas. I don't remember what it was the first time, but the second time it was a barbeque restaurant. They lost everything that time, and had to start from scratch. The first home I remember was a singlewide trailer home that had bad plumbing and a busted air conditioner."

\n "So you grew up poor?" Kip asked, quite curious about this new development in Jake's life story.

\n Jake was quiet for a moment. "I don't think "poor" is the right word. Mom didn't believe in personal debt, and it didn't take her long to realize that with the money we were burning through trying to keep the restaurant going, we would have to cut corners to make ends meet. So when I was about two, she sold our house and moved us into the trailer."

\n Kip was amazed, and it showed on his face. "She must be one hell of a woman," he said, "I would have thought that she'd make him get rid of the restaurant to keep her house."

\n "That's my mom," Jake said, "She knew that forcing Dad to abandon his dream would have caused him to resent her, and the choice she had to make was between immediate comfort and long-term happiness. She gambled that he would eventually give the restaurant up on his own, and eventually her bet paid off.

\n "Besides," he added, "She really did grow up poor, so living in a trailer home wasn't something horrible for her. She did a really good job of making it comfortable and safe for her children while we lived there."

\n "Dad got the job with the union when I was seven or eight, and they started to climb out of debt. That took longer with three kids, but eventually they made it.

\n "So they're in a house now?" Kip asked.

\n "Yeah. It's a small house that isn't in a fancy part of town, but it's perfect for a retired couple. Inside and out, it's always neat as a pin. But," he added, "It's nothing like these houses!"

\n While he'd talked, Kip had guided them to a well-to-to district, past huge trees and well manicured lawns, and finally into the driveway of an elaborate white Victorian home that had ivy crawling up the outside walls. Following Kip's directions, Jake pulled his truck behind the old home and parked in front of the small cabana. The two men walked to the front door of the pool house, and as Kip was unlocking the door, Jake impulsively put one hand on Kip's back.

\n Inside, Jake took the opportunity to look around while Kip changed his clothes and gathered some of his belongings. He was unsurprised that the room was spare and uncluttered, reflecting the sense of internal composure he felt from the fox. What did surprise him, though, was that nothing that he could see would have clued him in that Kip wasn't straight. He had no idea what he expected a gay man's apartment was supposed to look like but this probably wasn't it. There were no pictures of half-naked men hanging on the walls, it wasn't all frilly and feminine, and it didn't smell like a girl. It was all very normal, and he began rethinking whether admitting that he was gay would mean making the dramatic changes in his life he was dreading.

\n Kip came out of his bedroom with his gym bag slung over his shoulder, and Jake's heart skipped a beat in his chest. "Have your eyes gotten greener?" he asked. Contrasting the fox's brilliant red fur, his eyes seemed almost luminous.

\n "Maybe you're just seeing them in a different light," Kip suggested, and the double meaning wasn't lost on the other man.

\n "Maybe so, short-stack. Maybe so." Jake took a tentative step towards the other man, his heart beating faster in his chest in anticipation of... what? For some reason, he couldn't stop staring at Kip. Was this what being in love was supposed to feel like, or had he completely lost his mind?

\n Kip closed the distance between them and put his hands on either side of Jake's waist. Jake lifted his hands to Kip's shoulders, and was bending down to kiss him for the first time when a banging on the front door almost knocked it off its hinges. Almost guiltily the two men jumped away from each other, startled out of their skins by the unexpected sharp noise. As he moved to open his front door and find out who intruding, Kip could heard a low, dangerous growl coming from Jake's chest. Whoever was beating his door down had better have a damned good reason for doing it, he thought.

\n Kip had just unlocked the deadbolt when the door shoved open with tremendous force, knocking him to the ground. From that vantage point he watched in helpless horror as a uniformed human policeman exploded into the room, weapon drawn and aimed straight at Jake's chest. "No!" he yelled, frantic to distract the officer and keep him from shooting Jake.

\n "Shut up!" the uniform yelled at Kip, "Stay down where I can see you! And you," he commanded Jake, "On the floor, face down, hands on your head!"

\n "I live here!" Kip shouted, "Ask Ms. Wilson!"

\n The officer ignored him, keeping his gun trained on the huge, dangerous looking Rottweiler until Jake complied with his demands. He put his hands on his head and turned around, and was beginning to kneel when the policeman put a boot in the small of his back and gave a nasty push, sending Jake's forehead slamming into the countertop.

\n Dazed, the big man took his hands off the back of his head and clasped his forehead in pain. "Hands on your head, asshole!" the officer shouted, and Kip was horrified to see him jump on top of Jake, driving his knee deep into Jake's back to push him to the ground and keep him there. "You stupid fuckers never know how to follow directions, do you?"

\n The uniform reached up and grabbed Jake's wrist with his free hand, jerking it down behind his back with a cruel twist. He jammed his weapon back in its holster, then slapped handcuffs first on one wrist, and then the other. He managed to twist his knee into Jake's back one last time before getting to his feet and ordering the big man to stand up.

\n The officer was marching Jake towards the door when Kip unrooted himself from where he'd only been standing for perhaps ten seconds, but had felt like an insane eternity. He stood blocking the doorway and asked, with explosive fury, "What the hell is going on here? You can't come in here and do this!"

\n "Who's going to stop me?" the policeman said, attempting unsuccessfully to use Jake's bulk to push past the smaller fur. Although he was much shorter than either man, Kip had managed to wedge himself in the doorframe with his knees and elbows like a cat avoiding a bath.

\n "I am!" Kip challenged, fury turning his words into bullets. "I live here, and I'm not going to let you do this to my friend!"

\n The officer looked disgusted. "You want I should take you downtown too for being a pain in the ass, little guy?"

\n "Officer, wait!" came a matronly voice from outside the door. Kip instantly recognized the voice of his landlady, the friendly widow who had always been so kind to him. "What did you say, Kip? Is this really your friend?"

\n Kip released his hold on the doorway as a bit of sanity returned to his world. He spun around to face the old woman tottering towards them. "Yes!" he practically shouted, "Yes, he's my friend! Why is he doing this?"

\n "Oh, my goodness, Kip, I'm so sorry," the old, fully human woman pleaded, "I had no idea. I was looking out my back window to see who'd pulled behind the house, and I saw this scary looking man with his hand on your back, pushing you towards the door." Kip could see her rheumy eyes filling with tears of embarrassment. "I thought he was robbing you and I called the police!"

\n "Jesus," the cop said, shaking his head in disgust. He immediately let go of the fur between Jake's shoulder blades and started removing the cuffs. "I'm sorry, buddy. We've had break-ins around here, and I just thought..."

\n "You thought it was obviously a fur who was responsible." Jake finished for him, seething with anger.

\n "It's not like that," the cop said. It was obvious from the expression on his face that the reality of the situation was beginning to sink in. His treatment of the man in front of him might well mean the loss of his job, or at very least a severe reduction in rank. "I'm sorry, sir," he almost grovelled.

\n "Go away," Jake said, struggling to keep a lid on his growing fury. "I'll decide later whether to press charges or not." Quite wisely, the officer chose to escape to his patrol car instead of trying to change Jake's mind. In a small cloud of dust, he was out of their lives as quickly as he'd entered.

\n "Mamie," Kip began, a world of exasperation evident in his voice."You've gotta stop watching cop shows on TV."  He would have said more but, seeing the tears in the old widow's eyes, he could only take her in his arms and give her a forgiving hug. She had only been trying to protect him, and it wasn't her fault that Jake had been mistreated like that.

\n Jake walked over to the pair and put a warm hand on the old woman's shoulder with the hope of easing her anxiety. Looking up, she started a bit and clutched a hand to her chest. Even though Kip claimed that this huge brute was a friend, he looked like an incredibly dangerous creature to her. The words coming out of his mouth, though they might be innocent ones, sounded menacing when spoken in his deep, rumbling voice.

\n "I'm sorry for scaring you," Jake said, and instantly knew by the expression on her face that the old woman was not at all convinced that he wasn't bad news. He should have quietly retreated rather than try to make friends so soon. Sadly, there would always be people in the world who could not shake off their preconceived notions.

\n Without wasting another word he turned and walked quietly to his truck, waiting there for Kip. Misunderstanding or not, he had no intention of ever going inside Kip's place ever again. Through the open windows of his truck, his sensitive ears caught most of what Kip said to his landlady. "I know he looks scary, Mamie, but he's a really nice guy. He and his friends went out of their way to help me when I needed it. Next time we have coffee, I'll tell you all about it, I promise."

\n Kip gave the woman one more hug, then quickly walked over to Jake's truck and slung his gym bag into the bed. "I'll be right back," he said to Jake, before making one more short trip into the pool house. He emerged with a small black satchel, locked the door, and all but ran back to the truck. "First aid kit," he explained, climbing in, "I wasn't sure how bad you hit your head back there."

\n "I'm just going to stay quiet for a few minutes," Jake said, pulling quickly out of the driveway and gunning the truck down the street. He gingerly felt his forehead with his fingertips, examining the fur on them for blood and finding none. Kip dug a bottle of painkillers out of the black kit and shook three pills into his palm. Considering Jake's size for a moment, he tapped out another pair of pills before handing them to the big man.

\n "Yeah, I'll probably need them," Jake grumbled, shoving the pills in his mouth and washing them down with a mouthful of water from a bottle Kip handed him. "Fucking police."

\n Kip unfastened his seatbelt and moved to the middle of the wide bench seat. After resecuring himself, he leaned sideways and put his head on the big man's shoulder. Jake responded by putting his arm around the fox's shoulders and pulling him closer. Kip nestled into Jake's side as they drove, giving him his silent support.

\n The radio was tuned to a country station, and Kip counted four songs before Jake spoke again. "You just won't let me stay mad, will you?" he asked, giving Kip's shoulders a squeeze. The fox saw that most of the anger had drained from his friend's face, replaced by a weary smile.

\n "You have every right to be angry," Kip said, "he knocked the shit out of you."

\n "But I don't want to be angry today," Jake said, "I wanted today to be special, to be wonderful, and spending the whole day being mad would be a waste." Stopped at a light, he took the opportunity to look down at the red fox - his red fox. "It's our first day together, right?"

\n Kip smiled at him. "Yeah, it is," he agreed. "And I know you could have pulled that cop's arms off, if you'd wanted to."

\n Jake grinned down at him. "Judges don't like that sort of thing much."

\n "I thought we'd take a walk down the riverfront, eat a little lunch, rent a few movies, then spend a quiet evening at home."

\n "Sounds great, but you don't think a trip to the doctor should be in that list somewhere?" Kip asked, concerned about the blow to Jake's head.

\n "This?" Jake said, rubbing his forehead, "I've got a thick skull. It takes more than a little tap on the noggin' like that to take me out of the game."

\n "Maybe you should take a few days off for observation, too," Kip suggested, then asked, "Where do you work, anyway? If you told me last night, I sure don't remember."

\n "I throw freight at the dock," Jake said. "It's not a fancy job, but it pays the bills."

\n "No shame in that," Kip said. "Without guys like you, the country would grind to a halt."

\n "I'm glad you feel that way," the other man said, "sometimes I get really tired of being treated like a dumb grunt."

\n They spent the rest of their day talking about everything under the sun, and Kip was delighted to find his great fear, that he would have nothing in common with Jake, was completely unfounded. The two men meshed on many levels, and Kip found that he was beginning to imagine what his life might be like if this crazy relationship between he and Jake actually ended up working out.
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